Vox Populi Issue 255

VOX POPULI                                                       by                                                  S Kamat                                                        as                                                  Aam Admi                              Issue: 255            Date: 05.11.2018       skamatblog.blogspot.com or aamadmivoices.blogspot.com                       WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY DEEPAVALI Contents: 1. Oh Kolkata!  2. Critiquing the Supreme Court & Some Of Its Judgments 3. After The Attack On RBI The Best Thing That Arun Jaitley Could       Do Is To Quit                                                       Oh Kolkata!  I am taking the liberty of making some some off-the-cuff comments after our recent visit to Calcutta, no Kolkata! The first thing that strikes you is the city is alive. It lives.  Not only does it live but it also moves. The mass of humanity that we saw on the city roads because of the Puja crowds actually moves and in a disciplined manner under the able guidance and stewardship of the Kolkata Police. The same is true for the crowds that we saw at Howrah Station. The traffic though quite unruly now compared to earlier days when the mini-buses set off the F-1 race challenge in the early 1980's has become  de rigeur now and every kind of vehicle comes at you as if it wants to run you over. The days when Kolkata was famous for the 'pedestrian being the king of the road' is over and the humble man on the street today is at the mercy of traffic and insane drivers just like in Delhi or even Mumbai or even for that matter any existing or up and coming metropolis in the country.  The Durga Puja atmosphere has not changed and is still the same with the people showing the same enthusiasm as before to visit the pandals and see the deities. The only change has been the dominance of what are called theme Pujas which are sponsored by corporate entities and tend to take up a theme of social or other relevance and lavishly decorate the pandal and the environs thus showing the caliber of the Bengal craftsmen. The deity in this approach is not diminished in any sense and the same lavishness and care is given to the design and the presentation of the idols. However, the theme Pujas seem to take away the religious feeling that one associates with the Pujas replaced by a brassiness brought out by the commercial emphasis dictated by the sponsors. One of our friends mentioned that some of the Committees of the theme Pujas are not from the locality where the Puja is done leading to a lack in ownership of the neighbourhood in the Puja as in the past. This leads to many feelings of discomfort of the residents of the neighbourhood related to the way of life of local residents being disturbed during the Pujas,  The pada Pujo or the baraori Pujas are fast moving towards extinction though there are vestiges of people trying to retain these like niche Pujas e.g. organised exclusively by women etc. and the Pujas being done in the stilt parking of multi-storied complexes by the residents.  The greatest thing was that you could talk in Bengali everywhere. Kolkata was always strong in its consciousness to use Bengali but this time even the Bihari veggie vendor in Lake Market preferred to talk in Bengali, so also the Yellow and the Uber cab drivers.  Not not that even in Saheb-pada we ordered breakfast in Flury's one day and lunch another day at New Kenilworth Hotel in chaste Bengali. Earlier one recalls English was the go-to language on Park Street and its environs. The all pervasive use of Bengali is the best thing that could have happened to Kolkata. But the major disappointment in Kolkata was that its pavements have been hijacked. This is true not only in the residential and business areas but also in the true blue corporate areas like near the Jeevan Deep building and Tata Centre on Chowringhee which have shacks serving food just below them. Earlier they used to be on the corner of Russel Street but mostly chai shops.  The pavements need be cleared since they belong to the citizens. The pavements cannot be hijacked to make Kolkata one huge, contiguous hawker centre and food court. The pavements in its present form are an invitation to disaster and random instances of fire across the city will be the order of the day. Or you will hear of a bus ploughing into the pavement with multiple fatalities. Those hawkers and food stalls have a problem. They do this for their livelihood  because there are no jobs. They will refuse to go away from the pavements per se but they may consider if they are given jobs. But then there are no jobs for the government to give particularly to this category of people who are unskilled and relatively less educated. Therefore the government has to find a solution to this problem by thinking out of the box. These people now running shops and food joints on the pavements should not be deprived of their livelihood and the government also should not be called on to give these people jobs. But then the government should be prepared to invest and maybe ask these people to share in it to create a sense of value for their ownership. So the government can take it upon themselves to build as appropriate in each area a single building not exceeding 6 floors a Hawker Centre and Food Court with slotted ownership facility for each of the hawkers and food dispensers who occupy a particular stretch of street. The existing people running their businesses on the streets will have to move into these HC&FC utilities clearing the pavements. In each of these areas the government will easily find space or old buildings to acquire and build the new HC&FC's. This will not only give back the pavements to the citizens but also give a face-lift to Kolkata which it richly deserves. The only thing is that the government should strictly enforce that the next generation of hawkers and food dispensers should not come and occupy the pavements in the hope that they will also be given a bail-out in the future.   