IndiaUnite is an advocacy group that fights against human rights violations in India and around the world. IndiaUnite was formed in the wake of the attacks in Mumbai on November 26th, 2008
Nikhil, while you indeed seem to genuinely care about these issues, i'm afraid i don't agree with the analysis. First off, you absolutely must blame this administration. The system does indeed have problems, but if the country elects a party led by a woman without even a college education who places incompetent people in the home ministry (american intel analyst's words) and beyond, this is what happens. What's worse, there is no accountability as 7 attacks later, this man has not been removed. And now, the leaders of his party now cut him out of important meetings (so he can neither do the job to begin with and will not be provided with the information needed to succeed).
Second, this is an ideology of hate that confronts the country. India did nothing to the leader of LeT, but he spews more hate than any victim of riots ever could. I agree that the politics of division hurts the country and must be contained, but that does not mean we have to blame the victim or ignore the nature of the threat India faces. It is not just kashmir they are after, it is not mere grievances that drive them, it is the destruction of secular India and her pluralistic society that they want. Everyone needs to recognize that.
Third, it is not enough to selectively pick cases where human rights have been violated. After all, we can't argue that because of what happened to Kashmiri pandits (pre-babri btw) that they too would be justified in picking up arms. What about the victims of the Mumbai attacks? Would their children be justified in doing the same? Human rights must be protected without rationalizing the crimes that were committed.
Lastly, POTA absolutely has flaws, but the country needs some legal infrastructure that lays a process and a system in place to allow security forces to effectively prevent these attacks and to operate most efficiently when they do take place. We can't argue against POTA simply because it is fashionable, but must suggest improvements or alternatives. In short, you can't give your police officers lathis and expect them to take on rpgs. There has to be an intelligent and fair system in place that allows for speedy trials and the necessary human intelligence to combat this. The UN recently faulted India for lax anti-terror laws.
Human rights is the mainstay of liberal democracy and must indeed be safeguarded (and equal protection must be provided to all regardless of background). However, we must also understand the true nature of the threat and vote in elected officials with a record of good governance and not mere scions of dynasties because of their media image. That is ultimately what is harming India (sycophancy and dynasty which breed incompetence). Speeches make us feel good, but action and good governance are true indicators of the strong political will and vision needed to defeat this menance, without violating our faith in democracy and pluralism and belief in human rights.
So in conclusion, please continue the very important work of advocating human rights and registering to vote. But also, please do consider these points as well.
Thanks for your response and willingness to discuss. Regarding the cong versus the bjp, i don't think it's a simple matter of secularism versus thuggery.
the bjp absolutely has its faults in terms of the issues that plague india (whether the handling of kandahar or gujarat in 2002); however, what the congress did in 84, post Indira was just as reprehensible if not more so. moreoever, while paying lip service to secularism and unity, the congress has created its own caste-creed formulations (i.e. KHAM) and special privileges for communities rather than ensuring a government for all.
I don't mean for this to devolve into partisan debates, but I do think there is an important distinction between the bjp and congress. ultimately what india needs is good governance, but when you have a party led by an unqualified woman who owes her power to marriage, then she will only trust the most loyal sycophants (whether mms or patil) who offer a good enough front but lack real competence and authority, and will do what is necessary to secure power for her son rather than what is in the interests of the country; moreover, she absolutely is in control considering that europe recognized her as "the extra constitutional locus of power" and china snubbed the pm and only invited the cong pres and family. In such an environment, government goes to the highest bidder (which is what we saw during the confidence vote). it is after looking at india's polity through this prism that one can conclude which really is the lesser of two evils.
i definitely agree with you about the importance of having a central agency and a central database. the fbi in the us affords an excellent model of integrated counterterrorism with law enforcement. preventive training for india's police is an absolute must for defense. accordingly, p.v. narasimha rao (probably india's best pm, scandals aside, he understood statecraft), established the appropriate counter-terror response (you need offense as well as defense) through a variety of RAW programs until gujral ended them with his ridiculous "disproportionate reciprocity" doctrine.
ultimately, i think the civil society in india needs to mobilize, and a real patriotic left party needs to emerge to give balance to the bjp (the cong and cpi clearly don't fit the bill) and to ensure a healthy equilibrium in india's politics. perhaps the movement among youth that you suggested earlier could pave the way to such a party. either way, thanks for the discussion.
