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Tuesday,
August 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Fast-track justice will
help Quota for votes Capital punishment |
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Senior
officers must not be spared
The song
of snorers
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Fast-track justice will help THE proposal to have fast-track courts specifically to try riot cases is well-meaning. The initiative taken in this regard by National Minorities Commission Chairman Tarlochan Singh needs to be commended. That those accused of taking part in the organised killing of Sikhs in New Delhi in 1984 roam in the parks and streets of the Capital, some of them protected by black cat commandos, is a blot on our criminal justice system. It goes without saying that the system of ordering an inquiry by a commission after every major communal riot has also failed to deliver justice. Most such reports have been gathering dust in state secretariats. Even when a commission like the Srikrishna Commission, which inquired into the Mumbai riots 10 years ago, submitted an exemplary report, the end result has been much the same. The only effective way to deal with such cases is to speed up trial in an honest and impartial manner. Delay has led to denial of justice to the victims and their families. It is now more than two years since the Central Government announced a scheme whereby it bore the entire expense of setting up fast-track courts in all the states. The purpose was to reduce the number of cases pending in various courts from the lowest to the apex. Unfortunately, some states have not shown enthusiasm to set up such courts with the result that the target of 1734 fast-track courts by August 6, 2002, still remains unfulfilled. This does not show the states concerned in a good light. Needless to say, it is within the power of the states to set up or earmark fast-track courts to hear riot cases, of course, in consultation with the high courts concerned. However, a caveat in this context will be in order. There is no guarantee that setting up fast-track courts will deliver justice. The one case which has been rattling jurists, human rights activists and citizens at large — the Best Bakery case in Vadodara — was heard by a fast-track court. The court took only a few months to deliver its verdict, which the National Human Rights Commission has described as a "miscarriage of justice". The acquittal of 21 accused persons and the pressures brought upon the witnesses forcing them to change their stance have led the NHRC to approach the Supreme Court. In this case, it amounted to fast-track injustice. Thus a fast-track court is not an end in itself. Speedy trial should not degenerate into shoddy trial as had happened at Vadodara. The Minorities Commission will find its workload reduced if justice is provided to riot victims. |
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Quota for votes PRIME MINISTER Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s call for providing reservations for the economically backward classes (EBCs) in Jaipur on Sunday marks the virtual launching of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the forthcoming assembly elections in five states — Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram. Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani kicked off the party’s campaign in Delhi the same day with the announcement to grant full statehood to Delhi. Mr Vajpayee’s speech, in particular, assumes significance because it is for the first time that he has come out openly on the issue of reservations for the EBCs and the need for a level-playing field for all. He was clearly guided by political considerations while speaking at the public meeting held to mark the conclusion of the “Parivartan Yatra” led by the Rajasthan BJP president, Mrs Vasundhara Raje Scindia. The issue of reservation had been troubling Mrs Scindia throughout her yatra during the past three months. As Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had proposed reservations for the EBCs with a view to wooing the voters of the upper castes and Muslims, the BJP had been trying to outsmart the Congress on this contentious issue. Also, a new group called the Social Justice Front has been spearheading an agitation in the state seeking quotas for the poor. There was considerable churning in the BJP camp and the Centre sought the Attorney-General’s opinion. Mr Soli J. Sorbajee had pointed out that a constitutional amendment was necessary to provide reservations for the EBCs. But the Vajpayee government lacks a two-thirds majority required for the purpose. It would thus need the Opposition’s support to ensure the smooth passage of the amendment in Parliament. The Prime Minister’s appeal to the Opposition on Sunday to endorse such a proposal in Parliament should be viewed against this backdrop. It is nobody’s case that the lot of the backward classes and/or the poorer sections among the upper castes should not be improved. But the point is to what extent reservations have helped ameliorate their socio-economic conditions. Five decades of reservation has proved that it is a poor substitute for social justice. Instead of excluding the creamy layer among the backward classes, this facility is being extended to more and more groups with impunity despite the 50 per cent ceiling fixed by the Supreme Court. Moreover, where are the jobs to be given to the so-called beneficiaries? In this game of political calculus, the Congress is as shrewd as other parties which are trying to widen their respective constituencies and the vote banks. Remember Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s call for quotas in the private sector at the Congress Vichar Manthan Shivir at Shimla? Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh too has increased quotas for OBCs from 14 to 27 per cent. Surely, what the nation needs today is not a short-term palliative like reservation but a realistic prescription for creating more jobs. |
