Saw this in the Sentinel website this morning.
I was wondering if this writer is yet another anti-Indian dead-set on
besmirching India's good name, making it look bad to the world, or
some one seeking western elites' approval or yet another clueless
Indian who knows what is going on around but have no idea how to
help turn things around.
Perhaps some of or friends here in assamnet would try to help
Kaushish with some ideas about her concluding plea: More voices must
be raised against criminalisation of politics and ways found to
reverse this growing malaise.
Will that work, I mean raising more voices? Has it been working so
far? If not, WHO will find the ways?
cm
EDITORIAL
Winning is the name of the game
- Poonam I Kaushish
Forget the human trafficking case and the can of worms of our
illustrious MPs. Merrily dismissed by the Government as "the House
(Parliament) can't be blamed for a few black sheep." But you ain't
seen nothing yet. If you subscribe to the view that "UP is India,"
then here is a shocker. Forget caste and creed, criminalisation is
the flavour in the on-going State Assembly elections. Election
Commission or no Election Commission. Making one wonder whether this
is the harbinger of a new don. Is this the curtain raiser of India's
future?
There were over 582 candidates facing criminal charges in the poll
fray in the first five rounds of polling in the State. Of which the
ruling Samajwadi Party tops the list with 35 per cent candidates who
have criminal cases pending against them. In the fifth phase alone,
there were as many as 115 candidates, 44 per cent of whom belonged to
the BSP. The highest 'crime chart buster' is an RLD candidate with 59
cases, followed by an Apna Dal nominee with 45 cases and a BSP
criminal with 28 cases.
These figures have been collated by the "UP election Watch" Forum,
headed by a retired Director General of Police who avers that
anything and everything possible in Uttar Pradesh. Criminals, fudged
electoral rolls et al. Recalling his own experience during the 2002
Assembly polls, he found three additional names added to the voters
list against his address. When the Election Commission issued a
revised list following his complaint, to his horror he found that
instead of deleting the three names another four had been added.
Worse, the revised list showed 128 "voters" living in the
two-tenement house across his own. Not only that. These people
enjoyed the maximum security (Z level only given under exceptional
circumstances)-all at Government expense. Further, many candidates
who had declared huge assets did not even have permanent account
numbers (PAN).
Tragically, in such a political environment where criminal-politicos
call the shots, they establish contacts with their counterparts in
neighbouring States and an action-reaction modality ensues. Take
Bihar. The situation there is no better. According to the Election
Commission the two States, account for at least 40 MPs and 700 MLAs
who faced criminal charges that included murder, dacoity, rape, theft
and extortion.
More. The India chapter of Social Watch, comprising sitting and
former MPs Nilotpal Basu, Madhusudan Mistry, Pyari Mohan Mahapatra
and Sandeep Dixit has confirmed that a quarter of the MPs-125 out of
538 in the current 14th Lok Sabha have a criminal background. While
62 have been named in minor cases, mostly of a political nature, the
rest have been booked for serious crimes that could lead to a jail
term of five years and above. Among them, half of those with serious
criminal cases against them are from UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and MP.
The Congress has the highest tally of 11 MPs who have charged of
committing major offences and 16 with minor ones, followed by the BJP
with 15 MPs indicted for major crimes and 13 minor ones, next comes
the BSP with 5 MPs hauled up for major offences and two for minor
ones. Never mind that recently a Parliamentary committee had rejected
the Election Commission's proposal to ban persons accused of serious
criminal offences and where the court is prima facie convinced about
their involvement in the crime from contesting elections till they
are cleared of such charges.
True, criminalisation of politics and politicisation of crime have
become so synonymous in India that it does not even create a ripple,
let alone set the Ganges on fire. Correct, that it is one of the main
reasons for the deteriorating law and order situation. It is also a
given that the inability of the State to arrest and prosecute
politicos with criminal antecedents is primarily because the State is
part of the problem and not the solution. Notwithstanding various
court judgments trying to cry a halt to this blatant and brazen show
of muscle power.
Look what happened to the Vohra Committee Report of 1995 which said
it all. But today the Power Daddies of Crime, Muscle, Money and Mafia
dismiss it as kid stuff. Running a paralled government with the
established linkages with bureaucrats, Government functionaries at
the local levels, politicians, media persons and strategically
located individuals while pushing the state apparatus into
irrelevance is old hat. Today transnational crime is the order of the
day. Naxalites, Maoist, ULFA, Bodo militants ISI are the new
warlords. Arguably, when the institutions of governance have been
infiltrated, what's the way to stem this rot?
Don't look to the Courts. They have gone hoarse trying to stop this,
but to no avail. Inform voters about the criminal record of
candidates. Where should one start, nearly all are tarred with the
same brush. Candidate's competence, capacity and suitability for
acting as parliamentarian or legislator. In a milieu of jo jeeta woh
sikander what competence are we talking about? Educational
qualifications? Politics is all about learning the ABC of power. Not
applying for a peon's job or a government job where bio-data are
mandatory.
