JUSTICE V R KRISHNA IYER: INCARNATION OF JUSTICE

A colossus of justice is no more after completing 100 years of mortal existence .

A synonym of  justice , VR Krishna Iyer's life and contribution has only few parallels in post-Independent India. As Minister of Law in the first democratically elected Communist government on earth led by EMS Namboodiripad in Kerala, iyer piloted the epochmaking land reform legislation  which conferred land rights to the dispossessed landless poor and the Dalits. Since then,for nearly 60 years ,Iyer carried his crusade for justice for the deprived and the  neglected as Minister, Lawyer,Supreme Court judge,and social activist.

Justice Iyer changed the political, social and legal landscape of India through his landmark judgements. His judgement on the redefinition of INDUSTRY under the Industrial Disputes Act has brought unimaginable benefits to the working class.He abolished the cruel practice of routine handcuffing of prisoners.He ordered that the prisoners could study, write examinations ,write articles and books during their jail sentence . Justice Iyer is the main father figure of PIL (Public Interest Litigation) in the country which has revolutionised Indian jurisprudence ,and ensured  justice to the millions and protected  people from the arbitrariness of the politicians,bureaucracy , police and other oppressive forces .Justice Iyer's  social change making judicial pronouncements are legion.His siglehanded contribution for the well-being and development of the people of India is more than even that of a goverment.

Till the last breath Justice Iyer worked for people's causes through speeches, campaigns , letters, etc.. His was the voice of hope for the desperate. A personal experience is unforgettable.He inaugurated a conference on human rights at Chennai straight from the hospital after a heart related surgery despite the advice of the doctors because he had  earlier assured us that he would inaugurate the programme.After the inauguration, we dropped him at the hospital. A rare commitment.

 Justice Iyer's judgements are literary pieces worth reading again and again. The government of India should commission a team of scholars to document Justice Iyer's judgements, speeches and letters for wider dissemination.

One debatable spot in Justice Iyer's unblemished career is his judgement on the Allahabad High Court order which enabled Indira Gandhi to continue as Prime Minister in 1975 .The declaration of National Emergency by Mrs. Gandhi is attributed to Iyer's judgement. This controversy in no way undermines the phenomenal life and service to the nation and the people by Justice Iyer.The eminent jurist deserved Bharath Ratna during his life time. Having failed to do so, his memory may be honoured with a posthumous Bharath Ratna as that would be a recognition of the causes of human rights, social justce, and equity

so dear to the great man and so vital for the Indian nation.

CORRUPTION COUNTRY INDIA

India has too many public servants both elected and selected.Barring a fraction of these servants, the public servants loot the public  without fear of law or feeling of guilt.

Yadav Singh is a public servant in Uttar Pradesh. He without an engineering degree moved up the ladder of government service till 1995 from 1980. When he was to be promoted as Project Engineer there was a minor technical hurdle. He needed an engineering degree, and it appears that he managed to get the four year degree in three years.A brilliant man.Singh moved ahead and became Engineer-in-Chief of Noida. He was very humble to all persons around him. He built a house for his family: a sprawling three-storied mansion or palace. A recent Income Tax department raids located movable and immovable property worth at least Rs 1,000 crore.Singh appears to be a lover of exquisite art work as his collections included a two kilogram diamond studded ornament suitable for gods and goddesses in Temples. Yadav Singh is now rated as India's Corrupt Number One. Sachin Tendulkar's cricket records may be difficult to be broken. But Yadav Singh's ranking may be overtaken by some other enterprising public servant as the batting ground is flat and the bowling/fielding attack is weak. These can be fixed.

Recently a senior IAS officer of the rank of Principal Secretary in Kerala  Mr.Suraj has been in the electronic and print media for disproportionate assets and unaccounted cash. Suraj has  strong political blessing and he has come forward with "explanations justifying the cash in his house". The case is on and may be he will be promoted one day. A similar case of an IPS officer in Kerala has been in the news often. But he is now IG of police !


