India like China, Babylon and Egypt is an ancient civilization where the structure of society has evolved over the millennium. It is very unfair as well as erroneous to compare societal structures across millennium with modern societies especially of western countries of today. All said and done the modern societies of the western countries are a by-product of the industrial revolution of the 19th century as well the exploitation of the Asian and African colonies by the western countries.
The role and position of the women in Indian society may appear backward and exploitative when compared with modern western societies especially if viewed out of context. This would be particularly so if one judges an entire society without understanding the thinking behind the structure. The western media too is very manipulative and economical with facts. It will highlight the weaknesses of our societies while covering their own. Nobody talks about the suffragette or civil rights movement or the genocides of red Indians, black African or the aboriginals by the white man. But are eager to highlight the wrong practices of our societies.
We are talking about women rights in democracy. Such a democracy is essentially a men’s club with restricted entry for women. The women who get elected are far and few between and hence are unable to energetically push for women’s rights bills. As such they could be termed as ornamental pieces. All these practices need to be changed. But the higher judiciary in western countries is not very enthused about such matters.
On the contrary quite a few judges are closet male chauvinists. In any case the judiciary in most countries is severely understaffed and the pending cases in the court are just too many. The leakage of the draft women rights bill to the media before it could be presented in the legislature in order to create a media opinion against the bill speaks volumes about the sham state of American democracy and respect for law and procedures.
The fact that the western countries are largely Christian in their religious beliefs whereas the eastern countries are Hindus, Buddhists or Islamic cannot be overlooked. There are considerable differences in the basic outlook of all these religions towards status of women in society. As such brushing the differences aside and passing judgments is absolutely incorrect. It should be noted that the present anti-abortion laws of USA are a direct outcome of the dominant status of the Christianity in the American society and the Christian values with regard women, sexual behaviour and abortion. In conclusion we can safely say that American desire to insist on standardized behaviour from all is completely childish and unreasonable
One also needs to accept the fact that USA is a deeply polarized country. The blue America is closer in thinking and values to European nations like Sweden and Denmark while the Red America is comparable to Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. These values and thinking are remarkably reflected in the abortion rights debate. The American Supreme Court unfortunately is influenced by Red values. This takes us back to 1850s in the times of slavery and civil war. The world can only hope and pray that the Americans display much more wisdom and tolerance about their own countrymen particularly women and practice secular democracy.
The countries of the west do look down and deride the social systems of backward countries like Afghanistan and Sudan and rightfully so in my opinion. But then how different America is from the Taliban in their treatment of women and minorities? I don’t think the answer will please USA and their government.
Shravan or Sawan is the most sacred month in the Hindu religious year. It is the month with the fragrance of devotion and has multiple important festivals like Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Nag Panchami, etc, but this month is predominantly dedicated to Lord Shiva. This is the period when the monsoon is at its peak. The freshness and greenery of nature can be experienced, and the complete environment seems lively.
The whole month of Sawan is dedicated to Lord Shiva. However, Mondays have the most significance. This is the month when all the temples of Lord Shiva, are stuffed. A usual scene in the month of Sawan is the long queues of devotees carrying pots of unprocessed milk, and water in their hands, waiting for their turn for the worship of shivling. Once devotees reach near shivling, they huddled together around shivling- pour milk, water, honey, curd, betel leaves, sandal paste, flowers, and a lot more on it. Sometimes filling the vessel with water, suspending over the shivling from which water keeps dripping on Shivling. The followers worship shivling with eternal trust, which shows their devotion, faith and love for their Lord Shiva.
According to Hinduism, in the month of Shavana, the cosmic churning of the ocean was performed, with the joint effort of gods and demons. In this churning, 14 pious objects emerged, second last item that came out was dreadful poison (before the nectar). This poison could destroy everything in the universe. Neither god nor demon was willing to accept this poison. Eventually, Lord Shiva came to rescue and consumed the entire poison, but after drinking it, Lord Shiva started radiating due to the warmth produced by that venom. It is believed, that to provide ease to lord Shiva, water and other cool things are poured on the shivling to reduce the heat of that poison.
Shiva is depicted entirely dissimilar compared to all other Hindu plethoras of gods and goddesses. With three eyes, whitish ashes of corpses smeared over the body, amidst blue neck, wearing crescent moon and a stream of river trickling through his hairs with a garland of a serpent around his neck. He is one of the most significant and one of the oldest gods in the Hindu pantheon.
Shiva embraces many unconventional, unusual, and unprecedented manifestations. Shiva is the biggest ascetic yogi, and at the same time, he is family-oriented. Sometimes, Shiva is represented in a pacific mood with his consort Uma and son Skanda as Uma-Maheshwari. Occasionally embraced as a divine dancer as Natesa or Nataraja, sometimes as half male – half female as Ardhanarishvara, and sometimes he is Vishnu and Shiva both as Harihara. Shiva is also the god of destruction as Rudra and is the lord of cattle as Pashupatinath.
Shiva is the chief of the gods as Mahadev, slaughterer of beasts as Samharamurtis, or the teacher of yoga as Yoga Dakshinamurti. Shiva is also represented, as a supreme beggar, holding a bowl in one of his hands, a drum in another, and a dog by his side as Bhikshatana. He is also represented as Lord of Music, playing vina or listening to himself, sitting under a banyan tree and facing towards the south as in his Vinadhara form. Shiva is also called Dakshinamurthy as a teacher and is worshipped as the god of knowledge. However, Gajasurasamhara is the most fierce aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as the Destroyer of the elephant demon, Gajasura.
With all its ambiguous forms and manifestations, it differentiates him from every other god of Hinduism and is the most innocent in the Hindu plethora of gods and goddesses.
The major predicament is people react to any act prematurely and read it later or never.
