Stalling of Parliament, a shame on democracy

Indian parliaments, both at the center and in the states, are characterised by repeated disruptions that appear to interfere with their ability to serve as forums for the translation of public sentiment into public policy. The question asked is “How can India be considered ‘the world’s largest democracy’ when parliamentary Institutions appear dysfunctional?”  If the legislatures of a country do not function properly, then that country is not a democracy.  India’s legislatures do not function properly. Therefore, India is not a democracy. This conclusion, though, contradicts the widely held belief that India is the world’s largest democracy. Parliament is the highest forum the people have chosen for voicing their views, and if they are silenced their democracy is silenced as much as it may be by a dictator. The virus of the discord which breaks out in that ‘well’ so often is spreading throughout the polity. It is depriving Indian democracy of its life-saving quality, that it has hitherto been consensual by nature.

In most countries where democracy has been smothered, only military dictators have dissolved and locked up Parliaments. Is the world’s largest democracy going to have the ignominy of its Parliament being shut down by veteran parliamentarians themselves? Paralysing House proceedings does not solve any problem. In the long run, it will only affect the credibility of Parliament as an institution. It is a disservice to democratic governance to bring Parliament to a grinding halt, paralyse its working and hold it to ransom unless demands, however justified, are met. If the institutions of democracy fail, democracy itself will fail.

The tactic of the BJP along with other Opposition parties in obstructing and stalling the Parliament proceedings is only a foul means adopted to achieve what they cannot achieve by fair means, apart from being a grossly undemocratic way of rendering a duly-elected and constituted Parliament dysfunctional. The second is to demonstrate power, by the ability to act forcefully. It seems to be an attempt to use the issue for a purpose other than its advancement. In this case, the stimulus is a pretext for the demonstration of power. Very few of the disruptions seem spontaneous, though some cases are more obviously carefully planned than others.

The Constitution secures to a Member of Parliament unfettered right to speak and vote but this is not a licence to interrupt or frustrate the proceedings of the institution rendering it powerless. The disruption of legislative bodies in India has changed the status of legislators and the popular view of legislative bodies. Today, Parliament and Legislatures create a new breed of heroes—the Well-rushing heroes, who hope to be elevated to instant national fame, straight from the Well of the House. The image which Parliament and the State Legislatures have projected on the public mind is one of disruption, indecorum, and shouting matches.” Democracy is the single most important achievement of independent India, a political miracle. We are among the few countries who have translated independence for our country into freedom for our people. Parliament is the symbol of that miracle. Parliament is the ultimate guarantor of the continuation and strengthening of our democracy. India does not have one authorized meaning of democracy, nor does it have any single set of practices that constitute ‘democracy’. Instead, democracy in India involves numerous claims and counterclaims, a bewildering web of contestations.

Ever since the United Progressive Alliance formed the government at the centre, the NDA is not able to get over its defeat and in the process has been acting like childish urchins and holding the nation to ransom. Defeat should be accepted in dignity and glory. Stalling the normal functioning of the House and abusive of the chair is nothing but a blatant subversion of democracy.  In democracy, the opposition by passing the Finance Bill without any debate or discussion amounts to a constitutional impropriety and a shame on Indian democracy. The most critical legislation, such as the budgets, gets passed, but often without debate. For example, a report on the 2001 Lok Sabha noted and opined that “The continued stand-off between the government and the opposition benches led to the travesty of parliamentary practice - the Railway budget was passed by a hurried voice vote – which was seen by many as a mockery of the Parliament, its main aims and procedures. Then was passed the Finance bill in the same way as the railway budget.”   These are simply examples of a trend. Regardless of whether it is or isn’t justified there is little doubt that such stalling of Parliament amounts to a grave abuse of the concept of democracy as Mahatma Gandhi had propounded it – a day of penance, self-introspection and soul-cleansing. The Gandhi premise was that acts of self-abnegation and renunciation in the face of others’ wrong doings would surely shame the errant side into reconsidering its decisions.

Unfortunately, denunciatory thoughts are furthest from the minds of the propents of the present boycott. Quite the contrary, the acquisitive instinct at its basest is at work here. It is of course, unexceptionable for citizens to harbour political ambitions. Opinions may differ, however, on the best to go about fulfilling such ambitions. The least one can expect is that the respective contenders clearly enunciate their political philosophies and take definite stands on points of principle. But in the confused milieu, clouded as it is by pernickety personality problems, principle has been relegated to the backseat. True the main debate centers on ‘tainted ministers’. But since there are no two opinions that crime and corruption are bad, there is no issue of principle here, which warrants a debate. Instead, the focus has been moved to debating whether specific individuals are guilty of crime or corruption. And in an impious situation where proof is as scarce as rhetoric is profuse, and biblical injunctions on casting stones stand brusquely ignored, tenets of morality, ethics and principle are natural causalities.

