The Condemned Children of Campa Cola Compound. Mumbai. India

The Condemned Children of  Campa Cola Compound. Mumbai. India

They have done no wrong. Yet they will soon be rendered homeless, probably find their future jeopardized, their parents broken in spirit and body, and would possibly carry this trauma as a scar, lifelong. 

Where did this catastrophe begin? Well their parents put in their hard earned money into buying an apartment in the city of dreams, Mumbai. The buildings are located in what is called the Campa Cola Compound at an up-market residential area called Worli. Come the middle of November, they will be evicted from their homes, which will be demolished. And this will happen, for the lone reason, that the unscrupulous builder from whom they purchased this flat, did not get the necessary approvals from the municipal authorities. The builder exceeded the permitted built up area by 10% or so and did not pay the complete penalty required of him to the municipal authorities. The flats he built and sold, had therefore become unlawful and illegal. They were malum prohibitum and had to be removed, according to the courts. The irony here is that the people who will bear the consequence of this judgment ,are clearly not guilty of any wrong doing, either malum prohibitum or malum in se.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Campa-Cola-paid-Rs-6L-fine-to-regularize-society-in-1986/articleshow/24895028.cms

As the news report attached suggests, in effect, the bona fide flat owners are being duped twice. Once by the builder who took all their money and gave them flats without revealing all the material facts of the asset they were buying into. And now, by the Brihanmumbai Muncipal Corporation, which now is evicting them without  prosecuting the builder and recovering the penalty from him in the first place. http://www.moneylife.in/article/ca-cola-case-how-residents-will-be-duped-twice/34834.html

 A news report in a leading daily suggests that the BMC did not act against the violations by the builder and did not stop the construction or demolish the illegal construction because the builder was a dreaded underworld figure! Now that the buildings have been sold to law abiding citizens, it is quite happily and with rarely seen gusto ready to demolish the buildings, never mind what happens to the legal part of the buildings. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Campa-Cola-violations-wouldve-stopped-if-BMC-had-acted-says-architect/articleshow/25528738.cms

The Metropolitan Court  has now ordered a probe against the builder, something people would have expected the authorities  to do two decades ago when the whole issue cropped up in the first place!! http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report-initiate-probe-against-campa-cola-builders-metropolitan-court-tells-worli-police-1902815

So now we have a situation where youngsters have their academic careers ruined, parents who are financially and mentally devastated, grandparents and elderly who are practically on the streets, all because of a procedural excess by an unscrupulous builder and lax municipal authorities who let this issue snowball into a tsunami which has now ruined nearly a 100 families!!. Naturally, for the children and their elders, it is a “do or die” battle for their homes and their lives..

 http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-do-or-die-battle-for-campa-cola-residents-1914351

The legislators, including the Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, can intervene and pass an ordinance to stop the demolitions. However, no such intent seems to be in evidence.

 http://www.firstpost.com/mumbai/chavan-may-not-bite-the-bullet-for-ordinance-to-save-campa-cola-1218577.html

The demolitions proposed are prima facie impractical and fraught with technical problems. In addition, the act of demolishing the top floors alone, pose grave risk and inconvenience to the residents of “legal floors and flats”, below. Technology is not available to do demolitions of a few flats alone at the top, without affecting the structural safety of the buildings. There is also the question of managing the supply of essential drinking water, during the demolition, which is the legal right of the residents. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-07/mumbai/43773271_1_campa-cola-legal-floors-structures

The builder is clearly the person who has to be prosecuted and the dues for the additional FSI used has to be recovered from him. It is a mystery as to why this is not being done and the unholy hurry in destroying these hundred homes. In fact, the manner in which the municipal authorities have handled this issue has come up for criticism.There are allegations flying around that the BMC does not want to open a “can of worms” at this stage and wants to bury this whole issue in a rubble. If there is no action against the builder and the bona fide owners of these flats compensated, these allegations will only fester and prove costly for the authorities when the elections arrive.

 http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-31/mumbai/43558985_1_campa-cola-bmc-rais-shaikh

A Government which claims to be for the “common man” should NOT act in a manner which actually suits a Government for the “common criminal”. The public opinion on this issue has already been documented and published.

 http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-03/mumbai/43627953_1_campa-cola-10-mumbaikars-brihanmumbai-municipal-corporation

 Lets hope this Gandhian  and peaceful struggle by the condemned and cursed families of Campa Cola does not result in any loss of innocent lives… 

 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/four-campa-cola-residents-on-hunger-strike/1191287/

P.S.

