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Timely justice Tele-education |
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Easy visa
US missile defence plan
Name game
DOCUMENT Delhi Durbar
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Timely justice THE judiciary, as the sentinel of the Constitution, has been playing a pivotal role in strengthening India’s democratic system since Independence. Its importance can be gauged by the fact that people continue to depend upon the judiciary against the encroachments on their fundamental rights and liberties by the executive. Addressing the conference of chief ministers and chief justices of the high courts in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rightly said that an independent judiciary responding to the needs of society will go a long way in strengthening democracy. However, all is not well with the judiciary today. Questions have been raised on the failure of the courts in ensuring speedy dispensation of justice. Allegations of corruption and malfeasance against some judges are also a blot on the judiciary. Very recently, the Madhya Pradesh government dismissed 22 judges in the subordinate courts for corruption. There is need to ensure probity and rectitude among the judges so that people’s faith in the judiciary is not eroded. Inordinate delays in the disposal of cases need to be cut down to help improve the productivity and efficiency of the courts. Chief Justice of India Justice R.C. Lahoti has said that only if the present workload is reduced, the courts would be able to process more cases and expedite justice. The Prime Minister has suggested a cut in the number of holidays to speed up cases. There is also need to restrict the number of cases that come to courts through conciliation and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms like the Lok Adalats. The conference rightly deliberated on the need to modernise the judiciary. Computerisation of case records with facilities for e-filing and hearing through video-conferencing, digital signatures and other hi-tech methods are needed for cutting delays. There is also the proposal for inter-linking the Supreme Court with the High Courts and the latter with the subordinate courts. Funds should not pose a problem for executing these schemes because of the Prime Minister’s assurance to Mr Justice Lahoti in this regard. |
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Tele-education THIS is one first which India can justifiably be proud of. It has become the first country in South Asia to have an exclusive educational satellite. The path-breaking effort will go a long way in the universalisation of education. To be sure, the earlier satellites were also helping in disseminating knowledge to students, but this big project is in a league of its own. Now it will be possible to provide quality education to all regions of the country. India is a land of distances. Many of the villages are so remote that it is not humanly possible to make quality education available there. The advanced technology will come to their rescue. The programmes beamed through EDUSAT will support formal education in schools, colleges and technical institutions. It will also disseminate knowledge to rural and remote population on health and hygiene, and help professionals update their knowledge. Almost the entire country will be covered by it. It has been noticed that conventional means of imparting education suffer from inertia. Many attempts have been made to kickstart rural educational institutions but the results have been lukewarm at best. The high-profile satellite programme will, hopefully, evince new interest in the generally neglected field of education. Technically too, the liftoff of the gigantic Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is a major achievement, considering that this is the first operational GSLV flight. The previous two launches in April 2001 and May 2003 were developmental flights. To cap it all, the GSLV is a fully indigenous vehicle made at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, except for the cryogenic engine imported from Russia. While it will be primarily utilised to improve the quality of education and eradicate illiteracy, it can also be used for other communication and broadcasting services. |
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Easy visa INDIA’S decision to liberalise the visa regime for Pakistani visitors is aimed at promoting people-to-people contacts between the two countries. Journalists, academicians, doctors and those above 65 years of age will be among the beneficiaries. They will be issued visas for visiting 12 places, instead of three. They have also been exempted from reporting to police stations. Since the Indian High Commission in Islamabad has been authorised to issue visas without consulting New Delhi, the delay factor will also disappear. The Indian initiative is bound to add warmth to the coming meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in New York. The easing of visa restrictions by India shows that New Delhi is prepared to act unilaterally in areas where it is possible. In fact, it should do more for promoting people-to-people contacts as this