Desicritics Category: Culture: Crime

Justice Delayed for Dalit Girl Burnt Alive in Uttar Pradesh

Madhu Chandra — Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:48:36 EDT

The world was shocked by recent news of a six year old Dalit girl thrown into a burning bush by the upper caste villagers in India’s largest state of Uttar Pradesh in April, for which justice, even after three months, is still delayed.

A Fact Finding Team consisting of an International Human Rights group met Kamlesh and her parents along with Dalit leaders from her village. The story of justice delayed and the denial of medical and financial aid have been reported to the fact finding team.

Kamlesh’s parents are still in shock, suffering trauma and feel great fear of what will happen, if the accused happened to be released from jail.

On April 29, 2008 in the morning, in a village called Trauali Jhanauti in Mathura District of Uttar Pradesh in north India, Kamlesh was thrown into a burning bush by upper caste fellow villagers for the alleged crime of passing through a house which lies on the roadside toward the open fields where Dalit women and children used to go for open toilet.

When Kamlesh’s mother Manju, eighth months pregnant, attempted to snatch her from burning bush, she was thrashed at roadside and fell unconscious. When Manju came to her senses, she yelled for help. She pulled her daughter out from the burning bush, by the time 80% of her body was burned.

Kamlesh’s parents did not have a single penny to afford taking their daughter to the Hospital; rather they took her to the local police station with the expectation that the police would help them get some medical assistance.

The local police, after registering the complaint, took Kamlesh to the Government District Hospital at Mathura. She suffered five hours at the hospital before proper medical attention was given to her. After 36 hours, she was transferred to a bigger hospital in the district headquarters and later referred to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, where she was treated up to her present condition.

The physical condition of Kamlesh is still grim. No proper medication has been given to her. Her right hand remains crippled, the right leg and skin all over the body are cracked and unhealed. She still groans with pain. Immediate treatment is needed to fully heal the burns.

The little financial aid from government has not been enough to cover the medical cost. Kamlesh’s parents have taken loans from known friends and relatives to pay for the necessary medicines.

Kamlesh’s parents Saudan and Manju are illiterate and do not have any regular job nor fields to cultivate. They depend on their daily wages, which they hardly get 8 to 10 days in a month.

A local Dalit activist and leader of All India Confederation of SC/ST Organizations told the fact finding team,

“For years, Dalit community in the village have been the receiving end of caste instinct crimes such as the case of Kamlesh, but this is the first case that the police has arrested the culprit.”

Justice to Kamlesh and her parents for the crime committed against them is very shaky at this point. The accused and the upper caste communities are wealthier and have better connections with government authorities, through which the crime could be manipulated.

Kamlesh’s father Saudan says,

“Out of four names of the culprits registered in police complaint, three have been removed from the complaint and only one is arrested and put behind the bar without trial. We could be forced to withdraw the complaint against the culprits to compromise the case.”

The lack of sanitary facilities in the village was one of the root causes for ongoing crimes faced by Dalits of the village from upper caste communities. The Dalit village leaders feel that such incidents could be avoided in future, if sanitary facilities for Dalit communities were provided in their village.

Illiteracy, poverty, social oppression and lack of medical accessibility to the Dalits in the villages are the root causes of such atrocities and crimes. Economic and education empowerment of Dalit communities will play a vital role in delivering them their fundamental rights. Failing which, the economic condition of Kamlesh’s parents and alike of other Dalit families; will always fall short to give education to their children in the village.

Ignorance caused by the lack of education could be one of many factors for caste-based discrimination and atrocities, which Dalits have been suffering for years. Surely the stories like that of Kamlesh could be prevented in future through proper community-based education and amelioration of living conditions.

Bihar Police Order Closer Look at Section 498 (A)

Ashish — Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:40:29 EDT

Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code is meant for prevention of crimes against women, something that this country has struggled with for quite some time now.

If you read the actual Section, it talks about: "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". This was meant to ensure that a woman subjected to harassment in her matrimonial home can take legal measure to protect herself. However, as with any law that favors one side of the dispute, it is subjected to misuse (and there are numerous complaints about the law being misused).

