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It is too little and too late A bunch of criminals |
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Kiran’s ‘Udan’ is not over Her giving up the uniform is a loss IN a force which is fast losing its sheen across the country, the voluntary retirement of Kiran Bedi will lead to the loss of a good police officer. The first woman IPS officer of the country had become some kind of an icon for millions of young girls and women.
Emerging power equations
Chopping ignorance
You don’t need a foreign coach! Dollar’s supremacy under threat Legal notes
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It is too little and too late Gen Pervez Musharraf
has finally handed over the control of the Pakistan army to his trusted colleague, Gen Ashfaque Pervez Kiyani. The shedding of his “second skin”, as he called his uniform not long ago, seems to have ended his association with the most powerful institution of his country. In 1998 he was chosen by then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, superseding many officers, to take over as the Chief of Army Staff. But General Musharraf was no different from his predecessors. He developed serious differences with his Prime Minister, particularly over the Kargil adventure, and removed him by staging a coup in October 1999. Will he meet the same fate by his handpicked new army chief or another general? The answer to the question may not warrant an easy guess. How the new army chief plays his cards will affect considerably Mr Musharraf’s plan to rule Pakistan as a civilian President for a new five-year term, which begins today. All that Mr Musharraf has done to perpetuate his rule has no legal sanctity. He remains the ruler, but there is tremendous pressure on him from various quarters — from within Pakistan as well as his western allies like President George W. Bush — to revoke the emergency. It was declared unconstitutional immediately after its imposition by former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and some other judges who refused to take the oath of office under the so-called Provisional Constitutional Order. After today’s oath-taking ceremony in Islamabad Mr Musharraf will be faced with an entirely new situation. The opposition may also raise the demand more forcefully for the restoration of the Supreme Court to the position that obtained on November 3, before the emergency was clamped. If the January 8 elections are held under emergency rule, the whole exercise will lack credibility. Yet there is little possibility of the revocation of the emergency. President Musharraf cannot allow his party, the PML (Q), to be deprived of this advantage. The emergency may be used to ensure that the PML (Q) performs well in the elections. In the normal circumstances it can be wiped out by opposition parties, particularly Mr Nawaz Sharif’s PML (N) in Punjab. The course of politics in Pakistan in the coming few days will be interesting to watch. The opposition has been weakened by Mr Musharraf’s undeclared deals with Ms Bhutto, Mr Nawaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the MMA. That is why few people are taking the opposition’s poll boycott call seriously. Mr Musharraf may now have to survive, besides on the support of the army, on the sharp divisions he has been trying to create among political parties. But there are limits to this game.
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A bunch of criminals THE Delhi High Court has rightly ordered the police to investigate the role of 11 MPs who were expelled from Parliament for their involvement in the cash-for-queries scam and file chargesheets within two months. In his ruling, Justice S.N. Dhingra has directed the Delhi Police to book all those involved in the scam, including the middlemen. Clearly, this scam is a blot on the nation. Parliament expelled the members after a TV channel showed them taking bribes for asking questions in the House. Even though Parliament had punished the members for their crime by expelling them, this cannot be treated as the final punishment for the simple reason that they are yet to be tried under the normal anti-corruption law of the land. After all, MPs and ministers are not above the law. They are, supposed to be like all other citizens, equal before the law and as such they will have to be tried in accordance with the law. The cash-for-queries scam is unprecedented in the country’s parliamentary history and Parliament rightly took up the matter seriously and expelled all those involved in the crime. Significantly, the Supreme Court Constitution Bench upheld Parliament’s right to expel its members. It held that under Article 105 of the Constitution, Parliament had powers to regulate its proceedings and while doing so, it could expel any member for misconduct. However, what Parliament had done on its behalf was only the first step. The next logical step is to try the former MPs under the criminal law as directed by the Delhi High Court. Clearly, bribery of this nature, extent and scope can never be condoned in any manner and it is only when the guilty, especially at the level of people’s representatives, are punished that the law will act as a strong deterrent. The expelled members, by their actions, have sullied the reputation of Parliament and brought shame and disgrace to the world’s largest democracy. Consequently, they deserve no mercy. The Delhi Police would do well to conduct a thorough investigation of the scam and bring the guilty to book expeditiously in accordance with the law and unhindered by the clout of the political parties who may not have yet been expelled from their ranks. |
