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Divide and rule
Living it up in Punjab |
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Yes, My Lord
‘Rogue’ acts on LoC
Willing to be duped
Needed, a zero-tolerance approach
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Divide and rule
Caste
politics is being played openly and unabashedly by the VHP-BJP combine and the Samajwadi Party for mutual benefit in the coming elections. Ten days ago Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal and SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav reportedly had a meeting, which has given rise to speculation about a possible “match-fixing”. The polarisation of Hindus and Muslims, their respective vote banks, suits both. Mohd Azam Khan, the Muslim face of the SP, objected to his party supremo meeting one of the architects of the Babri Masjid demolition. Several seers in Ayodhya, including Mahant Gyandas, head of the committee that organises the “84 Kosi Parikrama”, have accused the VHP of “playing politics” by changing the yatra timing and route. According to the tradition, the yatra is held between “Chaitra Purnima” and “Baisakh Navami”. The timing has been changed to make it closer to the elections and the new route passes through certain “communally volatile” Muslim-dominated areas. After an initial silence, the BJP came out openly in support of the VHP on Monday and raised the issue of ban on the yatra in Parliament. BJP and SP members had a showdown, resulting in the adjournment of both Houses of Parliament. Divisive politics may win the support of some conservative or ill-informed people for the two parties in certain pockets of Uttar Pradesh but both run the risk of distancing a far larger number of enlightened citizens at the national level. On the one hand the BJP projects Narendra Modi as a symbol of economic growth, touting the Gujarat model. Modi reaches out to the young educated youth through the social media and addresses students in elite colleges. On the other, the party appeals to the conservative and religious-minded people by raising caste issues. Last time the BJP formed a government at the Centre under a moderate and liberal Atal Behari Vajpayee, who relegated religious issues to the background to keep the allies on board. This time it is banking on a leader who is as much a votary of development as of
Hindutava.
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Living it up in Punjab
A
typical Punjabi farmer considers selling land under financial duress the ultimate humiliation, and would thus use it only as the last recourse. There is also a small section of the land-owning families that go the wrong way and start selling land in bits and pieces to finance their profligacy. The Punjab Government seems to follow the ways of the latter category. It was during the SAD-BJP government's last tenure that the process of selling prime public land - whether directly under it or through boards, corporations and civic bodies — was started. That it continues unabated years down the line means it was not intended as a one-time measure to tide over a justifiable financial crisis, but is under a deliberate policy — a policy to ‘live it up’ till you can. What thereafter? There is little explanation from the government how it hopes to ever overcome the spiralling debt. A balance sheet has two sides, income and expenditure. Under the second column, Punjab has stubbornly refused to cut its liabilities. Against all principles of administrative reform, it continues to retain a large size of the government — especially the Cabinet and senior bureaucracy. There is a plethora of non-productive boards and corporations that are a drain on the finances. Despite spending only small amounts on education, health and road building, the government's need for loans is continually growing bigger in size. The state government needs to look to what other governments are up to. The Centre has similar problems - deficit and the political need for populist expenditures — yet it has started cutting down on subsidies, even if out of lack of choice. Bihar is chasing corruption, attaching properties of those convicted. Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are promising industry the power it requires. Punjab has no concrete step to show it is concerned about bookkeeping. The irony is it is run by a Deputy Chief Minister who owns rather successful hospitality and transport businesses — two lines in which the state entities concerned have shown exceptional losses.
