Tag: Justice Markandey Katju

  • Muslims, stop behaving like fools 

    Muslims, stop behaving like fools 

    By Justice Katju 

    Some mischievous person burnt a copy of the Holy Quran before a mosque in Sweden, and almost the whole Muslim world is raising a hue and cry over it. Many Muslims have protested against this desecration of the Holy Quran. In Baghdad the Swedish embassy was stormed, Iran has decided not to send an ambassador to Sweden, and in Pakistan and elsewhere there have been massive demonstrations.

    https://www.indiatoday.in/world/video/watch-quran-burning-in-sweden-triggers-fiery-protests-across-muslim-nations-2402364-2023-07-05#:~:text=The%20act%20of%20burning%20the,Pakistan%20among%20other%20Muslim%20nations.

    https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/from-iraq-to-saudi-arabia-how-muslim-countries-reacted-to-quran-burning-in-sweden-12805852.html

    Muslims should realize that such acts like burning the Quran or portraying cartoons of the Holy Prophet are deliberate acts by miscreants to provoke a reaction, and by reacting to them Muslims are stupidly giving publicity to such rascals, which is exactly what they want, and on which they survive. 

    In my opinion the best way to react to these provocations is by not reacting at all, in other words, by ignoring them.

    When the great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was asked why he did not respond to malicious criticism he replied “ If a donkey kicks you, do you kick it back ? “.

    There are millions of copies of Quran in the world. Anyone can go to a shop and buy one. Once he buys it, it becomes his property, and he is entitled to do anything with it, even tear or burn it. Why should Muslims get so worked up about it ?  By reacting to such mischief Muslims only play into the hands of such rascals.

    When the Babri Masjid was demolished ,there was a huge uproar by Muslims all over the world, who held demonstrations and all manner of protests against this outrage. At that time a prominent social activist and leader of Kerala, Panakkad Sayyid Muhammad Ali Shihab Thangal,  appealed to Muslims to remain silent, and told Muslims to protect Hindu temples which may be attacked by agitated Muslims.

    Today a Keralite post graduate student of English Literature, Sayyid Muhammad Hafiz, met me in Calicut ( where I have come for a conference ). I asked him what should be the reaction of Muslims to burning of the Quran in Sweden ? He replied that it should be ignored. I told him that is the correct answer, and he has displayed the maturity and wisdom which all Muslims in the world should cultivate and develop, instead of behaving like fools. 

    Sayyid Muhammad Hafiz  told me that in the Holy Quran there is a an ayath “Turn away from the ignorant”.(Surah A-araf-Ayat 199). Sayyid Hafiz also told me many incidents when the Holy Prophet was abused, taunted and jeered, but  he did not react, but kept silent. A woman would throw garbage on him, but he would only smile. One day when she fell ill, the Prophet went to enquire of her health.

    Muslims should follow the example of the Prophet, and stop behaving like fools 

  • My tryst with Journalist Moeed Pirzada

    My tryst with Journalist Moeed Pirzada


    By Justice Katju


    Moeed Pirzada is an eminent upright Pakistani journalist who has been in USA for quite some time. He is bravely carrying on a struggle against the fascist reign of terror unleashed in Pakistan by the Pakistan Establishment.


    He and I are both supporting Imran Khan who is bravely leading the democratic forces in Pakistan. Some time back he interviewed me about my article on the eminent Pakistani physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy given below


    https://indicanews.com/2023/06/13/justice-markandey-katju-on-dr-pervez-hoodbhoys-superficial-understanding/


    The video of the interview is given below


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmoDYaAIbNI&pp=ygUda2F0anUgbW9lZWQgZGl2aXNpb24gb2YgaW5kaWE%3D


    In this interview I said things which Moeed, and others, would never have heard before, and which may have shocked them.