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Kiran’s ‘Udan’ is not over IN a force which is fast losing its sheen across the country, the voluntary retirement of Kiran Bedi will lead to the loss of a good police officer. The first woman IPS officer of the country had become some kind of an icon for millions of young girls and women. That it should have taken so many decades for a woman to make it to the Indian Police Service was itself a sharp commentary on the state of affairs. But what matters is that she utilised this opportunity to the fullest, and excelled in whatever she did, be it jail reforms or traffic management. The daring and initiative that she displayed during her illustrious career even became a subject matter of TV serials like “Udaan”. The Magsaysay Award and many other honours bestowed on her were a confirmation that she was not behind her male counterparts in any way. It is sad that in the end, she had to bow out, somewhat disillusioned, although rather late in the day. While seeking premature retirement, she had denied that her decision had anything to do with the decision of the government to appoint Mr Y.S. Dadwal as Delhi Police Commissioner superceding her, but it is a common knowledge that this had rankled her a lot and at one stage she was on the verge of resigning. There may be other moments of frustration too. Many politicians and others didn’t like the way she tried to go about doing her duty. Whatever the real reasons behind her voluntary retirement are, these should be sympathetically culled out lest her decision sends a wrong message to women who look up to her. It is indeed true that she has excelled in so many fields – like sports and social service – that the government service is not enough for her anymore. She is at a stage that she can do a lot for her chosen calling of academics and social service. The best way she can now serve the country is by smoothening the path of the girls like her who are eager to make their mark in a male-dominated world. Her autobiography, “I Dare”, is aptly named. She should strive to come to the help of those who may have her talent but not her daring. Inspiring examples are necessary in a society getting along on a low morale. |
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I hate books; they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about. — Jean-Jacques-Rousseau
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Emerging power equations
When
the Cold War ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States emerged as the world's sole superpower. Even today, the US remains the preeminent power on the global stage, but is increasingly conscious of its limitations. It realises that it has to act in concert with other influential powers to achieve common goals. A crucial question for India is how it figures in the emerging equations of global power. Few analysts would disagree with some of the findings of the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) in its report about the emerging global power equations till 2020, entitled "Mapping the global future". The principal finding in the NIC report is that even in the year 2020 the US will remain the most powerful actor in the world economically, militarily and technologically. US preeminence will, however, not be undisputed and its position cannot be sustained if it loses its present technological edge. Studies by some of our economic experts tally with this assessment. The NIC report recognises that the emergence of India and China as well as other new global players will transform the geopolitical landscape in this century, with impacts similar to the rise of a united Germany in the 19 th century and the United States in the 20th century. Given rapid rates of economic growth in Asia, the balance of economic power will inevitably shift from Europe to Asia, which will become the world's manufacturing hub in the coming decades. The main challenges that countries in Asia will face to sustain their growth rates will arise from instability in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region, which could jeopardise the security of energy supplies, and from terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The report notes that facilitated by global communications, radical Islamic ideology will spur terrorism globally in the coming years. While this may be true, the US will hopefully recognise that the use of force for effecting regime change or selectively targeting countries for nonproliferation goals can only exacerbate an already volatile situation in the Persian Gulf. Thus, we are going to see greater trends towards multipolarity in the global order, though the US will unquestionably remain the preeminent global power. In these circumstances, we need to analyse how the US and China will view other players in the future. While the Bush Administration has followed a dual policy of engagement and containment in dealing with both Russia and China, will such a policy continue under a new Democratic Party dispensation? Senator Hillary Clinton (currently a frontrunner in the US Presidential election of 2008) recently stated: "Our relationship with China will be the most important relationship in the world in this century." While acknowledging differences with China on issues like human rights, religious freedoms and Tibet, Senator Clinton noted: "There is much that the US and China can and must accomplish together". She, however warned the Russians against "regional interference", evidently alluding to the ongoing rivalry between the US and Russia over the oil and gas resources of the Central Asian and Caspian regions and in the former Soviet Republics neighbouring Russia. Most American academics believe that with its declining population, outdated technologies and poor standards of governance, Russia's role in world affairs can be marginalised unlike the role of China. This could be a serious miscalculation, as it underestimates Russian resilience and ingenuity in the face of adversity. The US also expects that the current phase of Russian-Chinese bonhomie will end as differences grow on issues like the movement of Chinese into the under-populated Siberian region and over-access to the energy and natural resources of Central Asia. The expectation is that after benefiting from the transfers of weapons and missile technologies from the Russians, the Chinese will gradually dump the Russians as Mao did in the 1960s, culminating in the