The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Migrant fury
Ludhiana pays for authorities’ indifference

The police refusing to act against a bikers’ gang that targeted migrants is a routine development for those familiar with the working of the men in uniform in Punjab. That a routine happening like this could lead to large-scale arson and damage to public property, resulting in a curfew in Ludhiana, comes as a surprise and points to rising social tension in Punjab. If official agencies fail to address grievances, public anger tends to flare up. Poor law enforcement contributes to the growing incidents of lawlessness. Blocking roads and railway tracks, stoning and burning passing vehicles have become common for protesters since they get away lightly.

Unlike Maharashtra, Punjab has been warm to the migrant labour, mostly from Bihar and UP. Farmers vie with one another to hire migrants for paddy transplantation and harvest. Local labour is either expensive or unavailable. Farm workers have shifted to cities or abroad for greener pastures. Barring sporadic incidents, Punjabis and migrants have got along well. A Punjabi University survey has revealed that 73 per cent of the labourers from outside the state have chosen to settle in Punjab and 77 of the men lived away from their families. In 2007 there were about 10 lakh migrant workers in Punjab of whom 4.50 lakh lived in Ludhiana alone.

Being an upcoming industrial and commercial hub, Ludhiana has attracted migrant labour in large numbers. It is essentially a consumption-driven city for people with deep pockets. More than other Punjabis, cash-rich Ludhianvis love to splurge. They have coexisted in harmony with those who have to come for work in Punjab. If migrants went on the rampage in Ludhiana on Friday, their anger was directed more at the police than locals. It was only the attacks on passing vehicles and public that invited retaliatory action. The failure of the civil and police administration is self-evident. Effective governance and ensuring the rule of law can avoid the recurrence of such unpleasant incidents.

China-Pak military nexus
Antony’s deep concern is justified

Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s observation that the increasing nexus between China and Pakistan in the military field is an area of serious concern reflects the growing wariness of India over China’s sinister bid to encourage Pakistan to confront India. Considering that India has been extremely cautious and mindful of Chinese sensibilities in the past, this statement as also some others in recent weeks show the extent of governmental exasperation over China’s designs of arming India’s recalcitrant neighbour to its teeth. To that extent, the new Indian assertiveness is welcome. Mr Antony has aptly pointed out that China has helped Pakistan build two nuclear reactors and is working to disturb the strategic balance in South Asia. Earlier this year, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had told journalists in Islamabad after President Zardari’s Beijing visit that China was all set to help Pakistan build two more nuclear reactors. Recently, the Washington Post quoted a secret note of Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan as saying that China had provided Pakistan with a “do-it-yourself” kit and weapons grade uranium for making two nuclear bombs in 1982.

Significantly, China is Pakistan’s largest defence supplier, making available to it short-range ballistic missiles, fighter-aircraft, frigates with helicopters, T-85 tanks, jet trainers, besides arms and ammunition. In July last, days after India launched its first nuclear-powered submarine, China handed over the first of four warships that it is building for Pakistan. While three warships are being built at a Chinese port, one is being built in Pakistan. The Pakistanis are also buying 36 J-10 fighter aircraft which is China’s most sophisticated combat aircraft.

The arming of Pakistan, the increasingly shrill Chinese claims to Arunachal Pradesh and the Chinese assertion of its naval clout in the Indian Ocean add up to a formidable challenge posed to India’s security interests. It is indeed a matter of relief that India is speaking against a China-Pakistan nexus. There is certainly a need to step up India’s military preparedness and diplomatic activity in response.

Thought for the Day

Write to amuse? What an appalling suggestion!/
I write to make people anxious and miserable and to worsen their indigestion.

— Wendy Cope

ARTICLE

The Dinakaran embarrassment
How to avoid such situations in future
by K. N. Bhat

Is the Indian judicature a club of the judges, by the judges and for the judges? Apparent impertinence apart, the question is a serious one. Yes, the judiciary is by definition an institution “of the judges” with occasional platitudes thrown at the Bar on ceremonial occasions. The power of appointments and posting of judges of the subordinate judiciary — for all practical purposes — has always been with the judges of the high courts under the Constitution. And since 1993 the Supreme Court, through a process of interpretation, has assumed the responsibility of making appointments to the higher judiciary, including the highest Court. No other agency is involved in this formally or even informally in the process of appointments and transfer.

As reportedly admitted by the Chief Justice of India, the collegium of judges has no machinery to make any investigation into the suitability or otherwise of a candidate. Naturally, they are guided by their personal knowledge and opinion about men and matters. Sometimes they go wrong by ignoring good ones and by selecting not-so-good ones as perceived by the members of the Bar, who have a closer exposure to the prospective appointees. Occasional error is inevitable. The management of the justice delivery system is thus “by the judges”. So much is silently tolerated because of the fear that if reverted to the pre-1993 regime the judiciary will suffer more.

