Relevance of communism in this day and age

Every Political Establishment aspires to reduce inequities, miseries, atrocities and discrimination of any kind among its citizens, It seeks to attain state of affairs where the 'haves' and 'have nots' cease to exist and there is equality of opportunity, justness, fairness and level playing field. Communism as a political ideology and doctrine ordains a society where class conflict is root cause of all ills in a civil society and its remedy lies in equal distribution of wealth and other assets among the masses in such a manner wealth doesn't remain concentrated in the hands of few. Communists consider religion to be an opium of the masses and its existence in civil society as more of a predicament than a benefactor.


Its utopian to imagine a society devoid of class differences and religious moorings.every political ideology has to undergo litmus test and has to stand the test of time. communism as an ideology sounds very trouble-shooting and having characteristics of panacea to the existing flaws in state craft and political set-up on paper but when it comes its pragmatic implementation it has not proved to be efficacious.

Lefist leaning thinkers, ideologues,sympathisers and proponents are rank idealists who create phantoms of a society which is truly classless and impeccably fair and just. In context of India where there is abject poverty, casteism and rampant corruption, communism has not spread far and wide but just in very few pockets, the communist ruled states aren't the most prosperous or best administered states in fact those are states which are unprogressive and lagging behind as far as development and governance is concerned. some aspects of communism can be incorporated in a political apparatus but the ideology as a whole cannot be embraced in totality as it will lead to totalitarianism and total chaos.

Transparency in Judicial Appointments and Functioning

The Judiciary is the sentinel of human rights, a watch dog of democracy and an institution to keep checks and balances when legislators exceed their authority in law making. The credibility of an independent and apolitical judicial institution lies not in meting out sentences, imprisonment and imposing fine but in faith,confidence and trust of a common man. Its unfortunate whenever there is a debate or discussion on judicial accountability, there are judges who contend as they are not directly elected by the people they are not accountable, In a democracy no institution can be unaccountable as unaccountability defeats the purpose of a sustainable democracy.

Judicial activism has provided corrective measures whenever there has been abdication of responsibility by the executive and legislature. No matter come what may judicial activism is justified It can't encroach on the domain of legislative prerogatives. Appointments of judges is still done by a collegium which is nothing but a coterie and seniority is considered a norm of having relatively greater judicial mind. The change of assignments of nature and kind of cases in High courts and Supreme court causes delay in justice delivery as all judges are not versatile and possess the wherewithal do deal in any kind of legal dispute as judges too come from a background in which as lawyers they had a specific expertise, so when a judge from a civil background is allocated with criminal matters to deal in, he may not be as efficient as a judge from purely criminal background.

Its surprising when judges were reluctant to declare their assets and be under the ambit of Right to Information Act. A judge has to work like a horse and live like a hermit. Just and fair criticism of the courts leads to incurring the wrath of judges by invocation of contempt laws, there have been times when valid criticism in public interest has led to journalists and other right thinking members of civil society being hauled up for contempt. Unrestrained and whimsical use of contempt powers to haul up conscientious journalists and members of civil society who are critical of judiciary is judicial despotism and constitutional blasphemy. After all justice is crowing of virtues and judicial functioning must be with an objective of undoing the wrong and remedying the wronged.

All under the garb of freedom and liberty

Indian Constitution is the largest in the world incoporating general human rights, minority rights, provides protection to tribals and weaker sections. India has moved on the constitution has been subject to loads of changes in the form of amendments. The Delhi High Court judgement on legitimising gay sex was unexpected for the puritains and a welcome to the crusaders of liberty, there was a lot of euphoria over this judgement and there were notions of this entire provision of law being struck down but it was not so only consensual sex between two adult gay men is permissible and its has been decriminalised. Politicians are washing their hands off development and governance by trying to police television reality shows like "sach ka samma" in a democracy like ours is unbecoming of such parliamentarians, its an innocuous serial having passed the litmus test of being viewable and airable on account of the response to it, politicians can't impose a blanket ban unless there is consensus and public repulse or loathe. An individual Information & Broadcasting minister isn't the respository of public morality to impose unilateral ban.

Religious festivals in India are perhaps the most ostentatious and celebrated with utmost grandeur however taking recourse to freedom to practise ones religion one must not forget reasonable restrictions in view of public order and morality. playing religious songs beyond permissible decibles during festivals is public nuisance, not taking proper precautions while bursting crackers is hazardous to life and limb but people are so overwhelmed with religious fervour they cease to take due care a prudent man would take.During holy hurling ballons at nonsuspecting total strangers is unwarranted, using color detrimental to skin should be avoided.religious freedom without social responsibility and disregard for public safety is something not within the parameters of sanctionable behaviour and conduct.