    This article is to elaborate on my central thesis in the interview viz that developed nations will oppose tooth and nail the rapid industrialisation of India ( in which I include Pakistan and Bangladesh for we are really one country only temporarily and artificially divided by a British swindle in 1947 ), because if we become a modern highly industrialised country, like China, with our cheap labour we will undersell the industries of the developed countries, causing them to collapse as they will not be able to face our competition, and millions will be thrown out of employment.


    https://indicanews.com/2023/05/14/justice-markandey-katju-a-response-to-dr-akbar-ahmed/


    On the other hand, our goal must be to rapidly industrialise and modernise India, for only then can we abolish the curse of massive poverty, unemployment, child malnutrition ( every second child in India is malnourished according to Global Hunger Index ), almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses, etc. which have plagued our country for centuries.
    Thus our interest directly conflicts with the interest of the developed countries, and so our goal can only be achieved by a mighty historical united people’s social and political revolution, which will be opposed tooth and nail by the developed countries ( as their aim is not to allow India to emerge as a modern industrial giant, like another China, for then with our cheap labour we will undersell their goods and make them uncompetitive ).


    Historical experience shows that every actual revolution is preceded by an ideological revolution, in which the weapons used are not swords, guns, or bombs but ideas. Thus, the great French Revolution of 1789 was preceded by decades of ideological struggle in France by great writers and thinkers like Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot and the French Encyclopedists who waged a relentless struggle against the feudal system and religious bigotry in France. The same happened in England in the 17th century ( in the struggle between King and Parliament ).


    India is presently in the stage of the ideological revolution, that is, the pre-revolutionary period. Clarity of ideas is absolutely essential in this period, but unfortunately these are missing. Our so called ‘intellectuals’ are really superficial thinkers who have little understanding of realities. My aim is therefore to provide this, and I have tried to do it in brief in my interview with Moeed ( as well as in several articles ).


    As I explained in my interview, politics is concentrated economics, and so to understand what is going on in current history we must delve into economics.


    Cost of labour is a big chunk of the total cost of production, and so if the cost of labour is less, the cost of production is less, and one can sell his goods at a cheaper price and undersell his business rivals. The same happens at the national and international levels.


    To give an example, China had a revolution in 1949. Before that China was a very poor and backward country, with about 90% or more people being poor peasants. But after its revolution the Chinese leaders set up a massive industrial base, and that coupled with the cheap labour available in China enabled the Chinese to undersell the whole world in consumer goods ( and also some other goods ). If one goes to a Western supermarket he will find it packed with Chinese goods, because the Chinese can sell their goods at a significantly lower price than goods made by a Western manufacturer ( because Western labour is expensive ).


    Indian labour is even cheaper than Chinese labour. So if we set up a massive industrial base in India will the developed countries be able to face our competition ? No, they will collapse, throwing millions out of employment. Will they easily permit that ? No, they will oppose it tooth and nail. And how do they oppose it ? By making Indians fight each other in the name of religion, caste, race or language. This was the real reason for partitioning India in 1947 on the basis of the bogus two nation theory ( that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations ).


    https://indicanews.com/2023/03/09/justice-markandey-katju-indian-reunification-is-an-idea-whose-time-has-come/


    https://www.nation.com.pk/02-Mar-2013/the-truth-about-pakistan


    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistan-is-a-fake-country-markandey-katju/articleshow/18353631.cms


    I have explained all this in my articles given below


    https://indicanews.com/2023/02/22/the-puppeteer-and-the-puppets/


    https://indicanews.com/2023/05/07/justice-markandey-katju-india-the-sleeping-giant-will-awake/


    I may be having more interviews with Moeed shortly

  • The Jyoti Maurya episode

    The Jyoti Maurya episode

    By Justice Katju

    The story of Jyoti Maurya, a lady officer in the PCS ( UP Provincial Civil Service ), presently posted as the General Manager of a sugar factory in Bareilly, has gripped public attention, thanks to our media which is always on the lookout for some ‘mirch masala’ ( sensationalism ).

     I was deeply disappointed at the way our media and so called ‘educated’ people painted and castigated Jyoti as a devil, a heartless conniver, a calculating self seeker, an adultress, a corrupt person, and what not. It is said she used her husband as a ladder to success, then kicked the ladder away. All this reveals the inanity and backward mindsets of such people.

    It is alleged that as a result of this incident many husbands have stopped their wives’ education

    Many songs have gone viral on this story

    To me the whole affair seems a trivial matter, a divorce case which has been blown out of proportion. 