may help the process of normalisation of relations between the two countries. Promoting interaction at the people’s level has been the main argument of India. Pakistan too should realise the significance of this approach. Ideally, it should have reciprocated immediately after India announced the relaxation in the visa regime. India and Pakistan have to learn to live as good neighbours despite their differences on issues like Kashmir. People on both sides of the divide, no doubt, appear to be greatly interested in starting a new chapter in their relations. But there are roadblocks which can be removed only by their governments. Once there is an easier movement of people and they develop a stake in shared economic growth, the climate of distrust will disappear. In such an atmosphere no issue will be too difficult to be resolved to the satisfaction of the two countries. |
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In all the ages of the world, priests have been enemies of liberty. — David Hume |
US missile defence plan Indo-US strategic cooperation has brought the two countries closer to each other in recent years. The Bush Administration has been quite liberal in granting concessions over a range of strategic issues. It had agreed to assist India in the critical areas of nuclear facilities for civilian use, joint production of civilian satellites and transfer of high technology and dual-use technology items. Even the armed forces of the two countries have been holding joint exercises in each other’s territory. The Indo-US policy group has also met regularly to facilitate their defence relations. The US has come to realise India’s relevance in the context of its stable democracy and buoyant economy. Whether the US would be so magnanimous without any quid pro quo arrangement is a moot point. The crux of the matter is that the US wants India to acquire its controversial missile defence system. The BJP-led NDA government was rather prompt in declaring its support for the US defence umbrella in May 2003. The US has consequently begun to apply pressure on the new government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh. During the last meeting of the policy group held in June this year, the US officials left their Indian counterparts in no doubt that further development of defence ties would depend on India’s stand on the US missile defence plan. Washington was, however, willing to wait and watch the new government’s response in this regard. However, it is not difficult to see the Congress-led UPA government’s dilemma. The left parties are bound to oppose the US proposal. Considering that these parties constitute a major support segment, their views would inevitably carry weight. In fact, the CPI has in the past criticised the NDA government for its support to the US missile defence plan. The NDA government had over a period cultivated closer working relations with the US Administration. It had even agreed to exchange information on each other’s missile programmes. No doubt, it paid dividends. This trust led to cooperation in the highly sensitive area of defence technology. In fact, the NDA government’s support for the US missile defence system had resulted to a large extent in Washington’s nod to Israel to sell the Phalcon radars for India’s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). Previously, in a similar deal between Israel and China, the US had denied the sale of Phalcons to the Chinese. The fact that the US Administration has made further development of defence ties conditional to India’s support for the US missile defence umbrella would make the matters all the more difficult for the UPA government. Besides, this may also hold up the acquisition process of some of the military equipment from the US. India is at present considering the procurement of P-3 C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft, Patriot missiles and C-130 transport aircraft. Such a condition by the US will only force the hands of the new government. It will have no option but to defer its decision in regard to the US missile defence plan to a more opportune time in view of almost certain opposition from the leftists. It can ill-afford to invite dissent at a juncture when its hands are already full with multifarious problems. Ironically, successive US Administrations were bequeathed this legacy from the past. The missile defence system was the brainchild of former President Ronald Reagan and some of his highly enthusiastic scientific advisers, including Mr Edward Teller. Their idea was to ensure a leak-proof missile defence system for continental America. Despite warnings from the scientific community and strategists, the Reaganites went ahead with their utopian plan. Political and ideological considerations rather than scientific wisdom apparently weighed heavily in favour of the plan. And those very reasons have kept the programme alive. Bush Sr. and the Clinton Administration kept the programme going on the slow burner. But Bush Jr. decided to give it an impetus all over again. He is all set to spend $ 53 billion on this controversial programme in the coming few years. It needs to be mentioned here that the system, as it stands now, is a toned-down