Election a secular exercise !

Jagdish N Singh

he good news is the Supreme Court has once again come to the rescue of our democracy . It has warned our politicians against making any appeal for votes on the basis of religion, caste, race, community or language. The historic sevenjudge Constitution Bench ruling of January 2 , 2017 goes that such appeals will amount to a 'corrupt practice' and call for disqualification of the candidate.

Then Chief Justice of India T S Thakur said election to the State legislature or Parliament or any civic body "is a secular exercise" and "the functions of the elected representatives must be secular in both outlook and practice." Justice Madan B. Lokur said the primary legislative aim of the Representation of People Act is to "curb communal and separatist tendencies in the country."

By allowing a candidate to take advantage of the voters' religious identity merely to gain votes would be a disservice to the "little man" and against public interest. Justice S.A. Bobde observed the Act proscribes all appeals based on sectarian, linguistic or caste considerations in order to "infuse a modicum of oneness, transcending such barriers."

Chief Justice of India T S Thakur The judgment would go a long way in checking the growing tendencies among our politicians to misuse religions to get votes and capture political power . The spirit behind independent India's founding fathers' idea of affirmative action in our Constitution was to integrate certain historically excluded social and economic groups into the national mainstream by granting them reasonable preferences in the areas of education and employment. Some politicians distort this spirit at the time of elections and whip up populist passions along the lines of caste, creed , language and region .
I hope all finer elements across the entire Indian political spectrum would appreciate the significance of the Court's order . They must contribute to reining in the elements friendly to the evils of communalism, casteism and regionalism . Our politicians must focus on evolving policies and strategies to foster the multifaceted development of the masses--- particularly, women, oppressed social sections, farmers and other have-nots.

Pertinently, the Government must appreciate the role our judiciary has played in strengthening our democracy. It must ensure that the functioning of our judicial system does not suffer on account of any infrastructural or financial problems. In his farewell address(January 3, 2017) outgoing Chief Justice Thakur warned , " We have three crore cases. We have problems of infrastructure. We have problems of judge strength being low… You will have very, very serious issues coming up in times not very far from now. You will have issues regarding cyber laws, medico-legal cases, genetics and privacy etc. You will have issues of making India an inclusive society."

This loot of our Tribal land !

Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi It is heartening to note our Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has announced that the order of the Court against seeking votes in the name of caste, creed, religion, community and language would be complied with effectively.
Tribes are one of most important parts of our population. Yet they continue to be in bad shape in our Republic . According to an authentic study, their predicament is getting worse. Today mining and power sector companies, irrigation projects officials, timber and paper industries and the forest resort tourist industry are calling shots in the areas. There is a nexus between them, certain wildlife and environmentalist groups and the powerful forest bureaucracy. Such elements have succeeded in bringing a series of legislation to undermine the rights and protections that had been given to tribals under the various existing acts.

Tribal life in India Recently, the Telangana government has illegalised traditional methods of forest land cultivation. Its counterpart in Jharkhand has brought amendments that sideline gram sabhas and permit tribal land to be taken over by corporate giants , real estate players, private educational and medical institutions in the name of development.
In Maharashtra the government has issued a notification which gives all rights of forest management to government-promoted committees as opposed to the gram sabha.
The current government at the Centre has declared its commitment to ensuring "ease of business." Under this pretext, private sector-sponsored projects are being cleared in tribal-inhabited forest areas. In just two years after it came to power at the Centre such projects have grabbed over 1.34 lakh hectares of forest land. In many areas this is likely to lead to massive displacement of tribal communities.

Infantry must get its due

Infantry Regiments I wonder why a section of the media are being critical of the current system of promotion in our Army. Their argument is the Chief of the Army Staff is supposed to be a fine strategist. But there is a "deep-rooted tactical thinking within the government" in the matter of promotion to this highest post in our Army . We are giving preference to operational commanders with experience in anti-militancy and counterinsurgency operations in our system . The last four Army Chiefs, including the current one, have been infantry officers.
The critics complain there are disproportionate opportunities for officers in the artillery , Engineers and Signals wings . The Ajai Vikram Singh Committee recommended the Command Exit model for promotion to the colonel level. This model prescribed differentiated command tenures (of the commanding officers i.e., colonels before promotion to the next level) for various arms. It gives more advantage to the Infantry. The AVSC fixed the command tenure of Infantry officers at 2.5 years, that of Armoured/Mechanised Infantry and Artillery at three years, and Engineers and Signals at four . This has led to quicker promotions for officers from the Infantry.
This criticism does not seem to be justified . The Army, or any other Service, must select the most competent one from within for its top post. The quality of being a fine strategist may prevail in the appointment of the much desired post of a Chief of Defense Staff as and when it is created in our country . Infantry must get its due for counter-insurgency duties.
On the AVSC recommendations, a former Army General explains, "AVSC gave an edge to all combat arms, i.e Infantry, armoured corps and mechanised infantry. They considered Artillery a combat support arm and thus gave it lesser weightage. Because of its size (numerical superiority), pro rata wise, the infantry got higher proportionate vacancies. The AVSC did a balanced distribution of additional vacancies."

