Tag: Justice Markandey Katju

The BBC commentary on Modi

By Justice Katju
The central government has blocked youtube and video tweets showing the BBC commentary on the Gujarat riots.
Is this restriction valid ?
In this connection the judgment of the celebrated Justice Louis Brandeis of the US Supreme Court in Whitney vs California ( 1927 ) is noteworthy :
” Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears. To justify suppression of free speech there must be reasonable ground to fear that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced. There must be reasonable ground to believe that the danger apprehended is imminent. There must be reasonable ground to believe that the evil to be prevented is a serious one. Every denunciation of existing law tends in some measure to increase the probability that there will be violation of it. But even advocacy of violation, however reprehensible morally, is not a justification for denying free speech where the advocacy falls short of incitement and there is nothing to indicate that the advocacy would be immediately acted on. The wide difference between advocacy and incitement, between preparation and attempt, between assembling and conspiracy, must be borne in mind. In order to support a finding of clear and present danger it must be shown either that immediate serious violence was to be expected or was advocated, or that the past conduct furnished reason to believe that such advocacy was then contemplated ”.
He went further to say :
” Those who won our independence by revolution were not cowards. They did not fear political change. They did not exalt order at the cost of liberty. To courageous, selfreliant men, with confidence in the power of free and fearless reasoning applied through the processes of popular government, no danger flowing from speech can be deemed clear and present, unless the incidence of the evil apprehended is so imminent that it may befall before there is opportunity for full discussion. If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence ”.
This judgment should be considered by our courts if there is challenge to the restriction.
Author Hon’ble Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman, Press Council of India and former Judge, Supreme Court of India.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.

January 22, 2023
Elections in India by Justice Markandey Katju

In India the state assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and for the Municipal Council of Delhi are over, and the results are awaited. Soon thereafter preparations will begin for the state assembly elections in 2023 in Tripura ( due in March ), Karnataka ( due in May ), Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh ( due in November ), and Rajasthan ( due in December ). And of course the parliamentary elections due in 2024.
India has 28 states and 8 union territories, apart from the hundreds of local bodies like Municipal Corporations, Zila Panchayats, Block Panchayats, gram panchayats, etc for which elections are held regularly. The country is perpetually in an election mode, and the public participate in them enthusiastically.
What our simpleton people do not realise is that they are being taken for a ride. Will change in the ruling parties or their representatives make any substantial difference in their lives ? Will it reduce or eliminate poverty, hunger, unemployment, price rise, lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses ? Not at all. It is change in the system which is required for this, but no one talks of that.
The system of parliamentary elections ( which we blindly borrowed from the British ) further entrenches casteism and communalism in India, which are the main feudal forces holding up our progress, for parliamentary elections largely run on caste and communal vote banks. And so it has to be replaced by an alternate system which unleashes our potential, and enables our country to march rapidly towards a high level of industrialisation and modernisation, which alone can give prosperity and a high standard of living to our people.But no one talks of that, not even our so called ‘intellectuals’ and our supposedly ‘free’ media.
It is time that the patriotic thinkers in India realise this, awaken our gullible masses from their slumber, and using their creativity think out and devise such an alternative to the present system. Otherwise we will remain in the mess we are in today indefinitely

December 6, 2022
Imran Khan’s party will sweep the polls whenever elections are held, but army will be the real ruler.

The News Caravan News Desk
Justice Markandey Katju
In my opinion all this talk is irrelevant. The real ruler of Pakistan, was, is, and will remain its army. So even if Imran Khan again becomes the Prime Minister, he will only be a dummy and a puppet.
It is said that Imran Khan has massive support in Pakistan. That may be true. But if these supporters create any problem, a grape of whiffshot will make them disperse and disappear, like the Paris mob at Vendemiarie in 1795 when faced with Napoleon’s troops.
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.

