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Wednesday,
October
1,
2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Waiting
for justice Dangerous release Geelani crosses the
limit |
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Lessons
from Cancun collapse
Nachhattar
in “Newjark”
Quality
of a university depends on VC & much else
|
Waiting for justice PRESIDENT A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s call at an international seminar in Chandigarh for fast dispensation of justice is timely. When he stressed the need for setting up mobile courts all over the country to deliver speedy justice at the grassroots level, he was only voicing the sufferings of lakhs of litigants in the country. The courts are invariably taking an unduly long time to deliver justice. Most cases in lower courts can be decided in a short time and not in years as has been happening. If lawyers are responsible for prolonging the disposal of cases by every means available to them, the judges have failed to prevent the misuse of the law and procedures to seek the adjournment of cases at will. It matters less to either the advocates or the judges if the litigants suffer in the process. The problem of huge backlog of cases in the higher and subordinate judiciary, which President Kalam had referred to in his address, is not new. Various commissions and committees have studied it and made recommendations. But the situation has only aggravated. The present system only helps the practitioners of law to mint money by moving from court to court, seeking fresh dates and preventing prompt disposal of cases. Unfortunately, one is yet to feel the impact of the amendments to the Civil Procedure Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. Some of them were widely appreciated for having addressed the problem of clogged-up courts and the need to cut delays. But reforms are more on the paper. Even the experiment with the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism has not made much headway. Consider, for instance, the case of fast track courts. The Supreme Court recently pulled up 14 states — including Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh — for their failure to set up fast-track courts despite the funds being made available to them well in advance by the Centre. The apex court has asked the states to report within six weeks the volume of work done by the courts and the cases settled by them. It has also warned the officials in the states that they should be ready to “face the consequences” if no corrective measures are taken during this period. The Supreme Court’s firm stand on the issue is welcome. But the ADR mechanism would gain acceptance and become popular only if it is expeditious and less expensive than the regular court system. If it has succeeded in the West, why can’t in India? The experiment of Lok Adalats too should be taken more seriously than a photo opportunity as it has the potential to clearing some of the backlog of cases. The malaise has deeper roots and only a careful surgery can provide the cure. At stake is the people’s faith in the courts. |
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Dangerous
release THE fact that premature release of convicts on government orders is fraught with dangerous possibilities has been underlined by an investigative report published by The Tribune on Tuesday. It has cited several cases of convicts released this way by the Haryana government, who had to be arrested again for allegedly committing more murders. They were let off by the Haryana Governor, but on the recommendation of the government which was binding on him. The Governor had asked the Cabinet to reconsider its recommendations to release more convicts prematurely. Not only that, even the Supreme Court has temporarily restrained the Haryana government from releasing more convicts before they completed their jail terms. A jail sentence is not only to put the fear of the law in the minds of the mischief-mongers but also to reform them. Both these purposes are defeated if they are released indiscriminately. So, it is not clear what reasonable purpose the government wants to serve by showing such magnanimity to undeserving persons. On the contrary, it is setting a dangerous precedent. The most alarming factor that comes into play is the arbitrariness. When elected representatives decide whom to release and whom not to, they generally do so on ulterior considerations. For instance, one murder convict who got his release order was reportedly a close relative of a senior bureaucrat, holding an important position in the office of the Chief Minister. Such favouritism can hamper the dispensation of justice, because it will give overriding powers to the government. The premature release also rides roughshod over the sentiments of the victims. It has been noticed that even when convicts come out of jail after completing their terms, they tend to harass or taunt their victims. This tendency becomes more pronounced when they manage to skip their full term. So, the leniency shown by the government is in a way a punishment for those who have already been tormented by the criminals. The new crimes committed by these unrepentant jailbirds are an additional reason why they should not have been let loose on civilised society. If someone disobeys the law, he must be made to pay for it. Premature release needs to be allowed only in the rarest of rare instances, certainly not as a government fiat. |
