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Gearing up for the battle MLA's acquittal |
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From Chief Justice to Governor
Regaining the pride
Misusing loans and farmer suicides Inderjit Singh Jaijee On September 1, in District Jind just near the Padarth Khera bridge over the Barwala Link, some 3 kms east of Khanauri, five bodies were spotted. They had floated down the Bhakra Canal - somehow going over the Khanauri barrage. As the horror of this sight was sinking in, a sixth body was spotted caught under the bridge.
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Gearing up for the battle Leaving
out Jammu and Kashmir due to the precarious flood situation and delinking Jharkhand from the poll process for no apparent reason, the Election Commission has announced that the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections will be held on October 15, mercifully in a single phase, and the result too will hopefully be out before Diwali. After a less-than-satisfactory performance in the recent by-elections, the BJP will have to register a convincing win in the two states to keep up public faith in the Modi government's performance. The Congress has to prove that it is down but not out. A defeat may trigger desertions and revive demands for leadership change at the top. Usually in state elections local issues dominate. People vote in or vote out a Chief Minister. But for the BJP it will be a verdict on the popularity or otherwise of Modi. The BJP's disadvantage is that it has no clear chief ministerial candidate in either of the two states, leave alone someone as tireless and dynamic a campaigner as Modi was in the Lok Sabha elections. Of course, Modi will do his bit. It has certain advantages over the Congress, which is burdened with anti-incumbency. The Congress has strong leaders at the state level even if they are hemmed in by infighting and negative sentiment about the leadership in Delhi. The Adarsh housing scam is a blow to its government in Maharashtra and its fallout has not been managed effectively. In Haryana Chief Minister Hooda faces allegations of favouritism in land deals and uneven development. Lately, he has recovered some of the lost ground. He has almost bankrupted the state treasury, doling out concessions to various sections of society, won over Sikhs with a separate gurdwara managing committee and appeased Jats with reservations. As the top INLD leadership is in jail, the Punjab Chief Minister will lend a helping hand. The BJP is building its organisational network by rewarding turncoats. The Opposition is fragmented but a split verdict may not be good for the
state.
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MLA's acquittal It happens again. On November 22, 2012, the body of a 23-year-old woman Jyoti was found in
Panchkula. The accused, Ram Kumar Chaudhary, Congress legislator from Doon in
Himachal, who was arrested for the alleged murder of the woman, walked free along with 11 others on Tuesday. The Additional District and Sessions Judge, while pronouncing the verdict, said discrepancies were found in the evidence produced. This was not the first time that the powerful, accused of murder, rape or rash driving have found their escape because of a shoddy prosecution case prepared by the police. For face saving, the Haryana Director General of Police has ordered a probe into the alleged sloppy investigations that had helped the first-time MLA get acquitted. Why was the investigation process not monitored for accuracy in the first place? The case is reminiscent of several cases of delays in justice, a stubborn refusal to admit guilt and in some cases acquittals of the powerful. DIG
Rathore, Amarmani Tripathi, Gopal Kanda, Manu Sharma, Vikas Yadav, Mahipal
Maderna, N D Tiwari and their likes continued to script the power play even after their crimes were brought to the court of justice. Orchestrating a weak prosecution, witnesses turned hostile; intimidation, money and muscle power were used to influence justice. Investigations were shifted to the CBI in some cases and finally, after a long and tardy process, something like justice was delivered. A less than 30 per cent conviction rate speaks volumes of our justice system, which is often criticised for its snail-pace. It is strange that when fast and sophisticated technological tools are available to nab culprits, the police could not build a strong case around mobile call records and locations for the fast-track court, nor could it establish the motive behind the murder.
Chaudhary, a married man, was allegedly in a relationship with Jyoti, and got her killed when she pressed for marriage. The script was predictable. But should the police act in a predictable manner -- proving yet again their inefficiency?