The main complaints against this law (from what I have read so far in various articles, Web sites, and e-mail) is that, the law has allowed a daughter-in-law to subject the entire family of her husband to its provisions, and the police do not investigate the case, but based on the complaint, have been known to drag all the accused (including elderly people and children) into the dispute.

Here is an update from a directive sent out by Bihar police:

There have been talks about misuse of laws relating to crime against women for quite some time now. Bihar police's CID also admitted this when it directed all the SPs in the state to ensure proper investigation into FIRs lodged under Section 498(A) of the IPC before going in for arrest of the accused. "Sometimes such cases are framed against in-laws or others just to harass or settle old scores. Hence, the precaution against arrests," ADG (CID) Yashwant Malhotra told TOI recently.

In his letter to district SPs, government railway police, range DIGs and zonal ADGs/IGs, Malhotra said it has been observed that in cases relating to crime against women, particularly those registered under Section 498(A) of the IPC, all the in-laws of the alleged victim are named as accused. And they are arrested without proper investigation into the case, thus marring the interests of justice.

This is actually a mixed step (in reality). One would like to think that, as per judicial and legal standards, the practice of doing an enquiry and then only proceeding against the named people is the right step. If one considers the law to be a just tool, then this is the right step.

However, there needs to be careful attention paid to the actual implementation of the law, since now proceeding on the basis of a complaint would be subject to the individual police officer of the region. Rural and semi-urban regions are known for police officers bucking under pressure, especially when the families and people involved are known / powerful.

What do people think? Making sure that the provision is subject to checks and balances is a good thing, but do people think that this could lead to a much watered down enforcement of the provisions meant to protect women?

Do You Know Filmmaker, Activist Ajay TG?

Sakshi Juneja — Tue, 5 Aug 2008 14:23:40 EDT

No? Neither did I until yesterday.

There I was sitting at Juhu's Prithvi Theatre watching a compilation of short documentary films, organized by an NGO called Vikalp (formed in 2003, a group of documentary film makers fighting against censorship) and all I could think of was Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag.

Though the film turned out to be the biggest box-office failure of 2007, to me the film's depiction — of modern day daaku raj (Babban Singh) vs. the Ex-Police Chief and his hired goons Heroo & Raj – seem perfectly in sync with the Naxalite situation in the State of Chhattisgarh. No laughing matter this, the reality is as dark and horrifying. However, unlike the movie, the Naxalite condition doesn't have as clear a hero-villain divide.

In order to free the state's people from the tortures of the rebellious Naxalities (dakku raj), the government put in action the Special Public Security Act (SPS, 2005), and have also created an army of villagers called the Salwa Judum giving them bows arrows and guns, under the pretext of self-protection against the bad guys. The Chhattisgarh government wants us to look up to them in the same way as the villagers regarded the Ex-Police Chief in the film. Their life-savior, their messiah.

According to the Planning Commission 2008 report, that is not only unconstitutional, but also a form of state sponsored terror. So, no happy ending in sight here, only a spiral result of violence and more of it.

And this is where filmmaker Ajay TG's story comes in.

On 4th May 2008, Chhattisgarh police arrested Ajay, a filmmaker by profession and human rights activist working in Raipur. He also happens to be an active member of The People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), a human rights organization aggressively protesting against the Salwa Judum and the SPS.

Ajay was detained under the Act, which is nothing more than a façade to brand human rights activists/organizations as "terrorists". Shockingly, until this date the State police have found no hard evidence against the filmmaker except what it claims to be a letter allegedly written to him to by a Maoist leader. This old letter was actually written to Ajay before the Naxalites were banned. And it only asked him the price of a piece of equipment that they had confiscated from him, wanting to pay him back.

A few days before he was arrested, Ajay was making a film on another activist Dr Binayak Sen (General Secretary, Chhattisgarh PUCL and like Ajay detained by the State Police since May 2007) and happened to enter, with a penknife, the courtroom in which Sen was being tried. Ajay didn't even remember he had in his rucksack. He of course issued a formal apology to the court, calling it a human error, and the court forgave him. Nonetheless, the next day, papers carried stories of the filmmaker having carried a 'modern and deadly weapon' into the court of law.

Those who have worked with Ajay think this is a tactic employed by the State government to suppress the efforts made by PUCL members and supporters of Dr. Sen.

