RTI for neta, babu and his honour too!

When it comes to shying away from RTI, each self-proclaimed arm of Democracy seems to prove coy than the other. The PMO, the CJI,...now the Central Information Commissioner declared that Judges need to make their assets just like the MPs and MLA, so what does the Supreme Court do? Get a stay ordered by a High Court (!!) against the order. Even worse the High Court Judge gives a value lesson, 'don't treat us like you treat politicians', whatever does that mean!? Is he saying that he is a superior species? Judges have been rather high on the value pronouncements in recent years, but, this takes the cake. The Judge says, declaration of assets could put the Judge under pressure! How so? Beats me. These gentlemen have government paid security to guard them, red top cars to carry them around, half a working day to ensure they don't doze off and an annual holiday that would make a primary school kid blush. 

With so many privileges being granted to them from the tax-payer money, there is no accountability as to what are they delivering to the nation. We read year after year about the piling up of cases and under-trials spending long months and years in custody. We have no performance indicators, monitoring mechanism or annual balance sheet as to what these revenue drains deliver to the nation. Now, here is a regulatory mechanism through which at least the public can get to know how much these gentlemen possess (not that it would matter if they did their job well and the public is satisfied with them) to keep themselves entertained while waiting for justice in the courts of these gentlemen, and, they feel offended!!

'Don't treat judges like politicians on assets issue'

"Public interest standards for the judiciary have to be different from other institutions. So judges have to be treated differently from people's representative on the issue (declaration of assets)," justice S Ravindra Bhat said. He was responding to a Right to Information (RTI) applicant who contended that judges should declare their assets like MPs and MLAs. It may be noted that the Supreme Court itself held in the Justice Veeraswamy corruption case that apex courtjudges are public servants. 

Congress Manifesto - small as a commercial break! and as meaningful!!

Having written about the Communist manifesto, I thought let me follow all the manifestoes released. The Congress released its manifesto earlier this evening. Seems to have been written by a young intern in an advertising agency with the scope defined as 'write anti-BJP, pro-Congress campaign material in English', the english barely manages to remain that. BJP is repeated a fewer times than Congress, the BJP should feel flattered! The put up dismissal of Third Front may prove costly. History, Common Sense, dwelling deeply in any issue and roots of any philosophy is given a go by.  This is an extended jingle written by someone who has been fed only on mass media based issues and televised earlier jingles of Congress party. 

Nuclear Deal and Elections 2009: The CPIM position

The CPI-M was the most articulate party opposing the Indi-US Nuclear Deal in 2007. At that time I had put together a series of posts on the Deal and its consequences (link), and even thought that the clarity of the commies was exemplary leadership (link).


However, their 2009 Election manifesto is damp squib on the Nuclear Deal. In a scenario description part (Section I of their document) on the state of affairs today that runs to 13 pages, the Nuclear Deal is in page 8 as a built up to explaining away their withdrawal of support to the Congress government. Even in their promises, they are moderate now, their manifesto reads, 'reviewing and reworking of 123 agreement...', the kind of statement that was used by BJP during the debate on the Nuclear Deal. However, having placed the communal issue on top of the Nuclear Deal in their manifesto, they cannot join hands with the BJP to do it, so, in effect, the CPIM has all but washed its hands off as the leader of anti-Nuclear Deal. Unfortunate that the political parties seem to have even lesser memory than the public. 

Death of the Indian Village or another failed World Bank pronouncement?

Recent World Bank pronouncement that development is best if it were to  increasing Urbanization and Migration to urban areas, has come as no surprise. If the Bank will have its way, India should stop worrying about its villages and start concentrating on the urban areas. So, schemes such as NREGA that seem to promise minimum wages against jobs and asset creation in villages is waste of resources. Though I don't exactly accept the current formulation of NREGA (you can check out my take about it here), I think the Bank has just written its will. 


Government of India has been a sucker for WB projects and pronouncements, so what does this pronouncement (and its timing, just when the political parties are releasing their poll manifesto) imply to our politicians and bureaucrats? Would they re-align their priorities and policies with the WB recommendation? Will they know-tow the WB agenda? Would they also say, that the Indian village should die now? 


Indian village as  a backward and unnecessary appendage to the urban based and globally connected developed India is not a new discovery, Marx said it ages back, others influenced by his thought did think so both in India and from the West. Colonizers wrote theories on it, when free, we tried to base many policies on it. The debate is whether WB dictated mega-cities are the future of India or does the idea of Indian village still valid? We will see some interesting response to the WB I do hope, most importantly from the political parties. 

On the politics of 'Slumdog' India...

Two recent articles that I have read have both pointed to the debate around Slumdog Millionaire. In a recent interview, actor Nasuruddin Shah comments that 'it is not an Indian movie' and there is nothing much for us to rejoice. Earlier, Ustad Zakir Hussain too had made a comment saying that now the Hollywood movies have to be sold in India, so, makes sense if Indians win Oscars. Ofcourse, he hastened to add that that does not take the credit from Rahman or other Indians and their talents.  Others including director Priyadarshan and Amitabh Bachan have expressed apprehensions on the movie itself or rather the politics of it.  


Now of the two interesting reviews - 
1. Religion, Marxism and Slumdog in this mornings Indian Express by Frncis Gautier
http://epaper.newindpress.com/NE/NE/2009/03/16/ArticleHtmls/16_03_2009_011_002.shtml?Mode=1



2. The Missionary Position in Tehelka by Tarun Tejpal, whom I have come to regard as one of the best Indian writers in English today
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=hub070309the_missionary.asp



Both talk of trivialising the Indian reality through western presentation in their own way. The Oscars are not connected to this, but, they do in a way. But, for me most interesting is the politics of the presentation of Indian Slums, humans, dogs, et al. 

Kiran Bedi proposes community informal courts

I found the following news item quite interesting. 

Community Informal Courts so much like what prevails in most parts of the country as 'community / caste courts'. The institutions have not been recognized by the legal system and have always been seen as a threat. However, it cannot be denied that they have faster justice dispensing mechanism and the judgement is implemented without much ado. It would be interesting to track responses to this statement, particularly from the practitioners of law, whose careers would be the most directly threatened. 

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Kiran Bedi proposes community informal courts

New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) Police officer-turned-TV anchor Kiran Bedi Thursday proposed informal courts for communities like Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) to resolve small issues amicably without being dragged to higher courts.

'Whether it's a fight over parking space or losing your pet dog, you run to the police for every small thing. The police is already so overburdened with terrorism and crime cases, and such cases simply add to their burden,' said Bedi, the first woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.

'To solve such cases promptly and amicably between parties without dragging them to higher courts, RWAs should set up their own Lok Adalats (people's courts),' Bedi told reporters here.

'In fact, I think colleges and even schools should start having their own Lok Adalats to solve problems,' said Bedi, who anchors a popular TV show on Star Plus, 'Aap Ki Kacheri', an alternate dispute redressal forum.

Bedi said it should be taken care that the panel in such informal courts should consist of 'an elderly citizen, a woman and a youth to give a balanced judgement'.

'Also the panel should change at regular intervals to ensure no partiality of justice,' she suggested.

Bedi was here to announce the second innings of 'Aap Ki Kacheri'.

The show sees parties involved in domestic disputes come forth and put their points across to Bedi who encourages a discussion to reach a conclusion. In its first season as an alternate dispute redressal forum, the show saw 52 cases being resolved.

source: http://newshopper.sulekha.com/newsitem/iansnews/2009/03/kiran-bedi-proposes-community-informal-courts.htm