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'Healing,' Papa would tell me, 'is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.' — W. H. Auden
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A gratifying success of the allies A FOUR days' battle in the Valley of the Marne has resulted in a splendid success of the Allies. It changes the whole aspect of the war and bids fair to promptly convert the defensive operations of the Allies into the offensive. As Mr. William Maxwell says "it will be a miracle if the Germans return home again." And the vision of a siege of Paris may also be said to have practically disappeared. This has been accomplished chiefly through the lead taken by the British forces; and the Germans themselves have felt constrained to acknowledge their crushing defeat. The enemy was to the north of Provins, a small town in Seine-et-Marne. It threw itself with all its force against the French left wing, escaping an enveloping movement. But the British force advanced by forced marches from a temporary base south east of Paris almost like General Blucher's army which went to the rescue of Wellington in the battle of Waterloo. The result was marvellous.
The Kangra temple IT was on the 4th of April 1905 that the historic temple of goddess Bajjareshwari at Kangra, which had for ages withstood the ravages of time and the attacks of invaders, and been the object of devotion to hundreds of thousands of pilgrims year after year, was razed to the ground by the terrible earthquake. The revised estimate of cost of re-erection stands at the figure of Rs. 2,10,000 against which the collection up to date stands at Rs. 71,000 only for the last 9 years that have elapsed since. It is a crying shame, to say the least that the Hindu community with its wealthy and charitable Ruling Princes and Reises, and a public spirited middle class, has all these years been unable to shake off its apathy and do the needful in the matter of funds.
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From Chief Justice to Governor Personally, I was deeply distressed because some judgments of Justice Sathasivam a year or so before his retirement did reinforce one's faith in the judiciary. His bold decision on the implementation of the "None-of-the-Above" clause showed his broad outlook, considering that both the BJP and the Congress had opposed it for over a decade. Justice Sathasivam also showed his humanitarian streak when he boldly commuted the death penalty of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar on the ground of inordinate delay in carrying out the hanging. The Supreme Court, no doubt, had been dealing with the matter for some time but he at least boldly took the lead in clarifying the matter. So I was disappointed when Justice Sathasivam went public seeking to justify his acceptance of the post. My first reaction was to keep silent because to me the judiciary is an invaluable asset in a democracy and one should be cautious in one's criticism. But now that Justice Sathasivam has finally taken up the assignment, it is no longer possible to remain silent; rather it is a moral duty to speak up. I plead in my defence the words of Justice Holmes of the US Supreme Court, who said: "I trust that no one will understand me to be speaking with disrespect of the law because I criticise it so freely……But one may criticise even what one reveres….and I should show less than devotion if I did not do what in me lies to improve it." The Congress in its opposition has crossed all decent limits. It has accused the BJP government of returning a favour in exchange of having received a favourable decision in the case of Amit Shah. Sathasivam was appointed Chief Justice during the UPA regime. Does the Congress suggest that it appointed Sathasivam because it had hoped to get favourable orders from him? How disgusting the conclusion! The opposition to Sathasivam's appointment as Governor is on the larger ground of public interest of separation of the executive and the judiciary. But the Congress in putting on a saint-like attitude is hypocritical when in reality it must bear the blame for the original sin. Examples of the Congress polluting the judiciary are galore. In 1949 the Chief Justice of Punjab was Dewan Ram Lal. He was a personal friend of Nehru. Immediately on his retirement, Nehru appointed him Ambassador to Rome. Chief Justice S.R. Das was to take over from Chief Justice Ram Lal in the Punjab High Court. When he met Pandit Nehru in Delhi before proceeding to Simla, where the High Court was then situated, Nehru told him without any embarrassment to tell CJ Ram Lal that he should not worry because the orders for his appointment as ambassador would be issued soon. The distance that rightly should prevail between the executive and the judiciary had not yet been established. Maybe Nehru's personality was such that the bona fides of the government were not easily doubted. But since then one has to face a low level of maneuvering in politics. The Congress appointed Bibi Fatima Begum (from Kerala), a retired judge of the Supreme Court, as Governor of Tamil Nadu without any embarrassment. The Congress also followed the partisan practice when it nominated Chief Justice of India Ranganath Mishra to the Rajya Sabha. It never offered any explanation for breaching the distance between the executive and the judiciary. But of course that in no