Last night along with 20 or so other people, I watched a couple of documentaries on the people of Chhatisgarh – some directed by Ajay himself and others where he assisted as an editor and/or cameraman – Safar, Anjam, Aisa Kyun? being the most discomforting of the lot. Oddly enough only a handful of mainstream media publications have bothered to put across Ajay and PUCL's struggle to the masses; after all where is there any time or space left to report about selfless human efforts when the nation prefers to lap up gossips involving Bollywood starlets.

Anyway, if anything mentioned here interests or manages to pinch the humanity within you, even to the slightest – I request you to visit Release Ajay TG and show your support.

UPA Wins Confidence Vote - Cash For Votes Allegations Scar House

Aaman Lamba — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:55:07 EDT

In a tumultuous debate that made Lok Sabha TV the most watched channel in India, the lower house of the Indian Parliament debated the confidence motion in the ruling UPA Alliance government, moved by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the Left Front withdrew support over the India-US nuclear deal.

The debate had the usual grandstanding and suave allusions amidst much heat and noise. It might have been a regular day with the vote mostly expected to go closely in favour of the government had the BJP not pulled a large green rabbit out of the proverbial hat. Three BJP MPs - Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulasthe, and Mahavir Arora - brought out large wads of cash, apparently totalling Rs. 1 crore and claimed they had been given this money as a bribe in exchange for their votes in favour of the motion. They claimed that Amar Singh, the general secretary of the Samajwadi Party had allegedly given them the money and that they had a video recording of the same.

This predictably led to pandemonium and jolted the talking heads out of their stupor to rush to the well of the house. The BJP demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister. The Speaker of the House, Somnath Chatterjee, after he had restored order following much brouhaha, asked the Delhi Police chief to carry out an investigation. The Congress Party rejected the allegations and asked for an investigation themselves. They said that Ashok Argal, having accepted the supposed bribe was himself liable. Laloo Prasad Yadav demanded a narco-analysis test be carried out on the three BJP MPs who had raised the allegation.

The resumption of proceeding after a temporary adjournment saw impassioned criticism and alternately support of the government. Omar Abdullah called the attempts to shout down protesters and move motions against the vote itself the 'death of democracy'. Somnath Chatterjee maintained a tenuous decorum with aplomb. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attempted to make a statement in his soft voice before he was harangued and drowned out by a tumult of voices. He finally submitted his statement in writing.

The vote was finally called and a voice vote appeared to have gone the government's way. A division of the house was called for and initial voting came across as 253 to 232 in favour of the motion, with 2 abstaining. Many MPs indicated they had been unable to vote. The final tally was 275 to 256 - Singh is king, at least for the day.

The allegations raised will take a long time to die down, and the government's functioning will take a knock until the issue is settled.

The Opium Eaters - The Roads Between

Harold Bergsma — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:07:59 EDT

We are the opium eaters; we are the consumers of the 6,500 tons of opium produced in Afghanistan and Pakistan with an export value, according to the United Nations, of about $3.1 billion. While we fought the war against terror and weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, against the Taliban, the war against opium growing and trafficking was neglected, went soft. A virulent opium trade has flourished in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2004, a time when the Taliban had all but eradicated poppy growing. Now, ninety percent of the world’s opium is produced in the region of southern Afghanistan and border areas of northern Pakistan. But the world continues to have a tremendous need for opium products to be used for legitimate medical purposes. India is a producer of licit opium for the pharmaceutical market, however, the farmers are paid so little to grow approved amounts of opium that they have also learned how to subvert the system and receive ten times the amount for their crops on the illegal market. There is a shortage of raw opium for medical uses, while the illegal trafficking of opium continues. Efforts to eradicate opium in the fields as it is grown have been ineffective. Graft, bribery and corrupt political forces have protected the growers; only a tiny proportion of the entire opium 2007 crop grown was destroyed. The fields that were destroyed with weed cutters were frequently those of the poor peasant who did not have the support of a landlord or a war lord. Aerial spraying of poppy fields has been prevented by those in high authority in Afghanistan. Supply and demand, that is, the need we, a drug culture, express for opium, is what moves the trade of this narcotic, and move it does, by the hundreds of metric tons annually.