version of its original. It is more of a theatre missile defence system than anything else. Originally, it was conceived as a multi-layered, area-wise defence system for the protection of continental America. Even in its present avatar, the project continues to be fraught with innumerable technological hurdles. To what extent it can achieve its intended objectives remains doubtful. The US has now decided to bring on board its allies and others facing growing ballistic missile threats from their adversaries. Japan, a key ally, facing a missile threat from North Korea, went in for it immediately. But the NDA government’s promptness in supporting the American system was surprising, to say the least. In the past, India had never gone in for any type of cover. This was tantamount to a major shift in India’s policy. Besides, this would act as a damper to India’s own indigenous missile programme, which is well on its way to meeting the intended objectives. What led the previous government to endorse the US plan so promptly is an enigma. One view is that the anti-ballistic missile defence system would degrade Pakistan’s nuclear strike capability against India. Which in turn would force it to abandon its support to terrorism across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan’s nuclear capability and its “First Use” stance had led it to believe that it had inhibited India from launching a conventional attack against it for fear of its escalation to nuclear levels. With the ballistic missile defence system in place, India would be able to restore the status quo ante, thereby resuming the conventional military option against Pakistan. This seems to be the most plausible reason for the NDA government’s acquiescence to US pressure. What are the options for the Manmohan Singh government? The matter needs to be debated comprehensively in Parliament as well as publicly. To go along with it would mean throttling India’s indigenous missile capabilities, making this country dependent on others indefinitely. Besides, where is the guarantee that a similar missile umbrella will not be offered to Pakistan tomorrow. On the other hand, can the government afford to go back on the commitment without retribution? India is highly dependent on US technology in almost all the major areas. The government has to examine its options carefully. The writer is a former Director-General, Defence Planning Staff, Ministry of Defence. |
Name game I write my initials as S.N. One query that I generally face is: “Your name is Shriniwas but your initials are S.N.” I tell them that I had to add “N” to my initials because my brethren from Ganga-Yamuna fields started pronouncing it as “Ass” Joshi and those from the south as “Yes” Joshi. The problem still persists but for the northerners I am not total Ass and for those living across Vindhyachal, I am “Yes Yen” and yen has two meanings - strong Japanese currency and a longing or yearning. I love both the meanings. My initials, at least, have something to do with my name. There was Mr James of the UK who had no initials. He got a job in the US. They wanted his first name and the middle name. He inadvertently wrote L.G. The government there is not accustomed to meaningless initials. When he filled his form for the Personnel Department, he did it as L (only) G (only) James. He got a pay cheque after seven days in the name of Lonly Gonly James. When I applied for my PAN Card, my CA filled the prescribed form. He writes full stop as a miniscule zero. I have received my PAN with my name as SONO Joshi son of Mr JODO Joshi. I was about to get it changed when I read that Amy Perfors of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has researched that men with “front vowel sounds” in their names are considered sexier than men with “back vowels sound”. Have you not heard the sexiest name ever uttered, “Bond, my name is James Bond.” Sono, because of its first vowel sound, had, therefore, to stay with me. See, Salman sounds sexier than Shahrukh. Saif gets sex preference over Govinda. But the opposite holds for women who are considered sexier with back vowels sound than the front ones. Aishwarya sounds sexier than Shushmita. Shushmita can sound sexier if she starts writing her name as Shoosmeeta. Amy has further found out that men were wrong if they thought that they could sound sexier if they adopted feminine names. Men with women’s name are rated least sexy. Watch out Navjot Singh Siddhu, your wife is also Navjot. You may be a “sixier” by deed but not sexier by name. When Sir Alfred Bossom was introduced to Sir Winston Churchill, he had said” “Bossom? What an extraordinary name? Neither one thing nor the other.” And Sir Thomas Beecham, that known English conductor, was surprised when a woodwind player named Ball was introduced to him. “Ball? Ah, Ball. Very singular”, he had said. I know a Minister who has a small daughter. She proudly used to say, “I am Minister Kumar’s daughter.” Her mother, thinking that this appeared snobbish, told her not to reply like that and simply to say that her name was Pinky Kumar. Later someone asked her if she was Minister Kumar’s daughter. She replied: “I thought I was but Mama says not.” Mr Shakespeare, “There is
much in a name”.