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Geelani
crosses the limit SYED Ali Shah Geelani, chief of the breakaway faction of the Hurriyat Conference, deserves the harshest punishment under the law for his remarks made in the course of an interview with The Friday Times of Pakistan. He has stated that militant outfits Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) “have never acted in a manner that is against humanity and morality”. This clearly amounts to justifying the killing of innocent Kashmiris and other Indians by terrorists belonging to LeT and JeM. But that is not the only crime Mr Geelani has committed. He has virtually supported the proxy war these outfits have been waging against the Indian State. As an Indian, he cannot afford to indulge in such irresponsible talk. Irrespective of the clarifications he may offer, he deserves to be hauled up in accordance with the law. Mr Geelani, however, is an expert in raising controversies. That is why he has been a problem for his parent organisation, the J and K Jamaat-e-Islami, and the Hurriyat Conference, which he has split with the support of 13 of its 25 constituents. His remarks may be part of a well-calculated plan to become a “martyr” in the evening of his life. He is basically a desperate person trying to remain in the limelight. His desperation has increased after the Jamaat recently reprimanded him for his style of functioning. The people of Kashmir must know that he is serving only the cause of Pakistan and its proxies, the terrorist outfits. He helped Pakistan even when he split the Hurriyat following his failure to get the Sajjad Lone-led People’s Conference expelled from the conglomerate. New Delhi was inclined towards holding talks with the Hurriyat under the leadership of Moulvi Abbas Ansari after he stated that the “Kashmir dispute needs to be resolved through talks between India and Pakistan” without any third-party intervention. Pakistan saw in this stand a tilt towards India and, therefore, devised a scheme to weaken the position of Moulvi Ansari. The scheme has been implemented with Mr Geelani forming a new Hurriyat. Mr Geelani is working overtime to make the Ansari-led faction irrelevant with the help of the militant elements, his “friends”. But he should remember that he is distancing himself from the masses by siding with the militants and their patrons across the border. The people are fed up with militancy, which they made it known by their enthusiastic participation in last year’s assembly elections. |
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Thought for the day THE best is the enemy of the good.
— Voltaire |
Lessons from Cancun collapse THE Fifth Ministerial Conference held at Cancun in Mexico from September 10 to 15 collapsed because the developing and developed countries could not firm up the modalities for negotiations for the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) on issues ranging from agricultural reforms in rich countries to the Singapore issues. The three main issues included in the DDA agenda and discussed at Cancun were: (i) agriculture, (ii) the Singapore proposals, and (iii) the West African cotton initiative. The fiasco in 1999 at Seattle and the collapse at Cancun speak poorly of the WTO. After two major failures at ministerial conferences in the past four years, the WTO faces a crisis of confidence and legitimacy. It does not seem to have done its homework properly before the Cancun ministerial gathering. The G-22 group led by Brazil, India and China (developing countries) and the Cairn group had put up their proposals pertaining to the most controversial issues at Cancun. The G-22 proposals on agriculture were based on three major factors — domestic support or subsidies, export support in terms of credit and market access, which referred mainly to the reduction in tariffs. The reason being that a large population of the developing countries depends on the farm produce for its living, and, therefore, its interests have to be taken care of. These objectives are hit at present by the high non-reducible domestic subsidies (generally known as “green box subsidies”) of the US and the European Union to the tune of $ 300 billion. This category of subsidies has been treated in the WTO as non-trade distortive and hence complete immunity against reduction. This immunity is indefensible as these subsidies do give financial strength to the farmers of the US and the EU to continue with non-viable agricultural production. They, therefore, certainly distort production and trade. If these subsidies continue, there will be no control on them. Farmers of India and other developing countries are constrained to run the greatest risk of severe unfair competition from imports in future. There was no discussion on the reduction of export subsidies as laid down in the Agreement on Agriculture of the WTO. The G-22 countries, therefore, demanded that these non-reducible subsidies, that is, the green box subsidies, of the major developed countries should be brought under the discipline of reduction and eliminated within a specific time-frame. The Singapore issues refer to areas of trade and investment; trade and competition policy; trade facilitation; and transparency in government procurement in relation to the WTO. The developed countries felt that for international trade to be genuinely free and fair, these issues would need to be incorporated. They pointed