It must be made clear, of course, that all the players in the arena are equally guilty of gross malfeasance. Sobriety has been thrown to the winds. Dialogues are conducted through carp and bark instead of conversation. Standards of public conduct have truly reached their post-independence nadir. Nevertheless, all hope for propriety in public life is not yet lost. The recent sacking of Ashok Chavan, Raja and the likely arrest of Suresh Kalmadi is an eye-opener. But, the blackmailing of tainted Karnataka Chief Minister B.S Yeddyurappa, should make the opposition realize that they are no better. Earlier when in power BJP leaders L.K.Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi held crucial portfolios in the NDA government despite charge sheets against them in the Babri Masjid demolition case. It’s high time the opposition realises that one living in glass houses should not throw stones at others and instead respect the verdict of the people.

What we are seeing…is the biggest crime against democracy since Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency in 1975. Democracy is the lifeline of the whole system. Snap it, and the entire system will collapse, and that will hurt no one more than it will hurt the very people who need the system most. For them this is the only place where they can plead their case, lacking as they do the many other levers which others can use to bend Governments to their wishes.

People outside the Houses of Parliament actually ridicule the institution that it has become today. Is this the legacy that this current House wishes to leave behind? A legacy of indecency, of indecision and of inexcusable behaviour. One in which the focus is more on exchanging angry words rather than debating legislation? The general public at one time looked up to Parliament. It had what one would term social sanction. Today it suffers from social ostracisation. And that is something that will destroy this institution as time goes by, and this is what perhaps you need to stem. The consequence has been that the leaders have lost credibility. That a great deal of disruption arises from the reluctance and procrastination of the leaders to face the House on controversial matters. Growing criminalization of politics, corruption at all levels, absence of inner party democracy, the declining status and stature of members in public life, the growing cost of the electoral process, the ascendancy of party leaders are some other factors that have contributed to the decline of Parliament

Concluding, as noted, the skills required in a parliament where the ability to disrupt is highly valued are not the same as the skills required in a parliament where such an ability is not highly valued. An author rightly opined, “Our legislatures have ceased to be forums of the best and the brightest in the land. Instead, they have become the first refuge of scoundrels.” He cynically contended that “Before Independence we had great parliamentarians, but no Parliament. Today we have a grand Parliament House with grand allowances, but no parliamentarians. There is the story of Independence in two sentences.”

Criticism is a must, but it must be sane and sensible

The body of Hemant Karkera, ATS Chief passing through Dadar for the last rites. Karkare was gunned down while fighting the terrorist attack in Mumbai