However, is the administration of the justice delivery system solely or predominantly “for the judges” only? Let us take the case of Dinakaran, CJ. There can be no dispute about the proposition that public confidence is the foundation on which the judiciary stands. Many great men have stated and re-stated this truth in different words. After every thing that has been said and published about the present Chief Justice of Karnataka, his induction surely will not enhance the public confidence in the Supreme Court, or in the judiciary as a whole. As everyone is aware, there is no machinery to expeditiously and conclusively establish the truth or otherwise of the allegations against Justice Dinakaran or anyone else. If, indeed, he is innocent his suffering the loss of a career and reputation is unfortunate. If, however, even part of the allegations against him is true, by his induction the institution will surely suffer serious damage. The choice has to be made without delay.

Here rises the query whether the judicature is “for the judges” or for the people. However, the efforts of the collegium to find out someone who can give a clean chit to the judge in trouble — be it the Survey of India, or even a food inspector — will lead to a well of quick sand; the more one struggles to get out, the deeper one sinks. Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily is too seasoned to bite the bait. Therefore, he did the only right thing — asking the collegium to withdraw the tainted name.

“What is needed is the appointment of really able persons who can rapidly and satisfactorily deal with the accumulation of work.” is the prescription for the ills of the system by revered men like Chagla CJ, Krishna Iyer J and M.C. Setalvad. Does the collegium claim to make even a semblance of an effort to appoint able persons to the Supreme Court? Unless ability and seniority always go hand in hand — a proposition not accepted in any field of life — it will be hard to appreciate how and why the zone of selection to the apex court is restricted to the Chief Justices of the High Courts. Does the collegium take into account the neglect of judicial work by the “seniors” during their tenure in the High Courts?

There is no performance audit in operation, but surely the members of the Bar in the High Courts would name the lazy and even the corrupt lot. The collegium may thereafter ascertain the facts more carefully before sending its recommendation to the President. Perhaps, the Dinakaran embarrassment — either to the judge or to the collegium — would not have arisen had the object of search was merit. But if the judiciary is only “for the judges” all the suggested troubles are not needed.

Only a few days ago we read with astonishment about a judge swearing in to uphold the Constitution of India as the Chief Justice of a High Court for three days. There have been many other instances of short-term CJs in the states as well as at the apex court — inevitable where seniority is the rule —, read it as selective seniority. During the last few weeks four CJs were elevated to the Supreme Court — two more are in transit. This means six High Courts are without permanent CJs for varying interregnums. There can be no dispute that the CJs of the High Courts play a pivotal role in the administration of justice in the states. They can be effective if they have long enough tenure. Remember the names like Chagla, Rajamannar and Dasgupta, belonging to an era when the judges of the High Courts retired at the age of 60. The question once again is for whose benefit these constitutional offices exist? For the judges? Or for the people?

Only with the utmost reverence one can quote Krishna Iyer J, who in a recent article wrote, “The unknown collegium, judges expanding their own breed, creating arrears more than anywhere else in the world, and other pathologies promoting a self-operated system… It is time we had an effective executive, which will call the bluff when judges invent alibi to explain away their incompetence and absence of integrity. An investigation into the entire higher judiciary may well weaken our faith in the integrity and incorruptibility of their lordships.”

The collegium as a body deserves our sympathy — may be unsolicited. Its composition keeps changing with inevitable retirements of judges. No one but it itself can create any machinery because it was its own creation – a “swayambhu”. However, the task of selecting judges for over 20 High Courts with a judge strength about to touch 900 and vacancies recurring round the year is indeed daunting. And the government appears to be in no hurry to replace the contraption of 1993 invented as a temporary measure.

The ultimate solution lies in the executive taking the initiative to ensure comprehensive constitutional amendments to bring the retirement age of judges of the High Courts on a par with that of the Supreme Court judges, set up an independent commission — a National Judicial Commission — working whole time with its own secretariat, have a provision for the participation of the executive at the highest level alongside the representatives of the judiciary for making appointments and transfers and deal with complaints by and against the judges. How to deal with the problem, in the meanwhile, without conceding defeat even by implication is the immediate issue.

The collegium should formulate a scheme for its own guidance. That scheme will provide for inviting views from the chosen members of the Bar concerned about the names that they would or would not recommend for reasons stated. These confidential communications can be kept out of the purview of the RTI Act. The secretariat would then process the information and place dossiers before the collegium, which would periodically meet and, if needed, hear the candidate concerned or the informer in in-camera proceedings about the adverse reports. The burden taken on themselves by the judges is too heavy for them to carry. They should share it with the Bar before the system collapses under the weight of its own creation. The tragedy should be averted.

