Category: Politics

How to recognize Dictatorship?

~ Venki ~ Leave a comment
The morning began with news on Syrian army capturing Aleppo.  The United Nations representatives from different countries started fighting over human rights violations, notoriously the ones from the US and Russia. The former cried foul while the latter claimed credit for an amazing and humane victory against terrorists. For semi-aware listeners who constitute the majority, it was an open and shut case one way or other. The reality is not in the middle but somewhere outside. The fight for and against democracy continues.
Democracy is the best amongst all the bad options we have got. To me personally, a democratic government is one which recognises the views of all and ensures the civil rights of all citizens are protected equally. What does this translate to?
1. Protection of human rights irrespective of sectarian and religious beliefs.
2. Rejection of discrimination as a privilege
3. Implement policies for collective growth
4. Elected by people and governed by constitution
The Governments even the democratically elected ones of the first world still don’t stick to it. What gets termed democratic, communist, autocratic, monarchic or dictatorial has become a very subjective term when it is actually not.
A random sample of such non-democratic governments is below.
1. Saudi Arabia is a rogue state governed by dictators. It has singularly been responsible for the spread of terrorism through its Wahabi Salafi ideologies. It is bombing Yemen as we speak with the support of NATO and there is no discussion on that as Syria or North America. It is a bane for moderate Islam.
2. China’s fetish to its One China vision has been destroying civilisations. It is a totalitarian regime where dissent means death.
3. The Cuban regime under Fidel Castro had been no different. It’s development has been marred by human rights violations in spite of the astonishing developments in medicine and education sectors.
4. North Korea is an Orwellian society where the dead dictators are worshiped by the living dictator and his subjects.
Each of these governments are looked differently. Saudi Arabia is looked as a western ally in spite of all its human rights violations. People talk about it but never ever call for any action against them. China is an international bully and countries want to be on their good books. The fact that protest is concerned as treason and such activists are subjected to strong sedition laws is of least importance to sycophants. Cuba and North Korea though are not a lot different but have huge sanctions imposed on them.
There is an obvious cord that connects all these. The elite and privileged force us to believe that regimes are dictatorial only when they are not rich in natural resources and question their authority. That is why Saudi Arabia and China become acceptable while North Korea and Cuba are not. Every dictator has been hailed as a leader by countries like the US or UK. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan praised Osama Bin Laden and Mujahideen as freedom fighters. Idi Ameen was able to fly to the UK and get a royal welcome. The same holds good for Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein.
So how do I understand dictatorship or a dictatorial regime? To me, a dictatorial or authoritarian regime is one which satisfies one of the below conditions
  1. A government which commits human rights violations against its subjects including genocide
  2. A government which promotes Geneva conventions
  3. A government which suspends Habeas Corpus
  4. A government where dissent is not acceptable and can be punished with treason
  5. A government which is not run by constitution and an official elected by the people
  6. A government where the constitution cannot be amended
  7. A government where an unelected person has unilateral rights to dismiss an elected government
Using these rules, here are examples where even democratically elected government acted authoritarian and dictatorial.
  1. The US and UK government selling intelligence and arms to the Saudi Arabia to kill civilians in Yemen
  2. The US government using force against water protectors in Standing Rock after taking sides with the Big Oil
  3. The Sri Lankan Government under Rajapaksa committing genocide on tamil population
  4. The suspension of Habeas Corpus during the unwarranted emergency declared in India
  5. Pakistan government taking sides with international terror organisations killing innocent civilians in Pakistan
  6. The unilateral government which suppresses dissent in Singapore
  7. Governments of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh which instigated killings of minorities in their own countries
  8. The NDAA (especially sections 1021 and 1022) and Patriot Act giving permission for mass surveillance and suspension on Habeas Corpus, providing dictatorial powers to the president of the US
  9. The Philippines government murdering drug offenders
  10. Governments like Malaysia where the monarch can dismiss the government
It is paramount for progress of civilisation to ensure we keep identifying and thwarting any dictatorial streak irrespective of whether it is a democratically elected government or the one run by a ‘Supreme Leader’. The result of the intellects surrendering their critical faculties and not protesting against these primitive urges to control and oppress has never resulted in good results.

Dire need for a legal revolution in India

~ Venki ~ Leave a comment

There are some meta-issues which bother me on the Indian Legal System.

  1. Protection of witness
  2. Difference between legal and perceived moral correctness
  3. Process delays
  4. Human Rights intervention
  5. Intensity of the punishment

1. Protection of witness

What prevents the common man from helping victims on the street?

