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Blind to the murder No more loans |
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Access and denial
Keeping faith with Constitution
Palimpsests of my past
Man of theatre Xenophobic violence in South Africa Inside Pakistan
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Blind to the murder As
it is, the investigation prowess of the police does not evoke too much confidence. The last vestiges of this lukewarm respect have been further eroded by the way things unfolded in the NOIDA murder case. When Arushi, the 14-year-old daughter of a doctor couple, was murdered and the servant Hemraj was found to be non-traceable, the entire police force turned the needle of suspicion towards him. Not one of them cared to look into the terrace of the house itself where the luckless servant’s body was lying. Had a neighbour — a retired police officer — not come to convey his condolences, the discovery might not have been made at all. Now that it has been found, everyone is saying: “How could it have been missed in the first place?” But then this is how the police functions in many cases. Even as serious a crime as a murder does not jolt them into action. This is not the only case in which investigation has been botched. There are numerous such instances. But the worst form is when the cops themselves become an accomplice. In some cases like the Jessica Lal murder, Manu Sharma could not have cocked a snook at the system if certain policemen had not lent a helping hand. Despite such embarrassment, correctives are hardly applied. That is why the faith of the public stands shattered. If such is the state of affairs in most heinous crimes, one can well imagine the chances of the police cracking less serious cases. The public has become so cynical that the filing of an FIR is considered a mere formality. Even that is not easy to do. The policemen have found a novel way of ensuring that the number of unsolved crimes remains the minimum. They go out of their way to make sure that many cases are just not registered. As simple as that! Take the numerous cases of chain snatchings and pickpocketing in Chandigarh. To keep their own slate clean, policemen “privately advice” the victims to desist from reporting the incidents. Such rough and ready methods to avoid responsibility may hide the crime but cannot eliminate it. Rather, they add to the deterioration, giving the police force a bad name.
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No more loans The
State Bank of India’s decision to suspend the disbursement of loans to farmers for the purchase of tractors and other farm machinery will hit genuine loan seekers as some of the existing loanees have defaulted on repayments. The bank has advanced Rs 7,000 crore mostly for the purchase of tractors, combine harvesters and power tillers and 15 per cent of this amount has become bad loans or non-performing assets (NPAs) as the banks call them. The SBI decision has come as a surprise as no matter how large NPAs are and no matter which section of the customers accounts for these, banks have seldom resorted to such extreme action. If NPAs are unacceptably high, banks are partly themselves to blame. In their hurry to meet the targets and sometimes under political pressure, they advance loans to ineligible persons without doing due diligence. Besides, banks do not care whether the loan is used for the intended purpose or not. It is common knowledge that many farmers buy tractors they cannot afford or really do not need. Some spend loan amounts on lavish social ceremonies. Government policies also promote the advance of loans, often without a collateral, to weaker sections of society. In such cases the government should bear the burden of bad loans instead of making banks to pay for its generosity. The Rs 60,000-crore loan waiver announced in this year’s Union Budget has created confusion and sent a wrong message. Bankers themselves are not clear whether tractor loans are covered by the scheme. Many farmers have stopped repaying loans hoping for a waiver. By suspending loans, the SBI has re-emphasised the fact that there are no free lunches. If loanees do not pay back, banks would be left with no alternative except to stop giving loans. The banks should use the legal powers conferred on them to recover their dues, ruthlessly from wilful defaulters and compassionately from distressed farmers.
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Access and denial In
times of preoccupation with minor matters like Pakistan’s firing across the Line of Control, soaring inflation, upswing in crime and election violence, there is a distressing tendency to overlook really big issues. One such issue is Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan being denied entry to the cricket team’s dressing room and the dug-out. For the benefit of those blissfully ignorant of these important goings-on, it needs to be recalled that right now the country is in the grip of what is known as IPL fever. This is an apparently unending series of Twenty20 cricket matches between eight teams in an effort to marry cricket and Bollywood to serve the cause of both sport and entertainment— less sport and more fun. We have these tycoons and icons who have bought teams and players, and not everyone recognizes their importance. Thus it came about that during the match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, the owner of the latter – Shah Rukh Khan – was barred from entering the dressing room of his team. He was also told to keep off the dug-out, the arena restricted to players. Shah Rukh is not one to take things lying down. To say that he will stand up to be counted is an understatement. Those who have seen him at the matches played by Kolkata say that he hogs the limelight more than the players – even when he is out there doing a mere cheerleader’s job. Given his awesome investment in cricket and even more awesome responsibilities on celluloid, the authorities beat a hasty retreat to declare that the inimitable SRK can enter and exit any area and all that he needs for this is a VVIP pass. How simple. Now if only Shah Rukh would protest against price rise, the authorities would be falling over themselves to make sure that food grains were also made accessible to all those who are priced out of the market.
