India legal july 15, 2014 by India Legal

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NDIA EGAL I L July 15, 2014

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STORIES THAT COUNT

FOREIGN POLICY

SEAWARD

HO! The Indian Ocean dictates a new strategic doctrine z China looks afresh at India z Musharraf exclusive: Advani derailed agreement on LoC

RNI No. UPENG/2007/25763

KERALA’S DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES GOPAL SUBRAMANIUM: POLITICS OVER MERIT? NAJMA’S MUSLIMATICS ONLINE SNOOPING, UNDER SCANNER

Raghu Rai’s Two Faces Of Fate

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Gay Rights Revisited

Death Penalty Still Hanging

Internet Censorship Off With His Face!

INDIA L EGAL

www.indialegalonline.com

June 30, 2014

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STORIES THAT COUNT

MODI’S COWBOY

RNI No. UPENG/2007/25763

DON’T MESS WITH ME

INDIA’S NEW NSA AJIT KUMAR DOVAL 36

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NEW G0VERNMENT: CHARGE OF THE MODI BRIGADE

INDIA L EGAL June 15, 2014

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STORIES THAT COUNT

Inside

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RISING SEX ADDICTION the need to track and treat repeat offenders

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Lobby of Qureshi mansion

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INDIA L EGAL May 31, 2014

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STORIES THAT COUNT

VERDICT 2014

BETTER DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

ARE THEY? DEMISE OF VOTE BANKS? WHY MUSLIMS ARE NOT SCARED HOPE vs HYPE MODINAMA: BIOGRAPHIES AND COMICS HONEYMOON PERIOD: NO IFs AND BUTs GANGES CATCHES FIRE POLITICO-TOONS

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CRICKET CZARS: How two men, Srinivasan and Modi, sullied the gentleman’s game

INDIA L EGAL May 15, 2014

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STORIES THAT COUNT

E L E C T I O N S

2 0 1 4

THEX

FACTORS ORS z

z Is Model Modi for real? z Do hate speeches count? z What are the polls missing? Will the President play a role?

ALSO DADDY DEPRIVED

Do divorced fathers have rights? 56

BULLY BRANDS

Food giants hogging markets 60

KINGFISHER’S MALLYA

The Badshah of Bad Times 36

NOW AT YOUR

DOORSTEP!

INDIA LEGAL, the nation’s first independent, glossy magazine reaches more than 200,000 readers across all the states of the union. The readers include young professionals, housewives, politicians, policymakers, businessmen, bureaucrats and, of course, all members of the legal establishment. It is the latest offering from the ENC GROUP that runs the APN TV Channel and publishes Views ON News, the fortnightly media monitor, and Akbari, a monthly Urdu journal. The magazine is edited by internationally acclaimed media personality INDERJIT BADHWAR with a team of the most experienced, independent, award-winning professionals. Credibility, quality, relevance and high production values are its hallmarks. The magazine is not a handbook or a legal digest for special interest reading. Its writing style, choice of stories appeal to a wider and sophisticated general audience of decision-makers, corporates and politicians. The thrust of INDIA LEGAL is a mix of trends, breaking stories, investigations, thought-inspiring features, fresh information, views and insight. Where INDIA LEGAL departs from the ordinary is the realization of a new angle—that a breaking story usually involves a powerful legal perspective. And this is where the magazine breaks from the crowd in order to offer a stimulating and useful reading experience. Don’t miss a single issue. Keep yourself updated with penetrating, different, information available nowhere else: consumer rights, court decisions that affect you and your family, groundbreaking exclusive investigations fortnight after fortnight.

For special subscription offers or regular deliveries at your doorstep, contact your newspaper vendor. Stunning range The moment you come across the word “legal”, it may give you cold sweat down the spine. I did not even want to open India Legal, but then curiosity got the better of me and Oh Boy! You have come out with a magazine that really impressed me with its range and quality. Congratulations and keep it up. —Ashok Patel, via email A breather for lawyers I am a Colombo-based lawyer. I find your journal fascinating because it widens a lawyer’s vision beyond the reach of law that ordinarily confines lawyers to the attraction of filthy lucre. —Gomin Dayasri, Colombo A fascinating read I read India Legal from cover to cover. It’s a terrific piece of work—a wonderful accomplishment. Congratulations. I was fascinated by your review of the “real” Abscam story. Yes, Hollywood is its own reality. It goes without saying that your publication speaks to some of the vast differences and similarities between India and China—a central theme of To The Mountaintops. —Jim I Gabbe, Co-publisher, Raconteur, New York

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

INDERJIT BADHWAR

CHALLENGE OF THE OCEAN

HENEVER the question of India’s national security—and how best to safeguard it—arises during the course of debate, various points of view appear to converge on a single issue: strength. By strength, I mean the acquisition of hardware and adequate manpower to flex our military muscle. Where they differ is on what kind of weapons to buy, which ones to develop indigenously, the legal aspects of the percentages of FDI and involvement in the research and development of weapons systems, the armed capability to defend borders and enforce international treaties and covenants, the pros and cons of having a fully nuclear navy. And so on. Flex your muscle, by all means. Back that flexing with warfare capability, having learned from the woeful political-military-moral-international-nationalpolicy disaster of Nehru’s “throw-the-Chinese-out” diktat, with which the idealistic foreign policy weave of one of the world’s truly international statesmen came unraveled. What then bit the dust, unfortunately, were the Bandung, Panchsheel, Non-alignment doctrines—the products of practical, empirical wisdom—formulated not because Nehru was a Gandhian but because they formed a defensive wrap around an India with a military force hardly worth writing home about, and protected the nation, barely struggling to survive after independence from the clutches of the various balance-of-power big powers-imposed, often secretlynegotiated tactical and military alliances, which had led to the two world wars. So, if we decide to flex, to what end should we flex it? An “if-you’ve-got-it-flaunt-it” attitude is nothing but sheer jingoism. It’s going to work neither with your neighbors nor with the rest of the world. After 1962, India has not really had a foreign policy or doctrine. Its leaders and foreign policy establishment

July 15, 2014

have more or less paid lip service to the Nehruvian hangover and patted themselves on the back whenever praised by Western leaders or the firangi media as an “emerging world power”. There’s nothing wrong, in my view, with being a world power because it helps in playing a dominant role in tackling the common ailments of disease, hunger, conflict, fratricide, and environmental havoc. But does India have a world view or a world vision? Right or wrong, the Americans have a world vision—their Manifest Destiny to spread democracy and freedom. They have a vision for the Pacific, they have their Monroe Doctrine, which treats Latin America as their backyard. This “vision” has often replaced democrats with dictators, created wars where wars shouldn’t exist, killed civilians in drone attacks, ignored genocide in Bangladesh—but it also saved the world from being enslaved by Hitler and Tojo, spread technology that ameliorated the lives of millions and created the world’s first truly effective model of a welfare state, with a powerful social security network within a remarkably accountable system of checks and balances to keep executive power from running amok.

thers too have a vision. China, certainly. Sure, Beijing loves muscle flexing but its Denginspired economic and bilateral initiatives in Africa, as well as in India’s neighborhood have left the Indian foreign policy czars slavering. The real czars had a vision, so did Comrade Stalin (though it was remarkably like that of the former rulers he murdered), Lee Kuan Yew, Ho Chi Minh, and of course wave-ruling Britannia. Which brings me to this issue’s cover story. Prime Minister’s Modi’s enthusiasts (and I don’t grudge them their elation because the new prime minister exudes an air of positivism and optimism hitherto

lacking in this country) believe that the ascent of a strong man automatically makes India a world power. Powerful leaders do not necessarily a powerful country make. What matters is how he uses this power.

ur cover story essayist, the redoubtable NV Subramanian, makes the point that India is the only country that has an ocean named after it and its manifest destiny is to become a sea power—as a major player in the Indian Ocean. India’s foreign policy future, he says, lies seaward but we have poorly employed and deployed it for our economic, industrial and military rise. Modi’s inauguration of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya will lead to an overdue reassessment of the country’s national security doctrine of strategic autonomy. As Ambassador Barry Desker, Dean, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, put it in proper perspective: “Is there a naval arms race in the region? What are the security implications of such a development? Is there a shared interest in cooperation and confidence building? What are the challenges in developing such a framework?” “Southeast Asia sits astride key choke points for shipping between the Indian and Pacific oceans. The region is economically and strategically important to the economies of North-east Asia, the United States and the emerging maritime powers of Asia. Many countries see themselves as stakeholders, as far as good order at sea is concerned. However, low intensity conflicts and political differences can affect behavior and relationships. Most countries in the region have shared maritime boundaries. Misunderstandings could lead to potential conflict. The presence of major maritime players, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, as well as the rising capabilities of India and China, will have implications for Southeast Asia.” The Indian Ocean is not a conflict-free area. It is

increasingly vulnerable to emerging non-traditional threats including piracy, armed robbery, maritime terrorism, arms trafficking, illegal migration and environmental degradation. “Navies should share the responsibility of maintaining the safety and security of sea lines of communication and to ensure the freedom of navigation. “ Admiral Ray Griggs, Chief of the Australian Navy echoed this sentiment: “If there was ever an incident that shows us, the mariners of the Indian Ocean, of the need to work collaboratively, it is the search for the tragic loss of Malaysian Airlines flight 370. The scale and breadth of the search operation has been unprecedented, with search activities in the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand and throughout the Indian Ocean.”

hen you boil down most of our maritime security threats, he said: “It is their potential to disrupt our trade and our societies that stands out. The scale of the collective international response to piracy off Somalia is at the end of the day because of the fundamental importance of the trade route from the Bab El Mandeb to Malacca, the so called iron highway.” Modi has made a good beginning, backed by his able and dynamic foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, with visits to Bhutan and Bangladesh, signaling his preference for bonding more vigorously with SAARC and India’s neighbors. A cooperative and peaceful neighborhood is the best method ensuring national security for a country with multiple international borders like India. Make the sea India’s new strategic frontier and vision by all means, but within a doctrine of collective security and cooperation.

editor@indialegalonline.com INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

JULY 15, 2014

VOLUME. VII

ISSUE. 21

Editor-in-Chief Inderjit Badhwar Managing Editor Ramesh Menon Executive Editor Alam Srinivas Senior Editor Vishwas Kumar Contributing Editors Naresh Minocha, Girish Nikam Associate Editor Meha Mathur Deputy Editors Prabir Biswas, Probir Pramanik

LEAD

The Indian Ocean Beckons

India has always thought of itself as a land power, but with the growing economic and military significance of the Indian Ocean, it can ignore the maritime opportunities, and threats, at its own peril, writes NV SUBRAMANIAN

Art Director Anthony Lawrence Senior Visualizer Amitava Sen Graphic Designer Lalit Khitoliya Photographer Anil Shakya News Coordinator Kh Manglembi Devi Production Pawan Kumar Verma CFO Anand Raj Singh VP (HR & General Administration) Lokesh C Sharma Director (Marketing) Raju Sarin GM (Sales & Marketing) Naveen Tandon-09717121002 DGM (Sales & Marketing) Feroz Akhtar-09650052100 Marketing Associate Ggarima Rai For advertising & subscription queries sales@indialegalonline.com

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OWNED BY E. N. COMMUNICATIONS PVT. LTD. NOIDA HEAD OFFICE: A -9, Sector-68, Gautam Buddh Nagar, NOIDA (U.P.) - 201309 Phone: +9 1-0120-2471400-432 ; Fax: + 91- 0120-2471411 e-mail: editor@indialegalonline.com website: www.indialegalonline.com MUMBAI OFFICE: Arshie Complex, B-3 & B4, Yari Road, Versova, Andheri, Mumbai-400058 RANCHI OFFICE: House No. 130/C, Vidyalaya Marg, Ashoknagar, Ranchi-834002. LUCKNOW OFFICE: First floor, 21/32, A, West View, Tilak Marg, Hazratganj, Lucknow-226001. PATNA OFFICE: Sukh Vihar Apartment, West Boring Canal Road, New Punaichak, Opposite Lalita Hotel, Patna-800023. ALLAHABAD OFFICE: Leader Press, 9-A, Edmonston Road, Civil Lines, Allahabad-211 001.

