Editorial, "The Russians 've Come!", in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 October 2015 issue

THE RUSSIANS ‘VE COME!

“Oh, the Russians are coming, coming…” was a constant cry of the British imperialists in the 19^th century in Afghanistan-Iran region; then it became “Oh, Bolsheviks are coming, coming!” in the early 20^th century and finally to “Oh, the Soviets have come, drive them out!” scare by the US-UK axis in the 60s and 70s, which in fact created all the fiasco in the regions now. But now the Russians have come, on their own right and might, to the Middle East; yet, not seen as any oppressors but as real liberators from a most horrific religious fundamentalist terrorist regime in the world, which in fact has been created and aided by the American imperialists and their malevolent allies, though for public consumption these same Frankensteins proclaimed a phony war against their progeny. The relieving effect of Putin’s entry and vigorous attacks in the region to protect their protégé Assad of Syria, as well the persecuted and fast-being-eliminated minority communities therein, is so profound and obvious that even Netanyahu, the belligerent leader of Israel, with constant enmity toward Syria, Hezbollah and Iran, has begun to see the light of the day and cultivate friendship with Russia now. Putin, on his part, seems to have assured Israel that nothing detrimental to its existence and security was intended by him. Also, President Obama has been propagating a supportive agenda of all Muslim terrorist organizations and acting in a way quite uncomfortable to the interests of Israel in the region. And it appears that public opinion in Israel, as also in Europe in general, is heavily in favor of Putin and lauding him as a virtual hero-deliverer. Of course, one also notices the severe embarrassment displayed by Obama and the Western leaders in this context, who are time and again warning that they would take serious steps to counter the Russian invasion in case their allied Muslim terrorist outfits in the region are seriously attacked. But it is well known that the reactionary regime in Turkey is already acting as a proxy to the ISIS, and Putin has seriously warned the Turkish leaders of nemesis in case they continue so. So, one has to wait and watch whether further developments lead to any great war on a worldwide scale, but certainly this editor firmly supports the Russian intervention and desires the total destruction of the imperialist and fundamentalist forces. §§§

Editorial, 'ALL FUNDAMENTALISM DESPICABLE', in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 30 September 2015 issue, Vol. 11: Part 2, No. 18

ALL FUNDAMENTALISM DESPICABLE

Ya, not only bad but utterly despicable and vehemently condemnable. And good or bad, the word ‘fundamentalism’ is used nowadays only in the pejorative sense but not in any positive sense of imbibing the best values in the fundamentals of a religion/system, and so here too it is used in that sense only. If I am sick at some religious fundamentalist beheading an ‘enemy’ and exhibiting that on YouTube even, how can I be enamored by and worshipful towards a ‘goddess’ who not only beheads the ‘enemies’ but even flaunts a necklace of the cut-off heads? Because human sacrifices were not only permitted but also revered in many religious systems in the past and also cannibalism was prevalent in many tribes of the past and in the lore of the past [Bheema drinking the blood of Dusshasana!], can we condone or tolerate such things in the modern times? Obviously NOT! Of course, this would extend to condemning all animal sacrifices in the public too, though to condemn all animal slaughter may be too ahead of the day, since a majority of population, for good or bad, is non-vegetarian. However, it may be pointed out that in these times of scientific, technological revolution non-non-veg substitutes for non-veg foods are also coming out and tomorrow those may be the craze of the day and vanquish all animal killings even. That would be in conformity with non-cruelty and empathy with all living species. Wait, would the censure then extend to vegetarianism too since it is said trees and rocks may revolt saying ‘we too have life’! Frankly, ‘I donno’. Well, halting here, there is nothing wrong in any laws for banning/regulating cow/cattle slaughter in our country as it would be in right consonance with Article 48 of our Constitution. But would it extend to a total beef ban? No, not at present or in foreseeable future, and certainly even if banned, it would not be an offence punishable with death. So there the fundamentalists are again on the wrong and, also, don’t they know that the biggest beef exporters in India are Hindus?! Can anyone say killing and exporting meat of cows/cattle is OK, but killing and eating that here is bad? Then, another question arises as to whether expressing ideas about ‘good’s or ‘bad’s of cow-slaughter, etc. is also blasphemy and fit to be banned. Whether asking if a ‘prophet’ was really a prophet and whether he really hailed from a high caste or whether he was in fact a Hindu or outside the pale of Hinduism should be suppressed? Then, why Prof. Kalburgi was silenced by a roaring gun?     §§§

Editorial, "REFUGEE CRISIS OR ISLAMIC INVASION?", in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 September 2015 issue, Vol. 11: Part 2, No. 17

REFUGEE CRISIS OR ISLAMIC INVASION?

