Come September
IT is a sign of the times that the question of when to hold the election to the Lok Sabha has raised as much heat and dust as the fate of the Vajpayee government did.

Weighed down by wheat
THE record wheat harvest this rabi season has caught several government agencies on the wrong foot or so it seems.

BJP’s poll missiles
WHILE most political parties have yet to draw up their poll strategies, the Bharatiya Janata Party has already fired a few missiles to unnerve the Congress.

CHALLENGES BEFORE JUDICIARY-II
Reasons for mounting case arrears
by A. S. Anand
OUR people have high regard for the judiciary. But this often turns to dismay when faced with the working of the justice delivery system.

Problem of defence
procurement
by Praful Bakshi
NO other procurement is so heavy on the state exchequer as the procurement for defence, and no other industry is such revenue generating as that of defence.

Holding workshops to counsel couples for marriage
by Reeta Sharma
PROFESSOR Vidhu Mohan is a known face in the region. She has been teaching in the Department of Psychology at Panjab University, Chandigarh, for the past 37 years. Besides being a researcher and a teacher, she is widely known for holding workshops, conducting training courses and guiding research work on social issues and issues related with psychological behaviour pattern.

Fireside treats
by Ramesh Luthra
IT didn’t simply rain. Rather the heavens poured themselves like anything followed by hailstorm. Sohini and Prashant were glued to the wooden box oblivious of any thing on the planet. Dear hubby — the least said the better about his craze for newspapers and coffee.

75 Years Ago

One vote of Majority
THE Hon. Mr Fazl-ul-Haq, one of the Ministers in Bengal, is reported to have said in the course of a press interview that “he does not accept the one-vote majority in the matter of the refusal of the salaries of the Ministers as the Council verdict”.

Come September

IT is a sign of the times that the question of when to hold the election to the Lok Sabha has raised as much heat and dust as the fate of the Vajpayee government did. Although the clouds of uncertainty have lifted following the announcement by the Election Commission about the elections in September-October, there is no scope of an end to the controversy and bitter debate about the merit or otherwise of the decision. The whole atmosphere has become so politicised and vitiated that motives are bound to be attached one way or the other. As the Chief Election Commissioner himself said the other day only half in jest, his position was that of a fish which is asked to choose whether she wants to be fried in oil or ghee. There were substantial factors both for and against holding the elections either in June or in October. If on the one hand, it was not advisable to keep a caretaker government in saddle for so long, on the other it was a question of coping with the searing heat which turns large parts of the country into an oven in June. The Election Commission’s job was to choose lesser of the two evils and it has acquitted itself well.

The main point that cannot be lost sight of is that while seeing the wood, one has to sometimes miss the trees. There was a bit of inevitability to the delaying of the elections up to September-October. While flaunting various pros and cons, the political parties ignored one most vital fact: the logistics of the whole operation. Conducting a general election in a democratic country of the size of India can be more complicated than a military operation and the official machinery has to move about like a well-oiled robot. Mobilising 40 lakh polling staff and 50 lakh police personnel for eight lakh polling stations so that 600 million voters can exercise their right is no joke. Nor can this operation be conducted in a tearing hurry if it has to be completed in an efficient, peaceful and transparent manner. Perhaps that is what Mr B. P. Singh, the then Home Secretary, also opined, earning the wrath of the government and costing him his job. In its eagerness to cash in on the so-called sympathy wave in favour of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and his team, BJP stalwarts perhaps forgot that the revision of electoral rolls was underway and aborting it at this stage could have led to serious legal hassles. This job can only be completed in the second half of July. Under the circumstances, September-October was the only slot available for the country. It has the added advantage that the elections to several State Assemblies which are due soon can be clubbed with it.

There is no denying that having in place a caretaker government for so long is not a very healthy situation. But fractured mandate and irresponsible leaders have repeatedly conspired to throw up bizarre situations which the Founding Fathers never envisaged. As such, it is necessary to innovate. As far as the desirability of dragging on the uncertainty right up to the last date (October 21) is concerned, the BJP-led government has been itself underlining that a caretaker government is no different from a regular government. And if the large-scale transfers of senior bureaucrats, including the Home Secretary, are any indication, it is not going to hold its hand in any way. So, it has no reason to crib. Still, there is need to ensure that elections do not take so long to be held if a similar situation arises in future. It has also become necessary to quantify the powers of a caretaker government. The advice to act with restraint and in accordance with the normal rules of public dharma apparently does not find too many takers.

