 |
|
On Record Jessica Lall case: Tell the truth
fearlessly |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The cosmic
background radiation
Profile FCMC Bill Take NGOs into confidence Diversities — Delhi Letter
|
On Record
Shyam
Benegal, the illustrious film-maker, is a name that circulates not merely among the elite and the upper middle class but the bulk of the masses are well acquainted with his name and his works. Whether it is a remote village in Assam or a small town in the plains of Punjab or western Uttar Pradesh, Benegal and his films are known, appreciated and often empathised with. The Sunday Tribune caught up with the film-maker for some precious moments in between various workshops conducted by Benegal for students on film-making and inspiring talks being given by him in the national capital. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has very recently nominated Benegal as Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). Excerpts: Q: Which film are you working on currently? A:
Well, it’s a musical set in Rajasthan but do not mistake it for a fantasy. It is based on real lives. It is about a tribe of gypsies based in Rajasthan, revolving around their lives. However, this is our current project and the music is being composed by A.R. Rahman. Q: When do you expect to release this film? A: I expect to release this by the beginning of 2007. We have signed up Urmilla Matondkar and Jimmy Shergill for the film in the lead roles. Q: Why Urmilla, I find her a surprising choice for a director like you? A:
Well, she is a versatile actor. More to the point, she is a wonderful dancer. We really needed an excellent dancer for the role and specifically one who is very well trained with a natural rhythm and grace. Urmilla definitely fits the bill. Q: What made you decide on a musical? A: This musical and, more particularly, its theme have been an idea that I have carried for a long time, that is for almost 20 years. A sort of half-worked out idea has been on the backburner for many years. It’s only now that fortuitous circumstances have helped me move towards concretising it. Q: Is it a contemporary work or set in a historic milieu? A: It’s largely a melodrama and it is extremely contemporary. It is based on real people and real lives. Q: What has attracted you to make the kind of films you have made? A:
I do believe that I am concerned and interested in the world in which I live and the forces that are a part of it. I am sensitive to it and this reflects in my films. I would like to see changes in the world at large, especially given that it is a very unequal world. Q: Does your idealism glimmer in your earlier films? A: Let me stress that my idealism is neither an empty idealism nor Utopian. You have to take into account the realities of different kinds and consider values fundamental to your own self. At least this is the sort of idealism that fuelled my earlier films. It has a very concrete base in reality and our society. Q: Do you think this idealism has mellowed over the years? A: Mellowed..hmmm. I don’t think of this mellowing in the sense of diluted but yes it has apparently mellowed in the face of greater experience. You tend to see the world in the changed circumstances of your life and of society around you. Perhaps your views and values do get diluted over the years. Q: Out of curiosity, you have made a lot of contemporary films and some set in the colonial period. Would you ever consider making films set in the ancient period? A: Well, I have done a lot of that when I did Bharat ek Khoj. This period has always held great interest for me and I do have some ideas I would like to develop if I can get people to fund these ideas. I have many storylines to offer on this period. Q: Were you disappointed with the way Bose’s release was handled? A:
Well, Bose’s film is going to be re-released properly. It hasn’t reached everywhere, the problem was that it was a bit longer than usual and getting exhibition slots was not easy. We are working on getting it re-released. Q: Can you share with us the major influences in your life? People and places? A:
Really, it all started after I watched some films. However, my ideas became more crystallised and motivation became sharper when I saw Guru Dutt making films and later after seeing Siddharth Shanker Ray. After exposure to Guru Dutt, I felt that I too could make films. After seeing Ray, I felt I could make films directly from my own ideas, from my imagination. Q: Is there a particular work that you feel would be your major work in the future? Something special? A:
Well, there are many such works. I would like to pursue not just a single work but many ideas to their logical conclusion. These are ideas with great potential for the future. It’s a continuous process...there is no end to ambition or to any quest. Q: What are your views on contemporary cinema? A:
Truly, I see a great deal of hope for Indian cinema now. I feel young people are thinking very differently and more than ever before. I have a feeling that there should be very exciting films coming from young filmmakers and this is a major forward step for Indian
cinema.