The recent arrests of several senior police officials and the gruesome grueling of one of the highest police officer in false case registered against a Mumbai builder, besides the recent multiple crime cases and the death of honest police officers while fighting terrorists have demoralized the spirits of the police department. Never, in Indian history have the police department been as badly demoralized as it is today. Otherwise too, the police force is a demoralized lot. The police are best summed up by the ‘lathi’, or ‘danda’ as we know it. The police force is nothing but a lathi in uniform and is transparently inept when it comes to solving crimes. Of and on there are demoralized acts reported in the media on police- a policeman killing his superior because he was denied leave? Another policeman shot dead his wife and kids because he was plagued by depression. A third committed suicide by shooting himself with his revolver. So, why do our policemen behave abnormally?
We are often reminded of the negatives of the policemen and are looked upon as corrupt and inefficient. The misconceptions are- they arrive on the scene late, after the incident is over or the culprit has fled. They are also believed to be the protectors of the mafia or makers of terrorists. It is believed that the third-degree torture and punishment given to criminals or innocents leads them to frustration whereby they take to terrorism. How far it is true, the future will tell. In Gulzar's film 'Maachis', the society is made to believe that policemen are the fountains of all evil. Our criticism of police often degenerates into outright abuse and even vilification. As a nation we have yet to learn the art of proportionate criticism and balanced appreciation.
Let's consider the goods and the evils, criticism and appreciation. Let's start with criticism. Yes, as a democratic society, we have a right to question and criticize police. It's an old institution that is starved of resources and its personnel have very little modern training. It is often the most de-motivated band of state employees and has little incentive for good work. And above all the police are extremely poorly paid. They policemen take bribe, therefore they are not entitled to good wages is an irrational argument. A more sensitive argument will be that they take bribe because they do not have decent wages.
Think of those who are decently paid and still take huge bribes and there is no dearth of such parasites in our society. Look at our top politicians. They enjoy free luxuries from bungalows to air tickets-everything free-and still take huge bribes and yet we throng to their rallies in millions, shout slogans in their praise and shower flowers on their path. Some are worshipped as gods. Corrupt politicians are honoured and corrupt police are cursed.
Consider the positives – the risks they are taking while performing their duties and that too on meager wages. Whilst, the corrupt politician who enjoys all the luxuries in life is offered the highest security while on duty and off duty, the dutiful policeman with his ancient 303s has to counteract the bullets of terrorists or underworld goondas armed with sophisticated AK-47s and have in the bargain sacrificed their lives. Are the lives of policemen not dear to their families? The names here are insignificant as many of them have lost their lives as martyrs fighting to save lives of civilians on their line of duty.
Today the terrorist are the protected lot in the country and the police are the most abused. I recollect a statement of a senior police officer that once said,” The policemen who risked their lives to protect innocent civilians and faced terrorist bullets were to be punished for unsubstantial charges of human rights abuses while the killers of innocent children and women were rehabilitated and rewarded. You must be stupid to fight for such a country.” Corruption, crass careerism and political meddling have hollowed out the Mumbai Police, once a premier force in India. “Even the legendary bonding amongst IPS officers is gone,” said a policeman ruefully. “When officers meet today, the talk is more often about who made how much money in what deal.” This is an all-India problem. But it’s acute in Mumbai as the city sits on piles of cash. The underworld, real estate developers, crooked politicians and big business all combine to warp the system.
In the 26/11 attack by terrorists on Mumbai, two of Mumbai’s honest police officers, both Kamte and Karkare were “outsiders” in this system. When circumstance brought them together that fateful night, both knew they had to pursue the terrorists as their fellow IPS officer was injured and under fire inside Cama Hospital. As traditions of the service demanded they go to his aid, they had to face the ultimate challenge in life, while working in a professional milieu marked by so much cynicism, greed and crookery?
It is important to vent our anger, to reject those who preened while our men died. Why are we so defenceless against these repeated outrages, who is responsible for them and who is responsible for stopping them? These are all unanswered life and death questions. Thus when terror strikes and police casualties are huge - the oft spoken words are ‘brave deaths in the line of duty’ and the life chakra starts again. The so-called policymakers at the helm of affairs hide behind the veil of anonymity. Why is the seamless bureaucracy so insensitive to human apathy? Lack of political will has led to complete impotency of the system. Public anger against the frequent terrorist attacks has exposed the inept, inefficient and callous administrators who have failed in their duty. The security agencies in the country need repairing and overhaul. That is long overdue.
Bomb blasts and killings are the order of life now. Terror prospers because the security agencies are constantly distracted by political diversion. The police are the most harassed lot in this as most of them are utilized for VIP duties, for our MPs and MLAs. With each terror strike, some of our outstanding officers fall prey to bullets, but the system still perpetrates. This time it is these brave martyrs who gave their lives for Mumbai to live on. This can happen to any one of us, BUT WHY?
It is in every police personnel mind…the power to serve people; ‘Service before Self’ stands so self defeating by itself. Are they waiting for more deaths? But, as duty demands they have taken a pledge to protect law and order in this country. I beseech the system to wake up and protect these men who dedicate their lives to this nation. Otherwise what can destroy India is a change in the spirit of its people away from secularism and peaceful coexistence that have been our greatest strength. I as a father pray for those children and wife's who will have to grow up without their fathers and life partner. They will know that their dad's were out th...ere serving the public. God Bless those families.
Also policemen live in pathetic conditions. As a result police in India is underfunded, understaffed, underpaid, undertrained and under armed. And, there is only one thing it Criticism is a must for any accountable public servant, including the police, but it must be sane and sensible receives in abundance-that is the universal abuse. Criticism is a must for any accountable public servant, including the police, but it must be sane and sensible. Abuse undermines legitimate criticism.
"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived." - Vivian Eney

We want an Indian Prime Minister !