Weighed down by wheat

THE record wheat harvest this rabi season has caught several government agencies on the wrong foot or so it seems. It was known for at least two months that the country was heading for a bumper crop which could take foodgrain production past the psychological 200-million tonne mark. As usual, wheat, the main grain of the green revolution, has to lead the pack, so to speak. And Punjab had and still has 3.6 million tonnes of last year’s unlifted stock. That works out to storing 36 million bags each with one quintal of the grain or 72 million bags with 50 kg, a size introduced by the Punjab government. Yet this huge stock was not lifted to make room for new arrival with the result that the authorities in this region are leaning on the FCI in a last-minute effort to create adequate space to keep the procured stuff safely. This is a big problem and one official has candidly admitted that it is impossible to provide covered area for even half of the grain and what the government can realistically do is to stack the bags on a raised platform and cover the small mountain with polythene sheets. This ensures just minimum protection and at the end of the rainy season, there is damage at some places and major losses at others.

Two points need to be made here. Inadequate silo facility is as old as the green revolution itself. Some US-style aluminium silos came up in western UP in the mid-seventies and the enthusiasm for expanding these modern structures got bogged down in funding fracas and then in a sudden desire to find an Indian solution. Giant silos around the major distribution centres are the only permanent and damage-proof answer to this perennial problem. The second factor is the growing indifference of the FCI to move the grain from Punjab and Haryana within weeks of procurement. It is a gigantic operation to buy, pay for and transport 100 million bags of wheat from one corner of the country to the consuming centres within a few weeks. But then the FCI has been in this business for a long enough period to have acquired expertise to handle this herculean job. What, however, happens is that once in a while it springs to action, invites specialists from other countries, discusses grandiose plans and then relapses into the old pattern of limping from one year to another. The FCI should shake itself out of the ridiculous belief that the kisan is interested only in recovering his price and that the fate of his grain in the custody of the FCI is no concern of his. The kisan takes pride in what he produces and mishandling wheat and paddy year after year will sorely test his patience. There is a related issue. Despite the confusion in Delhi, the financial arrangement for the procurement operation seems to have been sewn up satisfactorily. There were initial hiccups and also criticism by some political parties that farmers were not receiving their dues in time. Maybe still there is some problem but it is heartening that by and large the kisan is happy after the fiasco of the kharif season.

BJP’s poll missiles

WHILE most political parties have yet to draw up their poll strategies, the Bharatiya Janata Party has already fired a few missiles to unnerve the Congress. The first salvo was a personal attack on Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s Italian origin. The Sangh Parivar deserves full marks for evolving a well-crafted strategy for embarrassing the Congress and its leader. As part of this tested line Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is made to stick to the tested policy of steering clear of controversies so that his moderate image remains intact. It was, therefore, hardly surprising when he came out strongly against personal attacks on the Congress President for deriving political mileage for the BJP. But has it stopped other BJP stalwarts, and those with whom they are seeking poll alliances, from keeping the “foreign factor” out of public discourse? When the Babri Masjid was pulled down the “moderate” Mr Vajpayee expressed personal sorrow and regret for what happened in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. Mr Vajpayee has never cared to explain why he has not snapped his political links with a party most of whose actions he does not seem to approve of. The reason why the BJP ignores Mr Vajpayee’s periodic public snubs is because his image translates into votes for the party.