|
|
Jessica Lall case: Tell the truth
fearlessly THE court has recorded a “horrendous acquittal”. There is a “moral failure”. The criminal justice delivery system has failed to deliver. The cant of criticism against the judgement in Jessica Lall’s case is continuous. It is deafening. Somehow, everybody seems to forget that the judge has to decide on the basis of what he hears in court. Not on what is talked in trains or written in newspapers. And not one person has pointed out the slightest omission in the judgement. Then, why blame the court? Still more, where were these investigating journalists and the self-appointed monitors of public morality when the case was under investigation or the trial was going on before the court? Why did they not speak when it was crucial? This is not to say that there is no reason for the outrage. All right thinking people are bound to feel troubled when a criminal escapes punishment. Everyone is entitled to ask: how can a person who shoots a lady in the presence of a large number of people escape punishment? The question certainly demands an answer. Let us imagine a purely hypothetical situation. A pleasant evening. A party has been going on for more than a couple of hours. There are the lovely looking ladies. Well mannered men. Heady liquor. Vintage wine. Music. Gourmet food. Everyone is ecstatic. And suddenly, there is the strange sound of a gun shot. The ghastly sight of blood. What shall be the reaction of anyone? Would he like to locate and catch the culprit? Call the cops? Or to gather his wits? See if he can stand, stagger to his car and escape? It is likely that there will be a rush for the exits. In the mêlée, the escape for the accused shall be easy. And when the police arrives, it may only find the body in a pool of blood. There may also be an old Gurkha guard or a couple of other men in a totally inebriated state. They are taken into custody. Questioned. But alcohol provides the alibi. Everyone claims that he was drunk. Cannot recall anything much less than the exact sequence of events. Slowly, the police picks up the bits and pieces. Examines the people who were present at the party. The case is ripe for trial. The court records the entire evidence. Questions the accused. While analysing the evidence, it finds gaps in the story and contradictions in the ocular testimony. The Judge is sure that the fatal shot was fired. The lady had been killed. But on the evidence before him, he is unable to say — “It is proved beyond doubt that the accused had done it.” The accused are acquitted. The result shocks the people. But those familiar with law may not be surprised. Statistics suggest that acquittal is the normal result in a majority of cases. But usually it goes unnoticed. It is only when a celebrity or a rich person is acquitted that the judgement arouses interest, awakens public conscience, makes news and causes concern. Irrespective of the individuals involved in a case, the rate of acquittals in the country should be a matter of concern to all. For it promotes more crime. More murders and rapes. Each acquittal makes life unsafe for all whether living in the poor man’s cottage or the prince’s palace. Society and the system suffer. Thus, there is a need to identify the cause and to find a cure. In India, we have preferred the English to the continental system. The perception is that the fight of the citizen against the state is not between two equals. Thus, the burden to prove is always on the prosecution. The rule was pithily put by Lord Sankey in Woolmington vs Director of Public Prosecutions. He said, “Throughout the web of the English criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen, that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner’s guilt...” Similarly, regarding the standard of proof, the measure, in the words of Geoffrey Lawrence QC in Dr Bodkin Adams’ murder case, is — “The possibility of guilt is not enough, suspicion is not enough, probability is not enough, likelihood is not…If the accusation is not proved beyond reasonable doubt against the man accused in the dock, then by law he is entitled to be acquitted…” We have adopted these standards. The pleas for change have not been accepted. And such being the state of our law, can we really find fault with the court for the verdict? I think, no! Then the police is charged with all kinds of wrongs. The popular perception is that it is a band of bad boys. The cop does not inspire confidence. The Daroga is dreaded. Not respected. He is feared as a foe. Not trusted as a friend. Resultantly, even a confession voluntarily made by a criminal in custody is not admissible as evidence at the trial. Such is the state of our police. Sad! But I ask myself, can the cop really do much if the witness decides to live by the oath and tell the whole truth as he knows it? Equally, what can anyone in the police do if the witness suffers from selective amnesia at the trial? Some have suggested a “systemic change”. But is not every system a reflection of society it serves? If the wood is crooked, can the furniture be straight? True, the system needs to be changed. We need to amend the laws, separate the investigator from the man charged with the maintenance of law and order, equip and train the investigating agency in following scientific methods, provide adequate infrastructure for courts and remove the bottlenecks on the road to justice. The witness must be made to feel secure. However, will the change ensure justice? Will it guarantee that there is no other case like Jessica Lal’s? No system can be better than the men who man it. We must look within before we blame anyone. Justice cannot be a reality till we, the people, become conscientious and conscious of our duty. Somebody shall always need to stand up against a wrong. To tell the truth. Fearlessly. Regardless of the consequences. We owe it to ourselves. To society. And then only we shall have the moral authority to question others. Shall we? I am an incorrigible
optimist. The writer is a former Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court
|
|
The cosmic