Once the Bar is taken into confidence, there will be no dearth of cooperation. A few motivated false alarms may be inevitable, but timely detection will deter their tribe. More importantly, the “we” and “they” concepts will disappear and the problems will be “ours” — of “we the people of the legal fraternity”.

The writer is Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India.

MIDDLE

Elliptical toning
by Sudhamahi Regunathan

In this age of workouts and health consciousness, the new machine called the elliptical came with lots of promise. Of course, more than that there were several stories the salesman told us about how many kilos who had lost and how soon. I could see myself giving Aishwarya Rai a run!

The machine designed to tone the body began working on my mind though. Some error in the manufacture. I guess, but we had bought it and now had to use it.

The very first lesson was harsh and straight. It was probably not programmed on the advice, satyam brooyat, priyam brooyat...speak the truth, but speak it sweetly. I could no longer say, "Oh I walked very long today, maybe two miles, maybe three?" In bright blue figures it showed me that I barely managed half a mile at a time.

It taught me everything comes only with effort. Udhyamena hi sidhyante... only hard work yields result. Even into a lion, the ruler’s mouth, his prey does not walk in, he has to hunt.

And then there is this belief I have nurtured that if I walk even a hundred yards, flab falls off my body! So every time I get back from a short walk my mirror tells me I have become slim! This elliptical had no such reflective qualities. It could not reflect the state of your mind. After half a mile of running when you literally place your heart on the anvil, you lose just 100 calories.

The elliptical was giving me a direct lesson. "Control the tongue. Eat with restraint. Our desires will never be consumed, we will ourselves be consumed by them," it said quoting Bhartihari. It told me the story of the pigeons which were flying high when they saw some grains strewed under a tree. The wise one warned that temptations of the tongue lead us to naught, so let us not be led by the palate. But nobody listened and we all know a hunter caught them in his net.

Lessons were not so simple or few. If you watched the calorie count or the distance count, they refused to move. The pulse rate moved with great speed and so did the speed count, though not so frantically. "Everything in life is relative. When a pig and sheep were picked up by the butcher, the pig cried and made a fuss whereas the sheep kept quiet. The latter was to be killed the former only to be sheared. So each one responds as the stimulus given to him or her. The numbers on the machine are working along similar rules," it said as the last piece of advice.

OPED

Question Hour sanctity lost
This hardly bothers parliamentarians
by Kamlendra Kanwar

THE recent collapse of Question Hour in the Lok Sabha when a shocking 31 of the 38 members who had starred questions listed against their names absented themselves from the proceedings while another was busy sloganeering in the well of the House, was a sad commentary on the rot that has set in progressively in the House of the People.

Ironically, these MPs were not in a boycott mode. Though the Left parties, the SP and the BSP had tried to stall the proceedings, the Speaker had firmly indicated that Question Hour would go on. The absenting MPs were drawn from various political parties and, as it happens, had given to the Speaker their names for asking questions.

Plainly speaking, this was a classic case of indifference by elected representatives towards their duty and a betrayal of the people who elected them. While Congress President Sonia Gandhi at least reprimanded her party’s MPs who were absent when the Speaker called out their names, other parties did not even do that. There was not an iota of regret expressed to the Speaker, Mrs Meira Kumar, a sign of how the august office of Speaker has lost the moral authority that it commanded in yesteryears.

While such adjournment of Question Hour half way through it was unheard of in the past, disruptions due to protests which are common in today’s Parliament are not alien to even this crucial hour.

Disruption of parliamentary proceedings was a rarity in the early decades after independence but even as late as 2004 the time lost to disruptions during Question Hour was at a more manageable 23 per cent, as against the much-enhanced 42 per cent last year.

When the opposition disrupts the first hour in Parliament, it actually results in the loss of an opportunity to keep a check on the government through that crucial hour because the time on Question Hour once lost is never made up, even with Parliament sitting late.

But this hardly seems to bother parliamentarians whose level of seriousness is on a declining curve for the last several years.

The whole approach to Parliament by its members has undergone a major change and it is small wonder that there has been a steady erosion of public faith in politicians and the political system in recent times.

A certain degree of cynicism has crept in among people at large which is a result of loss of faith and disillusionment in the elected representatives. This bodes ill for democracy but the blame lies squarely at the door of the MPs who betray the mandate of those who elect them.