    What wrong has Jyoti done ? Surely she has a right to seek divorce. How is it anyone’s business ? And the allegations of her husband Alok that she indulged in corruption, that she wanted to kill him, etc sound like a cock and bull story of an estranged and vindictive husband

    Even if her husband had helped prepare her for PCS 12 years ago, that does not make her his lifelong slave. Moreover, he could have only financed her, but surely Jyoti studied hard on her own to qualify. So all this talk that  ”Alok ne use padhaaya likhaaya” is nonsense.

    To my mind this sordid episode reveals two things :

    (1) The low level of our media, which does yellow journalism and media trials for improving its TRP rating or circulation, indifferent to how much mental damage, and damage to character and reputation, such sensationalism does to the person depicted.

     (2) The low intellectual level and backward, feudal mindsets of most of our people, who want wives to be ‘pativratas’ and Sati Savitris.

     I do not encourage divorce, but neither do I regard it as something reprehensible. Sometimes it is inevitable or advisable, as in this case.

     The best thing would be a divorce by mutual consent under section 13A of the Hindu Marriage Act, but I doubt  Alok, who seems to be on the warpath, would agree.

  • If I forget thee O Allahabad, may my right hand perish

    If I forget thee O Allahabad, may my right hand perish


    By Justice Katju


    Even 2000 years of their diaspora Jews still say ” If I forget thee O Jerusalem, may my right hand perish ” ( Bible : Old Testament : Psalms : 137.5 ).
    So also, I say ” If I forget thee O Allahabad, may my right hand perish ”.


    Of my 77 years, I have spent 58 years in Allahabad ( Prayag ).. So I can rightly claim it is my city, which has made me what I am today.
    This is the city where Lord Ram came after his exile from Ayodhya, and met Rishi Bharadwaj in his ashram on the bank of the sangam ( the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Jamuna, and the legendary Saraswati ).

    https://www.nativeplanet.com/travel-guide/places-visited-by-lord-rama-prayag-002486.html#:~:text=Prayag%20is%20where%20Lord%20Rama,major%20places%20connected%20to%20Ramayana


    This is the city about which the poet Tulsidas wrote in his Ramcharitmanas :
    ” Ko kahi sakai Prayag prabhau
    Kalush punj kunjar mrigrau ”
    ( Who can tell the greatness of Prayag ?
    It destroys all sins, like a lion which kills an elephant )


    This is the city where Emperor Harshavardhan held his assembly in the first Kumbh Mela in 643 A.D. in which he honoured saints and scholars of all religions ( including the Buddhist Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang ) and then gave all his wealth to the poor, borrowing a cloth from his sister Rajyashree to cover his naked body.


    https://www.historydiscussion.net/biography/harshavardhans-empire-sources-accession-and-other-details/3084


    This is the city in which Kumbh Mela assemblies are held every 12 years, the largest congregation of people anywhere ( 200 million in 2019 ).


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela#:~:text=Each%20festival%20attracts%20millions%2C%20with,the%20festival’s%20most%20crowded%20day.


    This is the city where Hindus immerse the ashes of their dead in the sangam.
    This is the city which was a centre of the Indian freedom struggle
    This is the city which has produced great scholars, poets and jurists.


    In Allahabad I met several people who were intellectually superior to me ( they are all dead now ), and I sat at their feet like a humble student listening to their rational explanation of things, events and treatises, until I too built up a huge store of knowledge.


    Though born in Lucknow, I grew up in Allahabad. I was a student there in the Boys High School and the Allahabad University, then a lawyer in the Allahabad High Court, and finally a Judge in the High Court from 1991.


    My exile fom Allahabad began in 2004 when I was appointed Chief Justice of Madras High Court, and since then I have remained out of the city ( except for a few short visits ).


    The geat Urdu poet Munawwar Rana has written these verses about Allahabad in his long poem ‘Mohajirnama’ ( which was descriptive of the lament of mohajirs who had migrated from India to Pakistan at the time of Partition, but later regretted it ).

    ” Gale milti hui nadiyan, gale milte hue mausam

    Allahabad ka kaisa nazaara chhod aaye hain

    Kal ek amrood waale se kehna pad gaya mujhko

    Jahaan se aaye hain is phal ki bagiya chhod aaye hain

    Kuch der to woh takta raha mujhko, phir bola

    Woh sangam ka ilaaqa chhoota, ya chhod aaye hain ?

