Saturday, January 8, 2011

India Against Corruption

Dear Friends:

Given below is a great message for all of us - from all walks of life and of all age groups.

 

It reminds us of our sacred duty towards our motherland. This is not an ordinary message.

 

You have to appreciate that Mr Arvind Kejriwal, a young man in his thirties or so and an IITian who quit his otherwise top-of-the-shelf job as Assistant Commissioner Income Tax with Government of India to take up his fight against corruption and Right to Information, is one of the forces behind the current crusade against corruption.

 

His appeal below is self explanatory. He and other stalwarts mentioned in his appeal are giving us the WAKE UP CALL. Please go through the text below and join the crusade against corruption. Give the contents a wide publicity so that like minded people join the march on 30 January 2011. God bless the stalwarts - Baba Ram Dev ji to Kiran Bedi to Arvind Kejriwal - and God bless you so that you too make a decision now as to how you and me can support the Cause that needs attention sooner than one can perceive.

 

JAI HIND.

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: 31 December 2010 15:25
Subject: India Against Corruption

India Marches Against Corruption

 

Thousands of people will take to streets to demand effective anti-corruption law

 

J M Lyngdoh, Swami Agnivesh, Kiran Bedi, Anna Hazare, Prashant Bhushan, Most Reverend Vincent M Concessao Archbishop of Delhi and others will march from Ramlila Grounds to Jantar Mantar on 30th January, the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, at 1 pm to demand enactment of a law to set up an effective anti-corruption body called Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta in each state (the existing Lokayukta Acts are weak and ineffective).

 

Kiran Bedi, Justice Santosh Hegde, Prashant Bhushan, J M Lyngdoh and others have drafted this Bill. Please visit our site for full text of this Bill. A nation wide movement called “India Against Corruption” has been started by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Ramdev, Swami Agnivesh, Most Reverend Vincent M Concessao Archbishop of Delhi, Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal, Anna Hazare, Devinder Sharma, Sunita Godara, Mallika Sarabhai and many others to persuade government to enact this Bill.

 

Mrs Sonia Gandhi recently announced that Lokpal would be set up. However, the Lokpal suggested by the government is only a showpiece. It will have jurisdiction over politicians but not bureaucrats, as if politicians and bureaucrats indulge in corruption separately. And the most interesting part is that like other anti-corruption bodies in our country, the government is making Lokpal also an advisory body. So, Lokpal will recommend to the government to prosecute its ministers. Will any prime minister have the political courage to do that?

 

Please participate in large numbers in this march to persuade the government to enact the Bill drafted by the people. Please turn overleaf to read how this Bill will help in effectively checking corruption.

 

Can India turn around?

 

There was much worse corruption in Hong Kong in 1970s than we have in India today. Collusion between police and mafia increased and crime rate went up. Lakhs of people came on the streets. As a result, the government had to set up an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), which was given complete powers. In the first instance, ICAC sacked 119 out of 180 police officers. This sent a strong message to the bureaucracy that corruption would not be tolerated. Today, Hong Kong has one of the most honest governance machinery.

 

India can also turn around if we also had similar anti-corruption body. Hong Kong government enacted ICAC Bill because lakhs of people came on streets.

Join the march on 30th January (Assembly at 1 pm at Ramlila Ground)

 

If you plan to join or volunteer with us, do call us 9717460029 

 

How will the Lokpal Bill drafted by citizens help curb corruption?

Existing System

Proposed System

No politician or senior officer ever goes to jail despite huge evidence because Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) and CBI directly come under the government. Before starting investigation or initiating prosecution in any case, they have to take permission from the same bosses, against whom the case has to be investigated.

Lokpal at centre and Lokayukta at state level will be independent bodies. ACB and CBI will be merged into these bodies. They will have power to initiate investigations and prosecution against any officer or politician without needing anyone’s permission. Investigation should be completed within 1 year and trial to get over in next 1 year. Within two years, the corrupt should go to jail.

No corrupt officer is dismissed from the job because Central Vigilance Commission, which is supposed to dismiss corrupt officers, is only an advisory body. Whenever it advises government to dismiss any senior corrupt officer, its advice is never implemented.

Lokpal and Lokayukta will have complete powers to order dismissal of a corrupt officer. CVC and all departmental vigilance will be merged into Lokpal and state vigilance will be merged into Lokayukta.

No action is taken against corrupt judges because permission is required from the Chief Justice of India to even register an FIR against corrupt judges.

Lokpal & Lokayukta shall have powers to investigate and prosecute any judge without needing anyone’s permission.

Nowhere to go - People expose corruption but no action is taken on their complaints.

Lokpal & Lokayukta will have to enquire into and hear every complaint.

There is so much corruption within CBI and vigilance departments. Their functioning is so secret that it encourages corruption within these agencies. 

All investigations in Lokpal & Lokayukta shall be transparent. After completion of investigation, all case records shall be open to public.  Complaint against any staff of Lokpal & Lokayukta shall be enquired and punishment announced within two months.

Weak and corrupt people are appointed as heads of anti-corruption agencies.

Politicians will have absolutely no say in selections of Chairperson and members of Lokpal & Lokayukta. Selections will take place through a transparent and public participatory process.

Citizens face harassment in government offices. Sometimes they are forced to pay bribes. One can only complaint to senior officers. No action is taken on complaints because senior officers also get their cut.

Lokpal & Lokayukta will get public grievances resolved in time bound manner, impose a penalty of Rs 250 per day of delay to be deducted from the salary of guilty officer and award that amount as compensation to the aggrieved citizen.

Nothing in law to recover ill gotten wealth. A corrupt person can come out of jail and enjoy that money.

Loss caused to the government due to corruption will be recovered from all accused.

Small punishment for corruption- Punishment for corruption is minimum 6 months and maximum 7 years.