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DOCUMENT
The following are excerpts from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech delivered at the conference of Chief Justices and Chief Ministers in Delhi on September
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THE Supreme Court of India is a shining symbol of the great faith our people have in our judiciary and to our great pride the Supreme Court has earned high praise all over the world. Generations of learned judges have worked to uphold and to nurture this sacred national trust. They deserve our thanks. Our courts have protected our citizens from the exercise of arbitrary power and the inequities of a poor country trying to modernise itself. Though at times, some decisions have appeared controversial, the ultimate verdict of our people is and hopefully will always be that their constitutional rights are safe in the hands of our Supreme Court and our High Courts. Yet there are aspects of our judicial system, which have come under increasing public scrutiny. There are concerns that are being voiced in some quarters about the delays in disposal of cases and the consequent backlog that has built up over the years. This concern about the cost of litigation and the cost of obtaining justice; about the number of under-trials in our prisons; about the conviction rate in criminal cases; and last but not least, occasional noises about probity — or the lack of it — in some sections of the judiciary. At the end of the day, a judicial system is a dispute resolution system and it must be recognized as a “service” which provides consumers expeditious and effective resolution of these disputes. It offers a mechanism for the enforcement of rights and obligations of individuals, a function which is essential in a functioning polity or economy. Therefore, an effective and efficient judiciary is an essential foundation of good governance. The people of this nation rightfully expect speedy and effective justice. Justice delayed for a common man is justice denied. In delivering justice, courts are torn between two conflicting objectives- to deliver timely judgements while at the same ensuring that the rights of any party are not sacrificed at the altar of speed. At the moment, there is a perception that disposal of cases takes an unduly long time. At the same time, there is a backlog of cases that has been built up over the years. I have been informed that the total backlog in subordinate courts exceeds 20 million. In addition, delays in disposal of cases lead to the related phenomenon of undertrials being in prison for long durations without actually being convicted. Delays in the judicial process also add to the costs of justice. Equality before law does not translate itself into equality in the real sense of the term unless there is equality of access to legal processes. Increasing the costs of dispute settlement tilt the scales in favour of the better endowed. We need to be alert to this phenomenon and make efforts must be made to reduce the backlog of cases, the time taken for disposal of individual cases and also the costs of litigation. I am acutely aware of the fact that our judiciary is both over-burdened as well as under-provided. This is a major causative factor in giving rise to the problems I have just mentioned above and this problem needs to be addressed if we have to make any progress in achieving the desired outcomes. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the commitment of our government to provide whatever support is necessary to cut delays in our High Courts and lower levels of our judiciary. The National Common Minimum Programme exhorts our Government to stay faithful this object. The problem of reducing backlog could be addressed in two ways. One is by reducing the load on courts and judges. The other is by improving the productivity and efficiency of our courts so that they can process more cases and in a faster manner. The two approaches, if combined, could lead to a dramatic improvement in the situation as it obtains at present. One way of reducing the load on courts is to reduce the quantum of cases that come to the courts. A sample survey conducted in Karnataka found that in 65% of civil cases, the government was a litigant, sometimes on both sides. Government litigation crowds out the private citizen from the court system. Much of this government litigation is in the form of appeals and this survey again found that 95% of government appeals fail. In a way, they are appeals that shouldn’t have been made in the first place. In 1994 our government had convened a meeting of law ministers and law secretaries that had resolved that, “disputes between the government and public sector undertakings (PSUs), and one PSU and another PSU ought not to go to courts or tribunals, and that such disputes should be settled between the parties amicably.” This unfortunately has not happened. Our government will now ensure that this decision is effectively implemented. This step, along with a better assessment of which judgements are to be appealed against, would lead to some reduction of cases in courts. Another way of reducing the burden of cases is to have alternate dispute resolution systems. We have tried out Lok Adalats, Women’s Courts, Family Courts and Fast Track Courts