Amazingly, America through its international clout exerts controls in many other sovereign territories it avoided many years ago. Remember The Monroe Doctrine? What is that? What we may remember is President T. Roosevelt’s statement, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Now we speak loudly, explosively, and carry huge economic sticks and massive military ones but the opium trade goes on, seemingly ignoring the international sanctions, the military presence of the United States, and in the past of England, in Afghanistan, and their tanks rumbling on paths right through the middle of the bright and beautiful fields of poppies growing in Kandahar or in Nangahar along the Baluchistan border where the greatest increases in opium production have occurred.

De Quincey’s famous book, Confessions of an English Opium Eater, 1822, is a classic rendition of one who used opium and who experienced the “...extreme euphoria initially,” as well as the hellish results of addiction in the later stages, “...the darkness and nightmares.” In the late eighteen hundreds, at the time of the Monroe Doctrine which spoke of American autonomy and non-involvement in European wars, and in the early nineteen hundreds, opium was consumed widely and openly in Europe, England and the United States. It could be purchased in the local chemist shops or drug stores as we call them; women took laudanum drops in a glass of water for the ‘vapors’ or other ailments. We were a nation of opium ‘eaters’, however, in terms of actual volume, more opium is now consumed in various forms illegally in the United States than during that early period.

“The State Department’s bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) plays a key role in carrying out the President’s National Drug Control Strategy by leading the development and implementation of U.S. International drug control efforts. INL manages a diverse range of counter-narcotics programs in 150 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and Europe. These bilateral, regional and global initiatives aim to fight the cultivation of drug crops at their source, disrupt the trafficking of drugs and precursor chemicals, and help build host-nation law enforcement capacity.”

(Nancy J. Powell, Acting Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, July 12, 2005, Washington D.C.)

The efforts of the US government to get a handle on the drug and opium problem, continues world-wide. Since more than ninety percent of the opium of the world is grown in Afghanistan and Pakistan, special efforts are made there to slow down opium growing, because its sale, transport and processing, provide the very ones we are fighting in our world against terror with the financial means to carry out their activities. Taliban and Al Qaeda receive some of their financial backing from such drug trafficking. Corrupt officials at every level have their hands out for bribes to allow the growth of the opium poppy, the transport of opium and processing of it, and this trade is growing.

A blind eye. It seems there are many along the way when it comes to opium. Such blindness pays off very well. So well in fact, that the small business man has learned that huge profits can be made by becoming part of the purchase and sale of opium; much like we buy stocks, they buy shares in its purchase, transport and sale. Many of these actors are not huge investors by international standards. Sixty thousand rupees may seem a vast sum to many Pakistanis, however, $6000 may not be a huge investment in other parts of the world. But it is small investors like this who make it all happen, make the opium flow freely across international borders to Iran and on to Europe and the States. We in the western world are the eventual buyers which make it all possible. We are the consumers, the infidel opium eaters.

I talked with a few opium growers in NWFP, the small-fry types, and asked if this was not an activity proscribed by their religion. They were surprised at my question, “Of course not, the growing, sale and dealing with opium is business, a way for a man to make a living by growing a crop.” They were amazed at my placing an immoral connotation on the activity. But when it comes to talking about foreigners in their country who are trying to manipulate them, to destroy them if they do their business, then the strong ‘moral and immoral’ words fly, shaitan, words of condemnation and frustration, oaths calling on Allah to destroy the infidel invaders. Americans, by Nancy Powell’s own words, are involved in 150 countries carrying out anti-narcotic activities; involved in an equal number of military programs, carrying out our nation’s efforts to control and fight against our enemies, terrorism and anti-democratic activity. “While undermining the narcotics industry through successful eradication and interdiction, we are also helping extend democracy and strengthen security...by building democratic institutions that provide security and justice.” (Counter-narcotics Programs, 5/23/2007)

The small man in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt or Iran looks at this monster and sees the big infidel bully that is pushing around, getting its way in the world through the power of money and the might of armed force. Hatred! Why? Hatred is focused against this force that is such a powerful agent for change; hatred is the strong emotional undercurrent to undermine it. Drugs, opium and the power of it on the international market has provided the little man, the student of truth, the Taliban, with tools to undermine our world-wide efforts of domination, albeit extending democracy. The more we buy opium, the stronger their cause. Our appetite for opium means the Taliban will prosper. Their strength is surprising. President Karzai was their target for assassination in April of 2008. He did not die, but others around him did. Puppets are hated as vehemently as the one who holds the strings. Puppets, whether they be leaders ‘nominated’ by America in Iraq, leaders who are supported in Israel, or even those wearing the green robes of aristocracy in Afghanistan are looked at in distaste; but it is really the string pullers who are the target of hatred, the demon puppet master.

