The law must take its own course - II

So finally the State crumbled before the demands for clemency. The edifice of justice, so often assaulted and insulted in the long decades of our independence, may never have faced such a barrage, such a mockery of its actions. The Emergency may have asked of the judiciary to bend themselves before the powers that be and ensure favourable verdicts, but now the judiciary must agree to even changing their verdicts, should they not be in conformity with what is deemed as popular opinion. And what determines popular opinion? God alone knows? I for one, was neither asked my opinion on the demand for clemency, nor am I so presumptuous to believe that my previous blog could have had any effect on the Executive. That remains the case of many in my know and surrounds.

The justification that the State provides for having even stalled the scheduled execution of Mr. Afzal is that the President is seized of the matter, and pending his decision, the matter is on pause. And yes, had the State rejected the demand outright, it could have ensured that the Vale burn for another decade. Perhaps the worthy minister who issued the statement wishes to imply that a delayed rejection would have a somewhat different result. If the State will permit the Vale to burn, the Vale will burn! Let us not pretend to innocence, for we aren't bottle-suckling babies.

But what if the State crumbles so far as to grant Mr. Afzal a reprieve on his life, what is one to say that every other criminal sent to death row would muster up a crowd, and a following, and ensure that his/her death sentence is commuted? The Supreme Court has, through its directives, ensured that the death penalty is used only in the rarest of rare cases, and surely high treason falls in that category. To grant Mr. Afzal a reprieve would be to call into question the State's decision to hang Dhananjoy Chatterjee, who even if guilty of the most gruesome of crimes, still is innocent of treachery against his people.

Mr. Afzal's being an educated soul, a devoted family man and his assumption of other such roles shouldn't be used as a pretext to grant him clemency. Many men before him have died as traitors while assuming these and many other such ideal roles. If he is all that it is claimed he is, and I don't wish to doubt that even for a moment, then perhaps he would never have done all that he did, and I would not be writing this blog. But sadly, his happiness couldn't preempt him from committing high treason, could it? So the punishment is justified.

The State may wish to be seen as merciful, but I pray, not now. Not when your honour as a nation is at stake. Forget not those who have lain their lives to ensure that the scourge of terrorism is kept at bay. You, the keepers of Power, have the onerous responsibility of doing what will make history. Pray, do this job well!

The law must take its course...

The Indian judiciary may not be the paragon of virtue that the Goddess of Justice would have been proud to acclaim as her own, and yet it is as dignified and respectable as any judiciary is in a developed country, and even better in some cases. Its decision to reject the appeal of Mr. Mohammed Afzal is one rooted in common sense; no crime can be allowed to go unpunished, no criminal may presume that his/her act against society will be pardoned with the largesse that he/she denies that very society.

Whether Mr. Afzal is guilty or not is a matter that the good judges have debated over for weeks together, and I have full confidence in their impartiality in this, as in many other matters.

But it would seem that those whom we entrust the responsibility of safeguarding these laws are themselves set to undermine their efficacy. The Chief Ministers of Jammu & Kashmir, and Tamil Nadu, in their official capacities, have entreated the President to grant Mr. Afzal clemency and commute his sentence to life imprisonment.

The CM of Jammu & Kashmir, the native state of Mr. Afzal, reckons that should the Government of India fail to accept this request, the entire state of Jammu & Kashmir would erupt into flames. While it is true that popular sentiment is on the side of Mr. Afzal in some sections of society there, surely that is no excuse to deny those deserve justice their due. And if the CM is so very sure of his inability to control any conceivable situation, let him abdicate his chair, and let a more competent individual occupy it. But at least do not make such a mockery of the State that you claim to represent, from which you derive the legitimacy of your authority. And please, don't make this into a India vs a particular state affair, or a particular religion's matter because it is ever so much the affair of every denizen of this nation, irrespective of religious and regional affiliations.

Terrorism begets terrorism, and yet, the death penalty for Mr. Afzal is perhaps the least we can do in our society to people who have plotted against their nation, against their people, for whatever their reasons may have been, no matter how benevolent their motives may have been. Mr. Afzal has committed treason, and there ought to be no pardoning such crimes, for then what remains the efficacy of the laws?

True, laws are made for men, not the other way around, and yet I appeal to the better sense of the powers that be to refuse any demands for leniency. In 1989, we released a few terrorists and unleashed terror on the Vale. In 1999, we released another terrorist, and reinvigorated the flagging struggle. Let not Mr. Afzal become another symbol for these demons, who would kill innocents for their own ends!

I presume Mr. Afzal to be guilty, and yet, if he be innocent and has been framed, then he will be served justice in a Higher court, but on earth, let the laws of men take their course.