I will not comment on whether this scheme is good or bad because it is the individual capacity but wouldn’t you complain about those who have torched the public property are not worthy of being the nation’s guardians.
How many youths are having lakhs in their pouch by their early 20s? Armed force is not an alternative against the economic downturn, it is much of discipline, morale, belief, camaraderie, solidarity, chivalry, and a way of becoming real men. Those who have hustled for the armed forces shouldn’t fall into foul-mouthed talks, it is a golden opportunity for you guys to reach the real saga. Those who ask what will happen to the other 3 as only 1 will be retained to services out of 4, tell me the ratio of competing candidates for 1 seat in other reputed exams across the nation.
You cannot mingle with the ocean during your expedition if you keep on thinking there will be tides, Icebergs, oceanic storms, predator attacks, and many more hell feedbacks from the mind loop. What if you envisage the magnificence, serenity, oceanic diversity, and lively aquarium that will take your heart away.
Some bogus are saying, it will not make them fetch happy dowry. What to say? If the dreamed wheels are falling apart, four to two, and for the sake of dowry, Jesus! Save the nation.
To hit the nail on the head, India leapfrogged to modernity (technological Revolution) without attaining full stretched cognitive adaptability. Who can walk on the road without mind solely with eyes? Common sense is highly uncommon, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Stones thrown in the sky will fall back to the ground from where you picked them. Nothing can detach an element from its genesis. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon (follow a trend) of’ pick and throw’.
Those who are true patriots don’t thwart the nation and acknowledge it if you are choosing commotion then I am sorry to say, you are better to stay at home than be on the border, stagnant in your suffocation and agony. Unemployment is not your misfortune, it is the choice you have concocted.
Democracy lends you freedom of expression with a limitation that it should be exercised within constitutional limits. Scorching the public property and jeopardizing the life of the commons should not be ignored, strict measures should be taken because these people are not true aspirants, these are fanatics hired from the same cult those who were gone wild before.
A nod to the wise and a rod to the foolish is the need of the hour. Everyone has the emancipation to express reluctance against any government proposal but it should come tangibly, not through provocative measures.
What more one can feel proud of than being Bhartiya where you can injure a person who stands for you nevertheless he still tries to heal your wound.
Without understanding the aroma of the schema, reluctance is not a good bargain. Conceivably your reluctance can perish your ambition. Don’t make haste without having a taste. How can you tell that the dish made is not savory without testing it? Come out of this fabricated facade of reality and try to inhabit the truth, it is not curbed to stones. Big events awaiting you, don’t remain behind the curtain, be on it because that is where pictures are reflected.
Nuggets will dance to the wrong songs composed by bogus composers. They are throwing a wrench in the works, fulfilling their wrath and objective in the name of youths’ voices.
Self-praise is no recommendation, let us see which way the wind blows then decide the legitimate way to respond. When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers, don’t peril your career for the zealot’s call, time will heal everything, all you need to loiter for a great time.
Evil pursuits bring a bad reputation, and chauvinists will play their politics but separate themselves from this game where there are no rules, the only objective is to bring a win-win situation. The pen is mightier than the sword, sharpen your pen, not the sword because the erstwhile ( pen) brings enlightenment for generations, and the latter(sword) is a bloody anecdote. The sword should be the last option when all the paths of tolerance succumb to rejuvenate the Dharma, the sword will whack.
You can endorse or quibble with my opinion, it’s your choice, and I will adore it if come as an objection, not as an uproar.
Read this powerful and pungent dissent in the recent Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade from SCOTUS dt..24th June,2922. “The majority’s cavalier approach to overturning this Court’s precedents. Stare decisis is the Latin phrase for a foundation stone of the rule of law: that things decided should stay decided unless there is a very good reason for change. It is a doctrine of judicial modesty and humility.
Those qualities are not evident in today’s opinion. The majority has no good reason for the upheaval in law and society it sets off. Roe and Casey have been the law of the land for decades, shaping women’s expectations of their choices when an unplanned pregnancy occurs.
Women have relied on the availability of abortion both in structuring their relationships and in planning their lives. The legal framework Roe and Casey developed to balance the competing interests in this sphere has proved workable in courts across the country. No recent developments, in either law or fact, have eroded or cast doubt on those precedents. Nothing, in short, has changed. Indeed, the Court in Casey already found all of that to be true. Casey is a precedent about precedent. It reviewed the same arguments made here in support of overruling Roe, and it found that doing so was not warranted.
The Court reverses course today for one reason and one reason only: because the composition of this Court has changed. Stare decisis, this Court has often said, “contributes to the actual and perceived integrity of the judicial process” by ensuring that decisions are “founded in the law rather than in the proclivities of individuals.” Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U. S. 808, 827 (1991); Vasquez v. Hillery, 474 U. S. 254, 265 (1986). Today, the proclivities of individuals rule. The Court departs from its obligation to faithfully and impartially apply the law. We dissent.”
And then one noted this – Chief Justice John Roberts, in office since, 2005 presiding over the ‘Roberts’ Court’ for 17 plus years, is now a pale shadow of the ‘Referee’ he wanted to be. He has lost his authority and sway over his brothers and sisters on The Nine. He tows a solitary furrow. All on his own. Ever since- 3 Donald Trump nominees- Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavannaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, joined Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito to make a comfortable conservative majority, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, the liberals lost their voice. And John Roberts got squeezed in the middle.