The malaise of general apathy of parliamentarians is reflected also in the number of days the Parliament sits every year. It used to be over 100 in the early decades after independence. Following a progressively declining path, last year it was down to 42 for both Houses.

The ‘Citizen’s Report on Governance and Development 2008-09’, collated by National Social Watch Coalition – a conglomerate of civil society groups – has brought out that between 2000 and 2007, the average hours of working of Parliament was not even 50 per cent of the total time. It noted that slogan-shouting, walkouts, boycotts and adjournments were increasing over the years.

The 11th Lok Sabha lost 5.28 per cent of its time due to pandemonium while the same was 22 per cent in the 14th Lok Sabha.

The year 2008 even witnessed the virtual abrogation of a whole session of Parliament, John Samuel, Convenor of the Coalition, told the media while releasing the report which also found increasing absenteeism among MPs. On examining the attendance records of the 11th and 12th sessions of the 14th Lok Sabha, it was seen that more than 75 per cent of the MPs were below the median point of 16 or more days of attendance, according to the report.

The report said several key bills like the Special Economic Zone Act were passed after less than two hours of discussion. The budget worth of Rs 700,000 crore was passed with only 6-10 hours of discussion in the last Parliament, it pointed out.

Considering that the budget is a complex statement of accounts, it is inconceivable that justice could be done to a meaningful discussion of it in such a short time.

Records of the last (14th) Lok Sabha show that only 173 MPs actually spoke on legislative issues while the House passed nearly 40 per cent of the bills with less than one hour of debate.

There is another aspect of the composition of the Lok Sabha that raises concern and needs to be deliberated upon with far greater seriousness than is being currently done.

Data prepared by the India chapter of ‘Social Watch’ which has former and sitting MPs on its committee, shows that in the 14th Lok Sabha, 125 of the 538 MPs had criminal cases pending against them. While 62 of these MPs have been named in minor cases, mostly of a political nature, the rest were booked for serious crimes that could lead to jail terms of five years or above.

The Election Commission had recommended sometime ago that persons accused of serious criminal offenses where the court is prime facie convinced about their involvement in the crime be banned from contesting elections till they were cleared of such charges. A parliamentary committee that went into the issue rejected the worthy recommendation to the chagrin of many well-meaning commentators.

While dissent is a legitimate democratic tool, disrupting parliamentary proceedings and bringing legislative activity to a halt negates the essence of democracy. A Parliament session is indeed a time to discuss and debate, to put the Government on the mat so that it may not smuggle in questionable legislation stealthily. Instead, it has become a pattern for the Opposition to waste precious time in disruptions and walkouts and thereby unwittingly let the Government off the hook on contentious issues.

The malaise needs to be controlled if parliamentary democracy is to be run in the spirit in which it was intended by the founding fathers of the Constitution. It is sad that the rot has set in also in the State legislatures where too serious business is transacted on a diminishing scale and theatrics are on the increase.

It is not as though there are no well-meaning parliamentarians and State legislators. But they need to assert themselves within party fora and shame those who have made it their business to disrupt proceedings. The leaders of various political parties must also introspect in the right spirit so that Parliament is restored to its old glory in the eyes of the people.

Import of hazardous waste
by Bharat Dogra

ON November 15 a huge explosion in Kota (Rajasthan) killed three persons and inflicted serious injuries on many others. Several buildings near the explosion site were damaged. The explosion occurred when some blacksmiths were trying to process iron scrap.

This, moreover, was only the latest of several such incidents in which accidents occurred during the melting, processing or transport of iron scrap. A common factor in several of these accidents was that the iron scrap or waste had been procured from West Asia.

A lot of waste, particularly iron scrap, is available for cheap disposal in the war-ravaged areas and so it is not surprising if a lot of iron scrap is imported from Iraq as traders would like to buy from a cheap source.

Unfortunately, however, the waste from war-ravaged zones is also likely to be highly hazardous. This is particularly true of any waste from Iraq as in the attack on Iraq cluster bombs as well as depleted uranium weapons were used on a large scale.

Cluster bombs explode in the air just before touching ground. Each cluster bomb contains about 200 ‘bomblets’.

Many of these bomblets contained in a cluster bomb do not explode immediately. They continue to cause a lot of civilian deaths later.

The US/British forces have admitted to the use of depleted uranium in shells fired at tanks or concrete bunkers – this is supposed to increase the ability of shells to penetrate heavy metals and concrete. Depleted uranium arsenal was also used by the US in the Gulf war of 1991.

An epidemiological study undertaken in Iraq by Dr. Alim Yacoub shows a direct correlation between the rise in childhood cancer and leukaemia and the high exposure to depleted uranium dust in certain parts of Basra. The rise has been 384 per cent and 300 per cent respectively.