11^th and 12^th November 2013.

On the day of the eviction decreed there was high drama at the  Campa Cola Compound. http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/campa-cola-compound-residents-fight-eviction-as-officials-start-disconnecting-power-water-supply-445123

And finally the rescue came in the form of a stay from the Supreme Court of India. We hope things are resolved before May 2014. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/and/nation/Campa-Cola-housing-society-SC-stays-demolition-till-May-31-2014/articleshow/25686172.cms

The Supreme Court ruling clearly understands the human interest involved in the case apart from the literal interpretation of the law and gives hope to the people of Campa Cola Compound. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sc-stays-campa-cola-demolition-may-consider-plan-for-separate-building/1194371/1

Ends.
 I am not a resident of Campa Cola Society, but I believe this is an injustice that should be stopped.

“Then I'll be all aroun' in the dark. I'll be ever'where - wherever you look. Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an' - I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready. An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build, why, I'll be there.” - Tom Joad. 
From the novel "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck.

Har Ghar Kuch Kehta He - Love in the times of house hunting :A Mumbai story

Love in the times of house hunting( Har ghar kuch kehta he!)

I guess anyone and everyone who had to fend for himself and not depend on his parents wealth, would have  passed through these times; staying in a metro as a paying guest, putting up with idiosyncratic landlords and inane rules, dealing with rogues who appear as real estate agents and who seem to thrive on sucking your lifeblood every eleven months, wishing that you had a place to call your own where you would be the king,  living life exactly the way you want, without bother. I went through these pangs during the early part of my career but thanks to Gangadharan Menon, my creative partner, and my parents egging,I finally dared to buy a piece of the Mumbai sky in the late 90's. An investment that was timely, and has proved to be wise.
My immediate motive at that time, was that any girl I brought home as my wife, should not have to stay as a tenant and should have free reign of her home and kitchen. An archaic thought possibly. However, the house happened, but the home never got started :) To para phrase Neil French, when I was young and homeless, they wanted an address, when I got one, they wanted somebody younger, so there I am, king of my four walls and all by myself! But not very unhappy about it, I must confess!!! You see, it brought home a truth, that true happiness comes from within, and it does not depend on the four walls of concrete around you!!

The songs below tell the tale of a fictional story that captures the Mumbai spirit well. Enjoy.

The hunt begins...


Weaving dreams and keeping the wolf away....


Reality bites ...

THE LAW AND THE COMMON MAN: R.I.P. COMMON SENSE

THE LAW AND THE COMMON MAN: R.I.P. COMMON SENSE

The Act altering the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code was passed without any debate in Parliament. We therefore, do not know the reasons for this being passed so quickly.
In the light of the terrorist attacks and the prevailing sense that the law enforcement machinery needed to be strengthened, to protect those who pay taxes and abide by the law, this one comes as a shocker.
Laws are meant to capture the reality of the times and seek to make the world around us safer. They should provide the tax paying, law abiding citizen an environment where he can exercise his rights to a peaceful life and pursue happiness without restraints that are unfair within the meaning of natural justice. This Act seems to do just the opposite and is devoid of any "common sense".

President okays 7-year hitch for arrests
19 Jan 2009, 0048 hrs IST, Vishwa Mohan, TNN


NEW DELHI: The recently-revamped Criminal Procedure Code, which divests police of arrest powers in cases where maximum sentence is upto seven years, become law with President Pratibha Patil finally giving her assent last week.