About two decades ago and earlier an Indian could raise his head in pride but today if looking at the political drama being played by our politicians, there is substantial documentation to highlight the nexus between politicians and some of the most lumpen of criminals, men of straw squabble for the opportunity to occupy ministerial berths which were once graced by statesmen of vision and dignity. Today, in the name of religion and divisive politics, our country is faced with the grave threat of terrorists not from outside but from within our country.
Today, the country is faced with the gravest moral and ethical crisis in history. Yet, the blame for this state of affair is sought to be placed on the shoulders of the people. Thus has every Prime Minister who succeeded Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru used every occasion to mouth lofty ideals and motivate the people to greater degrees of nationalism and patriotism? In other words, it was always the fault of the people, never that of the leaders.
Today, India if it has to march ahead has to achieve a lot. The way the country is moving there are fears that India will become a land of bribery, corruption, nepotism and other such evils which can ruin a country's financial, administrative and social fabric. These problems have only one cause. It is not our over-population, corruption or even lack of education. It is attitude. To change and improve a country, the people must change, and people change if their attitudes change: attitudes to work, the country, the man next door, the sleazy bureaucrats, politicians, the west and life in general. To achieve something we must have a fixed objective and we must set our sights firmly on our goal and strive towards it, because the following years ahead can make or break India.
India is not a land of super trains; it is a land of more than 1,150,000,000 (1.15 billion) people. India is currently the world's second largest country. Demographers expect India's population to surpass the population of China, currently the most populous country in the world, by 2030. We are our biggest resource. A resource which has long been wasting, a resource which has been neglected and been regarded as a liability, and a resource which will lead the way for us into the next decade. But, politics will play a large role in how our nation will shape up. We live in a time when a politician can say, “I came, I saw and I conquered power be it by hook or by crook.” And get away with it.
Indian politics should undergo a sea change to meet the challenges and demands of modern India. What naughty, dirty politics required is a whack in the right place and a good clean system where corrupt politicians are thrown out of power. And that can be done only by us, we citizens. We require a new breed of leaders with new thoughts and ideas to grease the wheels and not the palms, of this nation. However, our purpose would be better served if we honestly fulfilled our duties and exercised our rights, and if we made ourselves aware of the factors and faces which will effect our country, so that when election time comes along every five years, when the politicians are brought back down to earth, when power is snatched from their hands and is thrust into ours, then we can ensure a future we do not regret living in.
If we do not act now, we will repent later. Today 'patriotism' which our leaders sacrificed their lives for is no more in the hearts of our politicians. In the name of religion and caste these leaders are trying to divide our nation and if we do not nip this in the bud, it wouldn't be far away when India will be a nation of bits and tatters. Today, we have more leaders aspiring to be Prime Minister than a patriotic leader. They had ambitions and strived only to occupy the highest chair of this country. Sharad Pawar, looked upon himself as a 'Maharasthrian PM'; Mayawati as a 'Dalit PM'; L.K.Advani as a 'Hindutva PM'. Balasaheb Thackeray, too keeps shouting aloud of supporting a Marathi 'manoos' as the country’s Prime Minister. But none of them have a feeling of patriotism for the country and say, we want an Indian Prime Minister. But, as citizens of this glorious nation, we can proudly say “We want an Indian Prime Minister who will strive for the welfare of the people instead of only striving for power.” We have to make this day happen.
When will this day come? When will it transpire into a reality? When will we see this day when food is not a luxury, liquor is not a necessity and peace is not a rare and expensive commodity. A day when travel is not a torture, bribery is not a part of administrative procedure and poverty is not a prerequisite for Indian citizenship.

Is BJP on the verge of a coma?

Nitin Gadkari addresing a meeting after taking charge as BJP President. Other prominent BJP leaders attended the meeting