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Yes, My Lord
The
highest court of the land has expressed what many feel and some have said: justice in India is both expensive and slow. Justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde have been candid in their observations about the commercialisation of the legal profession. They are right when they say that many times people who file a case are convinced that their case would not conclude in their lifetime. The Bench took exception to a lawyer becoming the advocate-on-record on a petition without taking proper responsibility. The advocate-on-record system was devised by the courts to ensure efficient legal assistance to litigants and judges. It has been subverted by some individuals. Reminding advocates that they are officers of the court, the judges also took them to task for disregarding the interest of their clients and the administration of justice. They warned them against exploiting their clients. There is no doubt that litigation has become expensive. It is definitely beyond the reach of the common man. Indeed, there is anecdotal evidence of families who have lost much of their material possessions, lands and other properties to pay for the cost of prolonged litigation. Once a person gets embroiled in legal issues, it is a long haul, one that can take an inordinate amount of time and effort. The courts are, it seems, simply overwhelmed by the large number of cases that they have to deal with, and the time taken on each case. Delay in the dispensation of justice in criminal cases also costs dear. Experts often cite the delay in conviction of criminals as a contributing factor in the rise in crime. It is well known that there is a shortage of judges at various levels in the judiciary. Indeed, far-reaching reforms are needed to provide justice that is accessible to the poor and one that is delivered in a timely manner.
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Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. —Confucius
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‘Rogue’ acts on LoC
In
recent months the Pakistan army has been behaving in a rather aggressive manner on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in blatant violation of the mutually observed ceasefire. Its rogue actions have included the beheading of an Indian soldier in January 2013 and an ambush on the Indian side of the LoC, which resulted in the death of five Indian soldiers in the Poonch sector. Since then, there have been daily incidents of trans-LoC firing, including in the relatively quiet Kargil sector. The Indian army has responded appropriately to this unprovoked firing. The Pakistan army has denied that its personnel were involved in the ambush on August 6 and that so-called Kashmiri terrorists may have sneaked across the LoC and ambushed the Indian patrol. This preposterous denial lacks credibility as every military professional familiar with the LoC environment knows that incidents of this nature can occur only with the direct involvement, wholehearted operational planning and full logistics support of the Pakistan army. Complex operations by Border Action Teams (BATs) are invariably led by personnel of the Special Services Group (SSG, Pakistan's Special Forces) and include specially selected regular soldiers. A large-sized terrorist group simply cannot get through the Pakistan army's well-coordinated forward defences, navigate the anti-personnel minefields and then come back safely after several rounds of firing have taken place and plenty of noise has been generated. In short, explicit connivance is an inescapable prerequisite for a trans-LoC raid to succeed. Why did the Pakistan army orchestrate such an incident at a time when the Nawaz Sharif government wishes to reach out to India? General Kayani has himself admitted that India is not Pakistan's number one national security threat and that the danger lies within. Quite obviously, the Pakistan army is not in sync with Prime Minister Sharif regarding his policy of normalising relations with India and would like to keep the pot simmering in Kashmir. Though it has carefully calibrated the number of incidents of violence and the targets to be attacked, the army considers it necessary to keep the machinery created for terrorism and insurgency well-oiled so that the so-called Jihad can be ratcheted up when needed. Perhaps the Pakistan army is of the view that the Jihad in Kashmir is flagging and needs to be revived through a series of spectacular incidents designed to raise the morale of terrorists. Lt Gen Gurmit Singh, GOC, 15 Corps, has said that 28 hard core terrorists have been eliminated since June 24. Of these, 18 were killed while attempting to infiltrate. Approximately 500 terrorists now remain, including sleeper cells, and about 2,000 are waiting in Pakistan and PoK to be inducted. The Indian army is making it difficult for them due to sustained counter-infiltration operations. This summer has seen a major increase in the number of attempts that are being made to infiltrate newly trained terrorists. According to a statement made by Defence Minister A. K. Antony in Parliament, there have been 57 violations of the ceasefire agreement so far this year compared with 93 in 2012. Most such violations are of small arms fire to aid and facilitate infiltration across the LoC. On another plane, there could be a connection with the situation in Afghanistan. The incident on the LoC has come close on the heels of the ISI-sponsored attack on India's consulate in Jalalabad. Is the Pakistan army sending a message to India to reduce its involvement in Afghanistan, particularly its military aid and training support to the Afghan National Army? It is well known that the Pakistan army is deeply concerned with the support India enjoys in Afghanistan and India’s continuing commitment to Afghan reconstruction and would like to limit India's