July 15, 2014

Chinese checkers Despite the growing warmth between the Chinese and the Indian dispensations, old boundary disputes remain unresolved and could mar the bonhomie, writes COL R HARIHARAN

Musharrafâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surprising disclosures The former Pak President admits Kargil was a mistake, expresses pain at the failure of the 2001 Agra Summit because of Advaniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interference, in an interview with RAJSHRI RAI

PROFILE

Rights have no boundaries Panthers Party founder Bhim Singh has made it his mission to secure freedom for Indian prisoners in Pakistan, and vice-versa. RC GANJOO describes what drives this activist-lawyer-politician

19 22 29

ENVIRONMENT

Candles in the wind

Villagers in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh fight to protect their way of life, and oppose huge investments by corporate giants. RASHME SEHGAL reports on their brave struggle

Strange ways of green ministry

The erratic manner in which mining was first banned, then permitted in a coal block in Chhattisgarh, demonstrates the pulls and pressures in giving clearances in ecologically-sensitive zones and forest areas, writes KANCHI KOHLI

Subramanium’s bumpy ride

Stung by NDA government’s attempts to tarnish his image, the lawyer opts out of Supreme Court’s judges race. RAJENDRAN KARAKULAM and VISHWAS KUMAR analyze the politics behind the battle

Black money chase

Efforts to retrieve unaccounted wealth from tax havens might not yield much, as most of it would have been reinvested or brought back to India, says ALAM SRINIVAS

TECH

Life under a scanner

AirAsia causes turbulence in airlines business........56 Why Iraq equations are changing under ISIL siege......................62 CONTROVERSY

What caused the mess?

Portrait of dismay

RAJENDRAN KARAKULAM cautions how government, and private entities are prying into each and every facet of your life

Behind the public war between Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia is the bitterness over their business partnership gone wrong. VISHWAS KUMAR describes the problems with Kings XI BOOKS

Najma Heptullah stirs a debate on minorities.....49 How lonely housewives in Kerala fall prey to debauchery...................52

SUPREME COURT

ECONOMY

ALSO

Raghu Rai captures the despondency of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and contrasts it with ferociousness of BJP’s Narendra Modi in his new book. A review by RAMESH MENON

The legal tragedy of mentally challenged parents in the US.........66

REGULARS Letter from the Editor.......4 Letters…..........................8 Quote-Unquote...............9 Ringside….....................10 Supreme Court..............12 Jottings..........................77 Consumer Corner..........78 Is That Legal?................80 Wordly-wise ...................81 People ...........................82 Cover Design: ANTHONY LAWRENCE INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

LETTERS Imagine! I got admission

www.facebook.com/indialegalmagazine

www.twitter.com/indialegalmag July 15, 2014

Delhi’s nursery circus started in December 2013. Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung fixed the point system for nursery admission—Neighborhood (six kilometer radius) 70 points, Interstate 5 points, Alumni 5 points, Sibling 20 points and 5 percent quota for girls, besides removal of the management quota. Schools mourned loss of autonomy in selection and management quota. Varied groups of parents protested several facets of the criteria, including interstate points, merging of disabled group with EWS, alumni and interstate having the same points, fake and genuine transfer points and the manner of draws and re-draws. Some brave parents even contested alumni points pointing out how they make the system dynastic. There were at least five PILs filed by varied groups of Delhi parents and were fought passionately in the High Court. As a result, interstate points were scrapped, new rules for draws were issued and new admission dates were set. Amidst changing directions from the Directorate of Education, nursery admission was started, stopped, restarted and stopped again in what seemed liked an infinite loop. After five months of running of this circus, the Supreme Court intervened. This brought the entire process to a halt on April 11 due to the apex court. Scrapping of interstate category points angered the genuine interstate transfer parents, who by stroke of luck induced by December rules stood to secure seats in top notch Delhi schools. A bench headed by Justice HL Dattu gave relief to only the 24 parents who approached the court, helping their kids to go schools where they were originally selected. How about the other parents in same category? Sure enough several sets of similar parents seemed keen to approach the court. On May 8, schools began to announce the draw of lots. However, as all schools conducted draws and declared results, most parents on social networks shared that their kid had secured admission. The clouds of frustration precipitated into happy rains! In some quarters, there were floods too. Many parents reported selection in several schools. Now that there seemed plentiful for a lucky few, online portals were beaming with which schools to choose and why. Parents sought advice, discussed pros and cons on each school, looked for the finer elements. They now approached the unwanted schools confidently. It was a brave new world. Parveen Goribidnur, Delhi

Humiliating existence

This is with reference to Will homosexuality be finally legal? in the June 30 issue. I am 19 years old and came out of the closet last year. I was called effeminate, neuter and what not, only because I reflected womanish behavior to the people around me. All I can say is that the article was very well written but legalizing homosexuality in India may not happen soon. The only thing I can do is to hope that the lower courts will deliver the right orders. Anonymous, Bhubaneswar, via Facebook

An image from the past

Let me tell you guys, the cover page of last issue (Modi’s Cowboy, June 30) was brilliant. I was taken back into the 1960’s mid-West scene, where two cowboys are ready to take on each other with their pistols. I would like to congratulate India Legal team for thinking about a cover which is out of the box. Mohammad Abu Bakar, Patna, via Facebook

Facebook presence

I started reading India Legal a month ago when a friend of mine invited me to the magazine’s page on Facebook. I was fascinated to read the film review of CityLights by Ramesh Menon. Although I haven’t seen the film, now I am really intrigued to watch it. The review was well written and I hope for many more in future issues. It gives a lighter side to the magazine. Rishabh Bardia, via Facebook

Please email your letters to: editor@indialegalonline.com Or write to us at: India Legal, ENC Network, A-9, Sector 68, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Noida (UP) - 201309

QUOTE-UNQUOTE

“Don’t touch my feet or that of other leaders. I feel anguished when someone does this. I remain off balance for a while afterwards.”

“The next three years are transformational in Reliance Industries Limited’s journey.”

—Mukesh Ambani, on the roadmap for placing RIL in the top 50 of the Fortune 500 list by 2017

—Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the sycophancy among MPs to touch the feet of senior leaders

So suffocating is the atmosphere on this issue that we are gasping for air even before we can discuss sensible solutions. Regulation is now quicksand, where any intervention will draw you into greater slime.

—President of Centre for Policy Research Pratap Bhanu Mehta, on UGC’s diktat to the

University of Delhi, to revert to three-year undergraduate programme

“To beat Brazil in the final in their own country would be an orgasm.”

—Soccer legend Diego Maradona, on Argentina’s chances of winning World Cup 2014

“It’s another form of creativity that I hadn’t done and I thought it would be really nice to do.” —Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan, on the need to venture into TV serial

“No one asks a man when he is impregnating his wife.”

“The much-awaited increase in fare and freight will help shore up railway finances… it is probably the right medicine for investment in infrastructure.”

—Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic advisor, SBI, on the hike in railway fares announced by the Modi government

— Bollywood star Vidya Balan, on speculation in the media that she is on the way to becoming a mother

“We are facing the problems of degradation of land, desertification of the land and creation of wasteland.... As the Modi government has decided that poverty eradication is the main objective, to the end we must make the country degradation neutral by 2030.”

— Prakash Javadekar, environment minister, on government’s plan to stop desertification

“Nitish is like my younger brother, and as an elder brother, I forgive him despite all sorts of muck.”

—RJD chief Laloo Yadav, on supporting his arch rival Nitish Kumar in the Rajya Sabha by-elections in Bihar

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

Aruna

VERDICT And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” — The Bible: Luke 18: 1-8

July 15, 2014

SUPREME COURT/ appointments /gopal subramanium

Politics vs Merit? the center feared that gopal subramanium could become the cji in 2019 and influence politically-sensitive cases By Rajendran Nair Karakulam and Vishwas Kumar

t was the first case of the Modi government’s confrontation with the judiciary. On June 25, senior advocate Gopal Subramanium withdrew his candidature for appointment as a Supreme Court (SC) judge four weeks after the apex court’s collegium recommended his name along with Rohinton Nariman, Adarsh Kumar Goel and Arun Mishra. Subramanium’s decision was forced by the government’s move to ask the collegium to reconsider his appointment. The BJP leaked two negative intelligence reports against the lawyer. The IB and CBI’s reports mentioned the complaints filed by two CBI officers against Subramanium during the 2G spectrum scam probe. In a nine-page letter to the chief justice, the advocate refuted the charges against him. Subramanium accused the government of “character assassination”. He had earlier told friends that IB had cleared his name during the

Gopal’s controversies

2G scam: Called two CBI officers in chamber to discuss the case; A Raja’s lawyer was present Padmanabhaswamy Temple: As amicus curiae, he said it should be managed by erstwhile royal family Niira Radia: Charges that he was close to her, and was mentioned in several of her taped conversations Sohrabuddin encounter: As amicus curiae, his inputs led to the arrest of Amit Shah and interrogation of Modi by SIT

tenure of the previous government. The letter said the NDA regime’s decision raised serious concerns about the “ability of the executive to respect the independence, integrity and glory of the judicial institution”. The issue behind the battle was political. The government felt that he was close to the Congress—he served as the solicitor general under UPA II— and, therefore, couldn’t be trusted to act independently in sensitive cases. As a BJP insider explains: “A judge, especially for the Supreme Court, should be selected not only on the basis of integrity, merit and qualification, but also ‘neutrality’. He or she should be above all suspicions. Based on past experience, we felt that Subramanium’s ideological leanings were towards the Congress and the UPA.” There could have been a personal reason why Modi and Amit Shah may have hated Subramanium. This was the advocate’s role in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case in Gujarat. While Subramanium was the solicitor gener-

al, he agreed to become amicus curiae to assist the apex court in the case, which involved Modi and Shah. BJP politicians cried hoarse over “conflict of interest”. How could Subramanium who, in his official capacity, represented the UPA-II’s view, be neutral in this politically-sensitive case, they asked. It was his efforts that led to the arrest of Shah, the then Gujarat minister of state for home affairs, and constitution of a SIT team that questioned Modi, the then chief minister. Subramanium claimed that he became the amicus curiae because the apex court asked him to do so. But the BJP argued that although the Sohrabuddin case involved his family members, activists and the Gujarat government, Subramanium’s decision enabled the UPA government to enter through the back door. The BJP is scared that if Subramanium was appointed the apex court judge, he could become the chief justice in 2019. Subramanium, who had issues with former law minister, Kapil Sibal, could directly and indirectly interfere in sensitive cases. The real issue is about the political interference in judicial appointments. It was because of the politicization of the judiciary that the old system was changed to the collegium one in 1993. Before that the judges were appointed by the executive; in the 1970s, Justice HR Khanna, the seniormost judge in the apex court, was denied the chief justice’s post because of his order in the ADM Jabalpur case. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad may push for the Judicial Appointments Commission, rather than allow the collegium system to appoint judges. Chief Justice RM Lodha and former chief justice P Sathasivam have opposed the removal of the system. The constitutional amendment for the change has been passed by the Rajya Sabha and NDA has the numbers in the Lok Sabha to push it through. IL —With inputs from Shailendra Singh INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

SUPREME COURT

Batting for environment

evelopment and environment protection have always been at cross-purposes in India. And the onus has generally been on the judiciary to balance the two. The Supreme Court had to again show the way, when real estate firm Jaypee Infratech approached the court to ask Noida Authority to award completion certificate to projects within the 10 kilometer radius of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary. The request was turned down by a two-judge bench, which left the issue at the discretion of the center. The National Green Tribunal had in October 2013 ruled that no construc-

tion activity could be done within the specified radius of the sanctuary, or within the prohibited area of the ecosensitive zone as determined by the environment ministry, unless cleared by the National Board of Wildlife. And till such time, the authority shall not give completion certificates to any project. The realtor had maintained that around 4,000 flat owners will be affected if completion certificates are not issued. But the logic did not cut ice with the apex court, which stated that the appeal had no basis as the government was yet to decide on marking off the eco-sensitive zone, as directed by NGT in April. Illustrations: Amitava Sen

Nine lives for Srinivasan

CCI’s president-in-exile N Srinivasan may have been asked by the Supreme Court to step aside till the probe into IPL match fixing is over, but the apex court gave a green signal for him to become the chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC). A two-judge vacation bench rejected the application of the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), saying the ongoing probe can’t be a reason for restraining Srinivasan from getting the top post in the world of cricket. CAB had cited “conflict of interest” as the reason for barring Srinivasan. It contended that the BCCI chief, already under a cloud of suspicion in the match-fixing scandal during IPL 6, should not be allowed to be a part of the ICC. Srinivasan is one of the 13 persons alleged to be linked with the betting and spot-fixing racket by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is now part of another committee probing the allegations of betting and spot-fixing in IPL 6.

