VOX POPULI

by

Aam Admi

Issue: 147

Date: 12.01.2013

Contents:

1. Felicitating Indira Gandhi's Killers By The SGPC

2. Follow A 'Shutters-Down' Policy Towards Pakistan

3. The Debate On Status of Women & Rape

4. GAAR Back & Forth

Felicitating Indira Gandhi's Killers By The SGPC

Recently there was news of the SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandak Committee) felicitating at Amritsar through their relations, the killers of Indira Gandhi and conveying the status of ‘martyrs’ on them. This is rather irresponsible on the part of the SGPC and conveys an adverse opinion not only on them but on the whole of the Sikh community. The issue is not limited to the fact that it was Indira Gandhi who was assassinated but the fact that the Prime Minister of a country was gunned down. Now the SGPC and the congregation they lead mostly Sikhs are part of this country and the action in felicitating PM Indira Gandhi's killers smacks of separatist sentiments which should have been avoided. This more so when a Sikh, in the form of Manmohan Singh is presiding as the Prime Minister of India. The fact that Manmohan Singh has no ability to influence opinion within his community is clearly brought to the fore through this incident. In fact the action is 'showing the thumb' to Manmohan Singh daring him to respond and also stating that they care two hoots for his opinion on the matter. The recent action by Pakistan in killing our two jawans on the LoC in Kashmir is a similar issue where they know that India is not capable of any retaliatory action under the leadership of Manmohan Singh. This is the problem when you have a timid, self-effacing, unsure and bumbling bureaucrat dumped into the chair of the Prime Minister of India who carries no respect within his own community, then how can you expect other countries particularly like Pakistan to be a bit wary about India under his leadership.

Follow A 'Shutters-Down' Policy Towards Pakistan

Over the last few days there have been at least 2 incidents near the LoC in Kashmir where Indian & Pakistani soldiers have exchanged fire in which a number of soldiers from either side have been killed. It is also learnt that one of the Indian soldiers has been 'mutilated'. These incidents are without provocation from India and shows the true tendencies of Pakistan which are inherently to cause nuisance and mayhem. Even the Ambassador from Afghanistan to India while speaking recently to the media here had said that they would welcome all assistance from India rather from their neighbours who export bombs to his country. We are all very clear as to which neighbour he was talking about and which is none other than Pakistan. Even the US has come out with a statement that even the Clinton administration which goes quite far back did not trust the ISI. This we had also seen with the Obama administration which with Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State carried out the assassination of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad without taking the ISI into confidence for fear that the target would be tipped off and make good his escape. In this context it is not understood why we continue to pamper Pakistan with visits of their dignitaries to Indian religious places and even otherwise like the recent visit of Rehman Malik, their Interior Minister since these visits serve no purpose except for the Pakistani leaders to vent their well-known position vis a vis problems that India has referred to them. Like for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack when the whole world has been accusing Pakistan of culpability, that country continues to protest their innocence and refuses to bring the named criminals, who were responsible for the incident, on their side to book. Then we have the Pakistan army complicity in funneling terrorists across the LoC into India which are behind the firing incidents in the last few days. Thus we have to follow a 'shutters-down' policy towards Pakistan and cut off all relations with that country. Let us try this out and let Pakistan if they want to open dialogue knock on the shutters and then we can listen selectively to what issues they have and depending on their merit progress on these. The 'open-door' policy that we seem to be following with Pakistan at this time is rash and erroneous and is being openly misused by them.

