Could there still be hope for Jessica?

After the Jessica Lall verdict was out last week, I for one, was outraged, and fortunately, so was the rest of the nation. I think the media took this incident up in a big way. I think we are used to hearing of the big and powerful getting justice on their side, but more often than not, these stories come from far and wide, maybe mainly from the hinterlands.

Jessica Lall case was different. It involved the rich socialites of New Delhi, the sons and newphews of the rich and powerful, stuff that media coverages are made of. I too had been reading about the stink the verdict raised in all media sections; I think NDTV started an online petition campaign against the verdict, and they say they have over a lakh signatures already. Every paper was full of opinion pieces on the sad state of judicial reforms, or the society in general.

I was planning to keep writing follow-ups to the verdict, maybe news opinions mostly, but as I checked the morning news, the first thing I do every morning, the headline read that the centre hints at reopening the case! This is big news, because when the centre is planning to get involved, there is usually a hope that it is for the better. Also, the Delhi High Court had asked for details of the investigation from the Delhi Police chief already. His force has begun damage control already by the way.

When they will talk about bad timings, I think this case should be right up there. Soon after the verdict, the judge who was presiding over the case was elevated to the Delhi High Court from the Additional Sessions Court. Now activists and bar associations of all kinds are up against Judge KL Bhayana for shaking their faith in the system. To be fair, when a judge is presented with a very poor and half-hearted investigation, an even weaker prosecution, what is one supposed to do? But then he also knew that this was the classic case of the guilty being rich and powerful. He did say the prosecution presented a very weak case, but maybe he could have referred to some higher courts.

Last week, Manu Sharma and his family make a pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi in J&K to be obeisance to the Goddess, and good for him, for to be fair, I think the Gods usually do not differ between sinner and sinned till their day of judgement. Lets hope that day comes soon for this spoilt asshole and his posse.

Coming to the government, I am no fan of part of the cabinet of MMS, and the home minister is one of them. He said on the floor that the says one can't be tried again in "any case". Hmm, perhaps I am missing a point, but what was the Best Bakery retrial about? Werent the same acquitted men ordered by the Supreme Court of India to be retried? I know the GoI usually lacks what we call balls, and I think they are only doing this because of the public outrage. And as you know, where there's trouble, there'll be a politician to exploit it.

This is from the The Tabloid:

Centre hints at reopening the Jessica Lal murder case

The government has indicated there could be a reinvestigation into the controversial case relating to the murder of Delhi model Jessica Lal but ruled out a retrial.

"As the law exists today, no person should be tried twice in any case," Home Minister Shivraj Patil said in a statement in the Rajya Sabha after MPs cutting across party lines demanded in both houses of Parliament that the controversial case be reopened.

"The Supreme Court has ordered reinvestigation in some cases and it has become a kind of law also for us. It can be followed," Patil said. He assured the members that "whatever is possible as per law to see that justice should be done will be done. Let there be no doubt."

The home minister said the government was keen to incorporate provisions to protect witnesses in such cases to prevent them from turning hostile under pressure.

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Investigator in Jessica case transferred

Surendra Sharma, the investigating officer in the controversial Jessica Lall murder case, has been transferred from the post of Station House Officer of Hauz Khas police station to security wing of Delhi Police which doesnot involve any probe assignment.

Paul, who was the Joint Commissioner (Crime) when the murder case was being investigated in a report to the then Commissioner Ajai Raj Sharma, had questioned the intention behind sending empty rounds of bullets fired at the Tamarind Court party for forensic examination to the CFSL when the weapon of offence had not been recovered.

He had also suggested an internal probe against officials investigating the case.

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Police asked to explain shoddy probe into Jessica's murder

Delhi High Court on Friday sought an explanation from Delhi Police on the shoddy manner in which it had investigated the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lal, leading to all nine accused in the case being acquitted.

Judges Vijender Jain and Rekha Sharma asked the police to respond by April 19.

According to the prosecution, Manu Sharma shot dead Lal on April 29, 1999 after she refused to serve him a drink in a bar functioning without a licence. Lal was filling in as a bartender at the Tamarind Court bar, near the Qutb Minar, run by socialite Bina Ramani. It was later shut down.

Of the 12 accused in the case, one was discharged and two are absconding.

The nine accused who were acquitted are Manu Sharma, his uncle Shyam Sunder Sharma, Amardeep Singh Gill, Yograj Singh, Harvinder Chopra, Vikas Gill, Raja Chopra, Alok Khanna and Vikas Yadav, the son of former Uttar Pradesh MP DP Yadav.

Vikas Yadav is also accused of murdering a business executive, Nitish Katara, because he objected to his involvement with his sister Bharati.

Vikas Yadav, Alok Khanna and Amardeep Singh Gill were charged with destroying evidence and conspiracy.

Shyam Sunder Sharma was charged with harbouring an offender and destroying evidence, and Yograj Singh, Amardeep Singh Gill, Harvinder Chopra and Raja Chopra were also charged with harbouring an offender.

The accused were acquitted on four grounds. First, the prosecution failed to recover the weapon that was used to kill Lal.

The court said the prosecution also failed to prove that the two cartridges recovered from the spot were fired from one weapon. A forensic report had said the two cartridges were fired from two different weapons.

Third, the three eyewitnesses in the case, including model Shayan Munshi, refused to support the prosecution's line and turned hostile.

Fourth, the prosecution failed to present a complete chain of circumstances of the case, the court said.

The Best Bakery Verdict

While the Jessica Lall verdict has the entire nation seething at the injustice, various fronts have opened up all across the country looking to bring about a retrial after the verdict and bring about reforms in the Judiciary in general. My next post will on that subject, but first I must write about another important judgement that was passed last week, convictions in the Best Bakery case.

What happened in Gujarat in 2002 was a national shame. I am still trying to figure out what really happened there, because I think the governments are hiding something. People might believe it begins and ends with Narendra Modi, but I think there is some deeper motive in what happened. But since I have no media or opinion to back me up, i'll just leave it at that.

Coming back to the Best Bakery case, here is what happened then. I might have a few facts wrong, but I believe this about covers up the broad scope of events. Post Godhra carnage, Gujarat witnessed mass violence aimed against Muslims in the state as retaliation. In Vadodara city, a mob torched a small Muslim-owned bakery business called Best Bakery, thus killing 14 people in it.

In the aftermath of the national tragedy that took place, the government of Gujarat set up fast track courts to try all the cases related to the carnage, including the Best Bakery case. The key witness, Zaheera Sheikh, who lost many of her close relatives in the fire, had turned hostile in the case more than once, sometimes blaming an NGO of pressuring her to name innocent persons in the case, and denying meeting influential figures before her trial.

Due to shoddy investigative work and a very weak prosecution, very similar to the one in the Jessica Lall case, obviously under political and other pressures, the fast track court acquitted all of the accused, citing lack of evidence and all of the other witnesses turning hostile as well. Note from the Indian Express story below that the court didnt even examine five key eye witnesses, including Zaheera's sister-in-law.

Then followed the intervention from human rights activists and other parties, claiming of obvious political interference, and then the Supreme Court stepped in. It was then that she said she was under pressure and that she did not expect to get justice in Gujarat for fear of safety of her family.

The then Chief Justice of India, VN Khare, took notice of the way the investigation was done, and ordered a retrial in 2004. He also ordered it to be outside of the state of Gujarat. The case moved onto Mumbai, where Zaheera and her family again turned hostile, and this is where she said the human rights activist Teesta Setalvad was pressuring her to name innocent people in the case.

Despite all the obstacles, finally the Special Court gave its verdict last week, sentencing 9 of the accused to life in prison. Judge Abhay Thipsay's verdict in Mumbai said he could not hand out a death sentence because each individual's role in the carnage was unclear. Eight were let off for want of evidence.

An important development is that the judge issued perjury notices to Zaheera and her family for giving false evidence to the court. This case could be a milestone in similar cases in the country. The Supreme Court saw through the political influence to get the decision in their favor and was prompt in action. As Zaheera and her family turned hostile for fear of their lives, they are also to blame for the numerous flip-flops and attempts to misguide the judiciary. The case also brings to light the extraordinary amount of influence that the rich and powerful are able to project on a witness. We are at fault because we still do not have a witness protection plan to deal with this.

