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No more MP
Investigating crimes |
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Clinical trials
Equations of poll arithmatic
Never lose your men
Canada Calling / Gurmukh Singh
Raagi’s shameful act Dubious sponsorships
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No more MP
WITH the Supreme Court stripping down the immunity granted to convicted MPs and MLAs from immediate disqualification, on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts, it was only a matter of time before someone would lose his seat in Parliament. Rasheed Masood, a Congress leader held guilty in a case of corruption, cheating, forgery, etc, now has the dubious distinction of being the first Member of Parliament to lose his seat. Masood was the minister of health in the VP Singh government between 1990 and 1991. He has been convicted of fraudulently nominating undeserving candidates to MBBS seats allotted to Tripura in medical colleges across the country. While Masood, now a member of Rajya Sabha, is the first one to lose his seat, he is likely to be joined by Lok Sabha MPs Lalu Prasad and Jagdish Sharma. They have both been convicted in the Bihar fodder scam. The Supreme Court has rightly stuck down Sub-Section 4 of Section 8 of Representation of the People Act, under which incumbent MPs, MLAs and MLCs could avoid disqualification till pendency of the appeal against conviction in a higher court. Now a conviction will result in disqualification. This has to be seen in the background of the fact that for too long, political leaders have benefited from the inordinately long time it takes to get justice. Then there is the time taken to dispose of appeals. The political class had sought to hit back with a Bill and later an ordinance that sought to reverse the Supreme Court's decision, but the government saw the writing on the wall and eventually withdrew it, following considerable political histrionics. Law makers will, no doubt take note of these developments and be more careful in following the letter and the spirit of the law. Few tears, if any, will be shed for those who lose their seats after being convicted of crimes. Criminals are criminals and once a person is convicted, there should be no place for him among lawmakers of the land.
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Investigating crimes
THE Punjab government's decision to set up a separate investigation wing in all police stations of the state by December is a welcome step in the right direction. This special wing will investigate all criminal cases, leaving the remaining staff in police stations to continue with day-to-day policing. The decision makes sense considering that both the number and incidence of crime has not only increased phenomenally, but the nature of crime itself has become more complex and sophisticated in the midst of an ongoing revolution in information and communication technologies, thereby requiring more time, greater concentration and advanced scientific methods for a meaningful investigation. The Punjab government's decision is not an innovation of the Punjab Police. Rather, setting up of such an investigation wing forms part of the recommendations made by a five-member Committee of Reforms of the Criminal Justice System headed by Justice VS Malimath, a former Chief Justice of the Karnataka and Kerala High Court, which was submitted to the Union Government over 10 years ago in April 2003. Making a case for such a wing, the committee recommended that a separate wing of investigation with a clear mandate accountable only to the Rule of Law is needed considering that the police usually gets bogged down by multifarious duties often resulting in the relegation of investigation of crime. Keeping in view the changing nature of crime, police personnel deputed to such an investigation wing will need to be trained in advanced technology, imparted knowledge of the changing economy and acquire an efficacy in the use of modern forensics among other things. The Punjab government will therefore need to set aside a dedicated staff in each of the approximately 380 police stations in the state and equip them with the necessary infrastructure to make such an investigation unit a success. Over five years ago, in February 2008, the government had announced separate investigation wings for three districts in the state's Malwa belt which, however, remained a nonstarter. Governments are known to make announcements with much fanfare only to leave the common man severely disappointed. It is hoped that come December this announcement made by the Punjab director general of police on Monday will not end up being high on promise and low on delivery.
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Clinical trials
ONCE again, it has taken the judiciary to pull up the government, which has agreed to tighten norms for clinical trials. A Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and SK Singh, while giving the go-ahead to only five out of the 162 new drugs to be tested on humans, has asked for additional clearances for the remaining drugs. Besides, in a country where a majority of people volunteering for drug trials are naive and ignorant of their rights, it has directed the government to not only seek "informed consent," but also video record the same. Among its many other guidelines, one stands out — the trials should mainly benefit Indian patients. This is not the first time that the apex court has expressed concern over the manner in which trials are conducted on human beings. Over the years, clinical trials in the country have grown at a rapid rate. It is a well-known fact that India is emerging as a favoured destination of the multinational companies for drug testing. Between 1990 and 2008, the number of clinical trials conducted largely by US companies shot up about 24 times — from 271 to 6,465. This hardly comes as a surprise as costs of such trials are much less in developing countries like India, where a huge pool of people too are available. Indeed, the benefits of clinical trials can't be denied, but at what cost, as the court has pointed out. There is an urgent need to root out unethical practices, which as things stand, are more a norm than an exception. Repeated instances of irregularities and incidents of deaths during testing of drugs on unsuspecting people are tragic reminders of the need to strictly monitor such trials. Human lives shouldn't be jeopardised for any reason. The government would do well to honour its promise and ensure that vulnerable sections of the population do not end up as guinea pigs.