    Abhi hum sonch mein the ki usse kya kaha jaaye

    Hamaare aansuon ne raaz ugla chhod aaye hain ”


    The same is my plight, which cannot be described in words. I miss Civil Lines, Chowk, Katra, my school, the University, the High Court, the Coffee House, the sangam, etc, but all that has gone with the wind.

  • 35 Justice Katju’s favourite Hindi film songs, Hindustani classical music and ghazals

    35 Justice Katju’s favourite Hindi film songs, Hindustani classical music and ghazals

    I am very fond of music, particularly old Hindi film song, classical music and ghazals. While a student in Allahabad University ( 1963-67 ) I attended Prayag Sangeet Samiti for about 3 years ( where I learnt classical Hindustani music ), and became a good singer. I still sing sometimes ( hear me singing ‘Yeh zindagi usi ki hai’ in this post ), though at 77 I am now not so good as before. I prefer old Hindi film songs to new ones.

    Here is a list of my favourite songs :

    1.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5r0ZMvbSag&pp=ygUWeWVoIHppbmRhZ2kgdXNpIGtpIGhhaQ%3D%3D

    ( I sang a few lines of this song at a wedding last December. It is given below )

    https://www.facebook.com/justicekatju/videos/704287491294413/

    2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_iBEKx14aw&pp=ygUdamFiIGJoaSB5ZWggZGlsIHVkYXMgaG90YSBoYWk%3D

    3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESvm6b6jNdU&pp=ygUlYWdhciB0dW0gbWlsIGphbyBmaWxtIHRhc3Nhd2FyIGtoYW51bQ%3D%3D

    4 .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6dVti1YVwM&pp=ygULamFhbmUgYmFoYXI%3D

    5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XodXz2rDjBg&pp=ygUaZGlsIGtvIGhhaSB0dW1zZSBweWFyIGt5dW4%3D

    ( this was sung in 1945, the year before I was born, by a great singer Jagmohan who is almost forgotten today 

    6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cAhn5vetZo&pp=ygUua2hheWFsb24gbWVpbiBraXNpIGtlIGlzIHRhcmFoIGFheWEgbmFoaSBrYXJ0ZQ%3D%3D

    7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qu7DBRVTuo&pp=ygUTeWUgcmFhdCBiaGlnaSBiaGlnaQ%3D%3D

    8.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9D4CuRQZMU&pp=ygUdYmVxYXJhciBkaWwgdHUgZ2F5ZSBqYSBseXJpY3M%3D

    9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRBxROqWOPk&pp=ygUTbGlraGUgam8ga2hhdCB0dWpoZQ%3D%3D

    10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HRC6c5-2lQ&pp=ygUkeWVoIHJhYXRlbiB5ZWggbWF1c2FtIG5hZGkga2Ega2luYXJh

    11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrcqSuEH7rk&pp=ygUhc2hva2ggbmF6YXIga2kgYmlqbGl5YW4gZnVsbCBzb25

    12. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9w628gW9jI&pp=ygUOa29pIGhvdGEgamlza28%3D

    13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZutzJW4dLA&pp=ygUlZGhhZGFrbmUgbGFnaSBkaWwga2UgdGFhcm9uIGtpIGR1bml5YQ%3D%3D

    14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rKX_9IrdwI&pp=ygUabXVqaGUga2l0bmEgcHlhciBoYWkgdHVtc2U%3D

    15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmXOtVurWqg&pp=ygUidHVtIGFwbmEgcmFuam8gZ2hhbSBhcG5pIHBhcmVzaGFuaQ%3D%3D

    16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WJIXZ46XZE&pp=ygUcd29oIGlzaHEgam8gaHVtc2Ugcm9vdGggZ2F5YQ%3D%3D

    17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0gQgfXBIY8&pp=ygUUaHVtbmUgamFmYSBuYSBzZWVraGk%3D

    18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFeCXuGqEvc&pp=ygUgdHVtIGFnYXIgc2FhdGggZGVuZSBrYSB2YWRhIGthcm8%3D

    19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYcAlJs60BM&pp=ygUyemluZGFnaSBkZW5lIHdhbGUgc3VuIHRlcmkgZHVuaXlhIHNlIGRpbCBiaGFyIGdheWE%3D

    20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiInuiuZ0_A&pp=ygUnYWFqIGtpIHJhYXQgYmFkaSBzaG9raCBiYWRpIG5hdGtoYXQgaGFp

    21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg8DjaVbayQ&pp=ygUma3l1biB5YWFkIGFhIHJhaGkgaGFpIGd1enJlIGh1ZSB6YW1hbmU%3D

    ( the above song was of the year 1946, in which I was born. It describes my present condition ).