November 16, 2022
Ghalib describes the present situation in India – Justice Katju

TheNewsCaravan WebDesk
Rau mein hai rakhsh-e-umr kahaan dekhiye thame
Nai haath baag par hain na paa hai rakaab mein – Mirza Ghalib
रौ में है रख़्श-ए-उम्र कहाँ देखिये थमे
नै हाथ बाग पर हैं ना पा है रिक़ाब में
رو میں ہے رخش عمر کہاں دیکھیے تھمے
نے ہاتھ باگ پر ہے نہ پا ہے رکاب میں
مرزا غالب –
This sher of Ghalib describes the age we are living in. Rau means galloping, rakhsh means horse, umr means age or era, thame means halts.

Mirza Ghalib
So the first line means “ The horse of our times is galloping. Let us see where it halts “. In other words, things are happening fast nowadays, developments are taking place rapidly.
In the second line, ‘baagh’ means the rein ( of the horse ), ‘rakaab’ means stirrup. So the literal meaning of the second line is “ neither are the reins in the rider’s hands, nor are his feet in the stirrups “. In other words, things are out of control.
This seems to describe conditions in India today, where developments are taking place fast, but everything seems to be out of control
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India.
Justice Markandey Katju
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.

November 15, 2022
Bazzaat Kashmiri’s by Justice Katju

I have joked about many communities, Bengalis, Tamils, Biharis, Nagas, etc, so naturally people asked me to joke about my own community, Kashmiris.
There is a Persian adage that one should avoid 3 types of people : awwal Afghan, doyam Kambo, soyam bazzaat Kashmiri ( i.e. first Afghans, second Kambos, third rascally Kashmiris )
Now regarding Afghans and Kambos the meaning is clear. They are all to be avoided.
But regarding Kashmiris, there is a confusion. The word ‘bazzaat’ has only been used before the word ‘Kashmiri’, not before ‘Afghan’ or ‘Kambo’.
So one meaning can be that whereas all Afghans and Kambos are wicked, and hence all of them are to be avoided, but only wicked ( bazzaat ) Kashmiris are to be avoided, not the good ones.
But the other interpretation can be that the word ‘bazzaat’ has only been used before the word ‘Kashmiri’ to emphasise that Kashmiris are particularly bazzaat ( wicked ), even more than Afghans and Kambos.
Now it is for you folks to decide which interpretation is correct. I, being a Kashmiri, would naturally prefer the first
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India.
Justice Markandey Katju
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.

November 15, 2022
Swami Vishnudevanand ‘ of Yoga Vedanta Kutir, Allahabad by Justice Markandey Katju

When I was in Allahabad I would go regularly to a yogi sadhu, Swami Vishnudevanand Saraswati, to learn yoga. He had his ashram where he lived next to the Ganga bandh.
He was a Bengali and had become a sadhu at a very young age. He travelled to many places in north India looking for a guru, and had come to Allahabad during the Kumbh Mela of 1930, where he settled down there, becoming a disciple of another sadhu, Handia baba, who is said to have lived till he was 104 ( Swami Vishnudevanand told me he wanted to live longer than his guru, but he died when he was about 94 ).
Swamiji used to teach hath yoga in his ashram. Once Dr Sur, an eminent physician of Allahabad, came to Swamiji and said he had not been able to sleep for several days. Swamiji taught him a yogic kriya, which put Dr Sur to sleep continuously for 48 hours, after which he got up refreshed, and became normal. Thus, Swamiji was the doctor of even doctors.Similarly, Swamiji helped many people who would come to him.
Unlike ordinary Hindus whose bodies are cremated on their death, the body of a sadhu is not cremated, but is either buried ( the burial place is called a ‘samadhi’, or is immersed in a river ( called ‘jal samadhi‘ ). This is because when a person becomes a sanyaasi he has to perform his own funeral rites. So funeral rites cannot be performed twice. Swami Vishnudevanand’s samadhi, as well as that of his guru, are near the Ganga bandh
Swami Vishnudevanand had a lot of NRI disciples who lived in America, and who often invited him there. He told me a story of what happened there once.Swamiji was giving a religious discourse to NRIs in America, and during this discourse he said “ You people living in America have your brains in your pocket “.
At this, one gentleman in the audience got up angrily and asked “ How do you say we have our brains in our pocket ? “.
Swamiji replied coolly “ I will tell you. Suppose President Reagan ( who was the American President then ) gave you a cheque of 40 million dollars, and you put that cheque in your pocket. Where will your brains be ? “.
Everyone in the audience spoke out loudly “ In his pocket. Well said Swamiji. Jai ho aapki “
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India.