The second missile which the BJP has fired lost its ability to search and destroy the enemy at least a decade ago. The Bofors issue was used to good effect by Mr V.P. Singh in 1989 for dislodging the Congress from power in the Lok Sabha elections. Of course, Mr V.P. Singh failed to fulfil the promise of naming the recipients of the Rs 64 crore kickback in the Bofors deal within 15 days. It is indeed true that the Bofors scandal was a major embarrassment for Rajiv Gandhi. But the “tragedy” has now become a farce because of mishandling. The President’s permission to prosecute Mr Madhavsinh Solanki or the calculated leakage of excerpts to a pro-BJP newspaper of the declassified exchange of correspondence between Rajiv Gandhi and his ministerial colleague and friend Mr Arun Singh is not likely to have the same effect on the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections as it had in 1989. A decade ago the Congress was the epitome of political and financial corruption. Since then virtually the entire political class has become an unmanageable tome of all manner of dirty deals. Before the BJP fires the Bofors gun at the Congress it will have to explain its more-bitter-than-sweet honeymoon with Ms Jayalalitha’s AIADMK. It will also have to explain why it had stalled the proceeding of the Lok Sabha over Mr Sukh Ram’s alleged involvement in the multi-crore rupees telecom scam. The same “tainted” former Congressman is now an acceptable ally of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh. If anything, the Congress set a better example, for which it had to pay heavily in the Assembly elections in Himachal, by expelling him from the party for his unproven sin. The BJP pot surrendered the right to call the Congress kettle black the day it decided to do business with the likes of Ms Jayalalitha and Mr Sukh Ram.

CHALLENGES BEFORE JUDICIARY-II
Reasons for mounting case arrears
by A. S. Anand

OUR people have high regard for the judiciary. But this often turns to dismay when faced with the working of the justice delivery system. The problem of delay on account of arrears has been a topic of discussion for decades. Many attempts at improvement of the situation have been made but there is no denying the fact that this continues to remain the central challenge facing the Indian judiciary. The lack of a speedy dispute resolution system has a direct impact on the level of lawlessness in our society. A peaceful society is a necessary precondition for any kind of development.

The report of the Arrears Committee, 1989-90, highlighted and identified some of the causes. It was opined that unfilled vacancies in the High Courts largely accounted for the accumulation of cases, as loss of mandays was directly proportionate to the accumulation of cases. It is rather unfortunate that in the last 50 years, no scientific study has been undertaken to assess the needs of the judge-strength, more particularly in the subordinate judiciary. A proper study is needed to be undertaken to work out the requirement of infrastructure and the number of judges in the country on the basis of the pendency, rate of inflow of legal matters into the courts and the estimated growth of litigation in the future.

The ratio of judges per million population in this country is the lowest in the world. However, it must not be forgotten that it is not merely the raising of strength of the judges in the subordinate courts and the High Courts which is the need of the day — it is crucial that the right appointments are made based on merit, suitability, ability and integrity. An unfilled vacancy may not cause that much harm as a wrongly filled vacancy. The difficulty in persuading the leading members of the Bar to accept judgeship is real and well known.

The over-flowing dockets of the courts all over the country should, however, not be taken as a sign of failure of the system but a sign of faith in the administration of justice by those who are involved in litigation. Public resort to the courts to suppress public mischief is a tribute to the justice delivery system.

Cumbersome features of the procedural law also contribute in no small measure to the delay in the disposal of cases. Too many appeals and revisions against even interim orders help vested interests to prolong litigation. These need to be curtailed. The Code of Civil Procedure was amended more than two decades ago, but experience shows that cases are still adjourned for the asking either for filing written statements or documents and even for the settlement of issues. No attempt is made to examine the parties at the first hearing, which may more often than not narrow down the controversy. This needs urgent attention of the Bar and the Bench.

The delay in the disposal of cases is also “judge-made”. Lack of punctuality, laxity and lack of control over the case file and court proceedings contributes in no small measure to the delay in the disposal of cases. The grant of unnecessary adjournments on the mere asking or on account of “strike call” add to the problem. Court time is sacrosanct and no judge has any right to waste it. The judges of all levels must, therefore, respect the court time and remain punctual. No laxity in that behalf is permissible. Not adhering strictly to court timings is a serious aberration. It must be avoided at all costs. The delay in pronouncing judgements is yet another aspect on which we the judges at all levels must address ourselves. Both the Bench and the Bar, as partners in the great task of administration of justice, must resolve not to become parties to slow motion justice. To meet the challenge of delay in the dispensation of justice, all the three wings of the state must act without any further delay.

I believe that some of the ills with which our administration of justice is presently afflicted are capable of being cured if financial and administrative autonomy is granted to the judiciary. I have been observing and analysing the functioning of the judicial system as a citizen, as a practising advocate and also as a judge. The edifice of the administration of justice rests on the shoulders of the district judiciary, as the majority of the litigants go only upto the district level. The High Courts have the power of superintendence over the state judiciary but they do not have any financial or administrative powers to create even one post of a subordinate judge or of the subordinate staff, acquire or purchase any land or building for courts, decide and implement any plan for the modernisation of court working.