On the flip side, it is difficult to believe that the common man is
ignorant about his candidate's criminal antecedents, lack of
qualifications and character. Clearly, in an environment wherein
caste, creed and class become the dominant factor in selection,
criminal tendencies become increasingly irrelevant. Besides, one
cannot ignore the harsh reality that in a democracy the people get
the government they want and elect. So if the common man finds a
criminal to be affable who responds to his distress call and elects
him his leader who are we to crib?
There is no gainsaying that the growing Indian middle class is not
averse to electing criminals if they can become their patrons and
'deliver the goods'? As a former Chief Minister argued when quizzed
about having 22 Ministers in his Cabinet with criminal antecedents,
"I don't bother about the Ministers' past. After joining the
Government, they are not indulging in crimes and are ready to help
suppress criminal activities. Ask the people why they have elected
them." How do you rebut this logic?
Ironically, the slow withering away of the national political parties
at the grassroots level and the simultaneous mushrooming rise of the
regional parties with their Made in India leaders have led to the
politics of manipulation replacing the politics of mass appeal. The
limited purpose of these new leaders is to derive legitimacy through
the ballot box; once elected, their exercise of power is designed to
seek personal and group advantage by conbering the resources of the
State. A classic example of you-scratch-my-back-and-I-yours. Our
leaders need their criminal muscle and in return promise immunity
from the legal processes and their 'rightful' share of the State's
resources from their clients in the political, bureaucratic and
police administration.
Significantly, when a criminal becomes a law maker, the first thing
he does is to cover-up his own crimes and that of his cronies. Then
he allows babus to indulge in criminal deeds for a cut in the deal.
Next formulates laws which are favourable to his rich cronies. Based
on our inherently flawed criminal laws which work on the premise that
a politician is innocent until proved guilty. Against this backdrop,
whom should the common man turn to for justice?
In the ultimate, the nexus between the corrupt leaders and their
party bosses underscores the crisis of governance and underlines the
resulting enfeeblement of state security. The conspiracy of silence
by the people has further accentuated the political and
administrative downslide into mayhem. A stop can only be put once our
policy picks up courage to end this trend. More voices must be raised
against criminalisation of politics and ways found to reverse this
growing malaise. -INFA
At 8:50 AM -0600 5/8/07, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,
Just realized just after I sent the mail. Sorry about that.
Your post on the subject, of course, as usual raises valid points.
"It might be a matter interested to you to know that our widely
circulated and Assam media reported Press Release to help the
victims (within our limits) of the Dhemaji Explosion did not produce
any results" - Assam Watch
That is very interesting and I wonder why.
Just wondering if any Assamese families were ever affected because
the ulfa allegedly killed their husbands, children etc. But that
couldn't be true, nobody really has any good proof that it was the
ulfa who could have done such things. A good guess would be those
people killed themselves for some unknown reason.
Hence, in such a situation, it is impossible for any "rights group"
or for that matter, futile, for anybody, with any ounce of
righteousness to stand up for them.
>the propensity of some of our peers whose piety and righteous
outrages are >usually set aside ONLY for those with whom they have
empathy for, be it >for social, be it for political, be it for
linguistic, be it for religious or be it even >for moral grounds.
This, of course, does NOT hold true of the supporters and advocates of ulfa.
--Ram
On 5/8/07, Chan Mahanta
<<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Ram,
I am fine with assamnet which goes thru
<http://assam.org/>assam.org. I am not allowed to post in ASOM
however, even though I get to see 'asom' list posts, time to time.
For some reason they come to my mailbox, even though I never
subscribed to it.
c-da
At 8:18 AM -0600 5/8/07, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>I do not have privileges to post in the ASOM list, even though,
by some quirk >of the internet's reach, I do get to see its posts,
sometimes. So I request >Wahid Kokaideu to forward this response,
if he would, to that list as well.
This post seems to come thru fine, C'da. I even checked
<http://assam.org/>assam.org - seems fine.
Of course. it could be that you are high up in the Ozarks, and
nothing can reach you :):)
--Ram
On 5/8/07, Chan Mahanta
<<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Wahid Kokaideu raises a valid question, as do the others of the ASOM
list. It demonstrates the generosity and registers the fair-minded
outlooks of all those who look out for the welfare of ALL,
regardless of the labels or the stigmata SOME might be associated
with, whether they are self acquired or assigned by others or gained
from accidents of history.
Or so it might seem.
Why I add the above qualifier is for a very simple reason: Over the
decades I have witnessed, just like all others too who are either
willing or able, the propensity of some of our peers whose piety and
righteous outrages are usually set aside ONLY for those with whom
they have empathy for, be it for social, be it for political, be it
for linguistic, be it for religious or be it even for moral grounds.
But we also know it is not unique to our peers. It happens to be an
universal response.