Mao-Nixon honeymoon in 1972. Should a Democratic Party Administration assume office in the US in 2009, India will find the US making common cause with China, as it did in the 1990s, to compel India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and "cap" its nuclear weapons programme by ending the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons. At the same time, however, the US will have an interest in engaging an economically resurgent India. As Senator Clinton noted: "In Asia, India has a special significance, both as an emerging power and the world's most populous democracy…We must find additional ways for Australia, India, Japan and the US to cooperate on issues of mutual concern". Given the predominant role that Clinton aides envisage for China — the role of a "benign hegemon" in East Asia, according to some — India will have to seek much closer relations with China's neighbours like Russia, Japan and Vietnam if a healthy balance of power in Asia is to be ensured. Given the "compulsions of coalition politics," New Delhi has downplayed the extent of Chinese efforts to contain India in recent days. While China has no qualms about continuing its assistance to Pakistan's nuclear weapons and missile programmes and seeks to surround India with naval facilities in Sittwe, Hambantota, Gwadar and elsewhere in the Indian Ocean, it makes no secret of its distaste for our "Look East " policy of seeking closer ties with ASEAN. Commenting on India's recent foreign policy initiatives, the influential Renmin Ribao noted in August 2007: "The US-India nuclear agreement has strong symbolic significance (for India) achieving its dream of a powerful nation…In recent years, it (India) implemented a ‘Look East’ policy and joined most regional organisations in the East Asia region." Thus, the Chinese find India's legitimate efforts to break out from the shackles of global nuclear sanctions, or to extend its influence in East Asia, unpalatable. China's recent bellicosity in laying claims to the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh and effectively repudiating the August 2005 Wen Jiabao-Manmohan Singh agreement, which stated that "in reaching a border settlement, the two sides shall safeguard populations in border areas," is a signal that it will use its border claims in Arunachal Pradesh as a tool to compel India to go slow in developing relations with both the US and the countries of East and South-East Asia. China will also unabashedly use its apologists and "political assets" in India to achieve this. While the Chinese may pay lip service to their love for a "multipolar world", there should be no doubt that in the coming years their primary aim is to become the dominant power, while seeking to fashion a "bipolar world order", with the acquiescence of the
Americans.
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Chopping ignorance
When
I was a schoolboy, I daily passed by a fuelwood stockyard. As there was no electricity or gas, wood was the Hobson’s choice. I noticed that a gaunt man always had the biggest stack of chopped wood by the evening, while the more robust ones had managed only half as much. I also noticed that while the rest seemed to work furiously, there was a laid-back elegance to this man’s work. Curiosity got hold of me and I asked him to explain how he could manage to do so well in spite of his almost lazy working. He laughed and invited me to observe him right from the morning, I saw that he had two axes, four chisels, two hammers and a sharpening stone neatly placed by his side. The axes, the chisels and hammers were of different sizes. No other wood chopper had anything besides one axe. “I first observe the log for its hardness, shape, the way the grain runs, any natural cracks, and then select the right axe. It is no use using the heavier if the lighter would do. If the log has knots, the axe will not work well. The chisel and the hammer will have to be used. I study the pattern of the knot and select the right chisel and hammer”. “Like this”, he said tapping a chisel and, lo, the log split into two! There is no need to work furiously, only to work precisely. And for that I take care of my instruments everyday. After every two hours I light up a biri. Then I am no longer a wood chopper. I forget everything except the smoke. The moment I pick up the axe I feel I had never smoked. Being conscious of the moment has become a part of me, and it comes without any effort. Its like the flow of water”. He had to dry the fuelwood because the variety of hill oak contained high moisture, and produced a lot of smoke irritating the eyes and inducing bouts of coughing. He had his own geometrical arrangements, which ensured that all pieces of wood received the greatest possible amount of the sun. The arrangement was such that it could be dismantled very quickly, if the many passing clouds decided to anoint the wood with a shower! And when the time came to deliver the wood at the houses of the people, he would ensure that they got a few kilos more than they had paid for. “This generates trust and saves the time of others, as otherwise they would have to come here to see the weighing” he explained. “Sorry, I am illiterate and am wasting your time” said he, as he selected a difficult knotted piece of wood to study its characteristic. “At least a hundred years old and partly struck by lightning”, he explained and selected a sharp chisel. I did not know how he got that, but I was sure he was right. Only a few years later I realised that what he was practicing was celebrated in the Gita as “Yogah karmasu kaushalam”, or extolled by masters as Zen. He was chopping not merely dead wood but ignorance
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You don’t need a foreign coach! Indian cricket is on a new high, just the right concoction of the old and the new. Under M.S. Dhoni – who has proved himself as an effective captain – India have been crowned world champions in Twenty20. Anil Kumble has brought his sheer experience into play and has been able to outclass Pakistan in the first Test.