This is from the Indian Express:

Justice denied, justice restored: Nine life terms for Best Bakery

Bringing a glimmer of hope to thousands of Gujarat riot victims that justice delayed doesn’t have to be justice denied, a court in Mumbai, set up under unprecedented orders of the Supreme Court, today sentenced nine people to life in prison for the Vadodara Best Bakery massacre in which 14 were burnt alive.

All the nine were among the 21 accused acquitted by a Vadodara fast-track court almost three years ago. Eight were acquitted today and four are still absconding.

That acquittal by the fast-track court in June 2003 had sparked off outrage—the judge had severely indicted the prosecution—and days after the verdict, Sehrunissa Sheikh, who lost nine relatives in the attack, had broken her silence to The Indian Express to say that she and her daughter Zaheera had “lied in court, trembling with fear.”

This set off a chain of events that led the Supreme Court to transfer the case out of the state in what came to be seen as a touchstone in judicial activism as a response to what the court called a justice system “abused, misused and mutilated by subterfuge.”

The prosecution examined about 75 witnesses in the trial which lasted for more than a year. Those convicted for murder and sentenced to life have also been convicted for several other offences and heavy fines levied on them, a part of which would be paid as compensation to those injured in the incident, the judge said.

In the re-trial, which began on October 4, 2004, a total of 76 witnesses were examined of which nine turned hostile. Of these nine, five belong to the Sheikh family. Among the important witnesses examined by the court were Zaheera’s sister-in-law Yasminbanu and four other persons.

Incidentally, none of these five witnesses was examined during the trial conducted by the fast-track court at Vadodara which acquitted all the 21 accused persons.

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Zaheera yet to surface, to respond to perjury charges

"Zaheera is yet to contact me after Friday's verdict given by the Mumbai court. I have no idea if she is in Mumbai, Vadodara or Ahmedabad," advocate Atul Mistri, who represents Zaheera, told PTI in Ahmedabad Saturday.

When asked if he found it strange that his client's whereabouts remained unknown when such a crucial judgement was delivered, he said, "Yes it is strange, but there is nothing I can do."
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talking UP cricket for a change

Uttar Pradesh, or Ulta Pradesh, never had it so good in domestic cricket.

Earlier this month, we won the Ranji trophy for the first time in its 72 year history. And the man of the hour? Our captain, Tha Mohammad Kaif. Our boy from Allahabad won the trophy on our home ground, the KD Singh Babu stadium in Lucknow, in front of our home crowd and then rushed to Pakistan to play for the Blue Caps.

Having lived in Lucknow for very many years, and seen it from a lot of different angles. I've been to KD Singh Babu stadium, right in the center of the city, but I was never able to witness anything of a scale as this victory, from what i read in the papers. I've also been to the GGS Sports College, home of the Dhyanchand National hockey stadium. In fact, their principal put me on a workout regimen that I couldnt walk the next three days. But the most endearing part of that place? Everyone was supposed to wish elders with 'Jai Hind.'

The whole place was abuzz with the news that UP was on its way to win its first Ranji, and that brought a huge crowd on the final day of the game. We were playing powerhouses Bengal, but playing underdogs is something UP was used to.
Heck we beat Mumbai at Wankhade in the semis! thats something, aint it?

This should do wonders for the status of domestic cricket in UP and hopefully in India, when the prestigious trophies are won by underdogs. Its the biggest paradox that while we may be the powerhouse in international cricket, plush with funds and eyeballs, our domestic cricket cries for both.

And now look, we have 4 players in the national squad. Its unheard of, but its finally happened. I was reading an article about how players from the hinterlands have totally changed the personality of the game. Our main man from Ranchi, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is an icon now. Kaif's from Allahabad. Rudra Pratap Singh is from RaeBareilly in UP. For those not in the know, that was Rajiv Gandhi's parliamentary constituency and now sends Sonia Gandhi to the Lok Sabha.

Time to celebrate as UP hits a four

It’s raining cricket, and history, in the State. For the first time ever, four cricketers from Uttar Pradesh have made it to Team India — State Ranji skipper Mohammad Kaif, left-arm paceman Rudra Pratap Singh, all-rounder Suresh Raina and young leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

‘‘There sure is a little pressure as this is my debut in international cricket, but I feel I would have the advantage of playing in Indian conditions,’’ Chawla told Newsline over telephone on his way to Gwalior for the Deodhar Trophy. The 15-member squad for the first Test against England at Nagpur was announced by chief selector Kiran More in Vadodara today.

It wasn’t completely unexpected though, going by Chawla’s performances in UP’s recent historic Ranji triumph and the more recent Under-19 World Cup. ‘‘My performance in the Under-19 World Cup final in Sri Lanka (against Pakistan, in which he claimed 4 wickets conceding 8 runs) has boosted my confidence, though I still feel sad about not winning that match.’’

And talking of ‘‘joy’’, it was a double whammy for the Guru Govind Singh Sports College here, where Raina and R P Singh learnt the finer nuances of the game. Their coaches at the college, S P Krishan and Deepak Sharma respectively, made no effort to hide their elation.

‘‘Yes, it’s a double joy for us, but more than that it is a golden period for UP cricket, what with four of our boys making it to the ultimate team!’’

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Kaif's UP are lords of Ranji

February 2, 2006 will always be remembered in the annals of Uttar Pradesh's cricket history. They won their maiden Ranji Trophy in the 72nd year of the National championship. Their inspirational skipper, Mohammad Kaif made it doubly memorable by getting a century following his 92 in the first essay.

The joy and the celebrations of such intensity have rarely been witnessed at the Babu stadium. There was an air of expectancy right from the morning as Kaif and Suresh Raina began batting on the final day. The two lasted long enough to shut the door on Bengal. Though UP were ultimately all out shortly before the tea interval, Bengal had to get an improbable 357 in just 43 overs.

The 14-run lead that UP managed on the fourth morning proved decisive in the end. That enabled them to lift the trophy for the first time in their fourth attempt, becoming the 14th team to etch their name on the silverware. Kaif, the able captain, ensured that there was no slip-up this time. He also became only the second UP player to hit a century in the final, following Pheroze Palia, UP’s first-ever Test player, who made 216 in the 1939-40 final at Pune.

"Is nothing Indian sacred?"

I had made a post earlier against the Muslim headcount in the Armed Forces that the Congress government had sought. Apparently, the government has backed out of such a move now.

The army stands for integrity, equality and honour in a nation that is divided by religion, bigotry and bias, and when the Con'gress tryed to hurt the one institution that this nation is proud of, I am sure it wasn't expecting such a national backlash. Despite our divide, I am proud to say, our armed forces give us a reason to be proud of them. My soldier is mine, I dont care what religion he/she is, where he/she is from and what language he/she speaks.

While the Rajinder Sachar committee that had sought such a headcount gave the reason that they could gauge clearly the economic status of the muslim population in India, and the number of muslims in the army would help in that study. The government has also initiated the creation of a ministry for minority affairs in the Cabinet. While the reasons seems very noble, knowing that it is coming from the Congress party, I have every reason to believe that they had a lot of other motives as well.

For one, the Congress wants to get back into power in the north, particularly Uttar Pradesh, i mean, Ulta Pradesh. Their latest strategy is appeasement of their old faithful, the muslim votebank, which in recent times, has been moving to other parties. Parties such as Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Mayawati's Bahujan Samajwadi Party have a strong muslim vote in the state, thus eating into Congress territory. Now that the Congress is in power in the center, they have more resources at their disposal to go about wooing voters.

The case of the muslim vote is not new. Well, all of Indian politics is caste and religion based, and like many others, I feel the muslims have allowed themselves to be used by the politicians for the latter's own gains. It is tragic that even today our politicians can get votes by inciting castes against each other.

In fact, the muslim headcount issue brought up the decade old Mandal Commission back into the headlines. When VP Singh was the Prime Minister of India, he had attempted to bring about a 9% reservation for muslims in most sectors. The Congress, it seemed, was looking to do the same now.

