The Curious Case of Dr. Binayak Sen's conviction on Sedition

One of the things, I really do not appreciate among the intelligentsia, whether in India or abroad, is their propensity to see things only through their rose-tinted glasses and to denounce all contrarian views as fascist or rightist .... What really makes me go mad in the brain and red in the face is the fact that these so-called mandarins of morality are often found to be appeasing to a fault to certain sections of society and critical to a detail to the others.... This is where my path diverges from these mandarins of morality for I believe that there should be the same set of laws for both the parties ... that it's important not only that Caesar and his wife should be above the law but also the entire retinue that associates itself with Caesar!

Still, there are times, when my own stand is found to be very much in sync with these custodians of public morality.... Contradictory? Well, I am quite a bundle of contradictions and so lately on one issue I have found myself closing ranks with the intelligentsia to a very large extent ... the case is that of the life-imprisonment imposed on Dr. Binayak Sen on charges of sedition.

This is indeed a curious case and a curious sentence for a crime under a curious charge... the charge of Sedition! And specially so, in a country like ours which got independence after a long battle wherein many of our national leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak were time again accused and imprisoned on the grounds of Sedition!

The question that I seem to be asking myself regularly these days is a simple one ... does a charge of sedition actually deserve merit in a democratic country and if yes, under what circumstances can the charge be made? And the more basic question is, does the concept of democracy allow for the charge of Sedition .... and finally, was the sentence proportionate to the crime, if any? Being a common man, I can only speak my heart on the last part, the learned judges do have much more material in connection with the case than a lay person like me to discuss the subtleties of the case, however I do think being an aware citizen of India, I can and should have a point of thought on the concept of Sedition....

The Indian constitution is a remarkable piece of art, in that it incorporates the best of all constitutions and provides for the loopholes in each and every constitution on Earth... Indeed, Indian ingenuity has to be appreciated that it can provide such a constitution and then tear it to shreds too ....

Para III of the Preamble to our Constitution underlines the Fundamental Rights of the Citizens of India.... Here I will not be concentrating on all the different rights including those enshrined in Articles 15-18 for in the current discussion, the important part of Part III that needs to be discussed, is enshrined in the Articles 19, 20, 21 and 22 ... in totality, these 4 articles give the citizenry of India the following rights:

• Freedom of speech and expression (although the phrase, "freedom of press" has not been explicitly defined, freedom of expression for all intent and purpose includes freedom of press.)
• Freedom to assemble peacefully without arms
• Freedom to form associations or unions
• Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India
• Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India (This article does have a safeguard for the Tribal Regions, by restricting non-tribals from purchasing or moving into tribal lands. This has been done to protect them from exploitation of any sort. Furthermore, Article 370 restricts citizens from other Indian states and Kashmiri women who marry men from other states from purchasing land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.)
• Freedom to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

In addition to the above, the constitution also guarantees the citizenry the fundamental right to life and personal liberty, which in turn cites specific provisions in which these rights are applied and can be enforced. They are as follows:

• Protection with respect to conviction for offences is guaranteed in the right to life and personal liberty. According to Article 20, no one can be awarded punishment which is more than what the law of the land prescribes at that time.
• Protection of life and personal liberty is also stated under right to life and personal liberty. Article 21 declares that no citizen can be denied his life and liberty except by law. This means that a person's life and personal liberty can only be disputed if that person has committed a crime.
• Rights of a person arrested under ordinary circumstances is laid down in the right to life and personal liberty. No one can be arrested without being told the grounds for his arrest. If arrested, the person has the right to defend himself by a lawyer of his choice. Also an arrested citizen has to be brought before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours.

None of these rights are absolute; the constitution imposes restrictions on these rights. The government restricts these freedoms in the interest of the independence, sovereignty and integrity of India, and also in the interest of morality and public order, the government can impose restrictions on these rights. However, interestingly the right to life and personal liberty cannot be suspended, even in an emergency.

Let us now try and define Sedition: In simple words, Sedition is the stirring up of people against the government in power and is very much different from the much more intense word, Treason that means levying a war against the state.So if you look at it closely, Sedition is any overt act of a citizen or an organized group that not only criticizes the government of the day but also exhorts that people to start thinking on similar lines.... In the Indian scheme of things, there is a specific law against Sedition ... Sec124A of the IPC.

Sec 124A states, "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine”

This brings us to an interesting point.... .the concept of Sedition as outlined above can be applied in equal measures to anyone in the state, a leader of an opposition party who may have an axe to grind against the ruling party can call on to the people with a stated objective of getting the people to change the government... should that be considered as Sedition? If yes, does that not sit heavily on the rights as enshrined by Para III of the Indian Constitution?

Secondly, if you look at Section 124A, it can be argued that the spirit of the law goes very much against the right to life and liberty as enshrined in Articles 20 and 21 ... to the letter of the law, they may be different but if the person on the basis of a speech or an action is construed to be acting in defiance of a government in power and arrested,  and his fundamental rights abrogated, in the interest of the nation or public mortality, then without a shred of doubt, even his right to life and liberty in endangered, even before the court of law can take due course and find out if the accused in indeed a perpetrator of dissatisfaction or a victim of government mores.... this defeats the very purpose of the founding fathers of the Indian Constitution!