Enhanced punishment - The punishment would be minimum 5 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Us:

India Against Corruption

A-119, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad – 201010, UP. Ph: 09717460029 Email: indiaagainstcorruption.2010@gmail.com

www.indiaagainstcorruption.org

 

Nalanda and the pursuit of science by Prof.Amartya Sen

The subject of this talk is Nalanda and the pursuit of science, but before I go into that rather complex issue, I must say something about Nalanda itself, since it is still an obscure entity for most people in the world. Since the university is being, right now, re-established under a joint Asian initiative, the fact that Nalanda was a very ancient university is becoming better known. But how does it compare with other old universities in the world?

Well, what is the oldest university in the world? In answering this question, one's mind turns to Bologna, initiated in 1088, to Paris in 1091, and to other old citadels of learning, including of course Oxford University which was established in 1167, and Cambridge in 1209. Where does Nalanda fit into this picture? “Nowhere” is the short answer if we are looking for a university in continuous existence.

Nalanda was violently destroyed in an Afghan attack, led by the ruthless conqueror, Bakhtiyar Khilji, in 1193, shortly after the beginning of Oxford University and shortly before the initiation of Cambridge. Nalanda university, an internationally renowned centre of higher education in India, which was established in the early fifth century, was ending its continuous existence of more than seven hundred years as Oxford and Cambridge were being founded, and even compared with the oldest European university, Bologna, Nalanda was more than six hundred years old, when Bologna was born. Had it not been destroyed and had it managed to survive to our time, Nalanda would be, by a long margin, the oldest university in the world. Another distinguished university, which did not stay in existence continuously either, viz. Al-Azhar University in Cairo, with which Nalanda is often compared, was established at a time, 970 AD, when Nalanda was already more than five hundred years old.

That is enough vaunting of age (as you know, in India we take age quite seriously), and I hope you have got the point: we are talking about the oldest university in the world by a long margin, that is, if we do not insist on continuous existence. The university is being re-started right now, and since I happen to have the difficult task of chairing its interim governing body, I am finding out how hard it is to re-establish a university after an 800 year hiatus. But we are getting there. This meeting here gives me an opportunity to recollect the pursuit of science in old Nalanda which will inspire and guide our long-run efforts in new Nalanda. I say long run, because mainly for cost reasons — indeed entirely for cost reasons — we cannot start the science faculties immediately (physical and biological sciences cost much more money than the humanities and the social sciences do). The recollection — and more challengingly, assessment — of the scientific tradition in old Nalanda are important right now, partly because we have to start thinking about the long run (even as we try to raise money for initiation and expansion), but also because a scientific attitude and disciplined thought are important for the entire conception of new Nalanda, including the teaching of — and research in — humanities (such as history, languages and linguistics, and comparative religion), as well as the social sciences and the world of practice (such as international relations, management and development, and information technology).

Let me identify a few questions about the pursuit of science in Nalanda. First, was the old Nalanda sufficiently large to be a factor in whatever pursuit it might have been championing? Was it not merely a drop in an ocean of superstition and ignorance that some people see as the characteristic feature of the Indian old world: you only have to read James Mill's “History of India,” which was obligatory reading for all British civil servants sent off to run the Raj, to see how firm and politically important this conception of the past was in keeping modern India in check.

Well, Nalanda was an old centre of learning that attracted students from many countries in the world, particularly China and Tibet, Korea and Japan, and the rest of Asia, but a few also from as far in the west as Turkey. Nalanda, a residential university, had at its peak 10,000 students, studying various subjects. Chinese students in particular, such as Xuanzang and Yi Jing in the seventh century, wrote extensively on what they saw and what they particularly admired about the educational standards in Nalanda. Incidentally, Nalanda is the only non-Chinese institution in which any Chinese scholar was educated in the history of ancient China.

It is also important to recognise that while Nalanda was very special, it was still a part of a larger tradition of organised higher education that developed in that period in India — in Bihar in particular. In addition to Nalanda, there were in the vicinity other such institutions, such as Vikramshila and Odantapuri. Indeed, Xuangzang wrote about them too, even though he himself studied in Nalanda. There was a larger social culture to which Nalanda belonged, and this is important to recollect in thinking about the tradition of Nalanda.

The second question to ask is the difficult one about the room for science in what was after all a religious institution. Nalanda was a Buddhist foundation, as were Vikramshila and Odantapuri, and surely the central focus of these institutions were studies of Buddhist philosophy and practice. The point to remember here is that by the nature of the philosophy of Buddha, whose focus of preaching was on enlightenment (the name given to Gautama, viz Buddha, itself means “enlightened”), there was a basic epistemic and ethical curiosity in the tradition of intellectual Buddhism that sought knowledge in many different fields. Some of the fields were directly related to Buddhist commitments, such as medicine and healthcare; others went with the development and dissemination of Buddhist culture, such as architecture and sculpture; and still others linked Buddhist intellectual queries with interest in analytical discipline.

Let me comment briefly on the last — not specifically with reference to Nalanda, but as a way of understanding better the Buddhist intellectual impact. One of the connections on which evidence of intellectual connections between China and India is plentiful is the impact of Buddhists in general, and of adherents of Tantric Buddhism in particular, on Chinese mathematics and astronomy in the seventh and eighth centuries, in the Tang period. Yi Jing, who was a student of Nalanda, and to whom I referred earlier, was one of many translators of Tantric texts from Sanskrit into Chinese. Tantrism became a major force in China in the seventh and eighth centuries, and had followers among Chinese intellectuals of the highest standing. Since many Tantric scholars had a deep interest in mathematics (perhaps connected, at least initially, with Tantric fascination with numbers), Tantric mathematicians had a significant influence on Chinese mathematics as well.