Our threats in Jan. 2008 to go after ‘them’ in Pakistan from our already compromised ‘puppet’ base in Afghanistan drew surprisingly strong words from President Musharraf during his hay day. If I may paraphrase it, “Don’t mess with your troops and anti-terrorist programs on Pakistani soil. The terrain is terribly rough out there, you won’t like it.” (Italics mine) We are not used to having ‘sovereign nations’ react like this, particularly Islamic nations who accept our foreign aid to the tune of a billion dollars of American taxpayer money in AID, a great deal of which is used for their military purposes.

The little guys, thousands of them, support the ‘opium eaters’ through their moving opium on the back roads from Afghanistan, through Pakistan and to the markets beyond. Opium is the livelihood of thousands of farmers, thousands of merchants and truck drivers, thousands of shippers. These actors on a small stage in Pakistan say their lines in the play on drugs with halting voices, but keep the play alive.

I have walked on small paths in the opium fields on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border and talked to the farmers. They make so little from their sales of raw opium; it is those who buy it and move it that reap the huge financial benefits. I have talked to the farmers about trying alternative crops; they smile and say, yes, yes, sahib. Stretching out in front of me were vast acres of white and red blossoms, another harvest of opium getting ready for the opium eaters. I have on my computer screen a wonderful picture of Afghani men harvesting opium, standing in their fields as British and American tanks rumble by on the dirt roads, oblivious to the harvesting activity around them, and carefully staying on the roads between the poppy fields. That picture is the metaphor for opium eaters.

Indian Police Brutality - Unfettered Power

Ashish — Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:17:56 EDT

The Indian police works under manuals and guides written during British times where the main aim was to protect the rulers from the ruled. Further, in urban and rural areas both, the police is also used as an extension of the power of the local political leaders; a side effect of these factors is that there is no accountability or responsibility built into the bodywork of the police force. Hence, despite having some dedicated men committed to the welfare of the country, we also have men in khakhi who pretend that the law does not apply to them.

When the Supreme Court tries to change the rules to reform the police force and apply more accountability, states believe that their freedom will be lost and oppose such measures.

It is this enhanced sense of power and no accountability that makes the police believe that it can act like these policemen did in Ahmedabad:

AHMEDABAD: Three drunk cops beat up a youth in the wee hours of Sunday because he failed to comply to the extortion demands of the policemen. Bipin Thakor, 27, a resident of Thakorvaas, Shahibaug, was whipped with the police's belt and thrashed with batons. Bipin is now in the Civil Hospital. Medicos said he has got 375 stitches in his left hand that had severe, multiple injuries in the flesh and skin. He had also suffered multiple injuries in his hand, chest, ear and neck.

When Bipin said he did not have any money, the cops body searched him and found Rs 9,200. This enraged the drunk cops. They first called him a liar and then started beating him up on the main road. The constables beaten him up with lathis and the belt that accompanies their police uniform. After a while, they left Bipin on the main road unconscious. He was later sent to the Civil Hospital by a local tea vendor.

Apparently the local police post cannot detect who these policemen were; but that is understandable; why would the police force support a citizen when it comes to one of their own. Why should policemen feel that they are entitled to extort money from citizens? It is these kind of atrocities that will eventually force much greater accountability on the police force.

Bomb Blasts, Social Responsibility, and Baazigars

tunnelvision — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 09:03:53 EDT

On the 13th May, 2008 at 7.30 PM in Jaipur, the first bomb planted by terrorists went off at 7.30 in terribly crowded streets of the Pink city and by 8.00 PM nine blasts had spilled the blood of hundreds of innocent people. About eighty people died and above two hundred injured lay crying in hospitals.