I think a democracy, as defined by Abe Lincoln, is the government of the people, by the people and for the people and so a democracy can have varied viewpoints and there need not be a consensus to the differences within. If we get to a stage where a criticism to the government can constitute a case of sedition, isn't it the end of democracy as we know it? To take things to the conclusive end, this is a draconian act that can be used by the opponents of Democracy to stifle every voice of dissent .... If Sedition is allowed to be a part and parcel of the democratic process, wherein constructive criticism can be put into the garb of Sedition, time if not far when a welfare state would be converted into a police state for lack of space for political dissent and opposition.

I do not advocate that Sedition should be per se removed from the annals of Indian legal code but I do firmly believe that in a democratic setup, the concept of Sedition has outlived it's requirement.... It can only be brought to the light only and only in times of emergency, and even then should be used only for acts that challenge the independence, sovereignty and integrity of the country.... such a law does not have any need in a society that's democratic, mature and has a stomach for digesting dissent.... which is the most notable power in a democratic setup.... else what Sahir wrote for a fascist state can be true of India as well:

Bediyaan Aaj Bhi Pehney Hai Azeezaan-E-Watan
Farq Itna Hai Ki Zanjeer Mein Aawaaz Nahin Hai....

The handcuffs are still bound on the hands of the patriots of my land,
the only difference being, they don't scream their presence like in the past (Transliteration)

Where is the Alternative?

Let me start off today by clearly stating that I am neither a Congressman nor a Comrade nor a revisionist though at different phases of my life, I have been associated with or fraternized with people who belong to any one of the 3 blocs that currently seem to hold in India - the Left, the Right and the Left-of-Centre.......

Yes..... I did vote for the Congress in 2009 but if the truth be told, I voted not for the Congress but for Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, had it been 2004, I would have still done the same ..... but had it been 1999, I would have voted firmly for Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his team ..... so, if you look closely, I have never voted for the party, but for the personality which is an anachronism, considering that we live in a parliamentary democracy and not a presidential one ... And I am not alone, a large number of people in this great country do the same - others of course vote on religious and castiest considerations....

The reason behind this anachronism is very simple.... there is nothing on paper and manifesto that differentiates the two largest parties in the country! On the face of it, both the Congress and the BJP are complete opposites of each other - the first, a symbol of minority appeasement in the form of secularism, the other reactionary to the principles of secularism.... the first, an unabashed speaker of crony populism, the second, a party close to the moneyed ..... but if you scratch beyond the surface, the one thing that strikes you is this simple fact, that beyond all the external posturing, all the blatant attempts at vote-bank engineering, both the right and the left-of-centre are one and the same.... Whether it's issues of foreign policy, whether it's issues of corporate and social paradigms, both the parties speak in the same language - the words used or phrases coined maybe different but the reality remains that the message is the same ..... Indeed, if the manifestos of the two parties could be exchanged and written on a simple parchment, minus the ideological posturing of Aam Aadmi or Ram Janambhoomi, the chances would be that none would be a bit wiser of which manifesto stands for which party -  so alike are they in thought or deed!

This is a sad point of reference - for the BJP at one time had a chance to be something different - they had a different agenda, they had a different focus, they had a different point of engagement - people would argue that their religious agenda had no place in a secular country like India ... that may be true but a Conservative space was there's for the taking..... this would have helped the country in many ways - the birth of a true Conservative Party would have pushed the dominant Congress to the Centre more strongly or even made a Liberal Party of it ... thus giving ample choices to the populace at large.... The failure of BJP to hold on to that space and it's continuous efforts to define it's position in religious terms led to the great failure of the 1990s. Today, the competition is not between two different strands of thought, but between two different hues of the same strand - it's either hawk or kite .... hard or soft ..... but increasingly the same!

The only party that seems to have a different opinion is the Communist bloc parties but these parties have not stopped living in the heydays of the 1970s. How can a citizen of 2010 vote for parties, that though different, still are averse to change or even to keep in single step with the changing times? The Land reform policies, the Social Security Act may have a large Communist footprint to the text but the fact remains that the Left has failed the nation by not watching it's step and in the process has marginalized it's own existence in the country. So, what could have been a credible force of opposition has failed the right to enter the hallowed portals of the Parliament itself!

The less said about the regional and casteist and communal parties the better ..... the joke of India is that today we have more than 500 parties but not a single party that can be considered as an alternative. Interestingly, while the populace of India has increased and the pressures of governance become more and more crucial, the political space has shrunk and this is not a good sign for the future.....

Man lives on Hope and Hope is all I have with me today.....

Wo Subaah Kabhi To Aayegi ..... Wo Subaah Kabhi To Aayegi

Bihar Elections - A New Trend or Old wine in a New Bottle?

The Bihar Elections is not a story of the success of Nitish Kumar and the defeat of Laloo Prasad Yadav ... it's not a story of the astonishing growth of a party essentially built on a Hindu backlash to Muslim vote banks (the BJP), in the Muslim hinterlands, it's also not a story of the final dismantling of the great social engineering plank that the Congress once was ...... it's much beyond all of this!