July 15, 2014

No questions please

he right to information (RTI) may be a perfect instrument to unearth crucial information from a public authority, but it can’t be used to know why a judge gave a particular order. This was the reason for an appellate authority of the Supreme Court, formed under the RTI Act, to reject the appeal of an RTI activist. The activist had contacted the information officer of the apex court for justification behind court orders related to review petitions, without a hearing or citing appropriate reasons. When refused he filed a plea before the apex court. The court stated that the officer is not the person or the authority from whom a litigant can collect information. It made it amply clear that a litigant had no legal autho-rity to know why a judge came to a particular conclusion in a case.

All for police freedom

ndia needs upright and honest police officers to uphold the rule of law and cleanse the system of corruption and crime. However that is possible only when the police force—especially Indian Police Service officers—is free of the executive’s writ. The apex court is for police reforms, and independent functioning of senior police officers is a part of the changes sought by it. In fact, the court recently stayed the Indian Police Service Amendment Rules, 2014, passed by the center, which curtailed the independent functioning of police officers. A two-judge bench limited the center from doing anything related to service matters of officers, like transfers, postings, or taking any disciplinary action under the new rules of the Civil Services Board (CSB). It was hearing a contempt petition that brought to light that IPS officers were included under the rules, against a 2006 verdict of the apex court. The apex court in 2006 had asked the center and the

states to form authorities to decide on service matters of police officers till the time the government made separate laws on the issue. It had concurred with the petitioner that CSB attempted to control IPS officers through IAS officers and take away the autonomy given to police departments.

Cleansing student politics

tudent politics has become a cesspool of criminals and anti-social elements. Every time there are university elections, there is violence on the campus, triggered by affiliations to political parties. Concerned about the fact that student politics is getting increasingly criminalized, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court blamed the student wings of political parties for the scourge. It was dealing with an interim bail plea of an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) leader Navneet Kaushal. He had approached the apex court after his bail plea was turned down by the Himachal Pradesh High court. Kaushal was accused of striking a student leader of the Students Federation of India at the campus and remained in custody for around eight months. He wanted to appear for his masters’ exams programme at the Himachal University, Shimla. The SC finally granted interim bail; Kaushal would surrender after he completes his exams. A week back, the apex court had taken a stern view on the issue in another case, wherein an ABVP leader had sought bail after indulging in violence at the Himachal University. INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

LEAD / foreign policy/new security doctrine/sea power

The Final Frontier

india’s destiny lies in building its sea power to emerge as a major player in the indian ocean. it can ignore the navy only at its own peril By NV Subramanian

RIME MINISTER Narendra Damodardas Modi’s inauguration of the aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, and his conceptual joining of the navy to India’s economic and industrial growth, should hopefully lead to an overdue reassessment of the country’s national security doctrine of strategic autonomy. In its earliest, post-Independence form of nonalignment, it carried a negative cadence and connotation, of equidistance from the two rivalrous great powers, namely the United States and the Soviet Union. But, it barely stood the test even within the lifetime of its architect, Jawaharlal Nehru, who ignominiously had to appeal to the United States for

Photos: UNI

July 15, 2014

military assistance following the 1962 Chinese aggression. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, swung the other way for the successful prosecution of the 1971 Bangladesh War, aligning with the Soviet Union through a peace-and-friendship treaty, which prevented immediate American and Chinese intervention in the conflict on the side of East Pakistan and its egregious military rulers. The collapse of the Soviet Union since and its shaky rebirth as Russia; the rise of the United States as a hyper power and its decline and growing self-isolation; the

heightened belligerence of China with its new-found economic and industrial strength, tormenting its East Asian neighbors about their common seas and the embedded mineral and hydrocarbon treasures; and the upsurge of Islamic Jehad demand urgent reassessment and re-imagination of Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 67-year-old security doctrine. Not to speak of the intensified threats on our borders due to the strategic alignment of the two nuclear powers and allies, China and Pakistan, inciting specters of a two-front war, in addition to the episodic scourge of

OCEAN PATROL (Above) Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest warship INS Vikramaditya to the nation in Goa on June 14; (facing page) Modi on the dock of the warship

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

LEAD / foreign policy/new security doctrine/sea power

Sea of opportunities and conflicts Eagerness of Russia and Denmark to step up gas exploration ventures, as the Arctic ice melts

US - Canada tussle over the Dixon Entrance , which sees a heavy movement of ships

Russian ambition to control the Black Sea, a reason behind annexation of Crimean port of Sevastopol

Contesting claims of Britain and Spain over the Strait of Gibraltar, which is the Gateway to the Mediterranean

China’s dispute with Japan over the Chunxiao gas field in the East China Sea

Israel’s exploration in the off-shore Tamar and Leviathan gas fields; Lebanon growing interest in gas finds in this region

China’s aggressiveness vis-a-vis the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam in the South China Sea, one of the busiest sea routes

Conflict between the US and Haiti over the Navassa Island, due to its strategic location in the Atlantic Dispute between the UK and Argentina over the Argentine Sea close to the Falkland Islands

Persian Gulf

SHOW OF STRENGTH

Pakistan

Bahrain Gulf of Oman Gwadar

China Bangladesh

India

Indian presence

Port Blair

Horn of Africa

Sri Lanka

Kenya

Seychelles

Sri Lanka for movement of goods, and as an alternative to the narrow Malaccan Strait Naval base at Gwadar in Pakistan, and a surveillance facility and a commercial naval base in Myanmar

Myanmar

Oman

Strait of Malacca

South China Sea

Diego Garcia Island Opportunity: Can exploit its strategic

Madagascar Mauritius

location between the Middle-east and the Far-East Challenges: Need to counter China’s aggressive sea strategy, forge right alliances and counter piracy Sea wealth: Rich in oil and minerals, including polymetallic sulphides, cobalt and manganese, besides fishing

Graphic:Anthony Lawrence

July 15, 2014

Chinese presence Port facilities in Bangladesh, Myanmar and

Naval bases along the west and east coasts and the Andamans Listening stations in Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar for monitoring signals and gathering intelligence Co-option of Maldives into its naval expansion

US presence Stationing of the 5th fleet in Bahrain during the Afghan War Stationing of the Combined Task Force 152 in the Persian Gulf region to protect oil flow Combined Task Force 150 from the Gulf of Oman to Kenya to counter piracy near the Horn of Africa Naval base and logistics center in the Diego Garcia islands in the Indian Ocean

Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. In small ways, there has been evolution from the timid non-alignment to a quest for robust strategic autonomy, compelled by the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and with the decision to go nuclear following the May 1998 second Pokhran test, bolstering efforts in this direction. But true strategic autonomy has eluded the country, not least because of the wasted decade under the two UPA governments, although India has also suffered from a general absence of audacious forward thinking on the subjects of frontiers and grand strategy, long the playing field of great powers.

ndia’s future lies seaward, towards the Indian Ocean, the only world ocean named after a country. But we have poorly employed and deployed it for our economic, industrial and military rise. The great powers of the present and the past have never underestimated the criticality of how sea power could lead to sovereign rise. The Greeks, the Romans, the Carthaginians, the European colonial powers, preeminently Britain, right up to the militaryindustrial states of the last 100 years, including the United States and Soviet Russia, recognized the centrality and uniqueness of sea power. “Only when England ceased to be a Continental power,” reminded Lord Curzon in his famous Romanes Lecture of 1907, “did the national spirit blossom into any fullness.” To be sure, India has tried to break away from the prison of South Asia since at least the early 1970s. Indira Gandhi’s creation of Bangladesh, although valid in the circumstances of the genocide and mass rapes in East Pakistan carried out by the Pakistan Army, also owed its debt to Curzon’s ideas of buffer states and protectorates. Taken together with the first nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974, the consolidation of island territories, the absorption of Sikkim and so forth, these steps ought, by rights, to have elevated India to a regional and bigger power, but the outcomes were quite underwhelming. It is hard to find the reasons for this in the military realm, as the political leadership was engulfed by

Photos: Indian Navy

SECURING THE SEAS (Top) Routine exercises by the Indian navy along the coast; (above) testing the technical strength of the naval fleet INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

LEAD / foreign policy/new security doctrine/sea power

India has always seen itself as a land power. But with a coastline just over half the land frontier, this mindset constitutes a serious strategic imbalance. domestic crises—the Emergency followed by government changes, drift and stasis. This period of decline continued right up to the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. From then till Narendra Modi’s present accession, it has been a case of hitand-miss for India’s strategic rise, and there is just the smallest hope that things will change. India must change not to perish.

