Respecting & Valuing Human Life

It is quite unfortunate that today’s society evaluates human beings based on the social and economic class they hail from. Just ask yourself how do you treat your servant, the roadside coolie or any daily wage earner for an answer.

Why do we treat underprevileged people this way?

A look into history tells us that the Indian society practised something called Varnasrama Dharma, in which people were segmented into four caste/race-based groups depending on what they did to earn a living. There was nothing casteist about Varnasrama Dharma as the intention was to clearly allocate professions based on a person’s capabilities such that everybody could work in harmony for the benefit of the state. The contribution of no single person was undermined or brushed aside as irrelevant as everybody worked in tandem and contributed to each other’s welfare. It was only during the medieval period when people indulged in caste-based discrimination to achieve material objectives. This discrimination (or unqualified racism if we could call it) has from then on seeped into the deepest roots of our existence, has become a part of our DNA and has very much become a part of our everyday life as if it is the social norm.

The explanation, however, does not justify our behaviour. It couldn’t have taken anything different for you and me to have been born in an underprivileged family and with an average level of intellect. None of us have a say in the choice of our parents and in the choice of household to be born in. When we realise that, we will be enlightened about how fortunate we are to be where we are today.

What is more worrying is the value that we place on such people’s lives. There have been three mishaps in the construction site of Delhi metro in the recent past where semi-skilled workers have been killed in dangerous and inhuman work conditions. After the issue gathered substantial mileage from the press, a probe has been ordered into the incident. However, considering the way justice works in India, we can expect the contractor to go scot free or escape punishment by paying a moderate fine. The metro construction will be completed by exploiting another semi-skilled worker, opened to the public and will in a couple of years bustle with activity. A thousand people will be commuting to school and work through the route, completely oblivious to the fact that a constructor worker’s life was laid down for their travel convenience.

Dismantling terror infrastructure

Following the release of Hafiz Saeed from house arrest, India’s home minister P.Chidambaram evinced disappointment about Pakistan’s seriousness to dismantle terror infrastructure operating in their country.

Though America played a huge part in pressuring Pakistan to take the perpetrators of Mumbai 26/11 to task, they are more concerned about annihilating Taliban in Pakistan’s north west. In an era of situational politics, one cannot expect the USA to provide any more assistance in solving what is India’s problem than what they have already provided.

While we can liberally blame Pakistan for not seriously prosecuting Hafiz Saeed and others, we must not forget the kind of assistance our intelligence agencies have provided to Pakistan to expedite the trial.

When Pakistan asked for DNA samples of all the attackers killed in the encounter, one of the samples India provided did not match with any of the attackers. Later, India confessed that there had been a clerical error and they would soon provide the correct DNA sample.

While no criminal should be denied the prerogative of arguing his guiltlessness, India have gone a bit overboard in providing Ajmal Kasab with a five-star jail accomodation. When the charge sheet against him was prepared in Hindi, India have danced to Kasab’s whims and fancies and got the charges translated to Urdu, a language he understands. And when one thought all obstacles were cleared and a trial can take place, Kasab comes forward and disagrees with the charges raised on him, thereby making a mockery of our legal system. In a country that dishes out timely punishment to petty thiefs and pick pockets, it pains to see an international terrorist exploting the loopholes in the Indian legal system.

If that was not enough, India submits the investigation reports from the Mumbai probe in Marathi. Pakistan officials get back to India to get the document translated to English or Urdu. Even a 10th grade student will not submit his assignments and record note books with such shocking carelessness.

If the Indian government were any serious in bringing the perpetrators to justice, they can’t be commiting these schoolboy-type mistakes over and over again.

General Elections – A Round up

The ruling Congress has done exceptionally well to approximately win a single majority in the federal elections. The verdict has satisfied the so-called ’secular’ forces and is seen as a defeat for communal politics. I have a wealth of information to differentiate Hindutva from communalism and question the authenticity of the secularism that the Congress seems to preach and profess with a great sense of pride. But that is the subject matter of a different post altogether.