It is a story of a state that was once at the vanguard of India, as we know it - a state that once led India in all possible indices of development and prosperity.... It is the story of a state that gave rise to the first empire of India, the Nandas and then nourished the next two..... This is the story of a state that was once synonymous with power and diplomacy, where Chandragupta taught the power of the sword and Ashoka showed the power of the word; where Arya Chanakya taught statecraft and Gautam Buddha delvered enlightenment .....

It's all of the above 'But' more importantly this is a story of a state that fell from grace as did Adam from Eden and then languished in the doldrums to such an extent that a day did arrive when the state that had burnt many a candles for two millenia and more, was suddenly left in the dark with no candles, no torch, no light.... It's also the story of Man's indomitable fight against circumstances - of the dream that lives on, even when the reality forces one on, on a path different from the dream...... This is the story of Bihar!

Karpoorji Thakur had two illustrious and much-appreciated students - students, any teacher would be proud of ... this is the story of those two students, their contrasting ways and purposes and how a state was destroyed while the two went their separate ways....

But for India and for the rest of the continent, this is also a story that asks one specific question: Can the Governance of the Indian Sub-Continent be ever liberated from the cesspool of personal and communal considerations in which it finds itself mired today? Do not think, for a second, that this is the question of India alone - for it's not! Every incident in this entire-subcontinent even if takes place on the far-flung corners of the same, does in a course of time impact each and every player, sooner or later....

The results are out - on the face of it, it seems development has won the first round and casteist and  communal politics have been shown the door... In the words, of television anchors and reporters, the ones who are the first to see a trend where there are none and also the first to abandon the trend when public or business opinions change, Bihar has made a turnaround..... today, the populace of Bihar has rejected the charisma of Laloo to the pragmatism of Nitish.....

To an extent, it's true that, yes, Nitish has been a benefactor to Bihar.... he has brought about a turnaround that none could have ever expected or believed in ..... where doing business yesterday was a matter of fear, today chambers of business proclaim increment in investment! Where kidnappings was once the order of the day, today womenfolk are seen travelling even about 7 PM! And finally, the roads of Patna do look somewhat like the cheeks of Hema Malini - so what if the cheeks still belong to the Hema of 2010 and not the Hema of 1970 - still it's a vast improvement, at least they do resemble the much-vaunted Libran cheeks and that too for quite a distance in the hinterland.... not even Delhi can boast of such cheeks in the hinterland!

Yes, development has come to Bihar! Finally! At Last! but is this the end of the Caste Politics, has the Vote Bank Politics finally come to an end, has the sub-continent finally moved on? These are more difficult questions and to be frank, it would be too early to sound the bugle on any of these....

The Great success has not come without making concessions to the other side, the decadent dark face of the spectrum .....  as we shall see, the politics of they versus us has not yet been fully dismantled and this is where the concern lies ....

Where Laloo had ruled the crest of power on the MY factor (Muslim-Yadav factor), what Nitish did was to make the same combine redundant by taking two concurrent steps; the first step was to create a bigger block of the Mahadalits ..... the castes, now called MBC (Most Backward Castes), these are the backbone of his current success and have taken the war to the next level.....

From the 50s to the 80s, the battlefield was the SC and the ST, by using the Mandal Commission to it's benefit, Laloo and his counterparts, launched the OBC (Other Backward Caste) Revolution, becoming thus the face of social re-engineering and enjoying years at the helm; what Nitish did in Bihar was to position himself to the lower ends of the spectrum and weld them into a weapon of his choice..... Laloo's alliance partner, Ram Vilas Paswan could have countered him as a leader of the MBC but Nitish, using brilliant choice of men and measures, converted him from a leader of the Dalits to only a leader of the Paswan community, thus taking away from him the leadership of the entire Dalit community, thus marginalizing him in his own den ... It takes a Mayawati to play those kind of smart manoeuvring games (one of the reasons she continues to be a powerful player in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh), but Ram Vilas is no Mayawati ..... hence, what could have been, did not happen....

On the other hand, by consistently refusing Narendra Modi, who's perceived all over India as a butcher of innocent Muslims, a chance to campaign for his allaince, he got 2 things in clear perspective - 

• he reminded the entire BJP brass, that in matters concerning Bihar, he was the boss and he also ensured that the man on the street also felt and understood this message clearly, and 
• secondly assured the Muslims that a Gujarat kind of carnage could not be repeated in Bihar, since he was in complete control here ......

Contrary to the expectations from a Chief Minister of the NDA, Nitish actually reached out to the Muslims by effectively allowing the integration of the most backward in the community - the Pasmanda Muslims, thus creating a major rift in the formidable MY Equation.....

These two strokes, masterfully played along religious and casteist lines ensured that the much-famed Laloo hand was in severe disarray.....

Add to it, the fact that Development that was something the secular public (not to be confused with leanings but with the open category) always wanted and were now finally enjoying after more than a decade of hunger.... today Bihar is more connected, more confident, more sure of itself and the janata there feels more empowered then it ever did in the last 20 years ....  it was but obvious that Laloo had a battle on his hand...