From peon to principal secretary, corruption is an hourly occurrence in India.
No department or daily activity of the common man is corruption-free.But we should remember that these public servants create enormous wealth,though not for the nation. Many share the bribe amount with Gods as penance. As  no givernment in Independent India has succeeded in eliminating or even reducing  the menace of corruption, let the state and central governments institute Arjuna Awards to these public sernants. After all, corruption is an art and a sport.

REGULATING SOCIAL WORK IN INDIA

Ever since the early years of the emergence of schools of social work in India, serious concerns were expressed by social work professionals and others actively engaged in social welfare in the country. The Indian Conference of Social Work ( now, Indian Council of Social Welfare ) was the first organization to propose the creation of a statutory body to regulate social work education in India in the late 1950s .Since then the Ministry of Social Welfare/ Ministry of Welfare ,two UGC review committees on social work education ,and organizations like the Association of Schools of Social Work in India were demanding the establishment of a regulatory council .Finally a draft bill was formulated in the early 1990s and that was referred to the Ministry of Education ,which ,in turn ,referred the same to the UGC for its opinion. The UGC did not favour a council for social work education as it was of the view that the UGC itself was competent to regulate education in social work as per the UGC Act. Subsequently the UGC itself reversed its earlier opinion and finally the draft bill was sent to the Department of Higher Education (MHRD) for clearance. For the past two decades the draft bill has been gathering dust at the MHRD. In between hopes were created in the social work circles at Delhi and Mumbai regarding the enactment of the bill by the Parliament and no tangible result could be seen. In March 2008, the Delhi School of Social Work organized a national consultation on the bill.

The draft bill is aimed at creating a Council of Professional Social Work. Medical Council of India, Bar Council of India ,and similar regulatory councils do not have the prefix professional .Rather Professional Medical Council ,Professional Bar Council, etc appear strange and amusing .So why does social work need the prefix professional ? So why does social work need the prefix professional ? Is there still ambivalence among social work professionals as to the self-sufficiency of social work ? Like the Council on Social Work Education in the US, the draft bill ought to have been independent of the adjective professional. The bill defines professional social work as a form of practice which follows established and acknowledged methods of social work carried out by professional social workers. While the "established and acknowledged methods” are wide open to interpretation, the definition implies that professional social work is what professional social workers, with BSW or MSW, do. A confusing explanation! The bill defines a social work teacher as one who teaches or engaged in research, while a social work practitioner is one who is engaged in social work practice and/or administration .Further, a social work researcher is one engaged in full time research in social work. An unnecessary and unwelcome compartmentalization of a social work professional. If the architects of the bill substitute social work with any other profession the contradictions will be apparent. The bill can help itself well without trying to bring in paraprofessionals into its fold.

The composition of the Council is educator -centred with the chairperson ,vice-chairperson ,member-secretary and at least eight members belonging to the category "social work educator " out of twenty eight in the Council, Social work practitioners are fewer in number .Strangely ,the Council will have two representatives of the recently formed National Association of Professional Social Workers in India (NAPSWI). This Delhi-based association with 1,200 members in June 2013 ( New Indian Express) has been treated National ,while there are professional social work associations in Chennai, Bangalore ,Kerala ,and possibly in other states too , in addition to the Indian Society of Professional Social Work ,which has been functioning for the past many years.

There is a provision for a national register of social work professionals, a compulsory requirement for teaching and practice. A fair provision. The functions of the Council are exhaustive .The Council ,as the statement specifies ,shall take all steps for the promotion, maintenance ,co-ordination of standards of education, training ,research and practice . A vast range of issues to be covered! In many countries like the US ,there is a council for social work education and a national association of social work professionals .In India too professions like medicine ,law, nursing, and engineering have similar organizational arrangements .Social work ,somehow, is out of sync with other professions. Anyhow, there is a draft bill before us to hope for a law one day. Let us wait.