The presidential assent, which came nearly three weeks after the bill was sent to her after getting it passed from Parliament, has now paved the way for the government to notify it.

Once the law, CrPC (Amendment) Act 2008, becomes effective, the police, instead of arresting the accused, will be obliged to issue him/her a "notice of appearance" for any offence punishable with imprisonment up to seven years. The person can be arrested only if he/she does not appear before the police in response to the notice.

Seven years or less is the maximum penalty for a host of offences, including attempt to commit culpable homicide, robbery, attempt to suicide, kidnapping, voluntarily causing grievous hurt, cheating, outraging a woman's modesty and death caused by negligence.

The radical change in the CrPC has, however, drawn flak from a number of Bar associations across the country. Lawyers -- who also observed strike in various courts after the bill was passed in Parliament -- argue that the amendment (in Section 41) doing away with mandatory arrest provisions would remove fear from the minds of criminals who would misuse the provisions under the garb of personal liberty.

Under Section 41, as it originally stood, a police officer may, without an order of a magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person who has been concerned in any cognisabale offence.

Some chief ministers had also voiced concerns on the amendment during a conference on internal security here on January 6.

Allaying those concerns, home minister P Chidambaram wrote to all CMs a week later on January 13 and explained why it was necessary to bring such changes in the CrPC.

Referring to Section 41 of the Act, Chidambaram said in his letter, "This provision was severely criticised as capable of being misused and, in fact, was being misused." To substantiate his point, he advised CMs to refer to reports of the Law Commission and the Malimath Committee and also the judgment of the Supreme Court in D K Basu case which laid down guidelines for effecting arrest.

Advising CMs to see the amendments in the light of those suggestions and guidelines, Chidambaram, however, assured them that the government was ready to revisit the provisions, if it became necessary, in the next session of Parliament.

The amendment in CrPC, however, allows police to arrest without an order from a magistrate and without a warrant a person who commits a cognisable offence "in the presence of a police officer".

It also enables arrest of "a person who has committed a cognisable offence (punishable for a term which may be less than 7 years or extend upto 7 years) if there is a reasonable complaint or credible information or a reasonable suspicion and the police officer is satisfied that such arrest is necessary for proper investigation of the offence or for preventing tampering with the evidence". The only additional requirement in such cases is that the police officer will have "to record his reasons" for making the arrest.

The law further says that a police officer arresting a person will have to bear his identification badge or tag. Besides, a memorandum of arrest shall be prepared, witnessed and countersigned. The person arrested shall be told that he has the right to inform a relative or friend.

vishwa.mohan@timesgroup.com


Whatis not reported or addressed:
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A "POLICE OFFICER" AND "POLICE" EFFECTING ARREST? WHAT SHOULD A CONSTABLE OR CONSTABLES DO, WHEN THEY SEE GOONS MOLESTING A WOMAN? GIVE THEM 'A NOTICE OF APPEARANCE'? WE OFTEN SEE CONVICTS 'GOING UNDERGROUND', 'JUMPING PAROLE', AND 'GIVING COPS THE SLIP'. SHOULD THEY BE GIVEN 'NOTICE OF APPEARANCE'? CAN MOST OF THE CASE SHEETERS IN THIS COUNTRY READ? DOES THIS LEGISLATION CONFUSE AND CREATE MORE IMPEDIMENTS, OR DOES IT MAKE THE LAW LIFE EASIER FOR THE COMMON MAN?

TILL DATE ONLY ONE OR MORE OF THE BLAST CASES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PROSECUTED AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT METED OUT.THERE ARE MORE THAN 40 ODD BLAST CASES IN MUMBAI AND ELSEWHERE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN CLOSED. EVEN HIGH PROFILE CASES LIKE THE ARUSHI MURDER CASE, RAPE OF THE TOURISTS IN GOA AND ELSEWHERE,THE NOIDA PANDHER MASS PEADICIDE, ETC ARE HANGING FIRE.