New American hopes

American President Donald J Trump New American President Donald J Trump's inaugural speech last month brings in new hopes on the horizons . In his speech he was gracious to confess, "For too long, a small group has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished -- the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered -- the factories (were) closed. The establishment protected itself, not the citizens ." He said, " Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. "
President Trump has promised to stop "this American carnage," "transferring power... from Washington, D.C. (to) the American People." He has also assured his countrymen, "Whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all (will) enjoy the same glorious freedoms." In his message to the world President Trump has declared :America " will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world -- with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. America will "not seek to impose (its) way of life on anyone," but will seek to "shine as an example for everyone ." America " will reinforce old alliances and form new ones -- and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism."
It is expected President Trump would take steps towards fulfilling his promises. By the way the political leaderships in other democracies, including our own, would also do well to confess the ongoing carnages in their own nations and care for their own citizens, not just a few politicalcorporate mafias .

Bleak prospects

What do you think are the prospects of peace between Israel and Palestine after the Trump presidency is in place in Washington ? Analysts have hardly any clue .

Eminent Middle East expert and Professor of Politics at the University of Hull Raphael Cohen-Almagor says, "Trumpism is a new phenomenon. I would not venture to guess which direction Trump will take. I am not sure whether trump himself knows now where he is heading. Trump has no history in politics. I do not know whether he is dogmatic or pragmatic, whether he is an activist or a reluctant international actor. We need to wait and see."

Middle East expert Raphael Cohen-Almagor The expert observes, " To achieve peace, three things are a b s o l u t e l y essential: 1. An Israeli leader who is committed to bring peace to his people and is willing to pay the necessary price; 2. A Palestinian leader who is committed to bring peace to his people and is willing to pay the necessary price; and 3. Shared belief by both leaders that the time is ripe for peace." He adds, "By the 'time is ripe' is meant that both leaders believe that enough blood was shed, that they need to seize the moment because things might worsened for their people, and that they have the ability to lead their respective people to accept the peace agreement and change reality for the better."
Cohen-Almagor laments , "During the past two decades, at no given time the three ingredients coexisted. In 1993 and 2000, Prime Ministers Rabin and Barak were committed to peace and felt that the time was ripe, but that commitment and feeling was not shared by their Palestinian counterpart, Yasser Arafat. All three leaders did not have the full backing of their people, and were either unable or unwilling to instil in their people a sense of urgency and yearning for peace, which must come with a high price."
The expert observes ,"The present Palestinian leadership has no trust in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. It is divided. PLA President Mahmoud Abbas struggles to maintain unity of his people; unity of the Palestinian people is more important to him than engaging peace with Israel, thus he accepted Hamas to his government. Competing with Hamas, the Palestinian president does not shy away from terror and commends so-called Shahids who died while engaging in acts of terror. Both Netanyahu and Abbas do not make an effort to pave a road to peace and to persuade their respective people in the importance of peace. Both leaders fail to perceive peace as the right strategy. Both leaders subject their people to further struggle and strife."
"The Netanyahu administrations present a difficult discrepancy between speech and deed. Officially, Netanyahu is committed to two-state solution. Practically, he builds settlements that make his statements curious and questionable. Terrorism and settlements were and remain major obstacles on the road to peace, " adds Cohen-Almagor.