Religious heads and the clergy have an opinion on anything and everything that happens in civil society governed by rule of law however all their opnions are not bogus and bereft of rationalism however their opnions make an impact owing to the fact religion having a tremendous influence over masses at large but in a secular polity like ours dogmatic and orthodox propaganda by the religious clergy can't take precedence over constitutional cannons. The Indian Constitution has been framed in a manner to accommodate all sections of mankind and if any provision violates religious freedom, traditional beliefs they can be challenged in the form of writ petitions. By the grace of providence thus far no provision of the constitution is antithetical to any scripture of any religion existing in India so religious heads must respect the constitution and abide by it in letter and spirit rather than making a hue and cry about infinitesimal issues which merit no attention.

Freedom and liberty can be truly cherished and realised when an environment of the sort is created where the freedom to movement of one man's hand ends where tip of the nose of another man begins. liberty can be safeguard to the extent it doesn't lead people astray into taking to pursuits and vices self-destructive also counter productive to ones consciousness.

Radical Islam overshadowing liberal Islam

A peace loving individual who is civilised, sane and educated would abhor any kind of religious extremism and would be repelled by puritainical bigotry. Islam the last revealed religion has spread far and wide, There is a postulate its the fastest growing religion in the world. The media has always had a inbuilt bias against muslims and it has projected islam as a blood thirsty cult, however it can't be blamed for it as muslim intellectuals have failed to oppose the hardliners in letter and spirit as they have held sway the clergy who have tremendous influence over muslims have rarely trodden the path of modernism and always treated dissenters and rebels among islam as apostates and condemned them with divine displeasure. Its due to the misdeeds of few black sheeps, the world has held an entire community at ransom.

Islam comes from the root word salaam which means peace, its five pillars encompass all virtues mankind can ever conjure and conceive.The prophet despite being unlettered was unparalleled in his wisdom and imparted a doctrine which is a gospel truth and of universal significance. Islam compares killing of one innocent with perpetrating a pogrom on mankind. In the Holy koran backbiting and slandering is compared with eating dead meat of ones own brother and the koran ordains moderation in eating and drinking, modesty in dressing, restrain in professional pursuits and steadfast abiding of principles in day to day living. Jehad is a duty cast on every muslim to strive to become a better human and to please the almighty in the best possible manner, jehad has no implications of violence or is not synonymous with terrorism. When terrorists claim if they die in an act of terrorism they will be conferred with sensual pleasure with umpteen virgins in heavenly abode smacks of filthy mind, misled approach and murky consciousness, such miscreants need to be told do they consider their almighty so befallen that he is running a den of forbidden pleasure. On judgement day the almighty leaves no stone unturned in delivering a verdict on afterlife and terrorists without a doubt are doomed to worst abodes of hell in which there is unmitigating miserable existence.

Understanding islam is the need of the hour in the right context through people who understand it not just in context of intellectual niceties but also its metaphyical connotations. there is emphasis on dialogue in the islamic scriptures with nonmuslims to project the article of islamic faith in right light to dispel myths and put misconceptions at rest. Muslims must endeavour to set a good example amidst a few who have gone astray to regain the glory of era when muslim intellectuals ruled the roost. Muslims of today's day and age need conscientious spiritual mentors who dont fall prey to obscure orthodoxy and mindless conservatism at the altar of so called devout and pious religiosity.