THERE IS NO POINT EXTRADITING CRIMINALS AND ACCUSING PAKISTAN, WHEN WE CANNOT BRING THOSE WITH US IN CUSTODY TO JUSTICE AND CLOSURE AND FOLLOW UP ON 'TRAINING CAMPS' IN THE COUNTRY (WHICH ACCORDING TO SOME MEDIA ARTICLES, EXISTS IN VAGAMON IN KERALA FROM WHERE SOME TERRORISTS WERE ARRESTED ON THEIR WAY TO KASHMIR).

R.I.P. Common Sense.The response of a Common Man.

We mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his
birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar
in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense lost the will to live as religion became a business and
criminals received better treatment than their victims and ended up representing them in houses meant to pass laws.

Common sense finally gave up when it found that its god-father Justice, was keeping a mistress called Crime and spent most of his time in her twin sister Corruption’s house.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents Truth and Trust, by his
wife Discretion his daughter, Responsibility, and his son Reason.

He is survived by his siblings, “Human rights for every Tom, Dick, (Prick and Harami)”, “Keep stray dogs on the streets (No, we cannot adopt them full- time)”, “My ancestors were ill treated, so now you guys compensate and suffer”, “My religion is not numerically popular, I need to be treated differently”, “I was born in this latitude-longitude, so rest of you guys can bounce”, “I see him on the idiot box, so he is God and the Truth”.

God save us, Eeshwaro Rakshathu, Eeshwar hee Raksha,. Khuda Hafeez, Budhham Sharanam Gachami.

(Inspired from a similar article that appeared in the media in UK. This is not an original piece and has been adapted to the current situation here in India)

IPL vs ICL Why the first mover came last and a Business Man's Guide to IPL

I was pleasantly surprised to see that SOLUS, a magazine brought out by the Advertising Club of Mumbai,had carried my article on the relative performance of the Indian Premier League and the Indian Cricket League.This was initially published in June 2008.
Given that the next season the Indian Premier League is due this summer, it may make for an interesting read. The ICL had its second season this winter and the results could be evaluated against this backdrop.

CLICK HERE

The full article on the IPL which is a "Guide to the Businessman" is available on clicking this link

CLICK HERE

Vinod Natesan
Mayan Consultants International
natesanvinod@rediffmail.com

QUICK PROFILE:
Mr. Vinod Natesan, Proprietor of Mayan Consultants International, is a post graduate of the Institute of Rural Management Anand. In the 19 years in the industry, he has been associated as a marketing consultant with the World Bank and NDDB, has serviced ITC, Procter & Gamble Unilever and Telco accounts while working for FCB, Lowe and Leo Burnett. He headed the Mumbai branch of PSL McCann Erickson, winning numerous creative awards like the Clio for work done on the Guestline Hotels and the Mahindra brands. In 2000, he joined, JWT as Assoc Vice President & Strategy Planning Director on the De Beers account and was part of the team that won the Effies and the Subash Ghoshal trophy for the Nakshatra launch. In 2002, he shifted to the Middle East and has been handling marketing assignments with retail groups like the Landmark Group, with Tourism promotion bodies in Tunisia and with tourism related authorities in Kerala. His last stint was with the Emirate of Ras al Khaimah, where he set up the Tourism Office and the Media City and left it as the Head of Operations, RAK Investment Authority. He has also been a visiting faculty in most of the management institutes in Mumbai since 1996. He currently operates out of Mumbai and is involved with projects in Trivandrum, Hamburg, Jharkhand and Mumbai. These include project feasibility and appraisal studies, advisories on market entry into India, tourism infrastructure related surveys and diagnostics and also advertising and marketing strategy related assignments.
PUBLICATIONS:
http://www.agencyfaqs.com/perl/news/index.html?sid=17427
http://www.adclubbombay.com/index.php/solus/511-why-the-first-mover-came-last

BLOGS:
http://vinodnatesansportfolio.blogspot.com
http://vnreferences.blogspot.com/
http://mayanmuse.blogspot.com

http://corpgypsy.blogspot.com/

http://moviebizz.blogspot.com/

WEB SITE

www.vinodnatesan.com

A Citizen's Charter

CITIZENS CHARTER – 10 points

A few points after the Mumbai terror attacks, just so that the flame is kept alive.