out, for instance, that of the total global trade in goods and services of $ 6.1 trillion in 1995, as much as one-third was trade within companies — among the subsidiaries of the same MNC or between a subsidiary and its headquarters. Clearly, there is a considerable link between trade and investment. Members of the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) alliance were not prepared to agree to a compromise that would launch talks on government procurement and trade facilitation despite the big two agreeing on the complete come-down on investment and competition from the DDA. West Africa, which has some of the poorest countries in the world, had a simple set of demands. For countries like Chad, Mali and Burkina Faso, the export of cotton was their only route to integration with the world market. These countries were also competitive in cotton cultivation, though they were increasingly facing a major problem in the global market. Annual subsidies of $ 3 billion to the US cotton growers and $ 1 billion to the EU were pushing down the global prices. West Africa asked the US and the EU to remove their subsidies so that their cotton growers could have a level-playing field in the global market. The conference collapsed on the last day on the Singapore issues only before the cotton issue was taken up for final negotiations. The US showed protectionism at its worst when it refused to negotiate on its mammoth domestic subsidies. For India there could not have been a worst outcome than if the revised ministerial draft had been accepted. India went to Cancun with three objectives: protect domestic agriculture, keep out the Singapore issues (with the fallback of agreeing on trade facilitation and government procurement) and retain the Geneva formula on market access in industrial produce. The draft proposed exactly the opposite in agriculture (India would have been forced to agree to a substantial reduction in tariffs) and called for talks on Singapore issues other than the competition policy. If the alliances that were made during the Cancun ministerial meeting by the developing, least developed and the Cairn group of countries remain united with India and China leading in the forefront, the US and the EU would tread very cautiously to put forward any proposal which is against these groups. India has many reasons to cheer about the developments at Cancun despite the WTO failure in balancing the interests of the poor. The bulldozing tactics of the big two — the US and the EU — have been successfully stalled while the coalition of the developing countries that India was banking on withstood the pressure till the end of the ministerial meeting. In the past the big two had managed to split such groupings during crucial meetings to scuttle resistance to key agreements. With the developing countries having withstood the awesome pressure for the second time in a row, doing a repeat of Doha, a clear trend is being established now. The rich cannot get away with “sideshows” and bulldozing if the poor stand together. This message emerges if the Seattle ministerial meeting — which had ended in a failure — is also taken into account. The invincibility of the big two is beginning to fade though they have given away nothing. One hopes the trend continues in the next talks in December 2003 at Geneva. Mr Jaitley attributed the effectiveness of the Indian delegation’s performance at the Cancun summit to the unanimity of political opinion back home. the official Indian delegation, extensively networked with other delegations, derived significant strength from industry bodies like the CII and FICCI, whose head honchos were active throughout the
conference. The writer specialises on WTO issues |
Nachhattar in “Newjark” NACHHATTAR
Singh is from Punjab and lives in New York. He is a school dropout. He
could only pick up the bellboy’s job in a hotel after migrating to
what he calls "Newjark". We met him in his hotel. On noticing
that we could speak Punjabi and that we were police officers from India,
he got interested in us. In his late-thirties and with a trimmed beard
and pinkish-white complexion, he appeared to be someone born and brought
up in America only. The secret was out only when he opened his mouth to
speak. Sitting in the lobby and exchanging glances, we heard him
interact with the customers. Care for a sample of his conversation with
his clients? "But tam flat?" (What time is your
flight?) "Phor Tonty? (At four-twenty?) "Bill gat
ban phrom hottal. (You will get a van from the hotel) "Naxt
pleege." (Next please) Nachhattar Singh became very friendly
with us and he offered to double as our guide too in the Big Apple. He
would tell us: "It’s going to be a bindy (windy) day so better
bear (wear) another jaa-kut (jacket)". And that "Nyagra-Phaal
beiwed from Kanada said looks marbullus." More than his
ear-pleasing style of speaking English in an unadulterated Punjabi
accent, his help rendered in saving some dollars was "welcomer".
He would accompany us to his friendly vendors on the Time Square and get
us cheaper stuff like phone-cards, cigarettes or souvenirs. He had his
nephew Vimpy (Bimpy, for him) who was employed as driver for the hotel
van, courtesy Nachhattar’s right connections. When we had to leave for
the airport, he clubbed us with other customers in the van, which had
four extra (read free) seats, saving us nearly 50-dollars. Bidding
goodbye to Nachhattar Singh with hugs galore we thanked him profusely.