is the question posed by the Dutch far-right Party for Freedom leader Geert Wilders with reference to the now-agog ‘Syrian’ Muslim ‘refugee’ crisis transformed into a Long March to European countries. Netherlands is already troubled by the excesses of the asylum accorded/settled Muslim population in that country turning more and more fundamentalist and become a menace to the native population and cultural traditions there. People all over Europe have now come to think that ‘multiculturalism’ has come to play havoc and right extremism is growing everywhere. The danger and harm though are due to the Islamic extremists who are conducting themselves as per the Telugu saying “isunta rammanTea illantaa naadannaTlu - ఇసుంత రమ్మంటే ఇల్లంతా నాదన్నట్లు - (when given, out of compassion, a little space to stay, now claiming that the entire house is theirs)!” The followers of the ‘religion of peace’ are everywhere, especially in the West, conducting themselves so violently and aggressively trying to impose their sharia law that revulsion not only against them but also against the eccentric and blundering social-democrats and other leftists has grown very much there and no wonder if in the near future this would give rise to a series of ‘new crusades’ within Europe. Well, the rich Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain or comfortable ones like Iran and the former Soviet central Asian republics are looking after their own ‘security’ and not permitting any refugees, their own Muslim ‘kins’, into their lands. Natasha Fatah, courageous daughter of the intrepid radical Islamic critic Tarek Fatah, has exposed this hypocrisy and selfishness on the CBC News Network. Also most of the refugees seem to be young males, ready to vandalize and use violence everywhere, only about 20% really ‘Syrian’ and perhaps about 10% are ISIS supporters trying to infiltrate into, and then commit gory atrocities. So this Editor feels and advises that not a single such refugee be permitted into Europe, if necessary normal law processes be suspended, armies called out and all these be driven out forcefully; that let all such be accommodated in the thousands of empty [air-conditioned!] tents lying vacant in Saudi Arabia and if necessary let any countries render massive aid through U.N. Agencies. Otherwise, this Editor warns, the situation will go completely out of hand, lead to terrible battles in Europe and outside – deadly blows to all democracies and to world peace.  §§§

Editorial, "CONDEMN ALL JINGOISM!", in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 31 August 2015, Vol. 11: Part 2, No. 16

CONDEMN ALL JINGOISM!

Had Modi/Rajnath Singh/Manohar Parrikar seriously perused the sincere, honest and balanced account of the history of Indo-Pak War 1965 by Lt. General Harbaksh Singh, the man who commanded most of the war from the Western sector, perhaps they would have hesitated to declare August 28-September22 three-week long celebration of ‘Indian Victory’ in national arrogance and for whipping up jingoism among the children even, at the same time mouthing eulogies, every now and then, of Mahatma Gandhi as the messenger of peace! Or is it their exquisite expertise to talk in two tongues and act in two ways. Anyway, so many impartial observers and honest journalists on both sides of the border, as also a well researched Indian Army report, produced prior to coming to power of the Modi & Co., have all pointed out to the stalemate reached in the war, the international compulsions which led to declaration of cease fire and the short lived euphoria of victory (claimed by both parties!) with heavy losses of the junior leadership in the Indian Army coming to light and finally the loss of our own honest and selfless Premier at Tashkent in mysterious circumstances. A paragraph from Sri Harbaksh Singh’s War Despatches [quoted by Shekhar Gupta on Facebook] may be enough to expose the myth: “Measured purely in terms of material gains our achievements have been very modest. We occupied approximately 740 square miles of PAK territory when it was well within our capacity to expand our hold over a far greater stretch of enemy land. PAKISTAN’s fighting potential was considerably whittled down, but so was ours, though to a lesser degree. The enemy armour was only mauled instead of being crippled, which we could have done. On the other hand, our casualties in the officer cadre were staggering compared to those of PAKISTAN. The young officers earned a grim glorification but an enormous void was created in junior leadership.” And now Captain Amarinder Singh reveals that had it been not for Lt. General Harbaksh Singh’s courage and composure not to carry out Gen. J.N. Chaudhuri’s panicky order to withdraw all our forces to the east of Beas River, we could have lost Amritsar and faced an ignominious defeat comparable to the 1962 debacle! Certainly, there is no sense at all in celebrating such stupid and cruel enterprises of human massacres. §§§

Editorial, "DAY TO CELEBRATE OR MOURN?" in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 August 2015 issue, Vol. 11, Part 2, No. 15.

DAY TO CELEBRATE OR MOURN?

In the columns of this journal, dismay was often expressed at selecting and celebrating 15 August as the Indian Independence Day whereas the real celebrations should be to mark 26 January which was, ever since 1930, the fighting day for freedom of India from the British clutches. Also attention of the readers was drawn to the enormous genocides and destruction of ‘stuff and soul’ perpetrated on and subsequent to that day in the Indian subcontinent due to the criminal negligence of the British imperialists coupled with the crafty and selfish greed of the Indian (including Pakistani) political leaders at the helm in those days. The villain of the piece was of course Lord Mountbatten, actively assisted by Nehru and Patel whose hankering for power was incredible. Having ‘deputed’ the ‘one-man army of Mahatma Gandhi’ to look after the law and order situation in the Eastern part, which fortunately remained relatively quite calm, the cruel imperialists and their Indian vassals did not even arrange for adequate military protection to the people of the West who were divided into conflicting communities that were already seething with rage and revenge mentality against each other. Interestingly, while the then British Premier Clement Atlee had in his historic declaration to ‘Quit India’ gave time till June 1948, it was the last Viceroy and first Governor-General of India who advanced the date very arbitrarily, instinctively at a press conference, as he later confessed to the authors of ‘Freedom at Midnight’, just because it was the D-Day of Japanese surrender in World War II that followed the biggest genocidal acts in history by the American imperialists dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki quite wantonly and inhumanly. Incidentally, it was to be the first independence day for both India and Pakistan as per the Indian Independence Act 1947 and in fact the first two independence days were celebrated on 15 August only in Pakistan too. Hindu astrologers denounced it as an inauspicious day and so it seems the time was advanced to the midnight of 14 August, but all the same their ‘prognoses came true’! Well, anyway, this editor treats 15 August tantamount to a Mourning Day, which may at the best be marked as a Day for communal harmony. §§§