self-proclaimed repositories of cultural nationalism reduced to shrill jingoists

The electoral outcome of 15th Lok Sabha was much to the delight of Congress and much to the disgust of BJP. However proponents of political stability could heave a sigh of relief despite in recent years fractured mandates being a rule rather than an exception. The electoral battle due to washing of dirty linen in public became personality centric rather than a contest of ideologies.BJP led NDA trying to stick to its allies did make allusions to its core ideology of hindutva and targetted UPA for galloping inflation, poor management of internal security and over all mismagament of economy on the other hand UPA projected itself to be an epitome of secularism and an 'all-embracing' party having a pan indian presence, it took credit for landmark instances in their tenure like enactment of Right To Information,IndoUS nuclear deal and Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Manmohan singh perceived to be a stooge of Sonia Gandhi is respected across party lines as far as his fiscal integrity and probity in public is concerned. Manmohan singh was stoic in the face of flaks drawn at him and his detractors taking a dig at him, he never seem perturbed or worked up he let is work speak for itself which reaped him rich dividends in the domain of electoral politics. L.K Advani a seasoned campaigner, RSS loyalist and staunch proponent of unearthing tax havens in foreign banks by unscrupulous indians, Advaniji a veteran parliamentarian and doyen public figure never seem to have the charisma his predecessor Vajpayeeji possessed yet his level of confidence was high and he was gung ho in his campaign and approach but all that at the end of the day seemed an exercise in futility. Modiji the mascot of hindutva and arguably the most revered second rung BJP leader is yet to evolve to the stature of being a prime ministerial candidate and he already has gujrat on his platter. Rahul Gandhi is still a novice cum a neophyte in politics, he needs to do loads of spade work to rise to the occasion to shoulder huge responsibilities.

People get the government they deserve and that government is best that governs the least, a common man is more concerned about his basic and primary needs than satiation and pandering to his religious sentiments. The nation as a whole needs a robust regime which has decisive leadership with prompt and effective decision making. may it be saffron right wing ideologues or tricolour 'umbrella' party who boasts of having legacy of freedom struggle must work in co-ordination and in tandem to run the country efficiently, manage the economy efficaciously and deal with security concerns with utmost alacrity rather than lip service and cacaphony. Our parliament must become a forum of discussion and meaningful debate and not a place where political opponents mud sling and hurl expletives at each other. The Speaker must deal with errant and indisciplined parliamentarians with an iron hand and demand accountability from them, if possible appoint a Pub bouncer to chuck out unjustly rebellious and cacophonus MPs who squander tax payers money to serve their selfish ends.

crusade against corruption!

I as an seasoned elocutionist and a person with extensive exposure to impromptu debates, mock parliaments, group discussions, team debates and cross examination style extempore debates. I distinctly remember me being adjudged as a best speaker during A.D Shroff Memorial Elocution Competition when i spoke on corruption when i was in first year law. As noted Jurist Fali Nariman rightly mentioned in his book 'India Legal System, How Can it be Saved?' quote india has too many laws but too little justice and in India there is too much rhetoric and too little reform. Laws pertaining to corruption in india have not stood the test of time and have not brought many transgressors to the book thanks to its poor implementation and not very punitive provisions.

The origin of many ills and shortcomings in India can be attributed to corruption may it be terrorism to inflation.Illegal gratification is considered a necessary oil for moving the wheels of administration to the bribe giver in order to 'get things done'. The civil society in India has shown abhorrence to crimes and felonies of varied nature but has not shown an attitude of despise and dismay also intolerance to corruption and eventually have accepted it as a human fraility and part and parcel of blemish of every political system.When a politician of stature, seniority and repute goes on record to pursue the issue of getting back money hoarded in swiss banks and other foreign banks through doubious channels his credibility and intention is questioned just because he is affiliated with a political party that is the chief adversary of the ruling party. It took none other than Ram Jethmalani, who is of course a giant legal luminary and noted jurist to file a Public Interest Litigation in this regard with other eminent citizens as petitioners for judicial intervention in this matter.The government has not shown keeness to deal with the matter of overseas accounts of indian nationals and NRIs beyond and in breach of legitimate monetary channels.


Its during recession some right thinking members of civil society and conscientious citizens of India realised ill gotten money if properly channelised can be utilised to salvage India from throes of debts and poverty. 'Equal Pay for Equal Work' must become a legislation, army men, police and sportsman other than cricketers deserve higher pay and perks also greater patronage.Its sounds illogical when prime minister expects CEO's to lead spartan life and sanctions enhancement of remeuneration of parliamentarians in every pay commission, it is a stance of double standards and hypocrisy as people in public life must lead a life of example by being austere and abstemious. The judges of higher rung and lower rung of judiciary should get income proportionate to the work the undertake and that is alloted to them and the difference of remeuneration and perquisites should be marginal than substantial to bring down if not totally weed out corruption. Every citizen with a clear conscience, right values and moral fibre must cry hoarse and oppose corruption at all levels in society with 'jehadi zeal' and fidayeen spirit and also if situation demands mujahidden fervour as jihad as per the holy koran is a duty to please the almighty by ones endeavour and not perpetrating wanton mayhem.

Uniform Civil Code is it majority hegemony or dominance over religious mnorities!

