Rarest Of The Rare

Verdict in Priyadarshini Mattoo's case is out. Her killer gets a LIFE TERM and not a death sentence. I am really bothered by the Rarest of the Rare doctrine. Earlier the principle was that in most of the murder cases, the punishment was Death Sentence and in rarest of the rare cases was it a Life Term.

In Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab, the doctrine of the rarest of the rare was brought into existence which provided that now the bench mark would be a Life Term and only in rarest of the rare cases would there be a Death Sentence and because of this mostly all the convicts get away with a Life Term which gets reduced to 14 years or 20 years at times and before even having the sentence executed, their mercy petitions keep on lying on the President's desk for years at times. I am not sympathizing with the convicts by saying this.

I dont think that bringing in the Rarest of the Rare doctrine has served any purpose whatsoever. Crime rate, if not gone up, has not come down also.

Laws of a country are made to serve the practical purpose. They are not ornamental. The death sentence, if not anything else, at least has a fear which life term does not.

This was just a synopsis. I will be coming with more on this point.

MTC

To Be Or Not To Be

So, welcome another controversy in the CWG mess .. The Prince of Wales is coming down to open the Games instead of the Queen and the Indian Govt., at the 11th hour, is crazy and "sentimental" about the national pride for it wants the President of India to open the Games rather than the Prince.

Fair enough in the normal parlance, alright, but keeping in mind the CWG, I feel it is a move to divert the attention of the body politic from the mess the Government has made of the Games in general.

They are crying because in the present scenario, the Prince would open the Games and the President would stand beside him. There are a few things which are to be kept in mind in order to understand the whole thing. First of all, Indian Government knew this in advance. They didn't do a thing about that and are raising this issue now when there is not even a week left to officially open the Games. It would lead to nothing but would add more muck to already existing - Nothing but a diplomatic mess.

Secondly, I agree that it would be nice that the President opens the Games but we also have to understand the structure of the Commonwealth as an organization. Indian Government, and also the Indian people, are saying that letting the Prince open the Games is an indication of the colonial past, we are now about half a century ahead of the past and are well democratic and what not. The answer to this is that you cannot blow hot and cold in the same breath. The very existence of the Commonwealth is a relic of the colonial rule as all the members are former colonies and the Head of the Commonwealth is, by default, the Monarch of Great Britain or any appointed member of the Royal family -- Duke of Edinburgh was the Head of Commonwealth at a point of time and may be even now, I am not sure. By being a member of the Commonwealth, we are laden by ourselves with the memories of our past. If we are so particular about our independent existence and our sovereignty, it is better that we distance ourselves from the Commonwealth and cease to be a member. The day we do so, we are entitled to claim the authority of our President as of right. But till we are the members of Commonwealth, its better we stick to its protocol.

Thirdly, it is being said that if the Queen were coming, it would have been a different thing but now, as the Prince is coming, it is better we let our President do the needful and we should be strong enough to let our thoughts out. We should understand the capacity in which the Prince is coming and would be opening the CWG. He is coming as the REPRESENTATIVE OF THE QUEEN and would be reading the QUEEN'S MESSAGE !!! He is NOT opening the Games as the Prince of Wales, for God's Sake !!!! Technically, the representative has the similar status and the authority as the original incumbent. Its better that we understand the finer nuances rather than getting into small trifles.

Lastly, I was listening in a TV talk that if it were for the Queen to do the honors, WHY DID SHE NOT COME ?!? Did she have anything more important than to open the CWG ? Well, it is again a minor one as it is the tradition of the Royal families that every year, the events to come up are designated to various member of the royal household depending upon their seniority (The Prince of Wales is the senior most after the Monarch and his / her spouse, anyway) as the Monarch cannot attend each and every one of them. We should remember that Princess Elizabeth (Now Queen Elizabeth II) represented her father a number of times as his representative. And if, at all, we are concerned as to why the Queen did not come, it can be best answered by our Commonwealth Committee and their evident management of the CWG !!!

If our public understood the structure and nuances of the Organization, I am sure these minor questions would not have arisen at the verge of the opening of the CWG. They may think of me as devoid of national pride, but that is not the case. Along with my national pride, I would prefer and would request my fellow countrymen to give other its due share as well.

So, before being carried away, it is better to understand the structures rather than crying foul for no reason or, at least, when we have bigger reasons in front of us.

Animals And Humans

Today my cousin posted a video of dogs. No doubt, they were adorable as usual. But, when I reached the end of that video, it gave rise to a question in my mind. This video was promoting the adoption of an animal from a local pet shelter and the question in my mind was WHETHER WE HUMANS DESERVE THE TRUE LOVE OF THESE POOR BEINGS ?!?

They love us without wishing anything in return and we just dump them out because, one fine morning, WE MAY NOT WANT THEM OR THEY MAY BE PROVING TO BE A LIABILITY !!!!