background radiation EVER since 1965, when two researchers at Bell Telephone Labs in New Jersey stumbled on it by accident, astronomers have known that the Universe is alive with the dim “afterglow” of the big bang fireball. Now, something unexpected has cropped up in that afterglow — a feature dubbed “the axis of evil”. Some think it is being caused by the gravity of a tremendous concentration of 100,000 galaxies in our cosmic backyard. Others say, it is telling us there is something wrong with our big bang picture of the Universe. The axis of evil is the biggest surprise thrown up by Nasa’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe WMAP). Launched on June 3, 2001, it has, from its vantage point 150 million km beyond the Earth on the extension of the line joining our planet to the Sun, been taking the temperature of big bang afterglow, known as the “cosmic background radiation”. It is coming from every direction in the sky and its average temperature is minus 270C. Of key importance are subtle variations in temperature from place to place — “hot spots” that are ever-so-slightly warmer than average, and “cold spots” that are ever-so-slightly cooler. These arise because the matter in the fireball of the big bang was slightly lumpy. (One lump became your home — the Milky Way.) The hot spots and cold spots in the big bang afterglow come in all sizes. Astronomers like to break up their “temperature map” of the sky into manageable chunks they call “multipoles”. The simplest is the “dipole”, merely one huge hot spot and one huge cold spot. It has nothing to do with the big bang. Rather, it is caused by the motion of the Milky Way, which is flying through space at about a million km per hour. This makes the afterglow of the big bang appear hotter in the direction the Milky Way is flying and colder in the opposite direction. The second simplest chunk of the cosmic background radiation is the “quadrupole”. This is like the dipole, but is made up of two hot regions and two cold regions. Next comes the “octupole”, which consists of three hot regions and three cold regions. Big bang models come out of Einstein’s theory of gravity. The only way theorists can apply the hideously complicated theory to the Universe is to make two simplifying assumptions. One is that the Universe is roughly the same in all places, and the other is that it is roughly the same in all directions. So perplexing is the axis of evil that WMAP’s principal investigator, Chuck Bennett, has obtained a grant for a five-year examination of the WMAP data. He hopes to explore the possibilities that the WMAP instrument was in error, or that something else went wrong. “There’s no question there’s stuff that looks unusual,” says Bennett. We will have to wait and see whether the study reveals the axis of evil to be a cosmic mirage, or shows the big bang model to be in serious
trouble. — The Independent
|
Profile A dedicated researcher and “workaholic”, Dr Misra has helped in clarifying why Indians have high tendency to develop diabetes and heart disease. His work in this sphere has been internationally lauded. His scientific discoveries, made for the first time in the world, include new definition for obesity, new test for monitoring diabetes, new concept in pathogenesis and heart disease and invention of a new drug for diabetic eye disease. Currently, he is carrying on several research projects with leading scientists from the USA, UK, Canada and Australia. Another area of Dr Misra’s interest is social service. Every Sunday, he is seen in the slums of South Delhi, collecting samples of blood, giving free medical advice to the poor of the poorest. As a result of his motivation, many left alcohol, smoking and similar other debilitating habits. He gradually branched off to another area — looking after young children who become victims of diabetes and malnutrition. Inspiration to work in slums came from a very poor Muslim woman, who was admitted in his ward in “terminal” stage. She was suffering from acute TB and had four children. Her words, “if you save one life, you will save four”, still reverberate in his mind, Dr Misra says. He treated the lady for almost a year, giving her free medicines, and, as a result, a virtually incurable patient was cured. It was an emotional moment when her husband came on Eid festival day and offered a bowl of sewai (sweet dish) to Dr Misra as a gratitude for saving his wife’s life. On another occasion, a young patient with kidney failure and high blood pressure was admitted in the ward. Dr Misra sat with him the whole night administering the only drug available in the Institute to bring down the blood pressure. The drug did not have the desired effect and the young man died in the morning with his wife wailing outside. “I never felt so helpless in my life…I could not do anything to save him”, he says. Among his VVIP patients, Dr Misra says, Mr Narasimha Rao was, perhaps, most disciplined. He recalls the day the Babri Masjid was demolished. The Prime Minister was in acute pain, almost unbearable stomach pain. So much so that Dr Misra had to stay in the Prime Minister’s house the whole night to keep a vigil. “Agony was writ large on his face but he bore the pain in silence”, Dr Misra says. The Prime Minister was given a heavy dose of painkillers and he slightly dozed off in the morning. Precisely at the moment Dr Misra knocked at the door to measure his blood pressure. Mr Rao was woken up, but he did not show any irritation and simply said, “Come in Doctor Sahib”. Then he said, “let me sleep for an hour”. On another occasion, shortly before he became the Prime Minister, Mr Rao had a heart attack and was admitted to AIIMS. Having recovered, he was sent to intermediate care ward. Dr Misra saw him working on his laptop one morning; he was working on his speech and, possibly, rehashing a resolution to be taken up by the Congress Working Committee meeting. Laptops were new then, very few in India possessed them, and even Dr Misra had not seen one. He was impressed by Mr Rao’s mastery over the little machine. Dr Misra became almost indispensable to Mr Vajpayee and accompanied him whenever the Prime Minister went. Towards the end of Mr Vajpayee’s tenure, Dr Misra was drafted for an important medical assignment in the US. When he sought his permission, Mr. Vajpayee told him, “do whatever is best for your academic career”. He then hosted a lavish lunch to bid farewell to Dr Misra and invited 250 people for the occasion. Sadly, Dr Misra will be bidding farewell to the All-India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for greener pastures, ending his three-decade long association with this premier institute. He first came to AIIMS as a student, did his MBBS, obtained Master’s degree, became Resident Doctor, Assistant Professor and Professor, all the time concentrating on new ideas and
research.