Indeed, as Joseph Needham notes, “the most important Tantrist was I-Hsing (+672 to +717), the greatest Chinese astronomer and mathematician of his time.” Needham goes on to remark that “this fact alone should give us pause, since it offers a clue to the possible significance of this form of Buddhism for all kinds of observational and experimental sciences.” Yi Xing (or I-Hsing, to use Needham's spelling), who was in fact never a student of Nalanda, but belonged to a tradition of which Nalanda was one of the results, was fluent in Sanskrit. (I request the audience to be careful of the distinction between Yi Xing, the mathematician, and Yi Jing, the intellectual trained in Nalanda, who was, among other things, interested in medicine.) As a Buddhist monk, Yi Xing was familiar with the Indian religious literature, but he had acquired a great expertise also on Indian writings on mathematics and astronomy. Despite his own religious connection, it would be a mistake to assume that Yi Xing's mathematical or scientific work was somehow motivated by religious concerns. As a general mathematician who happened to be also a Tantrist, Yi Xing dealt with a variety of analytical and computational problems, many of which had no particular connection with Tantrism or Buddhism at all. The combinatorial problems tackled by Yi Xing included such classic ones as “calculating the total number of possible situations in chess.” Yi Xing was particularly concerned with calendrical calculations, and even constructed, on imperial order, a new calendar for China.

Calendrical studies in which Indian astronomers located in China in the eighth century, along with Yi Xing, were particularly involved, made good use of the progress of trigonometry that had already occurred in India by then (going much beyond the original Greek roots of Indian trigonometry). The movement east of Indian trigonometry to China was a part of a global exchange of ideas that also went West around that time. Indeed, this was also about the time when Indian trigonometry was having a major impact on the Arab world (with widely used Arabic translations of the works of Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Brahmagupta and others), which would later influence European mathematics as well, through the Arabs (Gherardo of Cremona would make the first Latin translation of Arab mathematical texts that reported on Indian work in 1150, just before the time when Nalanda would come to its sudden end).

It is this general intellectual animation, including animation in analytical and scientific questions, that we have to appreciate in interpreting what was going on in old Nalanda. I take the liberty of mentioning here that it is not, of course, unique to Nalanda that as a religious foundation, it nevertheless pursued general intellectual and scientific studies the products of which were of great interest also to people who were not religious, or did not share the religion of the foundations involved. Isaac Newton was religious — indeed very mystically oriented — and while he revolutionised the nature of physics, mathematics and optics, he had no problem with his (and, as it happens, mine and Venky Ramakrishnan's) college's (that is Trinity's) the-then religiosity, and did not raise the kind of questions about compatibility that some later Trinity-men, like Henry Sidgwick, would with powerful arguments. The mixture of religion and science was by no means unique to Nalanda, and to illustrate with another example, it was the Christian university of Padua — one of the earliest of the extant universities in the world — that produced Galileo Galilei. (I was, incidentally amused when, while receiving an honorary doctorate at Padua, I heard Paul Ricoeur, another recipient, chastising the University of Padua for not standing up sufficiently for Galileo. Ricoeur's arguments were impeccable, though it seemed a little unfair to blame the current Rector of Padua for Padua's lack of support for Galileo.) To what extent such conflict arose in Nalanda, I do not know, but as more documents come to light, we may well find out whether there were tensions in the relation between science and religion in Nalanda. What is, however, absolutely clear is that this Buddhist foundation made much room for the pursuit of analytical and scientific subjects within the campus of Nalanda university.

A third question concerns the subjects that were actually taught in Nalanda. Here we do have a problem, since the documents in Nalanda were indiscriminatingly burnt by Bakhtiyar and his conquering army. We have to rely therefore of the accounts of students of Nalanda who wrote about what they had seen, and given the reticence of Indians to write about history (a subject of interest in itself), we have to rely mostly on the accounts of outsiders who did not share that reticence, such as Xuangzang and Yi Jing. We do know that among the subjects taught, and on which there was on-going research, were medicine, public health, architecture, sculpture, and astronomy, in addition to religion, history, law and linguistics.

What about mathematics? As it happens the Chinese chroniclers from Nalanda, such as Yi Jing and Xuangzang, were not involved in mathematical studies. Those in China who were deeply involved in Indian mathematics, such as Yi Xing, did not train in Nalanda. There may have been others, in India or China or elsewhere, from Nalanda who were involved in mathematics (a subject that was flourishing in India in this period) and whose documents have been lost. However, we do know, from Indian accounts, that logic was a subject that was taught in Nalanda, and my guess is that eventually evidence would emerge on this part of the curriculum in Nalanda as well.

Further indirect evidence in the direction of the presence of mathematics in Nalanda curriculum was the inclusion of astronomy in Nalanda. Xuangzang comments on that, and refers elegantly to the observational tower that seemed to rest among the cloudy fog high up, and provided an eye-catching sight in the Nalanda campus. In that period the progresses in Indian and Chinese astronomy were closely linked with developments with mathematics, particularly trigonometry. Indeed, all the Indian experts that the Chinese brought to China for astronomical work were mathematicians (one of these Indian mathematicians became the Director of the official Board of Astronomy of China in the 8th century). We do not know enough about the ancestry of the Indian mathematicians who went to China to decide whether any of them had Nalanda connections, but we do know that from early fifth century Kusumpur, in nearby Pataliputra (Patna), was the place were the mathematicians doing front-line innovative work on the subject were congregating.

I end with two final remarks. The first one concerns an aspect of the intellectual life of Nalanda that emerges powerfully from the accounts we do actually have about Nalanda from Chinese as well as Indian scholars. The faculty and the students in Nalanda loved to argue, and very often held argumentative encounters. I have discussed elsewhere how deep this argumentativeness is in Indian intellectual history, but I want to add here that it is a part of the scientific tradition as well, to seek arguments and defences, refusing to accept positions and claims on grounds of faith. There were plenty of organised argumentative matches going on in Nalanda, and this too fits, in a very general way, into the scientific connections of Nalanda.