The final act in the game was women .... with 50% reservations accorded to the women in local and panchayat polls, with free bicycles being distributed among women so that they could study and by endorsing and ensuring the safety of women on the streets by killing the crime rate, Nitish was able to get the most powerful and most difficult players in the game on his side..... whether it's tokenism or not, we will see later .. but as for now, Nitish had the backward community, the Muslims, the general public, the businessmen and the women on his side- something that got reflected in the elections..... Muslims were voting for BJP candidates not because suddenly there was no love lost between traditional enemies but because they were looking beyond BJP to Nitish.....it was the strings of Nitish which got him the result

Looking backwards, everything seems so easy .. .the challenge is not behind but ahead... as the Spiderman comics and movies, often declare..... 'With Great Powers come Great Responsibilities' .... I would say, with Great Expectations come Greater Disillusionment.... the clock is ticking .... and he is now in the most challenging of times.... till yesterday, he was being judged against the inefficiencies of Laloo.... today, he's being judged against the past successes of Nitish.... the battlelines have been drawn.... one wrong step and things can go downhill.... Public perceptions are fickle, they can never be trusted, as Obama would regretfully attest..... so from this time on, it's a walk on a tightrope.....

If Nitish succeeds this time, it may mean that Caste and Community considerations, can, if not today then tomorrow, be slowly marginalized because a second consecutive success would mean that a new rainbow coalition has emerged and rainbow coalitions can and may change the rules of the games..... till then, the battle is in balance....

All the Best Nitish.... and a beautiful couplet from Iqbal ..may it help

Khud Hi Ko Kar Buland Itna, Ke Har Taqdeer Se Pehle,
Khuda Bandey Se Khud Poonchey, 'Bata, Teri Raza Kya Hai?'

26/11 - A Moment of Truth!

26/11 is a watershed date in the History of Bombay specifically, India generally and the Indian sub-Continent at large; many would be surprised by my assertion of including the entire Sub-continent as an entity that was scarred by an event which was seemingly perpetrated locally on one specific place within the Sub-continent..... but I do believe that this brazen attack on Bombay will go a long way in asserting itself in the relations the many, different nation-states within this single civilization share in the long run

I am not trying to play the Big Brother here; as has often been the accusation against India by it's neighbours in the sub-continent, nor am I trying to dramatize or over-exert the importance of a localized incident to an entire canvas.... that would be entirely unfair and grossly incorrect but the fact remains that the incidents of that day mark for a change in the structured responses of the area and restructuring and re-alignment of the entire world.

There have been many terrorist attacks in India and beyond India before that eventful day.... it's not as if terrorism in South Asia suddenly made a date with history, or a tryst with destiny on that particular day..... to be precise, even when the entire world was supportive of Jihad (from 1979-1990) and unaware of the course future events would take, even before 9/11 had shattered America out of it's Rip Van Winkle-like slumber and forced it to take a stand against it's own creations, even before the world talked of terror and against Islam, India had witnessed the shattering of innocence, the coming of age, the beginning of the war against a return to medieval mores, way back in March 1993.

But in the beginning, this unruly war had a different echo. The blasts of 1993 and the ones that followed it were divisive and often spoke in terms of Hindu-Muslim relations, Hindu-Muslim animosity, Hindu-Muslim incompatibility on the sub-continent; they positioned themselves as the weapons of vengeance and blamed the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the whirlwind riots that followed the demolition in Bombay, Bhagalpur, Godhra etc as the cause for the blasts...... throughout India, every blast from 1993 to 2008 was just another event that furthered the divisive agenda of hardliners, making rapprochement impossible and strengthened the extremists within both the communities. This hard-lining of  positions within communities was exploited successfully by the political parties - the BJP for Hindus and the Samajwaadi Party for the Muslims for growth and power and both these parties and their affiliates grew fat on the blood of the common man. It's true that neither, on prime face value was involved in the blasts, however, each took the resultant paranoia and used it for their own better prospects.....

So what is different about 26/11 that it has to be looked at, from a different angle!

Should it be more important because it was an attack on the nation's economic and financial capital, challenging the economics of the city and creating a feat psychosis in the investment community .... not necessarily, because the first blast on 12/3 was also faced by Bombay, (in fact the BSE, the symbol of India's financial power was one of the premises bombed that day) and it was a more severe and sustained attack on all the symbols of India's financial Strength than 26/11!

Should it be more important since it was a major attack that was sustained continuously for such a long period? Not necessarily .... attacks in Kashmir and the North-East have been continuous and more serious and they have been continuing for a generation or more now ...... and in the heartland of India, the 2008 Jaipur serial Blasts which were followed on consecutive days by the blasts in Ahmedabad and Bangalore were worse in their sustaining impact!

Should it be more important because, it was a direct, open and frontal attack on the concept of India - no, because the December 2001 attacks on the Indian Parliament were the most direct, frontal and open challenge to India's authority and sovereignity

So what was it about the 26/11 that made it different from all the others .... what was it about this attack that made all the difference?

The difference in the 26/11 attacks over the ones that preceded it and the ones that followed it till this time, was the living horror that people of Bombay and India were subjected to, for a period of 72 long hours, continuously .... Every blast till that time had been a matter of quick minutes or as in the case of the Ahmedabad serial bombs, the Jaipur serial bombs or the Mumbai serial train blasts, it was all over in
a few hours.... but this time the horror just went on and on!

