Photostat of editorial in LAW 31-12-2012 issue:

Editorial, "Rape Law needs a change?", in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 31 December 2012, Vol. 8, Part 2, No. 24 issue.

RAPE LAW NEEDS A CHANGE?

courtesy: Tarek Fatah                                               courtesy: Mona Hassan                                          courtesy: Mona Hassan

No doubt, the recent Delhi gang-rape and the eventual death of the unfortunate victim - the bravely resisting paramedical student Amanat or Nirbhaya - is quite tragic and totally condemnable. The fury of protests by the people, mainly youths, that spontaneously broke out in Delhi, and spread to many other places, is also understandable and commendable, and certainly the rape laws need to be severe both in letter and in spirit - through prompt and proper implementation, and the latter is all the more essential in our conditions. However, the vociferous demands from many sections of protesters for prescribing death penalty for the offence of rape and also the recent moves for introduction of chemical castration for sexual offenders cannot be supported since it is well known that all over the world human rights organizations and activists are either totally opposed to, and demand abolition of, the death penalty itself, or would require the same to be limited to the ‘rarest of rare’ cases. Also, the precept and practice of chemical castration is being denounced by human rights associations like the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch etc. as improper and amounting to ‘cruel and unusual punishment’. The problem of rape is endemic all over the world with South Africa topping the list with about 120 rapes per lakh of population, followed by Botswana (92.9), Sweden (63.5), UK (28), Belgium (27.9), USA (27.3), Norway (19.2), France (16), etc. with our country standing at 1.8 per lakh of population. And in none of the countries with such disturbing rates of rapes and other forms of sexual violence, these extreme penalties are prescribed. Moreover, our rape law, Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, prescribes punishment up to life imprisonment for rape and more stringent dealing for gang-rape, and for murder, death penalty can also be invoked (S 302 IPC). Of course, the law could be made more stringent in case of gang-rapes, especially for those with deadly effects for surviving victims, but the talk of killing the culprits in ‘encounters’ or by public hanging after summary trial etc. is neither palatable nor seems equitable to any democratic ethos. Rather, the strict and speedy implementation of the existing rape law appears to be the more desirable option. §§§

Jab We Met (Full Movie HQ)

Editorial, "SPARE THE CHILD OR BEAR THE ROD!" in 15 December 2012 LAW ANIMATED WORLD

SPARE THE CHILD OR BEAR THE ROD!

seems to be the new axiom for the Norwegian neo-barbarians who have unjustly detained and after a trial, which looks quite unfair even by our Indian standards, sentenced our Indian Telugu couple Chandrasekhar and Anupama to 18 months and 15 months imprisonment respectively for an alleged offence of violence against their own child. It was the 17^th century English poet, Samuel Butler, who in his poem Hudibras, perhaps using a Biblical root, coined the saying ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’, which has later been adopted by and often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. Truly so, and 

we have a similar axiom applicable to more variegated circumstances declaring ‘dandam dasagunam bhavet’ [the rod delivers many good results] that is also meant to work and be applied in the course of child rearing. We are aware that some of our own intellectuals recently disapproved of these two traditional axioms and the practices indicated by them saying the times have changed and the concepts of human rights and duties have transcended this constricted ancient thinking and now domestic violence, especially violence against children, is to be seriously deplored and so the Norwegians were perhaps more correct in this regard. However, this distorted interpretation of the so-called ‘good’s of the seemingly progressive thinking and law of the Norwegians, for that matter of the ‘developed’ West, overlooks the general moral degeneration in human and family relations in those countries and systems and the rise of so many other vices like drug-addiction, maniac acts of violence by spoilt children, promiscuous and abhorrent sexual practices, child and woman trafficking and above all racism, veiled or open, etc. and the rise of demonical terrorists like Anders Breivik (more fanatical and cruel than Kasab of 26/11 mayhem whom we hanged recently) and the so mild punishment of such dastardly criminals. Also overlooked is the imperative need to accord the foreign residents in any country due respect and enough freedom and facility to follow their own cultural, traditional practices so long as they do not interfere with the public peace and law and order. On both counts we people of the Orient seem to fare better than those of the Occident – especially the Norwegians – who fall so short of real ‘civilization’. §§§

The Last Temptation of Christ (A Última Tentação de Cristo - Legendas si...

The Passion of the Christ. (2004 - English. Full Movie).

Editorial, "Right to Life: Mother v. The Unborn", in 30 November 2012 October Revolution Special issue

RIGHT TO LIFE: mother V. THE UNBORN

The sad death of Savita Halappanavar in Ireland due to the stubbon refusal of the ‘Catholic’ medical staff to allow her an abortion even though a miscarriage was detected, has sparked off indignant protests not only in Ireland but the world over against such callous cruelty of an obscurantist government in this modern age and also focused the need to reconcile the conflicting rights to life of the living mother and the unborn child. The Irish Constitution guarantees the right to life of the unborn child too and Irish law outlaws any abortion by any person resident in Ireland. The only exception as pronounced by the Irish Supreme Court in a 1992 decision {reported in this issue at pp. 55-114} is when the mother faces a real and substantial risk of death in the course of pregnancy. Savita’s case falls squarely under this exception but since there are no definite guidelines as per enacted statute, which lacuna was strongly censured by both the Irish Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights, the religiously orthodox could inflict such irreversible loss on Savita’s family. In the end the mother was also thrown out with the baby! This calls for a wide debate over the rights to life of the born versus the unborn, so to put it. It is commendable that the right of the unborn child is constitutionally declared and protected but at the same time it should be harmonized with the equally important right of preservation of mother’s life too. True, not just Christianity, but even Hinduism, Buddhism and other oriental religions condemn abortion which is termed as ‘Bhruunahatya’ (foetus murder) in Hindu scriptures and ranked with five great sins. But even here, there is an exception of preserving the mother’s life. The ‘Catholic’ outrage in Ireland can be seen as a sort of over-reaction to the modern uncaring selfish capitalist culture which spurs and promotes the wild proft-and-enjoy desires of the individual even at the cost of society. The promiscuity generated/ tolerated allows irresponsible females aided by likeminded males not to care for their progeny even, which otherwise they would cherish to have and bring up. In a society with social ownership of the basic means of production and with careful social planning, the welfare of all children, legitimate or illegitimate, could be looked after well by the society itself and not left to individual whim and fancy. In such a humane socialism, any need for bhruuna hatyas just for the sake of hedonistic/base selfish desires may not arise since the society itself would take over all the obligations in regard to the child with no stigma to the mother. §§§