The final remark concerns the passion for propagating knowledge and understanding that Nalanda stood for. This was one reason for its keenness to accept students from abroad. Xuangzang as well as Yi Jing mentions the warm welcome they received as they arrived in Nalanda from China. Indeed, Xuangzang used this commitment in an argument with the faculty in Nalanda when he was asked — and pressed — to stay on as a faculty member in Nalanda, after he had completed his studies. He mentioned his commitment, and here he invoked Buddha himself, to spread enlightenment “to all lands.” He asked the rhetorical question: “Who would wish to enjoy it alone, and to forget those who are not yet enlightened?” If the seeking of evidence and vindication by critical arguments is part of the tradition of science, so is the commitment to move knowledge and understanding beyond locality. Science has to fight parochialism, and Nalanda was firmly committed to just that.

Dr. Amartya Sen, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998 and was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1999, is Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University in the U.S. and chairman of the Interim Governing Board of Nalanda University.)

‘Nalanda stood for the passion of propagating knowledge, understanding.' Amartya Sen's keynote address at the 98th Indian Science Congress in Chennai on January 4.


--

Gauthama Prabhu Nagappan

 

Foundation of His Sacred Majesty (FHSM),

33, 3rd Cross Street, Raghavendra Nagar,

Madambakkam Road, Rajakilpakam,

Selaiyur, Chennai - 600 073

Ph: +91-44-22282199

Mobil: +91-979 123 9333

          +91-783 810 6233

Email: fhsmindia@gmail.com

      


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"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think.
When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves." – Lord Buddha

 

Friday, January 7, 2011

The Law of Life

Wish you and your family Once again A  very Happy and Healthy New Year 2011 ahead.

Welcome for the Following Free Seminar, Discussion, Lecture Programs at Trivandrum

1.   Date: 08 Jan 2011, 2.30pm

Discussion on Malayalam Language and its Classical Status by  Dr  C. Narayana Pillai, Principal, Trg College at State Resource Centre Conference Hall, Nandavanam,

2.   Date: 09 Jan 2011, 11.30 am

Visit, Laughing Prg and Lunch at Old age home at Katakkada by Sivananda Kendra

3.   Date: 11-13 Jan 2011, 6.00pm – 7.30pm

 Lecture on THATHWAMASI  at Vivekananda Cultural Institute, Palayam

4.   Yoga for Health Program, at Vivekananda Cultural Institute, Palayam

  And at Theosophical Society, Chenthitta.

5.   Sunday and Holiday Yoga for Health Program.

2 hrs per day Morning / Evening

6.   Study and Discussion on Theosophy and Yoga, On Every Sunday at 10am and Tuesday at 6pm at Theosophical Society, Chenthitta.

7. SEMINAR  on 15-16 Jan 2011, details attached

These are organised by Various Societies

For Details Contact: 9895010883

Sub: The Law of Life

Whatever you give away today or think or say or do

Will multiply and then return to you.

Whatever you feel about another, be it love or hate or passion,

Will surely back to you in some clear or secret fashion.

If you speak about some person, a word of praise or two,

soon people will speak kind words of you.

Our thoughts are broadcasts of the soul, not secrets of the brain.

Kind ones bring us happiness, petty ones bring untold pain.

Giving works as surely as reflections in a mirror, if hate you send,

hate you get back, but loving brings love nearer.

 

YOUR SMILE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND. MAKE IT SOME ONE ELSE'S TOO !

BE HAPPY, IT'S ONE WAY OF BEING WISE.

Question  or answer:

Do you know what are the minimum 4 minutes exercises required for a computer operator / office worker?

If you want to know and practice it, email back your address and mobile No.

 Lovingly ,

SIVANANDA KENDRA,  A Holistic Health Promotion and HRD Society Email: sivanandakendra@gmail.com,

 

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

LAUNCH OF PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS- INDIA ON BINAYAK SEN’S BIRTHDAY

LAUNCH OF

PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS- INDIA

ON BINAYAK SEN’S BIRTHDAY

Today on the 61st birthday of Dr Binayak Sen group of physicians, health activists and human right defenders have come together to form Physician for Human Rights- India. This independent and non political organisation will work on the principles of human rights, medical ethics and social justice. Physicians for Human Rights is a worldwide organisation established in 1981 with a solid foundation of over two decades of investigation, advocacy and accomplishment. It has campaigned vigorously for the human rights of health care workers in various countries and has been in the forefront of the International campaign for justice for Binayak. In fact its founder Jonathan Fine has been in India closely following the case and was present at Binayak’s trial.


We choose to offer the position of Honorary Chairman of Physicians for Human Rights / India to Dr.Binayak Sen who has given his life to these principles and to serve the poorest among us. Without neglecting others equally worthy, we will work tirelessly for his release from prison and complete exoneration of unjust accusations. His prompt return to the fight for human rights, civil liberties and service of India's masses is essential for the sake of our nation. We strongly communicate our dismay and call for the dropping of charges , recognition of his exceptional contribution to Health & Human rights , his sacrifices & his deep commitment , & rare integrity , his proclaimed consistent support of Non Violence .It was for the above human values reflected in his life & work he was awarded for being a role model for Medical students , by CMC Vellore his Alma Mater .R.R Keithan award for demonstrating the values of the " father of the Nation" and Johnathan Mann award for his work with the Tribals .


Physicians for Human Rights - India will mobilize health professionals to advance health, dignity and justice, and to promote the right to health for all. Harnessing the specialized skills, rigor, and passion of doctors, nurses, public health specialists and scientists, PHR India will investigate human rights abuses and will work towards stopping them . We believe that human rights are essential preconditions for the health and well-being of all people. PHR India will educate health professionals and medical, public health, and nursing students and organize them to become active in supporting a movement for human rights and creating a culture of human rights in the medical and scientific professions.