Justice Markandey Katju
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.

November 15, 2022
Children’s Day is just a gimmick

Today, 14th November, is Children’s Day.How do we celebrate Children’s Day ? By ensuring that no child is abused or exploited, no child is deprived of food, clothing, education, medicine and shelter, no child is treated with hatred and made to have an inferiority complex.But how do we ensure that ?
Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru
The Supreme Court in several decisions has held that the right to life mentioned in Article 21 of the Constitution means the right to a life of dignity. Hence everyone, including children and women, are entitled to food, medical care, education, clothing, shelter, etc as these are part of a life of dignity.
But these are just words. Court verdicts, unless implemented on the ground, are just hollow talk. What is the ground reality ? The truth is that crores of our children are living in horrible conditions, without proper food, education, health care etc, often in slums with no proper electricity, water and toilet facilities, etc.
I once went to have a meal in a small restaurant. I was served by a tiny boy, about 10 or 12 years old. I asked him why was he working here, and was not in school ? He replied that his father was too poor to send him to school, so he had to work to earn some money.
So isn‘t celebrating Children’s Day hypocrisy and a gimmick ?
I am reminded of Sahir Ludhianvi’s verses :“ Zara mulk ke rehbaron ko bulao Yeh kooche yeh galiyaan yeh manzar dikhao Sanaakhwaan-e-taqdees-e-mashriq ko lao Sanaakhwaan-e-taqdees-e-mashriq kahaan hain ? “
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.
Justice Markandey Katju

November 14, 2022
14th November is Nehru’s birthday Justice Katju

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru 14th November, is the birthday of Pt Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister.
A friend of mine told me this story when I was a lawyer in Allahabad. This friend, who was a few years older than me, is now no more.
In the late 1950s, a convocation was held in the Allahabad University. In this function, some university students, including my friend, put a garland of shoes on the neck of the UP governor (in protest against some issue). Consequently, these students were expelled from the university.
They decided to go to Delhi and request prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to get their expulsion revoked, thinking that since Allahabad was Nehru’s parliamentary constituency, he would get their expulsion revoked.
They took the night train to Delhi, travelling without tickets. When the travelling ticket examiner (TTE) came and asked for their tickets, they shouted “ Hum prime minister ke constituency ke hain; Bhaag jao “ ( We are from the prime minister’s constituency; get lost), and the poor TTE fled.
On reaching Delhi, they went straight to the prime minister’s residence at Teen Murti. When they wanted to enter the house, they were stopped by the security personnel, who naturally asked whether they had an appointment. They said “ Hum prime minister ke constituency ke hain. Hamein appointment wapointment ki zaroorat naheen hai “ ( We are from the prime minister’s constituency. We don’t need any appointment).
When the security personnel would still not allow them entry, the students threatened to commit suicide at the gate of the prime minister’s house, and created a ruckus.
This news reached Nehru, who ordered that they be allowed entry. The students then trooped into the prime minister’s house, and were ushered into a big hall, where there were a lot of dry fruits, such as kishmish, badaam, akhrot and cashew nuts. They ate some and pocketed a lot for future use.
After a few minutes, Nehru came into the hall, in shorts and a vest, and shouted “Jao padho, padho “ (Go and study). The students replied “ Kahaan padhein sahib? Hamein expel kar diya gaya hai “ ( Where should we study, sir? We have been expelled). Nehru again shouted “ Padho, padho “ and left the hall.

