Category Archives: Society

Corruption, Politics, Society

Saurabh Kalia and the martyred men – in search of justice?

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Quite a few days back I got an email from a former classmate presently working in Hyderabad in a company called Google. It was one of those chain mails that keep crossing the cyberspace defying all laws of physics – there is no kinetic friction to slow down the messages. I am reproducing the message for your reading pleasure:

Being an Indian, I request you to read this mail to the end…

Saurabh Kalia, who died during the Kargil WarLt.Saurabh Kalia of 4 JAT Regiment of the Indian Army laid down his life at the young age of 22 for the nation while guarding the frontiers at Kargil. His parents,indeed the Indian Army and nation itself, lost a dedicated, honest and brave son. He was the first officer to detect and inform about Pakistani intrusion. Pakistan captured him and his patrol party of 5 brave men alive on May 15,1999 from the Indian side of LOC. They were kept in captivity for three weeks a nd subjected to unprecedented brutal torture, evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9, 1999.The Pakistanis indulged in dastardly acts of inflicting burns on the Indians with cigarettes, piercing their ears with hot rods, removing their eyes before puncturing them and breaking most of the bones and teeth. They even chopped off various limbs and private organs of the Indian soldiers besides inflicting unimaginable physical and mental torture. Af ter 22 days of torture, the brave soldiers were ultimately shot dead.A detailed post-mortem report is with the Indian Army. Pakistan dared to humiliate India this way outing international norms. They proved the extent to which they can degrade humanity. However, the Indian soldiers did not break while undergoing all this nimaginable barbarism, wh ich speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit,determination,tenacity and valour -something all of India should be proud of. Sacrificing oneself for the nation is an honour every soldier would be proud of, but no parent,army or nation can accept what happened to these brave sons of India. I am afraid every parent may think twice to send their child in the armed forces if we all fall short of our duty in safeguarding the PRISONERS OF WAR AND LET THEM MEET THE FATE OF LT.SAURABH KALIA. It may also send a demoralizing signal to the army personnel fighting for the Nation that our POWs in Pak cannot be taken care of. It is a matter of shame and disgust that most of Indian Human Rights Organisations by and large,showed apathy in this matter. Through this humble submission, may I appeal to all the civilized people irrespective of colour, caste, region, religion and political lineage to stir their conscience and rise to take this as a NATIONAL ISSUE? International Human Rights Organisations must be approached to expose and pressure Pakistan to identify,book and punish all those who perpetrated this heinous crime to our men in uniform. If Pakistan is allowed to go unpunished in this case, we can imagine the consequences. Below is the list of 5 other soldiers who preferred to die for the country rather than open their mouths in front of enemy.

Since I was an Indian, I read the mail till the end. The mail was followed by a truncated list of names of people who had bothered to ‘associate’ themselves with the cause of getting justice for Captain Saurav Kalia and the other martyred soldiers. This mail gave rise to many feelings, and I shall try my best to put words to them.

  • Was the outrage perpetrated against Saurav an outrage against humanity, or against India? If it is the former, the question remains why does it require my being an Indian to read and appreciate the narration? What if I were a Pakistani?
  • Why does this death acquire such poignancy? Because Captain Saurav Kalia was a Commissioned officer? Because he was young and promising? Because just a few days before his valourous death, he said on NDTV after conquering a (Tiger?) Hill “yeh dil maange more” (or was it someone else? Please correct me if you know more, and please bother to tell your source)? Because the media, which always needs stories, made it much bigger than it would otherwise have been? What about the hundreds dead in the same conflict in the summer of 1999?
  • Why does the death appear so gruesome when we KNOW that justice and humanity are rotten excuses in the filthy world of statecraft? Should someone think statcraft is dispensable, what then is the alternative? Civil war with human life “nasty, brutish and short”?
  • What is the motive behind such arm-chair activism (which, ironically, is the same thing that I am indulging in!)? What is patriotism, after all? Why must one support the army if one is a patriot? Is such activism a penance for the accepting the luxuries of life while the jawans battle weather and foe to ensure our safety?

