NGO asks Govt to probe into fratricidal killings

NEW DELHI, Dec 30: Expressing concern over growing incidents of fratricidal killings in armed forces, an NGO has urged the Government to institute a probe to look into the problem and suggest remedies.

In a memorandum to Defence Minister A K Antony, the National Council for Civil Liberties said the cases of fratricidal killings have been increasing in the armed forces and such a probe was absolutely necessary so that it can give useful recommendations to address the problem.

The NGO claimed there were 17 cases of fratricidal killings in armed forces in 2005, 23 in 2006 and 31 in 2007.

"Providing just a few more holidays and some nominal increase of pay to our soldiers posted in difficult conditions may not fully answer all the questions. We need not soften their fighting spirit but we need to humanize their circumstances," it said in the memorandum.

The NGO said there was a need for complete review of the "disparity of living conditions" between senior officers and jawans and that should be done through a panel comprising sociologists, psychologists, soldiers, planners, technologists, law makers and human rights activists.

"It is high time that India thought of these things in a purposeful manner by involving civilian wisdom to mitigate the problems that have haunted our military. After all, accepting to die in the war field is only a way of expressing that soldiers want to live, be employed and provide happiness to himself and his family," it said. (PTI)

Gujarat, HP win takes Advani closer to PM post: Naqvi

SHIMLA, Dec 30: BJP’s win in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh took senior party leader L K Advani closer to the chair of prime minister, party’s national vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said.

"Back to back results in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are pointer to things which will come BJP way at the centre. The poll outcome of the two states is inching Advani towards the PM chair," he told reporters last night.

Naqvi said the way NDA is winning states reflected that the party was on its way to power at the centre with people’s support at the next parliamentary elections.

"Gujarat and Himachal will decide the course of national politics," Naqvi stated.

Hailing party’s victory in Gujarat, he said BJP Government under the leadership of Narendra Modi has falsified general perception that ruling party faces anti-incumbency.

"While Congress was swept away in Himachal Pradesh in an anti-incumbency wave, it did not happen in Gujarat where the party has been in power for the past 12 years," he said. (PTI)

HP poll results springs many surprises

SHIMLA, Dec 30: Himachal Pradesh poll results sprang many surprises throwing Virbhadra Singh to the fourth position in terms of margin of victory and handing five-time Congress MLA Thakur Singh Bharmouri a defeat by just 16 votes.

Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who had won with the biggest margin in the last assembly elections in 2003, stood at the fourth position in terms of margin of victory this time reflecting that his graph was on the slide.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal who succeded Singh in the Chief Minister’s chair also replaced him on the first position in terms of victory margin defeating Congress’ Col (retd) B C Lagwal, who is also his classmate by a huge 26009 votes in a hat-trick from the Bamson seat.

Congress’ Rakesh Kalia stood second winning the election from Chintpurni by a margin of 16135 votes while Dhumal’s protege Baldev Sharma finished third winning Nadaunta seat by 15564 votes.

Virbhadra Singh won the poll from his Rohru seat defeating state BJP General Secretary Khushiram Balnatah by 14137 votes. His victory margin came down by over 3000 votes as he had won by a margin of 17289 votes last time.

Among the losers nine candidates lost the race by votes in hundreds. Five time Congress MLA from Bharmour (ST seat) Thakur Singh Bharmouri lost to Tulsi Ram of BJP by a meagre 16 votes garnering 18420 votes against his rival’s 18404 votes.

Congress Nikhil Rajour, brother of the party’s state unit President Viplov Thakur, scraped through by 118 votes from Jaswan in Kangra district while Khimi Ram of BJP won the Banjar seat in Kullu district by 232 votes. (PTI)

Karan Johar’s film will be my kind
of cinema: Anurag Kashyap

NEW DELHI, Dec 30: Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap is finally writing Karan Johar’s next film after their recent patch-up, but he says that the movie will be his kind of cinema.

Kashyap, who reportedly had refused to write a film by Johar stating creative differences, recently reconciled with the filmmaker by apologising.

"Whatever I said was in the heat of the moment. I realised my mistakes and personally apologised to Karan. The incident is past now," says Kashyap, who has been offered to write the script of Karan Johar’s next movie.

However, when asked about differences between Johar and him over the style of filmmaking, he says, "Yes, I am writing the script of Karan’s next movie. But it is going to be my kind of movie."