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY FIVE-STATE POLL PUNJAB ELECTION ON RECORD FRANKLY SPEAKING REALPOLITIK CHANGING POLITICAL PROFILES THE NIGHT THAT WAS RBI AUTONOMY A DIVIDED PARTY DIDI'S POLITICS INDIA ESSAY VOICE FROM LONDON 45TH U.S. PRESIDENT HITS & MISSES MIXED BLESSING ENVIRONMENTAL NEGLECT BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR YOGA IN DAILY LIFE-X SIGNS OF THE TIMES INTERVIEW BOLLYWOOD PANORAMA TRIBUTE THAT HEROIC EVENT LIVING WITH NATURE ART OF LIVING Issue:February' 2017 Subscribe Now	REALPOLITIK Election a secular exercise ! Jagdish N Singh he good news is the Supreme Court has once again come to the rescue of our democracy . It has warned our politicians against making any appeal for votes on the basis of religion, caste, race, community or language. The historic sevenjudge Constitution Bench ruling of January 2 , 2017 goes that such appeals will amount to a 'corrupt practice' and call for disqualification of the candidate. Then Chief Justice of India T S Thakur said election to the State legislature or Parliament or any civic body "is a secular exercise" and "the functions of the elected representatives must be secular in both outlook and practice." Justice Madan B. Lokur said the primary legislative aim of the Representation of People Act is to "curb communal and separatist tendencies in the country." By allowing a candidate to take advantage of the voters' religious identity merely to gain votes would be a disservice to the "little man" and against public interest. Justice S.A. Bobde observed the Act proscribes all appeals based on sectarian, linguistic or caste considerations in order to "infuse a modicum of oneness, transcending such barriers." Chief Justice of India T S Thakur The judgment would go a long way in checking the growing tendencies among our politicians to misuse religions to get votes and capture political power . The spirit behind independent India's founding fathers' idea of affirmative action in our Constitution was to integrate certain historically excluded social and economic groups into the national mainstream by granting them reasonable preferences in the areas of education and employment. Some politicians distort this spirit at the time of elections and whip up populist passions along the lines of caste, creed , language and region . I hope all finer elements across the entire Indian political spectrum would appreciate the significance of the Court's order . They must contribute to reining in the elements friendly to the evils of communalism, casteism and regionalism . Our politicians must focus on evolving policies and strategies to foster the multifaceted development of the masses--- particularly, women, oppressed social sections, farmers and other have-nots. Pertinently, the Government must appreciate the role our judiciary has played in strengthening our democracy. It must ensure that the functioning of our judicial system does not suffer on account of any infrastructural or financial problems. In his farewell address(January 3, 2017) outgoing Chief Justice Thakur warned , " We have three crore cases. We have problems of infrastructure. We have problems of judge strength being low… You will have very, very serious issues coming up in times not very far from now. You will have issues regarding cyber laws, medico-legal cases, genetics and privacy etc. You will have issues of making India an inclusive society." This loot of our Tribal land ! Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi It is heartening to note our Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi has announced that the order of the Court against seeking votes in the name of caste, creed, religion, community and language would be complied with effectively. Tribes are one of most important parts of our population. Yet they continue to be in bad shape in our Republic . According to an authentic study, their predicament is getting worse. Today mining and power sector companies, irrigation projects officials, timber and paper industries and the forest resort tourist industry are calling shots in the areas. There is a nexus between them, certain wildlife and environmentalist groups and the powerful forest bureaucracy. Such elements have succeeded in bringing a series of legislation to undermine the rights and protections that had been given to tribals under the various existing acts. Tribal life in India Recently, the Telangana government has illegalised traditional methods of forest land cultivation. Its counterpart in Jharkhand has brought amendments that sideline gram sabhas and permit tribal land to be taken over by corporate giants , real estate players, private educational and medical institutions in the name of development. In Maharashtra the government has issued a notification which gives all rights of forest management to government-promoted committees as opposed to the gram sabha. The current government at the Centre has declared its commitment to ensuring "ease of business." Under this pretext, private sector-sponsored projects are being cleared in tribal-inhabited forest areas. In just two years after it came to power at the Centre such projects have grabbed over 1.34 lakh hectares of forest land. In many areas this is likely to lead to massive displacement of tribal communities. Infantry must get its due Infantry Regiments I wonder why a section of the media are being critical of the current system of promotion in our Army. Their argument is the Chief of the Army Staff is supposed to be a fine strategist. But there is a "deep-rooted tactical thinking within the government" in the matter of promotion to this highest post in our Army . We are giving preference to operational commanders with experience in anti-militancy and counterinsurgency operations in our system . The last four Army Chiefs, including the current one, have been infantry