The constitution we adopted was an emulation of several working constitution of the world. The Constituent assembly had no hesistantion in declaring our Repulic as secular though Secular word was inserted rather late in the preamble of the constitution. The constituion guarantees right to Preach,Practise and Profess a religion of ones choice and freedom of conscience, its a fundamental right if impinged or violated, the aggrived person can move the court by way of writ petition to get approriate remedy.Every fundamental right is subject to reasonable restrictions in keeping with public order, morality, health, contempt of court and incitement to an offence and no fundamental right is unfettered and absolute.under normal circumstances these fundamental rights can be availed of in totality but during emergency they are curtailed considering the political scenario then.

In India any law regulating religion, religious institution, religious conversion and personal laws of religion evokes feelings of intolerance and is construed as something which hurts religious sentiments and the state is unjustly interfering with right to practise ones religion. This sort of perception and contention is misguided and holds no water. Laws ought to keep pace with time and changing circumstances,political scenario, social circumstances and economic developments.The personal laws of hindus, muslims and christians also parsis need to be relooked in the light of modern and contemporary state of affairs bearing in mind its sanctity and relevance in this day and age. Gender justice is a significant issue in human rights jurisprudence in recent times and unfortunately the personal laws dont place men and women on the same footing and at par when it comes to rights relating to property,mode and method of divorce etc.

No nation in the world which professes to be secular has a separate code of laws governing marriage, property and divorce on the basis of religion except for india which reflects our polity in poor light in the international arena. Common Civil Code is a progressive legislation which will seek to remove discrepancies between different personal laws, ensure gender justice and do away with legal complications of sorts. Uniform Civil Code is a constitutional obligation as its part of directive principles of the constitution. However The Common Civil Code we adopt and incorporate must neither be a Hindu dogma imposed on minorities nor a minority scripted treatise thrusted on the majority community but something churned out by way of consenses, discusssion, debate and public dialogue in the right forum. India in order to prepare a draft of it can take a cue from countries who successfully follow Uniform Civil Code in letter and spirit rather than trying to concoct our own draft if we lack the acumen for it.

Uniform Civil Code will be a progressive legislation aiming at polity and civil society based on laws which are just in every respect and flexible to the imperatives of changing times and circumstances in other words a dynamic law not static.

Most favoured nation with Most undeserving neighbour

India has a glorious past, historical importance, cosmopolitan culture and a civilisation based on concepts of tolerance, forebearance and compassion. The expatriates of indian origin excel in countries they have legitimately immigrated to esp U.S.A. the culture of 'Sarva Dharma Sambhav' and 'Vasudaiva Kutumbakam' which means all religions convey the same message and in essence are the same and this world is one family originated on Indian soil which are now regarded as values and virtues of timeless wisdom. However after acquiring freedom from british and the nightmarish and unfortunate two-nation theory propounded by certain power hungry and avaracious opportunists under the garb of crusaders of certain religion has left an indelible mark on the psyche of a certain generation and is an unforgettable event in history.


India chose to be secular whereas pakistan declared itself to be an islamic nation governed by the ordains of islamic scriptures with a functional army, air force and judiciary. It also incorporated certain vestiges and relics of colonial era. Ironically indian muslim population outnumbers pakistan population of muslims. Pakistan's territorial hegemony and unwarranted aggression has led to two wars one in 1965 and another in 1971 in which bangladesh was carved out and separated from it and not to forget the decade old low intensity kargil conflict which India succeeded in warding off the mercenaries and regain its territories. Pakistan has still not learnt its lessons after losing in conventional wars, it takes recourse to proxy wars, so called jehadi missions, fidayeen attacks and covert operations under the guise of liberating kashmir which is integral part of union of India.


Pakistan despite being the fountain head of terrorism and laboratory of islamic extermism has been made to taste its own medicine by being a victim of its home grown terrorism and patronage to such outfits who are unleashing havoc under the garb of retaliation of alleged oppression on muslims which has no reasonable or logical justification. The 26/11 terror attacks perpetrated on Mumbai stirred the conscience of civil society and woke up the political dispensation from the slumber of redundancy of an anti terror law and the soft peddaling approach towards terrorism as it has always tried to link security with vote bank considerations which has made the country bleed every now and then. the lone gun man of 26/11 terror attack has become the most controversial accused in the hisotry of post independence India. The investigation in the matter has been extremely sensitive, high profile and also complicated, as a nation committed to rule of law and abiding by a written constitution he ought be given a fair trial but the media hype, the kind of security given to him, the endeavour to provide him a lawyer of the best kind which is quite difficult considering his nationality is in question, his callousness and brazen nonrepentance for his alleged act sends shockwaves in the minds of right thinking members of a civilised set up. one school of thought advocates his survival and conviction will unearth pakistan's double standards and expose their skeletons in the cupboard and another school of thought preaches he deserves to be bumped off considering the magnitude of the crime he is alleged of, however my conscience says he should be tried speedily without inordinate delays on flimsy grounds, it is an open and shut case, his guilt is likely to be proved beyond reasonable doubt so he deserves to be given the gravest and most stringent punishment prescribed by the doctrine of penology we follow and for political considerations he should not be given any sort of preferential treatment and no mercy should be shown to him on account of his age as its only a perverted mind that can be subjected to such kind of horrific indoctrination. let the truth prevail!