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Capital
punishment THE debate whether there should be capital punishment or not is unending. There are strong votaries on both sides. One oft-used but simplistic argument which has been instrumental in its abolition in 109 countries is that the State has no right to take away what it cannot give. But it can easily be stretched to imprisonment as well. Nobody should have the right to take away someone’s liberty either. Apparently, that kind of nit-picking does not take into account the necessity for having in place a mechanism which can effectively deter wrong-doers. In a country like India where terrorism is a harsh reality, life sentence is not deterrent enough for hardened criminals. The fear of the sentence is further reduced because of the regular commutation in many cases, Haryana providing the latest example. As a mark of respect to the victims and to maintain law and order, the continuation of capital punishment is perhaps unavoidable. What has to be remembered is that it is granted in the rarest of rare cases and in a country as large as India, only about 40 prisoners have been hanged so far in various jails in the past 30 years. But there is unanimity on one issue: That hanging is not the most suitable mode and a more civilised way has to be found to give the extreme punishment. With that aim in mind, the Law Commission of India recently organised a seminar where Law Minister Arun Jaitley agreed with the commission that it was necessary to change judicial execution to make it more humane. Nearly 90 per cent of the responses from lawyers, bar bodies, human rights activists and individuals also favoured the suggestion. On methods of executing such prisoners, 73 per cent preferred lethal injection, 10 per cent electric chair and 5 per cent shooting. Interestingly, 51 per cent of those who supported hanging said prisoners on the death row should be hanged in public because such a method would act as a deterrent. The conclusion is inevitable that the public wants to make capital punishment an example for others also who may be tempted to take someone’s life. This cannot be reasonably supported. It is hoped that when the commission submits its final report later this month, the government will give full weightage to its recommendations. |
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Thought
for the day Written laws are like spider’s webs; they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful. — Anacharsis |
Senior officers must not be spared THE Central Vigilance Commission Bill, 2003, already passed by the Lok Sabha, was carried by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha on August 7. The Bill sets up a three-member commission, each with a guaranteed tenure, appointed on the recommendation of a high-level committee, so that it functions independently of the Central Government. But there is one fatal flaw: control over corruption among high-ranking government officers will be exercised not by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), but only by the Central Government itself! When the Bill was debated in the Rajya Sabha, Dr P.C. Alexander said with anguish: “When I entered the Civil Service way back in 1948, at the beginning of our Independence, my worry was whether my tehsildar would be corrupt, my sub-inspector would be corrupt, my Bench clerk in my court would be corrupt. I could never imagine that my senior officers would be corrupt. I could never imagine when I became a senior officer that I would ever become corrupt.” What have we done under this Bill? He queried and said: “We have given senior officers protection. Government sanction is needed before even an inquiry can be started against them.” The reference was to the provision dealing with what is commonly known as the “Single Directive” — under Section 6A inserted in the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, (by the Bill of 2003), the conduct of all employees of the Central Government at the level of Joint Secretary and below can be inquired into and investigated by the CBI over whom the statutorily appointed CVC is to exercise hawk-like superintendence. But all employees of the Central Government at the level of Joint Secretary and above are to be immune from any inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by them “except with the previous approval of the Central Government”. The only rationale offered by the government for this differentiation is that it is essential to protect officers at “decision-making levels” and to relieve them of the anxiety and likelihood of harassment from making honest decisions. Excellent. But when it was suggested to the minister who introduced the Bill to substitute “except with the previous approval of the Central Government” with the words “except with the previous approval of the Central Vigilance Commission”, he declined. Not understandable. If you can trust the independent CVC not to needlessly harass the director of a department or an Under Secretary of the government with threats of prosecution under the Prevention of corruption Act, why can’t you trust the same commission in respect of the conduct of a