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well said nikhil. make sure ppl read this.
Remember this song...always.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ399KOoNRA
Nikhil, while you indeed seem to genuinely care about these issues, i'm afraid i don't agree with the analysis. First off, you absolutely must blame this administration. The system does indeed have problems, but if the country elects a party led by a woman without even a college education who places incompetent people in the home ministry (american intel analyst's words) and beyond, this is what happens. What's worse, there is no accountability as 7 attacks later, this man has not been removed. And now, the leaders of his party now cut him out of important meetings (so he can neither do the job to begin with and will not be provided with the information needed to succeed).
Second, this is an ideology of hate that confronts the country. India did nothing to the leader of LeT, but he spews more hate than any victim of riots ever could. I agree that the politics of division hurts the country and must be contained, but that does not mean we have to blame the victim or ignore the nature of the threat India faces. It is not just kashmir they are after, it is not mere grievances that drive them, it is the destruction of secular India and her pluralistic society that they want. Everyone needs to recognize that.
Third, it is not enough to selectively pick cases where human rights have been violated. After all, we can't argue that because of what happened to Kashmiri pandits (pre-babri btw) that they too would be justified in picking up arms. What about the victims of the Mumbai attacks? Would their children be justified in doing the same? Human rights must be protected without rationalizing the crimes that were committed.
Lastly, POTA absolutely has flaws, but the country needs some legal infrastructure that lays a process and a system in place to allow security forces to effectively prevent these attacks and to operate most efficiently when they do take place. We can't argue against POTA simply because it is fashionable, but must suggest improvements or alternatives. In short, you can't give your police officers lathis and expect them to take on rpgs. There has to be an intelligent and fair system in place that allows for speedy trials and the necessary human intelligence to combat this. The UN recently faulted India for lax anti-terror laws.
Human rights is the mainstay of liberal democracy and must indeed be safeguarded (and equal protection must be provided to all regardless of background). However, we must also understand the true nature of the threat and vote in elected officials with a record of good governance and not mere scions of dynasties because of their media image. That is ultimately what is harming India (sycophancy and dynasty which breed incompetence). Speeches make us feel good, but action and good governance are true indicators of the strong political will and vision needed to defeat this menance, without violating our faith in democracy and pluralism and belief in human rights.
So in conclusion, please continue the very important work of advocating human rights and registering to vote. But also, please do consider these points as well.
Regards
Hello Nikhil,
Thanks for your response and willingness to discuss. Regarding the cong versus the bjp, i don't think it's a simple matter of secularism versus thuggery.
the bjp absolutely has its faults in terms of the issues that plague india (whether the handling of kandahar or gujarat in 2002); however, what the congress did in 84, post Indira was just as reprehensible if not more so. moreoever, while paying lip service to secularism and unity, the congress has created its own caste-creed formulations (i.e. KHAM) and special privileges for communities rather than ensuring a government for all.
I don't mean for this to devolve into partisan debates, but I do think there is an important distinction between the bjp and congress. ultimately what india needs is good governance, but when you have a party led by an unqualified woman who owes her power to marriage, then she will only trust the most loyal sycophants (whether mms or patil) who offer a good enough front but lack real competence and authority, and will do what is necessary to secure power for her son rather than what is in the interests of the country; moreover, she absolutely is in control considering that europe recognized her as "the extra constitutional locus of power" and china snubbed the pm and only invited the cong pres and family. In such an environment, government goes to the highest bidder (which is what we saw during the confidence vote). it is after looking at india's polity through this prism that one can conclude which really is the lesser of two evils.
i definitely agree with you about the importance of having a central agency and a central database. the fbi in the us affords an excellent model of integrated counterterrorism with law enforcement. preventive training for india's police is an absolute must for defense. accordingly, p.v. narasimha rao (probably india's best pm, scandals aside, he understood statecraft), established the appropriate counter-terror response (you need offense as well as defense) through a variety of RAW programs until gujral ended them with his ridiculous "disproportionate reciprocity" doctrine.
ultimately, i think the civil society in india needs to mobilize, and a real patriotic left party needs to emerge to give balance to the bjp (the cong and cpi clearly don't fit the bill) and to ensure a healthy equilibrium in india's politics. perhaps the movement among youth that you suggested earlier could pave the way to such a party. either way, thanks for the discussion.
best,
A
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