Concurrently, at 8.00 PM, in Kolkata, the IPL Cricket match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Dare Devils began. Kolkata Knight Riders' co-owner Shahrukh Khan was present. His team won the game and he danced at the victory of his team. He had millions of reasons to dance and not even one reason to show concern for ordinary people who go crazy even to have a look at their idol. The cricket match was planned long back and couldn’t have been cancelled.

That is reasonable but consider the horror of seeing cheerleaders dancing in Kolkata as Jaipur lay bleeding. Some would say that they are paid to dance and they did their job.

Die-hard Shahrukh fans will opine that he is a very busy man and he couldn’t have known about the horrific events folding in distant Jaipur.

It appears increasingly impossible to look for such elusive sensitivities from our icons. He was perhaps so terribly focused with his maniacal concentration looking forward to a win, he lost contact with other matters. Like a latter-day Arjun, he focused all his energies on the cricket match. In today’s connected world it is unacceptable and unthinkable that he, his staff, or his resourceful associates didn’t know of the horrific bomb blasts.

It’s horrendous to know that nobody bothered to suggest toning down the victory celebrations and displaying concern for the dead and wounded as result of the terrorists' attack. At least, it was expected that he could have avoided dancing at the end of the match and had mourned the terrible event in Jaipur.

Other Baazigars of 100 plus TV channels gleefully continued to beam glamorous advertisements and laughter show promos while continuously reporting the bomb blasts.

It seems that the media is the biggest gainer of natural and unnatural calamities befalling helpless people. We must know by now that these Baazigars don’t have any sensitivity left along with zero social responsibility.

To talk about the concept of social responsibility of our icons is perhaps totally insane and useless as they have not heard and/or understood it.

Mercy Killing in India

DeeptiA — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:00:13 EDT

A very sensitive subject indeed. Mercy killing, or allowing a person to take his own life (or a team of doctors to do so) is a dilemma that raises ethical questions all over the world. For a world that has derived many of its laws and regulations from religious backgrounds (Ten Commandments / The Gita / The Koran / etc..), mercy killing is something that raises the hackles of a large section of the world's population. It is only permissible in some countries, and that too under strict control. In many other countries (even one such as the United States), mercy killing has run against a moral hard rock and many physicians have been sentenced for helping in carrying it out. In the recent case of Terri Schiavo (Wikipedia), the case went through major conflict, with people at all levels (politicians, religious figures, family rights groups, etc) getting involved.

The basic premise for mercy killing is simple: There are many medical conditions that are terminal, and there is no established medical treatments that can cure the disease or prevent death. And unlike movies, people don't dance or sing till almost just before death, they go through horrible phases of steadily declining abilities - losing control of vital motor abilities, losing control of their mental faculties, unable to fend for themselves and being dependent on others, and a steadily increasing pain. In such cases, there has been the logic that given that their condition is terminal (that is, they have reached a condition where death is confirmed and they no longer have a life that seems meaningful in any way), they should be allowed an option to end their life when they still can command control of their life.

Taking the first step towards legalizing euthanasia or mercy killing, the Law Commission has decided to recommend to the government to allow terminally ill to end their lives to relieve them of long suffering. It allows those whose death is virtually certain to avoid their painful journey to the end.

The core of the recommendation to make euthanasia legal stems from several SC judgments which ruled that 'life does not mean animal existence’. "If a person is unable to take normal care of his body or has lost all the senses and if his real desire is to quit the world, he cannot be compelled to continue with torture and painful life. In such cases, it will indeed be cruel not to permit him to die," says the report, receiving final touches from Commission chairman Justice A R Lakshmanan.

However, aside from the moral and ethical problems that this issue comes up with, there are many other problems that arise when such a discussion comes up:

- There are a host of new treatments that are arising as we experiment more with genes and new areas such as stem cell technology, so is it right to assume that a condition that is treated as terminal now could not become one where a treatment is possible in a few years

- Who decides whether the condition is terminal ? If it is a team of doctors, who do you trust ? How do you prevent misuse, especially when we have seen so many new cases whereby elderly people are dumped because of the effort of taking care of them.

- Will this become a poor vs. rich thing? Suppose that a very expensive treatment is available abroad, and a poor person cannot afford to get this done for the terminal condition?

- How will the actual logistics of carrying out the termination of a medically terminally affected patient be carried out ?