    22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kdKUKTcVok&pp=ygUZYWEgbGF1dCBrZSBhYWphIG1lcmUgbWVldA%3D%3D

    23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU74fpWsfQ&pp=ygUbc3VoYW5hIHNhZmFyIGF1ciB5ZWggbWF1c2Ft

    24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyCD0ljT96A&pp=ygUadHVtIGhpIHR1bSByYWZpIGZvdW5kYXRpb24%3D

    25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBgKPyi1aXA&pp=ygUVa2hpbHRlIGhhaW4gZ3VsIHlhaGFu

    26. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7R4kdCi1zY&pp=ygUZYXllc2hhIG9tYXIgcmFhZyBtYWxrYXVucw%3D%3D

    ( the above song is in raag mahaar, the raag of the rainy season. It creates the ambience of rain ).

    27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcTe16KF19E&pp=ygUQYWkgdGFhemEgdmFyaWRhbg%3D%3D

    ( the above song is part of a ghazal written by the greatest Urdu poet, Mirza Ghalib, and it is here sung by Mohammed Rafi, whom I regard the geatest Hindi film singer ).

    28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPE-bypfdiU&pp=ygUYcmFhZyBkYXJiYXJpIGJhaWp1IGJhd3Jh

    ( the above song was in raag darbari, a late night raag, which gently puts you to sleep, with its low notes )

    29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU98N_4ESIw&pp=ygUccmFhZyBqYXVucHVyaSBmYXRlaCBhbGkga2hhbg%3D%3D

    ( the above song is in raag jaunpuri, an early morning raag. It gently wakes you up, with its low notes ).

    30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzq1rpuFMig&pp=ygU3YmVndW0gYWtodGFyIGdoYXphbHMgd29oIGpvIGh1bSBtZWluIHR1bSBtZWluIHFhcmFyIHRoYQ%3D%3D

    ( the above song, and the next one, were sung by Begum Akhtar, whom I regard as the greatest ghazal singer ever )
    31. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG6dK3a1dyk&pp=ygUcYmVndW0gYWtodGFyIGRlZXdhbmEgYmFuYSBkZQ%3D%3D

    32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIZKmLkjn1s&pp=ygUUa2FoYWFuIHNlIGFheWUgYmFkcmE%3D

    33. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aFqiq7yHI8&pp=ygUbYWkgbWVyZSBkaWwga2FoaW4gYXVyIGNoYWwg

    34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTCnFzKo5iY&pp=ygUgYWF5ZWdhIGFhbmUgd2FhbGEgZGVlcGFrIGJhZ2hhaXI%3D

    35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N4kuNWhWnw&pp=ygUcY2hhbG8gZWsgYmFhciBwaGlyIHNlIGFqbmFiaQ%3D%3D

  • IMF Grants $3 Billion Loan to Pakistan: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?

    IMF Grants $3 Billion Loan to Pakistan: A Cause for Celebration or Concern?

    On knowing of the IMF decision to grant a 3 billion dollars loan to Pakistan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahabaz Sharif said repeatedly in a press conference ” Alhamdulillah ”.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fdu9qnr-08&pp=ygUXc2hhaGJheiBzaGFyaWYgaW1mIGxvYW4%3D


    Many Pakistanis are gloating over this loan by the IMF as if it is the end to all their economic woes. The Pakistan stock exchange has rallied, currency exchange rate has improved, and there is an atmosphere of glee and revelry in some quarters.
    However there is another, darker side to the picture.

