Editorial, TERRIBLE BLOW: TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES, in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 31 July 2013 issue. Vol. 9, Pt. 2, No. 14.

TERRIBLE BLOW: TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES

The decisions by the UPA Coordination Committee as well as the Congress Working Committee to grant statehood to Telangana region by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh is no doubt a terrible blow to the dreams-come-true Telugu unity state and is fraught with tragic consequences not only to the Telugu community but also to the entire people of the country. Obviously, the decisions have been taken in haste out of base electoral considerations keeping in view the forthcoming general elections by a ruling party and ruling coalition which have but a slender majority in the Parliament and unfortunately not only the separatists but even the so-called integrationists among several parties were guided by unethical and greedy considerations of power and pelf rather than the interests of Telugu people in particular or Indians in general. Though it appears as a closed chapter now and the division of the state is going to be certain, there are yet optimistic persons dedicated to the good of the state/the country who yet think that the steps taken by the ruling party/coalition are still retractable and strongly feel that in any case no ruling party/government should take such disastrous decisions in such hurry in the run for political power, especially when the general elections are round the corner. There is a powerful and popular backlash to these decisions and moves in the so-called seemandhra region and though it is not certain how long that is going to continue and how far pressurize the ruling party/coalition to rethink their decisions, yet it is an indicator to the immense discontent of Telugu people and the imperative need for the ruling party/coalition to postpone their moves till the next general elections are over to reconsider the problems more minutely. Especially, they should table the Srikrishna Committee Report and cause an in-depth discussion of its contents in both Houses of the Parliament to prepare for whatever government comes to power next to be able to take wise and as-far-as-possible-consensual decisions on this intricate problem rather than giving rise to all-round anarchy for their selfish ends – it must be noted that deleterious fissiparous movements like the Gorkhaland, Vidarbha, Bodoland agitations have sprung up again immediately on the announcement of these calamitous decisions, which does not bode well for the unity, integrity and destiny of the nation. §§§

Editorial: "Electoral Rights: Apex Blunders" in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 15 July 2013, Vol. 9, Part 2, No. 13 issue.

ELECTORAL RIGHTS: APEX BLUNDERS

No hesitation we have to say that our Supreme Court has seriously blundered in two recent decisions – 1. a judgment against the statutory right of elected representatives to continue in post till their appeals against convictions have been disposed of and 2. an order against not only statutory but also  basic rights of prisoners, convicts or under-trials – as regards their electoral rights, thus upsetting the longstanding right enjoyed by prisoners to contest elections from prisons and thus actively participate in the democratic political process. The former, praised by several persons including civil rights activists, on the mistaken belief that the Apex Court has acted as a democratic cleanser in denying undue privileges accorded to undeserving MLAs/MPs by Parliament, may be rejected on the simple ground that when a constitution bench of the Court had earlier given detailed reasons to support, if not technically rule on the validity of, the provision and explained the need for such a right, it was not proper for the learned two judges to interfere in the matter, and they should have, in all humility, left it to another constitution bench for final decision. But the second order, very cryptic, is more lamentable, devoid of any proper discussion and extends the bar of electoral rights to even under-trials who are to be presumed innocent till proven guilty. The Court failed to note that great national leaders were elected from prisons when they were convicts/under-trials; in fact the strategy of the Irish Sinn Féin movement was to ‘vote them in, to get them out’; Netaji was elected to Calcutta Mayoralty in 1930 when he was a convict prisoner; and many such elections of jailed leaders post-independence. Also convicts are granted electoral rights in many developed democracies – “In Canada and South Africa, the courts have struck down legislation disenfranchising prisoners and thus there are no current restrictions on a prisoner’s right to vote ... In Europe … 18 countries allow prisoners to vote without restriction …” The ECtHR decision published in this issue clarifies that even convict prisoners should have voting rights, which of course could be limited by law but only in a manner proportionate and fair. As such we very much regret this unwise decision pronounced without a detailed study and discussion of various aspects of law and fact and history, and we hope both these constrictive and harmful-to-democracy decisions would be forthwith stayed and then overruled by a constitution bench on review or the Government of India itself proceed to make necessary statutory/constitutional changes to assert the electoral rights of prisoners and of legislators as regards their appealed convictions §§§

Co Nara Bahadur Karmacharya Died 2070 4 9 [24-07-2013] - Our glowing tributes to him.