way absolves the BJP of the charge of breaching the convention accepted the world over. I feel that CJI Sathasivam should have declined the appointment. A high office carries with it certain compulsions. In sensitivity to public opinion and correct precedents, let me give an example. In the mid-fifties a politician was appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh. The Nizam of Hyderabad, though bereft of political power, was still holding his domain of private properties, trusts. The Nizam had refused to receive Pt. Nehru at the airport on his visit immediately after the takeover of Hyderabad by the Indian Government. The Nizam never called on the Governor. The Governor also never called on the Nizam during his tenure of five years. The Governor, after his retirement in 1962, received a letter at his home from the Nizam on his personal letter paper inviting him to be a trustee of some of the Nizam's several trusts "for the benefit of the members of my family and for other religious charitable purposes". He offered membership of one of the trusts to the Governor with effect from 1st June of 1963 "on a monthly allowance of Rs. 3,000 plus traveling expenses for visiting Hyderabad for meetings of the trust." The allowance of Rs 3,000 was not a small amount at that time; it was equal to the monthly salary of a High Court judge.) The Nizam wrote: "I am making this offer on my own accord as I was much impressed by your popularity as Governor of Andhra Pradesh, and the manner in which you maintained the dignity of that office." The Governor declined the offer because, according to him, if he accepted the offer it might give rise to the gossip that he got the trusteeship by being unduly friendly to the Nizam. I am giving this example because even if the Governor had accepted this offer, it was no big deal. But a healthy convention of public morality would have been lost. I feel Chief Justice Sathasivam will have to bear the cross for permitting the judiciary to be slandered by small-time politicians who are engaged in petty maneuvering. The Congress had distorted the judiciary's face many a time through supersession - remember the case of Chief Justice A.N. Ray which can never be lived down. Let the BJP not learn such bad lessons. For democracy, a healthy distance between the executive and the judiciary is essential. The writer is a retired Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court
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Regaining the pride At that time I had no idea what a batman was. "Well, what can I do for you?" I enquired of him. "You have to do nothing for me, sir", he replied, and added: "Rather I have to do many things for you." "Like what?"I became curious. "Like polishing your shoes, laundering your clothes, bringing provisions from the store…." He had a long list of chores he was supposed to do. The process of turning us into 'Sahibs' had begun! After four months, we, the IPS probationers, reported at the National Police Academy, then at Mount Abu, for a year's training in the police functioning. A retinue of batmen catered to our needs there, who not only polished our shoes, but also helped us ease into trousers, and breeches (for riding) at the parade ground! Later, during the district training and then during regular postings, the 'helps' were available aplenty to do various chores. The number of such 'helps' increased as I gained in rank. Then I superannuated in 2006.The man-power deployed with me was gradually withdrawn. One fine morning I picked up my shoes to polish them. After the job was done and I wore them, my wife remarked: "You have done a sloppy job; there are swathes of polish on the shoes and there is no shine." I was stung. "How can you help me?" I taunted her. "I shall show you how to polish the shoes. I learnt it the hard way at the Presentation Convent, Delhi, during my school days. The Irish nuns there would check every morning the dress and the shoes of each student. A spot on the dress or a speck on the shoes would invite raps on the knuckle. I, too, had had them on a few occasions." The next morning, she picked up my shoes and started working on them. As she worked, she lectured: "Remember the acronym DTLBB -- dusting, toothing, layering, buffing and brushing." "Dust off the dirt first -- use a horsehair brush or a soft linen, remove the grit from hard-to-reach crevices with the help of a toothbrush," she continued. She fetched a pair of used toothbrushes from the closet and used one for removing the dirt from the crevices. The other, she said, would be used for depositing the polish into those places. She put a thin layer of polish on the shoes with the help of a linen cloth and kept the shoes for drying for 15 minutes "Chamois would have been better for layering", she said. The excess polish was brushed off and another layer put. The process was repeated three times. "Now is the time for buffing and brushing. Polishing brush is different from the horsehair brush", she explained. She held a piece of soft cloth from both ends and started rubbing the surface vigorously, taking care to move the wrist only and not the arm. "This is buffing," she said. The whole workout lasted an hour. I complimented her: "This is excellent mirror finish." "No, this is a high-glass shine", she corrected me! The pride in doing one's own work which I had lost over the years was regained!