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR CHILDREN AND THEIR RIGHTS

Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousufzai are awarded  the 2014 Nobel Prize for Peace for their fight and work for the rights of children suffering in India, Pakistan and other countries in the world under bondage, sweat labour , and other conditions of deprivation.  Bachpan  Bachao Andolan ,the NGO founded by Kailash Satyaethi , has so far saved more than 83,000 children from  child labour, trafficking ,and bondage ,and arranged education for them. Malala after the fatal attack on her life by the Taliban has been popular not only in her state Pakistan, but all over the world for her campaign for education of girls. But Kailash Satyarthi  has been known only in limited regions in India.

Recognition for Satyarthi's  work was rewarded by US, Germany ,Italy and other countries . But in India he has been almost a persona non grata. Neither any state government nor the government of India considered his work any award. In other words, his work has not been to the liking of the power structure in India which pays lip service to abolition of child labour (which of course is legally prohibited ), but continues to exploit cheap child labour. Match industry,  textile mills, garment industry, small scale production units, etc do utilise  the labour of children without any feeling of guilt or  fear of accountability to gain competitive advantage in the market. The notorious Sumangali Scheme promoted by many textile mills in Tamilnadu as a dowry earning scheme is a cruel bonded labour practice with the government officials not bothering to take any action and the politicians extending their support .

The way the  corporate organizations and many politicians reacted to the prestigious Nobel Prize to Kailash Satyarthi has been MUTE or HOSTILE. One argument is that the award is to put a break on the Make  in India measure and the general manufacturing sector's progress. Equating Hindu with Muslim  as well as Indian with Pakistani by the Nobel Committee spokesperson while announcing the award has been interpreted as Award with Suspicios Motive. These reactions deserve to be thrown to the dustbin of human rights struggles.

Even the ubiquitous  Padma Shri award was not given to Kailash Satyarthi by the self-styled great champions of the underprivileged, while the leaders of the previous ruling dispensation hurriedly awarded the Bharat Ratna to a sports person  after amending the originally prescribed eligibility norms specified in the  Indian Constitution by rushing to the stadium where the awardee was playing  the farewell match. .

Whether the business sector likes it or not, and whether the political patrons of crony capitalism criticises it or not , the Nobel Prize has brought Child Rights before the media's essential attention for serious debates and also  as a key political issue.

A MESSAIAH AND HIS REGRESSIVE MESSAGE

K.J.Yesudas, 74,  legendary singer adored by millions across India .Known as Gana Gandharwan (celestial singer), and fondly called "Dasettan"(elder brother) by Malayalis. Yesudas has won many awards for film songs in many Indian languages  and for his rendering of carnatic music. The nation conferred on him the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards. Always dressed in pristine white "kurta and Veshti  ", his face radiated a divine touch and his voice mesmerised millions. As an icon, his words have been listened to without any dissent. But on Gandhi Jayanthi day, the image of the musical colossus has been shattered . Condemned by millions through social media, electronic media and street protests , the pristine white attire of Yesudas is stained beyond restoration.Reason: a speech of Yesudas on October 2 and some advice to women.

    "   Do not create  trouble to others by wearing JEANS. Men think beyond that (the jeans)  and gets tempted with desire prompting them to undesirable actions .Wearing jeans is against Indian culture which values modesty as the greatest quality of women. WHAT SHOULD BE COVERED  MUST BE COVERED.  "( Not verbatim as he spoke in Malayalam).

       

What a regressive sexist  comment from Yesudas! By implication he justifies rape as UP leader Mulayam Sinngh Yadav said " Boys are boys" which was condemned even by the UN Secretary General. Innocent kids aged 3 , 4, etc are raped across India. These children do not wear jeans , Padma Bhushan Yesudas ! Asianet TV, the popular Malayalam Channel , did an investigative telecast on sexual abuse and rape of young girls and women by their fathers under the title Makalanu Marakkaruthu, meaning "Do not forget, they are your daughters". Are these rapes because of their wearing jeans ? Even between husband and wife, sex is in the mind and not in the anatomy of the wife. So also, RAPE IS IN THE MIND OF THE RAPIST AND  NOT ON THE JEANS.