The only one person who the media quoted as supportive of the headcount was the Shahi Imam Bukhari of the Jama Masjid in Delhi. In fact, the army was vehement in its opposition, and the government was panned left and right by all and sundry. Well, it seems it worked. In fact, a former army general petitioned the Supreme Court against it.

In Andhra Pradesh, where Congress is in power as well, they wanted to bring about a muslim reservation in all categories. In fact, the UPA government was keen on bringing about quota in the entire private sector! Fortunately better sense and increased opposition from the private sector seems to have laid that matter to rest for now.

First, let me begin by posting what the Raksha Mantri said....

No Muslim headcount in army: Pranab

"The armed forces are professional, apolitical, secular and the most disciplined force the country has today... we would not like to include [the armed forces] in such a type of survey, [but] in the case of other departments and ministries, such a study will continue," Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Rajya Sabha.

Giving clarifications to queries on his statement on the appointment of Justice Rajindra Sachar Committee to study the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community, he said, "We do not recruit on the basis of caste, religion, creed or region... we do not maintain data based on such classifications."
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Petition seeking halt to Muslim headcount filed in SC

The petitioner, former deputy chief of army staff Left Gen R S Kadiayan, urged the court to issue a directive to the Centre to keep the data collected so far in this regard as ''classified''.

The filing of the petition was mentioned before a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justice S H Kapadia and Justice C K Thakker, which asked the petitioner's counsel to file the petition in the registry and get it numbered.
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and finally, an ed-op by Swapan Dasgupta in The Pioneer, another newspaper I respect. Let there be no doubt, there is more to this headcount than just an economic committee's recommendations. He talks of a gentleman named Omar Khalidi, who I witnessed being ripped apart in the Bharat-Rakshak Forums for trying to incite religious differences there. Look at what he has to say, and we can see a new Iqbal trying to create a new state within the state.

Count Dracula

Through the President's speech the Government boasted that "we have been able to reverse a dangerous trend of intolerance... and restore pluralism, tolerance and compassion. We have been able to replace debates that sought to divide the nation with debates that matter to everyday living of the people..."

The proof of the pudding, they say, is in the eating. The second day of the Budget Session of Parliament was dominated by furore over an issue which, presumably, the Government believed was aimed at decimating those who "sought to divide the nation."

Among the measures the Committee is already deliberating is increasing Muslim recruitment to the police to make it proportionate to the Muslim population. It is another matter that the courts have already struck down such a measure in Assam.

A perusal of the Committee's website reveals that the proposal emanated from the Indian Union Muslim League. In his memorandum, IUML President GM Banatwala informed the Committee that the "percentage of Muslims has fallen to a dismal two per cent from 30 to 36 per cent at the time of Independence." That the Committee has highlighted this observation in its website is indicative of its own mindset.

That's not all. In asking the Army to provide Muslim data, the Committee wanted confirmation of charges levelled by one Omar Khalidi about anti-Muslim measures by the Army stretching back to the anti-Razakar operations in Hyderabad, 1948.

In an interview to Radiance, the Jamaat-e-Islami weekly, Khalidi gave a taste of his agenda. "We need Muslim-majority districts for three reasons. First, concentrated areas provide security. Second, they provide an environment that is conducive to our cultural independence. Third, they provide a political base through which our people can be elected." He suggested a Deccan province by merging Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Gulbarga districts, an Urdu-speaking State covering Kishanganj, Katihar and Purnea districts in Bihar. "There are regions in Bengal and UP where Muslims can be in majority. Though a large number of Muslims would still be left out, having these strongholds is important for their future."

It was the authority of such a man that was cited to pressure the armed forces into divulging data that would have been used to destroy their non-sectarian character. The implications are ominous. Under the cloak of promoting Muslim welfare, the Prime Minister is allowing his authority to be used to further an explicitly separatist agenda.

Can you imagine the jubilation in ISI headquarters if the Indian armed forces are compartmentalised along communal lines? Surely, there are some limits to craven secular cringe? Is nothing Indian sacred?

In our land, crime does pay

Our media is always full of negetivity about our society, about our sinking morals, our fast disappearing ethics, and yet I would always have an inkling of hope in my heart that perhaps we are still changing for the better.

I am sure none of us are naive enough to believe that crime is punished in this country. For most of the time, it goes unpunished. We have to still shake the medieval mindset of blaming the victim until proven innocent, when it should be other way round. The Jessica Lall verdict has really shaken me. All those plots I used to see in movies, of rich and powerful people getting away with murder, actually happened in front of me. The absolute incompetence and connivance of the Delhi Police takes my contempt for them to a whole new level. I've cursed the entire lot enough, and I am really glad there are some sections of the media who see this episode the same way as i do, a chilling reminder of how backward our society still remains.

More importantly, I think our judicial system is in shambles. Our forefathers had created a great system in which the judiciary was one of the pillars of a strong democracy. As our polity rotted away, it built for itself a system which it could manipulate, and I believe an undermined judiciary is a part of that agenda.

Former chief justice of India, Shri. VN Khare has an entire article in the Indian Express where he posts his views on what reforms are needed to strengthen the judiciary. An epic reform took place last week, and i will post about that too, although i will admit I do not understand much of the implications of it all :) I think that is more for my sister to know, being in the law business.

But first, an editorial from the Indian Express on the absolutely unjust verdict. It talks of a very important point that makes our judiciary so weak; its inability to protect the witness from manipulation and threats.

So, crime does pay?

If the pointblank shooting down of Jessica Lall at a fashionable watering hole in New Delhi in April of 1999 stunned the nation, the exoneration of all the accused in the case seven years later by a Delhi sessions court was hardly less so.

If the crime was evidence of depraved social behaviour, the verdict was evidence that India’s criminal justice system suffered from serious structural inadequacies. If a high-profile case in the heart of the capital can be allowed to collapse in this manner, there can be no hope of justice being rendered to ordinary people living in far-flung corners. The public incredulity that greeted this verdict should not just be a momentary spark of outrage. It should translate into a sustained, serious campaign to reform our criminal justice system.

The police did not even take the elementary precaution of protecting valuable evidence. A joint commissioner, who was at the scene of murder, had to be relieved of his post for failing to register that the bar was unlicensed. As for key witnesses, they chose to turn hostile. What caused these people to retract the initial statements they had made to the police will perhaps never be known and here we confront one of the great anomalies in our criminal justice system. The witness, despite being central to the delivery of justice, emerges as the weakest link in the system, vulnerable to both intimidation and inducement.

We need to ensure that not just the witness, but the evidence of the witness, is protected. This demands putting in place a functioning witness protection regime, and may also require that the recording of police statements in cases that invite life imprisonment/capital punishment be made before a magistrate, so that they are invested with a degree of individual responsibility. A process that ends up punishing, not the perpetrators of the crime but the victims, cannot be dignified by being termed as “just”. After a tragedy, we have the shame to deal with.

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Here is an article by former CJI VN Khare. It shocked me to learn our IPC, just like our police laws, are more than a 100 years old! Oh may our worthless, slothful lawmakers suffer for this.

Justice after Jessica Lall

After the Gujarat riot cases, especially the Best Bakery case in which I ordered a re-trial as the victim Zaheera Sheikh changed her statements and witnesses turned hostile, the Jessica Lall murder case has thrown up a challenge for the country’s criminal justice system. Our criminal jurisprudence requires drastic changes. The Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act are over 150 years old. Law, like society, is not static: new contexts demand new solutions.

Today, criminals are in power from the taluka to the national levels. In such a situation, it becomes extremely difficult to procure evidence and produce witnesses before the court. Even witnesses collected and produced before the court are vulnerable. They are easily preyed upon by the powerful accused who may use money or fear.

The very first change I would suggest is that the prosecution should be an autonomous agency away from the control of the government like, say, the Election Commission (EC). The time has come for the prosecution to be made an independent and autonomous agency.

Two, the present system of investigation by the police must change. We know the police is vulnerable. I have seen cases of the police distorting evidence. In the present set-up, under the CrPC, to be precise, it is the duty of the police to collect evidence and produce the same before the court. If the police officer is aligned with the accused, it becomes difficult to secure a conviction in a court of law. Hence, the investigation should be conducted by an independent agency.