Congress was not expected to do well in this elections. They had achieved nothing worthy of mention during their last five years in the centre. They were not able to address the problems caused by the economic downturn and the after effects of it (including taming inflation and the problems faced by importers due to a weakening dollar). Being the minority government that they were, they had to dance to the whims and fancies of their alliances. Even when they finally decided to part ways with the Left on diasgreements over the nuclear deal, they had to pay huge sums of money to gain the support of Samajwadi Party and some independents. They had to heed to DMK’s demands (a party that gave them a 39 on 39 verdict in the 2004 elections) to expedite the implementation of the Sethusamudram project. They had to part with key cabinet ministries to DMK and its allies. There have been numerous allegations of misappropriation of funds and misuse of power to further personal ambitions surrounding Dayanidhi Maran (and later A Raja) of the Telecom ministry and Anbumani of the Health ministry. The DMK has also used its political clout to push Karunanidhi’s entire family on the political bandwagon exploiting the weak position of the Congress. All the DMK-hate that was simmering within the senior members of the Congress has taken the form of denying the DMK key cabinet ministries this time around. Considering their incapable governance in the last five years, I could only sniff serious machinations (including bogus voting in huge numbers) that could have helped them in the present elections. I do not have the facts to justify my accusations. The allegations that surrounded the appointment of Navin Chawla (as the chief election commissioner) of a possible partisanship to the Congress was played down by the President, who surprisingly was elected only with the Congress support. When the President and the Election Commission, who are supposed to have their independent executive powers are alleged for a possible partisanship with the ruling party, the credibility of a democratic system of polity is seriously undermined.

All the parties this year have tried to better each other in fielding candidates with criminal backgrounds. Out of the total 6753 candidates that contested the elections this time, 1042 had criminal cases against them. This accounts for 15.47% of the total number of candidates, which is a disturbing number. The entire lot of educated indians that went ga-ga over Varun Gandhi has remained silent about the other 1041 candidates. Mohammed Azharuddin, the former Indian cricket captain, who was charged for match fixing (that eventually ended his cricketing career) was fielded by the Samajwadi party in UP. Efforts were made by the same party to field Sanjay Dutt in Lucknow whose role in the Mumbai blasts (and an alleged connection to the underworld) is still being investigated. What do the public expect out of these candidates who have already proven to us that they do not possess clean hands? The entire so-called secular India that demanded the arrest of Varun Gandhi chose to remain silent over Azharuddin, Sanjay Dutt and many others. Why? Just because they were muslim? Just because they are minorities? It surprises how the crime is viewed through different spectacles, depending upon who is the one committing it.

The Congress gaining sufficient majority is one good thing that seems to have happened. The Congress can implement developmental projects (if they choose to do so) without having to rely on the consent of any troublesome ally to take it forward.

We have to wait and see if the Congress can do anything different to what they achieved in the last five years.

Terrorism and Hinduism

There is no way those two words in the title can occur next to one another. The only reason I have put them together to endorse somebody’s viewpoint.

Gurumurthy, a person whom I respect and adore, has written a wonderful article on terrorism. I have reproduced the unadulterated version of the original article here with due respect to copyrights associated with the article (if any).

Terrorists say their motive is faith driven (18 Dec 2008)

Some Indian seculars began celebrating the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh, and Lt Col Srikant Purohit as suspects in the Malegaon terror strike of September 30. It was not because the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) probe was moving ahead. But for a different reason — that is, the suspects happened to be Hindus. The secular megaphones began blaring “see the Hindu terrorists caught in the act”, as if Hindu terror, if that existed, was a discovery to celebrate, not a cause to worry. Read more about this perverse mindset.

In the past, when all terrorists, suspected or indicted, were found to be Muslim, these seculars were unable to admit or reject the all-Muslim character of the terror. “Terrorists belong to no religion”, they pontificated. “Don’t call it Islamic terror”, they pleaded. “Don’t hold all Muslims responsible for the jihadis work”, they counselled. Some even empathised with the terrorists.

They said the terrorists were misguided, disgruntled Muslims youths denied due opportunities. They commended Sachar Committee type compassion, not tough laws like POTA, to handle terror.

Result? The state began funding the families of terrorists. The more desperate among the seculars went so far as to say that, because of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and the Gujarat riots in 2002, the terrorists did have a cause to take to bombs, almost condoning, if not rationalising, their terror. And now, with the ATS suspecting some Hindus, these seculars are relieved that the all- Muslim enterprise of terror has some Hindu faces also. The prefix “Islam” firmly tagged to terror had for long desperately compelled the seculars to attempt to quick-fix the “Hindu” tag to terror, even before Malegaon. Now in Malegaon they see a chance to flag terror with the Hindu tag. But is it as simple as balancing Islamic terror by inventing a Hindu counterpart? Islam was prefixed to terror not in India. The global discourse on terror has, over the years, identified Islam with terror. It happened not — repeat not — because the terrorists were adherents of Islam. It is because the terrorists — whether al-Qaeda elsewhere or SIMI here – themselves claim they are ordained by the Islamic faith itself to kill kafirs, that is, non-Muslims.