The eminent singer spoke his mind at a Swatchh Baharat  (Clean India) function . Psychologists say that people reveal their real self in an unguarded moment. Yesudas definitely need cleaning of his mind as he is in public life in the midst of men and women of all age groups. Famous psychoanalyst Erik Erikson in his book Gandhi's Truth did a psychoanalytical study of the Mahatma . Gandhiji attempted to test his control over his mind on sex, but failed. The Mahatma confessed  his failure in the book My Experiments with  Truth. Yesudas will benefit from psychoanalysis to identify the disconnect between his social self and the real self.

CLEAN INDIA AND CLEANING THE INDIANS

Gandhi Jayanthi was observed this year with a never before mission Swatchh Bharat (Clean India Campaign) by PM Narendra Modi leading from the front on October 2. It was a moving experience. PM  exhorted the young Indians: Devote two hours every week for cleaning your surroundings :: Do not litter and do not allow others to litter,

If each citizen can stop throwing litter outside and spitting in public, then the battle against unclean environment can be won. Parents and other adults should inculcate socially re ractices and healthy personal habits as a gurantee for a future clean India. Go to a govt office and you  alls because of Pan stains and spit marks. There is a joke:: a tourist asked his host "Why do You Indians spit blood ? Why is your govt not doing any thing to give treatment to the people?".Most men, including the well educated, have no hesitation to urinate in public against the walls and trees as a matter of right. Open defecation by those without access to toilts is understandable. But many with private toilets throw the excreta of their children on to the roads. Purity inside is important, but pollution outside is immaterial.That is the attitude of many. A colleague of mine in a school  of social work never forgot to brush his teeth after lunch, but he never flushed the WC after use. So cleanliness is also an attitudinal problem.

Millions of workers who clean our roads, parks and lavatories across the country have been experiencing very undesirable working and living conditions. Manual scavenging of night soil continues which is an inhuman practice. Despite the Supreme Court order no action has been taken by the govt. Most of these workers are Dalits. Indian Railways is the worst offender in causing the worst form of unclean environment.

Swatchh Bharat Mission needs a carrot and stick approach as many  democracies have been doing successfuly.A purely voluntary approach has serious limitations.

ABUSE THE ELDERLY AND CELEBRATE ELDERS DAY

Today the whole world observes International Day of Older Persons with fanfare as Tokenism when millions of the elderly starve and are abused.

Angelina Mary ,87, all along had a life of misery. A chennai born girl, she was an orphan. She was brought up by the Sisters of St Mary's Church. They fondly caled her Lily. When she grew up as a young beauty, the Sisters arranged her marria a young man. He was working as a driver. The initial years were happy. She gave birth to a baby boy. Unexpectedly situation has changed in their life. Her husband took to drinking and became an alcoholic. Mary was tortured by her husband, day in and day out. After forty years of a dreadful married lif ary became a widow. A long legal battle soon followed for securing the legitimate pension of her deceased husband.

But living with her only son and daughter-in-law has become a nightmare. They used to scold her and also used to beat her. Switching off the fan whille she was asleep was a regular feature.Then the ceiling fan in her room ltself was removed by her son.Finally her son threw Mary out of the house. The main reason was her fiing a case  under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act. Mary appealed to the Chief Minister's Cell and the Commissioner of Police.She had to run from pillar to post for protection. Exasperated by the indifference of the bureaucracy and the police, Mary,with the help of a sympathetic lawyer, approached the Chennai Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Saidapet. The Court ordered the son and Daughter-in-law to "ALLOW MARY TO LIVE PEACEFULLY". The Court directed the police to give Mary protection to life and property FROM HER SON AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

Mary is one of the millions of neglected and abused older persons in whos name funftions are organized, and empty speeches are made on October 1 everywhere !