Tag: Justice Markandey Katju

Awarding Arfa Khanum Sherwani By Justice Katju

Arfa Khanum Sherwani, senior editor of thewire.in, will be receiving the Kuldip Nayyar Patrakarita Samman Award from the Gandhi Peace Foundation, allegedly for her great achievements in journalism.But her ‘achievements’ need some examination.
Arfa Khanum Sherwani
1. Arfa said India should have a Muslim Prime Minister. I regard this as a stupid idea. We need leaders who are truly secular and modern minded, and their religion or caste are wholly irrelevant. But Arfa’s ‘secularism’ is revealed by this fatuous and inane idea.
2. Arfa often speaks out against evils in Hindu society, e.g. caste system, and she has defended reservations for dalits and OBCs as they were oppressed for long.
Thus, regarding the recent SC verdict upholding 10% reservations for poor upper castes she tweeted against it, saying that reservations were meant to benefit the lower castes, not the upper castes.What Arfa deliberately avoids saying is that all caste reservations, not just for upper castes, are political stunts for getting votes, and in fact they have damaged the country, As explained in some earlier articles of mine ( which can be seen online ) “
So all reservations, whether for upper or lower castes, should be criticised, and not just those for upper castes. But Madam Arfa will never say this.
3. Moreover, while she criticises feudal evils in Hindu society e.g. caste system, she never criticises such evils in Muslim society e.g. sharia, burqa, madarsas and maulanas, which were suppressed by the great Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the 1920s.
Secularism has to be a two way, not one way, traffic. To be truly secular one must condemn feudal, backward practices among both Hindus and Muslims. But Arfa only criticises evils in Hindu society. This is the truth about her ‘secularism’, which is a one way traffic, a trait which she shares with much of our so called ‘liberal’ and ‘secular’ intelligensia
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 9, 2022
Big business is taking over the media By Justice Markandey Katju

Rahul Gandhi has congratulated Elon Musk on his taking over Twitter, and has asked that the Opposition’s voice in India be not stifled.
What Rahul, wittingly or unwittingly, overlooks is that the big business which is taking over the media all over the world, looks only at its own interests, not the interests of others.
The take over of Twitter by Elon Musk in America is akin to the take over of CBN IBN by Mukesh Ambani, or of NDTV by Gautam Adani in India.
When I was Chairman of the Press Council of India, I came to know that the owner of one of the big Hindi newspapers, having perhaps the largest circulation in India, also owns about 50 other businesses e.g. mining, coal, iron&steel, real estate, etc. The newspaper was only a small business compared to his other businesses.
Why then was he interested in publishing the newspaper ? It was obviously to help his other businesses, e.g. by publishing something favourable to a Minister, who in return would help him in his other businesses.
Historically, the media arose in the 18th century in Europe as an organ of the people against feudal oppression. At that time all the organs of power were in the hands of feudal authorities, kings, aristocrats, etc. Hence the people had to create new organs which would serve their interests. The media ( which was then print media mainly in the form of leaflets, pamphlets, etc, not regular daily newspapers ) was one of the main organs created by the people for waging their struggle against feudalism, and it was used by great writers like Voltaire, Rousseau, Thomas Paine, Junius, etc. The media then represented the voice of the future, as contrasted to the feudal state organs, which only wanted to preserve the status quo.
Later, the role of the media changed. It was taken over by businessmen, and stopped representing the people. However, it still fulfilled a useful purpose by conveying news truthfully to the people. In India, great journalists like Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Nikhil Chakrabarty, etc fulfilled this role, like William Lloyd Garrison, Edward Murrow, and Walter Cronkite in America.
Now the wheel has turned totally around. Now the worldwide trend is to totally emasculate the media, deprive it of whatever freedom it had, and make it an organ dedicated solely to serving the commercial interests of the proprietor.
This trend is most visible in Indian television today, which has turned largely into what is called euphemistically as ‘godi media’. Now all pretences of conveying the truth have been dropped, and instead one hears only a single refrain.