Moral Policing or talibanisation?

Morality is essential in a civil society governed by codes of conduct and ethics which have been handed down by generations together.The concept of morality is open to interpretation and a subjectmatter of debate depending upon the culutral factors which shape and mould the moral aspects of a particular culture may it be occidental or oriental culture.morality is something which needs to be imbibed and inculcated and not forced upon or thrusted upon a set of people out of sanctimoniousness and under the garb of safeguarding traditional values.

Indian civilisation which is known for its tolerance and all-encompassingness has unfortunately degenerated into laboratory of moral policing where self-appointed moral police are on a rampage to dictate terms to the youth in terms of attire they must don, their recreational pursuits, choice of films and conduct of theirs with the opposite sex in public. People are indeed concerned about the decline in moral values and rise of materialism and self-indulgence but the modus operandi used by certain right-wing groups under the guise of a divine entity to perpetrate violence of women, intimidating couples at public places, making a hue and cry about degree and quantum of nudity to be shown in films which is the prerogative of censor board not these so called crusaders.

The moot question is if these moral police want pub culture to be weeded out of the social set up they must strive for a legislation and create awareness about its unwholesome effects on the young generation rather than taking up cudgels and resorting to violence when there has been no provocation from people who have been taking alcohol at pubs, In case a person at a pub behaves irrationally after consuming liquor in excess, the pub bouncer will chuck him out we dont need the services of a moral cops. Couples on account of lack of privacy go to places where they find some serenity and comfort and they are no a menace to society unless they indulge in behaviour which involves obscenity and indecent exposure,blanket ban on films should not be encouraged in a democracy on grounds of alleged hurting of religious sentiments or vulgarity in the film unless the film undergoes litmus test of censor board approval and also avails of remedy of judicial scrutiny.

Moral policing at the end of the day smacks of intolerance and biogotry also parochialism and puritanism. When the political establishment wants to wash its hands of important issues plaguing its polity, it provokes its cadres to make a hue and cry about trivial issues like wardrobe malfunction to draw public attention and garner votes and playing to the gallery.

criminalisation of politics and politicisation of crime!

Ones in power feel the need to have nexus with anti social elements,history sheeters,scandal mongers,hoodlums,miscreants and swindlers. The quality of political leadership is getting murkier and deteriorating as each day passes by and the civil society and the intelligentsia can hardly do anything to nip this catastrophe in its bud.The kind of leadership that inspired India's freedom struggle the legacy of these very crusaders of independence and proponents of freedom unfortunately dont have worthy successors who can carry their legacy in thought and deed but there are elements in the political arena who pay lipservice to these stalwarts or glorify them in their speeches but dont follow the ideals they have laid down.

Its a matter of shame and disgrace to the indian polity that there are scoundrels who have the brazeness and temerity to contest elections despite being incarcerated, political parties who have an all india presence have doled out tickets to candidates who are behind bars awaiting trial to contest elections such an act on the part of such parties who have manifestos talking about 'party with a difference' and party determined to rule of law and electoral reforms smacks of double standards.The middle class urban educated elite have become arm chair and drawing room critics, some among them despite discussing politics with evangelistic fervour on dinner table are indifferent when it comes to casting their vote.We as a nation who profess to be a welfare state despite our achievements on the economic front,in the IT sector,foreign reserves have not succeeded in tackling law and order problems as there is one school of thought which advocates poverty and necessity breeds crime and outlawness besides greed and avarice. The the need of the hour is right thinking members of political parties must cut across party lines and become nonpartisan to bar criminal elements from procuring sacred chairs of our parliament and thriving on the gullibility of our misled electorate.

At the end of the day, credibility of the candidate contesting election not his winnability should be the benchmark and yardstick for the party which fields him as a candidate.