He wouldn’t let us go without showing the last gesture of hospitality
by telling Vimpy: "O’ Sambhaal Kay, Kaka! Raah-ch koi raffad
na paaeen (Take care boy. Avoid entering into a trouble on the
way). Vimpy was an exact lookalike of his uncle Nachhattar Singh and
spoke only after his fashion but he needed to be groomed for
"living" in New York since the boy (in this case a college
dropout) did not have his "papers" in order. As ill luck
would have it, a car banged our van from behind. The gora driver gave
mouthfuls to Vimpy for no fault of his. Vimpy also alighted and charged
menacingly at him and uttered choicest of the Punjabi words. But they
did not get physical. Both went their own ways without a third party
intervention. Back in the van, Vimpy said, "Bloody-fools! Eh
sochday nay inha day pyo da contry hai" (They think it is their
Father’s Land). We recalled Nachhattar Singh’s cautionary and
sagacious advice to Vimpy and wondered how bravely had he been putting
up with hostilities in a land that was not his own Patiala or Batala.
While we made fun of Nachhattar’s language, the Americans made sense
out of it. This was precisely the lesson our friend wanted to give to
his young nephew if the latter had to stay in Nachhattar’s "Newjark". |
Quality of a university depends on VC & much else
HIMACHAL Pradesh University has completed 30 years of its existence and it is now a fit case and appropriate time to follow the suggestion of Robert Maynard Hutchines echoed by North Corte Parkison when he says that “A university ought to be burned down once in every 25 years” as it is more feasible to set up a new institution rather than attempt to improve the existing outmoded administrative structure. The functioning of Himachal Pradesh university has gone haywire and developed many distortions mainly because of the overdose of autonomy. All the three components have contributed in their respective sphere of activities in tarnishing the image of the university. The teachers, notwithstanding some of the brilliant academicians, have gone lethargic, administrative officials have become insensitive to the issue and students are more politics-oriented and have a skin-deep interest in academic pursuits. A sort of Caesarean is needed to awaken the institution. Autonomy is one of the buzzwords current in discussion, particularly in the academic and political circles at Shimla. A hue and cry has been raised about the vigilance inquiry being conducted by the government to apprehend the culprits responsible for the sickening state of affairs. The inquiry is aimed at preventing the plunder of the already cash-strapped institution. This intervention by the government is being criticised as an infringement of the autonomy of the university and even political motives are being imputed. Why do we forget that whenever governments had changed earlier, the office of Vice-Chancellor never became a topic of controversy during the last 30 years. Once the incumbent got a second tenure as Vice-Chancellor under a different political dispensation. Autonomy does not mean sovereignty. Even if autonomous, the university continues to be an integral part of the social and political system. Mr Mkkaw, a former Secretary (Education) in the HRD Ministry, made the meaning of autonomy abundantly clear by raising four questions to the six Directors of the IIMs during a meeting with them: (i) Whether the ministry had ever interfered in their academic freedom. (ii) Did they tell them who to recruit on the faculty? (iii) Did they interfere in the selection of students in a common admission test? (iv) Did they prescribe what courses to run and with what content? They said “no” to all questions. Obviously, it means that there is no interference in academic autonomy. As far as financial autonomy is concerned, it was quite untenable and not acceptable to the government. It is essential to have financial control to avoid chaos. The Himachal Pradesh Government has issued an Ordinance amending the Act to check corruption and malpractices irrespective of the holder of office. What has prompted the government to take these steps? Will such actions and amendments make the functioning of the academic body democratic and transparent? Will financial discipline be restored? Will academic excellence be achieved and genuine autonomy re-established? Not necessarily. The main thrust must be placed on the recruitment of the Vice-Chancellor. Obviously, the quality of an institution depends not so much on its formal structure as on the quality of the men at the top. As S.P. Aiyar once remarked: “There can be no hard and fast list of qualities which a Vice-Chancellor should have but it is as necessary to keep the ‘rascals’ out of the university....” Dr K.R. Dharela, Solan
Protect autonomy Ever since H.P. University and two of its sister organisations were established, their autonomy had been at stake. Both the Congress and BJP governments had used HP University for accommodating their family members, relatives and well wishers in not only teaching and non-teaching posts but also on petty jobs such as malis and coolies. Once a Chancellor who had been associated with the management of Panjab University, Lahore, remarked that University could be one of the best universities provided it was kept out of the direct influence of politicians. He advised the then Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Parmar, to make Chail as the headquarters of this university so that the students could study in a peaceful atmosphere. However, there was much opposition from the politicians and bureaucrats. Had Dr Parmar acted upon the advice of the Governor, today our passouts would have been in great demand in the country and abroad. A.