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Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven. — William Shakespeare
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Equations of poll arithmatic POLLSTERS are busy counting straws in the wind to guess which party will form the next government at the Centre. Newspapers and television channels lap up the survey findings because they make a good copy. Astrologers have also jumped into the fray as they do before every election. At stake are the 535 seats in the Lok Sabha. The elected candidates will constitute the next five-year-tenure government. One point which is common in all the estimates that are coming out is that no single party is likely to get a majority and that each one of these will have to seek allies to reach the magic figure of 272. The present government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is the product of a similar exercise. Some 25-odd parties had given support to the Congress-led coalition. The Congress won 203 seats in the last election. The next Parliament may require many more parties and independents to have a viable combination. It looks as if India’s political scene, after the 2014 elections, may still be more divided and fragmented than before. More and more parties have emerged on the basis of regional sentiments. Then there is the assertion of identity and some parties have surfaced to represent their region or caste. This seems to be the trend that has stuck with the nation. After Independence the Congress was the only party which commanded a majority. It stayed in power for almost five decades. But then the Congress benefited from its leadership during the freedom struggle. It was a platform for all those who had participated in the national movement. To equate the Congress with independence is a misdemeanor. Today the splinter groups of Congress are full-fledged parties. It may seem to be the trivialisation of politics. But it is the result of a democratic process. One party which is not an offshoot of the Congress is the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). It can claim to have built itself from the scratch. It seems to be the only viable opponent of the Congress at present. What beleaguers the two parties is not so much their hostility towards each other as is the groupism within. And it is comical how a pro-Hindutva BJP member becomes secular overnight when he joins the Congress or the secularist a Hinduvta votary when he crosses over to the BJP? How long the high commands of the two parties can hide the internal revolts from the people remains to be seen. The forthcoming elections will be the test because those who do not get the party ticket are potential rivals. Assembly polls in the recent years have witnessed such trends in states and Parliament elections will be no different. Till recently there was no doubt that the Congress would emerge as the largest party in the 2014 polls. But today this is not the case. Most people would place their bet on the superiority of the BJP. The Congress would be placed at No. 2. Surveys conducted by several newspapers and television channels also made similar predictions. It would indeed be a big upset if the elections were to throw up the Congress as the No. 1 party, although it has retrieved a bit of lost ground. The credit for this is being given to Rahul Gandhi. This may be only partly true. The main reason is that the Muslim vote is returning to the Congress because the community feels disillusioned with Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party that failed it during the Muzaffarnagar riots. Now another faux pass has taken place over the letter sent by the state home secretary. The letter said that top officials should meet to ponder over the construction of Ram Janambhoomi at the site where the Babri Masjid stood once. The home secretary has been suspended but the damage has been done. The BJP’s renewed strength is the emergence of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He has created in northern India a strong sentiment for the Hindutva philosophy. The BJP is riding the crest of that chauvinism. In the process, he has damaged the idea of India and the country’s integrity. The BJP or, for that matter, the RSS is happy over the polarisation he has effected, something both had failed to bring about. Consequently, the pre-eminent position that the Congress has enjoyed so far has undergone a change. Despite a patchy support in the South, the BJP is currently ahead of the Congress. This has given a new edge to the conflict between the two. It is sharper and more intractable than before. The last two Parliament sessions saw the un-bridgeable rift. There was not even a semblance of agreement on any matter that brought the proceedings in both the houses almost to a standstill. Opposition’s stance is understandable. It is a common feature in democracy. Yet, one cannot make out why the two parties have adopted a posture which is harmful to the country. Both are in the way of development — a slogan which Modi has adopted to hide communalism by spoiling the chance of even limited consensus. Some equation, however slim, is essential for a dialogue in democracy. Reflecting the people’s disillusionment with both, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has come into being. Though mostly confined to Delhi, it has caught the imagination of the voters. The people’s boredom to see either the Congress or the BJP in power may well have been the reason for serious talks about a third front. The Left, Samajwadi Party, Janata (United) and Odhisa’s BJD have met in Delhi to discuss an alliance. The pre-poll alliance has been rightly rejected because they are pitted against one another in their home states. Their unity depends on how they fare in elections. Even then it is difficult for anyone or some of them to form the government without the support of either the Congress or the BJP. The only silver lining is that all parties are looking for allies. This may compel them to change their set agenda. If this forces the BJP to dilute its Hindutva stance, then it will be good news for
the nation.