influence. The real question to be asked is whether the Pakistan army can ever have a genuine change of heart about the futility of prolonged hostility towards India. The answer is very simple. Pakistan's recent overtures towards India are a tactical ploy to tide over the army's current difficulties, rather than a paradigm shift in the grand strategy and should not be seen as a change of heart at the strategic level. What should be India's response? Should India continue to engage Pakistan and discuss peace and stability? Even during war it is always advisable to keep a channel of communication open with the adversary. In the case of India and Pakistan this is even more important as the two nuclear-armed nations have a long history of conflict and have come close to war at least twice in the last decade. Hence, it is important to continue the dialogue process, but after first giving a befitting response for the Pakistan army's grave provocations on the LoC. Edward N Luttwak, a well-known military strategist, said a few days ago, "Be good to Nawaz Sharif, be harsh with the army.” This advice is appropriate under the circumstances. The aim of the peace talks should be to get Pakistan to end terrorism directed against India from its soil, bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks to justice and stop the army's 'rogue' acts on the LoC. The Indian army has been given a free hand to retaliate punitively at one or more places of its choosing on the LoC. The aim should be to cause maximum damage to the forward posts of the Pakistan army, particularly those through which recent attacks have been launched. This will raise the cost for the army and the ISI to continue to wage their proxy war. The selected instrument should be the firepower of the artillery — guns, mortars, multi-barrel rocket launchers — supplemented by infantry weapons like medium machine guns. Every single bunker visible on the targeted Pakistani post should be razed to
the ground. Planning for these ‘fire assaults’ should be carefully undertaken so that collateral damage is avoided and civilians are not hurt. Every time acts of similar provocation are repeated in future, the quantum of punitive retaliation must be correspondingly enhanced. Fire assaults should be repeated as often as necessary. Quite soon, when it bleeds and hurts, the Pakistan army will get the message that wanton acts of violence do not
pay. The writer is a Delhi-based strategic analyst.
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Willing to be duped Why should conmen and crooks be able to strike repeatedly? There can be two reasons: either they are very clever or we are fools. If you ask me the latter possibility is more often the reason, best illustrated by my following experience. Recently when we had gone to visit Tamil Nadu, we booked our seats for our travel from Madurai to Rameshwarm in a private bus. It was a 170 km distance, expected to take four hours. Though we were at the fixed point at 7.15 sharp, the bus left at 9 am with the result that by the time our bus reached on the outskirts of Rameshwarm, it was already 12.15. Obviously, the passengers were a worried lot since the gate of the temple is closed at 1 pm. Just then the conductor announced: “Ladies and gentleman, we are now at the gate of Rameshwarm. It is an island with its own government. Every tourist is required to pay Rs 70 as the entry fee. But, since our bus moves every day, they give us a discount of Rs 20 per passenger. Therefore, each passenger will pay Rs 50 to me for depositing to them. The conductor started collecting money. In the meanwhile my husband smelt something fishy and spoke to me "He is simply fooling the passengers. Rameshwarm is very much a part of Tamil Nadu and is not a separate island. Moreover, I have not seen any board carrying instructions for the payment of any tax, and even if this levy exists, it has to be paid by the owner of the bus”. As he reached us and demanded money, my husband snapped back, "Thank you very much for your concession of Rs 20. I will go there and myself deposit the entry fee of for our family". Finding this unexpected resistance, the conductor started raising a hue and cry. "Why are you delaying everybody?" and there was a bit of commotion. A family from Gujarat shouted from the front: " You have come all the way from Punjab by spending thousands. Why are you raising a storm for this small amount? Can't you see time is running out for the deity’s darshna?" From the second corner there was another piece of advice: "When you are in an alien land, never involve yourself in any brawl.” My husband was at pains to explain that he never stopped any of them from paying but he had every right to pay the dues himself without accepting his discount offer. Moreover, he’d go and return with the conductor so that there is no loss of time.” My husband went with the conductor. Hardly had they moved 50 yards when the conductor said to my husband: “Sir, you can go back, we will not take money from you”. But my husband was adamant. When he reached the spot he found a scruffy man on a cot. The conductor gave Rs 200 to him. “Sahib you will not understand, this is our bus union fee. Please don’t disclose this to the passengers. I promise I will treat your family with a special lunch and also special entry into the temple.” As my husband returned, all eyes were on him and one of them rushed to ask, “How much did you pay” “Gentleman, if there is any fee chargeable only then I’d have paid”, my husband replied. Now there was a bigger commotion. Up from their seats they had gheraoed the conductor and were asking for the refund. My husband who had no sympathy with the passengers got up from his seat and said in a loud voice, “Look, time is running out for darshna. You can deal with him after reaching there.” Finding the support coming from a totally unexpected quarter, the driver pressed the accelerator and stopped the bus when we were in the parking of the temple.” Most of the passengers were well educated. Now what will you say? Conmen are clever or are we
fools?