Three, the statement under section 161 of the CrPC to be given to the police should be recorded before a judicial magistrate so that the ‘examination in chief’ of a witness need not be done again and the cross-examination by the accused can begin straightaway. There is every likelihood of the witness, who could have been influenced in the interregnum, changing his statement before the magistrate. Once the statement under Section 161 is recorded before the judicial magistrate, the court’s time will not be wasted by having to undergo the examination in chief again before the cross-examination begins.

Four, like in the developed countries, say in the US, in at least some sensitive cases, witnesses should be provided protection. This is particularly desirable in India because of long pending trials in the courts. Under protection, the witness will not be fearful. It will be difficult to lure him or her by money and other allurements.

Five, the victim must be given the right to appeal. At present, the right of appeal resides only with the state, which is the prosecution. A victim can only go for a revision of the order of the trial court where the victim or the family members cannot argue on facts and law but only on jurisdiction. Both on the counts of law and fact, the victim too should be given this right.

Consider a small statistic. In 1967, the conviction rate was 80 per cent. In 2005, the same conviction rate dipped to 22 per cent, and most successful cases concerned petty crimes. Obviously these petty offences are committed by the poor who are not in a position to engage an expensive lawyer. The big fish, on the other hand, can tear their way out of the net of law.

Lord Macaulay drafted the IPC in 1835 sitting in Tamil Nadu’s summer vacation resort, the famed Nilgiri Hills. It is now 2006. One hundred and seventy-one years have passed by and the IPC, CrPC etc. remain virtually the same.

The brave Police and judiciary

Heres a very nice editorial from The Statesman. Delhi Police had never earned my respect, and I doubt it ever will. And right now it is improbable that they will appeal. Why should they? It only means more bending over backwards for the rich and powerful.

Such times totally take away my confidence in my nation. We are nothing but a bunch of sheep to be herded by assholes. Thats our destiny it seems.

The failures of Delhi Police

As in many cases involving the rich and the influencial, Delhi Police has once again failed to secure the conviction of the accused, this time in Jessica Lal murder case. More than six years after the model Jessica Lal was murdered in the Tamarind Court restaurant in south Delhi, the court has acquitted all the nine accused in the case.

This is a sad commentary on the way in which the Delhi Police investigate the cases under its jurisdiction. Even on an earlier occasion, in the BMW hit and run case, the police had failed to secure the conviction of the accused, one of whom was a close relative of a senior Delhi Police officer.The judgement in the case was a foregone conclusion as all the eyewitnesses had turned hostile one by one.

That the police had not done its homework well is evident from the fact that even the court pulled up the Delhi Police for its failure to recover the weapon of offence and there were considerable contradictions between prosecution’s case and the forensic evidence.

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Role of cops was under a cloud - Times of India

Jessica Lal, who was working as a bartender, had apparently refused to serve liquor to Manu Sharma which had allegedly led to the incident. It also opened a can of worms as Tamarind Court, owned by socialite Bina Ramani, was serving liquor without a licence.

Ironically, the then SHO of Mehrauli police station, Surender Sharma — who failed to stop the restaurant from serving liquor without licence — became the investigating officer of the case.

According to what the eyewitness accounts, Sharma came to Tamarind Court that night accompanied by four men, one of whom was politician D P Yadav's son, Vikas Yadav. He initially had a tiff with Bina's daughter, Malini Ramani.

Sharma offered her Rs 1,000 for a drink but she declined. Soon after, the incident occurred.

The PCR was informed about the incident much later. When the cops reached Tamarind Court, they found that the blood stains had been wiped off.

It was also alleged that Jessica's clothes had been changed before she was taken to the hospital.

the power of money and influence

There are two worlds that live in India, actually three. The first is the group that makes money, pays taxes, and is under the purview of the law of the land. The second is the one that makes money, hides on taxes, is sort of under the purview of the law of the land but have the power to break it, and the third are that are forgotten by the land as it moves forward.

The first one could consist of the millions of India's middle class, the one that is apparently becoming better off with increased globalization and better job opportunity. This group pays its taxes, and hates a run-in with the cops. For most of the people in India, as with this group, cops are nothing but bad news.

The second is the very minute class, the rich and powerful. This could include the very moneyed, because money can buy you politicians, and it includes politicians themselves, because with power comes the opportunity to steal the nation's money, and without doubt our politicians have made the most of it. I think the politicians' immediate family also features in this misuse of power. In fact, I came across a news article about the same thing which made me write this post.

I have a lot of bitterness against our political leadership, and I think the one reason i started this blog was because i was exasperated at how easily our politicians and their cronies can tweak the system and get away with it. It made me wonder, can't we see what is happening, and if we can, don't we have enough numbers in us to get together and make it right? anyway, i'll come back to that thought in a little bit.

The third group is the downtrodden, the utterly poor populace that is of no other use to the powerful politician other than the votes they carry. Most of the money that is spent by the government is supposedly for programs to uplift this last category of the very poor, but I think we would all agree, the crores of rupees spent on welfare schemes probably saw the same fate as burning all that money in a furnace would see.

So the politician controls the rest of the country in two ways. For the middle class, one that pays taxes and fears the law of the land, the politician uses power. He/she threatens dire consequences if they dare go against them. They will use the already rotten police system and the very tweakable judicial system to have it their way.

As for their vote banks, well, a few charged up words with lots of caste and religion thrown in usually does the trick, because apparently the people of this country dont need a working bathroom or a clean street, they'd rather be a proud caste member.

so anyway, a young, independent girl named Jessica Lal was once murdered in cold blood at a party of a very whorish socialite named Bina Ramani. The main accused was the son of a former union minister and his well-off friends. A local court in Delhi finally came out with the verdict and it was? Yep, all accused are aquitted. All hail the judiciary, and all hail political reach. You can do anything in this damn system if you know the right people and have the right amount of money. Those bastards brought over all the witnesses. With money and threats no doubt.

As for the corrupt Delhi police, I know when it comes to graft and misuse of power, the national capital's police leads from the front. But you know, being the national capital, that place is chok-a-blok with the rich and powerful, and I hope they experience the misery and uncertainty that the rest of this country lives in.

My deepest condolances are with her family and may her soul find peace with God. As for the people who got away, I hope they lead a miserable and godforsaken life that gives them more pain than they have given to the innocent. And burn in eternal hell after that, you monsters.

Manu Sharma acquitted in Jessica Lal murder case

Manu Sharma, son of Haryana Minister Vinod Sharma and main accused in the sensational seven-year-old Jessica Lal murder case, was on Tuesday acquitted with eight others by a Delhi Court which held that the police had failed to prove its case.

Those acquitted included Vikas Yadav, son of Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, and the main accused in another sensational case – the murder of Nitish Katara, who was a friend of his sister.

Delivering the verdict, additional sessions judge S L Bhayana said the accused had to be acquitted as three key witnesses -- model-turned actor Shayan Munshi, Karan Rajput and Shiv Das, the electrician at the restaurant where the model was shot dead -- had turned hostile.

It was alleged that the victim, who was working as a bartender, was shot by Manu alias Siddharth Vashisht as she had refused to serve him liquor at the party hosted by Ramani for her Canadian husband George Malihote, who was to leave India the next day.

Besides Manu and Vikas, others who faced the trial were -- Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony, Aloke Khanna (both senior officials in a leading soft drink company), Shyam Sunder Sharma (relative of former President Shankar Dayal Sharma), Harvinder Chopra, Vikas Gill, Raja Chopra, and former Indian cricketer Yograj Singh.

Bird Flu an act of bioterrorism?

With the bird flu virus rearing its ugly head in India for the first time, it brings with it numerous theories about how it happened. The poultry industry is saying its a conspiracy of the multi-national corporations, while others say its to create panic and hysteria in the country. People say it was brought in by foreign carriers deliberately. Could this be a case of bioterrorism? I dont know what to think yet.

