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Wednesday,
August 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Merchants of death Making it easy Now Burqa Band |
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Uniform civil code is a necessity
‘Maya jaal’
Land cannot absorb Haryana’s rural youth
Bidding farewell to
a dear old friend
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Merchants of death INDIA has a shameful distinction to its discredit. According to WHO statistics, 35 per cent of the world’s spurious drugs are produced in this country. The figure puts India ahead of even Nigeria (23 per cent). At present, the fake drugs market is estimated to be worth Rs 4,000 crore, about 20 per cent of the total drugs market. With the entry of the small sector into this low-investment, high-return field, almost anyone can set up a pharmaceutical industry anywhere. Many marginal players are merrily substituting the fake for the real. The chilling result is that one gets life threatening drugs instead of life saving ones. The killers are thriving because of the ignorance of the consumers, indifference of drug control authorities and the phenomenal profits which are there for easy picking. Clever manufacturers spend up to 15 per cent of their investment on packaging, making it so nearly perfect that it is almost impossible to distinguish between a genuine drug and a spurious one. Why, they even have the batch numbers right. What increases the gravity of the situation is the fact that this lethal business does not constitute a criminal offence under the present laws and thus the offenders get away very easily. It was perhaps this toothless helplessness which goaded Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj to announce in the Rajya Sabha on Monday that the government planned to introduce a Bill providing death penalty for those who make and sell spurious drugs. While one appreciates her sentiments that such death merchants should be given the harshest possible punishment, it remains to be seen whether Parliament will go to the extent of prescribing death penalty. Even the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA), which is badly hit by spurious drugs, doubts if the death penalty would indeed be a deterrent, because the judicial process being extremely cautious of likely error in judgement, might end up in acquittal. It is difficult to prove that an eventuality has occurred because of fake drugs. That is why the Mashelkar committee formed last year to recommend control strategies, has rejected her suggestions. Even otherwise, there is worldwide movement against death penalty. Under the circumstances, the best option will be to make the offence cognisable and give exemplary punishment going up to life imprisonment. The government should attack the distribution chain and make dug administration more effective. Mrs Sushma Swaraj needs to ensure that laws are not only enacted but also implemented. |
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Making it easy THE issue of company donations to political parties and the role of money power in elections have been engaging the attention of successive governments for the last four decades. However, no significant results were achieved in establishing a transparent system for funding of political parties mainly because of the lack of political will. The passage of the Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2003, by Parliament is a significant step taken by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. The Bill, which is sought to regulate the practice of donations to recognised political parties, has some notable features. Companies, for instance, can donate not more than 5 per cent of their profits to political parties. They can claim tax benefit only if they give their contributions (over Rs 20,000) in cheques and file the returns. And there is no cap on individual donations. The main problem, however, remains. How to check money given in cash and under the table? It would be difficult for the Election Commission to monitor such transactions away from public scrutiny. Moreover, political parties themselves are loathe to file their returns. An elected representative starts legislative career by telling a lie — about his election expenditure. As the ceiling on spending prescribed for elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies does not reflect the ground realities, it needs to be reviewed to make spending limit realistic. Open donations to political parties are not bribes under the company law. The new Bill goes a step further in regulating the contributions to political parties. But a lot more needs to be done to ensure transparency. One way for political parties to ensure openness in the election expenditure is to publish their annual reports and accounts, duly audited and certified. On its part, a donor company should ensure that contributions are subject to approvals and confirmations within its organisation by the board as well as shareholders. Clearly, the issue in question is not who will fund, but how transparent is the funding of political campaign in the world’s largest democracy. Equally important is the delinking of funding and political patronage. The system will have to guard against quid pro quo deals where funding is tied to specific favours. For businessmen money given to politicians is not a donation, but an investment. |
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Now Burqa Band IF there is a veil, there is a way. Ask a group of Afghan women who have made musical statement from behind the burqa. What began as joke among three women in Kabul has now become the first Burqa Band in the world. It just took them a day, after talking to a visiting Berlin DJ Barbara Morgenstern, to make a musical from behind the burqa. The shoddy video clip was shot in complete secrecy behind closed doors in Kabul itself. Barbara took it to Germany and did a bit of remixing to produce a modest summertime favourite. It can only get better from here. The free world would certainly salute and support the trio that used a pair of drums, an electric bass and a microphone for cocking a snook at the Taliban elements in Muslim societies. Just listen to the words sung in halting English - You give me all your love, you give me all your kisses/ And then you touch my burqa, and don't know who it is. "Burqa, burqa bluuueee" may not set the Kabul river on fire. But the sound of music from behind the veils should shake a symbol that is as revolting as the shackles of the slaves of yore. Like Whoopi Goldberg's hilarious "Sister Act" the Burqa Band can be turned into a movie in which the veil is used for exposing the other side of the so-called god-fearing men. Whoopi, a casino singer, becomes a witness to a murder. Put in the suffocating ambience of a convent for protecting her from the mob, she turns the place into a spiritual heaven of song and music. Had the producer read Rabindranath Tagore he may have included the poet's famous lines, "God respects me when I work, but he loves me more when I sing" to make the point more effectively. The members of the Burqa Band have nothing to lose but their veil if they take their act of musical defiance to the next logical step.