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Needed, a zero-tolerance approach As one watches the news about the rape of a young 22-year-old photo journalist in Mumbai, and the television debates that follow, one feels a sense of having heard it and seen it before. With a sickening feeling in the pit of the stomach you feel nothing, it seems nothing at all, has changed and nothing ever will. The same pious platitudes, the same rhetoric, the same banal arguments and blamegame. It seems an action replay of the way events had unfolded post-Nirbhaya rape case that, it appeared then, had jolted the middle class out of its cocoon. This time it has occurred in Mumbai, a metropolis which is generally considered safe for women where they could walk around with a taken-for-granted freedom and without fear.Women did not feel threatened because Mumbai treated them as equals. Not any more.
What is worrisome is that we might become so immune to the news of ghastly gang rapes, each more revolting than the other, and our responses become so atrophied that even the most gruesome crimes will not make a dent into our conscience (and consciousness). TV debates and long-winded analyses generate more heat than solutions. After venting out our anger, fears and frustrations we feel satisfied that we, the complacent middle class, have salvaged our conscience. What about effective policing? More stringent laws need not translate into more convictions and act as a deterrent. Even eight months after the gruesome Delhi rape case, there has been no conviction, despite it being a fast-track court. The onus on safety is on the women themselves as proved by many studies (see box). What needs to be put in place is effective policing and neighbourhood safety measures, manning police kiosks at night and most important of all, preparing a data base of criminals to track hardened criminals and keep tabs on their migration and anti-social activities. The government has failed abysmally to put in place a prevention mechanism. Petty thefts flourish with the tacit approval of the police and the “subculture” of a metropolis often perceived as safe bustles with crimes that go undetected. No punishment for petty crimes allows bigger, more heinous crimes to flourish with impunity. A big city is bound to afford greater anonymity to its inhabitants and it is this that offers a ‘hideout’ to criminals. The area where the Mumbai incident occurred was frequented by drug peddlers and addicts. It is difficult to believe that the police, just a short distance away, was oblivious to the den. One of the most effective ideas about crime prevention to come out in recent years is the “broken window theory.” According to this theory, small acts of deviance: littering, graffiti, broken windows, will, if ignored, escalate into more serious crime. So today’s petty thief, if allowed a free run, can become a hardened rapist tomorrow. Notions of masculinity The notion that law does not catch up with the deviant, who is often glorified, is also reinforced by Bollywood. Similarly, if one were to go by rules of Bollywood, that occupies so much of mental and psychological space in our collective consciousness, a woman is an object to be wooed and ‘acquired,’ often aggressively. Our film industry, despite a host of fresh ideas and out-of-the-box storylines, reinforces the macho hero who can use force to woo the heroine and never takes a no for a no. Objectification of women in urban spaces where kinship markers have already dissolved and a state of anomie prevails, makes them objects of fantasy as well as passive and powerless recepients on whom it is perfectly acceptable to vent out aggression and frustration. Add to that our flawed notions of masculinity. We need to confront our construction of masculinity. Our society constructs masculinity in a way that valorises aggression and violence in men. We need to teach our boys differently and this must begin at the level of schools. Sensitivity and respect for girls and women should be taught and demonstrated at home. We do not need to worship our women, let’s just treat them like human beings who deserve a humane treatment. Reinforcing confidence As young women come out in large numbers and join the work force as professionals, we cannot afford to instil fear into their hearts and for this the state cannot abdicate its responsibility. The onus is on the state to afford safe public spaces to its citizens. For this even the youth needs to move beyond Facebook activism and become more proactive. After all they have more stakes in the future of the country, unlike the fossilised and defunct political class that only works for its own survival as well as perpetuation. Demonstrating a zero-tolerance for rape and crimes against women, even if the offender is a highly placed politician or an influential official would go a long way in ensuring compliance with law and serve the cause of justice more than a host of legislative measures. Once the message goes out that even the rich, the powerful and the politically well-connected are not a class apart and cannot escape the noose of the law if they commit a crime against women, it will be an effective deterrent. The reason is notions of caste, hierarchy and entitlement due to being a part of the power structure are deeply embedded in the psyche and the collective consciousness of the average Indian. We need much more than mere statistics that tell us how much crime against women has risen or oft-repeated theories of what leads to such horrendous crimes being bandied about. All most of us ask for is a safe space for all citizens, which includes children, women and girls. The din of empty talk and even more empty promises should not drown the silent screams of suffering women.