Physicians for Human Rights - India will join with physicians and health professionals similarly organized in other countries to add our voices in support of persecuted fellow health professionals in all countries. We will speak out against torture, physical and psychological abuse, and all forms of repression harmful to the public health. We will work tirelessly to bring our medical skills to the struggle for the attainment of human rights for all people. We pledge to uphold the finest traditions of the medical and allied health professions to investigate and report objectively on all findings of abuses in contravention to the constitution of India, the United Nations Covenants on Social, Political and Economic Rights and the Geneva Conventions and Protocols.



ENDORSEMENTS

1. Dr Amte Bharati , Maharogi Seva Samiti, Anandwan, Warora, Maharashtra

2. Dr. Amte Sheetal , Maharogi Seva Samiti, Anandwan, Warora, Maharashtra

3. Dr. Amte Vikas , Maharogi Seva Samiti, Anandwan, Warora, Maharashtra

4. Dr Anand R K, Paediatrician, Mumbai

5. Dr Bal Arun, Surgeon, Mumbai

6. Bali- Mahabal Kamayani, , Health and Human Rights Activist, Mumbai

7. Dr Bhojraj Shekhar , Orthodepic Surgeon, Mumbai

8. Dr Chatterjee Garga , Researcher and Physician Kolkata

9. Datta, Saurav , Law Teacher and Human Rights Activist, Mumbai

10. Duggal Ravi, Health Activist, Mumbai

11. Dr.Gangolli Leena V Public Health Physician, Mumbai

12. Dr Gupte Manisha , Feminist and Health rights activist, Pune

13. E Pinto, Premdas Health Activist, Bangalore

14. Dr Gaitonde, Rakhal Community Health Researcher, Bangalore

15. Jesani Amar , Health Activist, Mumbai

16. Dr Kalantri, S P Physician, Wardha

17. Dr Karmarkar Santosh ,Paediatric surgeon Mumbai

18. Dr Korde Vivek Family Physician, Mumbai

19. Dr Lokhandwala, Yash Cardiologist, Mumbai

20. Dr Morparia Hemant Radiologist, Mumbai

21. Dr Nagral Sanjay GI surgeon ,Mumbai

22. Dr Naik Deven, Family Physician, Mumbai

23. Nohira Sathyashree , Health Activist, Bangalore

24. Dr Pai Sanjay , Pathologist, Bangalore

25. Dr Pandya Sunil, Neurosurgeon, Mumbai

26. Dr Roy Nobojit , Surgeon, Mumbai

27. Dr Shiva Mira , Public Health Physician ,Delhi

28. Dr Singh S P , Gastroenterologist, Cuttack

29. Dr Thomas George , Orthopaedic surgeon, Chennai




For more information contact- phrindia2011@gmail.com/kamayni@gmail

--
Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal
+919820749204
skype-lawyercumactivist

Press Invitation - Tomorrow Students' Leaders of Telangana address the Press Conference

From: Telangana Friends friendsoftelangana@gmail.com>
Date: 4 January 2011 17:20
Subject: Press Invitation - Tomorrow Students' Leaders of Telangana address the Press Conference

Press Invitation

The Students Spearheading Telangana Statehood movement will reach New Delhi tomorrow, 5th January, to protest against the all-party meet called by the Central Government to discuss Srikrishna Committee Report. They have already appealed to all political parties in Andhra Pradesh to boycott the all party meeting called by Chidambaram.

The student leaders from Telangana will address a Press Conference at Press Club, Raisina Road, New Delhi at 3 PM on 5th January (Wednesday)

The student leaders of Joint Action Committee (JAC) will disclose their action plan for achieving Statehood for Telangana apart from addressing all related issues of Telangana.

We invite all press persons to attend the Press Conference

M Krishna Prasad

Convenor

Friends of Telangana in Delhi

On behalf of supporters of the Movement for Telangana Statehood

Contact: friendsoftelangana@gmail.com, phone: 9999669602

CONDEMN SUSPICIOUS BLAST OF LEELABAI’S HOUSE: DEMAND JUSTIC

CONDEMN SUSPICIOUS BLAST OF LEELABAI’S HOUSE: DEMAND JUSTICE

Dear Friends,

In an extremely shocking and painful incident that took place yesterday night, the house of Leelabai Margale, one of the most fiery and vocal village-activists, affected by the Lavasa Project on the outskirts of Pune was fully destroyed in suspicious circumstances. Leelabai herself suspects the company’s hand, since she has always been at the forefront of exposing the fradulent ways and pressure tactics of Lavasa..

Vested interests may have attempted to wreck Leelabai’s house and belongings, accumulated over a lifetime, but nothing, nothing can break her will to fight injustice….In this moment of pain and anger, let us all show unflinching solidarity with this courageous woman and support her in regaining her resilnce, to counter the illegalities of the Lavasa Company.

Attached is Leelabai’s police complaint and detailed press note issued by NAPM, with photographs of the blast. Please do write letters to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the Pune District Collector, demanding an immediate inquiry into the incident and justice to Leelabai, with full government support to re-build her house, with dignity.

In case you like to pass on personal messages or offer any other form of support to her and her family, please do contact Suniti at 09423571784.

On behalf of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, we all express our fullest support with Leelabai and are with her in this fight for justice.