|
|
FCMC Bill Take NGOs into confidence
A Group of Ministers has been considering repeal of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 1976 and enacting another Act. Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil recently considered various issues and options connected with the Foreign Contribution Management and Control (FCMC) Bill. Reports say, the Ministry of Home Affairs had also prepared a Cabinet Note for an ordinance on the FCMC. The Centre did not go ahead with the ordinance as Parliament session had been scheduled. The issue of FCMC has been mired in complexities from the very beginning. This has happened mainly due to breakdown of communication between the ministry dealing with the FCRA and the concerned stakeholders. This has generated speculations and suspicion among the voluntary sector. The proposed Bill seeks to put all kinds and types of entities together in the same basket. In addition, it has been characterised by the absence of formal consultation with the NGOs on this issue, much against the spirit of partnership between the government and the voluntary sector. The voluntary sector has long been demanding easing of procedural hurdles in the existing FCR Act by making it more transparent, functional and user-friendly. We have also suggested various ways in which the existing FCRA could be made more effective and functional by bringing in some changes in the existing Act itself. As the FCRA has existed for the last 30 years and the voluntary sector has got used to various compliance aspects, it would be better if suitable changes were made in the existing Act itself to govern the sector with greater compliance. Some of the changes that the voluntary sector has been demanding in the existing FCRA include:
These changes, if implemented, will not only make the FCRA improved from functional aspects but also pave the way for better compliance by NGOs on FC front. The Department of Income Tax and Company Affairs has been leveraging information technology for improving better compliance to their systems by taxpayers and companies. The Foreign Contribution division of the Home Ministry may follow the same model. The voluntary sector feels that with information technology usage, the FC division can improve its existing facilities as also encourage compliance levels among the voluntary sector organisations. Above all, we will have a fairly functional and transparent system which would take care of all outstanding issues of surveillance of funds including its receipt and utilisation by civil society organisations. Worthy of mention in this context is the Planning Commission’s plan to submit a Cabinet Note for a national policy on the voluntary sector. As part of a policy initiative, the Planning Commission, which is the nodal agency for NGOs, is not only involving the voluntary sector in the formulation of the proposed policy but also ensuring the representation of the sector through four task forces. Each task force will have a chairman and members for working in tandem with each other. The proposed Bill should be reviewed in terms of (a) current policies concerning investment of foreign funds for a variety of purposes in India; and (b) the basic objectives of the proposed policy on the voluntary sector. The significantly restrictive provisions of the FCMC Bill should be studied in the light of parallel laws such as the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to ensure a uniformly rational approach to foreign investment and parity across sectors. For consistency, the financial, deregulatory and administrative principles followed for trade and industry should also apply to the social sector. The danger of foreign money being misused for anti-national purposes exists across the board for all sectors and for all organisations. Thus, it is discriminatory to single out the voluntary sector as a target for restrictive legislation. Whatever controls are required must apply across the board. Consequently, the Union Home Ministry should examine various provisions in the proposed voluntary sector policy which dovetails and gels better with any policy changes because the FCMC is a part of the voluntary sector functioning and not a conclusive aspect of it. In all fairness, the Centre must maintain status quo on the FCMC Bill, pending its decision on the proposed national policy on the voluntary
sector. The writer is Chief Executive Officer, Voluntary Action Network India, New Delhi
|
|
Diversities — Delhi Letter IT has been tough moving around in one’s own city. Tougher still to go anywhere near those particular areas where United States President George Bush was moving past or staying put. So tight were the security arrangements that most commuters had been affected. Some were even left feeling frustrated. For it was difficult to even make it to the anti-Bush protest meets and marches. Almost a week before his arrival, the takeoff for those protest meets began by students’ groups of the three universities in the Capital — Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia. Followed by a protest meet at the National School of Drama. On March 2, thousands took part in the anti-Bush march in the Ramlila grounds. People’s anger could be gauged by the fact that Suhel Seth’s jokes on Bush were no longer cracked and “activists of South Asia” compiled a full-fledged charge-sheet against George Bush. I received a copy from Sohail Hashmi (brother of the late Safdar Hashmi). Though it is a well formulated and well circulated charge-sheet, who is there to nail Bush on those grounds focusing on war crimes and use of illegal ways to expand the US domain and military power? Protestors were not allowed to even paste anti-Bush posters and banners here. Going by media reports, one particular family of Bela Malik residing in Jangpura had to face the police wrath. The anti-Bush banner was removed from her home balcony. Another banner which was put in the context of Laura Bush visiting Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity home in the same locality was also removed. Realities on Iraq had to be pushed back and all supposed jarring notes withheld in public. Interestingly, religion was used in the midst of all this. Though religion ought to be a very personal and private experience, George Bush attended an inter-faith meet, which was specially arranged for him.