The Debate On Status of Women & Rape

We were aware that there exists a clear disconnect between our politicians and the aam admi. This situation also seems to be true with some of our religious leaders and right wing religious groups like the RSS & the VHP. Considering the comments made by Asaram Bapu in the context of the Delhi gang-rape case, one would hesitate to call him a religious leader since no human being in their right mind would say that the victim was equally responsible in this case and that she should have called the attackers as brothers and pleaded to be spared. The problem has been that particularly in northern India a woman is looked at as an object. An object to give pleasure first and then other things like being homemaker, mother etc. This basic outlook has to be changed. And this can be done only after sustained propaganda and education that women deserve an equal place in our society. Films which form one of the methods of cultivating this impression that women are fair game should eschew what are called 'item numbers', that is song and dance routines, the lewder the better which are inserted in the film completely out of context with the story since it is believed that on such things does hinge the commercial success of the film. It is not that one is asking the film industry to espouse the cause of womanhood but let them stick to the story line as Western cinema does and bring in sex or whatever when it is really required. Our regional cinema is one of the major culprits in trying to outdo within their own industry with more and more torrid 'item numbers' in their films. This apart the general affluence that has spread over the last decade or so in India has resulted with our women becoming more independent and coming out of their homes either to go to their work-place or be seen in places of entertainment at late hours. This has made them more of a fair game to the men who are of a bestial nature; those who feel deprived by economic circumstance and hold a grudge against these 'painted and dented' women and those simply out for the 'fun' of it. Thus it will be difficult to avoid such incidents unless women learn to manage their independence in a better manner and take precautions so that they can make this endure. It is a well-known fact that if you like something, it would be common sense that you encourage the experience and ensure the parameters by which you can continue to enjoy it indefinitely. So also with this women's independence issue. Women generally should dress appropriately depending on the occasion, time of day and the escorts they have so that they do not needlessly become targets of unwanted attention leading up to rape by dirty minded men. Women should remember that they are doing this for the greater good of their own gender and change, whatever kind it may be, is more stable when it comes slowly. As for policing, any improvement is welcome by way of which such incidents can be avoided but talking practically one needs to realise that those who are bent to break the law will find a way to do it including rape. What one needs to understand also is that when a situation becomes unavoidable, it is important for the police to arrive at the scene of the crime quickly to apprehend the perpetrators and/or provide succour to the victims. Catching the accused in the act or quickly is by itself a deterrent for future such crimes. In Paris of the late '70's, the response time for a police car and/or ambulance to reach the place of an accident or crime within the city limits, once reported to them was 5 minutes which in today's 21st century they may have improved upon but for our metropolitan cities like Delhi, this 5 minutes is good enough. This response time cannot be done without a patrolling schedule by police and ambulances which itself would serve again as a deterrent to visible crimes on the streets like rape, snatching etc. As for rape the punishment according to our laws should be exemplary and for victims who are minors, the rapists should be hanged till death while for other cases the punishment should not be less than 20 years varying to higher terms if the severity of the case is more bestial. Chemical castration in India is not an option since by its very nature of having to inoculate the rapists regularly every 3 months or so it will not work and be quickly abused by all concerned including the implementation agency and more often than not we will have the rapist absconding and on the rampage in another place. Thus the death penalty is best for rapists and the administering of quick justice within 3-6 months of the crime so that generally men with the inclination to attack women will be more careful.

GAAR Back & Forth

The wishy-washy manner in which economic policy is being handled gives no confidence for any investors to take any long-term position on their India plans. This applies for both local and foreign investment. This matter has been aptly put by Ratan Tata that any measure announced by the government should have the sanctity of law. This was stated in the context of the GAAR issue with Vodafone where the tax application, roll-back, re-think and then application again now has caused confusion of multiple dimensions in the minds of all investors. The latest revival of the US$2 billion tax claim is ostensibly because the tax revnues are low and hence Vodafone is presumed to be a soft touch. There is no issue in asking anyone to cough up due taxes as long as the process of doing so is clear, transparent and non-negotiable. After Pranab Mukherji while as Finance Minister stated that the tax would have to be paid by Vodafone and then in the interregnum before P Chidambaran took over the same office and while the PM was holding charge, the PM's advisor who happens to be now the present FM's advisor clearly stated that the tax claim would be deferred. In the meanwhile after Vodafone won the case in the Supreme Court, the government went and changed the wording of the law bringing back, in their opinion, the tax claims validity. And then some official in the Finance Minister came up with this unilateral deal that the penalty and interest on the amount that Vodafone was to pay could be waived as long as the base tax was paid. Finally, just a couple of days ago P Chidambaran himself stated that the GAAR issue is being deferred by a couple of years and then we have the claim being pressed now on the plea that India tax recoveries for various reasons are 'low'. In all this pussy-footing Vodafone has remained resolute and kept their cool after winning the case in the Supreme Court and has just filed a dispute notice under the relevant agreement under Indo-Dutch tax laws which clearly indicates that they are interested to contest any claim of the Govt. of India in this regard. This whole case has put major doubts in the minds of both domestic as well as foreign investors whether any approval or agreement is sacrosanct in India. Thus our financial authorities should realise that a firm mind is important when it comes to international transactions since without it, there would be no end of complications impacting further investment in the country which are already seeing a low volume because of international recessionary tendencies.

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