An honest politician is one who when he’s bought stays bought. |
Uniform civil code is a necessity CHEIF
Justice V.N. Khare’s observation that Article 44 of the Constitution has not been given effect to and Parliament is still to step in for framing a common civil code which would help national integration has sparked off a vigorous debate. One commentator has castigated the head of the judiciary as if Article 44 is an untouchable provision. The Supreme Court had been expressing the same view repeatedly since 1985 with genuine concern for the plight of women who are the victims of oppressive personal laws. A Constitution Bench in the Shah Bano case drew the attention of Parliament with full realisation of the difficulties involved in bringing persons of different faiths and persuasions on a common platform. The Bench felt that a beginning had to be made if the Constitution was to have any meaning and cautioned: “inevitably, the role of the reformer has to be assumed by the courts because it is beyond the endurance of sensitive minds to allow injustice to be suffered when it is so palpable.”. The message is clear: if the politicians in power fail to implement the constitutional manifesto, the judiciary will be constrained to step in. It did so in the capitation fee case (J.P. Unnikrishnan) in respect of Article 45, which required the State to endeavour to provide within a period of 10 years free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years. Finding no justification for non-implementation for 43 years, the court interpreted the right to life (Article 21) so as to include the right to education until the age of 14 years. All citizens professing different faiths are already governed by uniform laws except in the area of “personal laws”, the laws governing marriage, divorce, maintenance, succession, etc. The personal laws vary from religion to religion. Religion being a sensitive issue, evolution of a common law requires political courage, vision and commitment to equality. There is nothing new in the on-going debate. The same views, for and against the uniform civil code, were expressed in the Constituent Assembly. While some members pleaded for divorcing religion from personal law, Muslim speakers contended that it was part of their religion and way of life. Dr Ambedkar reminded the House that we had a uniform criminal code, law of transfer of property, the Negotiable Instruments Act, etc, throughout the country. In the Malabar Marumakathayam Law (Matriarchal System) applied to all Hindus and Muslims, and in the North-West Frontier Province and in other parts such as the United Provinces, the Central Provinces and Bombay, Muslims, to a large extent, were governed by the Hindu law in the matter of succession till the legislature enacted the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, in order to bring uniformity among all Muslims. Muslims could opt to be governed by the Shariat. He said such a course was open for Parliament. Religion and law are different. Religion is a matter of faith and worship and is believed to be a path to salvation. Essentially it is a spiritual bond between man and his Maker. A truly religious person treats all men alike as the creatures of the Almighty. In the words of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, philosophical understanding of the nature of ultimate reality and the practice of love irrespective of distinctions of caste, creed and community, are the basic assumptions of all living faiths. In contrast, law is secular and is administered by the State. It maintains a social order, regulates relations with one another and also transactions in property. In his foreword to the book “Essential Unity of all Religions” by Bhagvan Das, Dr Rajendra Prasad observed: “Religion, instead of binding mankind together in ties of love and brotherliness, has been a fruitful cause of discord and strife between different groups of men” because people had not cared to understand the fundamentals of different religions and their essential unity. The policy of “divide and rule” followed by the British resulted in communal politics and eventual partition of India. The rulers of today are no better. They cash in on community and caste differences in elections and do not bother about the law declared in S.R. Bommai’s case that in a secular State, religion cannot be mixed with politics. When a politician talks of religion it is like the devil quoting scriptures. The hard reality is that no matter to which religion women belong, they do not enjoy equal rights with men. A Hindu woman is not a coparcenar of the joint family. Torture and bride-burning are common among Hindus. A Muslim woman inherits one-third share while her brother takes two-thirds. But for the statesmanship of Jawaharlal Nehru, Hindu law would not have been codified even partly. Parliament enacted a law to undo the Shahbano judgment, but the Supreme Court gave a dynamic interpretation and conferred a larger benefit on divorced women than what the Muslim law provided. Muslim law was reformed in the past. The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939, was enacted clarifying the law relating to the dissolution of marriage at the instance of the wife. Turkey and Iraq have modernised the law and improved the lot of Muslim women. In Pakistan, President Ayub Khan promulgated the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961, making registration of marriages compulsory, imposing restrictions on polygamy and talaq and providing maintenance to the neglected wife. Why can’t India reform the law to this extent at least, as the first step? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which India is a party, declares that men and women are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. The Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1967 says that “discrimination against women is fundamentally unjust and constitutes an offence against human dignity, and all appropriate measures shall be taken to abolish existing laws, customs, regulations and practices which are discriminatory against women and to establish adequate legal protection for equal rights of men and women”. It further says that “legislative measures shall be taken to ensure to women equal rights with men in the field of civil law, including the right to inherit property”. Even if one forgets Article 44, the Union of India cannot evade its international obligation to make laws. Twenty-seven years ago, Indira Gandhi got the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, enacted for the benefit of all working women. The next logical step is to make a law to secure equal rights to women. An Equal Rights Act would largely achieve the objective of common civil code. In the alternative, parallel reform of each personal law to give effect to the human rights declared by the United Nations would help the emergence of a common pattern of personal laws, paving the way for a uniform code. Political will is lacking. The chanting of “uniform civil code” and “Ayodhya” appears to be more to provoke resistance from the largest minority and thereby consolidate the communal vote bank rather than tackle the issues. There should be an end to communal politics. Had compulsory education been provided to all children upto the secondary stage by 1960, by now women would have been, by and large, emancipated. Compulsory education of the girl child till her marriage is a must. An optional common law of marriage, divorce and inheritance could be enacted in keeping with the constitutional promise of securing to all citizens justice, equality of status and of opportunity and to promote among them all fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation. There is a readymade Bill of marriage law prepared by the Justice O. Chinnappa Reddy Committee available with the National Commission for Women. Nationhood is symbolised by one Constitution, a single citizenship, one flag and a common law applicable to all citizens. A common civil code can be evolved in stages. The task is arduous and calls for statesmanship of the type we had earlier. The constitutional goals cannot be forgotten, much less
forsaken. The writer is a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India. |
‘Maya jaal’ ONCE
upon a time I was known as a simple dusky woman clad in a cotton suit. My oily hair was tied in a plait or an old fashioned bun. An ordinary purse hung around my shoulder. I was a typical “behanji” you know. Lady Luck was kind enough to smile upon me. With a stroke of fate I happened to taste “power”. The very word creates ripples in my whole being. Who says “Sweet are the uses of adversity”? Forgive me one who uttered these words might not have tasted power. Power alone gives money and riches. From a non-entity you become the ruler whose frowns and whims make or mar the careers of stiff-necked bureaucrats working under you. Power is such an intoxicant. Once in your blood you intend clinging to it. Having tasted power once, I strove to don the cloak and be at the top. Nothing wrong I think. Maya that I am, my ‘jaal’ displays its “magic” everywhere. Vying the other ladies in lovely chiffons, and crepes (sparkling diamonds adding to their beauty and glamour). I gave a mod — rather sophisticated — touch to my personality. I must keep with the times if I am to be in power. So off went the handloom suit and the hackeneyed bun. I went in for designer suits and stylish haircut. Off went the chappals, in came designer pencil heels! Diamonds are ‘in’ these days. Very tempting they are. Naturally I went in for them. I must look presentable to form a vote bank. Isn’t it? Shabbiness is repulsed by the voters. They too have gone very smart with the times. I am no longer the old self. With my new image I can compete with any beauty queen! My “crown” being the “birthday cake” weighing 50 kg. A birthday bash that created quite a sensation in Indian politics! My shinning pink suit and sparkling diamond jewellery gave a surprise of life to the big guns of the country. I will speak to you in whispering tones: “Don’t pass it on, it is a trick to be in the limelight, a part of the game.” Can’t imagine my de’ ja’ vu when the media pampered me during and after the birthday bash. Once in power you have every right to retain it come what may. You may call it animal instinct, but to me it is human instinct. Don’t get a shock if somebody is trapped in 29 court cases for criticising my way of running the government. Watching one’s interest in the corridors of power is not corruption. I will not hesitate in asking for the head of whosoever (may be a senior minister at the Centre) poses a threat to my “seat”. I am the “new age politician” believing in the cult of the “self”. Hence promoting my own interests in the name of the party and the state with an eye on the ultimate target is my guiding principle. I exult in what you label as “political vendetta”, the only means of preserving the self. Cassio’s words about Caesar (though not befitting the latter) do apply to me. What if like Caesar I “bestride the narrow world” and see that “petty men” walk under my “huge legs”. O world! hail the new age politician or
perish.