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Never lose your men
PEOPLE we come across in life influence our personality one way or the other. During the course of our journey of life, these impressions contribute to a large extent in shaping our personality, behaviour, attitude and way of dealing with persons and situations. I gathered one such critical influence from the late Darbari Lal, who died in harness in 1995 while functioning as the president of the DAV College Trust and Managing Committee. One rarely sees such a meticulous and mercurial rise as that of Darbari Lal who rose from being a personal assistant to the president of DAV organization. He was erudite, farsighted and practical, had astute management and outstanding man management skills and he was a man of extraordinary wisdom and competency. He was the man who relentlessly persuaded the DAV management to introduce the public school system in the DAV institutions. After considerable hitches and objections, he succeeded in getting the required approval. Establishing the Anglo-Vedic education in its true concept and real sense after the legendary Mahatma Hans Raj ji is attributed to Darbari Lal. His man management was genuine, full of concern and in the overall interest of the organisation. He is regarded as the most charismatic personality of the organisation and was genuinely respected and loved by all. A small incident of long back ago bears testimony to this. There was one enthusiastic worker of Arya Samaj at Chamba who was also assisting in the school matters. His indulgence in administrative matters many a time caused irritation to the school Principal as he used to overstep his limits and authority in his sheer zeal to help. He often used his personal car for official work and spent small amounts from his own pocket. He was not a man of great means. He requested the then regional director to compensate him a bit by paying Rs 1000 per month so that he might be able to help the Arya Samaj and DAV in a better way. The regional director though was not inclined to give him more than Rs 500 per month. But the person insisted that his case be put up to Darbari Lal who was due to visit Shimla soon. The Regional Director assured to place his case before Darbari Lal. My wife, who was the Principal of DAV School, Shimla, and I (then serving in the IAS cadre and a member of the local managing committee) were present at the meeting where the case was put up. Darbari Lal knew about his work and dedication in the field of Arya Samaj and with a smile, he allowed him Rs 1,200 pm from the back date since he had started functioning as such. He then turned to us and advised, "Never lose your men working for the organisation in every nook and corner of the country. They are the soul of DAV and Ary Samaj. Believe in their work, give them functional freedom, appreciate them and always keep them together and happy." A simple and humane decision of Darbari Lal opened our eyes and hearts and we learnt a lesson in practical wisdom and human management. One hardly gets to learn this kind of management techniques in the theory discourses imparted in different institutes, be it in the corporate sector, services, schools or
colleges.
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Canada Calling / Gurmukh Singh With Diwali round the corner, different political parties are all set to woo the Indian community through festival celebrations
Diwali
in Canada is somewhat like Iftaar parties in India when politicians, ministers, lawmakers and whosoever wields any political power attend these parties to woo the community. With Diwali round the corner, different political parties — the Conservative Party (now ruling), the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party (NDP) — are set to have their festival celebrations, led usually by their Indo-Canadian MPs. For years, Deepak Obhrai, the six-time MP and parliamentary secretary, has been organising Diwali festivities at the Canadian parliament in Ottawa. Though Obhrai belongs to the Conservative Party, his Diwali function over the years has been attended by politicians of all hues, ministers, MPs, diplomats and prominent Indo-Canadian leaders and activists from across the country. The current Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been regularly attending Diwali celebrations since 2006 when he took over.