Even as one was reading the dissent and its catastrophic consequences,“ K L Gauba’s The New Magna Carta- A Tale of Judicial Tyranny- The curious case of Kwaja Nazir Ahmed, edited by the young and mercurial new kid on the legal block Sharath Chandran, practising Advocate, Madras High Court, got added to one’s library. The attractive coloured cover lured and the Foreword by Justice P N Prakash was a perfect appetiser. And this quote from the Foreword
“ ……what if a judge abuses the power and the authority vested in him? What if he passes orders, knowing or having reason to believe that they are unlawful? What if he becomes partisan and turns his court into a forum of oppression? What if he stifles legitimate criticism of his conduct and reduced the administration of the justice to the ridicule and mistrust of the public? Has the subject no remedy? “
poser from K L Gauba, the Lahore legal luminary, was a perfect fit, from the book in my hand.
“Today, the proclivities of individuals rule. The Court departs from its obligation to faithfully and impartially apply the law”- ran the Dobbs’ dissent from SCOTUS. This is ‘today’. Chief Justice Sir John Douglas Young and Monroe were from ‘yesterday’. Nothing changes while everything changes as Sharath Chandran says, on the relevance of this book today. And Justice P N Prakash conscientiously concedes what the tyranny of the unelected minority could be if ‘proclivities of individuals’ take over the ‘justice market’ (as Justice Krishna Iyer sarcastically alluded to it)?
A chance encounter and a serious pursuit landed the editor on this proscribed and unpublished work, lying unsung in the Nehru Memorial Museum Library, Delhi. He was unfettered to edit the unpublished work with no copyright concerns. Law & Justice Publishing Co,Delhi have done a good job in packaging the contents. In 226 pages of crisp editing, the book is as racy as they can ever get, in such genre.
Chief Justice Young and Kwaja Nazir Ahmed the chosen Anti Corruption Officer in the Lahore High Court played havoc in tandem, and in irrefutable conspiratorial conduct. Kanhaiya Lal Gauba was a busy Barrister and ‘successful author’. Gauba went hammer and tongs at the ‘tyranny’ from the bench and took names, dates, events and even corrupt money involved and daringly took on the high and mighty. Yes, Gauba and his family suffered hugely, losing properties in targeted insolvency and contempt proceedings. He was unconcerned. Gauba was literally hounded, but he manfully stood up and wrote what he meant to, for posterity,and Sharath Chandran has done well to dig deep for our reading,literate and legal pleasure.
There may be no Douglas Youngs’ among us now. Or so we must believe. But we have his look alikes with crown on the cranium posture and looking down from above. There is far more to this book than the famed all time message of 17th Oct,1944, second world vintage, from the Privy Council- It is “of the utmost importance that the judiciary should not interfere with the police in matters which are within their province into which the law imposes upon them the duty of enquiry”, which unequivocally placed limits to the remit of a court over domain of police in investigation.
Sharath Chandran has done well to quote in Part IV of the work- “Looking Back”- Autobiography of Chief Justice Mehr Mahajan, who was K L Gauba’s contemporary in Lahore High Court. To quell any doubters as to how far Douglas Young & Kwaja Nazir Ahmed went, amok and berserk with their ‘individual proclivities’, and whether the Douglas Young v. K L Gauba’s tango and tangle were true at all.
Sharath Chandran, don’t you worry, the edited work has more than a ‘ring of truth’, in substance. The exchanges in court between Gauba and the Bench make fascinating interludes. Gauba was truly a maverick. The dare-devilry he displayed is stunning. Fearless and ferocious in defence, Gauba was a larger than life character who lived and practised law , like he did, in pre independence India. The book is worth far more than the Rs.395/- price tag it carries.
One truly wonders whether a Gauba can survive beyond a day or two today,in the judicial firmament.
Justice P N Prakash may possibly have zeroed in on the core theme of this long lost unpublished work of K L Gauba.
“Though Mr. Gauba is apt to be characterised as irascible and a rabble rouser,i n him one finds a good example of the fearlessness of an Advocate first set out in the following passage from Munster v. Lamb (QBD) and later by a Full Bench of the Madras High Court in Sullivan v. Norton,
“If any one needs to be free of all fear in the performance of his arduous duty, an advocate is that person”.
But do we really have such a fearless advocate as he? Can one afford to be?
In dog eat dog world of commerce, in law, what we may surely have are advocates fearless in doing what their commerce guides them to, and deem it their privileged/arduous duty to see their clients, eternally pleased, by keeping the court in good humour, and never ever get on the feud side, all the time. That is as Fearless as we can get!
For Fear of Being ‘GAUB’BLED!
(Narasimhan Vijayaraghavan- Author of Constitution it’s Making and Working, OakBridge, 2020/2021-and practising advocate in the Madras High Court)
When Canada-based filmmaker Leena Manimekalai tweeted the poster of her new film titled ‘Kaali’, displaying goddess Kali smoking, with the pride flag in the background, all hell broke loose. Enraged Hindus claimed that their religious sentiments had been hurt, and demanded legal action against the incendiary post.
The outrage was partially fueled by the recent controversy involving Nupur Sharma, an ex-BJP party representative who was suspended and prosecuted under Section 295A of the IPC for making certain objectionable remarks about Prophet Muhammad. Outraged Hindus pointed out that like Nupur Sharma, Leema Manimekalai deserved to be punished for hurting Hindu sentiments. Some claimed that there ought to be as much outrage over Leena Manimekalai’s actions, as the violence that was seen in Udaipur after what Nupur Sharma said.
Filmmaker Leena Manimekalai
However, a chunk of the Twitter community came out in support of Leena Manimekalai, saying that she should be allowed artistic liberty, and not be prosecuted.
This isn’t the first time that the freedom of speech and expression has come into direct conflict with Section 295A, a provision of the IPC that prosecutes ‘deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.’
The primary problem with this provision is that it has not been clearly defined. For instance, there is little clarity regarding what can be considered offensive and hurtful to religious sentiments and beliefs. Is quoting a religious text, as in the case of Nupur Sharma, offensive? Or can reinterpretations of religious texts and mythology in artistic forms or otherwise be deemed as hurtful to religious sentiments? More importantly, how can it be determined whether the accused actually intended to hurt religious beliefs and incite violence, or it was simply an honest mistake?