Secondly, till this point in time, all the blasts had been targeted at one community or the other, one place or the other, one strata of society or the other, but for the first time on 26/11, the attacks had not been directed at one point itself but was spread out to cause maximal emotional, psychological and physical impact! From the poor migrants who were slaughtered at CST Terminus to the rich, Armani-clad socialites who were trapped in Trident and the Taj to the middle-class who worked in these places or were unfortunate to fall on the radar of the terrorists that fateful night, the event was a dark cataclysm that many have still not been able to move out of..... People who died on that day, did not die on account of their faith, as in the Akshardham attack or the Malegaon Blasts, people who died on that day, died in spite of it!

And the most unfortunate part is that those who did not die, still faced the trauma of having to see this entire drama unfold for the next 72 hours.... 72 helpless hours wherein the entire city that never sleeps was held to ransom, the might of one of the strongest countries on Earth was put to the sword by a bunch of 10 unlettered, illiterate but high on fervour and committed terrorists, and all we could do was to sit before the idiot box and wring our hands in despair and bow our heads in shame!

How could 10 men hold us captive against our wishes for such a long time? How could 10 people make us relive the horror of the moment for such a long period?

The answers are still out there but the mind is still too numb to ask these questions. The trauma is still fresh, the fact that justice has not yet been meted out is still festering in our minds, the collective anger and frustration of the day have been internalized to such an extent that no fair discussion of the event is possible without a recourse to emotional

The only positive from the event was the realization that the bullet of the mercenary had not asked a question of community or religion .... that the Hindu and the Muslim suffered equally.... that the rich and the poor were both susceptible and the only thing that mattered was whether we were are part of the 10 who attacked or the many who defended! And therein was the change made.... the change that made it difficult to impart a name to terrorism as religious or communal.... and that's the reason 26/11 marks a departure from the ones that preceded it and the ones that followed it....

The effect of 26/11 was seen all over the sub-continent.... In Sri Lanka, within 6 months of the incident, the LTTE was destroyed in a ruthless war ... none came to stand for it, none decided to support it.... it was simple, the terrorist word had stuck and stuck mercilessly, no one was in a mood to support any organization that stood for terror, even if it meant ostracizing one's own kith and kin for the same .... Terrorist havens were uprooted in places as diverse as Burma and Bangladesh..... Pakistan had to finally take cognizance of the groundswell in popular opinion and register a case against the perpetrators, though as expected the trail was never as serious as it should have been .....

This could have never happened in 2001, though the attack on Parliament was the attack on India itself..... it happened in Bombay because Bombay, in the minds of people, still maintains a glamour, a position as a city of hope, of dreams and aspirations and what people saw on that day, was a bunch of villains trying to take away the dream... the aspiration! Had it been a clean, surgical attack, it would have been forgotten, relegated to the past but it was a living horror that none would forgive... that none could forgive ... and this is the fire, kindled by tears, blood and sweat that forged the new weapon of unity and belonging that continues to this day

It was 5 AM on November 27, 2008 and I was walking near Flora Fountain, close to Ground Zero, dazed at the battle still being fought, sounds of the war in my mind, sights of broken reporters, shocked citizens, lost policemen and determined army-men around me, anger on my face, tears in my eyes, looking at the sea from where my enemies had arrived to fight against my psyche, my soul..... and my heart said 'NEVER AGAIN'

Two years have passed by, I was still near that place today and my heart said ... NEVER AGAIN..... surprisingly, there was no emotion in my voice, only cold and resolute determination......

India in UNSC

In the past few days, there has been a lot of discussion in India regarding a permanent seat in the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) .... most of the websites have been abuzz with people pointing out the 'coming of age' of India by a public endorsement of Mr. Barak Obama of India's candidacy to the Permanent Position, on his recent visit to India in November 2010. Some people have taken it as the proof that 'India has finally risen pheonix-like from it's deep slumber', others have questioned the euphoria behind the event and how it would make any difference to the overall picture.... Still others have pointed out, that India was offered permanency in 1955 (55 years ago) and Pt. Nehru had declined the offer, passing it on to a China which, turned out to be belligerent rather than gracious....

So what do I think about it? Actually, a lot .... but before I get down to my thoughts on the subject, a brief understanding of the UNSC is of primary importance....

The UNSC is the executive arm of the UNO and as such, presence in the UN is a matter of great importance to any and every country.... Since the inception of the UNO, the Big 5 (USA, Russia (first at Soviet Union), UK, France and China) have been the permanent members of the UNSC - the most important parameter of their power is the power of 'veto' i.e. the power to reject any proposal that may be counter-productive to their national interest under Article 27 of the United States Charter.

Let's have a look at Article 27, before we go into in-depth analysis of the current scenario:

Article 27 states:

•  Each member of the Security Council shall have only one vote.

• Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members.

• Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting.

Though the 'power of veto' is not explicitly mentioned herein, it can be observed that the clause makes effective space for the same by declaring that any 'substantive' decisions by the UNSC require "the concurring votes of the permanent members." In simpler terms, it means that any of the permanent members of the UNSC can prevent the adoption, by the Council, of any draft resolutions on matter, that may be termed 'substantive'. Due to this reason, Critics of the 'power of veto' is also referred to the same, as the Principle of Great Power Unanimity.