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All you need in life is ignorance and confidence and then success is sure. — Mark Twain
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Keeping faith with Constitution
We
have been hearing a good deal about faith in one way or another in recent weeks but not nearly enough about keeping faith with the Constitution. It was, therefore, very reassuring to read the judgement of Mr Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Delhi High Court dismissing the many frivolous cases filed against the country’s greatest painter, M.F. Husain, aged 92, who has been hounded into exile for the past many years by bigots. The charges relate to the artist’s canvasses depicting Hindu gods and goddesses in the nude and are based on alleged offence to morals (prudery) and faith (blasphemy). The court dismissed these insinuations as reflecting the “new Puritanism” of ignorant minds which threatens national regression that could take the country back into the pre-Renaissance age. The judge pleaded for magisterial restraint and maturity in admitting vexatious complaints that affect individual freedom. Hopefully, this will become the norm, backed by legislation that penalises such suits as recommended by the Law Commission. Husain still has three other such cases pending against him. These too need to be speedily set aside and Husain allowed to return home with honour and security. In Madurai district, a village wall built by caste Hindus in 1989 to separate them from their Dalit neighbours has been partly demolished to allow the latter passage to other parts of the village. Tensions had been building up and reached flashpoint when the upper castes decided to electrify the fence on top of the wall to prevent night-time intrusions. Finally, a posse of 1800 policemen had to be summoned to stand by while a passage was cleared through the half-kilometre wall last week. This is no solution though passage has been granted. The affront to the dalits continues. Sixty years after Independence we cannot mollycoddle those who continue to divide society through hate speech and action in defiance of the Prevention of Atrocities Act in the name of maintaining peace and harmony. Peace without justice and dignity and compromise with wrongdoing is a travesty. Muslims have been similarly ghettoised and cordoned off by walls, as in Ahmedabad. How long do we tolerate blatant assaults on the Constitution by political-criminal mafias and “spiritual leaders” who demean faith? The supine silence and, oftentimes complicity, of the Hindu right and “clergy” in tolerating such social evils that disfigure Indian life rather than campaign relentlessly against them, as some like Swami Agnivesh tirelessly do, is deplorable and cannot be extenuated. It is time we heard of a BJP rath yatra to cleanse society of these shameful practices that besmirch India. The Ram Sethu issue is still in the process of litigation, and one continues to hear passionate arguments confusing faith with secular reality. Faith does not require legal proof. If millions believe in something, it is nobody’s case that this should be disregarded within the bounds of the law. None, therefore, questions the belief that the Ram Sethu was built by the vanar sena to carry Rama’s army across the sea to Lanka. This belief remains totally untouched even if a small channel is dredged to permit navigation through a section of the underwater marine ridge formed aeons ago in geological times. Who is preventing worship at or veneration of any of the sacred sites associated with the Ramayana? In one state in the United States, teaching the theory of evolution is taboo on account of the local belief that this is offensive to the Biblical story of creation as told in the Book of Genesis. Similarly, belief in the Christ’s virgin birth is based on faith to signify divine sanctity; but does anyone accept this as a biological fact? Do we then want to become prisoners of irrationality in India where every river, mountain, forest, sea and so much else is held sacred? Respecting belief is very different from being imprisoned by it. The past weeks have seen other kinds of irrational behaviour. The Health Minister, Dr A. Ramadoss, has been put to shame by the Supreme Court which has described the removal of the former Director of AIIMS, Dr P. Venugopal, as arbitrary and illegal. This was a case of personal vendetta as Dr Venugopal had expressed opposition to forcing additional reservation of OBC seats in this national institution. Yet Dr Ramadoss remains, belligerent and unashamed, like Mr Baalu, the Shipping Minister, who has been shown up for nepotism, pushing for favours to his sons in the allocation of gas supplies over many years. He too remains in office. There is so often little understanding of or adherence to the Oath of Office that Ministers take “to do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will”. What kind of India do we want? Are greed and social rage to be the norm, bringing violence and disharmony in their wake? Raj Thackeray’s goons threaten all Bombay-named institutions to rename themselves “Mumbai”, or else. Does the West Bengal Governor, Mr Gopal Gandhi, merit vilification for ordering a daily two-hour blackout in Kolkata’s Raj Bhavan to share the load-shedding imposed on the city? Left Front spokesmen have described the Governor’s action as a gift to the Opposition on the eve of panchayat elections by exaggerating the power crisis and indulging in sanctimonious posturing since he does not use the Raj Bhavan grounds to grow more food and bring down prices or walk to his appointments in the city in order to save oil. Where have values fled?n
