|
|
|
|
|
Timely
retirement Pirates
running amuck |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Focus on
employment
Handling
internal conflicts
A
myopic’s biopic
A fresh wave of
judicial activism has raised issues about the judiciary’s role
vis-a-vis the executive and the legislature. In response to our debate
yesterday, we have received a flood of comments from experts.
|
|
Pirates running amuck
It
is a matter of deep concern for the international community that Somalian pirates are running amuck increasingly, abducting and holding hostage large numbers of people for releasing whom they extract huge ransoms. According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirates took a record 1,181 hostages in 2010 as ship hijackings in waters off Somalia escalated. As many as 53 vessels worldwide were seized by them last year. Earlier this year, Somali pirates were holding 31 vessels and 713 crew members of various nationalities. It is unfortunate indeed that coordinated international action to curb this menace is woefully lacking though even the UN Security Council has authorised military action against the pirates. On paper more than two dozen countries – including China, Britain, Russia, Japan, India, South Korea and the Netherlands – have joined the U.S. Sixth Fleet in patrolling the waters where the pirates operate, but there is little by way of punitive action. If there were a Somali government, it would ideally secure its own shoreline. What passes for a government at the moment controls only a corner of Mogadishu, the capital city. That reinforces the need for concerted action internationally to stave off the threat to shipping routes and international commerce besides human lives. The reality is that most nations prefer to pay ransom for their citizens — and the Navy refuses to go hunting for pirates. This makes piracy all the more lucrative. Statements like those of Indian Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday ruling out any plans for offensive action against Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden serve to embolden the pirates. Even if such action is not planned it is wrong for Mr Antony to send out such weak signals. To remedy the situation, diplomatic steps must be taken to encourage a functioning Somali state which can contain its lumpen elements, captured pirates must be handed out deterrent punishment and there should be more armed guards on-board ships. The international community can ill afford the kind of laxity that prevails today in this regard.
|
|
|
Focus on employment
The
Jammu and Kashmir budget for 2011-12, presented on March 7, takes some hard steps but is not aggressive enough in revenue generation, which is necessary if the government has to increase in any significant way the spending on health, education and infrastructure to accelerate the development process. The zero-deficit budget has two thrust areas: generating jobs and improving girls’ education. But the amounts earmarked are modest. A sum of Rs 310 crore has been set apart for skill development to help youngsters of the trouble-torn state launch self-employment ventures. Just Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for the employment and welfare programmes. Presenting his 11th budget, Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather has floated an interesting scheme called “Anmol Beti” to dissuade girls from dropping out of school. Each girl from a family living below the poverty line on passing Class XII will get a fixed deposit of Rs 5,000 as an incentive. Though the amount is meagre to pursue higher education, particularly a professional course, it is still a good gesture. There are some other feel-good steps the minister has taken like the payment of pension arrears to those aged 80 to 90 and a hike in the daily wages from Rs 110 to Rs 125. No one may question the hefty increase in the value added tax (VAT) on cigarettes — from 13.5 per cent to 25 per cent. But a higher tax on edible oil may make no sense to a housewife already battered by high food prices. The Finance Minister very condescendingly announces the sacrifice of “the revenue of a few hundred crores of rupees annually to keep food grain prices under check”. Decades of militancy has taken its toll on development. Tourism is the mainstay of the state economy. Tourists would return to the valley in a big way only if normalcy is restored. Gainful employment can wean youth away from the path of separatism and violence. The Centre’s recent package can boost the state efforts in this direction.