Well, it could be anything, and I do hope the government does not hide anything but conduct a full fledged investigation into the outbreak, if at all it becomes one, and plan to prevent it in the future.
But I do have one lingering afterthought in my mind. I think the government was way too hasty in culling more than a million chickens in Maharashtra and Gujarat. I am not sure how many tests were done, or how many solutions were looked into. Ideally, the government should have sent some of the samples to other, independent labs as well, and from what i read, they didnt do that.

Was the virus deliberately introduced?

The government's announcement of bird flu deaths in Maharashtra has created an unnecessary panic and how the virus arrived in a remote place like Nandurbar needs "detailed investigations," including the possibility of deliberate introduction, according to a leading virologist.

Meanwhile health ministry officials investigating the episode told PTI that Newcastle virus - that causes similar symptoms like bird flu - has also been isolated from the dead birds lending credence to the poultry industry claims that the deaths were not entirely due to bird flu.

"I am worried and surprised about the whole thing," says Kalyan Banerjee, former Director of the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune who is also a member of the government committee advising about bioterrorism. Transmission of flu from birds to humans is very difficult and the fears have been over blown, Banerjee told PTI in a telephone interview.

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MNC 'nexus' behind bird flu

Amid a national alert on suspected incidence of avian flu in India, poultry industry today claimed there was no scientific evidence of bird flu and charged multinational corporations with entering into a “nexus” to cash in on the panic situation.

Country’s leading player, Venkateswara Hatchery and National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) have rubbished claims of avian flu but said it could be Ranikhet disease that was affecting poultry chicken, a common phenomena during this time of the year.

“It is not bird flu. We have the best labs. Not one case of bird flu has been detected,” NECC chairman Anuradha Desai said reacting to the panic spread across the nation.

On orders given to cull thousands of poultry chicken in some areas of Maharashtra, Desai said “I urge, don’t destroy the poultry. Submit at least one sample and test it.”

Desai suspected a nexus of MNC drug manufacturers who want to sell their products by spreading the rumour of avian flu. “If you put the vaccine now, it will show positive results of bird flu,” Desai warned.

Venkateswara Hatcheries CEO, OP Singh, said “I do not believe there is bird flu. We have tested 40 samples and all the results were negative. So, there is no scientific basis to say it is bird flu.”Experts and scientists have not given any conclusive report that says it is avian flu, he said.

"treat us the way we treat you"

This is what the US President George W. Bush told an audience in the American state of Ohio a few days ago. A lot of important matters feature in the leader's agenda, the topmost being the nuclear deal which I have talked about earlier in my blog. Other important matters include the strengthening of trade relations between the two countries. The above quote was made by the President in this regard.

Treat us the way we treat you: Bush to India

S President George W Bush took his message of a more competitive America back to the nation's heartland and promised to tell India during a visit next month that the he expects fair dealing in the two countries' expanding trade relationship.

Bush added, "I'm going to India at the end of this month, and I'm going to make it clear with the Indians: 'We look forward to trading with you, but just treat us the way we treat you.' That's all we ask."

"People see China and India out there looming as competitors, and the reaction with some is: let's don't compete; let's just kind of shut her down; let's get protectionist; or, why don't we isolate?" he said.

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But thank you for the concern Mr. President. I appreciate this call for equality, but the cynic in me can't help but conjure up these images of equal treatment that India should ideally dish out to the superpower. I think we should begin by a strip search of his staff at the New Delhi Airport, you know, regular security procedure, nobody should read anything deeper into it at all. The CISF should well make it be known that they were merely following regulations and we have nothing but love for the visiting dignitaries.

But of course this is only a part of the equal treatment that India should offer to the humble Americans. I think it would help to refuse visas to some staff members of the Presidential entourage because of their involvement in an activity that India considers against the well being of the world. This could include a scientist, or a top diplomat maybe, but of course this does not take away any of the respect we have for the world's superpower.

I mean I totally understand where the US is coming from when they refuse visiting visas to India's two most prominent scientists. Of course it is definitely not to send a message out to the Indian scientific establishment, I am sure it is merely diplomatic red tape somewhere.

The US, I am sure, is appalled by this minor inconvenience to a scientist who happens to be on the scientific advisory team of the Prime Minister of India.

"Not discouraging scientists' visit"

The U.S. Embassy said it regretted any inconvenience caused to Goverdhan Mehta, former Director of the Indian Institute of Science and Placid Rodriguez, former Director of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam.

"Although it is generally the U.S. policy not to comment on individual visa cases, the U.S. Embassy feels compelled to correct the inaccuracies regarding Prof. Mehta's application for a visa," the embassy said in a statement here referring to a media report in this regard.

With regard to Dr. Rodriguez, embassy spokesman David Kennedy told PTI that visa had not been denied to him although it got delayed because of certain reasons that are different from that of Prof. Mehta's case. The Embassy was in touch with Dr. Rodriguez and encouraged him to continue with the visa application.

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Thank you Prof. Mehta for salvaging some of the pride. While India shares America's concern of a rising China, I think India also needs to show the superpower that it must show some respect too in order to earn respect. I think theres a reason why the rest of the world hates the world superpower. Ahh, if only carpet bombing and torture cells could buy you respect. No, you need to stop sowing seeds of discord all over the third world for your own gain in order to do that.

Ex-don of IISc livid over denial of visa

“The Chennai US Consular officials spoke to me on Friday and wanted me to apply again for a visa. I told them to buzz off,” said a still-furious Prof Goverdhan Mehta, former director of Indian Institute of Science on Saturday.

The Consular office refused to grant a visa to Mehta for his visit to deliver a lecture at the American Chemical Society on Thursday. The reason cited was that he was hiding information, a hint that he was involved with chemical warfare and bio-terrorism.

“The US invented this problem (chemical warfare) and it’s for them to decide and look upon themselves,” said the world-renowned Organic Chemistry scientist from Bangalore.

The bird flu virus in India!

It's here! The H5N1 virus, causing 81 deaths around the world and sending countries into a tizzy, has finally been detected in Maharashtra. Gujarat is another state that has been put on high alert. There is news that close to 500,000 chickens will be culled in both the states to contain the outbreak. Reports show that the central government had a national emergency plan in place since December for such an outbreak in the future.

India is not the only country reporting the presense of the virus, France too has said the virus was detected in a wild duck near Lyon. The virus has also been detected in Germany and Italy. French President Chirac, due on a visit to India, has initiated a European action plan. The French plan to impose a 3 km quarantine zone and vaccinate zoo animals and its millions of ducks and geese.

In Africa, Egypt has reported detection of the virus in the state, and authorities have ordered 7 zoos to shut down.

Coming back home, the action plan is in place already, and mass culling of birds has begun. Indian scientists and doctors have been dispatched to the affacted areas and drug maker Cipla has said its vaccine, Tamiflu will be ready for use in a weeks time. Already one death in S is suspected to be caused by the virus.

Silver lining: Within hours, all cranked up, Govt had action plan ready since December

Within hours of the Bhopal lab confirming bird flu, 60 teams were already in the area, the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in the capital had sent a Rapid Response unit to Maharashtra, epidemiologists and microbiologists from Pune’s National Institute of Virology reached this evening along with several state government teams and clinicians from Central government hospitals.

The Centre this time was ready with its contingency plan.

The key elements of the plan being already put into effect:

• Maharashtra and Gujarat put on alert. Principal Secretaries of both these states to hold regular meetings.

• District Health Officers and Chief Veterinary Officers, District Animal Husbandry officers to be stationed in the area.

• Sanitising the area where bird deaths have been reported, restricting all human and vehicular movement.

• An area of 3-km radius from the infection site declared an “alert zone.” All villages and habitation within that area to be identified.

• Area to be declared infectious. The area beyond 3-km radius upto 10 km to be declared “surveillance zone.”

• Identification of staff as well as vehicles directly involved with the unit. Detailed information gathering about recent movement of people and equipment.

• Culling (selective kill-ing) of all birds in the farm as well as those in the “alert zone” in presence of district authorities. About 8 lakh birds to be culled from tomorrow. Farmers to be compensated for culling.

• Culled birds, along with diseased birds, to be burnt or buried (5 quintals of wood to be used for 100 kilograms of poultry). Certificate to this effect to be obtained by the local authority.