The team seems to be jelling well together. But guess what? At this juncture, Indians order the ideal party pooper – a foreign coach! Reports of South African Gary Kirsten joining as a coach indicates that the BCCI is still excited about the prospect of a foreign coach. This is in a way, akin to buying your wife a 2 million dollar aircraft for her birthday. The BCCI – God bless them! – seem to be going overboard while playing out a rich man’s fantasy. While in the case of the rich billionaire, he has the personal wealth to do so, the BCCI, one would like to think, is, or has to be, more accountable. Its decisions should be well thought out. Not the “middle-of-night” operations that look like a secret corporate take over! Firstly, how well thought out is this decision? Haven’t there been enough controversies already? The BCCI does not have to look around. It has to learn from the experiences with Greg Chappell. The Greg Chappell controversy has hardly died down. It is clear from his recent interviews that somehow Greg – otherwise a fine human being – found it difficult to deal with “subcontinent culture”. Of course, Greg being Greg, he makes no bones about his views. Moreover, a lot of people believe that he single-handedly destroyed the Indian side so passionately built up by Sourav Ganguly, who till date remains the most successful Indian captain.(It was a typical battle of warring egos). But for the inherent strength of the Indian side, it would have taken years to come out of the chaos and interlaced anarchy. But it did, within months, and that too without the help of a foreign coach. In a way, Greg is right. There is a “subcontinent culture”, which a foreign coach would never get used to. If I look at nearer home, my Pakistan team is functioning under a foreign coach. For the moment, the foreign coach becomes a whipping boy and a scapegoat for those who have to defend Shoaib Mallik’s inept performance both as a Captain and as a batsman. Whether Lawson has contributed anything or not will not be known. I, for one, feel that either Lawson has not been talking to the boys or they are not listening to him. And when the knives in Pakistan are out, there would be the odd media leak as had happened in the Greg-Sourav controversy. We have had Bob Woolmer, another great human being, but it was well known that Inzy and Bob never got along well. In Woolmer’s case, it was more than obvious that he just did not like the “subcontinent culture” that Greg has been talking about. Part of the reason why this so called “mystery death” was played up is because of the tension between the team and Woolmer. Everyone from day one knew it was a simple accident. But those who wanted to play on it even in Pakistan did so with devastating effect. A foreign coach thus becomes a handling exercise for everyone; for the Captain, for the Board; and if you have a loose-tongued coach like Chappell, half your time is spent in fending him away from the media. My first question is about the timing. Does India really need a foreign coach at this stage? The second is a more basic question .What does the coach really do? I didn’t require a foreign coach and neither did Sunny Gavaskar or Ravi Shastri. I think they have done well without a coach. In any case, if a coach has to teach them basics about cricket, you already have a fielding and a bowling coach. And which player requires basic lectures on techniques? Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s form of cricket is his own brand of cricket. Some of his cricketing shots are not from any textbook. In fact, if this boy had not come from Jharkhand where there are no coaches, he would not have been playing the high quality cricket he is playing now. Most of us, including the great Sunny, have learnt cricket from the gullies – the narrow streets in the subcontinent. Yet Sunny was one of the greatest stroke players of his time. Beyond a point, I feel, it is all instinct. Can you imagine someone teaching Tendulkar how to play? Some of his shots that I saw recently were sheer magic. Yes, I do concede though, if Sourav is not in his form, he would probably require help; but from a counselor, not a coach. And if the coach does not teach you basics, what else can he do? He can tell you the strength and weakness of the opposition based on video studies. The little that I know of all this, is that only the Australians have taken all this seriously. In the subcontinent, the skill level comes from motivation, inspiration on the spot and strong leadership in the field. Nothing else. India fashioned an emphatic 1983 world Cup win. With due apologies, they were on paper just an ordinary side. No foreign coaches there. Kapil led from the front! A coach, whether foreign or otherwise, can only do a post mortem. But 90 per cent of the decisions are taken these days in the field by the Captain. The institution of a coach comes from baseball where coaches are legends. However, that is a different game. Cricket is something in which every individual brings in his own nuances to the standard operating procedures, and that is what makes it tick. Cricket is like music; you teach them the