But this year, Deepak Obhrai’s main Diwali function moves out of the Canadian parliament and comes to Mississauga on the outskirts of Toronto. This move on the part of Deepak Obhrai assumes significance as both Mississauga and the neighbouring Brampton have the largest concentration of the Indo-Canadian community (mostly Punjabis) in Canada. So Diwali celebrations here are an exercise in widening the ruling party’s influence among Indo-Canadians before the next general elections which are due in about two years’ time. The current ruling Conservative Party has to thank the Indo-Canadian community for voting its candidates as MPs from these two cities and thus help it form a majority government. Usually, Indo-Canadians have voted for the Liberal Party. But during the last election the Indo-Canadians voted for the Conservative Party in such large numbers. “The idea is to hold Diwali celebrations in different places now. That’s all. Next year, we may take these celebrations to Vancouver and so on. It is just celebrations with our community, nothing else,” says Deepak Obhrai. Over the years, the major Diwali celebration in Toronto has been held at Ontario’s legislative assembly — called Queen’s Park — where top Indian officials, including the Consul General, and top community leaders are usually joined by the Premier of Ontario in lighting lamps and sharing sweets. This official Diwali function in Toronto is organised by Panorama India which an umbrella organisation of hundreds of Indo-Canadian associations.
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THE recent imprisonment in Canada of the visiting son of former Akal Takht jathedar Giani Puran Singh for sexual misdemeanor with a 13-year-old-girl has shocked the community. Ajai Singh, the 38-year-old son of Giani Puran Singh, was visiting Canada with his raagi jatha when he committed this offence. What is even more shameful is that the teenaged girl belonged to the family he was staying with in Abbotsford near Vancouver. The incident, which happened in February, left many in the Indo-Canadian community red-faced. “This incident is all the more shocking as this guy happens to be the son of a former jathedar of the Akal Takht. It is very shameful for our community,” says an Indo-Canadian community activist in Vancouver. According to a radio show host, there were attempts by some people to hush up the matter and let Ajai Singh off the hook. “But the victim remained adamant. She is a religious-minded girl, and she didn’t want to spare someone whom people trust because of his religious status. So the family called the police, and this guy was arrested and charged. Now six or seven months later, he is behind bars for three months,” said the radio show host who was present in the Abbotsford court at the time of sentencing of Ajai Singh on October 17. Giving details of the incident, the radio show host said, “It was in the morning when Ajai Singh barged into the room of the young girl and tried to misbehave with her. She got out of her room and told everything to her parents. Some local friends of Ajai Singh asked the family to hush up the matter. But the young girl was irate, forcing her family to call police.” Curiously, this is the second such incident of sexual assault in Abbotsford by visiting priests from India. In September, a Hindu priest named Karam Vir from India, who was employed at Abbotsford’s Hindu Temple, was jailed for two-and-a-half years for sexual offences against two teenaged girls. The girls came to him separately to discuss their troubled love life. But on the pretext of being a spiritual guide, the priest developed friendship with them and committed sexual offences with them separately in his quarters on the temple premises. The scared girls didn’t report the matter to their parents or the police because they didn’t want to bring shame on their families and also because this was the only temple in Abbotsford where they could go. It is only after some other members of the temple became suspicious of the priest’s behaviour that they reported the matter to police. Both Ajai Singh and the priest Karam Vir will be deported to India after the completion of their jail terms. Angry at the shameful behaviour of Sikh raagi Ajai Singh and Hindu priest Karam Vir, the radio show host said, “The Canadian visa authorities need to look at the whole visa issue. Ten people get together and float an organisation and then they use these fake platforms to sponsor people’s visas to come Canada.” Abbotsford is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada. The city’s Sikh population has almost doubled during the last decade. It is also home to the first-ever gurdwara built in North America. Established in 1908, the gurdwara has been declared a national historic site by the Canadian Government.