• All poultry products to be buried.

• Closure of all poultry and egg shops within a 10-kilometre radius.

• NICD will supply protective gear including facemasks and gloves, gumboots to all farm personnel.

• Tamiflu to be given to high-risk people: mostly “contacts and cullers.” Government has 1 million doses.

• Vaccination of poultry in surveillance zone, booster dose to be given after eight weeks. About 7.5 lakh vaccines will be send to the area.

• Contacts to be quarantined.

• Disinfection procedures to be followed in surrounding areas. Bio-security measures to be followed in the farms.

• Government also likely to undertake an awareness plan.

• People in the area to avoid contact with chickens, ducks or other poultry. Children at risk.

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First suspected human death from bird flu in India

A man has died of suspected bird flu in western India, a top official told Reuters.

"A poultry farm owner died on Friday in Surat district. Local tests have confirmed bird flu but we have sent samples to the national laboratory. A final report is awaited," Vatsala Vasudev, the top district administrator of Surat in western Gujarat state, told Reuters.

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A new social revolution, thanks to SC

Recently, the Supreme Court of India passed a new law that made it compulsary for every marriage to be registered with the authorities. This law is hoped to clamp down on child marriages and other social evils such as forced marriages etc.

Frankly, I had no idea that marriages in India didn't have to be registered! I always thought that this is probably a norm and we are a fairly modern state right? I was really surprised to read about this news hence, but now that it has finally be made into a law, lets hope the authorities do a good job keeping the records straight.

Merely passing of this law is not a guarantee that it will achieve its objectives. A feudal, unwise rich lord in the backward areas may still pay the authorities and marry off his underage son or daughter, and to further humiliate the system, invite an MLA to give blessings to the newlyweds. Its happened before, in many states, and it will happen again. Power and money coupled with weak law enforcement, ensure that India, despite its many steps forward in terms of economy and development, will still take a few steps backwards in terms of social development.

I want the courts to enforce this with special urgency, and urge the authorities, particularly the Central Statistical Organization to gather data more dilligently. I think India lost out on the new knowledge economy because of our poor archival record. Nothing is archived, nothing is stored, and all our culture is just dying out because of that.

anyways, coming back to the law, let me put together a few articles about it.......

This is from The Tribune, Chandigarh:

Order on marriage registration to apply to all religions: SC

The Supreme Court’s directive on compulsory registration of marriages would apply to the people of all religious communities in the country and rules have to be framed by the Centre and states accordingly.

“We are of the view that marriages of all persons who are citizens of India, belonging to various religions, should be made compulsorily registrable in their respective states, where the marriage is solemnised,” said the detailed judgement, delivered yesterday and made available to the media today.

It pointed out with concern that only four states, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, have so far enacted legislations pertaining to the compulsory registration of marriages, while no steps in this regard had been taken by other states. In Gujarat, the legislation passed by Maharashtra was applicable, it said.

Tracing the history of law regarding registration of marriages in Goa to the days of Portuguese rule, the court also recorded that Union Territory of Chandigarh, states of Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir had also enacted laws for registration of marriages by Hindus under the Hindu Marriage Act.

By and large it was evident from narration of facts that many states though had framed rules regarding registration, but it had not been made compulsory by them by enacting a law, the court said.

It clarified that the registration though could not be the only proof of “valid marriage per se, and would not be determinative factor regarding its validity, yet it has a great evidentiary value in the matter of custody of children, their rights and age of the persons agreeing to marry.”

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This is from The Indian Express:

Marriages, present & future, need to be registered: SC

The bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia directed the governments to frame and publicise these rules for all castes, communities and religious sects within three months and gave a month thereafter for the public for “objections if any.”

The entire gamut of existing laws on marriage—for all communities—would remain intact and registration procedure and rules would be in addition to these.

The bench was ruling on a divorce proceeding by one Seema whose unregistered marriage with Ashwani Kumar put her in hardship and she wanted her divorce petition transferred to a different High Court. The apex court only took up the aspect of “compulsory registration of marriages” and kept the transfer petition pending.

The rules should also make a provision for appointment of officer(s) for the purpose, the court ruled. During the proceedings, the National Commission for Women (NCW)—asked for its views by the court—said that it favoured uniform compulsory registration of marriages.

The NCW also supplied the draft Bill prepared by it in the matter which was sent to the government for its persual.

In preparing the Bill, the NCW factored in the views of the National Commission for Minorities, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the National Commission for Backward Classes, practising lawyers, representatives of women’s organisations, academicians and social activists.

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This is from NDTV:

Divided opinion on SC marriage order

In Andhra Pradesh, 15 per cent of marriages involve children. The practice is rampant in rural areas despite laws like the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

Thousands of girls are still tied in bondage of marriage and are thrust with responsibilities far beyond their age - physically, socially and emotionally.

Activists say the Supreme Court ruling on compulsory registration of marriages has brought a ray of hope.

It will at least bring the real picture, of how many such marriages are taking place, out of the closet and force authorities to act.

From child marriages to marriages that are a virtual farce in the name of religion - Arab Sheiks have been coming to Hyderabad for years to pick brides.

The only problem is that most of the time it is a temporary marriage where the girl is used to satisfy the lust of the groom, for a price.

Sadr Qazi Mir Mohammed Khader Ali, whose family has for generations been solemnising marriage and divorce formalities, says the SC ruling is not going to change anything.

However, progressive voices in the community say the apex court ruling will expose the Qazis who connive to give such marriages the sanctity of nikaah.

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Just reading the above article about the sad situation in Andhra Pradesh underlines the importance of the SC ruling. The Arabs may have all the oil money in the world, but their mindset and upbringing is still from hundreds of years ago. But its not about them, this is about the narrowmindedness of my own society, and we must change it.

Nice knowing you, Secular India

Well, there are some things that so obvious that you can afford to put millions on them and sit back and watch yourself win. I never liked the Congress. They are narrow-minded, divisive and filled with todies and humbugs. Most of their senior politicians are there for being the loyal buttkissers to the Gandhi clan, and have been rewarded as such.

Incompetent Arjun Singh, Shivraj Patil are still there, and absolute suck-ups such as Ambika Soni just got inducted. But the main theme of my post is their divisiveness. The Congress hasnt really been a party that puts the national interest before its own interests. I believe most political parties are like that, but given the national reach of the party, their destructive vision is dangerous for the national integrity and safety of the entire nation.

Now the Congress wants to take a census of all the Muslims in the Armed forces. The army has strongly come out against this anti-national move, and rightly so. This is bound to create divisions in the strongly bonded and secular traditions of the Armed forces, but of course, you think the Congress cares?

Apparently all this is a part of their strategy to win back the Muslim vote, which I am positive left them because they did nothing but make tall promises while the conditions of their votebanks steadily deteriorated. Personally, I think its tragic that most Muslims have failed to see through the fact that they are only being used by politicians to win elections. No society in this country is asking for development, they'll still gush over a deceitful politician telling them how they are being oppressed by other castes and religions.

Its tragic that the way to a man's vote in India is still through his religion/caste, and not to his wellbeing. A man may live in the gutter, but will vote because he is a Muslim or a Hindu. In the last 50 years, nobody has made any efforts to get our people out of the rut, our housing sector is a mess, majority of homes don't have a clean lavatory yet, and providing electricity and a rule of law are just lost cases now. Yet only recently have small pockets of Indians actually brought it up and started to ask their politicians what the deal is.

As for Sonia Gandhi, well, I had really thought she would be better than other godmothers in Indian politics, being a woman of class. Not born into a political family, daughter-in-law of a strong willed woman, but apparently she is only preparing the grounds for her son, Prince Rahul to take over the kingdom.

This article from IBN gives an idea of the grand schemes these traitors have come up with. With the amendment in the Foreigners Act, it will be easier for the millions of illegal Bangladeshis to stay in India and vote for Congress, or the Left if they can get them first. With all my optimism about my country, this is one time I can feel nothing but pain and bitterness. It was an honour being born on your soil, my glorious Republic of India.

