Editorial, "MAY DAY AND WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY," in Vol. 17: Part 1, No. 9, 15 May 2021 issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD.

 MAY DAY & WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

May Day, the international labor day, arising out of the sterling sacrifices and noble ideals of the Haymarket Square labor martyrs of Chicago in the 1880s – most of us know now, but many of us may not know about the World Press Freedom Day celebrated on 3 May every year, pursuant to the Windhoek Declaration formulated in a seminar held by UNESCO at Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, from 29 April to 3 May 1991 and gradually accepted by most of the countries in the world.  The United Nations General Assembly in December 1993 proclaimed the 3^rd of May as World Press Freedom Day, thus embodying the proposal made by the Windhoek seminar participants and taken over later by UNESCO's General Conference. The Windhoek Declaration underscored that “consistent with article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development.” And Article 19 of UDHR reads: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” It was clarified in the Windhoek Declaration that “2. By an independent press, we mean a press independent from governmental, political, or economic control or from control of material and infrastructure essential for the production and dissemination of newspapers, magazines and periodicals” and that “3. By a pluralistic press, we mean the end of monopolies of any kind and the existence of the greatest possible number of newspapers, magazines and periodicals reflecting the widest possible range of opinion within the community.” It was also noted in the declaration that “5. The worldwide tendency towards democracy and freedom of information and expression is a fundamental contribution to the fulfillment of human aspirations.” Truly, “the Windhoek Declaration is the African contribution to the edifice of human rights.” Both these Days remind us of the enormous importance of the basic rights of labor and the freedom of press for the general welfare and equitable development of the peoples. Particularly, in the current Covid-19 crisis days, with governments all over the world acquiring a whole lot of powers, and with some even neglecting/abusing them leading to lakhs of avoidable deaths even, these occasions offer us an opportunity to dedicate ourselves to, and strive to protect and promote, these essential liberties. §§§

Editorial, "SECOND WAVE OF CORONA: STUDENTS’ EXAMINATIONS," in Vol. 17: Part 1, No. 8, 30 April 2021 issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD.

SECOND WAVE OF CORONA:

STUDENTS’ EXAMINATIONS

Unexpectedly for most of us, but also as a shock to experts as also central/ states’ governments’ leaders, never sufficiently cautious/efficient in Covid-19 management, the second wave of Corona has smashed on ‘we the people’ with the force of a nuclear explosion! We had one full year of preparatory and remedial processes to combat Corona, yet failed to create sufficient infrastructure to cope with this killer disease – no construction of emergency hospitals, nor any adequate storage of Oxygen and lifesaving ventilators etc. In contrast, when Covid-19 first hit the Chinese people in Wuhan in January 2020, how quickly they built the Huoshenshan Hospital with a 1000-beds facility (in just 10 days)! Today China is almost free of Corona but the rest of the world, we Indians all the more, are suffering – even America that still peaks in persons affected/ patients dead is recovering but in our case much worse is now feared. By May ending we may even cross the American tally. Well, our governments have so many powers under colonial and post-independence laws that, given the requisite will and determination, it is not difficult to use those appropriately and bring the situation fully under control. The Epidemic Diseases Act empowers the governments to take all emergency measures to control and suppress such vicious epidemics; all the lockdowns, social distancing norms, curfews etc. have been ordained with these powers. The Supreme Court also suggested that governments explore all possibilities and make use of these powers to quickly suppress this pandemic. And so, States’ Governments also have heavy responsibilities; in fact they are to be the field warriors in the battles against this pandemic. But, it is quite regrettable that, in this delicate situation, the Government of Andhra Pradesh is adamant on conducting the SSC and Intermediate examinations despite furious protests from the students, their parents and people at large, which measure can turn out to be a super-spreader, putting the lives of the students and through them the entire people to the great risk of an enormous health disaster. It seems the High Court of A.P. too has seriously suggested to the State Government to think of postponing or cancelling the examinations, especially as the CBSE exams, as also the Board exams in several states, were also cancelled/postponed due to this menace. Hope at least now the Government of A.P. will reconsider and save the people of Andhra, and India, from any such calamity. §§§

Editorial, "WEST BENGAL ELECTIONS & MODI’S BANGLADESH TOUR," in Vol. 17: Part 1, No. 7, 15 April 2021 issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD.