    It is a loan, not a gift. Pakistan already has external debt of over 126 billion dollars, to which this will be added.


    https://www.orfonline.org/research/debt-ad-infinitum-pakistans-macroeconomic-catastrophe/#:~:text=During%20April%2DJune%202023%2C%20the,burden%20is%20US%24%204.5%20billion


    https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/pakistan-needs-to-pay-usd-77-5-billion-in-external-debt-risk-of-default-real-says-us-think-tank/articleshow/99323626.cms.


    This loan will cover less than the cost of Pakistan’s monthly import bill.

    Loans carry interest, and this fresh loan will add to the debt servicing bill, which is already very high ( about 4.5 billion dollars )

    https://www.brecorder.com/news/40247035
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2406940/cost-of-debt-servicing-up-to-rs318tr

    The iMF reportedly set very strict conditions before granting this loan.
    For instance,
    (a) the heavy subsidy on electricity supplied will be removed. This will raise electricity rates to historic heights, affecting everyone in Pakistan.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhFXSw0MZMs&pp=ygUmcHJpY2VzIGluIHBha2lzdGFuIHJpc2UgYWZ0ZXIgaW1mIGxvYW4%3D
    (b) Duty on petroleum products will sharply increase
    (c) There will be 220 billion dollars worth additional taxes
    (d) Prices of essential commodities like food will rise


    This reminds one of the situation in France before the French Revolution of 1789. The situation then was that the French monarchy was heavily in debt to foreign bankers ( mainly Dutch ). This was because of the heavy cost of supporting the American War of Independence (1775-81), and even more because of the great deficit between government income and expenditure ( primarily because, by feudal convention, the nobility could not be taxed ).


    https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/efforts-at-financial-reform/


    The French Finance Minister, Necker, who dared not tax the powerful nobles, took loans from foreign banks to pay the huge debt. His successor, Calonne, went even further. He initiated huge public spending, thinking this will impress the creditors into granting more loans.


    However, this plan backfired, because the Dutch and other foreign bankers realised they would never recover the loans ( what to say of interest ), and so a time came when they outright refused to grant any further loans. This led to the calling of the Estates General in 1789 and the French Revolution, in which many heads rolled.


    I am afraid the Shahbaz Sharif Govt is heading in the same directiion. Can a government run forever on foreign loans ? The people of Pakistan are already suffering terribly in the economic crisis which has gripped the country. Taxing them further, directly or indirectly, as the IMF loan in essence requires, may well break their backs

  • Ending caste discrimination

    Ending caste discrimination

    By Justice Kaju

    These days laws are being made in some states of USA against caste discrimination.

    https://indicanews.com/2023/06/30/more-than-20-orgs-join-hands-to-form-america-against-caste-discrimination/

    https://indicanews.com/2023/05/11/sb-403-california-senate-passes-bill-banning-caste-discrimination-in-state/

    https://indicanews.com/2023/02/22/seattle-makes-history-first-in-u-s-to-pass-bill-banning-caste-based-discrimination/

    https://indicanews.com/2023/04/26/californias-caste-discrimination-bill-sb-403-passes-judiciary-committee-with-an-8-0-vote/

    I submit that such laws are largely gimmicks. Caste and caste discrimination can only be ended by changing the mindsets of most Indians,  and this requires a mighty historical social revolution in India.

    http://justicekatju.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-caste-system-in-india-this-is-old.html

    The truth is that most Indians who migrate to the West carry their caste baggage with them wherever they go. 

    To give an example, in USA there is an organization called TANA ( Telugu Association of North America ) consisting mainly of people from Andhra/Telengana belonging to Kamma caste. There is also an organization called NATA ( North American Telugu Association ) consisting mainly of Reddy caste. There is even an association of Komatis ( Vaishyas of Andhra ) and a Telugu Brahmins Association in USA.

    https://www.guidestar.org/profile/54-1994983

    There is even a Brahmin Samaj of North America, and other caste organisations.

    https://bsna.org/

    I was informed by a reliable friend who lives in Fremont, California, USA that some time back a cricket match was played in Fremont between a team of Reddys and a team of Kammas ( Reddys and Kammas are castes in Andhra Pradesh ), which was abandoned midway as a result of a physical fight between members of the two teams.

    I was shocked on hearing this. How could casteist teams be formed in California, and how could a fight take place between them in California ?