Such buggers need to think that this animal is loving you truly without even knowing who you are. Even your own son may despise you once you grow old but this animal would be there with you even when you are on your funeral pyre. I am not talking about dogs but every animal for that reason.

And if not for any other reason, to be curt, RESPECT them just because animals are far more superior than humans. Just walking on two feet does not make us better. Even a monkey can walk on two feet but when it comes to solidarity between their group, even they are better than us. When it comes to labour, even a donkey can leave us miles behind. We cannot sense the love of dear ones and animals can sense the earthquakes coming and they migrate. Every individual animal has a quality which we humans would continue to say -- WE DON'T HAVE !!!

They might say that humans are better because we have got DEVELOPED MIND !!!! Considering the condition which we have made of our earth and nature, it is an answer in itself, I need not comment on that !!

MTC

MPs' Raise In Salary

So in the last few days we have seen a rare sight of our parliamentarians getting together unanimously for a particular cause, does not matter if it were only for their RISE IN SALARY AND EMOLUMENTS !!! C'mon countrymen, you are not going to see this sight for any other cause whatsoever so hail the occasion rather than cribbing over it.

Country is bound to face the humiliation at the international level because of the Commonwealth mess, in Leh-Ladakh the situations are bad, armed forces men are returning their medals because of your policies, Mayawati refuses to implement Right to Education Act because SHE HAS NO MONEY, she also refuses to compensate the victims of stampede in Pratapgarh because of money issues, Bhopal gas victims get only few thousands in compensation...a small list of issues of lesser importance, I suppose. Despite all this, we never saw even a fruitful debate on any of these issues, much less a full house. There was a proposal years back to make death sentence the punishment for the crime of rape. I didn't hear of that proposal seeing the light of day.

But the moment the proposal is passed for raising the salaries of the MPs..VOILA !!! It is passed the same day, will be implemented in the same session and also with retrospective effect !!!

I know that once a person is a politician, he/she is completely selfish, but he/she can be shameless and insensitive to such an extent that I came to know only now. They know that the load on the tax payer for this act of theirs would be upwards of Rs 100 Crore per annum. This is in the wake of rising inflation and constant increase in the number of people living below the poverty line.

Had this Rs 100 Crore (for one year) been utilized for any of the aforesaid causes, the people would have happily accepted your raise probably in the next session. MPs give reference of the service to the people. They know that the public is disgusted by this act of theirs. But to justify their cause, they come up with all the silly reasons - Naveen Jindal cites the expenses and the staff the MP has to maintain. He talks about a research person which an MP has to maintain. Has anyone ever heard of any research conducted by Mr. Jindal ?? Ravi Shankar Prasad cites, among other expenses, the marriages the MP has to attend during the marriage season and the money he has to give there. Don't you think MPs that you are getting a bit overboard in order to justify this disgusting act of yours?

Rather than bestowing this on yourself, it would be better if you deserve this by your deeds but neither have you done this in the past 60 years nor would you ever. You are right when you say that there are still some MPs who are very poor and who don't live the life of luxury cited by the people. Sohail Seth, in reply to this, says that they were not asked to become the MPs. They knew what they were about to get. But I do not agree with this view. If we despise the poor MPs like this, in future, we have no right to claim for an honest MP because an honest person can never be rich !!!! I would rather say that those poor MPs, along with the people of the country, are the victims of the Jungle Raj of our Regular MPs.

Guys, public is watching !!! Your biggest mistake is that you think the public is a sheep which can be made to move in any direction. But you are wrong. Be afraid of the future.

MTC

Commonwealth Or Common Wealth

Lately, I have been thinking on this PROJECT quite a lot as to whether it should be called Commonwealth 2010 or Common Wealth 2010 ?!?

Proud moment it was when India got the opportunity to play host to the Commonwealth Games 2010. It was, as well, an opportunity to strengthen our international image by hosting the Games successfully and gloriously. But, Indians being Indians, cracks in the preparations were visible right from the start when the news came out that the Capital was being just dug up here and there.

According to the schedule, the stadia and other buildings were to be handed over to the Committee in the start of August, 2010 for the final decorative works but, now when about only 55 days are left, even the construction is not complete much less the decoration works. It was there in the news the other day that the swimming pool for the games was constructed and then they realized that ITS NOT ACCORDING TO THE SPECIFICATIONS and, hence, it was to be redone. Was there any harm in being careful right from the start so that we could save time and extra expense now? Elevators are not done till now. All that could be seen were niches in the wall. Roofs are leaking. One can very well imagine what is going to be the spectacle once the games start. And before the Games start, the athletes would need the stadia for the practice also. Even if they COMPLETE the work, can they assure it would be of the international glory ??!!?? NO !!

Complete grip of corruption. We had reconciled with the fact that in our country, corruption is as much a part of the lives as is food and water but at least they could spare the national honour from being crushed in the clutches!!! But for our leaders, only thing that matters is their own self. Country is just the ATM machine for them.