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Land cannot absorb Haryana’s rural youth TIME
is a continuum. It is necessary to critically examine the past if the present is to be scientifically evaluated. The present scenario in Haryana cannot be understood unless its past is brought under a searching gaze. Reform movements play an important role in the cultural advancement of a region. Haryana has been singularly unfortunate in this respect. Indian renaissance, howsoever half baked it was, had a weak impact in the Hindi belt around Delhi and it virtually bypassed Haryana. The Arya Samaj was the only reform movement that had perceptible influence in the state. However, unlike in the adjoining Punjab region where its forward looking tradition of promoting modern education through DAV institutions struck roots, it promoted the gurukal tradition in Haryana. Even today one can see the landscape of Haryana dotted with gurukals, some of which have become hotbeds of obscurantism, fanaticism and right reaction as was evident in their role in the lynching of five Dalits in Jhajjar district on the issue of supposed cow slaughter a few months ago. Delhi, the seat of the Union Government, being too close to Haryana region (Haryana surrounds Delhi from three sides) did not permit a powerful princely state on its periphery — Bharatpur being the only exception. In the absence of such a state in medieval times, there was no flowering of feudal culture in Haryana region which could lay a secure foundation for cultural advancement in modern times. Thus, Haryana grew under the shadow of Delhi and its growth remained stunted. The two factors inhibited the growth of language and literature in Haryana. Punjabi was a dialect once like Haryanvi. However, it slowly grew into a rich language with powerful stock of literary creations. Haryana is a land where seers are supposed to have composed Vedas on the banks of the Saraswati and Lord Krishna delivered his immortal discourse in the form of Gita. However, their present-day descendants have failed to go beyond the “ragnis” of Pandit Lakhmi Chand and Jat Mehar Singh. Haryanvi dialect has remained ossified all through. Haryana’s towns remained either adjuncts of Delhi or far away neglected spots of Punjab. This inhibited the growth of metropolitan centres in the region which could play a significant role in its cultural advancement. Towns of even present-day Haryana are extended villages with modern amenities. They lack the flavour of a metropolitan centre. The weak participation in the freedom struggle deprived Haryanvis of the idealism which could have been theirs if they had participated and suffered in the struggle in a big way. When Bhagat Singh and his companions took to radical violence against the foreign rulers and went to the gallows, their counterparts in the Haryana region were chasing government jobs under British dispensation. The middle class elites play a significant role in the socio-cultural growth of a region. In Haryana the emergence of the middle class took place much later when it started losing its idealism and dynamic vision and fell prey to careerism, opportunism and cynicism. The institution of the Khap Panchayat emerged in the medieval times as a mechanism to provide security to and generate communatarian solidarity among members of various endogamous caste and 'gotra' clusters. It played a significant role in popular uprising against the British in 1857 in Haryana region and its people were severely penalised by the victorious rulers. However, it has lost its social relevance with the passage of time and now it has become a menace to society. A parallel judicial system has emerged. Kangaroo courts are held and medieval style “fatwas” are issued doling out inhuman punishment to those who are supposed to have deviated from the Khap norms. The green revolution made Haryana a granary of India along with Punjab. As of today, every village in Haryana is connected with pucca road and is electrified. The impressive economic growth in Haryana took place in a typical historical milieu. However, there is a yawning gap between economic growth and cultural advancement in Haryana. The instruments that enrich social life are just missing — no theatre and writers’ movement, no film industry and no newspapers and journals of repute rooted into the soil of the state. Haryana has not made any significant contribution in the field of music and dance. There is no arts gallery. In short, Haryana is marked by cultural deformity and intellectual cretinism. The cultural content in Haryana's social life is low. It is no coincidence that Haryana, instead of making any notable contribution in the field of finer things of life, is singularly known for promoting the “Aya Ram Gaya Ram” syndrome in the national polity. Over the last few years, Haryana has entered into a new phase of crisis. The Green Revolution has reached its plateau. The total irrigated area has gone up from 12.93 lakh hectares in 1966-67 to 29.45 lakh hectares in 2000-01 but the pace has slowed down. Most of the landholdings are economically unviable. The monoculture in cultivation has greatly undermined the soil fertility. Peasants are often advised to diversify the crop pattern but this is not possible unless there is an assured minimum support price for crops other than wheat and rice. Peasant indebtedness is on the increase. Several hundred peasants are reported to have committed suicide in the green revolution belt of Punjab and Haryana. There has been no industrialisaion worth the name in Haryana. The prevalence of peace in the state and its proximity to Delhi provide enough scope in this respect but successive governments have not paid enough attention to it. There is not a single industrial unit in the state that employs 5,000 or more workers. Land cannot absorb the rural youth and there is no generation of jobs in the industrial sector. The state government has been the main employer but this sector