Editorial, "ONE EYE FOR MANY EYES", in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 31 July 2015 issue, Vol. 11, Part 2, No. 14.

ONE EYE FOR MANY EYES

Was it nothing but the much-reviled practice of ‘tit for tat: eye for eye’ about which Mahatma Gandhi quipped that it would make the whole world blind; or was it just the correct, though much-delayed, operation of the ‘rule of law’ bringing to book the culprits of the gory Bombay Blasts – a meticulously planned and perpetrated mayhem resulting in  257 dead and about 700 injured on 12 March 1993: most of it allegedly planned from the Al-Hussaini Building, Mahim, home of the Memons. Though the main accused Dawood Ibrahim, the mastermind, and Tiger Memon, the real man in command, are still at large, lavishly spending their lives under the protective wings of Pakistan, Memon’s brother Yakub Memon, who is convicted for distributing the funds, arranging for the travel to and training of bomb/grenade handlers at Pakistan, and also for distributing grenades to local agents, etc. but who is said to have surrendered to the CBI on 28 July 1994 “to help the investigating authorities and clear the stigma on … family (in his own words)” could not escape the rigors of law and was at last hanged in  the morning of 30 July 2015 amidst high sensational real life drama. Former Supreme Court Justice and now Press Council Chairman, Justice Katju stood in the forefront of thousands of dissenters, accusing the country’s governance system of a travesty of justice, mainly due to this death sentence being possible only because of the much reviled, protested and let lapse draconian law – TADA – which reversed the burden of proof and also made confessions to the police officers admissible, as against the deep-rooted, near universal, jurisprudence of presumption of innocence of the accused and non-admissibility of confessions to a police officer. In this detail we agree with Justice Katju but cannot find much fault with the Apex Court and the judicial system of lapses in adhering to the rule of ‘law as existing’. However, statesmanship and foresight seem to be clearly absent in the present and past rulers [Afzal Guru’s was a similar, but worse, case] who take to such unnecessary/undesirable measures fraught with dangerous consequences, forgetting the wisdom of the ages, embodied in our cultural traditions too, that often mercy and compassion win the war of minds and avert deadly clashes of arms. §§§

Editorial, 'RELIGION, SUPERSTITION AND STAMPEDES' in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 July 2015 issue, Vol. 11, Part 2, No. 13.

RELIGION, SUPERSTITION AND STAMPEDES

Resisting the temptation to declare all religion as mere superstition, we are constrained to note, however, that every religion stands on the basis of a bundle of superstitions at least. To see ‘God’ in river waters too may be a broad religious concept, a mere belief. But to declare that it manifests once in 12 years and that to the maximum only once in 144 years, and then a dip in the waters at particular time on a particular day at a specific ghat is the most redeeming trait, etc. are certainly superstitions with no basis of rational thinking. That even a highly educated chief minister succumbed to such superstitions and promoted all sorts of disinformation aided by blind-thinking interpretative scholars is highly detestable in a secular setup. That this false propaganda, together with the greed and craze for fame of that person to grab all attention and media coverage in the very first hours of starting the Pushkaralu at a very crowded ghat and preventing all other public entry for hours together for his own luxury and VVIP security, and then suddenly releasing the floodgates for a human sea surge without the least thought of consequences, have resulted in an untold tragedy of loss of about 30 lives in a gruesome stampede is so shocking to, and certainly condemnable by, one and all. True, stampedes in India, and the world, are not that uncommon; nor are they confined to occasions of any particular religion or merely to religious events even. Salient crowd management techniques have also been formulated to contain the dangers and minimize the losses in this regard but here it seems the flouting of safety guidelines was due to the zeal for self-trumpeting propaganda, like proposing to release the ‘heavenly capital’ seed plan at the same city within 2-3 days of the tragedy, and also indicates criminal negligence of the concerned CM too. Actually he should have owned up moral responsibility and resigned forthwith, as did the great Shastriji, then Union Railway Minister, decades back when a railway accident occurred. Also, it is quite desirable, albeit  may be too much to expect, that a conscientious superior court should forthwith take suo motu cognizance of, and order a comprehensive inquiry into the tragedy, so that the responsible can be brought to book and strict instructions issued to prevent recurrence of such mishaps.    §§§