    This shows how deep rooted casteism is in India. People who travel 13,500 kms ( the distance between India and California ) can still not leave behind their caste baggage, despite coming to a highly developed country.

    Can socioeconomic evils can be abolished simply by making laws against them.? I submit that they cannot, and it is silly and puerile to think they can.

    Supposing a law is made abolishing poverty and unemployment ( which too result in social discrimination, as caste does ). Will that abolish them? No, such a law will remain on paper only, and unimplementable. Jobs are created and poverty abolished when the economy is rapidly expanding, that is, by rapid industrialization, but the Indian economy is presently stagnant.

    Similarly, caste and caste discrimination cannot be abolished by merely making a law against them. They can only be destroyed by a mighty united people’s revolution which destroys the present semi-feudal society in India and replaces it with a new modern society led by modern-minded patriotic leaders.

    In the Indian Constitution, it is written that India is a secular country. However, the ground reality is very different. In fact, India is a very communal country, in which most Hindus are communal, as are most Muslims. So, the Constitution is just a piece of paper, whose provisions may have nothing to do with ground realities.

    Similarly, Articles 14 to 18 of the Indian Constitution proclaim equality in India. But the caste system, which has been coming down from centuries, makes a mockery of these provisions.

    When I was Chief Justice of Madras High Court one day a High Court Judge who was a Dalit came to meet me with his wife. His wife was an upper caste Hindu, and she told my wife that she had a love marriage with that Dalit Judge. But when they married, her relatives performed her funeral rites, saying she was dead for them, and thereafter had nothing to do with her.

     Even today for a Dalit boy to fall in love with or marrying a non-dalit girl is often inviting a death sentence ( ‘honor killing’ ). Dalits are regularly discriminated, assaulted, and insulted in India in several ways even today.

    I submit that great social evils cannot be destroyed by merely making laws against them, but by historical social upheavals of the people.

  • Indian politics is setting new records.

    Indian politics is setting new records.

    By Justice Katju

    ” Jeevan ka safar hai toolaani

      Yaan ikraani hai naadaani

      Jo Shahsawaar maahir hain

      Woh raah badalte rehte hain ”.

    ( Life’s journey is long

     Staying at the same place is foolishness

     The expert horseriders

     Keep changing their routes )

    On 27th June this year Prime Minister Modi accused Sharad Pawar’s NCP as being involved in various scams of Rs 70,000 crores e.g. Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam, Irrigation scam, illegal mining scam, etc

    Yet just 5 days later on 2nd July a section of the NCP, led by Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar, joined the BJP which is in power in Maharashtra. These defectors were promptly rewarded, Ajit Pawar being made a Deputy CM, and others being made Ministers.

    https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/what-ajit-pawars-defection-brings-for-prime-players-in-maharashtra-politics-2400918-2023-07-02

    It is interesting to note that corruption charges had been levied against many of these defectors by the Enforcement Directorate of India, but these tainted defectors have now become Ministers ! Their cases will now obviously be put into the cold storage.

    Defection is nothing new in Indian politics. In 1967 Chaudhury Charan Singh defected 3 times in 3 days. In 1980 Bhajan Lal defected to Congress with almost all his MLAs. The list of ‘Aya Rams Gaya Rams’ in India is very long.

    https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/states/story/19800215-bhajan-lal-35-janata-mlas-join-congressi-806443-2014-02-10

    But this latest defection takes the cake. In 5 days the defectors have been transformed from heavily corruption tainted figures ( as described by the Prime Minister ) to snow white clean saints.

    Indian politics reminds me of the Mad Hatter’s tea party in Alice in Wonderland !

    image
  • Tavleen Singh’s superficial thinking

    Tavleen Singh’s superficial thinking

    By Justice Katju

    In her article published in Financial Express on 25.6.2023 the journalist Tavleen Singh lamented over decline of freedom of speech and democracy in India in recent times.


    https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/fifth-column-by-tavleen-singh-democracy-in-our-dna/3141287/


    She writes ” Sadly, when democracies become places in which dissidence and free speech are seen as crimes, when religious minorities are wrongly targeted, and when political opponents are crushed by the repressive organs of the state, they are called autocracies and not democracies ”.