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Hundreds, if not thousands, of raagis, priests, preachers and swamis visit Canada each year at the invitation of ever-mushrooming Indo-Canadian religious, cultural and social organisations. Since Canada is still very liberal in granting visas to preachers, priests, raagis and swamis, tons of these people make use of these visas to visit to Canada. But the purpose of their visits is not always the same as mentioned in their visa applications. First, many of these so-called preachers are not preachers. They get invited to Canada in the garb of religion because they are the relatives of some Indo-Canadians running some religious or cultural place in Toronto or Vancouver. Once they land in Canada, they disappear to never return to India. Such cases are too many to enumerate. Canada’s lenience in granting visas for religious and cultural visits has been exploited by managements of many religious and cultural organisations to smuggle their relatives into Canada (This malpractice is rampant among all immigrant communities in Canada, including Pakistanis and Chinese). That’s why every Tom, Dick and Harry in the desi community here sets up some religious and cultural organisation in the name of religion, community, caste, and language to use it as a platform to further their selfish agenda. Under the banner of these platforms, they recommend visas to their relatives, friends, or whosoever they want to bring to Canada. Not only do they use these platforms to sponsor dubious people for religious/cultural visas, they also use these to get closer to Canadian politicians and get government funding in the name of multiculturalism. Well, Canadian multiculturalism may be well-intentioned but it has helped spawn a dubious industry among desi communities to misuse the visa sponsorship system. It is not that Canadian politicians don’t know about this. But they know that patronising them will bring them ethnic votes. Politicians are the same everywhere. |
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The Tribune has launched a collaborative effort with the US Embassy, New Delhi, to provide answers to common questions on consular topics.The US Embassy will answer general questions regarding immigration and travel-related queries. I heard there is some new process for immigrant visa applications. The process for applying for immigrant visas is now fully online as it is with non-immigrant visas. This will make the process simpler for everyone. New applicants should now go to ustraveldocs.com and create a profile. Be sure to select a location at which you plan to collect your passport and visa if and when it is issued. Also be sure to complete the DS-260 application. This is all explained carefully on ustraveldocs.com. Follow all instructions completely or there may be delays in getting an interview or collecting your visa. What is Administrative processing? Some visa applications require extra work on our part. We call this “administrative processing” but it is typically just some additional research or evaluation before we can issue a visa. We tell applicants when this occurs. It usually only takes a week or two, but it can sometimes take longer. Because every case is different we never know how long it will take. It occurs in only a very small fraction of cases. If you have a question about your case’s administrative processing, email us at support-india@ustraveldocs.com What is the difference between B1 and B2 visas? People travelling to the United States temporarily for business can apply for a B1 visa. Those travelling for tourism or medical treatment can apply for a B2 visa. Because many people combine such trips, we usually issue these visas together as a B1/B2 visa, which allows someone to enjoy all of these allowed activities. The B1 part of the visa is for travellers consulting with business associates, attending scientific, educational, professional or business conventions/conferences, and settling an estate or negotiating contracts, but is not intended for productive work. The B2 part of the visa is for travel that is recreational in nature, including tourism, visits with friends or relatives, medical treatment, and activities of a fraternal, social or service nature. You can apply for these visas and others at www.ustraveldocs.com What is the permitted maximum stay in the US on B1/B2 visa? How do we know about this? A B1/B2 visa gives a traveller permission to travel to a Port of Entry (airport/seaport) in the United States. When you arrive, the US Customs and Border Protection officer who processes your entry will determine the length of time that you may remain in the country. You may travel to the Port of Entry as long as your visa is valid but the visa validity does not determine the length of time that you may legally remain in the United States. The Customs and Border Protection officer will tell the traveller how long they may stay in the US. Do I need to carry my financial and tax returns at the time of interview? All visa applicants should bring to their visa interview their appointment letter, their DS-160 confirmation page and their passport. Some visa types, especially work visas and immigrant visas, may need some supporting documents. If you do not have a document and the officer asks for it, you can provide it later. If I have been refused a B1/B2 visitor visa, can I apply again? When? Yes, you can reapply. Each visa application is different. Someone refused at one time may have become qualified because of a change in their circumstances. An applicant refused a visitor visa should review their situation and realistically evaluate their ties to India. Before reapplying, it may help to answer the following questions: (1) Did I explain my situation accurately? (2) Did the consular officer overlook something? (3) Is there any additional information I can present to establish my ties to India and explain my purpose of travel? Applicants will be charged a visa processing fee each time they apply for a visa, regardless of whether a visa is issued. They will also have to complete a new application form each time and submit fingerprints and photo. Note: Please send your questions to usvisa@tribunemail.com. The US Embassy or The Tribune will only give general answers based on various queries. We will be unable to respond to individual correspondence. For more information, you can consult www.ustraveldocs.com/in or on Facebook for the Visa Fridays feature
(www.facebook.com/India.usembassy).
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