Section 295A has been misused time and again, not unlike Section 124A of IPC i.e. the infamous Sedition Act, to oppress varying political and artistic voices, suppress dissent against regressive religious practices, and curb freedom of speech and thought in the country. Authors like Salman Rushdie, filmmakers like Ali Abbas Zafar, scholars, etc. have been prosecuted and oppressed for their words that were deemed ‘offensive’, often without a solid definition of what constitutes offence.
In this situation, a chunk of public opinion has been advocating the scrapping of Section 295A, claiming that it violates the Indian citizen’s freedom of speech and expression. This opinion highlights the problems that arise with an ‘offence culture’, where religious extremists, media houses, and the 280 characters of Twitter stir up outrage in the hearts of people, rallying them up and profiting off their sentiments, monetarily or otherwise. This is especially pronounced when it comes to faith, for anything that even touches religion is deemed ‘offensive’ and torched. Such a culture efficiently directs public discourse towards irrelevant issues, creating an economy that thrives off of stirring communal tension and FIRs, whilst distracting the masses from other pressing issues such as the decline of the Indian currency, for instance.
Twitter’s cult of ‘armchair activism’
While the scrapping of Section 295A seems reasonable, given the legacy of its blatant misuse and the cloud of ambiguity hovering over it, such an act may have other consequences, that are being overlooked. For one thing, the scrapping of this provision may cause extremist groups to conclude that it’s up to them now to ‘protect’ their religion and may incite them to communal violence in a bid to ‘take the law into their own hands.’ This may worsen communal tensions, and spiral into a re-run of 2002.
In this situation, perhaps the wisest thing to do would be to cut down the ambiguity from Section 295A and explicitly define what will be liable for prosecution. For instance, simply ‘hurting religious sentiments cannot be grounds for such severe legal action. If this were the case then anything from a call for reform of archaic religious traditions, or benign and artistic re-interpretations of mythology to mocking and maligning deities could be interpreted as such. After all, offence is often quite subjective, varying from individual to individual, and cannot be objectively defined or measured.
Besides, religions all over the world have criticized and ‘offended’ non-believers by referring to them as ‘infidels, pagans, mleccha, kafirs, etc.’ By that logic, shouldn’t advocates of such derogation directed towards non-believers, atheists, and agnostics be prosecuted for offending them and violating the rights granted to them by Article 25 of the IPC, i.e. the freedom to practice, propagate, profess and religion or faith, and even abstain from doing so? After all, why should non-believers be deprived of this right and treated like second-class citizens?
One way to define this section of the IPC could be to only allow the prosecution of only those who incite violence. Naturally, it might be difficult to distinguish whether the violence that happens in response to religious statements can be attributed to the person who makes these statements, or is a consequence of political incitement and polarization of extremist groups. In Nupur Sharma’s case, the blame for the riots and the death of the tailor in Udaipur was piled upon her by the Supreme Court, rather unreasonably, in my opinion. It appeared to be simply an attempt to appease outraged Muslim groups, and conduct damage control.
Perhaps a distinction can be made between statements that very visibly call for violence and statements that simply express displeasure with religious groups and traditions. The bigger question of whether the words of a single person can be single-handedly blamed for inciting an entire community to violence, or whether the community deserves to be blamed for taking up arms at the slightest provocation is certainly something that can be pondered upon.
All we can do till then is await the verdict of the 280 characters that will determine the fate of our nation, whilst being on the lookout for the next episode of Kaun Banega Twitterati.
सोशल मीडिया आज के दौर में इंसान के जीवन का सबसे अहम हिस्सा बन गया, लेकिन इस बात को कतई नाकारा नहीं जा सकता सोशल मीडिया ने देश विदेश में अपना नकारात्मक प्रभाव भी डाला हैं, ये सच है कि सोशल मीडिया अपनी राह से भटक गया है। इसके पीछे सुनियोजित प्रयास हैं, क्योंकि समूची दुनिया में अब ताजो-तख्त का फैसला जोड़ने के बजाय तोड़ने के मुद्दे पर किया जाने लगा है। हुकूमतें और हुक्मरां इसके जरिये लोगों का ध्यान असली मुद्दों से हटाने में कामयाब होते हैं। संयुक्त राष्ट्र विश्व खाद्य कार्यक्रम की ताजा रिपोर्ट बताती है कि वर्ष 2019 के बाद से धरती पर 81.10 करोड़ लोग खाली पेट सोने को मजबूर हैं।
हर रोज 25 हजार इंसान भूख से तड़प-तड़पकर जान दे देते हैं। यही नहीं, 45 देशों के पांच करोड़ से अधिक लोग अकाल के कगार पर हैं। इस बदहाली का एक जिम्मेदार नफरतों का महाकाय कारोबार भी है। एक रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, सन 2017 में भारतीय अर्थव्यवस्था को इससे नौ फीसदी का नुकसान उठाना पड़ा, जो प्रति-व्यक्ति 40 हजार रुपये से अधिक बैठता है। हो सकता है, कुछ लोग इन आंकड़ों से असहमत हों, पर यकीनन कोविड ने इस मार को और मारक बना दिया है। क्या आप सोशल मीडिया पर ऐसे मुद्दों पर सार्थक बहस देखते-पढ़ते-सुनते हैं? यह तथ्य तथाकथित ‘मेनलाइन मीडिया’ को भी ठहरकर सोचने की दावत देता है।