    The problem with Tavleen Singh and other so called ‘liberal’ and ‘independent’ journalists is this : they treat democracy and freedom of speech as a fetish, an object of worship, like a holy cow, which will last for ever.
    I, on the other hand, regard freedom and democracy as only a means to an end, not an end in itself. The end must be raising the standard of living of the people, and giving them decent lives.


    What use is democracy and freedom of speech to a man who is hungry and/or unemployed ? He needs concrete things like food and a job, not abstract freedoms.


    In India we have massive and widespread poverty, unemployment, child malnourishment ( every second Indian child is malnourished according to Global Hunger Index ).


    https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/global-hunger-index/#:~:text=India%20ranks%20107th%20out%20of,countries%20covered%20in%20the%20GHI.


    Proper healthcare and good education are not available to the vast masses. Prices of essential commodities like food are skyrocketing.


    Freedom of speech can no doubt help the people in their historical united struggle which they must wage for creating a new political order under which there is rapid industrialisation and modernisation. However, it can also obstruct it.


    For instance, speeches spreading hatred between castes and communities should certainly not be permitted, for it destroys unity of the people which is essential for us at this historical juncture.


    https://writerscafeteria.com/guest-blogging/unity-of-indians-is-absolutely-essential-at-this-historical-juncture/


    Similarly speech or writings promoting unscientific superstitions like astrology should be banned.
    The great Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who came to power in the 1920s by ousting the corrupt feudal minded Sultan and Khalifa, did not give freedom to the Turkish people to choose whether they wanted to modernise or remain poor and backward. He ( and his associates ) forced them to modernise by abolishing sharia, burqa, madarsas and maulanas, and he permitted no political party to exist other than his own


    So also, in India too people must be forcibly modernised, and for that, perhaps, an enlightened dictatorship is necessary.


    We have the system of parliamentary democracy in India, but everyone knows it runs largely on the basis of caste and communal vote banks. Casteism and communalism are feudal forces, which must be destroyed if India is to progress, but parliamentary democracy further entrenches them. The people have therefore to use their creativity and find a suitable alternative, in which India rapidly industrialises and modernises, under the leadership of patriotic, modern minded secular leaders determined to raise the standard of living of the people, and give them decent lives.


    Parliamentary democracy and freedom of speech must therefore be understood in the correct perspective, and not treated like holy cows or objects of worship

  • Imran Khan has become an idea which has gripped the masses in Pakistan

    Imran Khan has become an idea which has gripped the masses in Pakistan


    Justice Markandey Katju

    When Imran Khan became Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2018, and for quite some thereafter too, I was very critical of him.


    He had taken help of religious extremists during his election campaign, and had given PTI tickets to dubious ‘electables’.


    Soon after becoming PM he had dismissed the renowned economist Atif Mian from the Pakistan Economic Advisory Council, just because he was an Ahmadi.


    He had suppressed the press, even getting arrested and imprisoned Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, owner of Jang Group, in a 34 year old land case, because of some criticism by his newspaper.


    https://www.dawn.com/news/1540500


    He constantly spoke of Madina ki Riyasat. Speaking of it a few times would be okay, but making a habit of it is going too far.


    However, all that is in the past, and we should see the present.


    Presently Imran Khan is leading the democratic forces in Pakistan, against the fascist reign of terror unleashed by the corrupt Pakistan Establishment.

    He is basically an honest man, who has repeatedly said he will continue living in Pakistan, and not fly abroad like the corrupt Nawaz Sharif ( who was convicted by the Pakistan Supreme Court ). He has no assets abroad, unlike PDM leaders, whose names appear in the Panama Papers, and other credible material. In my opinion all honest and right thinking people everywhere should support him.
    Earlier, 70% Pakistanis supported him ( according to opinion polls in Pakistan and the bye elections results ). But now the number has drastically risen, and may be between 80 and 90%. This means over 200 million out of the 240 million Pakistanis support Imran Khan.


    Imran Khan is now no longer a person, he has become an idea in Pakistan, representing honesty, truth,and commitment to the people’s welfare.. Even if he is imprisoned or physically eliminated, the idea will live on, like the ghost of Caesar after his assassination.