Otherwise Kolkata over these last Pujas was a great trip filled with nostalgia, old friends, good food and outings and the realisation that Kolkata still has still a warm heart that beats for all who come near it. Thank you, Kolkata.               Critiquing the Supreme Court & Some Of Its Judgments                        SC judgments lately are an overreach with the Sabarimalai temple likely to be closed over the entry of women and now the CBI emasculated so to speak over the judgment in the Director Verma midnight sacking Issue. Also the NRC fiasco in Assam that has resulted in so much pain and trauma to some families with the exclusion of some of their near and dear ones from the NRC and consequently maybe facing deportation. In each of these cases, the SC should have recused themselves from taking on the cases.  In the Sabarimalai temple case it is related to a matter of faith and cannot be therefore put to the hard test of legality. By just applying constitutional rights to the issue the SC is looking at it through a narrow lens and pandering to the divisive whims and fancies of a misguided set of people who come to the SC knowing that it will be prey to their machinations and deliver a judgment. Now last month when the temple opened for a short while there were law and order problems at the temple site when some women tried to access the precincts with the assistance of the police of the Communist regime in power. It was reported then that the priests of the temple had declared that they would shut the temple if the women were allowed to set foot near it. Thus if one were to take an overall view was this the intention of the SC to be a party, indirect one may say, to close the temple and not let even the legitimate and true devotees who outnumber by a vast majority the disgruntled lot, to have a sight of the Lord. Other than that the temple entry issue is being expanded and taking on the face of a major law and order problem in the State with the Communists, this time with the support of the government, and the BJP-RSS confronting each other in the shades of the RSS-Marxist war that had dogged in the past the Malabar region for years. This war will now be fought across Kerala. With the temple opening from the middle of November 2018 the State is tense to see how things shape up. And everybody's teeth are on edge. Surely these are not the signs of wisdom that he looks forward to in a judgment. Up north at Ayodhya there is further trouble brewing with the Sangh Parivar making statements that like in 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished, they may have to take matters into their hands. We need to remember that we live in current times where akin to a tinderbox, mob fury is generated with the minimum of provocation and then the situation goes out of the hands of the saner elements in our society. Additionally like in the demolishment of the Babri Masjid, there is nothing that can be done when the deed is done and only regrets and recriminations can follow. The politicians as we have seen in the past remain silent spectators allowing the horrifying scenarios to be enacted if not actively supporting and inciting the perpetrators. In such kind of prevailing circumstances there is a need for men of erudition and wisdom to guide our society through safer and calmer waters eschewing confrontational situations. That is what one would expect the SC to do. In a similar vein the CBI judgment puts in limbo the premier investigating agency of the country even for a limited span of close to 3 weeks until the CVC is able to conclude the report into allegations of corruption against Director Verma. In times like this to freeze work at the CBI is a matter of great import but the saving grace one could say is that the agency is so compromised that even if it is put in suspended animation for some time nothing much would be affected and it could be in fact beneficial for the country. All said and done as said earlier the SC should have recused from this matter since it is a matter arising out of an adminstrative action of the government and hence the Central Administrative Tribunal or some such body should decide the matter. Alternately since the appointment of the CBI Director is made consisting of the PM, CJI and the Leader of the Opposition, the SC should have allowed these august personages to be seized of the matter and arrive at a decision. As far as the NRC is concerned in Assam which has become an extremely sensitive issue the SC is absolutely right in its premises and the logic on which basis the NRC is to be created but what is lacking in the plan is sensitivity. Border states particularly adjoining Bangladesh have seen migrant influxes since 1947 and more so just preceding 1971 when Bangladesh got its independence and even to this day at times of distress in the neighbouring country. The migrants have been mainly Hindus but also Muslims  