WEST BENGAL ELECTIONS &

MODI’S BANGLADESH TOUR

Elections in this eastern State play a critical role in redrawing the political map of that traditionally left and centre dominated State with the rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party now making piercing inroads into the seething socio-economic milieu there. Placed in a crucial geostrategic position, and given its historic traditions and its great contributions to the cause of Indian freedom struggle, the state of West Bengal holds a key position and the outcome of the elections there can be a game changer for the country’s immediate future even. We know that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mamta Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, are at loggerheads with each other on almost all main issues of our socio-economic, political development and, though once allies there, have now become bitter rivals. The election campaign and the polling going on there, strangely in eight phases, are marred by intense emotions, name-calling, and even violence and anarchy at some places. The Chief Minister herself complains of a sordid physical attack on her and moves along with her leg bandaged in the election campaigns but, of course, the rival parties pooh-pooh it as just another election gimmick. In this background it seems the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Bangladesh Liberation have come as a big aid to the Prime Minister Modi and he rushed to this first ‘foreign’ tour in a year or so after the Corona crisis onset. He talked there of his participation in the struggle to aid Bangladeshi freedom struggle even – this heckled by the opposition leaders as mendacious boasting. However, this editor feels there is no need to taunt the PM on this point since it was certainly probable that he could have participated, as an RSS activist, in the then Jana Sangh/RSS organized demonstrations, courted arrest/suffered short imprisonment. Well, Modi’s tour also seems to have been stained by Islamic fanatics’ demonstrations/riots in Bangladesh too, but that can certainly have some sympathetic impact on the Hindu voters of Bengal and Assam who are not happy with the intrusions/settlement of lakhs of illegal immigrants in their States. This editor always held that country more dangerous to the interests of security and integrity of our country, than Pakistan, and also opines that strict action should be taken against the illegal immigrants to West Bengal or other regions in our country. Let us hope and wish the present tenacious situation and acerbic campaigns there would not further deteriorate but the people would be more cautious and considerate in exercising their choices. §§§

Editorial, "TO TAKE A JAB OR NOT?," in Vol. 17: Part 1, No. 5-6, 15-31 March 2021 special issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD.

TO TAKE A JAB OR NOT?

Nowadays this seems to be a most worrying question to rational thinking persons the world over, watching all the ‘hulla’ (uproar) the pharma industry and the governments making in favor of hastily manufactured Covid vaccines touting them as a panacea in the current circumstances. Even the World Health Organization declares, “The world is in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic. As WHO and partners work together on the response ...... are racing to develop and deploy safe and effective vaccines. // Vaccines save millions of lives each year. Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defences – the immune system – to recognize and fight off the viruses and bacteria they target. After vaccination, if the body is later exposed to those disease-causing germs, the body is immediately ready to destroy them....” But one wonders how and why such fast-tracking of vaccine-production is permitted at all when usually their manufacture-cum-approval take 7-20 years. Certainly the vast profits accruing to the Pharma industries are a main factor with even Bill Gates being alleged to have made billions in this business and a Korean executive, Jerome Kim, Director General, International Vaccine Institute, stated that “Investment in vaccines is investment in the future,” and “Investment in vaccines can bring a 16-fold return, and $1 investment can result in $16 in saving through disease prevention.” Those who doubt this ‘distilled wisdom’ are branded as conspiracy theorists and some spirited anti-vaccination activists (e.g. Dr. Bradstreet and Brandy Vaughan) in America die in suspicious circumstances with their deaths passed off as ‘suicides’! Brandy had founded a “non-profit organization LearnTheRisk.org [countering] the pharmaceutical industry's agenda to make and keep people sick for profit ...” and declared: “In addition to pharmaceutical drugs and medical error, vaccines are put into the mix. Vaccines do not create immunity, they create customers. It’s the best business model in the world. ...There are multiple toxic ingredients in vaccines... [that]create health issues that in turn create customers. / The best defense against disease is a healthy, strong immune system, not overloaded with toxins from food, water, air, and pharmaceutical products.” She had left a sort of a dying declaration even: “If something were to happen to me, it’s foul play and you know exactly who and why – given my work and mission in this life.” Then, whistleblowers like Dr. Roger Hodkinson (a Canadian top pathologist and expert in virology), even go to the extent of saying that the COVID-19 pandemic is the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting public.” And now some deaths have also been reported due to the side effects of these vaccines the world over and the AstraZeneca vaccine is barred [paused] in several European countries. This editor tends to agree with the anti-vaccination advocates, advises caution but, of course, notes that the final decision is for the readers’ rationale; all the while emphasizes that such vaccination, in any case, should not be mandatory. §§§