sargam and leave them to voice it in their own style. To my mind, if you need foreign coaches, bring them to your academies, not to your world class team. There the coach is the last word. In the field, so far at least, the game is lead by the Captain. He is responsible and accountable, whether the team wins or loses. My worry is whether the subcontinent’s obsession with foreign coaches stems from a colonial hangover. If India does well, we seem to be afraid to say it. I still remember Sandeep Patil doing an excellent job coaching the Kenyan side. Some of our Pakistani legends can also teach a thing or two. Buy an aircraft as a gift for your wife’s birthday; or, if you have access to public funds and do not know what to do with it, you probably buy yourself a foreign coach! — News Watch Asia
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Dollar’s supremacy under threat THE steady erosion of the value of the dollar against the world’s major currencies is a reflection of the direction in which the world economy is moving. The falling dollar seems to be the prelude to the end of US hegemony. The rising economies in Asia and the increasing economic clout of China and India, combined with the Japanese economy, put American economic clout to a severe test. A Brazilian supermodel, on an assignment in the US recently, allegedly refused to be paid in dollars and insisted on euros. This appropriately highlights the dollar’s plunging value and its potential consequences. Thus, where economists fail, a model’s decision conveys a lot. In recent weeks, the dollar has hit new lows against most currencies. The US currency reached $2.10 against the pound, its weakest against the British currency since 1981, and dropped to $1.47 against the euro, a new record against a currency that was established only eight years ago. The dollar has dropped against all 16 of the most actively traded currencies this year. It has lost 10 per cent against the euro, 6.9 per cent against the pound and 5.2 per cent against the yen. It reached its lowest value vis-à-vis the Canadian dollar since 1950, when the fixed exchange rate ended, and hit a 23-year low against the Australian dollar. The US dollar has weakened 8 per cent against a basket of currencies from major trading partners since January 2006. In several capitals, especially in the Middle East, where the US has acrimonious relations with some, the weakening of the dollar is news for rejoicing. For example, the US standoff in Iran over the latter’s nuclear program makes Iran to ally with another oil producing country, Venezuela, to project the dollar’s fall, as a prelude to the end of US dominance in the world. Venezuela President Hugo Chavez paid a visit to his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a show of the strength of their friendship, bound by opposition to Washington. Though the firebrand duo did not succeed in pushing OPEC away from trading in the slumping greenback during the OPEC summit in Riyadh, because of opposition from the host Saudi Arabia, it did demonstrate the potential for stirring up problems for the US and its allies in the future. As the dollar weakens, oil prices have reached a record high of $100 a barrel. If US President Bush does not refrain from a military strike on Iran over the nuclear issue, the prices of oil could double to $200, thereby plunging the world economy in disarray. Following the fall of the dollar and the success of the euro, the Latin America nations are also considering a common currency. During the OPEC summit in Riyadh last week, both Iran and Venezuela proposed that OPEC begins pricing its oil in a basket of currencies, rather than just the dollar, and wanted the summit to specifically express concern over the dollars slide in its final statement. Though Saudi Arabia, an US ally, blocked the initiative by Iran and Venezuela, the very fact that finance ministers of the OPEC nations have been asked to study the issue of the falling dollar is itself significant. The sizable US current account deficit and five years of record trade deficits also put considerable downward pressure on the dollar. But US officials are not worried about the shrinking currency. In fact, they are quite pleased. A falling dollar means US products and services are more competitive in global markets and, indeed, that is the case. However, European manufacturers complain loudly about US attempts to devalue their way into renewed competitiveness. Dollar is the world’s reserve currency and the readiness to hold dollars is a vote of confidence in the stability of the currency. There is fear that those investors who worry about risking huge losses by holding dollars that will one day be devalued, will start divesting their dollar holdings, an act that could be both an act of economic war and a self-fulfilling prophecy. The recent Chinese suggestion that the country should diversify its reserves rattled markets. The truism, however, is that there are no alternative safe havens in the world economy at present as the euro is not yet such an option. The US should manage its own economy better and contribute to global economic stability.