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Palimpsests of my past It is an old tin box, battered and bruised containing some old letters. It had come to me with my sister’s home-made “besan burfi” in it. The parcel had come when I was caught between the trauma of a recent amputation and the risk of addiction to the frequent doses of morphine. The box and the burfi connected me with my family and gave me the strength to come to terms with both. The first letter is from Vijay Mankotia, my course mate at the Indian Military Academy. It is written on heavy paper, in royal blue ink, in a beautiful copper plate handwriting, speaking of the class that touched everything that Vijay did. Amongst all the other beautiful and kind things that he says, he tells me that he has been awarded the special prize in English, a prize he says he earned by default — if I had been there it would certainly have been mine. Then there is a postcard, frayed at the edges with a single line message scrawled across it in a handwriting not beautiful but well loved. It is from Khurshid, my closest friend, to say that he will be returning to Lucknow on 21st, 22nd or 23rd and when I met his train on the 23rd he asked: “Were you here yesterday and day before?” I nodded my head and he smiled and said: “I knew you would be.” I hold the next letter to my nose and imagine that I can smell the ittar that she wore. “Thank you for returning all my letters and presents to you. Trust you to be so correct even at the end.” This letter had brought to a close what was the most intellectually and emotionally beautiful period of my life. Or had it? Why was I still holding on to it? Then there is a brief, formal letter. “We are happy to inform you that we will be publishing your novel: “The Wayside Tree”. Please sign the enclosed contract form and return it to us.” It was my first book and I remembered how for months afterwards I would go into every bookshop I passed and get a thrill in asking for my book. Out of the thousand-odd copies that were sold I must have bought four hundred! The last letter, written on rice paper, says: “Whenever my contemporaries from school meet, the conversation turns to you. Some of us feel that though you were fair you were much too strict, others remember you with affection. But we all agree that though you knew what was enough to get us good marks, you never compromised and went beyond to teach the text the way it ought to be taught.” The box had seen better days and the letters were musty, faded and torn with constant folding and unfolding, but they are much more than mere letters — they are the palimpsests of my past and tell the story of my
life.
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Man of theatre It would be no exaggeration to say that his writing transcended the limitations, both aesthetic and political, that regional belonging constrains us with, into a voice that resonated with all audiences. His plays dealt with the gritty reality of what is under the radar of culture – drop outs, vagabonds, subversive elements marginalized by the State and social structure. All of these were brought to life without any unnecessary romanticisation. Like all great writers, even the elite whom he took pot shots at embraced his work – such is the power of a mirror who shows hypocrisy without moral judgment. This shows his dexterity as well as an innate cunning of expression and craft. ‘Give me a piece of paper, any paper and a pen, and I shall write as naturally as a bird flies or a fish swims,’ he had said. “For the last forty five years I have been writing sitting in newspaper offices, or in roadside restaurants, or in the crowed local buses, and when my living space did not allow me to be by myself and write, I have written in my bathroom. “And I have written on the sick bed in the hospital in spite of the doctor’s advice not to tax myself. The poor doctor did not know and would not accept that writing was not taxing for me at all. On the contrary it was soothing. It was great relief. It was joy.” This urge to write by Tendulkar has to be perceived as not only the impulse of the writer to make ciphers on paper, but to express and to explore the reality that he confronts. This capacity to plumb the depth of human experience and anguish came from his own experiences of understanding that for him, writing was a necessity like breathing or eating. Writing was not an escape from the world, but a response to it. The world confronted him and challenged him – this is the way he responded. Writing not born from this encounter is bereft of power – and Vijay Tendulkar’s essence was his power. A writer of enormous seriousness and force he left his stamp on contemporary Indian theatre through his path breaking plays Shantata Court chalu ahe (Silence! The Court is in Session), 1967, filmed by Satyadev Dubey