The director of critically-acclaimed ‘Black Friday’, who otherwise is known for making dark and serious films, feels that movies should be honest and thought-provoking.

"I have no problem with films that have a happy ending. But cinema should provoke us to stand up and question things," said Kashyap.

‘Chak De! India’ had a very bold script and was an honest film, he added.

Kashyap’s first animation movie ‘Hanuman Returns’ hit the screens recently. The film will break all the box-office records, he claims adding that he plans to work on another animation movie.

Meanwhile, his previous offering ‘No Smoking’, starring John Abraham and Ayesha Takia in the lead, not only bombed at the box-office but also failed to find critics’ favour.

The film-maker, however, feels that criticism of cinema in India is still in its nascent stage.

"We lack healthy criticism in the industry. People do not criticise the quality of cinema, instead some critics get personal. The criticism is still immature in our country," says Kashyap.

But such box-office debacles do not deters Kashyap from experimenting in his movies.

"No Smoking’ was an experimental and a different movie. Yes, the failure of your films at the box office is always disheartening, but I will continue to experiment in my films," says Kashyap.

When asked if he was working with Nikhil Advani of ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ and ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ fame, Kashyap said they were to work together on a film but it did not materialise.

"Nikhil is now making a movie which is based on a short-story of mine," he said.

While talking about his upcoming projects, the director said, "I am working on ‘Dev D’ which is a modern take on Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas. Besides, that I am also working on a thriller called ‘Bombay Welvet." (PTI)

Ex-CJIs flay Govt proposal to set up rural mobile courts

NEW DELHI, Dec 30: Three former Chief Justices of India say the Government’s proposal to set up 6,000 rural mobile courts (Gram Nayayalayas) seems good on paper but there could be a shortage of trained judicial hands to head them.

"Where are you going to find so many trained Nayaya Adhikaris (rural court heads)? As such there is a shortage of Judges in regular courts," former Chief Justice of India V N Khare said.

At a time when the authorities are facing problems in filling up vacancies in regular courts, finding 6,000 qualified persons to head the rural courts is not going to be easy, he said.

He linked the shortage of judges in courts to the huge backlog of over three crore cases in the country and said there are just 13 Judges per one million population in our country as compared to 135 judges for the same population in developed countries.

The Judges felt the proposed panchayat-level mobile courts can render the much-needed speedy justice only if these come up simultaneously in all states and are presided over by trained and impartial legal experts.

The ‘Justice-at-doorstep’ move by the Government can only be fruitful if the Gram Nyayalayas function in all the states from the same day, said another former Chief Justice of India J S Verma.

He said the Government should provide a definite time-bound frame work for setting up "Gram Nayayalayas" - which got the Cabinet’s approval recently - as was done at the time of the implementation of the RTI Act 2005.

One is aware of the fate of the Freedom of Information Act 2002 which did not become operational at all. On the contrary, the Right to Information Act, 2005 came into operation in all the states on precisely the same day because the Act specifically provided a date of commencement, reasoned Justice Verma.

Justice Khare said the key to the Gram Nayayalayas’ success would be the presiding officers’ ability to deliver good quality justice.

"They should have a sound legal background. This is going to determine their acceptance by the people whose fate they would decide," he said.

Former Chief Justice of India A M Ahmadi stressed on the durability of proposed judicial set up and said it needed to be ensured that the each rural court "is an independent body which maintains its impartiality."

"Earlier experiences have shown that most new proposals are launched with fanfare but, thereafter, they tend to become sporadic. One has to see what you intend to set up today is on a solid base and has certain amount of durability," he said.

There have to be checks to ensure that justice does not get lop-sided, he said.

Justice Verma, who recently chaired a brain-storming session for the critical appraisal of the Gram Nyayalayas Bill 2007 along with experts from advocacy group IC Centre for Governance (ICCG), suggested that the presiding officers of the rural courts should be sent for judicial training after selection.

The First Class Magistrates who would supervise the rural courts as "Nyaya Adhikaris" should be sent to the National Judicial Academy or the state judicial academies for training, said experts.

Former cabinet secretary Prabhat Kumar, who is a part of the ICCG think-tank, recommended that plea bargaining should be allowed in the Gram Nyayalayas.

Justice Khare has also backed plea bargaining in the rural mobile courts. "This can certainly be used to speed up the disposal of cases where an accused accepts his guilt involving minor offences," he said.

