Why is it necessary for ordinary Muslims to speak up?

Why is it necessary for ordinary Muslims to speak up?

There is no need for anybody including ordinary Muslims to speak up against terrorism. There is only one obilgation of citizenship and that is if anybody comes to know any illigal activity he has to report it to the nearest police station. However, this is not possible as ordinary citizen does not have a great opinion about the police. This responsibility completely rests with the social/political workers of the area. The police also should develop cordial relations with people in all areas and should meet people often. Of course, police strength has to go up and so also their salary.

 

The recent demonstration of solidarity with the victims of terrorism by Muslims is a very good sign as also the fatwa against killing inocents in the name of Islam. I wish it had come earlier.

 

Muslims, like so many others, may have some complaints against the system. However, the system itself allows you to change it. This is what Obama did. Nobody thought that he would get past Clinton. He had a great vision and he called it -The Audacity of Hope. With that he captured the imagination of the people, especially the young. He transcended the colour code as well as code of creed. In an interview he said he cannot accept that those who do not believe in Christ would be consigned to hell. He is a good Christian but his humanistic vision embraces all. We are human beings, first and last. This is what Mahatma Gandhi told us long ago.

 

( This is a response to a question in karmayog).

December 24,2008.

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The Great Indian Reality Show !

The Great Indian Reality Show !

In the edit of the Times of India, A Hungry Tide (17/12) it is mentioned that India ranks 66^th out of 88 countries on the International Food Policy Research Institute's (IFPRI) Global Hunger Index 2008 and has the largest number of undernourished people in any one country – 200 million. Hunger level in Madhya Pradesh is comparable to Ethiopia. Hunger level in Melghat of Maharashtra is almost the same. A snippet in the same paper on the same day states that the mismanagement has destroyed a huge stock of rice and wheat in a 250-acre godown of the Food Corporation of India in Nasik. Tthe Great Indian Reality Show !

December 17, 2008.

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" Credulity & Negligence".

'Credulity and negligence'.

'Credulity and negligence'- that is how Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, the President of India, commented after the Chinese Invasion of India in 1962 on the attitude and the response of the Nehru government. The same can be said of the response of the UPA government to the most daring attack on Mumbai's most famous landmarks – Taj Mahal Hotel, Oberoi Hotel and the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, apart from the Nariman House where the Jews were killed in a country which has never persecuted them. No wonder that 43% of the people who participated in the poll conducted by the Times of India (11/12) felt that Prime Minister should be penalised as well. I wish the Prime Minister had owned up his responsibility, moral as well as policy-wise and principle-wise. He had said Pakistan was also victim of the terrorists along with India when the whole world knew that it is the nursery of terrorism and that is why it is hit by terrorism. He invited Pakistan to share information about terrorists when it is the breeding ground of terrorism.

The Prime Minister never asked the Union Home Minister, who was always impeccably dressed but incapable of dealing with terrorism, to act on the various reports submitted by the committees on tackling terrorism. The newspapers have published a list of 13 terrorist attacks since UPA came to power and people have seen some action only on the Malegoan blast. It is said that the police spent most of the time on Malegoan blast than on others due to political reasons. At least the seven blasts in Mumbai trains in 2006 when 188 innocent people died should have woken the UPA but unfortunately it did not. Most of the dead were poor and the middle class. Now, it is the death of the elite that has stirred the government into action. If the Prime Minister had taken the same interest in meeting the threat of terror that he took in Indo-US nuclear deal, things would have been different – so many people would not have died in the various part of the country.

Nehru sacrificed V.K.Menon though both of them were responsible. But people now want to hold not just the Home Minister responsible for what happened but the Prime Minister as well. His responsibility is more.

December 14,2008.

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Why Vote?

 

Why Vote?

1. Vote is precious in a democracy.

 

It is not wise to give-up the right to vote. It is a precious right and without it, there would be a dictatorship. People have fought for it. The slogan of American settlers was, " no taxation without representation". Adult franchise was given to women in UK in the last century.African-Americans had also had to fight for it. We got it with our constitution and it was a wise decision. The rationale of adult franchise is, as an English constitional expert put it," wearer knows where the shoe pinches". Adult franchise without adult literacy diminishes the value of vote. However, our voters have what may be called native intelligence - common sense. 

 

2. Every MLA/MP should get 50% vote.

 

In order to make our present election system and process more meaningful, we have to support only two or three parties at the national level discourging smaller parties who make major decisions very difficult ( remember the Indo-US nuclaer deal ? and we all know how it was manipulated). For this to happen, we have to amend the system slightly. In every constituency, there has to be another round of election after 8 days if the winning candidate does not get more than 50% of the polled votes in which election only the top two would be alllowed to contest.

 

3. Democratistion of political parties.

 

There has to be democratisation of the political parties as well. The various posts in parties should be only through election, not selection. Their acounts should be audited by the Auditor General of India and should be published just like a limited company to avail exemption from income tax.