Zindabad

Kamla Yadav Kailash Awasya Kishore Mangila Shrikanth

Ph: 09179148973

Contact the CM and Collector:

Chief Minister, Maharashta

020-26114949

punedist@mah.nic.in

District Collecor, Pune

022- 22025151

022- 22025222

chiefminister@maharashtra.gov.in


Blast in Mugaon house: ‘Lavasa’ hand suspected

Complaint with police, enquiry demanded, NAPM condemns attack

Pune: In a shocking incident in Mugaon, one of the villages in the Lavasa Hill City Project, the house of a leading lady activist opposing the project was destroyed in a blast and fire yesterday night. The activist has lost all the domestic resources of her life and has expressed suspician that the Lavasa company is behind the blast and fire as it wanted to evacuate her. The very further part of development of the project is stuck at the location where the house and farm land of the activist is in Mugaon as she has refused to evacuate. The National Alliance of People’s Movement has condemned the incident and has called for a comprehensive enquiry into the incident and the culprits be brought to justice.

The Lavasa project is coming up in the Mose valley near Pune. Dasave is the first village where a lot of work of the project has been completed even as violating various laws. Mugaon is the next village. Leelabai Margale is a resident of this village. She has been a leading light of the movement against the project. Right from beginning she has refused to part with her land for the project. However, the company has been able to install a stone quarry on a piece of land belonging to Margale, against which she has secured a different plot of land, where she has built her dwelling unit. All the work of Lavasa is currently stuck at this location as Margale has refused to vacate the land. She has been at the forefront of the NAPM agitation against the project and hence has been facing pressure tactics from the Lavasa companay for quite some time now to vacate the land. However, she has refused to succumb to the pressure.

Margale was not at her home yesterday (january 3, 2011). As she was busy in preparations of marriage of one of her relatives, she returned to home only in evening accompanied by daughters Uma and Kajal. A widow, Leelabai and her daughter went to bed at around 8.30 pm. Soon after this all of them were awakened due to a huge sound over the rooftop of the house and soon witnessed a fireball from it. A shocked Leelabai immeidtaley took her daughters with her and came out of the house. In next hour or so, the house was destruyed in the fire. During this period another blast from the house was heard, which according to her might be of the cooking gas cylinder in her house.

The blast and the resultant fire destriyed all that was there in the house. Leelabai used to run a small grocery from the house. Three dogs died in the fire. She lost around 400 eggs meant for sale, grocery items worth Rs. 10,000. She also lost all her jewellery, documents related to her land, house etc, a license of firearm in the name of her late husband, domestic articles. All this is worth Rs. 2,00,000.00

Leelabai has filed a complaint with the Paud police station in which she has categorically expressed suspician that the Lavasa company is behind this blast and fire. She has stated that the police have already started to falsely claim that the blast is of the cokking gas cylinder at her home, which according to her is not a fact. She stated that she as well as her daughter were within 5 feets of the cylinder and had the blast been of the sylinder they would have had to face the brunt. “In view of the company’s attempts to grab my land, and my opposition to the same, I suspect that it is an attempt by the company to finish off me and my family,” Leelabai stated in her complaint.

The NAPM has condemned the attack. The NAPM, in a statement, said, “The Environment ministry and the High Court order’s have proved to be a set-back to the project. The company has tried various pressure tactics earlier also to grab land. It has attempted to create a rift among the locals. Has misused the police to pressurise the locals to fall in line. However, the incident yesterday is of a more dangerous in nature. We condemn it and ask the government to initiate a comprehensive probe and bring to justice those behind it. Else, the democracy is in danger.”

Suniti S. R. Maruti Bhapkar Ibrahim Khan

Dnyaneshwar Shedage Dr. Vishwambhar Chaudhari

Contact: Ph: 09423571784


Suniti S.R.
National Alliance of People's Movements,
c/o 6,Raghav,Shri Raghuraj Society,
Sinhgad Road,Pune 411030
e mail - andolan.napm@gmail.com
Phone - 94235 71784, 020-24251404

-----------------------------------------------------------
Medha Patkar

Narmada Bachao Andolan,
62, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Badwani, Madhya Pradesh – 451551
Ph: 07290-222464; Fax: 07290-222549
E-mail: medha.narmada@gmail.com ;
nba.medha@gmail.com

National Alliance of People’s Movements; National Office: Room No. 29-30, 1st floor, ‘A’ Wing, Haji Habib Bldg, Naigaon Cross Road, Dadar (E), Mumbai - 400 014;
Ph: 022-24150529
E-mail: napmindia@gmail.com

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Response to the Committee on Petitions of the Rajya Sabha considering a petition praying for amendments in Section 498 A IPC 1860

The Committee on Petitions of the Rajya Sabha is considering a
petition praying for amendments in Section 498 A IPC, 1860. The
petitioner has alleged abuse and extensive misuse of the provision by
stating that without any evidence “abused population undergoes
tremendous harassment and torture”. Accordingly, the Committee is
considering suitable modification in the section to check abuse and
protect interest of innocent persons.  Full petition is attached with
this mail and also be read at the Rajya Sabha website
www.rajyasabha.nic.in.

This debate on amendments in Section 498 A has been around for some
years and women’s organizations strongly believe that the law protects
women who are victimized by their partners or his family. Any attempts
to dilute this law would only make it inaccessible to the victims.

With the committee fixing December 30, 2010 as the last day of
receiving comments and suggestions on the Section, it becomes
imperative that we respond to for the rejection of this petition
vehemently. Yesterday I met the chairperson and it seems that he has
strong views about its misuse. Please see below the response submitted.

 

TO: COMMITTEE ON PETITIONS

This response is rendered to the petition submitted by one Dr. Anupama Singh before the Rajya Sabha seeking amendments to Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. Section 498A was incorporated in 1983 after a long and arduous struggle by the women’s movement to address the domestic violence and dowry related torture endured by Indian women. The petition in question prays that Section 498A be made non cognizable, compoundable and bailable. WomenPowerConnect (WPC), Centre for Social Research (CSR), and its partner organisations vehemently object to these amendments and seek that the petition be quashed in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF SECTION 498A

Section 498A reads as follows:

Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty- Whoever being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation: For the purpose of this section `cruelty'[1] means:

(a) any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.