The ‘Bhartiya Janata Party’(BJP) or described by many as ‘Bhartiya Junglee Party’ is steeped in crisis such as it has never known before. Vacillating from an identity crisis to a leadership crisis, the party is on the verge of being wiped off from the national scene. It may sound an exaggeration but the reality is - the BJP faced upsets in the last two Lok Sabha elections and is in danger of losing power in majority of states it has been ruling. The possibility is still that - simply a 'possibility', many feel. But talk to any BJP worker and your worst fears are bound to get confirmed. Most are not sure of getting into the Lok Sabha again in the immediate future. What the future will bring no one knows. The unfortunate part of the whole story is that the top leadership is oblivious of the writing on the wall. Perhaps they feel that the old style of manipulating issues, splitting parties, bribing the elected members and strengthening the vote bank will yield results and will retain the party's position in power. While all this has worked in the past, it may not now.
The problem with the BJP is that it has been in power since Independence for a short period of six years, in a coalition government (NDA) in the past 62 years-barring two brief spells of the Atal Vajpayee's rule. Any political party, which sees power for a short period of time, is bound to develop inherent structural abrasions and contradictions. Similarly, the Congress developed several but they managed to keep their house in order. The BJP assigned to neither itself the image of 'Hindutva' but it was neither Hindutva, nor secular nor socialist in action. It disillusioned the majority as well as the minority, labour as well as the entrepreneurial class. While promising to remove corruption in public life, each successive BJP and its allies led government in states as well as the centre, became more and more corrupt.
Today, every BJP or its allies worker believes that only 'he' has the right to rule the country and therefore justifies every means to remain in power. The first principle of power which the BJP leaders have to learn is that power is transitory. The more you try and adhere to it, the more unpopular you are likely to be. It is sad fact that in India, politics and corruption have almost become synonymous. The drama created by BJP on the vote of confidence cannot be forgotten. The world watching cannot forget how some MPs took out bundles of currency. It shows the sorry state of politics of the BJP, where the power-hungry party is willing to stoop to any level. What had happened in Parliament is nothing short of prostitution! The only difference is: it was not the body but the nation's very soul that was being offered to the highest bidder!
The BJP has been moving away from the people gradually. Today, the party is totally alienated from the people and its leaders. The reason being the link between the people and the leader has disappeared. In the past, evolution of leadership was a gradual process. The most damaging fact is that the BJP has not been able to communicate a cogent politics to anyone, not even erstwhile fellow- travelers and supporters. And this new paranoid, inward-looking avatar is certainly unlikely to win it any more political ground. After, the party’s debacle in 2009 their leaders went into a ‘Chintan Baithak’ at Shimla as a bunch of losers trying to clean up their act. They re-emerged in the form of a bunch of self-destructive lunatics. BJP, in practice is frequently being revealed to be a party of people who have no idea what they are doing or where they want to go.
The BJP's brittleness is evident in the way it had disregarded institutional proprietary from Jaswant Singh's expulsion. Further, Arun Shourie's remark of BJP's leadership as 'Alice in blunder land', turmoil in Rajasthan and now Bihar and outburst of other leaders like Nitish Kumar, Jaswant Singh, Brajesh Mishra and Sudheendra Kulkarni, Uma Bharati have hit a nail in the coffin for the BJP. The moves made by the BJP leadership proved to be blunderous. And these moves are not carried out with a view to improve the administration in the leadership but to regain power.
With a weakening BJP, the Congress seems to be set to consolidate its position at the Centre and majority of states. Unless and until the mess created by the BJP is cleaned and the confidence of the masses is again re-stored, the BJP party appears to be slipping into coma. What happens in the next Lok Sabha and many State Assembly elections would be interesting to watch. If the writing on the wall was clear after the parliamentary elections this year, it became pronounced that the Congress continues on its revival path and the BJP which tasted power from the Hindutva belt- Uttar Pradesh, is nowhere in the recognition and continues its journey downhill. The Left is shrinking and the right is going nowhere. But the BJP is definitely slipping into a coma.
The Bharatiya Junglee Party (BJP) or the National Disaster Alliance (NDA), if, it ever has to come to power needs to wallow in the mire of astrology, palmistry, karmakand, abracadabra, Vedic slaughter, and shamanism. These induce them to keep looking for answers to their problems in the mist-enveloped regions of the occult and the obscure. That is the only way these usurpers can ensure their safety from the fury of the people. The degeneration of the BJP from the vibrant Hindu movement that it was in the 1990s, as a party with a vision and an agenda, to what it has become today – a vehicle for individual ambitions - can be best gauged by those whom the BJP has chosen as its face and voice, as its power-brokers, as its point-persons, and as its strategists. But in a society like India, these are viruses that poison the system and the ultimate result is a state of coma.

Rape, Can a dream of crime free society be possible?