Chief Justices and their companion judges of the High Courts are best suited to know the requirements of the judiciary in their respective states. Their assessment and demand should receive proper consideration and not be “rejected” on account of merely financial constraints. The Chief Justices of the High Courts, who are high constitutional functionaries, know the needs of the judiciary of the state. They need to be given financial and administrative powers vis-a-vis the state judiciary, by the transfer of financial as well as administrative powers, from the executive to enable them to function effectively. One of the essential elements of the rule of law is judicial independence, and every society has seen the need for it. Financial dependence on the executive, to an extent, impinges upon the independence of the judiciary when it is required to “negotiate” every time with the largest litigant — the State. Should that not be avoided to make the judiciary truly independent, vibrant and effective?

The high cost of litigation is yet another challenge which must be squarely met by the Bar and the Bench. We must admit that even after 50 years of Independence the poor, the backward and the weaker sections of society do not feel that they have equal opportunities for securing justice because of their socio-economic conditions. The government has demonstrated its bona fides and resolve in that behalf by enforcing and supporting the Legal Services Authorities Act, which aims at providing a protective umbrella to the weaker sections of society, against all injustices and giving it adequate funds. The National Legal Services Authority is introducing various schemes to ensure speedy and inexpensive justice to the poor and the down-trodden of this country.

Last year the National Legal Services Authority introduced a scheme for deputing a Legal Aid Counsel in every court of a magistrate in the country so that the poor prisoners in custody get immediate and free-of-cost legal assistance. The National Legal Services Authority has also initiated steps for establishing permanent and continuous Lok Adalats in all the districts in the country for providing a statutory forum to the litigants for amicable settlement of their disputes. Efforts are also on to establish such Lok Adalats in different government departments, statutory authorities and autonomous bodies so that the citizens’ problems vis-a-vis these departments are settled through negotiations in the presence of Lok Adalat judges. This experiment of alternative dispute resolution needs support of the Bar and the Bench.

Fifthly and finally, the administration of criminal justice in our country appears to be at the crossroads. Large-scale acquittals are eroding the people’s confidence in the effectiveness of the system of criminal justice. This is only natural when people see persons accused of heinous and ghastly offences getting acquitted. They then believe that either the courts are too liberal or pro-criminal or are not functioning the way they ought to. Unfortunately, they do not know nor do they try to know the reasons for such acquittals. I must, however, point out that most of the acquittals are on account of the fact that the witnesses produced by the prosecuting agencies do not support the prosecution cases. A very large number of acquittals are also on account of faulty, non-scientific and disoriented investigation.

Some acquittals also take place because judicial officers, rather than carefully and properly sifting the evidence, take to the easy course of throwing out the prosecution case on account of insignificant discrepancies and narrow technicalities. They ignore human psychology and behavioural probability when assessing the testimonial potency of evidence. It is often overlooked that justice cannot be made sterile on the specious plea that no innocent should be punished even if many guilty escape. Innocents should, indeed, not be punished. But why should the guilty escape? The courts must respond to society’s cry for justice and punish the guilty by a proper and judicious approach to assess evidence.

In the light of these challenges and high expectations, I would like to counsel humility on the part of the judiciary, as it enters the next millennium. In the words of an American lawyer: “After all is said and done, we cannot deny the fact that a judge is almost of necessity surrounded by people who keep telling him what a wonderful fellow he is. And if he once begins to believe that he is a lost soul!” — INFA

(Concluded)
(The author is the Chief Justice of India.)

Problem of defence procurement
by Praful Bakshi

NO other procurement is so heavy on the state exchequer as the procurement for defence, and no other industry is such revenue generating as that of defence. Thus rightly so, it requires deep thinking at all levels covering the economy local industrial capabilities, foreign relations and the overall standing of a nation to come to an acceptable decision.