|
|
|
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. — Albert Einstein
|
Handling internal conflicts
Carl Von Clausewitz’s “remarkable trinity” is the capstone thesis of his book “On War”. This is interpreted by most theorists as comprising three important elements of the state: the people (“passions that are to be kindled in war must be inherent in the people”), the government (“political aims are the business of government”), and the military (“the scope which the play of courage and talent will enjoy in the realm of probability and chance depends on the particular character of the commander and the army”). These three elements and their relationship are the basis for armed forces’ operations. The trinity theory has highlighted the relationship between the people and the armed forces in the performance of the role by the latter. Before World War II, despite trinity linkage, the armed forces maintained a certain aloofness (cantonment living) from civil society. There was strong attachment to military values and a clearly defined distance from civil society. With increased democratic polity of the states and ever-increasing transparency, the armed forces have got more and more integrated into the values and interests of democratic society. Wars are no longer fought by the armed forces alone. National security has become a wider, more relevant and acceptable concept. Questions are raised whenever the role and mission of the armed forces come into conflict with civil society. There has also been self-awareness and a shift in the self-image. The armed forces have become conscious that while remaining capable of deterring and fighting an enemy, they must remain part of a larger community. The weapons of war are to be wielded against armed opponents; not against unarmed civilians, particularly co-citizens. This attitudinal transition is best explained by the neutral stance maintained by the Egyptian armed forces during the recent civil unrest in the country to oust President Hosni Mubarak. There are some basic differences in fighting an enemy and when engaged in internal security and law and order situations. Serving and defending the nation is a strong conviction among soldiers. There is no such conviction when a soldier is involved in handling internal conflicts. The former is unidimensional in which “attack” is the best form of “defence”. The soldier’s mindset of being able to use unrestricted violence against an enemy goes through confusion when he is ordered to use force against unarmed civilians for a preferred non-violent “conflict resolution”. Public expressions of defiance like hunger-strikes, dharnas, marches and demonstrations by civilians cause acute discomfort because they run contrary to the essence of all that a soldier is taught: respect for civil society and obedience of lawful authority. There is a conflict between the larger civil society and a sub-system of the society whose identity is defined by martial honour. A soldier’s professional and social identities come into conflict. After the Operation Bluestar experience, the Indian Army succeeded in avoiding any role in the Ram Janmabhoomi conflict. But it must be admitted that the above mentioned military attitudinal transition notwithstanding, there are many instances, including some in close neighbourhood, wherein the armed forces have intervened to take over the nation and governance on the pretext of saving it from political instability and anarchy (“defense of motherland” syndrome!). Such instances have occurred mostly where democratic institutions have not been established or have remained weak; the forces have been politicised, and/or involved repeatedly and for prolonged durations in internal conflicts. Once in power, military rulers have developed vested interests. They have misused military authority for governance and internal conflicts and not allowed democratic forces to flourish. There are several such examples in West Asia, North Africa and, closer home, in Pakistan and Myanmar. Internal conflicts in Sri Lanka and Nepal, too, have had some impact on their armed forces. India has been fortunate in this respect. Our armed forces have not only fought gallantly on the battlefield but also consistently and impartially upheld India’s integrity and secular democratic traditions even when many other institutions have failed the nation. The armed forces enjoy their unique status in national life because they are uniquely isolated from politics. But such a situation cannot be taken for granted. It can get diluted if the armed forces are misused or deprived of their legitimate rights and status. Let us focus on some ground realities and consequential adaptations which have been made in the strategy, doctrine, force structures and re-orientation of our armed forces for employment in internal conflicts. With considerable experience behind us, we usually adopt a holistic strategy wherein political, economic, social, psychological and military aspects are given simultaneous attention. The aim of security operations is to arrest or eliminate hardcore militants and to deter their supporters. The rules of engagement are based on two forms of self-restraint: “discrimination and proportionality”. “Use of minimum force” principle is employed in all such operations. The forces fight militants and anti-social elements but also reassure innocent people feeling insecure or neglected due to the inadequate role of the civil administration. During sustained operations, the forces often form citizens’ committees to learn about their difficulties and hold meetings with them. Along with sustained operations, small and large-scale civic action programmes are undertaken. The Army launches projects like Operation Goodwill and Sadbhavna for this purpose. No democratic nation can afford to give full licence to the armed forces to operate freely. Their responsibility, authority, legality and accountability have to be defined clearly. In handling internal conflicts, armed forces have to uphold human rights. Terrorists and insurgents are under no such constraints. I have personally come across instances of terrorists taking shelter in and firing from religious places, hospitals, schools and colleges. There have also been cases where they have used women and children as shields to escape when cornered by security forces. False allegations to implicate security forces personnel in cases of molestations and rape are not uncommon. Then there is also the question of human rights and legal protection of the armed forces, ordered by the state to counter terrorism. It is a complex situation, contrary to the conventional war-oriented military culture and training of the soldier, which requires constant explaining and asserting that as good citizens of the nation, we cannot afford to compromise on human rights. It