Pt. Nehru, it has been alleged turned down the offer of being a permanent part of the UNSC in 1955, as we have noted earlier, in favour of China. This seat, however, the detractors, may note, was not an additional 6th seat but had fallen vacant due to questions raised on the authenticity of PRC (People's Republic of China), occupying the seat that was the seat of ROC (Republic of China), prior to the Red Revolution of 1949.

Indeed, Pt, Nehru on issues of realpolitik can be considered to have made a fatal error; however, in the past 55 years, there has not been a single instance wherein India's absence in the pantheon has lead to major impacts on India as a nation - of course, the Kashmir dispute could have been sidelined, but then that would hardly be an hindrance since India has, by and large, despite occasional utterances of US in the past and China recently, managed to keep the issue off the burner. Ethically, though, Pt. Nehru may be deemed to be correct.

In my opinion, a permanent status in the UN, though a matter of great prestige and honour, can not be the standard, by which India's rise can be measured. Not all permanent embers of the UNSC are members of the G5 or the G7 - which includes the most industrialized and developed nations of the world..... If India has arrived, it has to take it's place among the G-3; the high-table to the biggest economies of the world... When Economics rules, politics has to rule as well.... because as Chanakya in India, Sun Tzu in China and Machiavelli in Florence pointed out, a powerful state is one, that has a surplus of Treasury.

Secondly, what is the need for euphoria? Do you think, China would vote in favour or abstain to allow India a place in the Pantheon? India's biggest threat is China and China's biggest threat is India .... why would China allow India to sit on the high table? It has been obvious that since 1970s China has been using our own brother and now mortal enemy, Pakistan as it's advance force - why would China support us on the high table, thus allowing us to kill it with one stroke?

Thirdly, it's important to note that all the five permanent members of the UNSC are among the most powerful nations on Earth - they have repeatedly used te power of veto to safeguard their interests .... what is the guarantee that Article 27 would not be restructured in such a way, so as to not allow the new permanent members, the power of veto? And mind you, without the power of veto, a place at the high table is not a substantial position to be in ..... What's the use of a tiger or a lion, that's in a cage, at the mercy of the raw food thrown in by the jailors?

Also, an important parameter that needs to be understood is that the reforms would take a minimum of 10 years at the least - and we are not the only ones that would stand to benefit by these reforms.... Brazil, Germany and Japan have already been sounded off as other beneficiaries of the reforms.... also there is a talk of having an African nation on the high table and another Arab country ....

It's foolish to think the Big 5 would allow another 7 to whittle away their power of the veto... the most sensible approach would then be to delink the veto from the permanency... and as I have said, that would destroy the very purpose why this is being sought....


Hence, in the current scenario, wherein there is a lot of concerns on the reforms of the UNO, I think we need to wait and see, what would be the right step to take, these steps have to be very cautious but deliberate... WE need to understand and understand well, that India's position depends not on the largesse shown by the Big 5, but on the cooperation and support of the other major claimants - Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa and the one other Arab state that may join in..... for left to the Big 5, it will be nothing but a farce and we definitely do not need another farce.....

As Kavi Pradeep said once:

Duniya Ke Daanv-Pech Se Rakhna Naa Waasta,
Manzil Bahot Hai Door Aur Mushqil Hai Raasta,
Bhatka Na De, Koi Kahin Dhokey Mein Daal Ke......

On Deepavali

The Brihardayanaka Upanishad so States:

"Lead me from the UnTruth to the Truth.
Lead me from darkness to Light. Lead me from death to immortality"

So beautifully have the 3 principles of life been propounded .... Truth (Satya), Light (Shiv) Immortality (Beauty) ... Truth is Life, Light is God, Immortality is the only True Beauty.... and all three can be found only in the grasp of God who represents all these 3 principles within himself.

It's the festival of Deepavali in India .... the festival of lights .... the celebration of lights ... a soulful remembrance of the magnificence and munificence of Light..... for as even the Torah states ... He (God) fashioned us in his image in Light ....

More than that, there is Knowledge in Light, there is Innocence in Light, there is Love in Light, there is Purity in Light..... Even if we discount the mythological and religious aspects of the festival, there is a lot to celebrate in this beautiful celebration of Human Existence, this ceaseless continuing journey of Life. Maybe Robert Jordan, understood this principle more than others, hence he made the men of the right Path follow the Light in his brilliant 'World of Time' Series.

But Light is not something that's easily accessible, though it's readily available .... the dazzle of Light can often be stolen by the lustre of mysterious darkness.... It's true that good intentions are important for a man to reach heaven, but it's also true that the path to hell is strewn with not only good but also noble intentions.... and where do we need to remember this more then in our India! A land of dreams, a land of opportunities that rides on the slightest grasp of a silver thread that could break at any moment in time and space.

Savera Tum Samjhe Ho Chamkile  Andhere Ko
Apna Hum-Safar Tumne Banaaya Hai Lutere Ko

Is this apt at any place more then India? Half of the continent is under the influence of either China or America; or shifting towards one of these ... How can we, the sons and daughters of the most illuminated nation on Earth, the most illuminated civilization on Earth, be so foolish that we are ready to cut the throat of a brother at a moment's notice but fail to recognize the enemy that stands on our hearth and home? 