CHANGING STRATEGIC EQUATIONS The three service chiefs at a meeting in New Delhi

he country has long seen itself as a land power, epitomized by a large army, a middling air force and a relatively small navy. For a country, whose coastline length is just over half the land frontier, this constitutes a serious strategic imbalance. In the modern age, an ambitious state can’t conceive of itself exclusively or even predominantly as a land power. When political geography imposes this condition, as it did in the case of Germany in both the world wars, one has to derive the best advantages, but they are never good enough. Finally, sea power, deployed for blockade, sinking of capital ships and merchant tonnage, movement of expeditionary forces, and so on, overcame the mighty German war machine on land. In World War II, the Heer (land forces) and the Kriegsmarine (navy) pleaded with the Fuehrer (Hitler) for gaining hegemony over the Mediterranean to choke Britain’s empire assets and successfully attack the Soviet Union from its soft underbelly in the Caucasus. Adolf Hitler confessed to being terrified of seafighting, the chief reason for his forces never being able to invade the British Isles. On the other hand, Britain and Japan were PIB

July 15, 2014

primarily marine powers, through which they facili-tated their colonial acquisitions. India is a status quo power. It has never been aggressive for territory. But it has been invaded, and China and Pakistan to this day hold large chunks of its territory. All the five wars that independent India has fought have been land wars. So, it will continue to be committed to security of its land frontiers in the foreseeable future. But the country is killing its future by not simultaneously expanding seaward. India has to be a mixed land-and-sea power (with drones and missiles principally representing air power at a third level), with the capital-intensive navy building bulk, as India grows. It is not enough to operate a large navy. The country must think sea-wise. To give an example, Britain protected its empire through a network of alliances, in which Japan played a key role, even as it fought the Great War in Europe. India may have to follow on those lines, opting for imaginative partnerships, which could harden into alliances as time proves their worth. You cannot choose your land neighbors, but you can indubitably select your allies at sea. These measures need to be rolled out over the coming decades. At the same time, India must enter into serious engagement with its land neighbors. Pakistan faces the danger of slipping into becoming a failed state and other countries of South Asia only markedly less so, and they need India to raise the tide, which can only flow from the sea. India has to employ some Curzonian tactics to discipline the neighborhood, which would also ensue from the expert deployment of softspeaking, carrot and big stick. Modi has moved on that course, but these are still early days. If India has to be a breakout power, it must think beyond South Asia, and the Indian Ocean beckons. Once it deploys genuine hard power in the ocean, it will beget goodwill and gain weight in world affairs. The sea is India’s new frontier. Its destiny lies in the great blue waters. IL —NV Subramanian is editor www.newsinsight.net and writes on politics and strategic affairs

LEAD/ foreign policy/china angle

Chinese Checkers prime minister narendra modi may be admired in china, and his development agenda might have enlisted the country as an economic partner, but there are crippling issues that could affect the bonhomie By Col Ramani Hariharan

IS IT FOR REAL? (Above) Soldiers from India and China at the Nathu La border; (Right) Modi with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in New Delhi

HE two-day visit of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi as President Xi Jinping’s special envoy to New Delhi within three weeks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi assuming office underlines China’s keenness, if not anxiety, in building bridges with the Indian leader who has come to power with a massive mandate. Despite the rhetoric at play during his visit, Yi had a limited scope to feel the pulse of the new Indian leadership under Modi. The Chinese mandarins are not going to find this easy. Modi has asserted that he leads from the front. He has shown his uncanny ability to spring surprises upon the opposition and the regional satraps. Modi’s near hour-long meeting with the Chinese visitor was significant. It showed the importance the prime minister attaches to India’s relationship with China. On the foreign policy front, the “Modi touch” has had its effect too. This could be seen in the invitation to the SAARC heads of government to attend his swearing-in function followed by his first overseas visit to Bhutan. Several actions of the Modi government close on the heels of Yi’s visit touched upon some of China’s “core interests” and strategic security concerns. These actions give a clear indication of the emerging Indian security perspective on China. TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY China protested against the presence of Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, at the Modi’s INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

LEAD/ foreign policy/china angle

While New Delhi will woo Chinese investments in infrastructure, it will assert naval dominance in the Indian Ocean. Beijing has to grapple with both factors.

strategic defense infrastructure projects in these areas that are pending with his ministry. This would mean a speedier completion of 80 road projects within 100 kilometers from the Line of Actual Control on the northern border with China.

oath taking ceremony. It promptly sent off a demarche to India protesting against the invitation to Sangay, as it considers any public recognition of the Tibetan issue as an affront to its territorial integrity. Further ruffling Chinese feathers was Modi’s Facebook post describing Sangay as “an honorable guest of the BJP”.

OCEAN SECURITY The environment ministry has also cleared a proposal to install a radar station at Narcondam Island in the Andaman Nicobar Command. This ocean listening station would help the armed forces to monitor Chinese activity in the Coco Island off the Myanmar coast, close to Northern Andaman. These steps indicate India’s determination to assert its naval superiority in the Indian Ocean region, where Chinese navy had been increasingly asserting their presence.

BORDER ISSUES There are indications that India will be speeding up infrastructure development along its border with China. These were deferred as the Manmohan Singh regime did not want to ruffle China’s sensitivities on this count. The home ministry has agreed in principle to the setting up of 54 new Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) border posts along Arunachal Pradesh with the likely increase in ITBP strength by 50,000 people. The increase in border posts would help improve India’s security posture in this disputed region. Apart from raising an additional mountain strike corps for this region, India is adding a number of advanced landing grounds for air support to the troops. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has already indicated that faster environmental clearances would be given to border roads and Nitin Ticku

RELATIONS WITH JAPAN China would keenly watch Modi’s scheduled meeting with his Japanese counterpart on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit in Brazil from July 15 to 17. Modi’s parleys with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assumes significance as it precedes his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the four-nation summit. The meeting would be critical for China, as Modi enjoys a personal rapport with his Japanese counterpart, and this could turn the summit meet to trigger a few strategic security initiatives. The Chinese may find these reports difficult to

digest as they had been accustomed to browbeating India in the past. FAVOURED BY CHINA Modi has some positives that could help him build a win-win relationship with China. First is Modi’s familiarity with China and his admiration for its development model. As chief minister of Gujarat, he had visited China three times. All the visits had productive development agendas. The first visit in November 2006 was to study the Special Economic Zones. In September 2007, he led a delegation of Gujarati entrepreneurs to the port city of Dailan in Northeast China—the second largest container trans-shipment hub in China. Modi’s third visit to China in 2011 secured the unconditional release of 13 diamond merchants of Gujarat who were jailed in Shenzhen for alleged violation of customs norms. Jinping’s message to Modi praising his leadership and inviting him to “work together to achieve peaceful cooperation and inclusive development for the benefit of our two people and in the interest of peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and in the world” tries to build upon the existing positives of Modi’s personal equation with China. Its reaffirmation of China’s positive perception of India’s role in the world and expectation and desire for pursuing bilaterally their development dreams could be an indication how Jinping would like ChinaIndia relations to develop. Modi’s warm reciprocation of the Chinese sentiments in his talks with the special envoy

probably reflects his expectations. The inclusion of plans to energetically engage with China to further develop strategic and cooperative partnership in the Modi government’s agenda presented by President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to parliament underlines the importance attached to India’s relationship with China. Modi’s economic development plans presented in the agenda and his top ten priorities to shore up the nation’s economy provide a number of investment and business opportunities for China. So, till the relationship with the Indian government is established on a firm footing, China is likely to focus on these opportunities rather than allowing the negatives to dissipate them. FUTURE AT STAKE However, we may not see a dramatic change in China’s conduct on the border in the near term. This is confirmed by Wang Yi’s facile justification of border intrusions in the north as well as the issue of stapled visas at his press conference in New Delhi. However, improvement in personal equations between Modi and Chinese premier, Li Keqiang and Xi Jinping in the coming months would determine the progress of India’s relationship with China. Chinese leaders would be factoring it in India policy to suit the assertive leadership style of the Modi government. IL

Col R Hariharan is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies and the South Asia Analysis Group

IMPERFECT PAST Nathu La Pass, linking Sikkim with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region was opened after a thaw in Indo-China relations in 2006

LEAD / foreign policy/pakistan/musharraf interview

“We had agreed upon the LoC becoming the official border ” in an exclusive interview, former pakistan president pervez musharraf tells india legal that lk advani derailed peace talks between him and atal bihari vajpayee By Rajshri Rai Narendra Modi began his innings as the prime minister by giving out a loud signal that he wants to engage India’s neighbors in a dialogue. Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif, showing equal eagerness to bridge the gap, accepted Modi’s invitation to attend the swearing in and had a meeting to discuss relations. Weeks after that optimistic ice breaker, Pakistan’s forces opened fire on the Indian positions in Jammu region, forcing India to retaliate. Sadly, each time civilian governments want to build bridges, instances of cross-border firing or terrorism end up derailing the process. It is more than clear that army generals in Pakistan would rather thrive on conflict. Fifteen months before Narendra Modi took oath as prime minister, I met Gen Pervez Musharraf, the army chief who derailed the peace process set in motion by the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999 by launching the Kargil offensive and staging a coup against Sharif. I met him in his small apartment in Dubai, where he was biding time, waiting to return to Pakistan to participate in elections. He was a far cry from the general who had once held sway in world affairs, to the extent of dictating American policy in Asia. To me, Musharraf had always come across as a dagger-in-the-cloak leader. But on this occasion, he came across as a different person. I got the sense that he wanted to talk about several issues, as if he wanted to apologize for his wrongdoings. He expressed his desire to go back to Pakistan, even though he realized he could be arrested. “But it’s better to be in custody there than live under undeclared surveillance here.” Of course, that was then. In April this year, he was desperately trying his best to leave the country, and had moved the Sindh High Court to grant him permission to do so. While the flat where I met Musharraf was no doubt small for a person who had lived life king-size in Pakistan, the hospitality was still stately. As he served kheer, he told me that during the Agra Summit in 2001, when he met Vajpayee as the president of Pakistan to discuss peace, he had made a personal request to Vajpayee to make kheer for him. His wish was granted during his next India visit in 2005.“I must say my kheer can’t beat his kheer,” he admitted. Though our meeting happened months before both the countries went for polls, given the developments on the bilateral front since power changed hands in India in May 2014, the general’s views provide an insight into how the Pakistani army thinks. Excerpts:

July 15, 2014

Getty Images

After a hectic life in Pakistan, how are you coping with loneliness in Dubai? It’s difficult indeed. As far as money is concerned, what I have earned by giving lectures is more than what I earned during my entire life in Pakistan. But I miss the company of people. I will go back to Pakistan. I know I might be arrested. But it’s better to be in custody there than live under undeclared surveillance here. You were popular in Pakistan and a successful president. What went wrong? I failed in dealing with hardliners. I wanted to deal with them firmly, but my colleagues preferred a softer approach. There was a considerable delay in sending troops to Lal Masjid—almost a year. And those who had initially supported me in sending the troops later started criticizing me. Just as those who had initially supported Indira Gandhi when she imposed Emergency, later rose up in opposition. But, I have no regrets. I did what was in the best interest of Pakistan. What were the reasons behind your decision to attack India (Kargil War) when Nawaz Sharif was in talks with India to improve relations? No doubt it was a mistake, which cost both India and Pakistan. Although I have maintained that Pakistan was not to blame for the Kargil conflict, but to tell the truth, Pakistan’s army was involved. The Indian border in that region was very porous and suited our purpose. But Nawaz Sharif is lying when he says he had no knowledge about the attack. He was told everything. Why did talks break down during the Agra Summit in 2001? A dialogue between India and Pakistan depends upon the personalities who are leading the countries. For example, a Manmohan Singh-Asif Ali Zardari talk won’t yield any result because both are weak personalities. In my view, dialogue between Indira Gandhi and Zia-ul-Haq and between Rajiv Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto could have yielded results. Similar equation existed vis-à-vis Atal Bihari Vajpayee and me, because he was a popular leader with a tremendous grasp over political matters and he wanted a lasting solution to the problem. On the other hand, I might have erred, but during my tenure in the army I had seen so many peo-

WARM VIBES Pervez Musharraf thinks that his personal rapport with Atal Bihari Vajpayee could have brought about a significant shift in Indo-Pak relations in 2001 INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

LEAD / foreign policy/pakistan/musharraf interview Do you really think so? Of course. If that was not the case, why was Natwar Singh removed? The Volcker Report had been made public as early as 2001 and even the Vajpayee government had not acted on it. But, the same report suddenly became important (in 2005) on account of (Natwar Singh’s) opposition to the nuclear deal. All that Natwar Singh did was to write a letter to Saddam Hussain, in which he mentioned knowing the bearer of the letter. He was not even an MP then. I would not like to say anything else.

MARK OF A LEADER Musharraf with Rajshri Rai at his Dubai apartment

ple dying. Kargil had been under my direct control for 20 years. I know this region like the back of my hand. In my view, the time was just right for talks—in fact we had agreed upon the line of actual control (being the official border) during our talks. But then entered Lal Krishna Advani and ruined the whole thing. I was very upset and wanted to return without meeting Atalji. But my diplomatic team advised me to meet him before leaving. I asked him: “Is there anyone more important than you in India and Pakistan? But had I known this, I would have done my homework on that person.” Atalji remained silent, and then patting me, said that someday a solution will be found. Many Indians believe that you have tried to vitiate the atmosphere in India through the ISI. (Interrupting) More powerful than ISI are RAW and IB. ISI is nowhere in comparison; it pains me that what the ISI does in India, RAW and IB do in Pakistan. Why do people accuse you of working as a stooge of America? The truth is that American interference in both India and Pakistan has increased tremendously over the years. Pakistan’s economy depends to a large extent on American support, so much so that we have to factor in American help even while preparing our budget blueprint. But having said that how do you explain American interference in India?