भारत ही नहीं, समूची दुनिया इस समय नफरत के इसी कारोबार से लहूलुहान है। सोशल मीडिया के महाकाय कॉरपोरेट जब फेसबुक, ट्विटर, इंस्टाग्राम और ऐसे अन्य प्लेटफॉर्म लेकर सामने आए, तब कहा गया था कि इससे दुनिया एक-दूसरे के करीब आएगी। शुरू में ऐसा हुआ भी, पर बाद में ये प्लेटफॉर्म बेलगाम हो गए। प्यू रिसर्च सेंटर ने पिछले साल दावा किया था कि 41 फीसदी अमेरिकी कभी न कभी ऑनलाइन उत्पीड़न से वाबस्ता हुए हैं। 18 से 45 साल के व्यक्तियों के बीच हुए एक अन्य अध्ययन में 83 प्रतिशत लोग नफरत के शिकार बताए गए। नस्ल, राष्ट्रीयता, धर्म, लिंग, शारीरिक विकार और विस्थापन जैसे संवेदनशील मुद्दे चरमपंथी विचारों और समूहों की भेंट चढ़ चुके हैं। ‘व्हिसलब्लोअर’ फ्रांसेस हौगेन ने ब्रिटिश संसदीय दल के समक्ष लगभग दो साल पहले दावा किया था कि फेसबुक (अब मेटा) अपने मुनाफे के लिए घृणा के इस दौर को हवा दे रहा है। भारतीय मूल के इंजीनियर अशोक चंदवने ने कंपनी को अलविदा कहते हुए लिखा था, ‘मैं अब ऐसे संगठन में योगदान नहीं दे सकता, जो अमेरिका और दुनिया भर में नफरत को बढ़ावा दे रहा है।’
हालांकि, मेटा ने इस दावे को नकारते हुए कहा है कि हम तो जहर बुझी सामग्री की सफाई का काम करते हैं। उसके अनुसार, सिर्फ भारत में पिछली मई में 1.75 करोड़ पोस्ट इसलिए हटा दी गई, क्योंकि उनमें आपत्तिजनक सामग्री पाई गई। आप जानते ही होंगे, लगभग तीन अरब लोग हर माह मेटा प्लेटफॉर्म का थोड़ा या बहुत इस्तेमाल करते हैं।
The Honorable President of the Republic of India, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi -110001
Sub: Petition against the observations of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India passed yesterday on July 1st on Nupur Sharma over her plea of clubbing multiple FIRs registered across different states over her remarks on Prophet Muhammad.
Respected President sir,
At the fag end of your fabulous and dignified tenure at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, it gives me immense pleasure to congratulate you on your impeccable and controversy-free incumbency all these years. It gives me a little hesitance to burden yourself at this hours with a public-interest petition but since the matter pertains to the shaken conscience of a billion plus population, the exigency of it can’t be more pronounced.
Sir, I wish to draw your kind attention to the observations of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India yesterday on Nupur Sharma over her plea on clubbing multiple FIRs registered across different states over her remarks on Prophet Muhammad. The impugned observations and the judgement of the honorable bench of the SC doesn’t only violate the unassailable judicial conscience but also fails to pass the test of reasonableness, legality and constitutional validity.
Instead of drawing your time-consuming attention to the nitty gritty of legalities in the matter which, as a legal luminary you must yourself be much better aware of, I’d solicit your valuable attention on few very small, yet pertinent, points that carry grave implications:
1. By refusing to give Ms Nupur Sharma the legal relief by allowing to club together the multiple FIRs in the country, the SC has robbed her of her right to equality and fair treatment before law. The robbing becomes more conspicuous in view of the fact that such a precedence has been set by the SC itself and applied more recently in the case of the journalist Arnab Goswami.
2. Further, by denying Ms Sharma an equal treatment of law by suggesting that she can’t expect to get the relief available to a journalist, the SC has now consciously created a new class of unequals where the relief available to some ‘X’ class of citizens shall not be available to a ‘Y’ class in similar situations. I needn’t emphasize that such artificial and whimsical categorisation is legally untenable as it violates the fundamental right of equality available to all citizens under Art 14 of the Constitution.
3. Importantly, and most dangerously, by pronouncing Ms Sharma’s statement as the reason behind the murder of a tailor in Udaipur, the honourable bench has overtly justified physical violence in the name of religious sentiments being hurt, and in it’s eerie enthusiasm to buttress the position, the bench has walked considerable miles as it adjudged her to be the “single most factor” behind the explosive situation in the country.
Thus, the SC observations give the religious fanatics in the country the virtual license to kill anyone and everyone within their reach at their sole subjective satisfaction. This makes the majority of the Indian population vulnerable to murderous violence and assaults all around by religious fanatics striking with complete sense of impunity following the SC observations. As a corollary, even the other courts in India may wish to take a lenient view in incidents of communal/jihadist murders and violence in future, believing that the highest court may condone them!
4. Fourthly, by refusing to club the multiple FIRs as prayed, the SC has, in a way, forced Ms Nupur Sharma to travel across hostile locations in the country under constant threat to her life. It makes her a sitting duck for the marauding fanatics trailing her all along. This way, the SC, has denied her fundamental right to life, i.e. her basic right to live in the country – unharmed and without fear. Isn’t this tantamount to condoning her murder and death by the honourable SC?
5. Will the same yardstick be applied by the SC while trying the cases of Hindu offenders killing a Muslim for butchering a cow, as, much in the same way as a Muslim can’t put up with his prophet being insulted, the Hindus can’t put up with cows being killed? Will the SC hold that victim responsible for his death? Religious sentiments hurt both ways!
So, the SC’s yesterday’s observations will bring forth many complex questions that will open the Pandora’s box of complexities not for the judiciary alone but for the nation and the society on a larger level.
6. Legal experts have been effusive in pointing to glaring loopholes in the said observations of the SC, yet as a Sanatani Hindu, what hurts me the most is the realization that, following the SC order, the society is certain to drift to an obscurantist and mediaeval waters where liberty and tolerance will be nothing but sin!