It is extremely disturbing to see eve teasers get away as no one in the crowd is willing to fight the culprit. Accident victims are left dying on the streets as onlookers look at them with utter disdain. At the outset the reasons for all this could be

  • Total apathy towards fellow people
  • Fear of getting hurt
  • Too busy with work
  • There is a population crisis, so a few less will not hurt

While all these could be plausible reasons, the one that I feel runs as a common theme is the legal complexity.

Duration of the legal process

It takes years for a case to be completed in India. There are cases abandoned as the witness, victim and perpetrator have all died a ‘natural death’. With cases taking so long, the witness have absolutely no interest in being part of the legal process. Their general movement across the globe gets inhibited due the legal proceedings.

Treating witness like criminals

Invariably the witnesses are treated like criminals. The person who is willing to help an accident victim by taking she/he to a hospital for treatment, will have to sign a crazy number of documents before the treatment starts. They are forced to be part of the interrogation and investigation done by the cops which turns out to be a hassle.

Lack of protection

In most circumstances, the perpetrator is more powerful than the witness. The investigation does not protect the identity of the witness. This leaves the witness to protect oneself. With their security and existence under threat no person will be willing to risk by protecting others.

If this situation is not corrected, the number of correct judgements will go lesser with time. Judges need witnesses and witnesses need protection. It is an open and shut case.

2.  Difference between legal and perceived moral correctness

There is a big difference between legal correctness and what different communities perceive to be moral correctness. I fear the latter seems to drive the former. It is illegal to run a brothel, however it is legal for two consenting adults to be in a relationship. I fear our cops can’t distinguish between the two.

Civil code cannot be based on the religion I choose. It is really atrocious to know that my actions are treated differently based on my religion. This is plain stupid and not sensitive. No nation can be truly secular if they adapt themselves to different religious believes.

LGBT rights cannot be driven by the perception of different religious communities. Legal system has to take a scientific approach here and not one based on sentiments.

3. Process delays

The legal system in India is many situations behave like lobbyists of the rich. It doesn’t take a cop more than 10 minutes to put a petty thief behind the bars. If the same has to be done for a bureaucrat who misappropriated millions, the process takes weeks if not months and in some cases years. One cannot blame the executive body alone here. When legislators turn corrupt, executors and judiciary are reduced to puppets.

The process delays and inefficiencies continue all the way closure. The loop holes are so many that the rich and famous always have a way to walk through the open cracks. With so much delay in the process, the victim is forced to think on using legal route. Legal action has to be quick and correct. If they don’t go hand in hand, find a way out.

4. Human Rights Intervention

I can’t understand the intervention of human rights with judgement. What makes one think that a minor rapist or a serial killer needs to be provided an opportunity to transform? Why is capital punishment so difficult to accept? If it is because of the mistakes made, then we need to correct that and not the punishment as such. I am not a big fan of frivilous use of capital punishment or torture, however I don’t think the way human rights activism which happens in certain countries is right. In India especially, it is mostly a leisure activity for elite or driven by faith. The human rights activists in India are taking a western solution to the ghastly Indian cultural issues.

The human rights activists in India has a way to gain fame by protesting for criminals and not against the crime.

5. Intensity of the punishment

Punishments should serve a purpose of the society. I recently read about a case, where a young girl was killed by a motorist, racing in one of the main roads of Chennai. Most people in and around this arterial road of Chennai knew about the illegal races being conducted. Cops were repeatedly informed but no action was taken. Now that the accident has taken place, these races were halted for a brief while. The maximum punishment in such cases in 1 – 2 years, if convicted.

A meager punishment can neither serve as a deterrent nor as a eliminator. A minor rapist if proven guilty after years of trial is given 9 years. A deliberate violations of traffic rule which results in an accident are let off with a fine. A culpable homicide is given 2 – 3 years sometimes. Terrorist and mass murderers are protected and given security.  What is going to deter a thief from continuing his activities if he knows the maximum punishment he will get is 6 months of imprisonment with all facilities provided? It also provides him with a more than outside chance of joining politics in the future. Crime seems to be the way to go for people.

The need of the hour is to eliminate the scum of the society. If the punishment for some of the more severe crimes like rape, harassment, homicide, terrorism etc are instantaneous, ruthless and deadly then it leaves more room for comparatively lesser crimes to get more stringent punishments.

The legal system currently is in a state of paralysis. There are a few cases which stir up some hope, but they are rare and out of common man’s reach. There is a dire need to revamp the complete legal framework. The current penal code has obvious flaws which cannot be plugged. The country needs to invest time into building a judicial structure and legal framework which is accessible, quick, honest and honest.