July 15, 2014

Narendra Modi is emerging as a popular leader. If he becomes the prime minister after the 2014 elections, what will be the future of India-Pakistan relations? I have never met him. From what I have read, it’s not a positive image, but I have also heard that he has done a lot of work in Gujarat. I will be able to comment on him only if I get a chance to meet him. Just like I did not have a positive impression about Vajpayeeji, but after meeting him my impression changed and we used to converse on phone too. How do you visualize things if Modi becomes the prime minister of India? Look, the relations between the two countries are very fragile, and things can improve only when we have strong governments in both the countries. India has had strong governments, but Pakistan has been less fortunate. Our problems can be solved if Modi emerges as a strong PM and Pakistan gets a strong government, in which its army has faith. The best time for dialogue was when I was in talks with Vajpayeeji. I want both the countries to have strong and popular governments, so that their citizens accept their decisions. Why didn’t you provide adequate security to Benazir Bhutto in 2007? I was wrong there. But Benazir wanted permission for security from abroad. In my understanding, it was not possible to give permission to a foreign security team to safeguard a Pakistani national. But now I think I should have deviated from the convention. When are you next coming to India for kheer? (Laughs) Inshallah, very soon. But unfortunately Vajpayeeji won’t be able to make it. I pray to Allah for his health.

STATES/ j&k assembly elections

Local is National in the Valley in the interest of the state and the country, regional parties should take over the reins following the forthcoming elections By Rakesh Khar

ASHMIR has been a graveyard of reputations. The upcoming assembly election offers a unique opportunity to set the record straight, if only major political parties in the state can see the big picture rather than being guided by narrow political considerations, born out of quest to somehow grab, and stay in power. The National Conference (NC) and Congress have between themselves ruled the state for most of the time. The Congress also shared power with arch rival People Democratic Party (PDP) between 2002 and 2008. Of the 87 seats in the state assembly today, the NC has 28 seats and Congress, 17, while the opposition PDP has 21. With elections round the corner, a rejig of the political alignment is on the cards. There is no clarity on the future of the NC-Congress alliance for the upcoming assembly elections. There is talk of the BJP and PDP joining hands, though both have officially denied any such move. Both have formally launched the

Photos: UNI

July 15, 2014

Alliances between regional and national parties have not worked in J&K. The former lose their regional identity and the people brand them as “sell-outs”. instances of politics making for strange bedfellows. Each somersault brings with it promise of quick political dividends. That is why, when JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar embraced arch rival Lalu Prasad Yadav, morality lessons took a backseat to make way for realpolitik. And when Ram Vilas Paswan joined the chorus to pitch Modi as the prime minister, not many gave him a chance. But he had the last laugh, bagging six seats and a meaty portfolio in the cabinet.

“44+ mission”, signifying their urge to capture power on their own in the state. The PDP leadership has lauded the new government at the center, especially its decision to open dialogue with Pakistan by inviting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi. Congratulating Modi for his party’s landslide victory in the general elections, PDP patriarch Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said he was hopeful that the new government would take tangible steps for a lasting solution to the Kashmir problem. He wished that the government would pursue an agenda, which would be “politically-inclusive and developmentally-intensive”. The PDP has, on earlier occasions, labelled the BJP as a “communal” party. But a post-poll alliance is likely in the event of either of the two falling short of a majority. In recent times no single party has bagged majority in the state election. As they say, there are no permanent friends or foes in politics. The journey of coalition politics in India is replete with

STIFLING REGIONAL SENTIMENTS But should narrow political calculations always dominate larger national interest? Should brazen political alliances be allowed to stifle local and regional aspirations, especially in border-states like J&K? The alliance between a regional party and a national party in J&K has obviously not yielded the desired results. This is primarily because the regional party stands to lose its regional identity when in power. It is important for a regional party to espouse the regional concerns, which it fails to do in a marriage where a national party is a partner in power. The regional sentiment often brands such alignments as sell-outs. While taking up the regional and local issues, the regional political outfit can also work as a shock absorber for any anti-India sentiment. In this arrangement, the center becomes a macro partner, leaving the micro management to the regional party. This would enable the trust deficit to be bridged, with clear cut roles being apportioned to the center and the state. The Congress and the PDP shared power (2002-2008), with the PDP getting a shot at the top slot ahead of Congress. Sayeed became the chief minister, but trouble arose when Congress appointed Ghulam Nabi Azad as the chief minister. No doubt it was

LET LOCAL TAKE CENTERSTAGE: (top to bottom) Supporters of NC at an election rally in Sonawari, north Kashmir, during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections; an election rally of People’s Conference; demonstrations during the Amarnath Yatra land dispute in 2008 INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

STATES/ j&k assembly elections

now stares at a bleak future in the upcoming assembly elections. The Lok Sabha verdict in the sensitive state has dealt a severe blow to the ruling alliance led by the National Conference. For the first time the party failed to win a single seat in general elections. The defeat of former chief minister and former union minister Dr Farooq Abdullah has come as a rude shock to the party cadre and alliance mandarins. The honors in the Lok Sabha elections were shared equally between the BJP and the PDP each bagging three parliamentary seats. The BJP has for the first time captured the largest vote share.

LIMITED ALTERNATIVES: NC leader Farooq Abdullah files nomination for Lok Sabha election earlier this year, as his son, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah looks on; (R) Mehbooba Mufti speaks at an election rally

part of the deal but heavens would not have fallen had Sayeed been allowed to run the entire tenure under close watch of the alliance partner on performance. It is no coincidence that after Azad took over as the chief minister, the state was plunged into a major political and administrative crisis over establishment of temporary shelters along the route of Amarnath Yatra. Ironically the temporary shelters come and go every year for the yatra but the issue got politicized into a national crisis, with violence spreading to other parts of the state. In the midst of violent protests in the state, the PDP said it would withdraw support if land transfer for temporary shelters for yatra pilgrims order was not withdrawn. The order was revoked but the PDP did not lend support to Congress government. This forced Azad to step down on July 7, 2008. LOST OPPORTUNITIES When at 38 Omar Abdullah became the chief minister of the state in January 2009, he rode a wave of hope. He became the youngest chief minister on the promise of new ideas for a new generation in the strife-torn state. The expectations were unprecedented and not without reason. With the Congress as its ruling alliance partner, Abdullah had all the support of the center. His personal equations with Rahul Gandhi made it a dream come true for people in the valley and the state. But five years is a long time in politics. The National Conference-Congress alliance

July 15, 2014

FOR A FRESH START What lies in store for a common voter, as the state goes to polls in a few months? This might well be the first time in many years that there are no pre-poll alliances. This is a definite positive development. The two main regional parties in the valley— the NC & PDP—have a great opportunity to come clean of their past and present a fresh face to the voter, where they show a path to development and are willing to be held accountable for it. Both the parties have leaders who hold promise. Young Abdullah would hopefully have learnt his lessons. Mehbooba Mufti surely knows it is her big chance to not only come out of the shadow of her father but also present her party as a viable alternative. The two national parties in the fray—the BJP and Congress— have their role cast. The BJP is keen to ride the Modi wave to score big wins in the Jammu and Ladakh region. Fair enough, but it should just shy away from any post-poll alliance with the PDP. The Congress might well try and rebuild the party in the state. But it needs to formalize a change of guard by bringing in new-age leadership. Salman Soz, who has served well as the Congress spokesman during elections, needs to be given charge to focus on building confidence in the ranks. Being single should be fashionable this poll season in the state. IL

The writer is consulting editor, Zee Media Corporation. Views are personal

PROFILE/ panthers party/ bhim singh

CHAMPION OF THE CHAINED

after he successfully spearheaded the move to release 300 pakistani prisoners, bhim singh has focused on release of indian prisoners across the border By RC Ganjoo

lmost five decades ago, he embarked upon an ambitious, almost audacious, road trip. Over five years (1967-72), he crisscrossed 120 nations on his motorcycle as a part of a “Peace Mission”. Since then, the fight for internal and external peace, reflected in terms of the fight for individual and others’ rights, became Prof Bhim Singh’s life-long struggle. He battled against his “wrongful” detention, when he was not allowed to attend the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) assembly session in 1985, even though he was an elected MLA. The Supreme Court ordered that `50,000 compensation should be paid to Singh. The order was revolutionary under the Law of Torts. Chief patron of J&K’s Panthers Party and senior executive member of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Singh fought for the rights of hundreds of prisoners from Pakistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s (PoK) and Afghanistan in Indian jails. Based on the writ petitions filed by him, his party and State Legal Aid Committee (headed by him), the Supreme Court released 300 of them, who had languished in prisons for years and decades. His war against such detainees has extended across the border; he wants Indian prisoners-of-war in Pakistan to be freed too. It is because of these endeavors that former Chief Justice of India PN Bhagwati said: “I have known Prof Bhim Singh for a number of years as an indomitable crusader for truth and justice. He possesses rare courage and determination, and wherever he is convinced of the truth of the cause espoused by him, he fights with great determination and vigor even at the cost of his personal

CHAMPIONING PEACE (Left) Bhim Singh INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

PROFILE/ panthers party/ bhim singh

WORLD IS HIS OYSTER (Above) The globetrotter with Eugenie, a student leader of Den Haag in1968. (Below right) Singh who has waged a life-long battle for the rights of hundreds of prisoners from Pakistan, PoK and Afghanistan in Indian jails, meeting a Pakhtoon tribal leader

July 15, 2014

safety and security.” And it is because of these efforts that Justice (now Chief Justice) RM Lodha observed: “Whatever relief the foreign prisoners have been able to secure, it is because of Bhim’s selfless and forceful commitment to the cause of civil rights and civil liberties.” Recently, Singh was invited by Lahore’s Lawyers Congress to Pakistan, and was given grand receptions by the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan in Islamabad and Lahore. However, he went there with a mission. “The new initiative is to seek cooperation from Pakistan lawyers to provide free legal aid, as we do in India, to fight for the rights of our prisoners in their jails. Although I did not get an opportunity to discuss this with the relevant authorities, I found tremendous support within the legal fraternity,” he explains. The first step would be to draw up a list of Indian prisoners-of-war, get the lawyers from Pakistan to file petitions, and finally involve both the governments. However, the legal tussle to free the prisoners may follow different routes in India

and Pakistan. Here, Singh’s petitions invoked Article 21 of the constitution, which states that no person shall be deprived of his life and liberty without the procedure established by law. The apex court has also ruled that this “procedure” has to be fair and “stand the principles of natural justice”. Since Article 21 is a fundamental right of every person residing in India, irrespective of nationality and citizenship, Singh used it to contend that the detention of foreign nationals was illegal, improper and unconstitutional. In a 2010 judgment, Justices Markandey Katju and Lodha agreed: “As regards the prisoners/foreigners who have been detained and who have been referred to in this writ petition, if they have completed their sentence and their nationality had been determined and has been accepted by the country of their origin, they shall be deported forthwith to their country. Regarding the prisoners who have completed their sentence but whose nationality has not yet been determined, we direct the concerned ministry to determine their nationality as soon as possible so that appropriate order can be passed.” Pakistan’s constitution has a similar fundamental right, but it is worded slightly differently. Article 9 talks about “security of person” and states: “No person shall be deprived of life and liberty, save in accordance with

law”. But Article 10A, which relates to the fundamental right to free trial, states that “for the determination of his civil rights and obligations or in any criminal charge against him a person shall be entitled to a fair trial and due process.” Combined together, the two rights may enable Pakistan’s lawyers to drum up similar arguments that Singh successfully deployed in India’s Supreme Court. People in both India and Pakistan were imprisoned for varying reasons. For example, in India, many of them were arrested under the central Criminal Procedure Code. Others were jailed by the state authorities under Public Safety Act. In some cases, the Pakistanis and Afghanis had valid passports and visas, but had either deliberately or inadvertently overstayed in the country.