now is virtually closed. The process of retrenchment is on in the name of rationalisation and right sizing. Several government undertakings have been wound up abolishing several thousand posts. Institution building could be one sensible response to the crisis in the state. However, there is systematic dismantling of institutional structures. There is total apathy or sneering contempt or both shown by rulers for institutions in the state. In the world view of Haryana’s rulers, cutting across party lines, the state is a personal fiefdom and the capital a mere extension of one’s farm house or a branch of one’s trading concern. The nature of crisis in Haryana is such that it requires more emphasis on diagnosis rather than offering facile solutions. No long-term remedy is possible unless concerted attempts are made to come to terms with the burden of history and the cultural lag in the state. A comprehensive battle of ideas is the need of the hour. As observed by Victor Hugo, one can resist the invasion of armies but not the invasion of ideas. It is a long haul. However, there are no short cuts in history. The writer is former Chairman, Haryana Public Service Commission |
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Bidding farewell to
a dear old friend In bidding farewell to Sarup Singh whom I had known for half a century, this is exactly my state of mind. I remember my walking up to him one day soon after he had returned from London after having completed his Ph.D. I introduced myself and said that I too wanted to go to London for the same purpose. Since that day, there was never an occasion when we were not in touch with each other. This is on the personal plane. He had a number of qualities which I admired and I would like to believe that there must have been something in me also that he liked. To go on to the public plane, however, here was a man who rose from humble beginnings in a village near Rohtak and went on to play a number of distinguished roles in the country. If I may be permitted to say so, I regard him as one of the most distinguished sons of Haryana. He was the first person who had joined Delhi University as its Vice-Chancellor after having been enrolled as its student. Step by step, he rose to various offices and became its Vice-Chancellor. That was the beginning of a distinguished public career. After about three years, he decided to step down because of various things that were happening in the country. He dealt with them in a level headed manner and left the University in a healthy and properly functioning state. As he put it at his farewell function: “I am leaving the University as healthy as I found it and I hope I have been able to accomplish something which will endure”. It has endured without question. On his part, soon after a Visiting assignment in a US University, he joined the Union Public Service Commission and maintained the utmost level of rectitude and fairness. I never heard anyone complain about his being one-sided or partial. And that was the quintessence of this memorable man. Soon after he finished his term in the UPSC, he got elected to the Rajya Sabha. It was a new area of work for him, but, once again, he rose to the occasion. He was always candid, upright and objective. Of more occasions than one, he said things which professional politicians would not have said. But he had no hesitation in saying these because he had, in a sense, strayed into politics. Soon after his retirement from the Rajya Sabha, he was appointed the Governor of Kerala. A couple of years later, he was transferred to Gujarat. In both places, he was admired for his deep humanity and freedom from any kind of hypocrisy. He also officiated as Governor of Rajasthan and Maharashtra for some time. Here, again, he was a model of uprightness. All this time after he retired from the University of Delhi, he remained preoccupied with his research. In two decades after his retirement and before ill-health made it difficult for him to work harder, he produced as many as three research monographs. Each one of them was a contribution in its own right. When those who are actually teaching do not produce as much as he did, the contrast is striking. It was his human qualities and his deep roots in Haryana which endeared him to one and all. He was always at home in the company both of the uneducated villagers who came to see him as also the professional politicians with whom he had to interact. No one ever doubted his honesty of purpose and his integrity as a person. In bidding farewell to a dear old friend, I feel nostalgic about some of those things which we shared with each other. One thing never ceased to amaze me about him. Whatever be the situation, he could always handle it with perfect tact, firmness as well as compassion. What more can a man wish to achieve! |
In the kaliyuga, man, being totally dependent on food for life, cannot altogether shake off the idea that he is the body. In this state of mind it is not proper for him to say: 'I am He'. When a man does all sorts of worldly things, he should not say, 'I am Brahman'. Those who cannot give up attachment to worldly things, and who find no means to shake off the feeling of 'I', should rather cherish the idea, 'I am God's servant; I am His devotee.' One can also realise God by following the path of devotion. — Sri Ramakrishna Paramhans on Vedas I am the bread of life, he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. For this is the will of the Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I myself will raise him up on the last day. This is the bread that comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. He who eats my flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. — The Bible |
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IN
old age, one cannot make new friends. Another penalty of getting old is that one's friends begin to leave, one by one, and one almost becomes friendless. I am in that state of mind.