Experts from ICCG pointed out that no provisions have been made in the Bill detailing how the Gram Nyayalayas would ensure enforcement of their decision, an issue which was touched upon by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice which studied the Bill.

The Committee headed by E M S Natchiappan had, among other suggestions on the bill which aims at providing affordable and speedy justice to the rural masses at their doorstep, talked of extending the benefits of mobile courts to urban poor.

Earlier this month, the Cabinet accepted a bulk of the recommendations of the Natchiappan Committee and a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave its approval for further pursuing the Gram Nyayalayas Bill in Parliament.

The Gram Nyayalayas Bill 2007 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in Monsoon Session of the Parliament and was referred to the Standing Committee. The Bill is now expected to be moved in the Upper House in the next session.

Legal experts had described the Bill, in the form it was earlier moved in Parliament, as unfit for delivering speedy, accessible and affordable justice to the rural masses.

As part of suggestions recently made on the Bill under Justice Verma’s guidance, the ICCG pointed to a contradiction in the Bill on the issue of punishment that these courts’ can award.

"A perusal of certain sections of the IPC (whose cases these courts can handle) mentioned in the First Schedule of the proposed Bill shows that in certain cases the punishment provided is more than one year and thus contradicts section 28 of the Bill (which sets the limit for the maximum punishment that can be awarded by these courts). This needs conciliation," the ICCG said. (PTI)

‘No child employed for work’-a new year resolution

NEW DELHI, Dec 30: Eating less for the sake of a bulging tummy, waking up early, not spitting or littering on the roads, or at best, controlling rage at its peak-what better can a new year resolution get?

"I wish nobody ever employed a child to work," said Manish who was rescued along with ten other children from brick-kilns in Haryana last week.

With his cuffs folded to hide the torn portion of shirt, Manish (12) made this wish when asked how different a world he wanted to see in the new year.

"Why cannot this happen if people are determined that they will not hire children," he asked.

"He (the employer) would thrash us if we ask for more food or catch a breath during work," he said detailing on what he and his fellows went through for three months while they dug, crushed and moistened the mud.

They did not bathe all this while and slept on gunny bags after working for 16 hours a day.

"Once I go back to my village in Muzaffarpur (Bihar), I will go to school. I will study. The new session will begin possibly in the second week of January. Yes, I will study now," Manish reveals his ‘new year resolution’.

In all likelihood, Manish and his friends would not be in their homes on New Year’s eve or even on January one, 2008. The NGO which rescued them is trying to obtain Release Certificates from the authorities, which is mandatory for the shifting of their custody to their parents.

"When people saw such kids on their TV screens killed by a man in Nithari, they were outraged. But they seem to live in a totally different world otherwise. Not only they ignore such kids working in dhabas, but they also employ them in their homes. They must recognise the importance of child rights," said Rakesh Senger of Bachpan Bachao Aandolan (BBA).

His concern also extends to what happens in the very houses of the burgeoning urban middle class, which, in many ways, reflects the "new Indian dream" in terms of prosperity.

"People in posh colonies should see the faces of their own kids in the children they employ as domestic helps. Unless they do not feel empathetic towards them, they will have no problem employing them," Senger said.

He even suggested some "radical measures" that can help become a reality the "New Year Resolution" of children like Manish.

"Don’t go to the shop in your neighbourhood that has a kid working there. Boycott products for whose making, you know that child labour was used. Politely tell your close-ones who have a child domestic help to relieve him," he said.

"After all, there are six crore unemployed adults for six crore child-labourers who are currently working. The equation fits well," Senger noted.

Words of wisdom for the new year also came from Shanta Sinha, Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), who said: "These people (middle-class) should not deny themselves of the opportunity to dream for the India of the future.

"I appeal to all the people to give these children a new lease of life by not employing them. Children’s rights should be our first priority this year", she added. (PTI)

Victories in Gujarat, HP infuses fresh energy into BJP

NEW DELHI, Dec 30: Victories in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, capping successes in two other states earlier have infused fresh energy into a seemingly directionless BJP at the turn of the year but elections in three states ruled by it in 2008 could bring trouble to it.

It was the best of years for the BJP after its shock defeat in Lok Sabha elections in 2004.

And the hero was undoubtedly Narendra Modi, who almost did the impossible for a saffron Chief Minister by winning a state, considered the Hindutva laboratory, for the fourth consecutive term.