The recent movie Rang de basanti seems to have done what scores of patriotic songs could not have done. Once every blue moon comes a chapter in the life of the nation that seems to capture the mood of the nation, or perhaps moulds that mood into an expression. Lagaan did it. So did, on a smaller level Gadar and Swades. While this is not the forum for discussion on the merit of the movies, it does seem to be the case that the silver screen has an effect upon the youth of this country that few other things have. And I wonder, if this latest chain mail that knocks on patriotism, is just another thoughless but emotive expression of that mood.
Khoon se khelenge holi, ‘gar watan mushkil me hai
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil me hai….

Politics, Society

Justice denied

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One primary premise of jurisprudence is that just not only should justice be done, it should be ‘seen’ to have been done. Unfortunately, often what passes of as legal justice is a travesty – this is true as much of India that comes burdened with a billion strong population and a colonial baggage, as of USA where the kangaroo court at Gitmo Bay gives ammunition for all lovers of liberty. And this travesty of justice comes to focus all the more in the recent acquittal of the murderers of model Jessica Lal.

In late February a judge acquitted all the accused in the murder case, castigating the shoddy investigation in the process. The Delhi Police took umbrage, and inspired by the massive public outrage, posted an appeal for retrial to the Delhi High Court, detailing 92 counts of how the previous charade of justice obfuscated on many of the prosecution’s evidences and arguments. Not to say that the Delhi Police did any good job. Their attempt at investigation is a comedy of errors with tragic undertones for the victims of the acquittal. Honestly, not much was expected from an investigation agency that comes circumscribed with a thousand pressures – and given that the accused murderer was the son of a Congress minister in Harayana, it could be expected from the beginning that justice would be denied, or hampered with. Unfortunately again, this is not the first time that such high profile murderers have got scott free. The recent BMW murderer (please consult the details by searching on Google), the Salman Khan incident wherein he bashed his SUV into sleeping people killing one on the spot in a drunken stupor, etc are just the tip of the iceberg. Of the numerous occasions where not so famous people, but powerful nontheless, have worked their zeal in putting justice off-track, the less said the better. It is true perhaps that the lady of justice is blind – it is true she cannot see injustice. Yes, it is an apt symbolism perhaps. Justice has always been the preserve of the rich and the powerful, in any case…

The good news is that the latest event has roused a public conscience that was in slumber. Perhaps something good will come out. Perhaps the high and the mighty in this democratic country have not forgotten an old motto:

vox populi vox dei (The voice of the people is the voice of God).

Kolkata, Personal, Society

Calcutta book-fair 2002 – old wine in new bottle

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bookfair Calcutta Book Fair is a very queer phenomenon. In times of receding book culture, this fair has brought multitudes to the milieu of books, and smiles to the faces of writers and publishers. One is surprised at how popular this annual event has become. One needs no statistics that outside the serious student who customarily visits the College Street, and the rare casual book reader who buys one or two, the books hardly receive any patronage. And yet come the end of January, and the Maidan air is thick with dust and smell of books. Calcutta has always been called (for whatever reasons) the culture capital of India (as if other parts of India are shorn of ‘culture’), and this late craze with books lends further credence to the added, rather preposterous claim of Calcutta being the intellectual capital of India. Of course such branding makes for chauvinism, but if the general Calcuttan is asked, he or she takes evident pride at this annual event. Other cities to have their own book fairs, with even more grander titles like Indian Book Fair, Asian Book Fair, or even World Book Fair – some, from time to time, and some regularly- but perhaps nowhere is seen this popularity verging on craze. One does not know if the average Calcuttan is fond and fan of books, but at least for two weeks he/she is. So what makes it so? My surmise is – Marketing. The Calcutta Book Fair has been marketed like nothing before or since. For the last ten years the Calcutta Book Fair has been branded a part of Calcutta culture- and if one know what pride a Bengali takes in his/her culture, one knows that it was indeed a very good tactic. Every year sees more and more stalls crowding at the fair, more and more books published just before the fair. The government does not show half as much interest in governing as it shows in staging this event- and ever since Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, a confirmed book and culture loving intellectual, became a part of the government (who, about a year and a half ago, became the Chief Minister), the fair has received a staunch patron.