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Misusing loans and farmer suicides
Debt is not the only cause, though a very important one among multiple reasons, that leads to farmers' suicides. There are other factors like genetic built up for suicidal tendencies, family disputes, personal incompatibilities and sometimes even self inflicted irrationalities. Debt as an important cause has its peculiar nuances. Majority of farmers who are driven to suicide borrow from private money lenders, including commission agents and big farmers, mostly under emergency situations at exorbitant rates of interest. They are not able to repay these loans because these are invariably used for nonproductive purposes. When these borrowers are pressed for repayments they are often compelled to resort to bank loans. They take crop loan or borrow further for buying tractors, which they immediately sell in the market at lower price and retire the debt obtained from private moneylenders. In some cases the cheap rate credit facility is misused. Some big landholders have been borrowing from the banks to the limit of their entitlements even though they do not need that money. This low cost money they lend to the poor farmers at higher rates like other money lenders. Some examples of self-inflicted irrationalities are provided in a report submitted by a committee on farmers' distress set up by the Reserve Bank of India under my chairmanship, where the suicides/deaths were not even remotely related to the farmers' indebtedness and yet were treated as farmers' suicides. To quote an example a farmer bragged of taking 16 pegs of country made liquor in continuity, but died after he gulped 12 pegs. This was treated as farmer suicide and compensation of Rs. one lakh was paid to the family. Another notable point is that due to the extensive media reporting, more cases are being highlighted now. In one of the expert discussions on farmers' suicides about a decade ago, the then Union Secretary, Radha Singh, quoted a government survey that highlighted the fact that there was no difference in the percent of persons committing suicide to the total population, or, in the ratios of male and female suicides or in the number of suicides between urban and rural populations over a period of past one decade. Still, the fact remains that debt is one of the major causes of farmers' suicides and deserves serious handling by the policy makers. Surveys and resurveys repeated many times do not offer a solution. Even a single suicide by a farmer due to indebtedness should be a matter of serious concern. Also paying the compensation to the affected families after the suicides is only a palliative that does not eliminate the scourge of suicides. It is the preventive measures that are the need of the hour. Farmers' indebtedness is not a new phenomenon, yet the intensity of it is believed to have increased. For remedies, one needs to look back not very far. Just a decade before the country attained independence in the times of Unionist Ministries of Fasali Hussain, Sir Sikandar Heyat Khan, within a span of six years, from 1937 to 1943, at the behest of Sir Chhotu Ram, the government legislated more than one dozen Acts and Amendments to protect the farmers from exploitation by moneylenders as well as market functionaries and traders. Some of the important Acts and Amendments were (i) Punjab Land Alienation (Amendment) Acts of 1938 and 1939 (four amendments) that insulated the peasants' lands from attachments in lieu of debt incurred by them and debarred the non-farming classes from appropriating agricultural lands, (ii) Punjab Debtors Protection (Amendment) Acts of 1938 and 1939 that introduced the system of daam dupat laying down the provision that ensured if the debtor repaid double the amount borrowed, the debt would be considered as fully paid up. Taking a cue from this, the Reserve Bank of India committee on farmers' distress under my chairmanship recommended the provisions that farmer's house and up to five acres of land should not be taken as collateral for advancing the loans and these should not be attached to recover the loans due. If these provisions are turned into a law, it can go a long way in remedying the situation that drives the farmers to commit suicide. One of the measures that ameliorated the indebtedness of the farmers was the setting up of special District Level Boards that helped reasonable settlements between the farmer- borrowers and the money lenders and as a result the farmers were not pushed to take the extreme steps like suicide. Taking a cue from the past experience, it would be advisable to legislate an umbrella type 'Farmers Debt Relief and Settlements Act' that would, inter alia, provide for (i) insulating one house and five acres of land from attachment for recovery of loans and (ii) District level Debt Counseling and Settlement Board. The first provision will lead to compulsive evaluation by the lending banks of the genuine needs of the borrowing farmers and the repaying capacity that the loans would generate. This will further prompt the banks to monitor the utilisation of the advances made to the farmers. This will put an effective check on diversion of the loans obtained for productive purpose to the unproductive purposes. The second provision will provide the borrowers with an ultimate avenue that will settle the amounts to be paid and counseling for rescheduling the loans and planning the repayments within their paying capacity. These boards should have representatives of banks, farmers, financial experts and should be chaired by the retired judges. These provisions will go a long way in minimising the incidents of farmers' suicides. The writer is former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala, and Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana.