officers. The critics complain there are disproportionate opportunities for officers in the artillery , Engineers and Signals wings . The Ajai Vikram Singh Committee recommended the Command Exit model for promotion to the colonel level. This model prescribed differentiated command tenures (of the commanding officers i.e., colonels before promotion to the next level) for various arms. It gives more advantage to the Infantry. The AVSC fixed the command tenure of Infantry officers at 2.5 years, that of Armoured/Mechanised Infantry and Artillery at three years, and Engineers and Signals at four . This has led to quicker promotions for officers from the Infantry. This criticism does not seem to be justified . The Army, or any other Service, must select the most competent one from within for its top post. The quality of being a fine strategist may prevail in the appointment of the much desired post of a Chief of Defense Staff as and when it is created in our country . Infantry must get its due for counter-insurgency duties. On the AVSC recommendations, a former Army General explains, "AVSC gave an edge to all combat arms, i.e Infantry, armoured corps and mechanised infantry. They considered Artillery a combat support arm and thus gave it lesser weightage. Because of its size (numerical superiority), pro rata wise, the infantry got higher proportionate vacancies. The AVSC did a balanced distribution of additional vacancies." New American hopes American President Donald J Trump New American President Donald J Trump's inaugural speech last month brings in new hopes on the horizons . In his speech he was gracious to confess, "For too long, a small group has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished -- the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered -- the factories (were) closed. The establishment protected itself, not the citizens ." He said, " Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. " President Trump has promised to stop "this American carnage," "transferring power... from Washington, D.C. (to) the American People." He has also assured his countrymen, "Whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all (will) enjoy the same glorious freedoms." In his message to the world President Trump has declared :America " will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world -- with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. America will "not seek to impose (its) way of life on anyone," but will seek to "shine as an example for everyone ." America " will reinforce old alliances and form new ones -- and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism." It is expected President Trump would take steps towards fulfilling his promises. By the way the political leaderships in other democracies, including our own, would also do well to confess the ongoing carnages in their own nations and care for their own citizens, not just a few politicalcorporate mafias . Bleak prospects What do you think are the prospects of peace between Israel and Palestine after the Trump presidency is in place in Washington ? Analysts have hardly any clue . Eminent Middle East expert and Professor of Politics at the University of Hull Raphael Cohen-Almagor says, "Trumpism is a new phenomenon. I would not venture to guess which direction Trump will take. I am not sure whether trump himself knows now where he is heading. Trump has no history in politics. I do not know whether he is dogmatic or pragmatic, whether he is an activist or a reluctant international actor. We need to wait and see." Middle East expert Raphael Cohen-Almagor The expert observes, " To achieve peace, three things are a b s o l u t e l y essential: 1. An Israeli leader who is committed to bring peace to his people and is willing to pay the necessary price; 2. A Palestinian leader who is committed to bring peace to his people and is willing to pay the necessary price; and 3. Shared belief by both leaders that the time is ripe for peace." He adds, "By the 'time is ripe' is meant that both leaders believe that enough blood was shed, that they need to seize the moment because things might worsened for their people, and that they have the ability to lead their respective people to accept the peace agreement and change reality for the better." Cohen-Almagor laments , "During the past two decades, at no given time the three ingredients coexisted. In 1993 and 2000, Prime Ministers Rabin and Barak were committed to peace and felt that the time was ripe, but that commitment and feeling was not shared by their Palestinian counterpart, Yasser Arafat. All three leaders did not have the full backing of their people, and were either unable or unwilling to instil in their people a sense of urgency and yearning for peace, which must come with a high price." The expert observes ,"The present Palestinian leadership has no trust in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. It is divided. PLA President Mahmoud Abbas struggles to maintain unity of his people; unity of the Palestinian people is more important to him than engaging peace with Israel, thus he accepted Hamas to his government. Competing with Hamas, the Palestinian president does not shy away from terror and commends so-called Shahids who died while engaging in acts of terror. Both Netanyahu and Abbas do not make an effort to pave a road to peace and to persuade their respective people in the importance of peace. Both leaders fail to perceive peace as the right strategy. Both leaders subject their people to further struggle and strife." "The Netanyahu administrations present a difficult discrepancy between speech and deed. Officially, Netanyahu is committed to two-state solution. Practically, he builds settlements that make his statements curious and questionable. Terrorism and settlements were and remain major obstacles on the road to peace, " adds Cohen-Almagor.