The writer works as the Chief Program Officer at the Japan Foundation’s New Delhi office. Views expressed are personal.
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Legal notes TOP legal brains of the country under the aegis of the Bar Association of India (BAI) have expressed their solidarity with the judicial fraternity in Pakistan under attack from Pervez Musharraf. The BAI, headed by noted lawyer Fali S. Nariman called upon all the democracies in the world to put pressure on Islamabad for lifting the emergency and restoration of the Constitution and the fundamental rights of the people. A four-point resolution in a meeting specially organised by the BAI in the capital to express solidarity with the judges and lawyers of Pakistan, said that the assault on Pakistan’s judges and lawyers by the establishment bodes ill for the revival of the prospect of democracy and rule of law in the neighbouring country. It sought immediate release of arrested Chief Justice Mohd Iftikhar Chowdhary and other judges, restoration to their positions, release of all political detainees and holding of early elections. The friendly and peaceful people of Pakistan richly deserve re-establishment of all democratic institutions and restoration of their basic fundamental rights. Besides Nariman, the meeting was attended among others by two former Solicitor Generals of India Tehmtan Andhyarujina and Dipankar Gupta, senior advocates Rajeev Dhawan, P.P. Rao, R. K. Shankardas, BAI secretary general Lalit Bhasin and joint-general secretary Yogesh Anand. Search for a woman judge With the speeding up of the process of filling several vacancies of judges in the Supreme Court, only one of the 26 sanctioned posts still remains to be filled. The one post has been left unfilled as Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan is reportedly keen to bring in at least one woman judge to the apex court. There has been no representation to women in the top judiciary of the country after the retirement of Justice Ruma Pal on June 3, 2006. Sources say that the search is on for appointment of a woman judge, which could materialise soon. The seven new judges appointed since January this year are; Justices H.S. Bedi, V.S. Sirpurkar, B. Sudershan Reddy, P. Sathasivam, J.M. Panchal, G.S. Singhvi and Altab Alam. But with their appointments, the problem is not likely to ease as six judges are due for retirement in 2008. The superannuating Justices are G.P. Mathur, H.K. Sema, P.P. Naolekar, A.K. Mathur, Ashok Bhan and C.K. Thakker. They will be retiring in the same order between January 19 and November 10. The apex court collegium, which makes the selection and recommendation of judges’ appointment to the government, would apparently remain overworked to ensure the filling up of so many posts well in time. Continuing of the vacancies for longer period has had its effect on disposal of cases even in the top court, as during the past two years, an upward trend in the pendency has been witnessed. Digital signature After putting to full use electronic and Internet technology in the functioning of the Supreme Court with even extending the facility of e-filing of cases, the apex court has now switched over to the ‘digital signature’ of judgements and daily orders by the judges. The approval to digital signature was given by the Supreme Court administration to ensure issuing of the certified copies and making the authenticated copies promptly available to litigants and any other person who wants to have the benefit of latest rulings laid down by the apex court. With the approval of digital signature, a litigant or a person desiring to have the copies of the judgements and daily orders could avail them without visiting the apex court only for this purpose. The order on Sanjay Dutt's bail application was sent out on Wednesday on e-mail, with a digital signature, to the Special Judge in Mumbai and Yerrawada Jail in Pune. CJI Balakrishnan has called upon the high courts and lower courts to follow suit by putting the latest technology to full use and to make all out efforts to promote transparency and accountability in the judicial process. Approval of digital signature is a big stride made by the Indian judiciary in adopting the new technology after the launch of the e-courts project by the then President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on July 9 at Vigyan Bhawan, with its simultaneous implementation in the capital of all the states and Union Territories. |
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