The prime factor is to identify and quantify the need. This initial factor itself requires the involvement of a team of top professional thinkers and planners in the field to come to an operational decision, after evaluating and studying the shortcomings, and methods of removing them from a purely military angle in the light of the current prevailing defence doctrine. Thus the qualitative requirements for the system are formulated. However, the team is fully aware of economic and other political factors though it may be beyond its mandate, at that particular juncture.

The case then is taken up from the point of view of the financial angle by the ministry, and various viabilities worked out. Here the decision is also taken after studying the political angle alongside. The government has to work out whether the project is economically feasible or not. It may be within the economic reach, but the prevailing political weather may not be congenial. That is, in case the procurement is from outside, then the political hurdles posed by non-conforming countries may prove to be an impediment to the entire project. The recent denial of technologies by American Lockheed Martin and the Israeli industry for the Indian LCA and other projects is still fresh in our minds. Or take the case of Pakistan, where the USA denied it the supply of F16s even after accepting hard cash, because of political hurdles dropped in the way. Or the classic case of India, when it wanted F104s from America in the early sixties. India was not only denied it but also humiliated as the same was supplied to Pakistan. India had to go for its second choice, the MiG 21s, and faced criticism, but has not regretted since then. Ironically, Pakistan too, went for the MiG 21s, 25 years after India, but that is a different story.

More often than not the government under the influence of foreign power or a manufacturer may force the service Hqrs, to change the QRs to accommodate a new suggestion, making a mockery of the initial study and the QRs. In yet another case, the government may decide to procure the equipment from the national market, instead of the suggested foreign supply, like the case of night vision devices asked by the BSF and procured through the ORD factory or the ammunition for its Star Diambler rifles from the same source. This one aspect may lead to a host of problems, specially when a country is not technically advanced and the product produced may fall way below the required QR.

It is without doubt that for procurement from foreign sources, it is a near impossible task to arrange for the finances. Yet there can be a number of viable option which, along with a balanced political approach, can achieve the desired result. Let us have a look at China. When India went for the MiG 21s in 1963, China too went for this aircraft near about the same time. China, with its aggressive policy in achieving self-sufficiency in the field of defence, not only licence-produced it and the earlier purchased MiG-19 but also carried out reverse engineering on both machines to make entirely new ones — the F7s and the Q5s — both supplied to and subsequently joint by produced with Pakistan and Korea. China has not only been able to finance its defence requirements but is in a strong position to finance its R&D.

India with its number of licence-produced aircraft, failed to find a suitable market for its wares. Its massive aviation complex should plan out joint manufacture and development of these aircraft and the much needed AJT. If Russia has suggested to us the MiG AT as the AJT and we decide to go ahead with it, then we should put our best professional minds together to study the viability of the scheme, including the joint manufacture, to keep our strategic and economic interests above everything else.

In the area of procurement, one must realise that most of the countries like the USA, Israel, China and South Africa now go in for upgradation and re-modification of the older weapon systems and platforms. This results in getting as good as a new system for the next 10 to 15 years at one-third of the cost. Aircraft of the late fifties and early sixties vintage like Mirage3, F4 Phantom, A4Skyhawk, A7 Corsair, A6s, B52 bombers, MiG 19s & 21s have all been brought up to the modern standards, with the required modification of their air-frame, engines and cockpit avionics. This also holds true for T72 and other tanks and radars. India too is in a position, to put its massive manufacturing and R&D infrastructure in operation. It can become the springboard in this field for other developing countries of the region.

As mooted about three years back, if suitable incentive is provided in the defence sector to private industries, we would build a strong base.

Fireside treats
by Ramesh Luthra

IT didn’t simply rain. Rather the heavens poured themselves like anything followed by hailstorm. Sohini and Prashant were glued to the wooden box oblivious of any thing on the planet. Dear hubby — the least said the better about his craze for newspapers and coffee. The blower made the room cosy yet somehow I felt it lacked the warmth and camaraderie I enjoyed in my childhood. It gave me a sickening feeling. Rather made me aloof and bored even during holidays.

This aloofness and boredom drive me to the land of nostalgic memories of the good old days spent with the grandparents — a very gentle and jovial couple. Amid nature’s splendour a simple but spacious house where we played hide and seek or lazed on the soft silky grass till the sun lolled us to a sweet siesta. What about mod pigeon hole flats? Do they leave any scope for playing hide and seek there in?