This is not our Indian culture, which has evolved over thousands of years on wonderful traditions of debates, discussions and acceptance of differences, and which has consistently respected one’s right to question through scholarly citations. So, I wonder is that tradition going to be given a final burial by the SC? Many hear the hoofs of an impending Sharia society in India where scholarly traditions would be nothing but a Satanic sin, and a scholarly questioner would be nothing but dead – brutally beheaded! All this under fervent patronage of the highest courts of India!!
The argument may look a bit stretched too far, but the arguments of the Zoroastrian Persia being wiped out one day must have been treated similarly stretched too far in the 7th century! And it happened, even so without a fervent SC in place in the 7th century Persia!
7. Shoot and scoot – the policy that best suits to those who fear accountability – seems to have become the new mantra of the SC. Some motormouth judges always find it convenient to shoot from the mouth than to give their words in writing; they know well that a verbal observation would hit all their targets without ever being challenged. This is the high time to impose a complete ban on all forms of verbal observations of the courts from being reported in media; a media house should be allowed to report only from the written judgements and observations.
Thus, am I wrong if it leads me to the suspicion that ample professional standards have not been applied and that boundaries of rationality, reasonableness and fairness have not been touched in pronouncing the observations by the honourable bench of the SC?
Even the least objective observer would acquiesce here that the SC’s observations stand stained by the colours of individual subjectivity and ideological prejudices. The hallowed grounds of objectivity, professionalism and neutrality are run over by personal emotions of the two ‘individuals’ sitting inside the exterior of the two judges in the courtroom. In their apparent enthusiasm to settle scores with larger political establishment, the ‘individuals’ seem to have found the right shoulder in Nupur Sharma to fire their bullets. But, sadly the bullets are on their way to kill many wrong birds.
Hon’ble President, I’m not writing you with the request to use your good office to exercise the constitutional powers available with you to see how such a judgement could be reviewed or rectified; I request that please certainly do whatever you could in this regard, but to request only this from you would be asking too little from an office as big as yours. Therefore, I’m writing this with the request to kindly use your good office to help evolve and put into place a system in Indian judiciary that could liberate the judges from the sinister subjectivity and emotions of the ‘individuals’ lurking within them in the revered courtrooms. The Collegium System, certainly is not that system; it has failed the judges many times over!
As a layman, I wish to convey you the voice of millions of our countrymen that reforms in Indian judiciary is all about reforms in the system of selection of judges. So, as you stand on the threshold of a new life outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan, what better way to create a lasting legacy can be there, than to set off some positive reactions in the Indian judicial system, so that it could shake off it’s seven decades of inertia and rise up to the challenges of the new India – the young and modern India that wants accountability at all level. Who cares if you’re a judge from the Supreme Court!
On Friday the land of the rising sun was under the twilight when their risen sun, the ex-prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated while addressing an election campaign in Nara City, leaving the world aghast and blue.
PM Narendra Modi tweeted after the demise of ex-prime minister of Japan Shinzo Abe….. In the passing away of Mr. Abe, Japan, and the world have lost a great visionary. And, I have lost a dear friend. A tribute to my friend Abe San… ~PM of India.
PM Modi has dedicated not only one tweet but multiple, demonstrating how crucial Shinzo was to him. Their friendship dates back much before Modi became prime minister, Modi was one of three whom Shinzo followed on Twitter then. PM Modi has jotted down a well-dedicated article recalling his liaison and remembrances with Shinzo Abe. https://www.narendramodi.in/my-friend-abe-san
A well-born farseeing leader who served the cause
Japan will change. Let’s create a country where innovation is constantly happening, giving birth to new industries to lead the world, when I visit Silicon Valley I want to think about how we can make Silicon Valley’s ways and make them work in Japan.
~ Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe was born with a silver spoon but died living in mud houses. He was the third-generation political leader in his family. His grandfather Nobusuke Kishi was prime minister (1957-60), while his father Shintaro Abe was a foreign minister (1982-86). He has vouched and contributed to Japan’s exponential progress. It wasn’t a cakewalk for a country to sit on a high pedestal that had faced a drastic nuclear attack on two of its cities.
He was the longest-serving post-war Prime Minister in Japan having served two terms from 2006-2007 and then from 2012 to 2020. Serving for such a long period in a country where the average stint of a prime minister never exceeded 2 years is plausible. India was like a second home for him, his multiple trips to India like no other leader had, were a living example of rapport between India and Abe.
Japan is cursed by Nature, the bulk of the land is hilly and non-cultivating, and sitting on the pacific ring fire, earthquakes, and pertained disasters are not unnatural to the Japanese. There are numerous countries like India endowed by Nature but still haven’t concocted the technology conducive for its usage. Japan, on the other hand, veered its priority to technological ambit through favorable economic steps and created a favorable ground for private companies and enterprises. All these technological feats were at their zenith during Shinzo’s political epoch. His economic prototype – Abenomics was a turbo to an already running economic engine of Japan.
What is Abenomics?
Abenomics refers to the economic policies implemented by the Government of Japan led by the Liberal Democratic Party since the December 2012 general election. They are named after Shinzō Abe, who served a second stint as Prime Minister of Japan from 2012 to 2020.
The fundamental vision behind this was to wipe out the conservative cocoon from Japan through the lens of economic reform. Abe is often called out as a visionary leader. This man was far ahead of his time, his idea of a free and open Indo-Pacific and the idea of Quad is a glaring example that he was well informed of the Chinese expansion strategy.
In his historic speech to the Indian Parliament in 2007, he talked about the “confluence of the two seas” – the Indian and the Pacific Ocean,broader Asia and common democratic virtues.