and Tribunals. Their performance needs to be assessed and if necessary, they must be strengthened so that they can take some of the burden off the regular courts. We have also not fully exploited the potential of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms like conciliation, mediation and arbitration. If they are made more efficient, the demand for adjudication will decrease. I request this august gathering to discuss more on the possibilities in this regard. At the government level we are also making efforts to reduce the incidence of litigation. A great deal of litigation is the product of inefficient and non-transparent laws, as for example in the case of many of our tax laws. A harmonized and rationalized tax structure is on our reform agenda. Once this is done, the causes for adjudication will diminish. We have also decided to establish the National Tax Tribunals, which I hope will reduce tax-related litigation. For its part, the ‘judicial family’ must consider the ills that face our judicial system with concern and find quick solutions for it. Any further delay in finding such solutions will only jeopardize the effectiveness of our judicial institutions. A mechanism for accountability, conceived and implemented by the judiciary itself, is the surest way to ensure judicial independence. An independent judiciary responding to the needs of our society goes a long way in strengthening democracy in our country. |
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Delhi Durbar Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa appears to have turned a new leaf in respect of her arch political foe, Sonia Gandhi. Her meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is one reason. Besides, Tamil Nadu is surrounded by Congress-ruled states from whom she requires constant assistance, be it river waters or electricity. This has compelled her to take an about-turn on the Congress President. The Prime Minister is said to have expressed his dismay at the needless and incessant attack on the Congress President. She is understood to have conceded that the attacks were election motivated. The Union ministers from Tamil Nadu tend to ignore her, she told mediapersons. She found Dr Manmohan Singh frank, forthright and courtesy personified. Does she have an option now but to mend fences with the Congress?
From Britain to Bihar The Guardian of Britain recently commissioned 24-year-old photo-journalist Olivia Arthur of Delhi to do a photo assignment on criminal politicians of Bihar. Olivia, a daughter of the British High Commissioner, went to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s house in Patna as part of her assignment. Lalu declined the request, but allowed the young photographer to take pictures of his better-half and Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi. She also took photographs of Pappu Yadav and Munna Shukla. Olivia, who completed her postgraduate course in photo-journalism from the London College of Photojournalism a year and a half back, finds ``everything in India very photogenic.’’ She arrived in India last December and has already captured frames from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. She has also been to Pakistan.
Speculation
over Atal’s age Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s age was the subject matter of a discussion during a book release function recently. The person who noticed the discrepancy in Vajpayee’s age was none other than NDA convener George Fernandes. Prior to this new book, Vajpayee’s year of birth was given as 1926. However, in the new book on coalition politics, the BJP stalwart’s year of birth was given as 1924. Fernandes was quick to point out the discrepancy. Vajpayee had a ready answer which he narrated in his inimitable matter-of-fact style. He stressed that he was born in 1924. However, Vajpayee’s father thinking that his son would join the government service put his year of birth as 1926. That would have afforded Vajpayee an extended two years before reaching the age of superannuation according to official records.
Dynastic politics
—BJP style Even though the BJP leadership has been highly critical of the Congress’ dynastic politics, BJP Vice-President Kalyan Singh, who never tires of maintaining that he is a man of principles, has zeroed in on his daughter-in-law Premlata to contest the October 13 byelection from Attrauli which he had vacated. His son Rajveer is the MLA from Deebai, a neighbouring constituency. The talk in BJP circles is that Kalyan Singh has created as strong a dynastic presence around Aligarh as that of the Gandhi family in the Rae Bareli-Amethi area. Contributed by R. Suryamurthy, Tripti Nath, S Satyanarayanan and Gaurav Choudhury. |
Remember, riches bring in grief: Truly, no joy abides in them. A rich man even fears his son: This is the position everywhere. — Sri Adi Sankaracharya Rituals are to be observed. But when one advances in spirituality, it is not necessary to observe them for long. Then the mind gets concentrated on God, resulting in communion with Him. — Sri Ramakrishna Dwell on the Name of the True One alone, O man! — Guru Nanak Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. — Saint Francis De Sales Our life is what our thoughts make it. — Marcus Aurelius |
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