- In a country where there are many more needy people than hospital beds, would this become a misused thing ?

Is India ready for something like mercy killing?

I feel that we need to make this a possibility, subject to some stringent checks and balances.

Thoughts Inspired By A Sack

Uma Ranganathan — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:20:43 EDT

A funny thing happened a couple of days back. Our cook A, who pulls out a story a day for me from her never ending bag of tales, and sometimes more than one, told me about a sack being discovered in a side street where she works. The sack, lying on the ground by an old well at the top of the lane, was discovered by a sweeper who looks after one of the buildings where A too, has a part time job. The bundle smelled really bad. I asked A, what do you think it was? She shrugged. Could it have been a corpse, my fanciful mind wondered aloud and she said, who knows, perhaps it was.

I say, how come the police didn’t find it and take it away? She explains, oh, it wasn’t on the main road, it was somewhere at the back of a steep narrow alley and the police wouldn’t think of coming there to look for anything.

I said, why didn’t the cleaning woman inform the police and A says, you crazy? Who would want to have anything to do with the police? You think you’re obliging them but if that thing in the sack were to really turn out to be a corpse or something else suspicious, they’d be after your blood for months. And you know how it is. The poorer you are the more they harass you.

A says, I did think of telling my employer about it, I thought he could inform the police but then I said to myself, if the police were to ask him how he found out, he might mention my name and then I’d get roped into something I really have no time for! So I finally decided to keep mum.

A couple of hours later a friend from Germany calls up to chat. She happens to be working on a movie script which involves child abuse and the question arises, as to how to react to a story which is not strictly speaking your own but which nonetheless affects you in some way. Good question. How would you react to a case of a little boy whom you had nothing to do with really, but whom you knew was being brutally ill treated by his parents? How do you react to stories of violence and cruelty happening far removed from where you are but in which you feel anyway emotionally involved? People getting killed in Iraq, children starving in Africa. A suspicious looking sack lying in a back alley somewhere which you've only heard about but not seen yourself?

To my mind, two possibilities arise. In the first case you feel directly called upon to “do something”. There are those who feel compelled to go “out there” and take an active part in the proceedings, people who help to keep an issue alive, thanks to whom we know what is happening in the world and because of whom it also becomes more difficult for the rest of us to look away, completely. Journalists, photographers, social workers.

There is another way to deal with the external situation, which is more difficult to grasp because it is more low key and at first sight it seems to have no direct connection with people who are starving or brutalized in the world. And that is for each of us to take a ruthless look at how we might be contributing to the general sense of violence and insecurity “out there.” This way involves examining every corner of our minds and looking at our own relationships, at how we react to those we don’t understand, people with whom we disagree or those who are much worse off than ourselves. It is to look at how fairly and with how much respect we treat the people we work and live with.

I have a sneaky suspicion that the first option might be easier. It is easier to make a noise about something outside, no matter how difficult or dangerous the task might seem and I think this is why more people in the world opt for social work and start organizations to support the downtrodden than people who feel called upon to examine their own souls. Because your time and energy in this case is occupied in so-called noble acts and you don’t really have to come into contact with the dirt in your own life and relationships.

Wasn’t it Krishnamurti who said though, that real change will come about only when we stop generating violence and injustice at the personal level? When we as individuals become generators of peace, instead of perpetrators of violence and deceit. And will this not happen when we understand how we, with our own petty and conflict ridden minds contribute to the general atmosphere of decay? Will change not come about when we as individuals, overcome the violent streak in our own psyche? It is so much easier to allow oneself to be swayed into action by external happenings because even that brings visible returns at some level. At least you get a pat on the back from someone or a medal for your efforts which a spot of quiet soul searching is unlikely to bring you.

So is this piece an excuse for not getting involved in what happens in the outside world? No. I think that when you truly listen to yourself, the right answers do surface and they are not always comfortable to follow. The answer for one person might indeed be to step into another person’s story because that is what is needed at a particular point. For another individual the truth might be simply to use an external incident to become aware of unresolved feelings of anger or violence in his personal life and to try and understand those feelings better.

The difficult thing always, is to follow the truth because no matter what you do you will be offending someone or other. And this is what makes it hard for us to accept and to act according to what we really see, hear and feel because there is always someone in our lives whom we are afraid of offending or hurting.