Rahul Gandhi’s message is only wishful thinking, and Elon Musk is unlikely to pay any heed to it. He has invested 43 billion dollars in buying Twitter, and will only be interested in having good returns from this huge investment.
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
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.

October 31, 2022
Now even quoting Ghalib has become dangerous in Pakistan

By Justice Katju
Pakistan has become a strange country. Now even quoting from Ghalib, the greatest Urdu poet, has become dangerous there.
I had written an article on Urdu poetry, and sent it to a well known Pakistani online publication for being published.The article mentioned this couplet of Mirza Ghalib, the most famous Urdu poet :
“ Imaan mujhe roke hai, jo khenche hai mujhe kufr Kaaba mere peeche hai, kaleesa mere aage “
Lo and behold ! I received this email from the publisher :
“ Dear Justice Katju
We are avoiding all pieces featuring religion and you mention the Kaaba. I’m afraid this will have repercussions for us here in Pakistan. As mentioned, emotions are high, and religious mention can cause damage. We will not be able to use it unfortunately.Regards xxxx “.
It seems there are many verses of Ghalib which will invite a death fatwa if recited today, like that issued to Salman Rushdie by Ayatollah Khomeni.

Thus Ghalib writes :
“ Masjid ke zer-e-saaya kharaabaat chaahiye “i.e.“ Below a mosque there should be a wine shop
“Similarly, he writes :
“ Kahaan maikhane ka darwaaza Ghalib aur
kahaan vaaizPar itna jaantay hain kal voh jaata tha ke ham nikle “
i.e.” The tavern and the preacher ( mulla ) are said to be far apartBut when I was entering the tavern yesterday, the preacher was leaving “.
This is a subtle dig on religious clerics. Poetry of several famous Urdu poets may also invite a death fatwa in Pakistan today
Among the modern Urdu poets, Sahir Ludhianvi is outspokenly atheistic.
Consider the following lines :“Aqaayad vaham hai mazhab khyaal khaam hai saaqiAzal se zahen-e-insaan bastaa vaham hai saaqi
which means :
“Creeds are a delusion and religions merely false notions; From the beginning man’s mind has been a slave to superstitions” and again:
“bezaar hai kanisht-o-kaleesa se ek jahaanSaudagaraan-e-din ki saudagari ki khair
which means :
“The world is sick of temples and churches;pray for the safety of the traffickers in religion”
So it is best for Pakistanis to keep away from Urdu poetry, to avoid being declared a ‘kafir’ and having a death fatwa placed on their heads by some mad mullah, whose tribe has increased exponentially of late in Pakistan. After all, one would not relish the prospect of having ‘sar tan se juda’
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.
Author Justice Markandey Katju is former Chairman , Press Council of India and former Judge , Supreme Court of India. Author can be reached at justicekatju@admintnc

October 29, 2022
Urdu poetry is thoroughly secular – Justice Markandey Katju

Urdu poetry is thoroughly secular
By Justice Markandey Katju
Many people think Urdu poetry is communal. On the contrary it is thoroughly secular.
Thus, Ghalib, the greatest Urdu poet, writes :
“ Imaan mujhe roke hai, jo kheeche hai mujhe kufr
Kaaba mere peeche hai, kaleesa mere aage “
i.e.
“ Faith is holding me back, atheism is pulling me forward
Kaaba is behind me, the church is in front “.

As explained in some earlier articles of mine ( which can be seen online) , Urdu poetry is not to be understood literally. The Urdu poets often write not directly but indirectly, conveying their meaning allegorically by allusions, hints, suggestions and indications.
Kaaba is the place in Mecca, which is the holiest place for Muslims. But in this sher ( couplet ) Kaaba must not be understood literally. By Kaaba Ghalib means feudalism or backwardness.
The word kaleesa literally means church ( of Christians ). But here it means modernism.
So when Ghalib says he has turned his back towards Kaaba (
i.e. he rejected it ), he means he has rejected feudalism and backwardness.
The word kaleesa in the sher means modernism, and therefore Ghalib means that he is a supporter of modern civilisation.
Many similar examples can be given from the poetry of many Urdu poets.
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
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.

October 29, 2022