n addition, Singh has played a role in sorting out the J&K issue. During the tenure of UPA-I, he organized two “heart-to-heart” talks (2005 and 2007) between most of the factions and sections in India’s J&K and PoK. “These talks led to useful and positive results. The resolutions passed in the two conferences resulted in the opening up of the Indo-Pak borders at UriMuzaffarabad and Rawalakote-Kotli. The Indian government has agreed to a third ‘heart-to-heart’ in New Delhi. I plan to hold it in both J&K and the capital,” he says. As is evident, the stance taken by the Narendra Modi-led regime will play a crucial role, both in enhancing relations between the two neighbors and helping the cause of Indian and Pakistani prisoners. At present, it seems that Modi wishes to improve trade and cultural links with Pakistan and is eager to have a meaningful dialogue with his counterpart Nawaz Sharif; the meeting of the two leaders after Modi’s swearing in was an indicator. But the ongoing debate on Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which provides a special status to J&K, may become an obstacle. Time and again, Modi’s BJP has said that the article should be abrogated, that such a decision would send a clear signal that J&K is an integral part of India, governed by Indian laws. Despite the NDA not having the requisite numbers in Rajya Sabha to push through

Singh says Article 370 was a temporary measure, and its continuation has led to anti-India feelings in J&K. But its abrogation will internationalize the issue. a constitutional amendment, the BJP will continue to make noises about Article 370. Clearly, the militant sections within the state, and also Islamabad will be unhappy with such a scenario. Singh favors the abrogation of Article 370 and contends that it was meant to be a “temporary provision”, which has continued for decades. In effect, it has “provided opportunities to a section in Kashmir and another one in Jammu to exploit the local citizens. In Jammu, the article is the root cause for the anti-India feelings in the region.” However, he adds that the move to remove Article 370 is likely to internationalize the issue and have impact on India’s “security and integrity” . Similar is the case with BJP’s decision to rename PoK as Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). “This is a funny argument and demonstrates the misinformation in the minds of the policy makers. If one can argue for renaming PoK as PoJK, I can easily argue for it to be renamed as PoGBJK! The ‘GB’ in this abbreviation stands for Gilgit-Baltistan, which was a part of original J&K, and has been renamed by Pakistan as its fifth province. The PoJK idea shows the hollowness of our current decision-makers, who should have studied the geography and history of the region,” feels Singh. With confusion and chaos surrounding the J&K issue, relations between New Delhi and Islamabad, and NDA’s hard-line feelings on sensitive matters like Article 370, Singh will have to walk the tight rope if he has to pursue his priorities. IL

CROSSBORDER RECOGNITION: (Above) The Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan honored Singh for the release of 300 Pakistani prisoners

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

ENVIRONMENT/ madhya pradesh/mahan forests

Green Light for

DARK FUTURE

in yet another conflict between development and environment, mahan forests in singrauli district are being depleted to make way for coal mines and power plants By Rashme Sehgal 32

July 15, 2014

he landscape is barren and treeless. Hills of debris (called overburdens) from power plants and coal mines loom over the horizon in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh (MP), swamping the once verdant forests with gales of dust through the summer months. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a menace villagers here are fighting tooth and nail. Invasion by these plants and mines has wrecked lives, leading to mercury poisoning among the local populace. They are now fighting to save the Mahan

forests, which are India’s last surviving sal forests and home to leopards, elephants and even the occasional tiger. But it is now a David-Goliath fight between the villagers of Amelia, Bandhaura, Budher, Suhira and Barwantola and corporate giants, such as Essar (Ruias) and Hindalco (Birlas), who have set up a joint venture Mahan Coal Ltd (MCL), to start open coal mining here. The project is spread across 9.8 square kilometers, the expected coal extraction is 125 metric tons (the sanction has been given for 8.5 metric ton per annum. Out of 8.5 metric ton, 60 percent goes to Mahan Power Plant units. HAPLESS VILLAGERS Over 54 villages within the 10-kilometer radius of coal block will be affected and more than 25,000 displaced. Nearly one lakh people in total will be affected by these mines, out of which some 20,000 are from scheduled tribes, such as Baiga, Gond, Khairwar and Panika. The villagers, organized under the banner of Mahan Sangharsh Samiti (MSS), held a massive demonstration in the town of Waidhan on May 5 this year, opposing the handing over of these forests to the conglomerate without valid clearances. Already, the process of numbering trees had begun. As things heated up, MCL officials called the police to disperse the villagers, but backed off as their numbers swelled. On May 8, two MSS members and two Greenpeace activists were arrested in a midnight operation and detained for over 40 hours. Three of the “van satyagrahis” were subsequently released. Bachan Lal Shah, an elderly farmer from Amelia village, remained under arrest. He was one of the first villagers to have the slogan “Jal, Jangal and Jameen” painted prominently outside his house. Other villagers followed suit, and soon, across Singrauli, this slogan came to epitomize a decade-long struggle. Bachan Lal says movingly: “The forest is our mother, without which we cannot survive. Our livelihood, our water, our air are all linked to it.” Other villagers too echo the same sentiment. Ram Lelu Singh Kerhwar, a resident of

Courtesy Greenpeace

Budher village, located inside Mahan forest, says: “I wrote a series of letters to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, wherein I questioned why politicians and bureaucrats were handing over fast-depleting reserves to corporate houses, but I didn’t get a reply.” VESTED INTERESTS In fact, villagers living closest to these mines were upset when Chouhan chose to go on an “indefinite” fast in 2011, protesting against “deliberate discrimination” by the Manmohan Singh government against his state. What topped his list of grouses was the delay in allocation of the coal block to MCL. This fight over conserving forests at the cost of development is an old one and had cost the jobs of two ministers in the last UPA regime. In 2010, former environment minister Jairam Ramesh had declared Mahan forest a “no-go” zone, as it was the last unfragmented forest spread across Sidhi, Singrauli and Sonbhadra districts of MP and formed a crucial animal corridor between central India and Karnataka in the south. This, allegedly, was not taken kindly to by the chairman of Essar Group, Shashi Ruia, who, in March 2010, shot off a letter to the then prime minister Manmohan Singh. He said that as 65 percent of the work in his power plant was completed, further delay would result in losses “to both his company and the country.” Manmohan Singh, in turn, wrote to Ramesh, who wrote back saying that work should not have started before forest clearances were granted. “I am not clear why such good quality forest should be broken

GREEN CONCERNS (Facing page) The power plants in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh have flouted environmental laws. (Above) Villagers of Mahan demanding the release of a Mahan Sangharsh Samiti activist; (left) Bachan Lal at a public meeting in Amelia village

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

ENVIRONMENT/ madhya pradesh/mahan forests

While mining companies claim they have decently rehabilitated the villagers, the evacuees, putting up in tin sheds, rue they have been denied access to their forests. up for such a partial requirement,” said Ramesh. “Partial requirement” referred to Mahan’s coal availability for just 14 years. When letters failed to yield a result, both Ruia and Kumar Mangalam Birla, the chairperson of the Aditya Birla Group (of which Hindalco is a subsidiary), personally met the minister. A compromise plan was worked out by Ramesh, who suggested that coal blocks falling in “no-go” areas could be given clearance if these power projects had completed between 60 percent and 70 percent construction. Meanwhile, the prime minister’s office too said the “go” and “no-go” nomenclature

be given the boot. Ramesh’s successor, Jayanti Natarajan, too had concerns about the destruction of these forests. Singrauli is presently the third most polluted cluster in India, according to the Environmental Pollution Index prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). With 15 mining projects, led by corporate giants, including Reliance, Hindalco and Jaypee Group, having a large footprint here, the green ministry had reportedly asked for a moratorium in setting up new thermal plants and mining units. PLIABLE REGIME But Veerappa Moily (he succeeded Natarajan) changed all this. He immediately sanctioned 967.65 hectares of these forests in favor of MCL and granted them Stage 2 clearance on February 12, 2014, which meant they could start mining work. Singrauli’s collector MS Selvendran, how-

“Indecision period is over” Environment minister Prakash Javadekar is a man in a hurry, giving green clearance to a slew of industrial projects. While defending his government’s stance, he says Ganga cleaning will get top priority

HEN Veerappa Moily was given the additional charge of the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) at the tail end of the UPA-II regime, eyebrows were raised. The slew of environmental clearances granted by him in his three-month ministerial tenure saw him face considerable flak. Within hours of taking over, Prakash Javadekar, the minister of environment, forests and climate change, information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs has gone on a green clearance spree, with the press looking the other way. Heading his list of clearances are a number of defense projects. Already he has fast-tracked clearance to the Indian Navy’s strategic Karwar project that will help secure several coast guard stations along the Indian coast, as well as the Mumbai’s coastline. Says Javadekar: “Clearance to this strategic project

July 15, 2014

was pending. So, we sanctioned it. Only when a country is secure can its environment and people be made secure.” Javadekar says that after he took over, he found that there were a lot of files pertaining to the power ministry. He called Piyush Goyal, the minister of power, and got secretaries to meet and hammer out some of the issues. “I’m not saying that we are going to rush through clearances, but that period of indecision is now over,” he says. Keeping in mind the increasing Chinese clout along our northern borders, the minister has fast-tracked green clearance processes for border roads and defense projects, which fall within 100 kilometers from the Line of Control. Close to 80 critical roads, covering 6,000 kilometers, had been held up due to lack of environmental clearances. He, however, does not specify what the clearances were and what has holding them up. Unfortunately this former banker, who has had his political grooming in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of the BJP, has shown little foresight when handling the most crucial issue of the Narcondam hornbill, a rare bird, whose only nesting habitat remains in one tiny island in the Andaman and Nicobar island archipelago. Says Javadekar: “There is an island called the Coco Island in the

ever, insists that pollution levels are not as high as brought out by CPCB. “A recent survey undertaken by the MP government has shown that there are not very high levels of air and water pollution in Singrauli. It is the neighboring Sonbhadra district in UP which is causing pollution due to extensive use of stone crushing machines. That dust blows into our area,” he claims. He adds it’s important for MCL to become operational, as “the cost of open mining works out to `500-700 per ton, whereas that of captive mining is `1,200 per ton.” Incidentally, in open cast mining, coal is available near the surface, while in underground captive mining, operators have to dig deep into the earth. Already, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh governments, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporations and Sainik (a private company) are ready to set up power plants here by 2016.

Bay of Bengal which is under Myanmar. However, China has its presence on that island. There is a project pending to set up radar on Narcondam Island, which is just opposite to the Coco Island. We are looking into the project.” The Indian Coast Guard has proposed the building of a radar station and a diesel power generation unit on the island, and sources in the ministry confirm that these will be okayed. Environmentalists have cried themselves hoarse that there are only 300 Narcondam hornbills left on the earth and another island could have been selected to set up a radar station. But their demands have cut little ice.