 

The parties should pesent their manifestoes to their General Body meeting and get it approved. It should have inputs from their members. The election commission should ban all populist measures such as free TV sets, free power which harm the finance of the state/centre. People have to be empowered with education, health and employment. People have to be taught fishing rather than give free fish which make them dependent. The candidates should be chosen by the local committee, not imposed by the central committee.

 

4. Educated should participate in politics.

 

Educated people should join the party of their chioce and make them more amenable for change, new ideas and good governance. There should be "Think-tanks'" at various levels - local, state,central - to educate the mases, classes and the masters ( politicians). Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

 

This is likely to get good governance including  good security. Giving up vote and negative vote diminish our democracy and the country. That is defeatism.

 

( This was written in response to the decision of some people after the terror attack in Mumbai on 26/11/2008).

 

December 9,2008.

 

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Mumbai - Pick your six.

 

Mumbai - Pick your six.

 

It is good to see so many eminent persons selected by the karmayogis. However, we have to accept the fact that fighting the election requires not merely considerable amount of money but the support of the people. This is possible if you have a well-organised party. And this is not possible to do so in a short time.

 

Let us think of a more feasible thing -  prepare a sort of manifesto which can bring the desired change.The manifesto can be forwarded to all the parties for adoption and whoever accepts it should be supported by all the NGOs.

 

The following could be included in that "Peoples' Manifesto for Good Governance". Karmayogis can add more.

 

1. The Rule of Law.

Now we have different laws for different people. We always talk about corruption in India. How many politicians have been prosecuted and punished for that ? Only some clerks and peons have been punished. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has ruled that it cannot punish the corrupt MPs as they have to be punished by the Parliament itself (Jharkand Mukti Morcha case during the time of the Prime Minister P.V.Narssimha Rao). You will find many more cases such as this. Legal experts should be able to tell us how to go change the law to promote rule of law. 

 

2. Accountability.

The recent terror strike has highlighted the negligence on the part of the politicians and the administration which includes police and the intelligence agencies. Most of the politicians have no time for the nitty-gritty of administration and that is why there are mounting number of pending files on their table and the decisions are delayed. Every minister should be in his chamber for at least four days in a week and clear the files. Every minister has to tell the people every month/quarterly how many files he has cleared and how may are pending. Every project - roads, schools, hospitals, - inititated should have to be completed within the stipulated period and if not, people should be told the reasons for the delay. No minister has been punished for farmers' suicide, nor any bureaucrat. No body has been held responsible for mal-nutrition among the tribals just outside Mumbai and in Thane district.

 

3. Justice.

Justice delayed is justice denied. Number of under-trials in our jails is a condemnation of our system. Our jails do not reform the criminal but makes him a hardened criminal.

 

4. Health.

Our public hospitals are as crowded as our jails. 

 

5. Schools.

Most of our public schools have no proper teachers, nor other essentials such as benches, black-boards, books etc.

 

The list is long. We have to prepare a small write-up on each of the above issues with the help of the experts in each subject and how to to improve the system. This would be our Manifesto for good governance. Even after accepting the manifesto, the parties may not implement it. It would be our responsibility to monitor the implementation as well. 

 

( This was written in response to the mail by Karmayog, an NGO, to select six names to be elected from Mumbai to the Loka Sabha in the next election.)


December 7,2008.


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Let us make our rulers accountable.

 26/11- Let us make our rulers accountable.

What happened in Mumbai on November 26 is the result of the years of gross neglect both by the State and the Central governments. RDX came to Mumbai in 1993 by sea after bribing the customs officials. This time terrorists came by sea after passing through the three barriers – Navy, Coast Guard and the Customs/Police officials, and none of them could stop them. Fishermen had warned and informed the Customs/Police officials but to no avail. There were reports from both the Indian and international intelligence though not very specific. The bullet-proof jackets were out-dated and defective. Number of coastal police were not adequate, nor the number of coast guard speed-boats. India has the distinction of having the largest number of terrorist hits and casualties after Iraq and Pakistan but hardly anybody has been caught, persecuted and punished in the last few years. We were saved not by the system but the bravery of the few – the police, NSG, fire brigade and the hotel staff, all ill-equipped.

Who is responsible and who is accountable ? Politicians of course, and the bureaucrats, the Navy, Coast Guard and the police too are answerable. However, the buck stops with the citizens. Why do we vote the same politicians who guard themselves but throw the people to the wolves ? Let us ask our representatives – MLAs and MPs, Ministers – what they have done to protect Mumbai and India ? Let us vote those parties who give us a concrete time-bound plan of action which should be monitored by the citizens every month or every quarter – well-equipped speed-boats, police stations etc. People should be informed about progress of this plan through the press. A citizens group should monitor, question and interact with the politicians, bureaucrats and the police. The country also needs an effective law, autonomy for police to act and enforce the law, and speedy justice.

26/11 is a call to the citizens to guard their freedom and democracy from the unresponsive governments. We have enough enlightened citizens in Mumbai and India. We have to form a body which can be called " Citizens for Guarding Freedom and Democracy."

December 4, 2008.

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