I travel back in time once again. The most cherished hours were the evenings when we assembled around the hearth. It made the hearts warmer than the room itself. Our faces would catch “infection” from the fire. Lo! just out of fun we would pinch each other’s flushed cheeks and feel ourselves at the top of the world. The sumptuous “makki ki roti and sag” or “rice cooked in sugar cane juice”. We relished sitting on the rustic jute bags! Their taste and aroma still linger in my mouth and trigger off saliva quite often. Firmly etched on my mind is the feast of pistachio, almonds, walnuts raisins et al that followed. Relishing our favourites we muttered and giggled endlessly. “Kagzi Badams” were a real treat. Indeed, we had the times of our lives there. Poor me can afford just peanuts for my children now. Ironically, they savour pizzas and burgers instead of the old delicacies.

Shoveling the wood now and then, our grandma would relate anecdotes of her yesteryears. Once we asked her just out of fun how she became so intimate with our grandpa without even seeing him before marriage. Covering her head with a shawl bedecked with exquisite embroidery she looked at him bashfully through her silver rimmed glasses. Munching “Kagzi Badams’ with his toothless jaw the grandpa burst into a guffaw. O me! the side-aching laughter we had then! The atmosphere exuded a rare closeness and intimacy I yearn to experience once again. The aloofness and indifference that have crept into the present-day life are depressing.

Incidentally, T.S.Eliot’s hard hitting words. “Datta! What have we given” strike me. Alas! such unforgettable fire side treats, precious gems of the treasure trove of my memories, have vanished altogether. Obviously electric gadgets aiming to protect us from the vagaries of nature won’t take care of human emotions, of course dead and insensitive they are. My thoughts go to the youngsters who are immersed head and ears in the rat race. They are unfortunate to have missed the fireside treats promoting human ties. The age-old wisdom of the grannies has been replaced by the easy culture of ‘antakshri’ ‘sa re ga ma’ or what not. Despite their mod automobiles, posh bungalows and affluent pay packages their lives are sans the sheer ecstasy of fireside treats. Poor victims of consumerism!

Holding workshops to counsel
couples for marriage

by Reeta Sharma

PROFESSOR Vidhu Mohan is a known face in the region. She has been teaching in the Department of Psychology at Panjab University, Chandigarh, for the past 37 years. Besides being a researcher and a teacher, she is widely known for holding workshops, conducting training courses and guiding research work on social issues and issues related with psychological behaviour pattern.

Professor Vidhu’s area of research is spread over a wide range, namely, crime, personality, vocational guidance, organisational behaviour, experimental, physiological, women issues and counselling. Along with her brilliant academic record and vast experience in research, she has carved a niche for herself. To her credit she has nearly 200 research papers published, besides 18 experimental tests conducted and three major research publications.

One of her works, which has received tremendous appreciation and popularity, is “Feminine Worth”. In this she has dealt with various stages in the life of a woman and evaluated her worth in the socio-economic backdrop. This laudable work reveals the continuous growth of Indian woman, not only of her status but also of her perception both vis-a-vis her ownself and of society at large.

Professor Vidhu has been a popular visiting faculty for the Commonwealth Asia Pacific Centre besides teaching at Technical Teachers’ Training Institute since 1975. The IAS, Indian and Punjab Police, CRPF and Indo-Tibetan Border Police centres of training have consistently benefited from her research and experience by inviting her to hold workshops and lectures for the police personnel on crime personal development, organisational behaviour, stress management and sensitisation and motivation.

She has also been a regular guest faculty at the famous Indian Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science, Delhi, since 1983. Haryana and Punjab state institutes of public administration have also been benefiting from her lectures and workshops since 1984. Besides, she is a guest faculty with the HSEB, IDBI, NITCON and Child Council, Haryana.

Q: In our present period of transition in India, what do you think of the institution of marriage?

A: The process of disintegration has already set in. Unless drastic changes begin to take place in the mindset of the entire society, the institution of marriage will eventually break. Today marriages are still taking place, but the maturity required to sustain a marriage is fast eroding.

Q: What is it that leading us to the breaking of the institution of marriage?