N a bid to ensure greater transparency in the functioning of the ministry, Javadekar has started a new system: online submission of applications for environmental clearances; no applications would be entertained for clearances in any other way hereafter. While he and other party leaders claim they are committed to cleaning the Ganga and a host of other rivers, there is no clarity about just how they will go forward. When asked what steps they are planning to take, the minister says: “We have held several meetings on cleaning this river. Four empowered group of ministers, along with the Minister of Water

Courtesy Greenpeace

“We expect to have an installed capacity of 15,000 MW, thereby producing 10 percent of the country’s power,” says Selvendran. Meanwhile, Ramakant Tewari, CEO, MCL, claims that his company has helped provide “evacuee” children with good education. The companies also claim that they are giving substantial compensation.

Resources, Uma Bharti, the Minister of Drinking Water Nitin Gadkari, and Piyush Goyal are sitting down and holding meetings to ensure a minimum flow to clean the river. The issue of solid waste management must be given a priority. At present, one-third of untreated industrial waste, one-third of untreated domestic waste and two-third of untreated agricultural waste are being dumped in our rivers. This has to be tackled first.” How does Javadekar plan to ensure that there is a natural flow of the Ganga river, given that the sanction for building over 600 dams on it has been granted? His reply is ambiguous. “When we improve our productivity and our infrastructure— especially our roads—our pollution levels all round are bound to decline.” A favorite expression of the new minister is taking “decisions in the nation’s interest”. This could well explain why, within a fortnight of taking over, he has announced the raising of the height of the controversial Narmada Dam by 17 meters. Although activist Medha Patkar has warned that this will impact nearly a million

BRAVE FRONT Members of Mahan Sangharsh Samiti protesting against demarcation of forest area by Essar officials for felling trees

people, extra water will help provide more water to Gujarat. In an interaction with journalists at the Indian Women’s Press Corps in Delhi, Javadekar elaborated that he had been holding rapid-fire meetings with several chief ministers: Prithviraj Chavan of Maharashtra to clear pending irrigation projects, Anandi Patel of Gujarat to study environmental development, and Manohar Parrikar of Goa to okay mining. While reacting on what he felt about the contradictory reports submitted by Professor Madhav Gadgil and Professor Kasturirangan on the Western Ghats, Javadekar replies: “We will use satellite images for ground truthing, and of course, we will hear all points of view, including those who represent the people of the affected states.” As information and broadcasting minister, Javadekar wants Doordarshan (DD) to once again become the premier channel and intends to make it truly autonomous. “DD has 12 channels and it must be mandatory for all cable operators to show them,” he states.

Javadekar has fast-tracked several defense projects and pushed files related to coal linkages for power plants.

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

ENVIRONMENT/ madhya pradesh/mahan forests

STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE Over 54 villages will be affected and more than 25,000 displaced if Mahan Coal Limited has its way

Jairam Ramesh As environment minister, he declared Mahan forest a “no-go” zone

Shivraj Singh Chouhan Fasted for early allocation of coal block to MCL

Shashi Ruia The Essar chief put pressure on UPA-II and retrieved his power plant

Jayanti Natarajan As Ramesh’ successor, she wanted to save the forest

Veerappa moily As the last environment minister in UPA-II, he favored MCL

July 15, 2014

But this is not visible on the ground. Jeetlal Vaiga, a tribal, was evicted from his home in the forest of Jharia and moved into a tin shack in Amlori Visthapan Colony. He laments: “I am a refugee who is no longer allowed access to our forests. Life has no meaning for me.” GETTING SHORT SHRIFT All these factors forced a group of 30 women in March this year to hold a protest rally outside the Essar Thermal Power Plant in Singrauli. They belong to the villages of Bhandora, Nagwa, Khairahi and Samvua. Each of them was given a displacement card that confirms their status. Some complain they were shifted to areas with no water, while others say they were moved to the land next to overburdens. “Many of our cattle have died drinking polluted water flowing out of the Essar power plant,” says Mahimati from Khairahi village. This was due to the collapse of the mud wall that lined the fly ash dyke of power plant, causing polluted water to mix with local streams used for drinking. The district collector ordered the shutting of the plant, but the company managed to restart operations. The matter is now before the National Green Tribunal, which has ordered that MCL cannot fell trees till October 2014. The activism seems to be helping. Priya Pillai, a local campaigner with Greenpeace India, says the decision of the gram sabhas in Niyamgiri to say no to bauxite mining has

come as a huge boost to villagers. “With 40 percent of the population in Mahan forests being tribals, they can play an active role in ensuring these forests aren’t axed,” says Pillai. DESPERATE EFFORTS In Singrauli too, a series of gram sabhas was held in March 2013, through which recognition of their forest rights were to be initiated. But, this turned out to be a farce, claim villagers. At a press conference in New Delhi in August 2013, addressed by villagers, Bachan Lal Shah said: “While only 184 villagers signed the resolution, following which the register was closed, an RTI showed the signature count to be 1,125, with names of people who weren’t alive.” Former minister of tribal affairs KC Deo wrote to the chief minister of MP and the governor complaining against the “fraudulent” gram sabhas. On May 12, 2014, Pillai filed a writ petition in Jabalpur high court against SP, Singrauli, for his failure to file an FIR in the forged gram sabha case. Selvendran concedes there was “some discrepancy in the signatures of the earlier gram sabha.” He adds that he had instituted an inquiry in the case and was ready to convene another gram sabha shortly. He informs that the recommendations of this gram sabha would be forwarded to the state government. after which forest land diversion can start. Will the forests get a permanent lifeline or will they be tragically decimated at the altar of progress? IL

ENVIRONMENT/ chhattisgarh/mining

When Green 38

N March 24, 2014, the NGT suspended mining activity in the Parsa East and Kante-Basan (PEKB) coal blocks, given to the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam (RRVUM), a state-owned entity. The tribunal added that the approval granted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to RRVUM—which formed a joint venture with the Gujarat-based Adani Group, Parsa Kante Collieries, to explore the blocks—was cancelled. Further, it directed the environment ministry to seek fresh advice from the Forests Advisory Committee (FAC), and then take a “reasoned” decision “in the light of the advice given by the FAC….” Just over a month later, the Supreme Court stayed the tribunal’s suspension of mining activity. That’s it. The apex court did not discuss the other points raised by NGT. It created a peculiar, and almost illegal, situation. So, while Parsa Kante Collieries could continue mining, its minority partner, RRVUM, would need to simultaneously seek a fresh approval from the environment ministry. It was as if the company could continue its activities without a clearance from FAC and MoEF. Unfortunately, this is only one of the several things that seemed wrong in the PEKB coal blocks’ case. The story really began in March 2011, when RRVUM submitted a revised mining proposal to the environment ministry, which was discussed by the FAC, a statutory July 15, 2014

Illustrations:Anthony Lawrence

the manner in which mining was first banned, and then permitted in the parsa east and kante-basan coal blocks in chhattisgarh shows the contrasting pulls in allowing projects in eco-sensitive zones By Kanchi Kohli

Turns Red Rag body under the Forests Conservation Act, 1980. In June 2011, the FAC recommended to the then environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, that RRVUM’s coal mining proposal should be rejected. The same month, Ramesh rejected FAC’s recommendation, and cleared it. He gave six reasons to justify his decision; the first three were related to environment, and the next three to development. First, he said that the blocks were located in the “fringe and actually not in the bio-diversity-rich Hasdeo Arand forest region,” which was “no go” area and where mining was not allowed. Second, he maintained the RRVUM’s revised plan had linked renewal of clearance for phase-II to “performance on reforestation and bio-diversity management in phase-I”.

Third, Ramesh felt that wildlife concerns were “taken care of through a well-prepared and well-executed Wildlife Management Plan.” The miner(s) had involved the Wildlife Institute of India and other independent institutions with expertise in elephant-related issues. The latter included: Nature Conservation Foundation, Wildlife Trust of India, and the Center for Ecological Studies at the Indian Institute of Science. The manelephant issues were prominently red-flagged by the FAC. s mentioned earlier, the next three reasons were related to growth. According to Ramesh, the captive coal blocks were linked to super-critical thermal power generation, which was crucial for INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

ENVIRONMENT/ chhattisgarh/mining

Go or no-go

Once the proposal on the diversion of forests up to 40 hectares is approved by its regional offices, the ministry of environment and forests has to take a decision within 30 days and inform the state government. For proposals that are complete in all respects and need forest land of more than 40 hectares, the ministry needs to refer it to the forest advisory committee (FAC) within 30 days. The committee must return the proposal with its suggestions within a month. Thereafter, the ministry needs to decide on grant within a month, and convey its decision to the state/union territory government. For the final approval, the ministry or its regional offices must decide whether the compliance report is complete, within 15 days of receiving it from the state/UT government. Once it is in order, the approval must be given within 20 days. Once the final approval is granted by the environment ministry, action can only start on the diversion of forest after the state/union territory government issues a direction under Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act 1980. However, the direction can be challenged before the National Green Tribunal by the aggrieved party.

states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. He admitted that the two states “have been persistently following up” or, in other words, lobbying for the environment clearance. Finally, the minister said that it was “imperative to sustain the momentum generated in the XI Plan in terms of capacity addition (in power sector).” Thus, the PEKB clearance would be “in keeping with broader development picture and balancing of different objectives….” It seemed like a perfect balance between development and environment. Only, the NGT did not think so. The tribunal refused to go into the merits of Ramesh’s “developmentrelated” justifications, as it was only interested in the environmental aspects of the clearance. To do this exercise, it explored a larger and micro issue: Whether the recommendations of FAC were binding on the minister, and whether Ramesh’s reasons were sufficient to outweigh them? The ministry maintained that FAC’s role was “advisory” and, therefore its advice could be overruled by the ministry, which was the real “decision-making body”. The tribunal agreed that FAC was constituted by the ministry, and its role was advisory in nature. But it added that since the FAC was composed of “experts or men of standing in the fields of forest,” who had “technical knowledge and experience,” it could give “valuable and objective advice.” Therefore, the real purpose of FAC was to ensure “fair and fully-informed decision by the minister without any arbitrariness.” Although FAC’s recommendations were not binding, the ministry still could not brush them aside “on conjectures or imaginative grounds”. In this context, Ramesh’s decision to reject FAC’s within a day—he received the final recommendations on June 22, 2011, and overturned them on June 23, 2011, with his six reasons—was a bit hurried.