Con'gress goes all out to woo Muslims

A minority affairs ministry, amendments to the Foreigners' Act and then a minority census in government service - Congress' political strategy is becoming quite obvious.

And now, CNN-IBN has learnt that Congress President Sonia Gandhi has issued an internal note to the party men that Muslims must be seen as the party's natural allies.

On Wednesday, at the meeting of the National Advisory Council, the agenda will again be the welfare of the minorities.

The party's topmost leader has made the party's stand on the issue categorical.

In an internal note, Mrs Gandhi said: "Muslims have always been our natural allies. We must take steps to ensure them that they hold a special place for us."

It came as no surprise that in the recent Cabinet reshuffle, the UPA Government carved out a special Minority Affairs Ministry under veteran Congress Muslim leader AR Antulay.

The crucial amendment in the Foreigners' Act followed. It made deportation of an illegal immigrant really difficult.

And now the latest controversy over the survey of minority population in various government institutions has once again raised the issue of vote bank politics, a charge the Congress rejects.

"There's nothing wrong in it," says Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan. "Just because the Congress party does not indulge in Narendra Modi-type genocide politics, does not mean we are pandering to Muslims."

In all the states that are going to the poll in May - West Bengal, Kerala, Asaam and Tamil Nadu - Muslims are a key constituency. And in next year's UP elections too, which is crucial for the Congress - the party is keen to get back its old votebank from the Samajwadi Party.

UP is crucial, because it is from here that Rahul Gandhi is hoping to kickstart his political career and after the Babri demolition more than 13 years ago, Muslim goodwill holds the key to the revival of Congress' fortunes.

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What hurts most is they are bent on destroying the Armed Forces. These edits seem to be muted, and the PMO seems to distancing itself away from the call for such a survey. But its the Congress, and I know they will go all the way to win an election, if they destroy the nation in the wake, so be it. Its time for us to take a stand.

Muslim or Hindu, soldier?

The government’s decision to collect information on the number of Muslims in the Army and its overruling the Army’s protest on such thinking undermines a basic ethos of the Indian Army.

we trust this effort to make the Army, a staunchly secular institution with a long and proud tradition, think along these lines will be given up. And not because we think calling for such data is “a seditious act,” to quote the NDA convenor. The mere calling of data on an issue can hardly be an anti-national act in a democracy.

Our reasons for requesting the government to desist from entering this area goes deeper and for the same reason why the national census stopped asking Indians to identify their caste some decades ago. The very exercise of making people think in this manner has consequences which aren’t happy. Military personnel have never been encouraged to think in this manner and the nation has believed the results of such an approach have been salutary. Everyone would agree the personnel in institutions such as the defence services, the police, the judiciary and so on should be doing their duty irrespective of individual faith—their own or that of the citizens they deal with.

The military has, over scores of decades, fashioned an ethos where its soldiers’ personal faiths and backgrounds are respected, but subsumed in a larger identity. Indians take pride in the result. Leave well alone.

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Heres another editorial from The Hindustan Times.

It's an Indian army

The person heading the Prime Minister's High Level committee on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community, Rajinder Sachar, has eminently secular credentials. So it's unlikely that the committee harbours any sort of 'communal' masterplan while asking for a numerical break-up of Muslims in the armed forces.

The aim of the committee seems to be benign: to get a measure of the problem of Muslim backwardness, there is a need to have some idea of the numbers one is dealing with.

But we are unable to see why the committee wants details of alleged Muslim desertion in the army in 1948 during the operation to liberate Hyderabad. Under trying circumstances in the 1962 and 1965 wars, there were several instances when units belonging to other castes and religious persuasion, sadly, deserted.

But getting into the exercise of counting the number of Muslims in the Indian Army as part of the larger exercise is somewhat gauche because it could open up a faultline where none exists. This danger is evident from the reaction of the BJP which has condemned the move as an attempt to communalise the armed forces.

But in recent decades, whenever newer formations such as the mechanised infantry have been created, it has decided to be purposefully blind to the caste and religious identity of the recruits.Nevertheless, for men who are called on occasion to lay down their lives, religion is a serious affair and the armed forces treat this as so.

They have a tradition of having priests of all faiths in their units, and have them bless any undertaking — a regimental function, or the inaugural of a new school or theatre. As a result they have an enviable reputation for upholding Indian-style secularism — which is not blind to religion, but stresses equal respect for all.

The result is that the forces have a high level of credibility among the public and play an invaluable role in times of crisis, especially communal violence. For this reason alone, the committee would be well advised to let matters be.

Just A Rant :-)

When I had first started this blog, one of my desires was to have a place where I can finally put down all my bitterness with the way many things are going in India. So I intend to write this post to exactly that end.

First, I am tired of the negetivity we seem to live in. Seriously, the negetive media is bringing this society down. The bastards dwell in sensationalism and negetivity, because I am assuming the market researchers say thats what people watch most.

One of the worst things that India developed after we won independence is our politics. Its in every nook and corner of our land, and things in India usually don't get done without having a selfish, small person butting in because his/her ego demands it.

Outsiders, the ones from the developed world (the ones who'se money we're after :)), have a hard time trying to grasp this simple fact, that everybody in India thinks everybody else's business is also their business. See what i am trying to say? Its like the ladies brigade in a middle class mohalla. Housewives having nothing better to do indulge in lots of gossip and smalltalk. I don't know who said it where, but they said our society is like a catch of crabs, they all try to pull each other down.

I had trouble understanding that simile too, because crab fishing isn't really an Indian thing. So if you catch a lot of crabs and put them in a pile, they will all try to get to the top by pulling the crab in front down. I might add that i am really having a hard time typing crab and not crap, where my fingers inadvertently have been punching first.

But why the heck do I think I can make a difference in the status quo? Am I even getting somewhere in life? From the life I have lived in the past few weeks, I realize having to wait on an inefficient department in the US government really dents my pride and confidence. No wonder the immigration department is the worst department in the whole of government, but as my friend said, they probably want it that way. Fuck no they dont wan't us foreigners come in and take their jobs. Ah, developed world, So all-knowing yet so naive! We're coming for you fellows. We want all the luxuries you've been living in, and its really funny how globalization stops becoming the buzz word of your economic policy when some of your jobs go the other way. I guess it works as long as the third world money is flowing into the developed world, but I guess it can be a tad problematic if the dollerito goes the other way.

So talking about myself, I dont even know where I am going man! I've spent enough of my mom's money, and i think its time i started to make some of my own. But the immigration services, God bless their souls, are doing a great job frying my nerves. But as Bob Marley said, "captivity requireth from us a song." So i am going to sit back and listen to Sean Paul.

Coming back to the problems with India.........I just got back from a 20 minute break which involved food, change of clothes and other things, so now my thoughts are totally lost. I think this is a good time to call this rant to an end. But i'll be back. I have lots of em in store.

To bite the US nuke bullet or not

I am not an expert on the Indian nuclear issue, but I am aware that the Indian decision to sign a civilian nuclear deal with the United States or not will have a long term impact on the strategic and energy security of the country. President Bush is coming to India next month, and hectic activity is underway in both governments to strike a deal in his presense here. The US position is that India seperate its civilian and military nuclear program and open its civilian reactors to IAEA inspections.
There are a couple of scientists who have come out against such a deal with the US, and I will put their articles in here as well. At the same time, there are others who support the deal.

Of course that is not the only issue at stake here. The US is increasingly looking to take India on its side against Iran. The Iran-India pipeline hangs in balance here as its abandonment is another condition by the US. Of course the benefits of such a deal have been listed by all, no technology denial in future and energy security in the long run. There was a vote in the IAEA meet last week for referring Iran to the UN Security Council because of its secret nuclear program. India voted for Iran to be referred to the UNSC, much to the Left's chagrin. It didnt matter that all 5 of the veto powers voted the same. In fact, newspapers reported that the US 'warned' India to vote against Iran or the nuke deal would die!

I tried to research the background and will try to make sense of it though newspaper clippings.

Nuke deal: India, US look forward but admit it’s long haul

JANUARY 20: The key issues: India’s plan to separate its military and civilian nuclear reactors, the kind of safeguards agreement Delhi will have to sign with the IAEA. And, on a broader political plane, India’s stand on referring Iran to the UN Security Council at the upcoming IAEA meeting in February.