The students were bewildered, and they left the house wondering what the prime minister meant.
They then caught the night train to return to Allahabad (again travelling without tickets and eating the dry fruits they had pocketed at the prime minister’s residence).
In the morning, when the train reached Fatehpur, the station before Allahabad, one of them got off the train and bought a newspaper at the platform. There, it was published that their expulsion had been revoked by the university vice-chancellor.
Probably, Nehru, the magnanimous man that he was, had told a secretary to telephone the vice-chancellor and request him to forgive the students and readmit them. After all, boys will be boys (particularly Allahabad boys!).
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.
Justice Markandey Katju

November 14, 2022
Celebrating our defeat By Justice Katju

Many Indians are celebrating Pakistan’s defeat by England in the T20 World Cup cricket tournament, as if India has won the Cup.
These fools don’t understand that India and Pakistan are in fact one country, only temporarily divided by the Britishers ( the way they divided Ireland, Cyprus, Palestine, etc ) by that historical swindle called Partition, on the basis of the bogus two nation theory, the whole object being to prevent India from emerging as a modern industrial giant ( for which it has all the potential ), like another China.
We share the same culture, look like each other, many of us speak the same language, Hindustani ( called Hindi by Indians and Urdu by Pakistanis ), and we were one since Mughal times. Indians and Pakistanis socialise abroad as if no Partition had ever occurred.
We are bound to reunite one day under a secular govt, though that will take time. West and East Germany were reunited in 1990 after a partition of 45 years.So a defeat of Pakistan is in fact our defeat, and their victory is our victory.
When an Indian soldier kills a Pakistani soldier he is behaving like a fool, because he is killing his own countryman, and similarly, when a Pakistani soldier kills an Indian soldier he is behaving like a fool because he is killing his own countryman.
Hindus and Muslims were befooled by the Britishers into thinking we are each other’s enemies, but how much longer must we remain befooled ? How much longer must we waste our precious resources in hostility with each other ? Is 75 years not enough ?
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India.
Justice Markandey Katju
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.

November 14, 2022
Sir Muhammad Iqbal Day By Justice Katju

Today, 9th November, is the birthday of the Urdu poet Mohammad Iqbal, and it is being celebrated in Pakistan as Iqbal Day ( since Iqbal subscribed to and propagated the 2 nation theory on which Pakistan was created )
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iqbal_Day
While I regard Iqbal as a good poet, I intensely dislike him for his strong support of dividing India and creating Pakistan.
Sir Muhammad Iqbal
Some people say that Iqbal wrote ‘ Saare jehan se achcha Hindustan hamara ‘ . Such people also quote the the sixth stanza of Saare Jahan Se Achcha (1904), as proof of Iqbal’s secular outlook:
Maẕhab nahīṉ sikhātā āpas meṉ bair rakhnāHindī haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai Hindūstāṉ hamārāor,Religion does not teach us to bear ill-will among ourselvesWe are of Hind, our homeland is Hindustan.
Such people say that this proves that Iqbal never wanted Partition of India. These people forget that this poem was written in 1904, when Iqbal was only 27 years old, and his later communal views had not developed.

However, his views evidently changed subsequently ( evidently after his stay in England from 1905-1906 ).
http://www.allamaiqbal.com/publications/journals/review/apr76/1.htm
Thus, in Tarana-e-Milli written in 1910 he writes :
Chīn o-ʿArab hamārā, Hindūstāṉ hamārā
Muslim haiṉ ham, wat̤an hai sārā jahāṉ hamārā
or, Central Asia and Arabia are ours, Hindustan is ours We are Muslims, the whole world is our homeland.
Iqbal’s world view had now changed; it had become pan-Islamic. Instead of singing of Hindustan, “our homeland,” the new song proclaimed that ‘ We are Muslims , and the whole world belongs to us ‘. (See also his long poems ‘Shikwa’ and ‘Jawab-e-Shikwa ).
Gradually, Iqbal became highly communal, and a strong supporter of creating Pakistan, a separate homeland for Muslims in India.
This, in his presidential address to the Muslim League annual conference in Allahabad in 1930, he strongly supported a separate nation-state in the Muslim majority areas of the sub-continent, an idea that inspired the creation of Pakistan.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allahabad_Address
Partition in 1947 was a historical British swindle, which caused huge sufferings to the people of the Indian sub continent ( half a million killed, and many millions displaced ). This is why I strongly dislike Iqbal, who had become a British agent, whatever others may say about him.
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India. Author can be reached at justicekatju@gmail.com
Justice Markandey Katju
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house.

November 10, 2022