This is because of the dazzle and shine that the crackers of the Far East and the New World that have momentarily and dangerously shifted our gaze away from the light of knowledge.

Deepavali, in it's mythological aspect is about the defeat of evil. I wish it was so easy to understand evil and to move away from it. ... but in a continent that boasts of so many points of effective control, so many nations that make up one nation, from Badakashan to Arakan... how can we undermine the threat to our nation?

Barack Obama visits India today.... the high point of the visit is to sell this country $2B worth of weaponry, which it expects will instill fear and a perception of threat in our sister states. Accordingly, it had, with this point in mind, cleared sales of $2B of sophisticated weaponry to Pakistan..... Isn't this the classic case of the two cats fighting and the monkey making off with the bread? I am a foolish man, but I feel so.... Why are the leaders of both these countries and those of the others, not able to understand the threat emanating from this docile friend?

Burma similarly is getting entangled closely in the String of Pearls strewn by China against India... why does it fail to look 35 years back in history and see how China treated a friend like Vietnam after it's primary objective was done?


What more has to happen for the nations of this one continent to wake up from their slumber and understand that they are sucking their own blood for the vampires that surround them? Why can't we shun these enemies of our nation, our civilization in our pursuit of Truth and Unity? Remember, if we can turn our backs to the weaponry provided by these people, we can effectively end their interference in our and our brother's state.

I would like to end with a beautiful observation made by Iqbal, long back....

Rulaata Hai Tera Nazaara, Ai Hindostaan Mujhko,
Ke Ibrat-Khez Hai, Tera Fasaana Sab Fasaanon Mein

Diya Rona Mujhe Aisa Ke Sab Kucch De Diya Goya,
Likha Kilk-E-Azal Ne Mujhko Tere Nohakhwananon Mein

Nishaan-E-Barq-E-Gul Tak Bhi Naa Chhoda Bagh Mein Gulcheen,
Teri Qismat Se Razm Aaraaean Hai Baghbaanon Mein

Chhipa Kar Asteen Mein Bijliyaan Rakhi Hain Gardon Ne,
Anaadil Baagh Mein Ghhafil Naa Baithe Aashiyaanon Mein

Sun Ai, Ghaafil, Sada Meri, Ye Aisi Cheez Hai Jisko,
Wazifaa Jaankar Padhtey Hain Taair Aastaanon Mein

Watan Ki Fiqr Kar, Naadaan, Qayamat Aanewaali Hai,
Teri Barbaadiyon Ke Mashware Hain Aasmaanon Mein

Zara Dekh Issko, Jo Kucch Ho Raha Hai, Hone Waala Hai,
Dhara Kya Hai Bhala Ahd-E-Kuhan Ke Daastaanon Mein

Ye Khamoshi Kahan Tak, Lazzat-E-Faryaad Paida Kar,
Zameen Par Tu Ho, Aur Teri Sada Ho Aasmaanon Mein

Naa Samjhoge To Mit Jaoge Ai, Hindostaanwaalon,
Tumhaari Daastaan Tak Na Hogi Daastaanon Mein

We did not listen to him the last time .. Will we listen to him this time?

India has been partitioned 9 times ..... how many more partitions do we intend to see before we say, it's enough? The time has come to initiate a fight-back, but do we have the purity of heart, the purpose of mind and the strength of the soul to do so....

This Deepavali, let us arise from our small barriers of race, language, region, religion, caste, creed, colour, community, gender and status and get together with the force of light behind us to mend all that's wrong and to strengthen all that's right.....

Happy Deepavali to all of you.... From a Beast!

A Continent called India

Winston Churchill once said, "India is not a country; It's a Geography"

Normally, the patriot in me, should take severe offence to a statement as harsh and as disdainful as this, however, today more than a feeling of disdain and revulsion, what I feel for this statement is something different - when I look forth to this statement, all that I feel or can feel is a feeling that seems to say. 'Ignorance is bliss for one who knows not to weld the power of knowledge'

And then again, to an extent, it's correct - India is indeed a geography but it's more than that - it's a geographical wonder, a geographical miracle - a gerographical entity separated from others and yet varied in itself. When Pandit Nehru spoke about 'Unity in Diversity', he was more near to the Soul of India then the majority of the thinkers of this part of the globe or even all over the globe. Still Pt. Nehru failed to gauge the limits of unity and diversity, that this geographical marvel carries within it ....

India is not a nation by virtue of a dominant culture like China that's a representative of the Han culture, neither is it an amalgamation of different city states or nation-states like the one Europe professes to be, on basis of the European / Western Civilization Culture..... Nor is it a uniform monstrosity of culture or religion like Japan or Arabia or Australia or any of the Central Asian States or Persia .... neither does it derive it's basic unity or diversity from history or any of the other parameters that make a nation.

So what is it that makes India a nation from the northernmost reaches of Balkh and Badakashan in Northern Afghanistan to Anuradhapura in the southernmost tip of Sri Lanka; from the western-most arid deserts of Quetta and Makran in Balochistan that lies in Pakistan to the mountainous regions of Kachin in Northern Burma, from the foothills of Baltistan and Khotan and Dehradun in India to the tall peaks of K2 and Mt. Everest in Nepal, from the Sunderbans of Bangladesh to the Tennasarim coastline in Burma, from the dense mountains of Kohima to the arid salty plains of Kutch, from the coral reefs of Male to the tropical island of Andaman!