needs to be recognised that in such operations where it is impossible to identify the difference between a friend and a foe and its stress, strain, and often deliberate provocations, aberrations cannot be ruled out. These aberrations have to be dealt with legally in a transparent manner as far as possible. With experience, we have realised the need for specially organised, equipped, area-oriented forces to deal with insurgencies and terrorism. Rashtrya Rifles is one such force wherein Army personnel have been organised to deal with internal conflicts. These forces undertake training for local terrain, people, their language, customs and traditions. It must be admitted, however, that such conversions, orientation and re-conversions of soldiers affects the primary operational role of the Army, which is a substantial cost. Based on personal experience, I would like to make two essential points on the employment of armed forces in internal conflict situations. First, military pressure alone and cannot resolve matters unless there is good governance and a strong thrust on socio-political and socio-economic issues. Political leadership and civil administration have to govern the states and the country with greater commitment and efficiency. Second, protracted and excessive employment of the armed forces leads to “Law of Diminishing Returns”. The reasons are (a) over-dependence on the Army reflects lack of trust and faith in the capability of the state and the Central armed police and the paramilitary forces; (b) after a while, locals start treating the Army as another police force; (c) such deployments and prolonged duties have an adverse impact on the Army’s discipline, morale and operational effectiveness. Abhorrent incidents of “fake encounters” can also be ascribed to this reason. (d) During a war or war-like situation, the Army needs public support (trinity linkage). It cannot afford to alienate the local population due to public inconveniences that go alongside such deployments. I would like to state that although constitutionally required to help the states in internal security and maintenance of law and order, excessive and prolonged use of the armed forces in internal conflicts is neither good for the armed forces nor for the
nation. The writer is a former Chief of Army Staff
|
|||||
A myopic’s biopic As
a child, I remember sneaking a peek into my mother’s diary and reading an entry dating back to 1980 when I was first diagnosed as myopic. “Miss Marie Flory said that Raji is unable to read the blackboard from the last bench. The curse of Kavasseri has affected our family.” Kavasseri is my mother’s village and was at one time famous for producing mathematical wizards and musical geniuses. The curse referred to weak eyesight which almost always accompanied the gift. Growing up with glasses had to rate way up there among the worst possible things that could happen to a child. Particularly if she had Kavasseri in her roots but no noticeable mathematical genius or musical gift. Thankfully, back then, we had not heard of wisecracks like, “Boys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses”, or the more graphic, “Girls who wear glasses are like reference books in the library — you do not take them out !” When my cousins (also myopic as a consequence of the Kavasseri legacy) successfully started wearing contact lenses, I was taken to the ophthalmologist’s clinic to try them out. Dr Patel made me practice on a trial pair before I could be certified fit to handle them. As he handed me my own pair, he said with a twinkle in his eyes, “Remember to wash the lenses in boiled water. For heaven’s sake, do not use saliva like some of my teenaged patients do!” Those days we had hard contact lenses and you had to really guard against a dust particle entering your eye. If an offending particle lodged itself under the contact lens, your eyes would water uncomfortably until you either took off your lenses or flushed out the Unidentified Foreign Object. Semi-soft lenses arrived later, but Dr Patel was able to promote me directly to soft lenses which could be cleaned with a special sterile solution. While handing me a set of protein removal enzyme tablets, his precise instructions brought on more giggles : “Pop them into the lens case, not into your mouth !” As a contact lens-wearer, you learnt to keep your hands away from your eyes and to recognise a fellow lens-wearer when you saw one. You could experiment with eye make-up and recommend contact lenses to the other “chashmish” girls in college. Of course, there were still things you could never do with lenses in your eyes — shampooing your hair or chopping onions, for example. Times have changed and wearing glasses is not stigmatic in the classrooms of today. My teenaged daughter has escaped the Kavasseri effect but envies her bespectacled classmates who get to wear Guess and Armani frames. Contact lenses are no more the sole preserve of those who need vision correction — people wear coloured lenses as fashion accessories today. No mother writes mournful entries in her diary over her child’s myopia anymore. However, words are powerful and set you thinking. It is no longer considered appropriate to call a speech-impaired person “dumb”, but a decision maker’s ill-conceived plans continue to be dubbed as “products of his myopic
vision”!
|
|||||
A fresh wave of judicial activism has raised issues about the judiciary’s role vis-a-vis the executive and the legislature. In response to our debate yesterday, we have received a flood of comments from experts. The Supreme Court’s directions to the executive to bring out the black money deposited by Indians in foreign banks are laudable. The Supreme Court should ensure that all the ill-gotten monies stashed away in foreign banks are brought to India and confiscated by the Central Government. All these tax evaders and black marketeers deserve exemplary punishment. One should not take any lenient view on this matter. The Supreme Court’s directions in this regard are aimed at serving the public interest which will, in turn, help check inflation. As regards the Supreme Court quashing the appointment of Mr P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner, the Prime Minister has told in Parliament that it was an “error of judgement”. The Prime Minister has also owned up responsibility for the CVC’s appointment. Once such a statement is made by the Prime Minister, there is no need for investigating the matter any further and this is the right time to close the issue. — Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, Constitutional balance intact