113A reads as follows:

Presumption as to abetment of suicide by a married women.- When the question is whether the commission of suicide by a woman had been abetted by her husband or any relative of her husband and it is shown that she had committed suicide within a period of seven years from the date of her marriage and that her husband or such relative of her husband had subjected her to cruelty, the Court may presume, having regard to all the   other circumstances of the case, that such suicide had been abetted by her husband or by such relative of her husband.

Explanation- For the purposes of this section, "cruelty" shall have the same meaning as in section 498 A IPC

Section 113B reads as follows:

Presumption as to dowry death-When the question is whether a person has committed the dowry death of a woman and it is shown that soon before her death such woman has been subjected by such person to cruelty or harassment for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, the Court shall presume that such person had caused the dowry death.

Explanation-For the purpose of this section `dowry death' shall have the same meaning as in Section have the same meaning as in Section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

Section 498A was incorporated into the Indian Penal Code after a long struggle by women’s rights activists highlighting the increased number of dowry deaths despite the enactment of the Dowry Prohibition Act.  This amendment was groundbreaking in that it sought to make domestic violence a criminal offence. While Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code was incorporated to deal with murders of recently married women, Section 498A was now added in the IPC for women being ill-treated by the husband or his relatives. The sphere of Section 304B, dealing with death by burns, bodily injury or any other unnatural manner of a woman being subjected to cruelty or harassment for dowry within seven years of marriage, was held to be distinct from the area covered by Section 498A. This section was brought in specifically to deal with cases not only of dowry deaths but also of cruelty towards married women by their husbands, in-laws and relatives. It therefore made cruelty per se punishable. Under the law the offence is cognizable, non-compoundable and non bailable, and offenders are liable for imprisonment as well as a fine.

DOWRY RELATED VIOLENCE INCREASING

Regardless of this historic amendment, women continued and still continue to suffer violence within their homes. Rather than diluting this existing law which seeks to provide protection, institutions should be engaged in strengthening its implementation so it can be effectively used by the population it is meant to serve. Studies have shown that the number of cases registered under 498A are minuscule compared to the prevalence of domestic violence. Dowry deaths and claims of torture have been steadily increasing according to NCRB statistics. There is no doubt that a large number of cases go unreported or do not enter the domain of the law. 

Currently, according to the official NCRB statistics, 81,344 cases were filed under Section 498A in 2008.[2] This number is a drop in the bucket for the percentage of women who face domestic violence. Women generally are not aware that this law exists for their protection. Human Rights Watch reports that police, including those at Crimes Against Women (CAW) Cells and other special departments, fail to inform women who are victims of domestic violence and other crimes of their right to have an FIR registered under section 498A.[3] Even when complaints are registered, proper investigation and carrying out of justice is lacking both by the police and in courts. Furthermore, lengthy trials inhibit access to justice. The case of State of Haryana V Jasvinder Singh (2002), heard by the Supreme Court on appeal, rebuked the callousness of the State for letting the case remain pending for seven years.

Dr. Anupama Singh cites NCRB statistics from2003-2006. Of 5,01,020 arrests made under Section 498A, only 2,94,147 made it to the trial phase,  and out of these only 58,842 convictions were rendered.[4] The large discrepancy in the cases registered and actual convictions illustrates a gap in implementation. Victims often turn to the police only as a last resort and typically when the violence has escalated. Yet, the police do not treat domestic violence as a normal criminal offence to be registered and investigated, with the perpetrators arrested or monitored. Instead, they encourage compromise between domestic violence victims and their spouses or spouses’ families, even when women allege repeated physical abuse. Authorities fail women victims of violence when they coerce reconciliation and ignore state obligations to promote safety and implement the laws. 

CLAIMS OF 498A MISUSE UNSUPPORTED

Allegations of misuse of section 498A by women have been voiced, exemplified by the said petition. Most such allegations have been anecdotal or general in nature with little statistical data to substantiate these claims. Dr. Anupama Singh's assertions fall into this category. Many claims have been made regarding the misuse of the law, yet no data to corroborate such statements is provided. Furthermore, it is well settled that mere possibility of abuse of law does not per se invalidate legislation. 

In Sushil Kumar Sharma vs. U.O.I (2005), the Supreme Court refused to strike down Section 498A as unconstitutional and invalid. It observed that the provision had been brought in because the increase in the number of dowry deaths was a matter of serious concern. Addressing the issue of abuse of the Section, the court held that the mere possibility of abuse of a provision of law does not invalidate the law. In cases of abuse, it is the action and not the Section that may be vulnerable. The court, while upholding the provision of law, may still set aside the action, order or decision and grant relief to the aggrieved person.

The Malimath Committee cited by Dr. Anupama Singh, aside from giving a blanket statement on misuse, also provides no evidence of it in its 600 page report.  The report included 360 pages of data, considered 16 research papers and 23 reports, as well as answers to questionnaires the committee sent out.[5] Yet none of these discussed the issue of violence against women, much less section 498A.[6] Neither did the Committee get the views of either victims of domestic violence, or of groups and individuals working on these issues in arriving at its recommendation of making Section 498A compoundable and bailable.[7]

It is also worthy to assert here that no law is free from misuse, rather in most cases, misuse occurs by those in power. Despite evidence suggesting gross misuse of various laws, a serious question arises as to the selection of this particular petition and the need to amend Section 498A. The key issue here is that this law was introduced to protect women facing violence in society dominated and controlled by patriarchy. It was introduced to uphold the dignity of women as enshrined in the Constitution of India and to protect their vulnerable situation.