He admired Indian culture, and for that reason, he gave a loan at minimal interest for the re-establishment of Nalanda University (an ancient Indian knowledge center of learning Indic culture) which was destroyed by the Islamic tyrant Bakhtiyar Khilji.
India is ever indebted to Japan for its support in the technological, infrastructural, and developmental spheres. There are very few trusty allies of India, especially in the east, therefore, the demise of Shinzo Abe is more than a loss, it’s a loss of partnership, rapport, wisdom, and leadership.
India is on the Cusp of becoming the next Super-Power, both Economically and Militarily!But the constant in-fighting and riots need to stop!
The British left India after being decimated by Germany and feared Indian troops! Yes, we are led to believe it’s all from peaceful protests from MK Gandhi, but that’s not the complete story! India’s military was an equal element in achieving independence!
What if all the protests, riots, in the news daily, is part of a certain political family’s propaganda to control India, via Gandhi’s “Satyagraha” that has been weaponized for political gains.
Let’s thank Gandhi but, since his Satyagraha is being misused, now let’s make protests virtual in social media, and electronic with voting, TV ratings and virtual attendance, with Opinion Pieces, like here, electronic polling, to online surveys, and let’s eliminate all violent protests, or all physical protests for that matter! This is 2022!
We know from our history books MK Gandhi’s contributions regarding “peaceful protests” and satyagraha (“devotion to truth”), a technique for “redressing wrongs through inviting, rather than inflicting, suffering, for resisting adversaries without rancour and fighting them without violence,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, ironically an encyclopedia with British roots, as evidenced in it’s name.
But is this the real reason the British left India? What if they were decimated by Germany in World War II and they feared the Indian National Army, a military organization made up of Indian prisoners of war released from Japanese custody and led by the famous nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose? What if they would have left India with or without MK Gandhi’s peaceful protests?
According to the UK’s Independent, in their article from Nov. 2016, entitled: “The forgotten violence that helped India break free from colonial rule,” they stated: “Following the end of the war, the trial of INA prisoners provided a serious problem for colonial legitimacy and helped to stoke the mass nationalism that forced Britain to withdraw in 1947. So while it is the memory of Gandhi and non-violence that is now marked by British politicians when they visit India, the other side to the story is very real, and should not be forgotten.“
As we now know, the Gandhi movie itself was a piece of propaganda, as described in the Opinion piece by Opindia, in the article entitled:”Did you know: I&B Ministry under former PM Indira Gandhi had provided $10 million to make the film ‘Gandhi’,” where it has been found that then PM Indira Gandhi provided the first $10 million from the NFDC, to Richard Attenborough for making the film ‘Gandhi’ in 1980, and as we have seen in the news, India under PM Indira Gandhi and her family have had a dislike for India’s military, and a strange admiration for protests.
If this is the real reason, to make Gandhi’s name, his protests, his influence over India, the center of all power, then what if a certain political family that adopted his name, is mis-using his “Satyagraha” protests for political gains! What if they are behind propagandas, and violent protests!
We see it in the news!
Riots in the Streets and Trains from Gujarat to the rest of the country!
Result: Media Manipulation by the Congress Party in the Centre, against then CM Modi!
Alleged corruption in the National Herald scam, implicating the Congress Party leaders, and the political family in question!
Result: Satyagraha protest by the Congress Party against the BJP Leaders in the Centre.
Debates of Hijab in Schools in the past few months, Hindu Symbols found in Mosques last month, Farm Laws last year, Agnipath last couple of days, etc.
Result: Satyagraha protest by the Congress Party against the BJP Leaders in the Centre.
Is this really effective? Is this really non-violent? Deaths have occurred from stone-pelting, and a major news anchor was caught lying about a death in the Farmer’s Protest, as it seemed contrived to create issues, amplify it in the media, and have a certain political party benefit. Isn’t this all contrived, and now effectively exposed as such!
What if all physical protests be banned as these are Viral Super Spreader Events? And can lead to violence!
What if we empower and encourage only virtual protests? Anyone can be a YouTube, WhatsApp, Koo, or Twitter celebrity nowadays.
A smartphone is all that’s needed and having been an early CTO of one of the world’s first Video, VoIP and WiFi smartphones, I may have a personal say in this! LOL!
The Solution!
The new Political Elites should be Empowered and Encouraged, to become the leaders of tomorrow!
The Power of Social Media to Drive Change!
According to Harvard University’s Joshua Kertzer’s report in the “Annual Review of Political Science Experiments and Surveys on Political Elites,” politicians are getting lots of feedback from mostly on-line and electronic forms.
Source: Annual Review of Political Science Experiments and Surveys on Political Elites, Harvard University.
The differences from political “elites” and “non-elites” is mostly minor with aspects of similar influences from Political blogs, Twitter, and Phone solicitation, with the main difference being “elites” respond to emails while non-elites respond to online surveys. In all cases, protest marches are not part of the equation!
Where are protest marches? Does an in-person interview count as a protest march? The answer = No!
We must acknowledge that in 2022, the political elites are very important to understanding how our democracy functions, so understanding ways to improve their decisions should lead us to understand how to improve the policymaking process more generally.
A new 20th Century Solution! The Power of Projection and Persuasion (PPP):
Social Media, with collaborative aspects of online surveys, video streaming, unified communications tying voice, video, email, texts, all have become the new platform with Vision, and Passion, that is Informational, and/or Activities-based!
A new platform is neededto rapidly and effectively deploy and sustain teams with vision and actions in and from multiple dimensions to respond to crises, to contribute to the betterment of society, and to enhance mankind.
The approach described here, which I call the Power of Projection and Persuasion (PPP) for short, which is also the acronym of Public-Private Partnerships, and that is also encouraged here, can be used by leaders of the future to translate their instincts or insight or decision-making acumen into action. It’s the way they can collaboratively project their will in the world, persuading others to believe, to join, to act. But those are challenges for all of us, not for leaders only.