1)The death of Mr Karkare and the19 policemen have indicated the crying need to provide better arms, equipment and training for our police force. Outdated guns, sub-standard bullet proof jackets, poor infra-structure were exposed in the attack and what saved the day to an extent was personal commitment shown by some of these officers and foot soldiers.

2) The law enforcement personnel need to be paid better and the pending demands for salary revisions and more humane working conditions need to be addressed promptly. Fratricide among the CISF and CRP is occurring too frequently for comfort. If casualties in the line of duty were not enough, suicides due to work related stress seems to be the next cause for loss of life among security forces.This needs to be addressed with more headcount and more human working conditions rather than YOGA sessions. The people to police ratio is the worst in this country. Recruitment would help assuage the unemployment issue apart from winning votes.( just in case this has escaped the notice of the establishment).
There are quite a few Commissions that have urged reforms in the working of the law enforcement machinery. Dusting these files of cobweb and getting the likes of Kiran Bedi, Robeiro et al and starting an Action Committee to implement these across the country, would be the right step (or left step- depending on the political leaning)

3). A three tier structure, with a federal police force, a state level force and a district level force, could be looked at. The National “Investigative” Agency is fine, but there is already a CBI. To prevent two “investigating” each others pants off, the NIA should focus on terrorism and law and order problems that are federal in nature. Terrorism, separatism, violent and criminal acts by one linguistic group against another, should fall in its purview, so that it can act where the local force is unable to, though it wants to , or does not want to, though it is able to. The CBI should continue to focus on criminal investigations which are referred to it and which have multi-state ramifications. Recently the rapist son of a high ranking police chief in an Orrissa gave the police in Rajasthan the slip. Till date, the chase is on and even “Times Now” , with its always indignant, holier than thou, Arnab Goswami, in spite of his inquisitionary zeal has lost stamina and interest and has moved onto other juicier stories for the “nation is watching” hour at 9pm! An intra- state police force would have saved the day, or would have found it difficult to come up with excuses for the lapse!!
The recent investigations into various frauds have thrown up the need for specialized know how and skills. Cyber crime is another area where know- how needs to be augmented and specialized teams set up. Use of CCTV’s etc would anyway call for IT skills to be enhanced across the forces. White collar crime is on the increase and investigations and recovery of assets is a tricky business. Unless the skills on the law enforcement is as good as that on the other side, it will be a game of catch me if you can with the law enforcement beginning to resemble the famous Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther fame.

4) Life would become simpler too, if criminal investigation and implementation of the criminal procedure code is separated from crowd control and public safety. The Police Act is an anachronism and a British legacy. It needs to be made contemporary. The criminal procedure code needs review. Incorporating technological progress into the Evidence Act needs to be implemented. The number of courts and platforms for the judiciary to deliver justice needs to be enhanced significantly. "Justice delayed is justice denied". It is delayed decisions and the dilatory tactics (tareek pe tareek), that encourage crime. There is a feeling that one can get away with anything if one has the right connections. The law is not only blind, it is beginning to look as if it is deaf, dumb and handicapped!!!

5) People and politicians have mentioned the undue importance to “lal bathis”. There is need to augment the investments in safety/ security of public transport systems too. This is felt even more with the railways and road transport operations. While there is some improvement, a lot still needs to be done.

Separation of VIP security from the routine law enforcement functions needs to
be looked at. The option of a "protection tax" should be levied on politicians
and elected representatives who avail of it beyond a certain level. While “positional security” is a must for people who hold public office, we need to be rational in its implementation. Where the travel is not for fulfilling the requirements of the public office and is personal in nature (party work), the expenditure must be debited to the user of the security. There should also be reasonable restrictions on movement of such V.V.I.P’s so that the externality to the common citizen is reduced.