Despite this claim by the terrorists, none of the Islamic theological schools — not a single one — challenged them nor did any of them declare that kafir did not mean non-Muslims. Had they done so, the terrorists’ claim would have been punctured and Islam could not have been prefixed to terror. But, it has been the other way round. Many Islamic schools seem to believe, like the jihadis do, that Hindus are kafir. Here is an instructive episode in secular India.

This happened way back in 1992. Dr Abdul Raza Bedar, an Islamic scholar, had said then that Muslims regarding Hindus as kafirs was affecting India’s integration. So, he pleaded, Hindus be dropped from the list of kafir. All hell broke loose. A massive hate campaign against Dr Bedar began, abused him as “Scoundrel”, “Rushdie Two”, “Filthy” — to quote only a few examples. Three noted Islamic schools issued fatwa saying Dr Bedar was a kafir. Seven Muslim MLAs brought the Bihar Assembly to a halt to demand that Dr Bedar be sacked as director of the Khudabaksh Library in Patna. Finally he was sacked for saying that Hindus were not kafirs! The seculars were impotent witnesses to this barbarism. The intervention of the prestigious Islamic school at Deoband to say that Dr Bedar was not wrong in declaring that Hindus were not kafirs in a bid to exonerate Dr Bedar could not save him. Drowned in the mass chorus, no one bothered about that prestigious voice.

The removal of Dr Bedar then, legitimises now, the views of the terrorists.

This was in 1992 when there was no Islamist terror in India. Now the terrorists openly cite their holy text and claim that they have a religious duty to kill the kafirs — read Hindus. Yet, no Islamic school including the Deoband seminary, challenges them. Globally, terror bears the prefix of Islam because the terrorists claim, without being challenged, that their faith commands them to kill the kafir to further Islam.

Now, come to the secular effort prefix “Hindu” to Malegaon terror. The suspects do not claim they have a duty by their faith to kill non-Hindus. No Hindu religious school or head will allow any Hindu to claim that he has a religious mandate to kill non-Hindus.

The LTTE, consisting of Hindus, also kills, but does not claim to be commanded by Hinduism to do so. Go further.

What is the stated motive of the Hindus suspected of terror in Malegaon? The accused planned counter-terror against Islamic terror, says the ATS. So for the Malegaon suspects, it was an anti-terror act. But it is wrong. One wrong, however provocative, does not justify another. Such counter-terror too is an act against humanity, and it should be punished by law.

But the discourse cannot end without noting how the irrational secular enthusiasm to add the prefix “Hindu” to Malegaon terror has hurt Brand India. The ATS stunned the nation by telling the court one day that a Malegaon accused, Lt Colonel Purohit, had stolen RDX from the army stores and supplied it for the blast on the Samjhauta Express, for which Indian intelligence had held Pakistan responsible! But within 48 hours the ATS had to withdraw the allegation because no RDX was found used in either Samjhauta or Malegaon.

In that 48 hours between the charge and the retraction, immense damage had been done. The high-voltage charge, unmatched by the less-noticed retraction, discredited the faith-neutral, patriotic Indian army. Also, most “leaks” about the Malegaon probe by the secular Maharashtra government to the media had little basis in fact and some seculars admitted that the media had begun fictionalising the case.

See how the secular media here has supplemented the hate India efforts abroad. India is “in a state of shock” that “its first Hindu terror cell may have carried out a series of deadly bombings initially blamed on militant Muslims” reported Pakistan Daily (November 23), on Malegaon. The paper said “A country that prides itself on purported religious and cultural toleration has been made to ask itself how this cell could operate for so long.” The Gulf Times (November 16) had earlier reported “the frightening radical Hindu plots” had “started to unravel”.

The BBC went one step further. When Islamist terror hit Mumbai on November 26, with the burning Oberoi and Taj hotels as the backdrop, the BBC kept referring, not to any Islamist terror attack, but to “the many Hindu terror attacks that had taken place in recent times”. This is not the end of the catalogue.

QED: The seculars’ anxiety to prefix “Hindu” to the Malegaon terror suspects has only ended in hurting Brand India.