Rapist belongs to all parties, castes and creed. It is not written on anyone’s forehead. In spite of the prosperity, globalization and education, we have failed to eliminate the violence against women. We worship woman as a Goddess, regard her as a mother, love her as a wife and she is most affectionate to us as a daughter but still we commit violence against her. As per the statistics available, every 3rd minute a case of violence against woman is registered in India. Every day 50 cases of dowry related violence are reported and every 29th minute a woman is raped. All rape cases are not reported to police but if you consider all rape cases, then probably a woman is raped in India every 15th minute. This shows the gravity of the problem. Laws are not very strict for such type of violence against woman. Sad part of the story is that in most of the cases culprits are either close relatives, friends or known persons.
Although these cases are seldom reported, it is a known fact that women are exploited at their work place, girls suffer as a student in their school, maid servant exploited by the house keeper, disable and handicap girls sexually used in the orphanages. Women are suffering in agony but in peace as there is nobody to complain to.
The rape of a maid servant by actor Shiney Ahuja had taken the country by shock and particularly the safety of women in the city of Mumbai which was once regarded a safe haven for women. In another shocking incident it took the country's legal system nearly 20 years to put behind bars the man former Haryana police Chief S.P.S. Rathore, who had molested budding teenaged tennis player Ruchika Girhotra in August 1990. She committed suicide three years later.
Despite women personalities like Pratibha Patil, Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati, Mamta Banerjee, Girija Vyas, Sushma Swaraj, Kiran Bedi and Ex-Mumbai police Addl. Commissioner like Archana Tyagi, being at the helm of affairs and a lot of NGOs fighting for women causes, the atrocities on women does not seem to stop and continues to be on the rise. Practically, every day we come across an incident of rape or atrocities on women in the media. When will the day come when women feel safe in our country?
There is an urgent need to clear the society from crime and criminals. The atrocities and rape on women is increasing at an alarming pace. Every woman is feeling insecure in herself. The nature of crime on women has touched various heights and newer methods are evolved day in and day out to save oneself from the clutches of law after committing the crime.
The alarming situation is that even children of low age have not been spared being raped by these bloody savages. The procedure of law and order are absurd and justice gets delayed which gives frustration to justice seekers. The cost of seeking justice is alarming. Rape is one of the least reported and least prosecuted of all-violent crimes. Yet it's after effects can be devastating for the victims. Rape is the most heinous in that it violates the women's dignity, body and mind, and ravages her psyche. Yet most rapes go unreported. There are many reasons why women suffer in silence. Fear, embarrassment, shame, stigma, the fear of not being guilt, the guilt of being typecast by the society as 'that type of woman who invited the rape' etc.
These misconceptions are further fuelled by society's unsympathetic attitude towards the victim, and the abrasive and brusque manner in which the crime is investigated by the authorities. It is a great shame that more than 15,000 women are raped every year in India. The present law in respect of rape cases is considered to be extremely antiquated and culprits use loopholes to go scot-free.
This heinous crime completely disorients the victim and changes their lives forever. The immediate aftermath of a rape for most victims is a feeling of being in a state of extreme shock and trauma. It is a complete fracturing of the victim's personality and psyche. Even survivors of trauma who reconstruct new lives and who have achieved a degree of normality will find that new life events will trigger memories and reactions of the trauma. Such is the gruesome effect of this offence on its victims. The total scenario of crime leaves no ray of hope, intelligentsia is helpless. The right citizen dares not come forward. In such a situation is there a ray of hope? Can justice sustain the hope of the victim? Can a dream of crime free society be possible? Can it be made a reality? What can and should be done? Will it succeed or the efforts go waste? What can I do? I am alone. My voice will be unheard. These are the most common questions been raised by the public and nobody dares to come forward to stop these heinous crimes.
This clearly gives the indication that unless like-minded people join hands, think, ponder and plan their schemes and strategies and monitor their implementation, all efforts are going to be ineffective. A concentrated concrete proposal needs to be formed with all loopholes plugged; otherwise all efforts will be wasted.
"SEXUAL ASSAULT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE AT ANYTIME." Rapists look for someone who is vulnerable"...and available. RAPE IS A CRIME OF VIOLENCE AND CONTROL NOT PASSION."

This is my India.......