Trouble in BPOLand...

The Indian BPO professional has never felt as threatened by the world as now, and mind you, this has nothing to do with protesting crowds in front of state legislatures in far away Ohio or Indiana; no, this is all because of Channel 4.

Channel 4 who, or rather what? Well, this guardian of truth, the harbinger of liberty, has unleashed an 'unpleasant' truth on the world: India's not a safe place with your private information. And to prove this point, it uses a technique so the rage nowadays: a 'sting' operation. I wonder who got stung and by whom.

Channel 4 journalists are all set to reveal how a couple of unsavoury miscreants endeavoured and actually were ready to arrange for private and personal details of British citizens, collected by a BPO in India in the course of its interactions with them. Such details are by law required to be kept absolutely confidential, and only revealed if the individual concerned has no objection to it, and has explicitly stated so. So, clearly someone's breaking the law. Fine, bring out the guillotine, we have work to do.

But hold a second. Is Channel 4 insinuating that BPOs worldwide suffer from such problems, or is India the only culprit? Has Channel 4 conducted a sting in all countries wherein BPOs are located, and evaluated the standards of information management therein, and if so, what are the results? By results, I don't just mean India's; rather I am keen to see where India stands vis-a-vis the rest of the world. Because I refuse to accept that India is the only devil in this piece.

I mean, in the US, 148 cases of theft worth over $33 billion was reported last year. Worldwide, a French company has calculated frauds worth something like $60 billion. When these notables have shown their worth, surely one cannot grudge India her faults? I do not seek to be jingoistic or even suggest that the world is against India, and this is all part of a grand conspiracy to derail her progress in the world order. Hardly, because it don't make no difference to India.

But if Channel 4's only investigated India's BPOs and primarily because they happened to be in India, then I have reason to question the motives of the channel. Benevolent reporting is quite one thing, and malevolent mud-slinging is a different matter altogether. And mind you, this sting doesn't directly interact with a single BPO; rather it bases its conclusions on its interactions with two middlemen, men of questionable repute. I could advertise that I was in possession of such data, but that doesn't mean anything, does it? And hackers can hack into any secure system; so who's to say that these infamous gentlemen don't subscribe to the anarchist tendency of keeping all information open for all to see?

I may be wrong, maybe these allegations, these charges are true. If there be even an iota of truth in them, let those who have brought infamy on this sunshine industry be punished, and stricter control mechanisms put in place. Let us show to the world that we will not tolerate such nonsense, not now when we are seeking to conquer the world.

WOW!

I have never really been an avid TV serial watcher, much less an English serial watcher. Maybe because at my place, my folks aren't that keen on English sitcoms, and moreover, I never myself was able to understand the jokes, at least not until recently.
So all you fans of Friends, Seinfeld et al, here's a candid confession: I haven't watched a single episode of these fabulous series, but I guess I must start from now on.

Who or what has heralded this change of heart, or rather of sensibilities? Ankit, God bless his soul, is this absolutely incorrigible rascal at my workplace. I mean, this fellow's a genius; he's the reference point for all programming-related trouble-shooting, he reads (and man what an eclectic taste), and his taste in music is absolutely fantastic.
But what I think has been his best contribution to my routine so far has been introducing me to the wonder that is the English sitcom. In particular to this delightful series called 'Dead Like Me'. Although I have seen but one episode, I am floored: this is absolutely mind-blowing stuff. I mean, if this were our sun, Hindi serials are like in a different star cluster altogether.

The series is about this community of the Undead, although there's nothing sinister about these ones, like Bram Stoker's clan. These people are plain dead, and yet, they have the unpleasant task of gathering the souls of people, sometimes just before they are about to die, just to save them the pain and suffering of death. George Lass, the serial's protagonist and primary narrator, is a sorry case of a teenager. A college dropout, George can't get a job anywhere, and her attitude's not helping out either, what with her repartee with her career counselor ending up in her being assigned a most hellish job. And where all this is bad on the professional front, her relationships with her family is on similarly shaky ground. so all said and done, life pretty much sucks for young Ms. Lass.

When all's so 'nice and cosy', death comes knocking, at that in the most ironic way, what with a zero-G toilet seat from Mir's wreckage crashing down on her. And that introduces George to Rube, Daisy, Mason and Roxy, her local team of Reapers. Here begins the story of how George starts her journey of being a Reaper, her doubts about her task, and how one by one, she comes to realize that she had it all, and yet, while she lived, she had never realized its true worth.

A fabulous endeavor, and a most enjoyable watching experience! A must-watch for all those who value their time and their minds!