When I put the phone down after chatting with my friend in Germany it was clear to me that in her own discreet way she was persuading me to do something which I in no way felt called upon to do. To inform the police about a suspicious looking sack in a back alley beyond the fringes of my own immediate neighborhood, which I had not even personally seen. Not to do what I felt she would have liked me to, made me feel I might lose her approval and for a moment I felt the muscles in my stomach tightening with discomfort. But then her opinion was not mine. Given the circumstances and the red tape in India, I felt in no way obliged to spend my time and energy following up a task which did not seem to involve me.

However what I did was to chase up that first chat with A, the following morning, which threw up a possible solution to the question of the stinking sack in the back alley. I’ll tell my employer about it, A said, and he can go take a look himself. If he actually sees it he doesn’t have to mention my name because then he can tell the police he discovered the bundle on his own while walking up the lane. So when she turned up for work this morning I put the question to her once more. The sack? Oh, she said, the boss wasn’t home today so I couldn’t speak to him. The sack is still there, only today it wasn’t smelling at all. I went close to it and I couldn’t get even a whiff of anything.

Of course we couldn’t help wondering what the hell really was in the sack but for the time being I’m going to let the matter rest.

Government Considers Reviewing Anti-Dowry Laws

DeeptiA — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:51:40 EDT

The incidence of dowry in the country is fairly high (any statistics published on this subject are however immediately challenged as biased). Over a period of time, it has evolved from something that was supposed to be a gift given to the bride (and maybe the only thing given to the daughter of the house from the family property) to something that is seen as the right of the groom's family. The belief is that if the son is skilled or from a good family, or of the right caste, then it is the right of the girl's family to open their wallets and give umpteen amounts for the marriage.

There are people who dispute the amount of dowry prevalent in today's society, but media depicts for the most part society temporarily idolizing the girl who stood up to the dowry seekers, or you will read more grisly tales of brides being subjected to torture or being killed due to problems with the dowry being paid. In many cases, it is not cash, but the demand is for a vehicle, or even more subtly, a loan (never to be returned), to help the boy do better in a business or some other need. I know a case where a boy's grandparents demanded a car at the last moment (within 10 days of the marriage), and the poor parents felt that they had no option other than to give in and mobilize the funds to buy and give the car (canceling the marriage would have caused too many problems).

So, there are a set of laws to even the scale; these laws would not actually pass the test of being totally fair since they do weigh more in favor of the girl. Many would argue that this is right, since society is totally in favor of the demands by the groom. However, as always happens when there are a set of laws that are more in favor of one section, the misuse of these laws happen. So, for all the times when the dowry laws help a tortured or suppressed girl, there are numerous other cases where the same law is used to threaten the family of a groom where there has been no incidence of dowry. For a case where there has been marital discord, the threatened use of dowry can turn the tables, since the groom's family have learned to fear the use of dowry laws. The allegation of dowry can bring about unwanted media attention including vilification, closer attention by cops (maybe some days in jail as well), and a significant pressure level to settle the case.

Hence, over a period of time, there has been a lot of focus by many self-help groups to plead against the misuse of these laws and bring it to the notice of the government (not only the anti-dowry laws, but the recent domestic violence act that also has some harsh measures). Even many courts have pointed out the misuse of these laws in some cases and called for greater oversight to prevent misuse of these laws:

Following complaints about the misuse of dowry laws by women, the Centre has decided to look into the issue and will hold a consultation programme to get views and suggestions from NGOs and activists working for men. Acting on complaints about the misuse of dowry laws, the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development would organise a consultation programme where men from different walks of life would be invited to express themselves on June 25.

"The ministry has received complaints from men about the urgent need to amend Section 498(A) of the dowry law claiming that many women misuse the law to their benefit. After the consultation, the Ministry will examine how far this claim is right before deciding on any thing," Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhary said.

Nobody doubts the need for laws to act against dowry misuse as well as warn people against the potential problems they face if they demand dowry and ill-treat women because of that; however, at the same time, a harsh law has a strong potential for misuse and there is an urgent need for reform. The main question right now is about whether there will be a proper review and necessary changes be brought in?