So why do I even bother to raise the issue? What makes it special?
For two reasons.
A: The mantle of superior morality worn by our learned peers
who are outraged by
the despicable human-rights organizations who take up causes
ONLY of people with the
stigma I described above and not ALL, regardless of their
sins, real or perceived, as they
- the fair minded citizenry - would undoubtedly do.
B: The intellectual acumen of the outraged who speculated
in the ASOM mailing list as
to WHY these fasting wives had to go marry them ULFA cadres
about whose fate the
Indian government remains silent, in spite of ONE its own
High Court's orders to reveal
it to these wives.
If we take a moment to take a deeper look at the above two points it
will be eminently clear that:
In A above, the mantle of superior morality derived from an
universal goodwill for the welfare of ALL is, at best, a mythical
one. It is a conveniently donned cloak. For they WERE / ARE NOWHERE
to be found
when THOSE WHOSE acts of commission and omission gave rise to the
insurgency in Assam and ULFA amongst one of the sub-continent's most
docile and passive ethnic community, the Oxomiyas.
In B above we see an abject ignorance of one of civilized
societies' most fundamental tenets: They do not hold the spouses or
the children of individuals charged or adjudged guilty of a crime
similarly guilty, just like they do not hold an entire race or
religion or country guilty of the transgressions or crimes of a
few; like they do for example in India. Remember the Sikh pogrom
after Indira Gandhi's killing? Remember the Godhra aftermath?
Finally, those whose outrages are NOT convenient or politically
expedient , ought to ask FIRST: Why do HR activists needed at all?
Is it NOT because of a FAILURE of those who are entrusted with
protecting the rights of the ALL of the citizenry and for upholding
the rule of law to begin with? If the
'legitimate' govts. did their job, WOULD these despicable, BIASED
and SELF-SERVING HUMAN RIGHTS organization be even needed?
I do not have privileges to post in the ASOM list, even though, by
some quirk of the internet's reach, I do get to see its posts,
sometimes. So I request Wahid Kokaideu to forward this response, if
he would, to that list as well.
cm
At 3:16 AM -0400 5/8/07, <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
-----Original Message-----
From: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Fri, 4 May 2007 6.21PM
Subject: Re: [asom] Re: Press Release on 'Fast unto Death'
Dear Mr Wahid Saleh,
We are very grateful to receive a copy of your posting in response
to our Press Release AW/001/2007 Dated 29.04.2007.
AssamWatch(UK) would encourage you to submit us cases of Human
Rights violations in the internationally recognised format occurring
in Assam with permission to AssamWatch(UK) from the victim/victims
to enable us to work on those cases.
It might be a matter interested to you to know that our widely
circulated and Assam media reported Press Release to help the
victims (within our limits) of the Dhemaji Explosion did not produce
any results.
Regards.
Press section.
AssamWatch(UK)
4 May 2007
AssamWatch is a voluntary non-profit making Human Rights
organisation based in the United kingdom.
-----Original Message-----
From: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thu, 3 May 2007 10.30AM
Subject: [asom] Re: Press Release on 'Fast unto Death'
I understand that AssamWatch (UK) is a Human rights organization.
From the press release by Dr Hazarika, as he mentioned about the six
wives of the ULFA cadres, it seems he is only concerned about the
wellbeing of ULFA and ULFA relatives.
My question to Dr Hazarika:
What about the families that had to part with their near
and dear ones due to the ULFA's brutality?
Many of those kidnapped by the ULFA remain traceless, (for
your information Dr Hazarika please see the post:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/assamonline/message/3100>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/assamonline/message/3100
)
Are these families not 'human' enough so that their 'rights' could
be taken up by Human rights organization like AssamWatch (UK)?
Regards,
Wahid Saleh
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
PRESS RELESE
AW/001/2007
Dated 29 April 2007
AssamWatch(UK) has noted with some relief that upon receiving firm
written commitment from the Chief Minister of Assam, the six wives of
the missing cadres of the United Liberation Front of Asom in Bhutan in
December 2003 has ended their 'FAST UNTO DEATH' action on 26 April
2007. Assam Watch(UK) would like to thank the Government of Assam for
intervening in time to save the lives of these determined ladies who
has followed the footsteps of Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi who went on
repeated 'Fasting Protests' during the Indian independence struggle.
We are very hopeful that the Assam Government will honour the
written reassurances and commitments given to the ladies on doing the
needful in tracing the where about of the missing persons pursuing all
avenues and return them to their families as soon as possible.
The ladies fasting from. 21 March 2007 have put their health in
extreme jeopardy. Appropriate care need to be provided for overall
well being of these ladies who have put their bodies through extreme
starvation on a background of a anxiety over their beloved ones for
over the last Two and a Half year and it is expected that the
appropriate authorities have already taken this into consideration and
continue the care needed for them without any prejudice.
Dr. M. Hazarika
Co-ordinator
AssamWatch(UK)
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