According to Joanne Baker, coordinator of the Pandora Depleted Uranium Research Project, many babies in Iraq are now born with serious genetic defects, sometimes without limbs or head and with misformed internal organs. Neural tube defects have substantially increased, as have Down’s Syndrome births. Many young children now have cancer or leukaemia.

The US soldiers who used DU weapons and other hazardous weapons also suffered from their hazardous impacts over a long time.

A secret report prepared by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority in April 1991 (later published in a leading British newspaper The Independent) described the alarming possibilities of radioactive dust getting into the food chain and water.

This report warned that 40 tonnes of radioactive debris left from D.U. weapons can cause around half a million deaths. However, the actual debris left behind by the 1991 war and certainly the 2003 invasion is likely to be much more.

Dr. Jawad Ali-Ali, a member of the Royal College of Physicians, UK was quoted as saying (after the 1991 Gulf war)? “Studies indicate that 40 per cent of the population around Basra will get cancer.”

Keeping in view the much higher use of DU and other destructive weapons in 2003, the health hazards now existing in Iraq can be imagined. These can increase enormously for those soldiers who may be asked to clean up some contaminated sites or engage in other high-risk activities.

As a former Army officer (medical) of the US army told the editors of a US magazine, when he and some other soldiers were assigned “to clean up the DU” they started getting sick within 72 hours – “respiratory problems, rashes, bleeding, open sores started almost immediately.”

Similarly when the iron scrap of tanks, trucks, other defence vehicles etc. is sold as waste material, these hazards travel to whichever place the waste material is taken.

When some of this waste came to India, this resulted in several explosions. This hazard is now at least known. But the potentially much more serious hazards of depleted uranium is not even known to several people who may be exposed.

Therefore, the impact of waste material from the war zones should be carefully monitored and as far as possible such imports should be banned in the interests of safety.

Chatterati
Unruly behaviour in Parliament
by Devi Cherian

Parliamentarians' reputation has reached an all-time low. We are all now used to the unruly behaviour in Parliament. Without any respect for themselves or the House, they disrupt the House. They come to blows and exchange abuses leaving the dignity of the House in tatters.

They thoroughly enjoy the perks, the salary and other benefits of being MPs. The cost of one hour is around Rs 14 lakh. They waste the taxpayers’ money.

The worst was when parliamentarians listed to ask questions from ministers were missing from the Lok Sabha, forcing the Speaker to adjourn the all-important question hour. The question hour was robbed of its sanctity. It is high time a no-work, no-pay scheme for these worthies is launched.

And also it is high time that the heads of political parties tame their MPs. Running to the well of the House, waving money in Parliament and taking money for asking question – we have been witness to all this. But now MPs playing truant should be punished and strict action should be taken by the Speaker.

Sonia Gandhi may sit in the House till evening but only a couple of ministers and a handful of MPs are there. Obviously, the high command orders are not being obeyed.

No austerity for some

Pranab Mukherjee's austerity drive, it seems, is not being taken seriously. The Congress ministers staying in five-star hotels did shift out to government bungalows but after spending lakhs on renovations.

Mamata Banerjee, known to all for her own austerity drive, has a minister who till now was staying at a five-star hotel. Mamata is the simplest politician one can come across. Her house in Kolkata has the most basic furniture and kitchen utensils. She mostly cooks her own one-dish meal and is always clad in a simple dhoti.

The Railway Minister has always travelled in economy class. She has not even asked for a government bungalow and continues to live in the MP quarters in the capital. She does not have a government car or guard. She still is driven by her old driver in her old Maruti. So, one fails to understand how a minister belonging to her party could even think of staying for so long in a five-star hotel. Anyway, Mamata has asked him to pay from his own pocket.

The Congress chief and her senior ministers may be flying economy class but three general secretaries chartered a plane to fly to Chandigarh to attend a CLP meeting just before the swearing-in ceremony of the Hooda government. Obviously, leading by example does not work.

This brazen misuse of taxpayers’ money should be stopped by the Prime Minister. Perhaps, the time has come to implement moral guidelines in Indian politics. In any liberal democracy ministerial impropriety is looked down upon and those responsible are asked to demit office.

Bonding with youth

That Rahul Gandhi has a soft corner for the young is known to all. His visits to colleges and schools around the country always make news. Last week some school kids from Punjab visited the Parliament House. As Rahul was leaving Parliament he spotted them and asked his driver to stop. He then got off and chatted with the excited teenagers. He posed for pictures.

Rahul has never been able to curb his temptation to bond with the young. He asked them about their views on politics and went off happy as they said they were not averse to joining politics.