Historians are right when they say, there was no India before the British ruled India but they are wrong because what they judge India is through the prism of Western concepts of Nationhood. If we look at these concepts closely, there should be no Arabia either, no America either, no Australia either .... for these began their histories after the so-called historical entry of the Europeans. But indeed, that's not the true definition of a nation

Nations exist in the sub-conscious and they need not be a single political entity ever because political divisions and mergers are a function of might, not of the hearts - and where nations are made on might, the fall is imminent, if not today then tomorrow, if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow ... next week, next month, next year, next decade, next century.... next millenium

India is a nation from one extremity to another because in the pages of history, the culture of India has been instrumental in shaping the destiny of every part of this geographical continuum in one way or the other.... Incidents in Kabul have influenced events in Mysore sooner or later; events in Guwahati have had repurcussions in Mandalay sooner or later, events in Chennai (Madras) make for an interesting impact in Colombo... they may or may not be intentional... and even where events have not made for lasting impressions, they have often set the dice for a continuation that not only defines but also plays a role in the next movement.

So Mr. Churchill was right, India is a geography; what he failed to understand was more than history in huge nations and civilizations and specifically continents, it's indeed the Geography that creates the nation ... not the nation that creates it's geography.... Geographical boundaries created by nations are often artificial and fail the test of time.. for ex. Berlin Wall cannot divide what essentially is one nation; neither can the China Wall be a boundary that divides China.

It's the geography of the British Isles that forces an union of Scotland, Wales and England; again it's the Geography that differentiates and will one day remove North Ireland from the grasp of England..... it was Geography that failed the Norman conquest of England and again Geography that failed both the British Empire and the Russian Experiment!

So Mr. Churchill .... India is a nation because of it's Geography and will always remain even if the political sceptre is wielded not by 1 state or 100 states.... As Iqbal noted,

Kucch Baat Hum Mein Aisi, Hasti Nahin Mitti
Dushman Sada Raha Hai Zor-E-Jahan Humaara
Yunaan-o-Misr-o-Roma, Sab Utth Gaye Jahaan Se
Ab Tak Magar Hai Baaqi Jag Mein Nishaan Humaara!

I too have a Dream

The name of this blog is 'I have a Dream'...... strange name for a Strange Blog.... because to be very frank, till now all my blogs have always been drawn from the depth of my consciousness, the feelings of my heart, the depths of my soul: they have either reflected my pain, my loss or my frustrations... my moments of euphoria and my times of deep gloom.... in short, they have been reflections of my heart, my mind and my soul....

This blog is not any of these .... of course, it reflects my heart, my mind and my soul but it does so in a manner that's impersonal.... here I do not need to talk of what I am going through or what I am facing .... here I am to talk of what I feel as a human and an Indian and an Asian or as any of other varied identities ... Of how an event impacts me and my dream, and what do I intend to do about it!

There were times when I felt lost ... not far off, very lately... times when I felt I had lost the verve to live, but then something from somewhere within me made me stand up ....

Nahin Tera Nasheman Qasr-E-Sultaani Ki Gumbad Par,
Tu Shaaheen Hai, Kar Basera Nokili Chattanon Par

It was as if the philosophy of an entire lifetime had been crystallized in these few words of Allama Iqbal and I started looking at life anew. The Destination of my Life has changed, the Roads that take me to my Destination have changed .... Today I have let go of the shores... Today I am free to move to the uncharted territories

Beeti Dinon Ki Yaadein Thi Jissmein, Main Woh Taraane Bhul Chuka
Aaj Nayee Manzil Hai Meri, Kal Ki Thhikaane Bhul Chuka

I am still alive because I still have a dream..... I may not be Martin Luther King Jr. and I am not definitely Barack Obama.... I am not Rajiv Gandhi and I am not also Ratan Tata ..... but I am what I am and I too can dare to have a dream....

A dream of an India which is not the truncated version of India, where I currently live.... A dream of an India which is more than a mosaic of religions, regions and relations..... which has something more to offer that regions, states, languages, communities and religions.... where being a Muslim or a Hindu is immaterial; where a Hairjan or a Brahman does not matter ... A Sunni and a Shia can co-exist.... the haves will not be penalized for having but the have-nots will be incentivized to gain..... where no one will ask me if I am a Bihari or a Marathi.... where history of India will not mean history of Delhi... where the average man in Kabul or Rangoon will feel the same whether he's in Bombay or Katmandu or Colombo or Male.... my definition of India is not a country but a sub-continent... that which begins from beyond the Sulaiman Mountains in Khorasan and continues through Kashghar and Khotan and moves down till it touches the Indian Ocean beyond Ceylon.... that begins with the beautiful brown plains of Baluchistan and continues to the lush greenery of Tawang and Kohima and beyond.... that begins in the flat miracle of the Pamir plateau and ends in the beautiful coastline of Tennasarim... a land that's been covered in a necklace of islands from Male to Port Blair and beyond .... People will hate me for my views, I don't mind... my views are not imperialistic, they are humane and different ... as I said I have a Dream....

I am no one but it's true even I have a Dream ....