The controversial Gujarat Chief Minister overshadowed L K Advani, who was anointed party’s Prime Ministerial candidate at the fag end of the year, which saw an ailing A B Vajpayee fading into the background. Victory in Himachal was icing on the cake.

As the new year is about to set in, political circles are agog with speculation that Modi would be catapulted to the centre stage of the saffron party amid talks that the Lok Sabha elections would not be far away.

While the BJP is upbeat after back-to-back victories, the coming year is, however, crucial for it in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, where anti-incumbency factor can go against it. Delhi and Karnataka will also be going to polls where it has high stakes.

There was nothing to write home about party chief Rajnath Singh as even though the BJP won four of the six states that went to polls it was trounced in his homestate of Uttar Pradesh, which once catapulted the saffron to the Centre.

The highlight of 2007 clearly was its decision to move on from the ‘moderate’ Vajpayee era to bring in hardliner Advani, who brought BJP to the centrestage of Indian politics through the Ayodhya movement in the early 1990s.

But whether the anointment of 80-year-old Advani, which surprisingly had the RSS blessings, at the turn of the year will enthuse the party and check infighting or will it open another pandora’s box is to be seen in 2008.

In hindsight, the year bygone was relatively productive for the saffron outfit, which somewhat reclaimed its role as the ‘real Opposition’ with its strident posture against the Government on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

As it waged a spirited attack against the government and tried to drive a wedge between the UPA and outside supporters Left on the deal, the US also tried to reach out to it to persuade to give up its opposition.

Besides, the BJP sought to corner the Government over issues like price rise, internal security and minority appeasement, which, however, got drowned in the din over the atomic agreement.

The year saw the main Opposition party and the ruling Congress crossing swords on several occasions, with even Advani and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh getting involved in ugly slanging matches at times.

The party suffered electoral drubbings in Goa and Uttar Pradesh, where its tally came down to 50 from 88. But some solace came when it regained power in Uttarakhand besides forming Government along with Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab.

In Gujarat, it won a landslide majority riding on Modi’s popularity and charisma despite all kinds of attacks and demolishing the much-talked about rebel factor.

The Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter issue gave the BJP a tough time as Modi drew all round flak but it proved to be a blessing in disguise for the former RSS pracharak in the Assembly elections.

However, Karnataka remained a heartburn for the party as its dream to have its first Chief Minister in South India was cut short by its wily ally JD(S), which ran the government for 20 months with its support but later refused to stick to the power-transfer agreement.

After much brinkmanship by Deve Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, the saffron party could have its man as Chief Minister for seven days before the ally JD(S) went back on its word on support.

In neighbouring Tamil Nadu, it started flirting with old ally AIADMK for a possible alliance but the efforts are yet to bear fruit though clear indications of warming up came when Jayalalithaa called up to congratulate Modi.

The BJP’s oldest ideological ally Shiv Sena gave it a shock during the Presidential elections, when it prefered regional interest and refused to oppose UPA’s Maharashtrian nominee Pratibha Patil.

Finally, Advani had to step in to ease the strains between his party and the Shiv Sena and after his meeting with Uddhav Thackeray the allies decided to smoke the peace pipe.

Another ally Trinamool Congress kept it guessing all through the year as there were reports of its hobnobbing with Congress, considering its West Bengal interest.

Despite Mamata Banerjee’s vacillation, the BJP came out in total support of her over Nandigram by sending teams after teams to the violence-hit area and raking up the issue in a big way, including in Parliament.

In Presidential polls, the party’s plans to fire a shot at the UPA from the shoulders of A P J Abdul Kalam suffered a setback when the missile man refused to enter the fray unless promised his victory.

Consequently, its independent nominee Bhairon Singh Shekhawat lost out to Patil in the race for the Raisina Hills while Vice Presidential candidate Najma Heptullah was defeated by UPA-Left’s Hamid Ansari.

Differences in the party remained a headache with dissidence coming out in the open in Rajasthan, Gujarat and in Delhi, where the local unit remain divided although it got a boost with the victory in Municipal polls ahead of Assembly elections next year.

It also had to face embarassment when one of its MPs-Babubhai Katara-got embroiled in a stingy human trafficking controversy and a bid to break up the Congress-led coalition in Goa failed.

How the saffron party and the party-led NDA would get its act together in the new year would decide the shape of things to come. (PTI)

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