The budget for the Games is about 1 Lakh Crores !!! According to Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, this much is not even budget of various States. Several crores have been spent on raising a massive balloon with modern gadgets installed and other several crores have been spent in importing that from the UK. Guys, these seasonings look nice when the basic work is complete. Wish you had sense enough to realize this.

Athletes have already started backing out. Some country has denied to participate if the preparations are not according to the specifications. Australia clearly said that they are sure they are not going to get anything and if they do, it would not be up to the mark and that they may have to stay at the top of a building with no elevators. UK is sending MOSQUITO REPELLENT with their athletes !! What the hell?!? Does it not give an idea of our reputation outside already ?

Seeing all this, still politicos are SURE that this is going to be the best Commonwealth ever !!! If this is so, why Kalmadi goes on back foot when questioned by the journalists and Gill utters shit in the Parliament on such a sensitive issue? When opposition starts to nail the Government on the corruption, Sanjay Nirupam of Congress, rather than answering the allegations, in turn gets down to point the corruption of the opposition. Our PM and Sonia are not heard at all till now. They say that the issue is being politicized, but I say that after so much the Government has done, opposition is completely justified in coming to the fore and these politicos need be completely nailed.

We Indians are already not respected outside for thousand reasons and after this seeming disaster of CWG 2010, disrespect will be amplified all the more.

I wanna ask the Government that what on earth have they made of this country ??!!?? You make a mockery of yourself, its your own life but you have no right to compromise the honour of WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA internationally. You may have distanced yourself from the country but we still are a part of her. And remember, we just ELECT you but don't ASSOCIATE ourselves with you. So we would really appreciate if you kindly leave us alone.

MTC

A Tale Of A Soldier

The other day, I was surfing through a website which showcased the works of various photographers. While surfing, I came across the work of one Mr. Todd Heisler which was named Final Salute. I casually clicked on it and what passed my eyes tore me till my soul and raised questions which are still unanswered but are raised more often than not !!!

He captured the MOMENTS BETWEEN THE MOMENTS of a ceremony called Final Salute which is performed by the US Army in which the body of the deceased soldier is ceremonially laid to rest by an Honor Guard of the US Army. "Moments Between The Moments" mean the Real and non-ceremonial ones where the emotions of the family were captured by this gentleman.

He captured many families but laid emphasis on the then pregnant wife of late 2nd Lieutenant James Cathy who was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, Katherine Cathy. I swear that the tender moments between the wife and her late husband's body shook me completely. The picture in which she keeps their wedding flowers, his favorite perfume and an ultrasound image of their unborn child in the coffin, the image in which she touches her belly on the coffin of her late husband, image in which the body of James Cathy is being taken out of the plane and the one in which Katherine is sleeping beside the coffin of her late husband the night before her burial for she wanted to sleep with him "One Last Time" are, although, concerning one family but are the tale of all families all over the world which have someone in the forces.

When I came out of the office that night, for me, everything ceased to have any meaning, everything was still. I was constantly thinking that whichever the country, the emotions are the same, tears flow with the same intensity, be it India or US. The politics around the world pushes these young men in the wars and conflicts and, in the end, what remains is the crying wife, parents and orphan children while the politicians marvel or brood at the materials gains or losses.

I understand that wishing to have a warless world is a far cry and there is no point wishing that but, at least, we can refrain from having worthless conflicts like the ones in Afghanistan and Iraq or the constant conflict between India and Pakistan for a little piece of land. By doing this, we can prevent another Lt. Saurabh Kalia (a soldier killed during Kargil) from being butchered and help another Katherine Cathy from giving birth to a child who can see the world on his father's shoulders.

I urge the leaders to think of that mother who so wishes that her son rises up and fights with her, the father who would do anything to have his son argue with him or the wife who would trade the world for that one kiss of her man. But that would never happen because that son and the man has been sent for an eternal sleep, a sleep to let u be awake and see the glitter of yer material WIN !!!

MTC

India and Kashmir

War is on for the last over half a century for this piece of land under the sun which we call KASHMIR !!! I cant remember any other reason except this for the conflicts with Pak. In fact the policy of Pak is centered around this Heaven On Earth !!!

But looking at the scenario, we can realize that Kashmir is more a prestige issue for both the nations than a part of country. In India, whatever laws we draft, we have a separate mention for it. Kashmir has its own Constitution (if I remember correctly). They have been crying AUTONOMY for donkey's years now. They, themselves, don't want to be a part of this country.

In the latest development, people there have been fired at by the Indian police for shouting anti-India slogans and creating ruckus. In this incident, about 14 people have died. I am sure this will flare up the issues more.

I suggest rather than fighting over a piece of land which doesn't want to be a part of us, we should do some introspection as to how to pacify the situation and, if that's not possible, let them go !!!!

Let them FIGHT Pak by themselves. They came to us only because they could not do the needful. If they think they are capable, let them give another try !!!

MTC