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Identifying the nameless dead in Punjab
on September 1, in District Jind just near the Padarth Khera bridge over the Barwala Link, some 3 kms east of Khanauri, five bodies were spotted. They had floated down the Bhakra Canal - somehow going over the Khanauri barrage. As the horror of this sight was sinking in, a sixth body was spotted caught under the bridge. And then, out of the five bodies, a body was spotted near the canal bank - two dogs were dragging it out of the water. Passersby told us that bones and skulls are often found in the fields near this place - all that is left of the victims after the dogs have fed. Who did those bodies belong to? Few are ever identified by name and village. By the time they reach Khanauri or the Barwala Link, wallets, clothes and shoes are gone. Submersion generally takes less than ten days to obliterate the features and erode the skin so that even marks such as tattoos are no longer visible. It is logical that most of the bodies belonged to people who lived in Ropar or Patiala districts because, of the Bhakra Canal's 164 kms, only 5 kms fall in Haryana, 159 km fall in Punjab and of this 159, 157 kms pass through Ropar and Patiala district. The very fact that these bodies are unidentified makes it imperative to care about them. One obvious reason we should care is ethical and compassionate. If the phrase, "human dignity" has any meaning at all, then no body should end up as a sodden corpse attracting only the attention of dogs. Indifference to such a situation demeans the living no less than the dead. A less idealistic reason, we should care about these bodies involves the State as the upholder of law and justice. An effort must be made to not only establish the identity of the body but also the cause of death. Some may have died of accidental drowning, some may have committed suicide, some might have been murdered and then thrown in the canal. These latter cry out to the State for justice. The police aversion to filing missing person reports is well documented. A body fished out of the canal is no longer a missing person - they have been found. Every effort must be made to piece together the story of who they were and how they died. In doing so, it will also throw into sharp relief the difference between the number of unidentified persons whose whereabouts come to light and the number of persons whom the police record as missing. In other words, if 40 bodies turn up in the Bhakra Canal every month and the total number of missing person cases recorded monthly by the Ropar and Patiala police is less that ten, then something is wrong. To the credit of the police, the department has recently taken corrective action on this front. A police officer has been posted at Khanauri to watch for bodies at the Khanauri head. An officer is on duty every day and maintains a register of detected bodies. For the past several months, the average number of bodies sighted has been between 35 and 40 per month. This is a good first step towards seriously addressing the 'missing persons' issue. The watchful officer has noted around 35 to 40 bodies per month - of these some float past Khanauri at night and remain unseen. Others may be submerged or may otherwise escape notice. Suppose that an additional 8 to 10 bodies go unnoticed (ie. About 20 per cent) - that would take the monthly average up to about 60. Multiplying by 12, gives an annual number of not less than 700. This is a conservative estimate. Over a period of ten years, the figure would be 7,000. It may be recalled that the statewide rural suicide census conducted by the universities of Punjab for a ten-year period, mentioned close to 7,000 suicide deaths by all means (poison, hanging, drowning, etc). Here we have 7000 deaths in ten years in just two districts from drowning alone. As per studies of rural suicides, death by drowning accounted for only about 5 per cent. Recommendations
— The writer has authored Debt and Death in Rural India-The Punjab Story based on his field studies on farmers' suicides.
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