It could not delete the prefix “Islam” to global terror.

Emphasis on Value Education

There was a raging debate on television today on whether the existence of law concerning various acts of crime and offence has discouraged offenders and whether existing laws have to be strengthened to prepare ourselves towards a crime-free society.

There were interesting and valid points raised by the participants. Some even recommended doing away with some of the existing draconian laws, which raise human rights issues, in addition to defeating the very purpose for which they were established.

Instead of taking sides, we shall consider some of the merits and demerits of the establishment of laws and recommend some solutions in favour of our bid to build a society that is based on moral values and discipline.

The existing social laws have not come from heaven. They were established by people for people to govern societal etiquette and discourage wrongdoing. People who abide by the law in letter and spirit need not be worried about the after effects of a crime. It is the offenders, who need to be deterred by the presence of a law that recommends varying degrees of punishment for crossing the line.

A criminal guilty of theft/murder/attempt is sentenced to imprisonment for a few months or years depending on the magnitude of the crime. Ideally, the period of imprisonment should lead the criminal to recognizing their fault and help them make progress towards leading a righteous life once the period of sentence ends. There is also a provision to set them free before the term ends if they have made sufficient progress that enable them to lead a normal, social life. However, those sentenced for a lifetime have no option but to spend their lifetime in jail. A mistake committed due to momentous madness caused by anger should not completely shut the doors for their social recovery.

However, viewing terrorism-related crimes with rose-coloured spectacles is not a recommended solution either. This is where the lawmakers have to strike a balance. While they have to consider amending a provision to reduce capital punishment for standalone criminal acts, they have to frame draconian laws to prevent terrorism-related crimes.

In a country that boasts of a high literacy rate among development countries, it pains to see that the state still feels the need to establish rules and punishment charges to discourage wrongdoing. Isn’t it an irony that an educated person, who sets role models when it comes to education and career, imitates an uneducated person when it comes to flouting the rules? Why does the educated Indian smoke in public places even when there is a law that discourages it? Why do they board a bus or a train without purchasing a ticket? Why do they continue committing such offences when they are fully aware of the consequences?

This is where our education system has terribly failed. As much as it prepares students to lead the multinational companies of the world, it has failed to inculcate moral values in them that would make them socially-responsible citizens. The educated person is to be punished more for his nonchalant attitude because he is completely aware of what he is doing. He has a huge responsibility to be a role model for others to emulate and there can be no excuses from him.

Value education should be not merely a subject that is taught in schools. Students have to be encouraged by teachers and parents to internalize whatever they have been taught as moral values. Else parents and teachers have to solely take the blame for building the society that we see today.

Little things that make a difference

The city professional today is one of India’s high-paid citizens. He has been helped by India’s burgeoning economy and he contributes a lot to the government coffers with the tax he pays every year. He is ready to chase every luxury the world has to offer to him and is living beyond his fundamental needs.

He wants to travel by car to office even if his residence is located close by. He expects the government to provide him excellent roads, construct flyovers and ease the traffic on the road. He begins to crib and blames the government when the city he lives in experiences infrastructure bottlenecks and when he doesn’t get enough driving space on the road. He grimaces when he thinks of the surging prices of essential commodities and blames the government for not having used his tax payments for improving the existing situation.

While an utopian government that dutifully spends the taxpayer’s money to improve infrastructure and  public spending lies only in the mind, the professional has to take a fair share of the blame for the predicament.

If the professional is the sole person driving to office, why does he prefer a four wheeler to a two wheeler? If the drive to office is some kilometers away, why doesn’t he consider car-pooling with someone who stays and works in his vicinity? Why doesn’t the professional buy a car that runs on electricity or the one that is more friendlier to the environment and goes for the luxurious sedan or a SUV? While car-pooling and choosing the right kind of vehicle for city roads would help a great deal in reducing the congestion on roads, they also help to reduce fuel/energy consumption and reduce the per capita contribution to pollution.

When a large number of people do that, the fuel consumption goes down, which should bring the price of the fuel down as well. With most of the commodity prices linked to fuel, a decrease in fuel price could bring down the dependant commodity prices as well. So in effect, the professional has saved money on fuel and at the same time is empowered to buy commodities at lesser prices.

You can make a difference to this world by being a little more responsible and behaving like educated men. Stop blaming the government and do your bit. That is the first step to take if you want to visualize a change.