498A MUST REMAIN COGNIZABLE, NON COMPOUNDABLE, NON BAILABLE

A non cognizable offence prevents the police from registering a FIR, investigating, or ordering an arrest without the express permission or directions from the court. In effect this would mean that the police could not respond to any complaint made by a woman in distress under this Section. Most women affected by domestic violence do not have the resources or ability to navigate through the judicial process to file an initial complaint.  It would therefore place an undue burden on the party for whose benefit this law was enacted.

Making the offence compoundable implies that the complainant may withdraw her police complaint at any point of time. In the eyes of the authorities, this might give the marriage another chance but it can, just as easily, make the woman even more vulnerable to exploitation. In most cases the husband and the woman's in-laws would offer reconciliation so that the woman withdraws the case. She would be subjected to increased pressure to compromise. Given the Indian familial context, the woman is most likely to give in, but by doing so she would end up being far more vulnerable to cruelty and violence. This is highlighted in case of Brij Lal v Prem Chand (1989). The Supreme Court observed a compromise was reached and the deceased came back to live with her husband and in-laws after receiving assurance that she would no longer be in danger.  The Court went on to say "…it is regretted to say that the High Court dealt the matter in a somewhat superficial manner and acquitted the accused on the basis of imaginary premises. High Court has failed to comprehend evidence in its full conspectus and instead has whittled down the evidence by spurious reasoning." Effective from August 1, 2003 the state of Andhra Pradesh made the law compoundable as per Section 320(2) of the Cr.PC. Yet, no data has been produced to demonstrate how effectively such a change has curtailed the alleged misuse of the Section 498A.

Section 498A should remain non bailable, requiring the accused to appear before a magistrate to obtain bail. Otherwise perpetrators would not be arrested. Already in many cases, accused husbands obtain bail immediately. In other cases, they forgo the arresting procedure completely when they are taken directly to the courts with corrupt police assistance.

SAFEGUARDS AGAINST FALSE CLAIMS EXIST

As for making a false assertion under any provision of the Indian Penal Code, safeguards against abuse and misuse already exist. Section 182 makes giving false information to a public servant with the intent to cause injury to another person punishable by imprisonment. Additionally, making a false claim in court and a false charge with the intent to injure are punishable under Section 209 and 211 IPC respectively.  Moreover, new amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure have been incorporated to curtail the arresting power of the police. Per Section 41A, the police instead of arresting the accused, will be obliged to issue him a notice of appearance for any offence punishable with imprisonment up to seven years. The person can be arrested only if he does not appear before the police in response to the notice. Additionally, it has been held in Joginder Kumar v State of U.P (1994) that “no arrest can be made because it is lawful for the police officer to do so. The existence of the power to arrest is one thing and the justification for the exercise of it is quite another. The police officer must be able to justify the arrest apart from his power to do so…No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent for a police officer in the interest of protection of the constitutional right of a citizen and perhaps in his own interest that no arrest should be made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness and bona fides of a complaint and a reasonable belief both as to the person’s complicity and even so as to the need to effect arrest.” The court in Som Mittal v Government of Karnataka (2008) referring to the holding in Joginder Kumar v State of U.P goes on to say that “despite this categorical judgment of the Supreme Court it appears that the police is not at all implementing it. What invariably happens is that, whenever an FIR of a cognizable offence is lodged, the police immediately goes to arrest the accused person. This is clear violation of the aforesaid judgement of the Supreme Court.”

 

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

All laws are capable of and subject to abuse and misuse, including Section 498A. The solution, however, does not lie in dismissing the law or taking away its teeth by making it non cognizable, compoundable, and bailable. The accusation that upper class and educated women misuse the law is misplaced. Dr. Anupama Singh used the statement from a study conducted by the Centre for Social Research (CSR).[8] However that statement was incorrectly cited and presented out of context. If the study is viewed in whole, the findings by CSR reveal that Section 498A is not being utilized enough by victims of domestic violence. It concludes that victims find the Section useful and felt the need for further strengthening it. The provision is the only Section which acts as an effective redress mechanism for victims of domestic violence. If the law enforcing mechanism does its job properly, such so called misuse would not happen. Steps need to be taken towards more effective use of the law. Other improvements include defining the term “cruelty” better and providing operational indicators to reduce its ambiguity in use. It has been the experience that due to this vague terminology, proving physical and mental torture becomes difficult, resulting in the acquittal of the accused for lack of evidence.

In conclusion, we call upon the Committee to quash the petition submitted by Dr. Anupama Singh. It lacks any substantive claims, rather relying only on frivolous assertions. In addition, we would like the Committee to severely take note of the extremely derogatory and degrading language used in the petition regarding women. Until the time comes when women are not victims of this demonstrated patriarchy, a gender neutral law cannot exist. It is the responsibility of the State to ensure that all its citizens, especially the most historically marginalized, are provided the protection deserved to live a life of dignity and respect. In taking consideration of the issues presented by this response regarding to Section 498A, we urge the investigating and implementation agencies, as well as the judiciary to keep in step with the larger issue of advancing women’s rights. 

                                                           

 

 

 



[1] Consequences of cruelty which are likely to drive a woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health, whether mental or physical of the woman is required to be established in order for the application of Section 498A IPC. Cruelty has been defined in the explanation for the purpose of Section 498A. It is to be noted that Sections 304B and 498A, IPC cannot be held to be mutually inclusive. These provisions deal with two distinct offences. Cruelty is a common essential to both the Sections and has to be proved.  The explanation to Section 498A gives the meaning of cruelty. In Section 304B there is no such explanation about the meaning of cruelty.

[2] NCRB, 2008. Crimes Against Women. Ministry of Home Affairs.

[3] Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse and Impunity in the Indian Police. Human Rights Watch. 2009.

[4] NCRB (2003-2006), Ministry of Home Affairs.

[5] Report of the Malimath Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System: Some Observations. Amnesty International India, 2003.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] A Research Study on the Use and Misuse of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code. Centre for Social Research.  2005.

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