Secretary, Additional Secretary or Joint Secretary? In fact, why otherwise have a CVC at all? Only for vigilance over small fish? In this newly enacted law we now have the spectacle of two separate classes of government servants — one group comprising those below the level of Joint Secretary, and the other at the level of Joint Secretary and above, who are to be treated by a different yardstick: on the basis that officers at “decision-making levels” must be protected. But as everyone conversant with the working of government departments knows, decisions are tentatively recommended on the file at all levels in the hierarchy of officialdom. In our parliamentary system of democracy, the ultimate decision is taken only by the minister. Only the minister is answerable to Parliament: not the Secretary, the Additional Secretary or the Joint Secretary. Therefore, in matters of so-called “decision-making”, treating equals unequally is not only discriminatory, it is also violative of the equality clause of the Constitution. As Justice Vivian Bose of the Supreme Court said in another context (way back in 1952): “It matters not how lofty and laudable the motives are. The question with which I charge myself is : can fair-minded, reasonable unbiased and resolute men, who are not swayed by emotion or prejudice, regard this with equanimity and call it reasonable, just and fair?” In the present context, the answer to the question must be: NO. We have excellent bureaucrats in the Central Government (and in state governments). Merely because some government servants are corrupt, the public perception that the entire bureaucracy must be so branded, is a flawed perception. I recall many years ago that most revered public servant, Mr. Dharamvira, telling me as to how as Cabinet Secretary he had led a delegation abroad for the purchase of some essential defence equipment. After negotiations had concluded, his counterpart on the other side of the table said: “Now Mr Secretary, how would you like to take the kickback? In whose name shall I make out the cheque for the discount?” Dharamvira promptly answered: “Excellency, make it out in the name of the Government of India.” And he carried the cheque back to Delhi and presented it to Panditji. The Prime Minister was furious. “What! You accepted a kickback — it is a disgrace.” Dharamvira kept his cool. He only said: “Panditji, what did you expect me to do? Take it in my name, and put the money in a Swiss account?” The point was well made. Panditji was silent. That was the level of integrity of the bureaucrats we had — that is still the level of integrity of some of today’s bureaucrats. We need the Central Vigilance Commission Bill not with respect to these few, but for those departmental heads whose conduct is suspect. Corruption in officials — like reputations (good and bad) — is difficult to prove; but the label invariably “sticks”. Section 6A added to the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, was characterised by Dr. Alexander as the “Enemy Number One of this Bill”. And the former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Mr Vittal, has gone on record to say that the new Section 6A is “vicious”. They should know. In their time, both were distinguished public servants. It is often said that we get the government we deserve — I believe that we also get the laws we deserve. It is a matter of deep regret that the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, which was in an effective position to ensure that the obnoxious Section 6A was not passed, approved the Bill in its entirety. In Bombay, in the fifties The Current was a very popular weekly, edited by the great “Dossu” Karaka. On the front page of every edition every week he got printed the words: “God save the motherland”. Even after 50 long years, we still need that plaintive prayer. n The writer is Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, and a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) |
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The song of snorers I
trust, each man or woman is, in some measure, a snorer, though the soft purring on the pillow next your own rouses no alarm, for it soon merges into your own, and before you can say abracadabra, both of you are in the arms of a snug dream, or in some strange, topsy-turvy world where the Freudian ghosts lie in wait for you. Either way, snoring is assimilated in the proceedings and lost note of. For, really, till your snoring achieves a certain decible level, and begins to set the room rocking, you cannot be admitted into that fraternity of unconscious rattlers and comedians which the suffering family has to put up with — out of dismay and helplessness, or sometimes even out of love and necessity. I guess, each large family (you include your cousins and their spouses), has, then, a full outfit for a snoring “band” of brass, drums and flutes, and what you have. For snoring is really no sneering matter when it comes to that degree of plenitude where the angels fear to laugh or cry! Still, our concern here is with the “heavyweights” alone, for the remaining contenders — “flyweight” or “featherweight” settle down soon enough to an acceptable rhythm, and we learn to live with such freaks. One memorable example that concerns a friend’s family remains printed in characters of steel on my memory, and it takes me back to one night in 1938 in the thick forests of Bhadarwah in J&K. I call it “the night of the roaring lion” in my notes of the period. The experience after a lapse of over 65 years often rattles, and, of course, amuses me. The huge growls and menacing sounds, we learnt next morning, had been issuing from the broad heaving paunch and deep throat of our host, a pudgy forest contractor who had dined off a dozen