have crossed the borders running away from strife or looking for a better life. India has faced the brunt of these compulsory migrations more so Assam and Bengal which two States are considered transit points for these refugees to then enlarge across India. Thus some of these refugees have been there for a long period of time and have been assimilated into the Indian way of life and into the electoral process, the latter more so by the design by crafty politicians who want to or have converted them into vote banks. In the majority of cases there is no problem of the refugees staying in India and sharing in economic activity. But in some areas of Assam where strife is endemic between tribals and the government and where there is less work even for the locals or there is a religion imbalance, violence rears its head time and again. That is where a solution is required and that has to be political. Hard logic cannot be the basis for identification of outsiders since with so many years having passed, these people have nowhere to go. Dealing with this is also an issue of humanity and India, the country of Mahatma Gandhi and in possession of a large heart should find a way for these people to remain in the country as long as they agree to abide strictly by our laws. The SC by getting involved in the NRC matter is only attracting a bad name for itself. Thus the matter should be left to the governments of the day be it at the State or the Centre who should decide on it or even by the Election Commission. Even now look at the latest SC stricture on limiting fireworks and the the suggestion to use 'green' fireworks which do not exist. Considering pollution both environmental and noise and the fact that most fireworks are made by child labour the restrictions are desirable but they should be made implementable. At this rate of the number of unimplementable and impractical judgments coming out, you will find the weight and sanctity of SC judgments with the people losing import. It should not be that the SC judgments become irrelevant and slowly the SC too. That will be the sad conclusion to this story which is not desirable and it is only the SC who can find a solution or put a stop to it. On general matters, the SC a few weeks back took to task the Chief Secretaries of two States, Goa and Nagaland, for appearing in court 'improperly' dressed. The SC bench expected them to be dressed formally in the British tradition and in sober colours. Now we have thrown out the British for more than 70 years but we are continuing with their dress codes in institutions like the SC which s sad thing. In apparel the SC needs to think local and national and throw out the dress codes laid down by the British. These are cobwebs of history that should be removed forthwith. In these matters we need to examine the US judiciary which has tuned itself in the national ethos not only in dress but in the practice of law and its relevance to their society. One hopes that the SC looks at this missive in a constructive fashion and as a positive feedback.               After The Attack On RBI The Best Thing That Arun Jaitley                                          Could Do Is To Quit One of the worst Finance Ministers that India has seen, Arun Jaitley is throwing his weight around and enacting the scenario defined in the Hindi metaphor - Nach Na Jane Angan Teda. After finding that nothing is going right with the Indian economy and with it going consistently downhill since 2014, his latest attack has been against the RBI blaming them for not regulating the 'profligate' lending seen in the last decade by the Banks. Where Jaitley should have hauled up the Bank top officials for indiscriminate lending he is going after the regulator! With the present BJP government this has been the tendency where incompetent people rule the roost and who flail around when things do not go right and then look for scapegoats to blame. Classic among such people who are square pegs fitted into round holes is Arun Jaitley. His penchant for pontificating on matters that he least understands underlines another Hindi metaphor - Jiski Lathi Uski Bhains. He believes that just because he is named as the Finance Minister people need to listen to him on economic matters. Reluctant to cede his position of authority was highlighted during his leave of absence for health reasons when he made sure the Finance Ministry website continued with his name being mentioned as Finance Minister and he continued blogging on financial and economic matters undermining the position of the temporary incumbent. Even on the major Demonetisation Exercise though he was not taken into confidence he realised that unless he plays ball Narendra Modi may get another bee in his bonnet and look for another Finance Minister. Given the task of implementing the GST, Arun Jaitley made a merry mess of it by not heeding the GST Council recommendations to firstly, delay implementation by just a couple of months until everyone was ready, secondly have multiple tariff levels like the old Sales Tax regime, thirdly not having the back-end of computerisation ready to take on the full load of tax payees. All this has resulted in tax revenues not rising to the levels expected and people now trying to beat the system. So Arun Jaitley should get real and recognising his limitations quit as Finance Minister in which case he would be doing a big favour to the nation.                                     **************************