in 1971 and translated in many Indian languages), Gidhade (The Vultures, 1970) that showed up man’s bestiality in its most savage manifestation, where a family driven by the lust for money, transforms itself as metaphorical vultures – tearing each other apart. Sakharam Binder (1972), in which the eponymous anti-hero brings home destitute women to serve him sexually and emotionally in return for food, clothes and shelter, that whipped up a storm of controversy, as it attacked the very institution of marriage by revealing its underbelly, in a way that had never been done before. In Ghashiram Kotwal Vijay Tendulkar responded to the disturbing rise of the lumpen elements in politics, and for the first time used a historical event and a traditional form to create an allegory of corruption and decay. Written in 1972, it was considered by many as his response to the rise of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. The play, a political satire, was based on the life of Nana Phadnavis (1741-1800), the prime minister in the court of the Peshwas. It portrayed how men in power give rise to ideologies to serve their purposes, and later destroy them when they become useless. Most of the above mentioned plays, set up a wave of protest, which had him fighting long complicated legal battles in court, as well as facing a censorious public. He also made enemies with the feminist movement who accused him of misogyny, as most of his plays contain graphic scenes of violence inflicted on women. Modernism in theatre was spearheaded by Vijay Tendulkar as his plays challenged the establishment and the unequal power relationships between the two genders. Gender discrimination was the running leitmotif in the plays, and forms an intrinsic aspect of their ideological position. But Vijay Tendulkar’s positioning of women was mostly pessimistic, bordering on the nihilistic, and while reading them there is always a lurking sense of the women having been violated, because they chose to function outside conventional norms. In his play Kamala as well as in Shantata Court Chalu Ahe, the women are conceived as passive receivers of violence. In plays like Sakharam Binder and Ghasiram Kotwal the women are marked by sexual violence, while exposing the society that endorses violence. Tendulkar explored violence in its various forms: domestic, sexual, communal, and political After the Godhra riots, he said: “If I had a pistol, I would shoot Modi”. This remark triggered a wave of mixed reactions amongst the intellectual community. Tendulkar, with his reputation as a pacifist, had written countless articles on the banning of the death sentence, and this remark contradicted his ideological stance against killing. Modi supporters burnt his effigies for his harangue and morchas and death threats followed. But later Tendulkar remarked “it was a genuine and spontaneous anger, which I never see as a solution for anything. Anger doesn’t solve problems”. On the aftermath of his death, would it be premature and idealistic to say that theatre does? Perhaps this is his greatest legacy.
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Xenophobic violence in South Africa DIEPSLOOT, South Africa – The brutal apartheid era practice of setting opponents on fire has been revived in this country’s crowded, litter-strewn shantytowns. But now the victims are foreign migrants. Anger over unemployment and rising prices and simmering resentment against illegal foreign migrants exploded into xenophobic violence in South Africa, with at least 22 people slain in the past 10 days. Hundreds more were injured and as many as 10,000 fled their homes, as analysts struggled for explanations on what triggered the violence. South Africans woke Monday to shocking images of a man in flames, one of several victims to be burned alive. Several newspapers reported that onlookers in the township of Reiger Park, east of Johannesburg, laughed as the man rocked in agony. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu summed up the mood of despair Monday, issuing a plea to “please stop the violence now. This is not how we behave. These are our sisters and brothers. Please, please stop.” South African President Thabo Mbeki also called for an end to the “shameful and criminal acts.” During the apartheid times, political violence sometimes involved setting victims on fire, on occasion after “necklacing” them with spare tires that pinned their arms to their sides. The victims of the latest violence are mainly southern African migrants, in particular Zimbabweans, drawn to South Africa in hopes of finding jobs. South Africans also have been attacked at times. Violence in several neighborhoods continued Monday, with attackers burning dozens of foreigners’ homes. The body of a man who had been chopped and burned was recovered by police in Ramaphosa township east of Johannesburg. Newspaper reports suggested he was Malawian. Victims and witnesses describe chilling attacks: hundreds of people armed with axes, clubs and metal bars going from shack to shack, purging districts of foreigners; victims being clubbed insensible with concrete slabs then burned or being locked into their shacks then set alight. In Diepsloot, northwest of Johannesburg, one of the townships hit by violence, locals