patridges with whisky and soda. The story, I assure you, is as true as a hard nail. Our own large family has many a prize snorer, their performance ranging from low howls, whining and gurgling death-rattle to twittering, mousy squeaks and monkey ghur-ghur, but the two champions who can outsnore each other the whole night through constitute a kind of incomparable jugal-bandi. The entire range of the “music” they produce in the scale of nocturnal ragas can best be heard only on a tape, not described in so many words. For the sounds, guttural, nasal, abdominal etc. keep changing, adding new dimensions to their grand “symphony”. And the story that one of these veterans once related to us with much mirth, mirch-masala, deserves a hearing. He happened once to be travelling with his boss in a first-class coupe, and when they stretched themselves on the two wide berths for the long hours of a winter night, my nephew, a roly-poly person of immense wit and African “yarns”, was soon snoring away to glory to the thuk-thuk of the train “music”, while his bewildered boss, unable to enjoy even a wink of sleep in that compounded cacophony, threw up his hands in despair, and began to thumb through his day’s stale newspapers, yawning and sighing, sighing and yawning. A couple of hours later, when the train halted for a scheduled stop, the snoring champion got up suddenly to find the boss seated, reduced to a Rodin figure, lost in thought. “What’s the matter, Sir, you are not sleeping”, said the perplexed subordinate. The bleary-eyed boss growled, “Yes, you may now retire to the lavatory and sleep there on the seat, or put a tape on your bloody mouth if you like!” And this story is now a much prized part of our “house” snoring lore. However, there’s one sweet snorer the whole world adores — a babe in a crib, or in the mother’s warm lap. And no music is so heavenly as those lyric notes that issue from that angel in repose. Here the little “maestro” lies snoring away perhaps into the memories of that heaven from where babes come “trailing clouds of glory”, to recall Wordsworth’s lines from “Ode: Intimations of Immortality”. I may add that the image of “the cradled infant” comes from Coleridge’s poem, “Frost at Midnight”. Between the two Romantic poets, the thought comes full
circle.
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BJP, Cong ‘responsible for political mess’
FORMER Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (70) has no doubt that the BJP is going to ditch its NDA allies in pursuitof the Ayodhya issue and the Common Civil Code for political gains. Describing the BJP and the Congress as the "A" and "B" teams respectively, he maintains that no party is free of corruption. Criticising the Vajpayee government for not having a Kashmir policy, he insists the high-pitched rhetoric in India and Pakistan against each other is nothing short of a tamasha. Excerpts from the interview: On the general political environment: It is my sincere opinion that no political party is thinking in terms of the country as a whole. Nobody is thinking about the problems, be it national or regional parties or groups. Everyone is trying to increase his ownnumerical strength by adopting unethical and unprincipled politics. Nobody is bothered about the present politicalmess created by the NDA government in the last five years. I am not going to brand all the alliance partners of the NDA as fascist or communal forces. Why are they continuing in the NDA when its agenda has been totally destroyed and thrown into the waste paper basket? They are in the NDA for two reasons. One, they have hatred for the Congress. And two, they have no option but to suffer the humiliation and continue as ministers as long as they can. The Congress is equally responsible for all the political mess in the country. I don’t want to go into the Babri Masjid demolition or the Shilanyas. Has the Congress got any clarity? They (the Congress) talk of soft Hindutva. I don’t know if it is real secularism or is the Congress trying to curry the favour of the Hindus and the minorities. The Congress committed a blunder by allowing the Shilanyas. The experience of the last 10-12 years since the Congress started the economic reforms in 1991 is that there has been suffering all around — be it domestic industry, textiles or the working class. Now that we can’t come out of the WTO, has the Congress made any concrete proposal? As far as the BJP and the Congress are concerned, I consider them as the " team and "B" team respectively. I am unable to differentiate between the two parties. The Congress is ruling in 15 states. They talk of a principled opposition but what role is the Congress playing? On an alternative to the two national parties: As things stand today, the chances of an alternative to the BJP or the Congress are not so bright. The secular, regional and national parties have not taken the steps to create an alternative to the Congress and the BJP based on ideology, policy and programmes. Only the Left parties made an attempt with Mr Jyoti Basu taking the responsibility, but the Peoples’ Front collapsed. I still have hopes of an alternative to the BJP and the Congress. This will happen when the BJP takes the Ayodhya issue to its logical end. This is evident from the RSS meeting in Kanyakumari as also the "chintan baithak" of the BJP near Mumbai recently. They have categorically said that the electoral battles will be fought on the Ayodhya issue and the Common Civil Code on the basis