Unless one has been to the fair one does not know what it means. A million people poring over books in half a thousand stalls in an area of a few hectares, is a sight indeed. The advanced countries sure cannot stage such an event- they just don’t have that many people. India being India, people will tolerate anything to be near what they claim as their heritage- the books- and given the number of Bengali books that come out, one is sure that the book business is going strong. The crowd, the dust, the lack of proper amenities (proper walking and moving space, telephones, water, toilet facilities, eateries, information centres, etc) does not deter the Calcuttan. Come rain or shine, he/she will pay the annul pilgrimage to the Maidan at least once. Some to it many times. Some visit the fair everyday that it lasts.

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The fair brings together many people. People selling books, people selling little magazines, people selling handicraft wares, people doing small road skits, people singing in a group and what not. Bookworm jostles with the book thief, and all have a merry time. Statistics are lacking as to, of the people visiting the fair grounds, how many actually buy books. One feels certain that a large number of people visit the fair grounds just for the experience- taking a look at books from all over India and the world, meeting acquaintances by chance, getting to ogle at celebrities who pay token visits, eating at the various stalls, and just hanging around with friends. All local books, and most popular books, are available at the College Street, and that too at much lower prices- and so the sensible desist from buying books at the fair.

It is said that the rich men buy books, and the wise men read them. If you want to have the best of both worlds, you buy as well as read them. If you are wiser you posses and read a book without buying them. Thus, at the fair, there is no shortage of those who are fond of possessing the books without the means. Previous fairs have seen attempts on part of the fair authorities to grant a semblance of respectability to this not-so-honourable means of procuring books. Thus, they made those caught red-handed sit in essay competitions, and then granted to them the stolen books on satisfactory composition. Even later attempts saw the authorities quizzing the caught person about the book, about the need of the book and about his/her economic condition, and on being given satisfactory answers, the books were gifted. Unfortunately this book fair saw the use of heavy handed means. Security was heavy, thanks to the first terrorist attack in Calcutta just a few days prior to the fair, and few would have ventured on such daring adventures as book lifting. My personal opinion is that the Book Fair would lose much of its charm without these colourful and desperate personalities. For my part, I think that the publishers are bigger thieves than the book lifters, charging as they do exorbitant prices for books that should have come cheaper.

I too have been paying my annual visit to the Maidan for the last ten years. Our family shifted to Calcutta from Adra (my father having a transferable job) on 5th of December, 1991. Two months later I went to Book Fair. Ever since I have not missed a single year, avidly waiting for that wintry fortnight when father loosened his purse strings a little bit. Myself being a great book lover (I am very fond of my personal library, and I would buy books even when I do not have immediate plans of reading them) I would save as much money as I could from the little I got, and then I would happily spend them. The smell of new books was even more mesmerizing to me than the smell of new bank notes.

Lately, however, the charm of the Book Fair has diminished a little bit. The prices of books and certain other mundane compulsions (many of the books that I really needed could not be found at the fair, and most of those useful books could be had much more cheaply at College Street) forced this awareness that the Book Fair is not so charming anymore. Perhaps a few years from now on when academic pressures would be gone, when my pockets would be lined with silk, I might find better use of this event. But for now I would rather pay my pilgrimage visit, and make do with as little purchases as possible. But undoubtedly, the Calcutta Book Fair has certainly had a positive hand in my education by fostering a love of books that was not there in the beginning.

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