6) Licensing and monitoring of security agencies should be made stricter and they should be provided greater powers like permission to use sophisticated firearms to ensure protection of private property. Private parties then can afford to arrange for their own safety. With kidnapping becoming an industry in itself and a popular means of earning a livelihood among the vast unemployed in the Northern States, private security may become a necessity for most people in the upper income groups. Not everyone is an Adobe CEO , to cough up lakhs at short notice and throw it from running trains! If the law enforcement cannot deliver, the ‘potential ransom’ is better utilized as security costs. At least children are prevented from going through the trauma of a kidnap!!

7) Implementation of "bio metric smart cards' and integrating the electoral
rolls, ration cards, passport documents should be undertaken and monitored.
Public sector outlays in this area should increase the money flow and provide
sucour to the economy that is slowing down. Apart from ensuring that welfare projects and funds reach the right beneficiary, it also helps in monitoring and managing law and order problems. Linkage with other documents also ensures speedier investigations/ verifications of identity and less likelihood of infiltrations/illegal migrants and impostors.

8) The armed forces need substantial outlays to obtain better equipment and know how. This needs to be addressed. The condition of the air force is well known and has been the theme of a popular movie also (Rang De Basanti). The navy's inability to protect our rather long coastline has been exposed with the Mumbai blasts.

9) I think there is a need to ensure corrective action. As the saying goes "if
you wrong me once, shame on you, if you wrong me twice, shame on me"
The US never allowed a repeat of 9/11. UK ensured that the blasts there were
history, we seem to be impotent when it comes to the safety and dignity of our
people. The 1993 bomb blast accused and those who abetted them find supporters and sympathisers and seem to be walking around free. This includes an underworld don who was extradited from Portugal! The law should be the same for pick pockets and mass murderers, as well as those who aid them in any which way, never mind that they are popular film stars who enact national heroes in movies. People who lost their near and dear one's are also human beings and have rights.

10) Perversely and I hate myself for saying this, the only positive aspect in this
blast is that it is the powerful and the rich that was under attack and
therefore there is likely to be corrective action. If it had been another
suburban train where this had happened, things would have gone back to usual
with the usual platitudes about the "Resilience" of "Mumbai", the "Spirit of
Mumbai" and the followers of La Dolce Vita would have been partying this weekend with abandon. They would probably then make noises for stray dogs to be protected better, never mind if another construction labourer's child is
mistaken for garbage by these canines and pose for PETA with no clothes on. To add insult to injury, they would probably do a "fashion show" for the “poor accused” under POTA, who were accused “without proof “and whose "human rights" were violated!

Well now it is different, "enough is enough" is the headline among the voting public and Thank God for that!!
Amen

Post Script: 16th December 2008
At the time of sending this there is legislation being filed to handle the possibility of future terror attacks. One hopes that it does not take another 26/11 to get the political establishment to ensure that the right to life and liberty,to own property, to move freely in the country are fundamental to the citizens and it is their responsibility to see that it is not violated. The laws and the ways to implement them, should be updated and made relevant to the times that we live in. We seem to be living in an era where the “underworld” is the dispenser of “instant justice” and an extra constitutional authority instead of the democratic institutions!
This is the only explanation for the huge resources, network and consequently, clout, that these “anti-socials” seem to command.

We need to move to a status quo where we need not worry about our children being kidnapped, our women being teased or molested, our land and assets being seized from us without due compensation or consent, or life being taken simply because we were born into a place or to people whose religious faith we could not have decided.

As Tagore said,

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

Amen

A Common Man's Wednesday

Wednesday of the “aam aadmi, bina gutli wala”

“Wednesday” was a movie devoid of “stars” and made on a modest scale by UTV Movies. It did phenomenal business. A “common man” fed up of the constant bomb blasts in the name of religion, decided to strike back. He chose “Wednesday” since most of the attacks on innocent common men were on Fridays, Tuesdays etal! He chose to retaliate, because, he probably felt that the ‘greatest triumph for evil is for good men to do nothing by it ‘! The establishment was doing nothing and instead, seemed to unwittingly abet terrorism, if not aid it, by its impotence and/or incompetence.