of the observations made by the Supreme Court. It is only a question of time. The BJP is geared up to ditch the NDA and take these issues to the streets. On Ayodhya: In my opinion the (Ram) temple can be constructed and the issue can be resolved if political interference is not there. The BJP wants this issue to be kept alive to reap political benefit. The VHP and the RSS are the parent bodies of the BJP. The pot will be kept boiling on Kashi and Mathura as well. This is because the BJP has failed on all fronts and rendered bad governance. Even before the NDA’s national agenda for governance was formulated, the BJP had sought to gain popular support from the Ayodhya issue and the Rath yatra. In any case the BJP has never been able to garner more than 23 per cent of the votes. In the ensuing drama the BJP has realised that its last weapon is to whip up the Ayodhya issue in a big way to raise the emotions of the people and reap the benefits. This will be the focal point for the secular, regional and national parties to rally round. The shape of things to come before the general election: It should not be forgotten that there is the possibility of a pre-poll and post-poll alliance. In a post-poll alliance, the Left will definitely go with the Congress. Deve Gowda cannot do so. So, my argument is that after the poll, the so-called other secular parties will have working arrangements and evolve agreed programmes. This will not be on the basis of soft Hindutva. There has to be a change in the economic policy so that the agriculture sector, domestic industry and the working class are not harmed. On Sonia Gandhi’s leadership: It is not an issue that should bother anyone. After the Vajpayee government was defeated in 1998, Sonia Gandhi was approached to form a government. The Left extended support and so did I with six votes in the Lok Sabha. However, the next year’s general election will depend on the electoral performance of the regional parties — the mandate of the people in the states and the position of the Congress at that time. Nobody can change the coalition arrangement which will depend on the electoral decision on that day. As a national party if Congressmen express their loyalty to Sonia Gandhi, there is no fault with that. That is a party decision. The people’s decision is what matters and that will have to be borne in mind. On the sagacity of the people: The only ray of hope are the people of this country. Despite the fluid atmosphere today I am totally confident that the people of this country will give the right answer to bail out this country from the prevailing mess. It happened in 1977 after the Emergency. Things are far worse now. All constitutional institutions are on the verge of collapse. They have been made non-functional. The BJP can do anything to continue in office. This is evidenced from the misuse of POTA, suppression of the media and targeting political opponents. On Kashmir: Where is Kashmir policy? It is only a trial and error method. What has happened to the peace process with Pakistan? There was so much of fanfare about the Prime Minister’s visit to China, but what happened afterwards in respect of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh? The foreign policy of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru has been given a go-by. It is imperative to improve the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Unless confidence is created in the people of J and K, the problem cannot be solved. I was Prime Minister for ten and a half months. For nearly 10 years no Prime Minister had visited J and K. I visited J and K four times. I overruled the advice of RAW and other intelligence agencies not to visit J and K. I provided an economic package for the state. It is important to provide good administration and win the hearts of the people of J and K. Our approach must be to create confidence among all sections and not spread hatred, suspicion and mutual distrust. The PM, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Defence Minister and the External Affairs Minister are all speaking in different voices on J and K. This cannot help in creating a congenial atmosphere. On Indo-Pak ties: We must try to improve our relationship with Pakistan in the real sense. Both sides must take certain concrete steps. Talking in different voices both in India and Pakistan is not going to help. It is a tamasha. On reservation: When I was Chief Minister of Karnataka, I ensured reservation in jobs and education for the minorities. I also sanctioned residential schools for Muslim children. Is the Congress prepared to take such steps in the 15 states that it is ruling? The BJP is talking about reservation for upper castes. Carrying a basket of flowers to Ajmer is not going to create confidence among the minorities. Can anybody say that during Deve Gowda’s Prime Ministership a church was demolished or a Bible burnt or there was a communal flare-up? I want to pose these questions. On politics of casteism: It has reached a point of no return. Caste persuasion and the religious card have destroyed the political system. The so-called caste will not be permanent solution for the political gaddi. The real solution is to see that economic disparity, social inequality, unemployment, poverty and death due to hunger are overcome. I have total confidence in the people overtaking casteist and religious politics. On corruption:
It is a cancerous disease
in the political system. No party is free from corruption. It requires a
major surgical operation. Picking up an individual and showing to the
country that they are trying to remove corruption is political