described armed attackers singing “Umshini Wami,” or “Bring Me My Machine Gun,” a song that has its origins in the ruling African National Congress’ armed struggle against apartheid. The song was linked to ANC President Jacob Zuma’s campaign. “People were singing that song and attacking people,” said Jimmy Thutse, 54, a maintenance worker and Diepsloot resident. “People are saying these Zimbabweans must go home now because they are taking our jobs. They don’t need these people any more. Everyone is saying, ‘We are full here.’” Zuma has condemned the attacks. However, some ANC politicians have suggested the violence of recent days is primarily criminal not xenophobic in nature. But Vincent Williams, analyst with the Southern African Migration Project (SAMP), said surveys in 1997 and 2006 showed South Africa to be one of the least tolerant nations of migrants in the world. By arrangement with
LA Times-Washington Post
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Inside Pakistan The coalition government is faced with a new challenge with the appointment of Mr Salman Taseer as Punjab Governor. PML (N) leader Nawaz Sharif is upset with the selection of a known pro-Pervez Musharraf man for this crucial position, but he can do little under the circumstances. Mr Sharif has expressed his displeasure to the PPP leader, saying that the PML (N) deserved to be consulted as a coalition partner. Just informing him of what had already been decided was “no consultation”, he is reported to have said. As Business Recorder commented, “The Governor is essentially a representative of the President to help enforce his diktat as defined in the constitution. He is appointed by the President ‘after consultation with the Prime Minister’, but that consultation is not binding for the President. In the present case, Prime Minister Gilani is said to have forwarded to the presidency a list of four names, including Taseer’s, who of course found favour with President Musharraf as expected. There is a strong perception that Taseer’s appointment is part of a game-plan to isolate the Sharifs.” There is another possibility. Mr Nawaz Sharif has been delivered a strong message that he should avoid an uncompromising approach so far as his demands like the restoration of the judiciary’s pre-November 3 status and making President Pervez Musharraf powerless to the extent possible are concerned. For the time being, nothing more is likely to happen on the Punjab front. This is because of Mr Zardari’s “complete support” for the PML (N)-led government in the province. It is believed that Mr Zardari’s stand on the Punjab government is a major factor behind President Musharraf abandoning his attempt at reconditioning the PML (Q) to make it acceptable to the PPP when the need arises. Before the long march The long march to be held by lawyers on June 10 has made the Yousuf Raza Gilani government work overtime. Schemes are being to make the march less embarrassing for the PPP-led government. The process of finalisation of the draft 18th constitution amendment, talked about for some time, should be seen against this backdrop. According to a report in The News, it “is an all-encompassing document, introducing far-reaching changes in the constitution that would ensure a parliamentary democracy as envisaged in the original 1973 document.” The amendment, however, cannot be adopted by the Pakistan National Assembly without support by Mr Sharif’s PML (N). Mr Zardari is scheduled to meet Mr Sharif in Islamabad soon to discuss the matter. Whether Mr Sharif assures his party’s support for the purpose remains to be seen. The amendment takes care of his demand for clipping the wings of President Musharraf. But so far as the reinstatement of the deposed judges is concerned, the amendment is only “aimed at carving out the way” for the purpose, as a Dawn report says. No one is sure if this is sufficient to prevent Mr Sharif from riding the “judicial bus”. That is why all eyes are fixed on June 10. According to The Nation, the two principal coalition partners’ inability “to reach a consensus on the (judicial) issue has been a deeply frustrating experience for the voters, who had elected them to quickly reinstate the judiciary as well as address other pressing problems.” The voters never expected the PPP and the PML (N) to allow the judicial issue to jam the wheels of the government. Elusive wheat Despite new crop arrivals in the mandis, people continue to suffer from an acute shortage of wheat flour. According to Dawn, “things are turning worse in Balochistan where flour is not available even for Rs 30 per kg. This is happening at a time when the country is harvesting the new crop. The people of that state need an immediate boost in grain supplies to cope with the shortages and nip the spectre of yet another flour crisis.” The inter-district ban on the movement of wheat in Punjab, now lifted, only added to the woes of the people. A report in Daily Times has it that many people in desperation resorted to getting wheat transported in milk urns to get their requirements fulfilled.
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A combative and controversial playwright, Vijay Tendulkar loomed large over the theatrical firmament, more than any of his contemporaries.