And so the Power of Projection and Persuasion are for the leaders of the future who may be Youtube sensations, Facebook leaders, activists at various events, leaders of charitable organizations, and people in everyday lives.
The new Social Leaders!
Leadership competencies include:
• Actions Oriented – full of energy, not fearful of acting on minimal planning
• Business/Government Acumen – knows how government and businesses work, knows policies, trends, and is aware of strategies and tactics in the world or region
• Voter Focus – has effective relationships with voters, and gains their respect and trust
• Decision Quality – makes good decisions based on analysis, wisdom, experience, intuition, and judgment
• Nurturing/Developing Direct Reports/Others – is a people builder
• Ethics and Values – practices what he/she preaches
• Visioning/Strategy – leaders need to point the way and develop compelling plans
• Hiring/Staffing – has a nose for talent
• Judgement – a great differentiator – it seems you either have it or you don’t
• Passion/Optimism –exudes positive energy
• Informing – is timely with information
• Integrity and Trust – keeps confidences, is direct and truthful
• Listening – attentive, and has patience to hear people out
• Courage – is not afraid to take negative actions when needed
• Accountability – accepts and creates a culture of accountability
• Motivational – creates a climate where people want to work their best
• Organizing – arranges information and files in a useful manner, can orchestrate multiple activities
• Peer Relationships – has effective relationships with peers, and can find common ground
• Perseverance – seldom gives up
• Priority Setting – creates focus
• Problem Solving – can solve complex problems using rigorous logic
• Drive for Results – bottom-line oriented
• Building Effective Teams – creates strong morale, and spirit in his/her team
• Intuitive – has vision, beyond today
How to Become the Leader!
Put yourself in the role of the leader, and sense the intuition you feel. Let’s thank MK Gandhi, but now in 2022, let’s move on!
How would you like to solve societal needs as the new Leader?Let’s Go!
Thanks…
Akshay Sharma (Author’s Bio): Akshay Sharma is a Computer Engineer, tech analyst, ex-Gartner, having authored 280+ research notes, on emerging technologies like Cybersecurity, 5G, and IoT. He has worked for Canada’s Dept of Defense, advised and deployed solutions with DISA: Defense Information Security Agency, at Nortel and Siemens, and advised various 3-letter agencies in the US. A frequent speaker at tech events, he is often quoted in leading institutions like CNN, Wall St. Journal, and CIO.com. He is a former CTO of one of the first video/WiFi smartphone firms and an entrepreneur in the tech sector, having worked for firms that are now part of leading firms like Intel, IBM, Nokia, and Ericsson. He advised the UK’s Ofcom, the US’s Dept. of Homeland Security, and was quoted in the Wall Street Journal banning Huawei in 2012, and stated in the Huffington Post, the Chinese hacking of Nortel is a “wakeup call”. Sharma contributed to the Flight Control protocol ARINC 629 Databus used in commercial avionics and military fighter jets for “fly-by-wire” systems, including the newer Boeing 777X. Additionally he is a Cybersecurity analyst, and CTO for Kovair.com with clients like the World Bank, India’s DRDO and US Defense sector clients.
Recently Victoria became the first Australian state to ban the Nazi hate symbol, Hakenkreuz or the hooked cross.
Displaying the hate symbol in Victoria is now a punishable offence and anyone found in breach may face up to 12 months in prison and fines up to almost AUD 22,000 or both.
In a tweet, Jaclyn Symes, Victoria’s Attorney-General said, “It’s a proud moment to see these important laws pass – it sends the strongest possible message that this vile behaviour won’t be tolerated.”
Victoria’s Premier, Dan Andrews, also applauded the government’s new legislation and said, “In our state, nobody has the right to spread racism, hate or antisemitism”.
Jewish organizations in Australia and worldwide have welcomed this ban. Chairman of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, DvirAbramovich, described the new legislation as a “thunderous blow” to neo-Nazi elements.
The latest legislation, however, clearly distinguished between the Nazi symbol and religious symbol of Swastika used by Hindus, Buddhists and Jainis. The legislation recognized ‘the continued importance of the swastika as an ancient and auspicious symbol of purity, love, peace and good fortune in Buddhist, Hindu, Jain and other religions. The swastika has had immense significance to these faiths for millennia, long before it was misappropriated by the Nazi party and Third Reich in Germany. The misuse of the swastika is an affront and cause of deep regret to people of the Buddhist, Hindu and Jain religions.’
The legislation also noted that ‘the Hakenkreuz became a symbol of the Third Reich, under which heinous crimes were perpetrated against humanity, particularly the Jewish people.’
The legislation does not ban the usage of the Swastika for religious purpose and if it is being used in good faith.
What this new legislation means for Hindus in Australia and worldwide?
It is vital to understand what this issue means for Hindus globally. So, let us first answer a basic question.
Is this legislation good? Of course, anything which counters hate speech, antisemitism and religiophobia of any kind is good and needed. Each sane human being must support legislation of this kind.
Secondly, a big round of appreciation to all unsung Australian Hindu community members who worked with their political leaders and policy makers to ensure that ‘Swastika’ does not gets banned.
The legislation has clearly differentiated between Nazi hate symbol ‘Hakenkreuz’ and pious symbol of Swastika. However, the fight for Hindus is far from over.
Mainstream academia, media (including in India) and popular culture do still use the word Swastika interchangeably for Hakenkreuz. This must be challenged.
It is for the community organizations and common Hindu citizens to reach out to their political leaders and engage with local media. An effort is required to educate non-Hindus of the difference between the two symbols. A concerted effort to include this in school curriculum can surely go a long way. Lastly, it is important to teach small children at homes about the difference between the two symbols.