Sri Ram Sene goons attacking innocent youth after they barged into a disco in Bangalore

The ghastly attack by Maoists killing innocents

The recent ghastly attacks by Maoists, the tragedy of air crash at Mangalore, unwarranted strike by AI union leaving 30,000 passengers stranded, prevailing political turmoil in the country, religious fanaticism, terrorism, crimes et al shows that India is a bruised and bleeding nation.
Brutal India, bleeding India, burning India, battered India, beleaguered India, bewildered India, faltering India, dropping India, disintegrating India, starving India and dying India.
India today is a battered nation with religion and casteism leading to blood stains all over the place. Bomb blasts have become a child’s toy in the hands of terrorists with our politicians enjoying the game at the altar of the innocent.
India in which forces of chauvinism and fascism have besieged the polity, in which corruption has become a way of life, in which politics has turned into a trade, violence has become the ultimate arbiter of social conflict, law and order has crumbled and the people feel insecure. Today, places of worship are vandalized and public places blasted in broad daylight, in which various religions have turned into battle-fields whose inhabitants are treated as aliens by their own protectors, in which wheels of justice move at snail pace, if at all, in which culture has become the preserve of a few.
Society ignores the basic needs of man in which half the nation sleep with an empty stomach and thousands of villages and millions of people thirst for potable water. Poverty has led to millions of children grow into illiterate, stunned, deformed adults, in which the higher strata form a separate nation, in which sky-scrapers have slums in their shadow, in which religion reduced to rituals known no love or compassion, in which hatred and hostility poison human mind.
Today, equality, justice, solidarity and fraternity exist but in name, in which million of citizens cannot walk with their heads held high, because by accident of birth, in which Presidents and Prime Ministers prostate before living god men, in which science and technology pay tribute to superstition and obscurantism, in which a dream has turned into a nightmare.
A free society has retreated into isolated shells and broken up into mutually hostile groups, where each lives in fear of the other. This is India, today, dominated by hereditary groups in every walk of life, unable to break through the shackles of caste and social disabilities, of religion and religious hostility, of race and racial antagonism of regions and regional disparity. Yet, this is my India, the India of Rama and Buddha, of Guru Nanak and Jesus Christ, of Akbar, Ashoka and Chatrapati Shivaji, of Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, of Jawaharlal Nehru and Jaiprakash Narayan.
My India, whose ideals are peace and non-violence, love and compassion, equality and justice and fraternity, which set out on 15th August 1947, to provide a model for mankind.
If India has to survive as a civilized society, it has to break out of the stagnant pools of hereditary privilege and nourish itself from the inexhaustible spring of the people. In short, democratise itself, decentralise itself, debrahminise itself and decommunalise itself.
We have to cleanse the blood on the streets, extinguish the flames, heal the wounds. We’ll have to vanquish evil, establish peace and justice and embrace all our people irrespective of their caste or creed. Then only we can build a strong India. And loudly claim,” I am proud to be an Indian.”

Sri Ram Sene not only deserves ‘Chaddis’ but also ‘Bangles’

Pramod Muthalik of Shri Ram Sena, a right-wing Hindu group addressing a press meet

The Shri Ram Sene , a right-wing Hindu group founded by Pramod Muthalik, a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Bajrang Dal and the Shiv Sena. The organization was literally unheard a year ago. It suddenly shot into prominence on 24 January 2009, when the group gained notoriety by attacking girls in a pub in Mangalore. A group of 40 activists of the Sri Ram Sena barged into the pub "Amnesia — The Lounge" and beat up a group of young women and men, claiming the women were “violating traditional Indian values”. Now the question is – what are Indian values and who is to decide Indian values? The Sri Ram Sene self-proclaimed themselves as the custodians of Indian culture and termed the attack on women as violation of Indian values.
Today, women enjoy equal status as men in every field and they cannot be compelled to remain in the dark. And in a democratic society women have equal freedom. Just as men are the builders of the society, women are conservers of the society. When a man get spoiled, it is bad only for himself. But if a woman gets spoiled, it indicates that society is spoiled. There is a very popular saying that "Men get spoiled by staying in, Women get spoiled by moving out". Once a woman comes out of tradition, the whole society seems to get ruined. Hence the beauty of a society or family cannot be estimated just by looking at women dressing sense as proclaimed by the philosophy of the Ram Sene.
These men in saffron Brigade are nothing but goondas and have taken law in their hands. It’s never about culture or values but it’s only creating trouble and politicizing matters. The attack reminisces a Taliban-type culture by beating women while talking of women’s empowerment. These goondas not only need pink chaddis but they also need bangles to wear. People who beat up girls and women can't be men but frustrated good for nothing henpecked low life on this earth. We have all seen how the Shiv Sena and MNS the two goonda outfits of Mumbai went in hiding during Mumbai 26/11 tragedy. Have we ever seen these goondas offering to going and fighting a real man war? No. They are too busy beating up brothers and sisters and young kids. That is the Indian culture they are talking about and fighting to be the custodians. All these political outfits are a poison for Indians and will destroy India.
These rightwing hooligans are an insult to our constitutional law. These goons are behaving like extra-constitutional authority through out the country making mockery of the provisions of rules of law. Their divisive agenda have already led the nation to pay heavy price in shape of home grown terrorism. The self styled "moral cops" of this type should be declared as "terrorist" and dealt with heavy hand by the state power, otherwise India would become ungovernable one day due to these fascist forces. Why can’t the government put Muthalik and a hundreds of his associates inside bars? What ever may be the reason; this type of ransom Moral Policing should not be tolerated. Whether or not BJP and its associates are responsible for these acts, their venom like propaganda of ‘Hindutva’ is the main reason for the rise and growth of such organisations. The BJP has to be blamed for bringing about a division in society for which we are paying a heavy price.
The only solution is to ban all those organisations which are in the habit of taking law in to their hands. Such organizations damage our culture more than indiscriminate adoption of western morals by our youth. With hundreds dying in our country of hunger and poverty every year there are bigger issues to be tackled than trying to enforce ones prejudiced version of "Hindu" culture for the sake of publicity. In the country where Gandhiji and the others thought they should give freedom to the citizens, they would have never thought that the country would have advanced to such a level where the police or the military give the powers to such an act of hooliganism. This outraging and the government should interfere and solve this issue. Hinduism doesn't mean that the others who would like to enjoy should not be doing it at their expense. RSS is shedding crocodile tears because they know that there is great indignation in the country on this issue but why do they not condemn similar activities by Shiv Sena, and Bajrang Dal?
If this continues – it leaves a question unanswered whether women in India have the freedom and right to make choices of their own anymore. How long are the women to bear the brunt of attacks, rape, dowry, assault and female feoticide?

