Nilu, Brilliantly said - and you articulate well the troubled reactions and feelings of so many of us - the `other' minority who have a different identity - for which it is not easy to find a name!
Lolly On Fri, Oct 1, 2010 at 2:34 PM, Niloufer Bhagwat <[email protected]>wrote: > > *The Institutions of the State in India in the first decade of the 21st > Century * > * - the Road to Theocracy.* > > Yesterday the roads of Mumbai were deserted by afternoon and taxis stayed > off > the road in the evening with memories of the events of December 92 and > January > 93 as most people were aware that a Judgment was to be delivered and that > two > mainstream political parties and one regional party had made their > electoral fortunes > on the issue ably assisted by financiers and hawala money , however if > bombs > were thrown .Unknown to them the much maligned Commonwealth Games came > to their rescue and the alleged "Jehadi terrorists" the " Jamaat- e- > Islami" > and Hurriyat having overwhelming respect for the head of the Commonwealth > their Mai /Baap are now awaiting the end of the games at the request of > the political > leadership of various mainstream parties conveyed through the > Anti-terrorist squads > and so are the Saffron terrorists who owe the beginnings to the British > Raj and cannot > therefore insult the Commonwealth . This kind of loyalty with offerings > from the > national budget and banking industry even for take over of companies in > England > of doubtful financial viability , is not to be seen in the annals of the > British Empire . > Some intellectuals seriously believe that we were hanging from the trees > before > Britannia ruled the waves and that the establishment of the railways was > not for > better exploitation but an act of generosity of Imperial rule . > > Even as a few lawyers were awaiting the Judgment with as much interest > as they take daily in the visuals of the Stock market in the Bar > Association which > keeps them upto date not in respect of jurisprudence but on > speculation every hour of > the working day one of them reflected and said to me " I can > immediately recognize > anyone who is a Dalit or a backward class from his face ". Astounded I > reflected on this > much traveled lawyer and how he had managed his entry into the first > decade > of the 21st Century .Even as I moved away horrified by this remark which > reeked of > the ideology of upper caste "unsociability" which we imagined had been > eradicated in India he jumped up and said " The Hindus have succeeded ". > > Much later that night one understood that whereas the disputed plot had > been evenly divided between three claimants , this had been done not on > the basis of law by the three Judges ;there was no law in the reasons > advanced > by one of the three Judges for this distribution and not even a hint at law > or as to > why these claims were valid after the lapse of decades if not centuries > with > conclusions of the Learned Judges going back at least two thousand and > seven > hundred years ago in a mix of myth , legend and a few facts ;thereafter > arriving > in the 16th Century and then referring to excavations on the site again > hundreds of > years ago ; still forward to the years before 1857 and then 1949. > > Who was right ?The Supreme Court and the High Courts were dismissing > claims > barred by the law of limitation . In certain cases even six months delay in > filling > a Writ Petition had barred a vital Petition invoking constitutional > grounds , but in > these three Judges of the Allahabad High Court , we had 'Daniels' arriving > at a > Judgment . > > It was left to former Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar with his few remarks > despite > serious obstructions from the anchor to convey that there was neither law > nor > logic in the decisions . > > If not law or logic what was the reasoning based on in all three Judgments > ? > The constraints of a reactionary theocracy , we like Pakistan under the > auspices > of neoliberal economic policies of International Capital had evolved into > > a reactionary theocracy . Another institution of governance stood exposed > which had not relied on law but on religious faith and beliefs . > > The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas and what we were doing appeared > strangely similar . > > Arundhatti Roy hasproved to be right .It was not she who is a romanticist > but those of us like myself , who still believed that we had who had taken > a different path in 1947 how could we once again fragment as a society > after > the grim lessons of partition and the assassination of the father of the > Nation ? > Whereas she had already pronounced judgment as to what we had become, > even as South Asia is targeted for restructuring and fragmentation > on the basis of tribe and religion even as drones fly over the region . > > The silver lining is that if stones and pillars found on a site dating > back hundreds of years ago is evidence and that faith is the basis > of title, the tribal people who are in actual possession of their land > and the peasantry and other working people cannot be evicted by any > Court , as itis their faith and conviction supported by occupation from > time > immemorial that they have the first right of livelihood over their > land as against Multinational Companies Indian or foreign . > > The Court has implicitly upheld the consequence of violent acts > reinforcing the view of some formations in India in the Eastern > and Central Regions that violence is being sanctioned by the > institutions of the State siezing their land in favour of private > interests and that they are defending themselves . > > The question remains why have successive governments not > notified the impugned disputed land for land acquisition when it had > disturbedthe peace and the claim of every single party in all title > suits > had lapsed on account of limitation on one ground or another ; whereas > land being cultivated has been forcibly seized in various parts of the > country with whole villages evacuated with physical force to > subserve private interests ?????? > > One more institution of the State has revealed that we have become > a reactionary theocratic state with the Constitution of India flouted > even by those who have sworn to uphold it . > > It is not the three way division of the plot which is the cause > for anxiety but the reasons advanced for the Judgment reflecting > the erosion of India 's Republic , the Constitution of India and > the objectives of the Indian Freedom struggle for Independence. > > The destruction of justice and a legal system logically leads > to adoption of extra constitutional means of redressal. . > > This is what Arundhatti Roy recognized before we > did . > > Niloufer Bhagwat > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "humanrights movement" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > . > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<humanrights-movement%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/humanrights-movement?hl=en. > -- Ramu and Lalita Ramdas `Lara' - Ramu Farm Bhaimala Village P.O.Kamarle, Alibag 402201 Raigad Dist, Maharashtra, INDIA Phone: 0091-2141-248711 Fax: 0091-2141-248733 Cell: [L] 0 9422495315 Cell: [R] 0 9860170969 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "humanrights movement" group. 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