Urban chaos in Capital Last week I attended a panel discussion on urbanisation at Jamia Millia Islamia’s Al-Farabi conference hall. Some of the facts have been shocking. Though the world urban population is growing at 3.5 per cent every year, we are not sufficiently geared up to face this growth. There is increasing chaos and confusion in each sphere of city life. This particular discussion was manned by Delhi’s noted experts on urbanisation — Professor Amitabh Kundu, Professor Kavas Kapadia, Dr Geetam Tiwari and Dr Prakash Rao. The picture projected was rather grim. Increasing unemployment because of the shopping malls and diseases because of the poor civic infrastructure and environmental pollution are alarming. The moral fibre too is getting polluted. As Professor Kapadia commented, “India has the law and China has the order. We make and amend laws. While the British, during 200 years of their rule in India, made about 400 laws, we have already made 4,000 laws since Independence!” An important aspect of city living is commuting. In New Delhi, it is becoming a nightmare to drive or commute. As Dr Geetam Tiwari, Associate Professor, Transportation Planning, IIT, New Delhi, said, New Delhi’s roads are killer roads. On an average, 200 commuters die in road accidents. About 54 per cent of those killed are pedestrians in the 15-50 age group. She said though there are 35 existing flyovers in the city (with another nine coming up, taking their tally to 44), they do not benefit the bus commuters as the vehicles cannot stop in between. She also focussed on the plight of rickshaw-pullers and three wheeler drivers and spoke of many unknown factors. “Do you know that this city even has the ‘rickshaw graveyard’ where all the unlicensed rickshaws are taken to and destroyed?” Of course, we are good at destroying — whether it is rickshaws, shops or more. I could go on and on with the plight of the city dweller, but what’s the point? We all know it, face it and yet continue to live on here. A few brave souls do pack their bags and move far away from this madness. I can think of one such person, Arun Singh who was in the Rajiv Gandhi’s Cabinet. But one fine morning, he and his lady companion, Ramola, shifted to the hills of Uttaranchal and continue to live there, in Bindsar. They visit Delhi once in a while to look at the pathetic living conditions of those living here.
Women’s Day: Grim reality Going by the long list of programmes lined up here for March 8, one would feel that there is so much awaiting for the Indian woman. But then, the reality is rather grim. I would sincerely suggest to any of those who are optimists on the woman front that they should go far beyond the programmes. They should see the condition of the woman from close quarters — of those living in the slums or even those who live far away from the slums but face hurdles of yet another
kind.
|
The king, the beggar and the saint all experience distress and sorrow. Happy and content is one who controls the mind. — Kabir Do you wish to know will get nirvana in this life itself? They will, whose minds are free from attachment to earthly desires, whose appetites have been conquered and who are radiant with the light of knowledge. — The Buddha And go into the houses by their doors. That is do not jump over the walls, nor enter by the back-door. — Islam
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
A young doctor of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences was always seen in the entourage of two Prime Ministers — P.V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee — whether they were in India or abroad. They had reposed great trust in this man of medicine. It was widely believed in the Prime Minister’s Office that he kept the two heads of government fit and young to withstand the stress of the high office. Dr Anoop Misra, now Professor in the Department of Medicine, is just 48 years. He was in his early thirties when he was deputed to help Rao recuperate from a heart bypass surgery and look after his day-to-day health. Having come to know of Dr Misra’s professional excellence, Mr Vajpayee made him his personal physician. Dr Misra has now been conferred the prestigious Dr B.C. Roy Award, instituted in 1962 to perpetuate the memory of former West Bengal Chief Minister B.C. Roy, a great physician himself. The honour, considered equivalent to Arjuna Award, is in recognition of the best talents in different branches of Medicine.