Women are the ‘Ministry of the interior’

A few days ago, we celebrated Mothers Day. Today, it comes at the back of our mind to honor successful and dynamic women personalities who have made a mark for themselves, despite performing dual roles –one as responsible housewife and other as a dutiful woman at her office. All over the world this day is celebrated for women who have been honored for their contribution towards society. Besides, also the ordinary women attending to household chores or the women on the street should have a feeling of pride on this day. Our Country too has been proud of the women who have contributed to society and the nation. We too salute them and pay respect for their dedication, hard work, courage – which acts as an inspiration.
Women who have succeeded in any field anywhere are controversial figures, and politics too is no exception to this rule. But, here the discussion is perhaps wider and deeper than the other fields with women’s liberation, since the argument ultimately focuses on the core values of a culture in the throes of runaway modernization.
All the same, the so called ‘Battle of Sexes’ goes beyond question of race, creed and politics. Men and women differ in all areas of their lives. Not only do they think, feel, perceive, react, respond, love, need and appreciate differently. They almost seem to be from different planets. Men are generally better at conceptualizing and getting the ‘big picture’, while women are better at work that requires accuracy.
Women have a more dependable ‘gut feeling’ and it helps them handle difficult situations and people in a finer manner. As far as comforting and counseling goes it is usually the females in the household who take care of the sick, and it is from this experience of informal health care that these skills are probably derived. Also, mother’s who have learnt to manage their homes, care for their children and see to their husbands needs have a better ability to handle several tasks at the same time than men.
Women social skills make them better suited to work in service organizations and fields than men. Hence, it is proved that women make better politicians than men as far as service to the masses is concerned. They are more patient and considerate to human feelings and problems. Also, a woman is expected to be kinder, softer and less businesslike. Hence, women politicians are less corrupt than men.
Today, with new economic pressures and the availability of education, the trend has been changing. Women have been occupying higher positions in various fields. Besides, traditional methods of upbringing – not just in India, but in many parts of the world – teach that a women place is in the home. But the latest breed of girls goes against these traditions of ‘mother’s place is the home’. If we want women to work and men to facilitate this, we must begin by changing attitudes at the earliest stage of socialization.
The increasing integration of Indian and Western cultures, combined with new economic pressures, has resulted in ever more Indian women entering the work force and climbing the corporate ladder.
The woman is the core of the family. Should the husband die, a family can continue, but it is very hard without the mother. In Arabic it is said that women are the ‘Ministry of the interior’. What it means is that a good mother is as essential to a good nation as she is to a good family.
A last word to women, “If you command respect and show you are just as competent and capable as a man, I don’t think any woman will have any problem in life.”

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FREDERICK D'SILVA

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