Editorial, "BAIL MUST BE THE RULE, NOT AN EXCEPTION," in Vol. 17: Part 1, No. 4, 28 February 2021 issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD.

 BAIL MUST BE THE RULE, NOT AN EXCEPTION

is a near axiomatic rule so pronounced in the landmark order in State of Rajasthan v. Balachand, AIR 1977 SC 2447, of course with the rider, “except where there are circumstances suggestive of fleeing from justice or thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape of repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like, by the petitioner who seeks enlargement on bail from the court.” Normally our first-instance courts take into consideration prima facie allegations and then even routinely order for the remand in judicial custody of the accused on their first production, consigning their pleas of innocence/requests for release on bail, to the ‘discretion’ of the courts in various tiers in the course of criminal proceedings, which can stretch for years. Even the above dictum of Justice Krishna Iyer bases upon the longstanding rule of our criminal jurisprudence, a legacy of the colonial rule, of the presumption of innocence of the accused until their guilt is proved beyond all reasonable doubt. And this editor did not find any discussion of the matter linking it to the basic or fundamental right of the accused to life and liberty (Article 21) and/or his freedom of movement and association (Article 19) in that decision. However, it is comforting to find such linking to Article 21 in the relatively recent Sanjay Chandra v. CBI, (2012) 1 SCC 40, decision of our Apex Court. In contrast, we find that the European Court of Human Rights, generally looks up such matters from the angle of their Convention Article 5 basic rights, which can be found in the Buzadji decision published in this issue; further, that Court clarifies that such right exists right from the time of first production of the accused. Hope our courts too begin to look up this grave matter primarily from the angle of human rights to liberty, etc. rather than relegate it to their merciful discretion. Here, the ASJ Sri Dharmender Rana, New Delhi, who boldly granted bail to Disha Ravi standing in favor of personal liberty and stating categorically that “[the alleged] 'Toolkit' reveals that any call for any kind of violence is conspicuously absent. In my considered opinion, Citizens are conscience keepers of government in any democratic Nation. They cannot be put behind the bars simply because they choose to disagree with the State policies. The offence of sedition cannot be invoked to minister to the wounded vanity of the governments,” deserves a big Kudos from all of us. Further the very sedition clause in the IPC, often misused by the power-intoxicated governments, needs to be repealed altogether – which, by the way, has been a sort of our ‘national demand’ evolved during our freedom struggle.   §§§

Editorial, "INTERNET FREEDOM A MUST FOR HUMANITY," in Vol. 17: Part 1, No. 3, 15 February 2021 issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD.