A: There are a couple of factors which are contributing in perpetuating this disaster. In some parts of our country conventions, traditions and old moral values are still at play and control the behaviour pattern of the society, vis-a-vis marriage. For instance, in many parts of the South, marriage has till not turned into a commercial activity. Men are still treating their wives with due respect.

But most of North India displays a very dismal picture of the degenerating attitudes of Indian men. Men in this part are growing with a bloated ego, fragile moral values and in an atmosphere of consumerism, materialism and false show-off. to top it, there is a blatant preference for a male child, which has gradually vitiated the social fabric of the society.

Q: But preference for male child existed in Indian society for centuries and South India too suffers from this mindset.

A: Yes, it is true. But then women remained so subjugated that even they accepted that being a man was superior to being a woman. Today, trends are changing. Women are gradually realising their own worth. They are getting equal education and equal opportunities for jobs. General awareness about their ownself, besides empowerment, has opened their eyes.

While today’s women can no more be subjugated, men still remain egoistic and assert misplaced superiority. Women are also discovering their own identity. These developments will eventually force a change in the social scene as well as mindset. Of course, such changes remain under-currents and will surface over decades.

Q: Can our society be educated to change its misplaced preference for a male child?

A: It’s an uphill task. Nevertheless, it can be done if all sections of the society join hands. In the first place I hold the mother herself responsible for unwittingly discriminating between her son(s) and daughter(s). She does so because she had been subjugated herself to believe that her brother(s) was superior to her. So the educated mothers should make sure that they do not discriminate between their male and female children not only in matters of providing education and employment, but also while distributing share of the property.

Q: How do you view present-day parenting, especially in view of the alarming waveredness and delinquent behaviour of boys belonging to educated and affluent families?

A: Parents of these so-called educated and affluent families are terribly failing in rearing their children as good citizens of the society. Children of colonels, bank managers, businessmen, politicians, bureaucrats, police officials etc are indulging in robberies, killings, brutal ragging and theft of automobiles and stereos. Surely these parents have failed to impart adequate moral values to their children. Our research shows that these parents have been providing their children with expensive consumeristic goods like motorbikes, cars, guns and luxurious living even when children have shown dismal academic results. These children have not learnt to earn for themselves. Most of these children belong to the neo-rich class where parents too have acquired unearned wealth or income beyond their known and realistic means. Unfortunately, such parents have been themselves ruining the lives of their own children who in turn are becoming a risk for the rest of the society.

Q: Do you think only parents are responsible for the growth of their children?

A: Primarily, yes. Parents are the major influence on their children. Schools play the second important role in their lives. Unfortunately, our schools too are failing to impart the right kind of education today. In fact, schools are not educating; they are only exercising in making them literate. Do our teachers in schools ever pause to think whether they have imparted any moral values to their students? You can hear teachers crib and blurt the rhetoric of having to finish the syllabus.

Then the surroundings around our children today are those of violence, vulgarity shown through both Hindi and English films and the electronic media. Besides, systems like the government departments, police and even judiciary give the impression that criminals and killers can go scot-free. Our corrupt system, desensitised police and marathon court proceedings allowing dilution of evidence etc jointly give an impression to the youngsters that they too can get away doing even unlawful activities.

Q: For lasting happy marriages and ideal parenting, what should be done?

A: I think we need to hold workshops for young people about to be married. They need to be counselled in advance. Massive gender sensitisation and responsibility in marriage need to be understood by both the boy and the girl. Such workshops should be held not only in cities, but in the interiors of rural areas too. Men of the day have to be educated about the worth and the growth of women of their times. Men need to match their perceptions of women with the changing trends of our society.

75 YEARS AGO

One vote of Majority

THE Hon. Mr Fazl-ul-Haq, one of the Ministers in Bengal, is reported to have said in the course of a press interview that “he does not accept the one-vote majority in the matter of the refusal of the salaries of the Ministers as the Council verdict”.

Unhappily for Mr Haq, the law does not lay down that the majority must be of a specific strength or that a verdict given by a majority of one in this matter can be safely ignored.

It is a matter of commonsense that every single farthing which the Governor may pay to the Ministers in excess of the amount actually sanctioned by the Council, no matter if only by a majority of one, would be paid illegally and for such payment either His Excellency or someone else could be held to strict accountability, not only at the bar of public opinion but also before a court of law.