Sometimes, real life imitates the reel life, instead of vice-versa. The attack this Wednesday, in Mumbai, is not exactly a replica of the movie. It is different in many ways. For starters, the bad guys are not the ones who get killed. Many law enforcement officers with impeccable and untarnished records, have lost their lives. Salaskar who could put the fear of God into known “Don’s”, and/or “Daddy’s” was shot dead. Hemant Karkare another highly respected officer and head of the ATS, was shot in the chest (in spite of a bullet proof vest?) and lost his life. There are plenty of civilians, whose only fault, is that they choose to travel by rail on Wednesday night from VST, or chose to walk by Leopold, or even Flora Fountain. Never mind, which religion they followed, what their linguistic orientation, they were all “common men and women’, who were in Mumbai that night.

The Government for the “aam admi” or the “common man” seems to resemble an government of the “aam admi” alright, but of the “bina gutliwala” variety, the one that paradoxically, a soft drink company was promoting as being the juiciest! The common man is certainly a juicy proposition for the dispensation. He is open to exploitation without resistance and he is without a voice, or even a soul. ”Bina gutliwala” to be exact!

Tata Tea in its commercial, requests us to wake up and have a cup of tea. Jago re! says an obnoxious little youngster with a “Mr. Know All” air about him, as he goes around smugly exhorting anyone he sees, to cast their vote. In an earlier commercial, they suggested interviewing the local candidate(MLA/MP) and checking his credentials! Knowing the history of political suffrage in this country, one would be tempted to ask the team on Tata Tea, to wake up and smell the coffee!. But one should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. At least there is a recognition that something is wrong, and that it needs to be corrected. After all, ‘the mile long journey has to begin with the first step’! ‘Jago re’ sounds very much like the clarion call of Vivekananda, “awake arise and stop not till the goal is reached”. However ,the solution is NOT simply in VOTING , but finding the right people to STAND FOR ELECTIONS and ensuring that the ones WHO STAND FOR ELECTIONS DO WHAT IS RIGHT. It’s not so much about checking credentials, but using the system to one’s advantage and organizing groups which can be effective in the system. It is about uniting for a common cause and standing by people who need help and raising your voice and might for what is right. Corporate denizens do this in dead earnest, when it comes to petty office politics and gossip, but somehow loose the plot, when it comes to the large canvas!!

There are however, some exceptions. Silver linings, even as the clouds of despair and darkness, seem to be overhead. The agitation against the destruction of the “silent valley” in the 90’s in Kerala, the legislation to introduce “RTI” in recent times, have all been gains for the common man, as also the legal vigilante protests in Jessica Lal and other cases. Terrorism can be rooted out if there is political will and if we ensure that whoever is guilty of it, irrespective of whether he is a film star, or a ganglord, or a celebrity, gets the maximum punishment possible. Importantly, the punishment should be sufficient deterrent for prospective terrorists. I believe this is where we loose out. Public memory is short and we have “human rights activists”, who seem to be unable to define what a “human being” is and how to provide justice to the aggrieved “human beings” , who have lost their innocent kith and kin, who were also “human beings”, till their lives were snatched away!

Our legal system is too slow and very often, even the convicted get reprieves due to red tape. I see no reason for government money being spent, to keep these “creatures” alive. We have seen innocent hostages being taken by terrorists, to secure the release of their convicted colleagues, as in the Air India Kandahar case, when the BJP was in power.

An eye for an eye, does not make the world blind, it ensures that you have at least one eye left! I think Mahatma Gandhi got his arithmetic wrong! If my will goes, it should be both eyes for an eye for strategic reasons and a kneecap for the road!

Amen

Interior of a movie star's mansion in Mumbai

Interior of a movie star's mansion in Mumbai

Interior of a movie star's mansion in Mumbai

Interior of a movie star's mansion in Mumbai