INTERNET FREEDOM A MUST FOR HUMANITY

The recent arrest of an environmental activist of Bangalore, Disha Ravi, for her some edits of Greta Thunberg’s ‘tool kit’ on the current farmers agitation in North India all over the world, has once again brought to focus the utmost need for almost absolute non-interference by States plus solid assurances/ arrangements by nations to ensure the freedom for speech and expression on the internet. It is doubtless that some American corporate companies are the actual managers of the entire internet and we have seen how corporate social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc. have misused their powers, and blocked the accounts of even the U.S. President Trump when he was in and now even after he is out of office. They have developed into dangerous censors undermining the freedom of speech on the net. In India we often see this or that person being arrested for trivial ‘offences’ relating to speech and expression on the internet and even charged with ‘sedition’. In the B.J.P. ruled States this revolting phenomenon is quite frequent though those run by others also no less prone to this dictatorial mentality. We may note that with the great developments in telecommunications and related technologies, entire world has become much smaller – like a global village – with more facilities for people of various nationalities, races, communities etc. to interact easily as also feel the pleasures and pains of the others and respond to those too. As such now onwards general human concerns would result in worldwide protests; the nation state itself may soon become redundant – though, of course, the ruling cliques everywhere would not let it vanish that easily. Then, we found nothing objectionable in the tool kit for which Disha Ravi was arrested; naturally, people post/share many links in their posts on the net to enable others follow their thoughts and programs. Moreover, internet speech is also a sort of blurting out of the subconscious feelings and conduct of the persons and so utmost privacy should be assured to the netizens, not such savage repression. Ultimately any reputed international organization, with the consent of many/most of the nations, may have to take charge and ensure that Internet is shifted to a headquarters outside America and, preferably, located in Geneva or Stockholm etc. to be managed under the UN auspices, with other useful changes in its conduct, but, firstly, our people must seriously protest and agitate against such repressive policies and measures of the corporates/ governments undermining the basic freedoms of the netizens.  §§§

Editorial, "REPUBLIC DAY RALLIES AND WRANGLINGS," in Vol. 17: Part 1, No. 2, 31 January 2021 issue of LAW ANIMATED WORLD.

 REPUBLIC DAY RALLIES AND WRANGLINGS

The farmers agitation around Delhi seems to have grown quite intense and gave rise to some awkward developments on the Republic Day with a section of farmers, mainly Sikhs, breaking away from the permitted route for their tractor rally and going on rampage near the Red Fort premises, and are even alleged to have hoisted a Khalistani flag at a vintage point on the Red Fort – or at any rate all admit that a Sikh religious flag (Nishan Sahib) was hoisted. It seems the Sikh farmer agitators were very aggressive and rode roughshod over their tractors and injured hundreds of policemen too, and in the melee, police say, a tractor overturned and a Sikh farmer (tractor-driver) was killed in the accident. Of course, no dearth of counter-allegations that his tractor toppled and he died because of police shooting him down in the first instance. One Deep Sidhu, admittedly a BJP man till recently and don’t know whether he continues so since this agitation, was the main person behind this hoisting of the ‘Nishan Sahib’ it seems and he has gone viral on the net through a video posted by himself explaining the circumstances in which the struggle took that shape; he stresses that it was to emphasize the ‘unity in diversity’ of the Indian nation that he chose to hoist that Sikh religious flag. However, a Sikh Congress MP (Ludhiana) Mr. Ravneet Singh Bittu had earlier exposed the Khalistani separatists’ involvement and incitement in the farmers agitation though he himself is camping there as one of the activist agitator leaders and even stated that the Khalistanis are spending crores of rupees for the purpose. But he seems to have kept diplomatic silence on this Republic Day melee at the Red Fort and also about the role of the alleged ‘false flag’ of BJP, Deep Singh Sidhu. However, OpIndia, a pro-BJP website, openly accuses that the Sikhs for Justice, a banned pro-Khalistan US-based group that has been attempting to ‘build a campaign for secession of Punjab’ since its inception in 2007, and which came to notice in August 2018 pro-Khalistan rally at Trafalgar Square, London, releasing the “Referendum 2020’ declaration, is very much behind these tractor rally riots and a Khalistani flag was hoisted on Red Fort with insult to the national tricolor. We have made already clear in our previous editorials that we decry this Khalistani hand but at the same time demand that suitable amendments be made in the farm laws as suggested by us earlier and this burning problem be satisfactorily resolved at the earliest. §§§