Archive for March, 2010

Khap panchayat leader and others convicted of heinous murder, no major impact on policemen who did not do their duties

Khap panchayats are a curse on many areas of North India. In rural areas, these caste ‘panchayats’ would comprise of the caste elders, while they were not constituted under any law or any legal structure. Under some arcane beliefs, these would meet and then bring the alleged offenders in front of them. And what was the offence ? You have 2 youngsters of the village meeting and deciding that they love each other, and wanting to marry each other. The laws of the country allow this, in fact, as per the constitution, all these freedoms are part of the ‘Right to Life’. These are the freedoms that the people of the country expect, and instead, this fundamental right is trampled upon and, in many cases, the young couple has been killed (brutally in many cases). And what was their crime ? Since they were in the same village or belonged to the same ‘gotra’, it was believed that they are almost like brothers and sisters, and hence are committing incest. So what happens ? The ‘khap’ panchayat meets, decides that these people have committed a crime, and sentences them. And this is not the first time it has happened, it will probably happen many times again.
What role does the police and the administration have to play in all this ? Unfortunately, their role is not positive. In many of these cases, the Indian judiciary has stepped in and asked the police to provide protection to these couples; but this protection has not come to much. In several such cases, the couple have been tracked down and then killed. Even politicians, sensitive to caste matters and popular support and wary of going against society groups, have not been interested in stepping into such matters. So you will find politicians of all parties refusing to make any comments on such matters, or playing down such matters as family disputes. It was only recently that the Home Minister (Chidambaram) finally took a stand and criticized these kangaroo courts.

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India faced by constant problems from Pakistan – why don’t we strike back in the same coin

There is no getting around the fact that India faces an undeclared war on it by Pakistan – the concept being that Pakistan will bleed India through a thousand cuts, with no real reaction from the Indian side except for hand-wringing. We indulge in a lot of reactive behavior instead of being proactive; and depend on the force of external pressure to try to control Pakistan rather than showing them the error of their ways. In the meantime, the terrorists sent by Pakistan, pushed in through Bangladesh, Nepal and also home-grown ones, laugh at our attempts to try to placate them, and regroup whenever necessary.
Why is it that we cannot use the various levers that we have to control and show Pakistan the error of its ways. For example, consider the following:
- India has separatist movements in many of its territories that are getting supported by Pakistan; so why is it that we cannot do the same ? Why is that we cannot use the separatist pushes in the region of Balochistan and Sind, send material and support (or as Pakistan calls it, lend moral support to the independence movements in those regions) ? There is nothing more strong in persuading a nation than the fact that you are willing to play by its games, with increased effort.
- Indian security agencies are worried about the economic games that Pakistan plays within India through pumping in fake currency; but the fact remains that Pakistan is in a worse off economic condition than India, and if India seriously starts to play with the Pakistani economy through pumping in fake economy, it can quickly Pakistan to stop its efforts in that direction

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Foreign universities bill passed by the cabinet, but will face opposition (including from within the Congress)

Just a few days back, the Union Cabinet passed a Bill called the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation) Bill, 2010 which empowers Foreign Universities to setup their campuses in India. This is a Bill that seeks to regulate the functioning of these Foreign Universities in India, something that was not on the cards, given some of the challenges that the Government was facing in its other legislative actions. And, this is a sensitive subject, with a lot of opposition to the Government in this action, from the Communist Parties, from other parties, and from within the Government itself. There was a plan to bring the Bill to Parliament in the first term of the UPA, but given the dependence of the Government on the Communist Parties, the Bill was dropped at that time, and the concept had been in cold storage ever since then.
The Bill will allow foreign educational institutions to set up their campus within India, and be treated as private universities. They will have certain freedoms to make it more attractive for them to set up shop here in India, such as:
- The foreign institutions will be allowed to set their own fees, like other private institutions; this should enable students who want to get the level of teaching in these institutions to get this cheaper by joining the India campus rather than making a beeline for the foreign campuses (it is expected that the fees here will be cheaper than in the US or other countries)
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