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The Mumbai gang rape incident made my heart sink. Apart from the horror of the crime on its own, the next worse thing was that it happened in Mumbai. You just don't associate such a horrid crime with the cultural fabric that Mumbai possesses. What has been absolutely welcoming about Mumbai's culture is the agnosticism it has towards its people's eccentricities. The autorickshaw driver who would cite the Bhagavadgita in his conversation, our awesome internet service provider who'd operate out of a thatched shanty, the police constable who would sit me down and educate me about insurance policies, the LGBTI filmmakers — you had to be good at what you did and that was it. Gender, unlike in the North of the country, was the least of the issues you would have to deal with. Why, if you stared at women, they stared back at you! The police have done their job well it seems. There has been the requisite amount of outrage in the media. The court trials would probably and hopefully be swift. But is Mumbai now safe for women? I hope this turns out to be a one-off incident.
What does the gang rape of a young woman photographer in an Indian metropolis, considered the country's most progressive and modern, tell us about ourselves? It points, first of all, to an urban milieu that does not recognise the principle of gender equality; a society that still has not internalised the principle of every person's right to free movement and bodily integrity. Secondly, it reflects that the more our urban centres grow — bursting as they are with malls, markets and traffic-clogged streets — the less secure they are becoming for those who inhabit them. 
"So Mumbai's not safe any more either," is what everyone in the country seems to be saying. I wonder if I sense some schadenfreude (pleasure derived from others' misery) there. I've lived in Delhi and endured its haunting and unrelenting male gaze. Mumbai's has perhaps been more discreet. Women here too avoid travelling in lonely train coaches but they are able to stroll on Marine Drive at midnight. Mumbai's not perfect and neither are its people. It's a city, at the moment, grieving for the tragedy that's happened and, hopefully, a city that will stand up and not let this happen again. Having lived here for over six years I have encountered my set of creeps but it's not a daily struggle like most of India is. I will not be leaving the city in a hurry. It's made me feel safer than others. But that doesn't mean I'm totally safe. After all, Mumbai is as much a part of the India that thinks the woman always deserves it.
The Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 has brought in a stronger, a more deterrent law for dealing with incidents /crimes of sexual assault on women, primarily in response to the Delhi rape case. Deterrence is just one way of dealing with crime and harsher punishments are not the only solution. The damage to the victims also has to be healed on priority. Sadly, all these responses come after an incident takes place. It is easier to blame the police after such an incident takes place. The focus should be on crime-prevention strategies to deal with crimes against women at the primary and secondary levels. Sole reliance on the criminal justice system is no solution to crime. Campaigns for a safe city need community involvement. Causes of crime are complex and cumulative and may be embedded in personal and social histories of offenders.We have to engage men in violence prevention and broaden and diversify our responses to violence against women. Crime is best controlled with community as the primary controller and active participant, with no silent bystanders.