EWTS 2013 Taslima Nasrin on empowering women through secularism - Kudos Taslima!

Editorial "ECODAMAGE AGGRAVATES CALAMITIES" in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 30 June 2013 issue, Vol. 9, Part 1, No. 12

ECODAMAGE AGGRAVATES CALAMITIES

The pictures above show the havoc wrought by recent Uttarakhand floods, and the innovative efficiency and dedicated service of the relief workers, especially the Army soldiers in India or China in such situations. But the point remains whether this calamity that has gulped thousands of lives and destroyed crores of properties was entirely natural, whether it was wholly unforeseen or was reasonably predictable. In June 2008 when Professor G.D. Agarwal embarked on a fast unto death in protest against building big dams in the Himalayan region, we had editorially warned that Damming the Ganges could be quite dangerous to the fragile ecosystems of the region with calamitous consequences for the people and that this relatively recent geographical formation in creational timescale could not possibly endure such human tampering. Several environmentalists/social activists have been vehemently protesting and agitating against such ‘rape of nature’ in the sensitive mountainous and riverbed regions, and 2 years ago Swami Nigamanand sacrificed his life in an indefinite fast to protest the rampant stone crushing and strip mining in the region. But, the grisly greed for profits exacerbated by the capitalist globalization processes has overridden all such protests and agitations to continue indulging in catastrophic constructions/destructions in the region thereby upsetting all the natural defences to any such unforeseen ravages of nature. We agree with Mr. K.V. Raman [DNA News Agency] that “the catastrophe that struck … is an instance of what occurs if nature is exploited beyond what it can endure. The monsoon arrived early and came down heavily. But the destruction was the outcome of the damage done by man. Illegal constructions on the banks of the rivers and on mountain slopes have proliferated, … within a fragile eco-zone. In spite of repeated warnings, real estate activity and tourism has been allowed without restraint.  Over the past few years, numerous dams and hydroelectric projects have been constructed that have also put additional pressure on the natural system. …the Alaknanda and Mandakini carried whatever was in their path; houses and hotels, roads and bridges … were washed away within minutes. This is a grim lesson from which we must learn to curb the activities that interfere with the environment.” The lesson to be learnt is clear and critical: “Live harmoniously with Nature or Die in disasters and disgrace!” §§§

DAMOCRACY The Movie (English) - the hazards of big dams depicted forcefully

Editorial "CHANGE THE WORLD, SAVE THE PLANET" in 15-31 May 2013 issue, Vol. 9, Part 1, Nos. 9-10 of LAW ANIMATED WORLD

CHANGE THE WORLD, SAVE THE PLANET!

Yes, to save our planet from utter ruin (terracide) by the current capitalist industrialization processes and social systems, it is essential to change the world i.e. the modes of production, distribution and governance presently oppressing the world people. On this depends even the survival of our Mother Earth – the only planet in the universe known to generate and support any bio-species. As in case of all progressive movements, which till date have recorded significant successes in achieving basic human rights and civil liberties for the people in general, it is the working classes of the world who have to stand and fight in the forefront of the struggle for such a crucial change. As Marx and Engels declared long back, working classes cannot liberate themselves except by liberating the whole society from the trammels of the suffocating capitalist order and ultimately obliterating their own existence for the emergence of a classless society of cooperating individuals. The present trend of hazardous industrialization and greedy profiteering processes have brought ruin to the ecosystems in the world and given rise to the dangerous climate change phenomena threatening the very existence of the life systems. In this background, everywhere among the most progressive sections, the concept of eco-socialism is gaining ground. It sees the ultimate welfare of the humankind in harmonious living with all other bio-species and on the destruction of the inhumanly greedy capitalist globalization processes by fully protecting the rights of the Mother Earth and of all humans as dignified individuals. The importance of such an initiative and struggle by the people is once again underscored by the recent Occupy-Gezi protests in Taksim Square, Istanbul which started as righteous protests by a few individuals against the razing of the Gezi Park but have now snowballed into an immense mass movement encompassing lakhs of people from not only the working classes but several other sections of the society, fighting for the protection of their environmental wellbeing as also for the destruction of the oppressive capitalist systems. We wish every success to the Turkish people as also the people of the world in this and such other seminal struggles §§§