N. Barowalia, Shimla
Ex-Principal as VC While being a government employee, I cannot publicly react to Prof D.C. Saxena’s comments on the role of politicians in the appointments of Vice-Chancellors in Haryana, I would like to join issues with him on the choice of Dr A.K. Chawla as Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University. Prof Saxena should be aware of the fact that the status of a college principal is equivalent to that of a university professor in all respects, and thus Dr Chawla is fully qualified to hold this august office. I may add that a college principal has got better knowledge and experience of administration than a university professor as, in majority of the cases, the latter has to deal with just five or six faculty members, two or three clerks and about 100 students, whereas the Principal of a college (like Government Postgraduate College, Jind) has to deal with about 100 members of the teaching staff, more than 50 members of the non-teaching staff and about 4,000 students. The condemnatory clatter by
Prof Saxena with regard to Dr Chawla’s elevation to the rank of Vice-Chancellor is totally uncalled for. Prof Saxena’s views, in fact, reek of rancour and unfounded prejudice against the college teachers. I also take exception to Prof Saxena’s use of the expression “academic backwaters” for Jind. Perhaps, he is not aware of the fact that NAAC has adjudged Govt P.G. College, Jind, as one of the four best Government Colleges in Haryana — and the best part of the credit for the same goes to Dr Chawla’s superb administrative acumen and vision (being its Principal for about five years immediately preceding its assessment by NAAC). I also firmly believe that a Principal from the so-called “academic backwaters” can prove to be a better Vice-Chancellor of any affiliating university than a high-profile university Professor, who is (and takes pride in remaining) blissfully ignorant of problems faced by teachers and students of the affiliated colleges: after all, a Vice-Chancellor is responsible for improving the academic standards of the university as well as of the colleges affiliated to it. BALVINDER GHOTRA, Jind
Biased reporting From the write-up on Kurukshetra University, it appears that this reporting was made with some pre-conceived mindset without verifying facts and figures. Such reporting has undermined the credibility and perceived image of The Tribune. Any way, the series is a welcome beginning that shows the concern of The Tribune for higher education. Ramesh
Chander, Sirsa
Stress on merit The state of affairs in Punjab Agriculture University, Punjabi University, Patiala, and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar is deplorable. A university should be a towering and inspiring academic institution. There should be no dharnas or strikes. There should be tranquility in the campus so that the teachers teach the students to the best of their capabilities. And this can be achieved only when Vice-Chancellors and teachers are recruited and appointed purely on the basis of merit, learning and research work. There should be no extraneous consideration on the part of the appointing authorities. There was a time when scholars like Dr A.C. Joshi, would not like to accept the post of Vice-Chancellor. But Dr Joshi would not agree, saying that he would like to spend his remaining part of life in peace and solitude. Thereupon the Governor said, “As Governor and Chancellor, Dr Joshi, I conscript your services as Vice-Chancellor”. Dr Joshi had to finally bow to his directive. But today persons with no scholarly record try to become Vice-Chancellor. May God save the universities and the nation! Dr
Naresh Raj, Patiala
No cases pending The write-up about G.N.D. University states: “There is hardly any harassment of girls but two cases of sexual harassment by a male teacher of his two colleagues in the Physical Education Department are pending in the state high court”. I am the person against whom complaints were filed in the court which have since been dismissed by the court and agencies like the Punjab Women’s Commission and the Punjab Human Rights Organisation. Rather cases of defamation filed by me against the complainants are pending in courts. No case is pending against me in any court. There were news items that appeared on the front pages of your paper in December, 2001, regarding sexual harassment cases involving teachers, students and officers of the administration wing. These were the news items on the basis of which the state high court took suo motto notice against the university. Prof KANWAL JEET SINGH, GND University, Amritsar (This is the concluding set of letters from readers in response to the 12-part Tribune survey of the state of universities in Punjab, Haryana and
Himachal Pradesh) |
God, grant that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth, and that the seal, “the Kingdom is God’s”, may be stamped upon the brow of all its peoples. — Baha’u’llah The metaphysics of Advaita is based on soul-force which should form the ultimate impulse of our normal principles in life. — Sree Narayana Guru He alone is wise, O Nanak, who fears not another, nor make others afraid. — Guru Tegh Bahadur Perhaps one day I shall find the favourable condition and the necessary help for achievement of the supreme realisation, that transformation, the divinisation of the physical being which will change the world into a blessed land, all made of harmony and light and peace and beauty. — The Mother |
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