Editorial, LOVE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME, in 15 July 2009, Vol. 5, Part 2, No. 13 issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD.

LOVE THAT DARE NOT SPEAK ITS NAME

has at last been judicially recognized, albeit by only one High Court in India, and approved as part of a person’s right to live with personal liberty and privacy. Socratic love was said to have incensed God who poured down fires of hell and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah according to the conservative version and, ever since, the same sex love came to be shunned and banned in the Western world. There is no instance of explicit prohibition of the same in the Hindu culture though certain punishments have been prescribed for same sex practices in Manu Smriti, which Code, incidentally, is reviled by many of the dalit and downtrodden sections in our country. Scholarly studies did not find any plausible grounds to substantiate the Biblic or Islamic versions of the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and even indicate the possibility of natural catastophes behind it, but right from the Justinian prohibition up to the incarceration of Oscar Wilde the Western world did not seem to recover from this trauma. Wilde was but one champion of the gay rights movement we may say, and ever since the Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights movement has gained currency first in the West and slowly all over the world, and liberal sections of the society are more and more coming to view these ‘deviations’ as but ‘natural variations’ of sexual urges and manifestations in human society. In India replete with superstitions and blind hatreds between communities, the third sex, as they are called, have always been subject to much social revulsion and ostracism, which course needs correction – especially, in the mindsets of a majority of the people. Already we see conservative religious, communal and political sections up in arms against this salutary decision promoting the fundamental right to life and gender equality and the ball now seems to be in the Supreme Court. We have all the confidence in the humane and liberal essence of our apex court and hope it would surely not reverse but affirm this much-needed liberal, humane correction to a superstitious legal cum socio-political blunder.   §§§

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Editorial: 'LALGADH: A 'LEFTIST' LETDOWN in Law Animated World, Vol. 5, Part 1, No. 12, 30 June 2009 issue

LALGADH: A ‘LEFTIST’ LETDOWN

A basically political animal he is, this editor has been keenly enquiring about the socio-economic developments, and the pros and cons of the left front government, during his frequent trips to Bengal ever since 1985. It was appalling to find that save for the initial radical measures to better the deprived share-croppers and empower rural masses to an extent, no other welfare/construction schemes were taken in a big way there. For instance, there have been no large-scale housing schemes for the poor and lower middle classes and whatever low/middle income group colonies exist are all conceived, planned and built during the good old B.C. Roy era. Even the prestigious Salt Lake, which the leftists so vociferously opposed those days but so luxuriously populate these days, was the vision and work of B.C. Roy. The public distribution system there is woeful. So, the plight of the more distressed rural masses and tribals could be easily imagined and all said and done, the non-communist southern states’ governments were administering better, in a more social welfarist manner. No wonder the Left Front began to rapidly lose support among the urban masses first and now, due to its about-turn-policies of supporting the LPG policies, even in rural areas. The recent rebellion in Lalgadh, once a left front stronghold but now considered a Maoist citadel, illustrates the tragic consequences of this ‘leftist letdown’. But, beware Maoists, their glee at the predicament of the parliamentary left there may also not be conducive to people’s real interests. More distressing is that by such precipitation of events, and due to their violent armed actions – and that unmindful of the recent international developments, especially the debacle of the LTTE and the crisis in Nepal – they have given occasion to the central government to outlaw them all over India and this would certainly damage their prospects considerably, though not totally. Their belligerent actions and attitudes may not win them the hearts and minds of the masses at large and would in noway further any common leftist ideal of establishment of democratic socialism in the country either.   §§§

Editorial 'Electoral Fraud in Iran' in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 June 2009 issue

ELECTORAL FRAUD IN IRAN

 

 

 

 

      Ahmadinejad with ‘V’ smile         Mousavi supporters on streets                          Mousavi

In what may be called the biggest crisis in Iran since the days of Islamic Revolution in 1979, lakhs of people have come out into the streets in Teheran to protest against the massive electoral frauds behind the so-called landslide victory of the incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the recent presidential election held there. Curiously nobody doubts the existence of frauds and rigging in the elections, but only as to how far such ‘irregularities’ might have influenced the outcome of the election. Though Ahmadinejad’s progressive challenger Hossein Mousavi had a definite edge over his rival in Tehran and many other urban areas of Iran, it was also a foregone conclusion that in the predominantly rural areas the appeal of the incumbent President was and is irresistible. So much so that a Washington Post opinion poll, conducted three weeks before the voting, had predicted the President to win by 2:1 margin which is even slightly higher than the now announced margin and so there is a possibility that the outcome after all reflected the popular will in the end. However, Ahamadinejad’s  reelection is seen as a victory of the religious fundamentalist, dictatorial forces and all democratic, secular and progressive forces from the centre to the extreme left are now jumping into the movement in support of Mousavi, reputed to be ‘honest, humble and a supporter of masses’ and was a former premier for about nine years. Though there may not be any radical change in the foreign or especially nuclear policies of Iran whoever gets elected, Mousavi is expected to bring home a new breeze of democracy and good governance. The Iranian election system seems to be very defective with no proper polling booths and the voting almost direct and especially the rural voters could be duped easily. And the counting seems to have been done at incredible speed. Now that even the Guardian Council of religious heads has agreed to probe into the rigging complaints, can we hope for some salutary developments there or would favouritism and Islamic reaction raise their ugly head and exacerbate the popular outrage still further? §§§