victimisation. The situation may improve gradually. I am not a pessimist
but an optimist. |
Dissidence in PPCC THE BJP is at its old game of trying to win friends and influence politicians in states where it finds certain leaders outside the saffron brigade feeling highly uncomfortable and hemmed in despite their party being at the helm of affairs. It is in this context that Punjab minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal’s meeting with the BJP’s Pramod Mahajan in Delhi last week assumes importance. Mahajan’s trouble shooting abilities are well known. This has also provided the necessary grist to the mill that dissidence is brewing in the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. That the BJP is fishing in troubled waters for political gains is not in doubt. At the same time the Congress high command is keeping a close tab and gone on an overdrive to keep its flock together. PPCC leaders are quick in asserting that even if a few decide to cross the floor, which is highly unlikely, the Amarinder Singh government remains firmly in the saddle with a very comfortable majority in the Punjab Assembly. Cong & Vivekanand After the BJP’s claim to the legacy of Sardar Patel, the Congress is portraying its stalwarts revered by the Sangh Parivar. The Congress in Delhi has come up with huge posters of leading lights of the freedom struggle as part of its functions commemorating the Quit India movement. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Subas Chandra Bose and Bal Gangadhar Tilak are posters of Swami Vivekanand, whose pictures adorn all functions of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Political observers are wondering if the Congress is giving some kind of ``Hindutva’’ message. BSP-BJP game The relationship between the BSP and the BJP is anything but smooth in Uttar Pradesh. There is a hardening of stands in the two camps in Lucknow. While a demand from the BSP for Union Tourism Minister Jagmohan’s head two weeks back was the first move, reported raids by the Narcotics Bureau on the premises of Chief Minister Mayawati’s close relatives in Delhi was the counter from the other side. While in Mr Jagmohan’s case Ms Mayawati was quick to retreat as the BJP high command called her bluff, in the case of latest raids she decided to act both rough and tough. At a press conference she not only disowned her relatives, including her father and mother, but also went a step further demanding that the Hindi daily owned by a chit and investment company having considerable presence in UP should immediately apologise for carrying the news of the raids on the front page. While the newspaper hurriedly carried the apology the next day, an English daily published from Kolkata has refused to do the same. The media group’s large operations in UP, including a big housing complex in Noida, played a crucial role in Ms Mayawati’s operations. But the joy of her success with the media may be short-lived as the ruling party at the Centre has the upper hand when negotiations for seat adjustments for the Lok Sabha and eventually for the Assembly get under way. A numbers game The country’s law-makers were treated to a numbers game literally on the floor of the Lok Sabha. With the conclusion of the debate on the Constitution Amendment Bill, Speaker Manohar Joshi called for voting. As is customary, the Speaker instructed the clearing of the lobbies. As Mr Joshi called for division on the automatic vote recorder system, the giant electronic board in the House displayed a large number every time the voting took place. With everybody voting for the Bill and no abstensions, the number of ayes increased first from 352 to 358 and finally to 361 during the specific clause amendment voting. The entire House, which has been witnessing acrimonious verbal volleys on various issues was taken aback. Shivaji’s statue Much to their chagrin, Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi and MPs from Maharashtra found certain glaring faults in the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji astride a horse in the Parliament House complex. After inspecting the statue, they shook their heads in dismay. Shivaji is usually portrayed astride a mare and holding his sword aloft. The statue lacked both these attributes. Mr Joshi and others decided to leave things at that as it was after much wrangling that the green signal was given for installing Shivaji’s statue. Contributed by TRR,
Prashant Sood, Satish Misra and Gaurav Choudhury |
God cannot remain unmoved if you have raga-bhakti, that is, love of God, with passionate attachment to Him. Do you know how fond God is of His devotee's love? It is like the cow's fondness for fodder mixed with oil-cake. The cow gobbles it down greedily. — Sri Ramakrishna Paramhans on Vedas He who understands and realises his self, comes to know the Reality. — Guru Nanak Are you not aware that Allah knows what the heavens and the earth contain? If three men talk in secret together, He is their fourth; if four, He is their fifth; ii five, He is their sixth; whether fewer or more, wherever they be, He is with them. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of their doings. Allah has knowledge of all things. — The Koran Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. — The Bible He who knows both the transcendent and the immanent, with the immanent overcomes death, and with the transcendent reaches immortality. — The Upanishads The keynote of the Realm of Spiritual Endeavour is beauty. The most exquisite forms are fashioned there... — Guru Nanak |
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