In the two-day talks between Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Under Secretary Nicholas Burns, India shared details of its roadmap on separation of reactors.

Saran said India explained plans for a ‘‘very significant expansion’’ of its civilian nuclear energy capability over the next few years and the scope of “international cooperation” for meeting these targets.

On safeguards, both sides agreed that India will not sign the kind of agreement that non-nuclear weapon states have with the IAEA. It will have to be a new model, details of which were discussed.

On Iran, India is guarded with Saran, in response to a query, saying that Delhi would like to find a solution ‘‘within the purview of the IAEA and avoid confrontation.’’

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Nation's top scientists flay Indo-US N-deal

Top nuclear scientists and experts have come out in full support of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chief Anil Kakodkar's stance on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Kakodkar had said that putting the fast breeder reactor programme under IAEA safeguards would jeopardise the country's strategic interests.

Defending Kakodkar, former AEC Chairman PK Iyengar says, "We are a nuclear weapon country and it is for us to decide which reactors to put under IAEA safeguards."

"Clearly we should be able to tell the Americans that both BARC and Kalpakkam will be completely out of safeguards in addition to few others decided by the Government," Iyengar said.

He said that even in the US, the separation of civilian and military programme was not very distinct. For example, Los Alamos and other strategic labs do research both on civilian and military strategies.

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Hmm, I just had a deja vu back there. I think i dreamt it already that I would be posting that exact story in a blog! Thats besides the point here, but what is the fast breeder reactor program that the Atomic Energy Commission chief talks about? well, I came across this official release of the agreement and I think it has a good background of the Indian nuclear program.

Official Release on India-US Accord On Civilian Nuclear Uses

The India-US nuclear accord, agreed in principle last July, is to promote civilian nuclear power and other peaceful nuclear applications by India. Even so, the nuclear accord cannot entirely bypass the controversies arising out of the two decades history of nuclear powers' sanctions against India with the United States having been in the forefront of this sanctions regime. However, under the terms of the accord, Washington takes an about-turn, accepting India's right to acquire advanced international nuclear technology for peaceful uses, including advanced reactors for power generation, without giving up its nuclear weapon capability.

Terms Of Accord

Under the accord on civilian nuclear power, the USA has announced its readiness to end sanctions against India, imposed because of India's refusal to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) for retaining its nuclear weapon deterrent.

India, on its part, has agreed to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities, and to place the former under IA safeguards, while signing the Additional Protocol of IA, an extension to India's existing limited safeguards agreement with IA.

International observers note that the agreement aims to put India on the same footing as China, but with much closer international scrutiny of its nuclear facilities, since only China's imported power plants are under safeguards.

At the same time, the terms of the accord contain propositions, not fully elaborated, which could impose constraints on India's unhindered development of its nuclear capabilities, particularly hedging its weapon capability. Much would therefore depend on the way separation of civil and military nuclear facilities is enacted.

India's Nuclear Capability

With fifty years of a sustained indigenous nuclear programme, India has traveled a glorious road to attain what is being described as 'advanced nuclear capability'.

The Indian path gave primacy to building nuclear infrastructure and R&D centers of excellence - some of them matching R&D centers of the West. The most significant is that the Indian path combines nuclear power generation programme with the Indian weapon option in a way no other country has done.

The weapon-grade plutonium pool, from which India's weapon stock-pile has been built, emanates from spent fuel from a research reactor built by Indian nuclear metallurgists, engineers and physicists on way to developing Indian nuclear power capacity. The technology break-through this entails was achieved under Bhabha's stewardship in 1964.

The fruits of this sustained, indigenous uphill road taken by the Indian nuclear establishment are blossoming. Indian Pressurized Heavy Water (PHW) reactors are now among the best in the world, incorporating new technologies and advanced international safety features.

Another high watermark of the Indian nuclear scene, the 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor construction is now in full stride at IGCAR, Kalpakkam. The PFB construction has been undertaken after 10 years of operational experience of the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), India's first fast breeder reactor.

At BARC and IGCAR, the second and third stages of India's power programme are being ushered in by R&D breakthroughs in building reactors fueled by thorium, lifting the Indian nuclear power perspective to a lakh MW of nuclear power .

Construction of India's first light water reactors - 1000 MW each VVER reactors of Russian design - has been launched at Kudankulam in Tamilnadu with Russian collaboration and help. The two 1000 MW VVER light water reactors will begin commercial operations in 2008.

Global Recognition

In entering the nuclear accord with the USA, which is of benefit to both countries, India speaks from a position of achievement. An important achievement for India is to become part of the global fusion research - International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor - in which United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, China and South Korea have joined hands to build the fusion demonstration reactor that will deliver mankind from its search for its expanding energy needs.

"Why so much of Delhi is illegal"

Well, I am not a big fan of the BBC. They are biased, and more often than not, condescending and patronizing. They still havn't taught themselves to treat us 'natives' with respect and equality. Well, this article, written by an Indian, isnt about all that, but about how the dismal real estate picture in New Delhi came about to be that it is today.
It also mentions the great Indian inability to think of sidewalks. Wide sidewalks just dont feature in the mind of a Governmental urban planner.

Housing, housing and housing. The one great failure of modern India that will keep us behind by decades. And yes such a seemingly simple and obvious solution. Aaah, it makes my heart bleed.

Why so much of Delhi is illegal

What do people do when their city's authorities do not keep apace with its rapidly growing population and fail to provide adequate homes and business space?

In the Indian capital, Delhi, people simply encroach public and private land, bribe authorities, build homes, and wait for local politicians to legalise the colonies (housing areas) in exchange for votes in the elections.

So a third of the city's people have ended up living in some 3000 colonies -more than half of which are illegal - and many of them don't have legal electricity or water supplies.

Vote bait

The politicians and municipal authorities don't seem to be enthusiastic about improving matters because illegal colonies mean that they can hold out the bait of regularising them in exchange of votes and money.

In 1972, the then Congress government legalised 800 such colonies. Five years later, it regularised another 567 colonies. And between 1989 and 2002, illegal colonies were regularised by the government of the day at least five times.

A fresh proposal to regularise 2,200 illegal colonies has been pending with the Delhi High Court since 1999.

"It is the pressure of the popular mob demand and politicians which has led to the regularisation of colonies. This emboldens investors and builders to keep on encroaching and building because they are sure they will be legalised some day," says Mr Dutt.

Politicians and builders take money from the poor and the middle-class and encroach on public land to build grotty unplastered red-brick homes that dot much of the city.

The rich buy farmland to build plush farmhouses that they also rent out for parties and marriages or set up entirely illegal colonies like the 161-acre Sainik Farms.

Some of the city's most talked about fashion designers brazenly open ritzy boutiques in illegal buildings and then feign ignorance.

Others convert or sell their residential buildings to make them business establishments by bribing the police and municipal officials. Business booms, and traffic clogs up residential roads.

Home and shop owners encroach upon the city's sidewalks parking their cars or hawking their wares there alongside openly menacing private warnings.

Today, Delhi's sidewalks have either been encroached or have shrunk as the authorities widen roads in a bizarre policy that is heavily loaded in favour of car owners. Pedestrians simply don't count.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), one of the world's largest municipalities with a reputation for corruption and sloth, seems so helpless that it has actually sought the "court's direction" to fix the problem of unauthorised constructions.

The way the MCD is run can be gauged by the fact that there are over 16,000 cases pending against brought by aggrieved citizens in the high court alone.

In the end, only political will, a clean administration and a sensible master plan can save the city from urban ruin, say planners.

A third master plan is awaiting sanction with proposals to accommodate an additional 10 million people that are expected to live in Delhi by 2021.

Critics say it pays little heed to the over 10 million residents who already live here.

In a sense, Delhi mirrors much of urban India's failure to meet the demands of a rapidly urbanising country as jobs dry up in the countryside - the country has a shortage of 22.4 million homes, 70% in the middle and the low income category.

It is a monumental failure which analysts say could easily snowball into a civil war of sorts over housing, water and electricity in the future.