Judicial activism has become necessary because of a number of lacunae in the functioning of the legislature and the executive. Both the legislature and the executive are guilty of either over-action or inaction. We also find that members of the legislature are turning out to be more and more corrupt and some corrective steps need to be undertaken. So we feel that the judiciary needs to step in. There is absolutely no question of the balance between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary being disturbed because of judicial activism. For instance, the Prime Minister himself was pulled up by the courts over the appointment of Mr P.J. Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner. And the Prime Minister had to admit that he had made an “error of judgement”. So there has been a correction. Moreover, India’s judiciary has been careful not to overstep its limits. Courts are very conscious of their roles. However, politicians are unhappy because their interests have been hurt. — M.P. Rao, Time to root out corruption
This is also the right time for creating a better legal framework for tackling the menace of corruption. At a time when our Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Defence Minister, Service Chiefs and Cabinet Secretary are persons of unimpeachable integrity, honesty and character, it is rather surprising that a large number of corruption cases have come to the fore and an impression is gathering that everybody is corrupt. — Amarendra Sharan, It’s ordained by statute
It is a conscious and conscientious discharge of duty by the court ordained by the Constitution and a matter of judges being true to their oath. This has nothing to do with activism or passivism. It is plain and simple discharge of duty. — P.P. Rao, Judges must undo the wrong
By and large, the judges are discharging their duties and whenever things go wrong they have to correct them. It is the credibility of the judges which makes people feel that they are doing a good job. People don’t know the niceties of the Constitution or law, but it is their confidence in the judiciary which keeps the judges going. I very much appreciate what our judiciary is doing. — Pravin H. Parekh, Applying course corrections
There is need for reform in every field, particularly in education, to restore the sense of nationalism among people. Foolproof laws would rein in people in position from doing wrong things. India’s image in the international arena would be enhanced only if steps are taken in this direction. — J.S. Attri, Nothing radical about it
Is activism by judges something new? It is something expected of the judiciary. Judges have always been activists. Senior judges like Justice P.N. Bhagwati expanded the scope of roti, kapada and makan. Compared with judges like Justice Bhagwati, you cannot call the present-day judges activists. The Indian Constitution clearly defines the role of the judiciary. Under the provisions of the Constitution, judicial review of the functioning of the legislature and the executive is mandated. So there is nothing radical about it. There is no question of the constitutional balance being upset simply because judges are not going beyond their prescribed roles. It is the duty of the judiciary. — Justice Hosbet Suresh, Fearless, honest judges
Ordinary people can hope to obtain justice because judges like Chief Justice of India Justice S.H. Kapadia are fearless and honest. It is because of such judges that the judiciary can hope to bring about a change in the country. The judiciary is acting within the framework of the Constitution when it looks into the functioning of the executive and the legislature. The court gives a ruling when the matter is placed before it. So there is no question of the judiciary interfering in the working of the executive as far as the CVC’s appointment is concerned. An activist judiciary does not disturb the constitutional equilibrium. Judges are not going against the constitutional framework by taking up matters pertaining to the functioning of the executive or the legislature. — Benedict Lobo, As told to R. Sedhuraman in New Delhi, Shiv Kumar in Mumbai and
Saurabh Malik in Chandigarh
|
|
Don’t undermine the role of other branches of govt The Supreme Court has delivered several landmark decisions in public interest litigation cases that are now part of the evolution of India’s own constitutional jurisprudence. The judicial process has a dynamic role to play, both as the guarantor of justice to litigants and as upholder of the constitutional conscience. But at the same time, it has to be ensured that the Basic Structure of our Constitution is not subordinated to political impulses of the moment or to the will of transient majorities. — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tension will help develop law The courts’ decisions on the legality of laws or executive action are based on many objective factors such as whether the law was restrictive, unreasonable or arbitrary. It would have been different had the rulings been based on a subjective view, and if the courts were to sit on judgement over Parliament. — Justice S.H. Kapadia, Don’t exceed briefs The judiciary should not exceed its briefs through judicial activism. According to a British Judge, “Judicial activism beyond a point is against the rule of law…” and “that is why I always tell my brother judges, ‘please see to it that we also should continue to learn’”. When we talk of ethics, the judges normally comment upon ethics among politicians, students, professors and others. But I would say that for
a Judge too, ethics, not only constitutional morality but even ethical morality, should be the base…If the Judge is clear on concepts...he/she will be able to decipher the difference between judicial activism and
judicial restraint. — Justice S.H. Kapadia
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Whatever is happening is for the good of the country. Corruption is spreading like cancer. Time has come to use harsh remedial measures. Corruption amounts to violation of human rights of the poor people because this money otherwise would have gone to them. 
There is nothing like judicial activism. The judges must decide the cases which come before them in accordance with the Constitution and laws. Matters which affect the people in high positions are rightly highlighted by the media. 
If there is no activism at this juncture, the situation will worsen in administration. People have become aware of the level of corruption because the Supreme Court is directly monitoring the investigations in big scams and the media is disseminating the news in a big way. 
The judiciary should not exercise its power of judicial review to undermine the legitimate role assigned to other branches of the government…The role of courts and judges in making law an instrument of social stability and progressive change cannot be overemphasised. 
Tension between the courts and the government is necessary for the law to develop. The contours of rights have to be decided by courts, not Parliament.