NGT’s recent order and the Supreme Court’s final decision on the PEKB coal blocks will impact the freer environment policy of the Modi government. July 15, 2014

According to NGT, Ramesh should have either asked the FAC “to examine the worth of his (six) views” or embarked upon on a similar inquiry with the aid of “other such experts”. It was imperative upon the minister to seek additional advice to determine whether his decision to grant the clearance was correct or not. The tribunal’s observation may set a precedent for future decisions; an environment minister would need to follow this process to reject FAC’s advice. On the first of the three specific environment-related reasons that Ramesh gave to go against FAC’s advice, the tribunal disagreed with him. It said that while PEKB coal blocks fell in the “fringe area” of the forests, it “found no basis for minister’s opinion of understanding that it was ‘actually not in the Hasdeo-Arand forest region (a nogo area)... .” It added that neither Ramesh nor FAC had “any material on which the minister could have based his second reason (on reforestation and bio-diversity management) for overriding the advice of the FAC.” When it came to wildlife management, the tribunal felt that Ramesh, instead of giving the RRVUM plan a clean chit, should have examined the blueprint prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India. It blamed the FAC for a lack of “specialist view” on this issue. “Instances of human-wildlife conflict just cannot be ignored, as these spring not from the encroachment of human territories by animals but vice versa and, therefore, have to be regarded as alarm bells….” In August 2010, he accepted FAC’s recommendation related to diversion of forests lying in neighboring Tara coal block. The FAC then said Tara was part of a “large compact block very rich in species diversity” and that such “important un-fragmented areas need to be protected and further enriched for posterity”. Sudiep Shrivastava, the complainant, who filed the case in NGT, pointed out that “the minister had on three previous occasions rejected coal mining projects in Hasdeo-Arand forest area....” Other than dealing with the specifics of the PEKB coal blocks, NGT dealt with broad aspects of the environment vs development debate. For example, it made two significant observations, which would be of relevance to

similar projects approved, or whose approval is around the corner. First, it said that forests need to be safeguarded as national assets. Second was its reiteration of an earlier Supreme Court order that stated that diversion of forest land requires a “most careful examination of any such proposal by specialist to evaluate social and environmental cost and benefits.” It remains to be seen how such issues will be dealt by the new regime. Contrary to current environment where the business community and the political regimen feels that environment clearances are the biggest obstacles to growth, the tribunal concluded that the whole debate needs to be looked at from a different prism. It said that “ecocentrism” should form the basis for any decision on environment and forest approvals. NGT drew its inspiration from an earlier Supreme Court order in the 2012 TN Godavarman case. The court observed that environment justice could be achieved only if

one moved from “anthropocentric” principles to “ecocentric” ones. Concepts, such as sustainable development, polluter-pays principle and inter-generational equity had their roots in anthropocentric principles focussing more on human requirements. In contrast, “ecocentrism is nature-centered where humans are part of nature and nonhumans have intrinsic value.” The apex court has given interim order in the PEKB case, and the battle is on between those who favor development and the green warriors. But NGT’s March 2014 ruling and the future order of the apex court in this case, will impact decisions in other ongoing cases as well as the “freer” environment policy of the government. The public hearings for the Parsa coal block, an adjoining field to PEKB, took place on February 28 and March 1, 2014. The matter may go to court. The forests diversion in Mahan coal block has been challenged in NGT. PEKB’s decision will impact them. IL

SKEWED DEVELOPMENT Coal mines in eco-sensitive areas have often belied environmental concerns

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

ECONOMY/ black money/tax havens

Five Shades

don’t feel too excited about the swiss decision to share details of indian account holders; the billions of dollars stashed abroad might have been invested in global assets or rerouted back as white money

By Alam Srinivas

OW easy or difficult is it to get back the black money, which is stashed away by Indians in foreign accounts? Given the euphoria today, it seems a not-too difficult task. Listen to what a hawala trader, who regularly channelizes cash from India to various tax havens, told me: “Like the six degrees of separation in personal relationships, there are at least six layers of separation between the owners of illegal money and their foreign bank accounts. Investigators would need to wade through millions of accounts to pinpoint the culprits.” Therefore, he sarcastically added, India would find it worthwhile to go after the ill-gotten wealth earned in the country, and prevent it from going abroad. Several economists, like Arun Kumar of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, argue along similar lines. They feel that the euphoria about Switzerland’s recent deci-

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July 15, 2014

sion to share banking and clients’ information with India, and the cabinet’s decision to set up a special investigation team, headed by MB Shah, is misplaced. While it may result in brownie points for the government— Narendra Modi and the BJP want the money to come back—the investigators are unlikely to nab the big fish. What one may witness is the arrest of a few small-timers, who were stupid enough to have accounts in their own names, and income tax cases that may drag on for years, may be decades. The focus among politicians, judiciary and economists to recover the money stashed abroad is lopsided for various reasons. One, the quantum of money in tax havens, and especially Swiss banks, is exaggerated. Two, the hyped figures of trillions of dollars stashed abroad are estimates of the money that may have flown out since Independence, or in the past 67 years. Three, the chances are that the bulk of the tainted money was invested in global assets or came back to India as white money. Four, a sizeable portion of this money may not be illegal; India allows its citizens to open accounts abroad, even in tax havens. Finally, as global experiences prove, even if the foreign banks help the investigators, the process still gets mired in legalese and technicalities for years. ALL THOSE ZEROES A few years ago, BJP leader LK Advani said that black money in foreign accounts, owned by Indians, was a staggering $1.4 trillion. In a

of Black presentation in the US, an Indian academician said the figure was a mindboggling $14 trillion (was it a case of a missing decimal point?). A report by Global Financial Integrity put the amount at under $500 billion in 2008, and most experts felt that it was a grossly-underestimated figure. In recent times, while ASSOCHAM, an industry association, talked of $2 trillion stashed abroad, its counterpart, FICCI was more conservative and said that the money in tax havens was over $700 billion. These figures seem meaningless, when seen from the perspective of the Swiss authorities. A few days ago, they claimed that the money in their bank accounts, owned either directly or indirectly by Indians, was a mere `14,000 crore, or just over $2.33 billion at the current exchange rate. In 2010, the Swiss Bank Association estimated it at over `9,000 crore, or over $1.5 billion. Clearly, there is kite-flying about the money taken out of the country. This is evident from other secret sources, which became public in the past two years. Arvind Kejriwal, the head of Aam

Anthony Lawrence

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

ECONOMY/ black money/tax havens

Aadmi Party, claimed that he had received a CD with , names of 700 Indians, OS C R ES who had accounts in the MAPIN D P AN ILI Geneva branch of N H DI P nt HSBC Bank. He FE THE n ou m Am alleged that the names included prominent industrialists, such as Mukesh Ambani (`100 crore), Anil Ambani (`100 crore), Jet Airways’ Naresh Goyal (`80 crore), and three members of the Dabur Group’s Burman family (together `25 crore). About 150 accounts had small amounts of `57 crore. If some of the richest names in the country have such paltry sums in foreign accounts, whether legal or illegal, the overall amounts are unlikely to be huge. Not too long ago, India received information from Germany about 26 Indians and 12 Indian trusts that owned accounts in the tax haven of Lichenstein. Ger-many had bought the CD from a banker whistleblower for Euro 4 million. As a part of the ongoing hearings in the Supreme Court on black money, the government revealed that proceedings were initiated against 18 Indians, of which 17 were prosecuted. However, the amounts held by them in these accounts were paltry; 18 Indians held `43.83 crore, and a tax demand of `24.26 crore was slapped on them by the income tax department. Most black money estimates by think-tanks have a similar problem. They are based on the , INE amounts that may have D I AB EL- ISIA gone out since the E t ZIN TUN oun country became indem A pendent, or for n m nearly seven decades. It is stupid, almost facile, to believe that the money is still lying in the accounts, and waiting for India to get it back. In most cases, it was used to buy assets (real estate and bullion) internationally, or re-routed back into India through legitimate ways to make it white and, (voila!) tax free. This is the reason why there is so little of it still lying in Swiss banks

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July 15, 2014

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and other tax havens. This trend has increased since 1991, when India opted for economic reforms. SHOW ME THE MONEY Reforms created new investment opportunities, both productive and speculative, in India. Indians realized there were several legal ways to bring back unaccounted wealth without attracting tax authorities. The most prominent way was to bring it as foreign money to be invested in projects (foreign direct investment, and foreign venture capital and private equity), stock markets, and real estate. It is an established fact that most of the FDI that came through tax havens, such as Mauritius and Singapore, was tainted money abroad that was rerouted by Indians. The process was dubbed “round tripping”. Investment in Indian stocks was another option. For example, court documents in the family infighting after the death of LP Jaiswal, patriarch of Jagatjit Industries, which makes popular liquor brands, proved that Higro Trading and Orissa Holdings, both registered in British Virgin Islands, held over 2 million global depository receipts (GDRs) in the company. GDRs are convertible into shares and normally issued to foreign investors in Europe. Both the entities were controlled by Jaiswal, who funneled the money he had in tax havens, to buy the GDRs. A declaration by Higro Trading, dated September 2003, said that the “holding (1.23 million GDRs) in our name is held by us as your (Jaiswal) nominee and we undertake to exercise all voting and other rights attached… as you shall direct….” Participatory notes have become another favorite instrument to bring back money to India. These are generally issued by foreign institutional investors to foreigners, who wish to invest in Indian stocks, but are not— or don’t wish to be—registered with SEBI, the market regulator. However, Indians, using benami accounts and shell companies, use the P-Notes mechanism to convert their black money into legalized and speculative assets to earn impressive returns. Not too long ago, the International Council of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) got a list of accounts held in tax havens by

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$505 nt mn prominent individuals across the world. The list included the names of nearly 600 Indians, along with the trusts and companies through which they held their accounts. Some of the prominent names were those of industrialists and their family members— Vijay Mallya, Ravikant Ruia, Abhey Kumar Oswal, Samir Modi, Chetan Burman, Rahul Mammen Mappillai, Vinod Doshi and Meenakshi Jatia. However, many of these accounts were legal and even approved by the Reserve Bank of India. NOT EVERYTHING IS BLACK When an Indian Express journalist and a member of ICIJ, investigated the names, she found that several businessmen were upfront about their accounts. Spokesperson for Essar Group, owned by Ruias, said that the accounts were in accordance with the laws. “These (eight) companies were started as special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to make investments and are in the knowledge of the concerned authorities,” said Essar. Mallya’s spokesperson clarified he was a non-resident Indian and could open foreign accounts. He added that it was common for businessmen to use tax havens to invest money, and Mallya had disclosed the details to parliament. Burman maintained that he wanted to use the tax haven to route exports, mainly honey, through Singapore. The plan failed; he told Indian Express that “the company was set up through a verbal communication since I wanted to make Singapore the export hub of my products. But no trade transaction actually materialized and the company has thus remained dormant.” Lankalingam Murugesu and his wife, Reeta, who export papad, said that they started the company in a tax haven for “better tax planning”. In June 2008, US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), akin to Income Tax agency in India, got the local court permission to summon UBS, the largest Swiss bank, to disclose records of Americans, who held “unreported” accounts in Switzerland. Over a year later, in

It is stupid, almost facile, to believe that the money is still lying in the accounts, and waiting for India to get it back. Which is why Indians have $2.33 billion in Swiss banks. August 2009, UBS agreed to pay a fine of $780 million for helping US citizens to take money out and evade taxes, and disclose the identities of 4,450 account holders. IRS said that the settlement was a “major step” towards “piercing the veil of bank secrecy”. It was a historic case, which opened the doors to pry into accounts in tax havens, or so people thought. However, a recent study by Laura Szarmach found that the US got the information about the account holders under its bilateral tax treaty with Switzerland. The loophole in the agreement is that information can be obtained only if the US knows the identities of the account holders. Thus, the Swiss won a great battle; it avoided automatic information sharing that would have opened the floodgates. In addition, the US would receive information on 4,450 accounts, and not the tens of thousands it had demanded. Therefore, the US “succumbed to the Swiss desire to preserve as much bank secrecy as possible.” The above case, where a powerful nation attempted to arm-twist Switzerland, showed how difficult it is to get information about foreign accounts. For a country like India, the obstacles would be higher and more in numbers; the information given may be sketchy, requests may be rejected, and it may take a long legal battle to take action against individuals. Therefore, despite the Swiss’ decision to part from banking information, don’t get excited that India is likely to receive billions of dollars over the next few years. IL INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

TECH/ online privacy

LEAVE ME ALONE technological advancement in information sharing and state surveillance pose a serious threat to individual privacy. indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lack of stringent laws in this area is a case of being behind the times By Rajendran Nair Karakulam

July 15, 2014 Illustrations: Amitava Sen

nion Finance Minister Arun Jaitley found to his horror in January 2013, that his phone was being tapped. He was leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha then. The tapping had not been ordered by the government, but by Delhi police personnel, who were abusing their powers in an unauthorized manner. Earlier, leaks of tapes between middlemen, politicians and businessmen confirmed that the information collected through surveillance was not in safe hands. Several individuals have also complained that their phones are being tapped. The government usually puts the blame on the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) for the leaks. These TSPs function within the limits of licenses issued by the government. The truth, most often, is that the government mandates the surveillance and then places the burden of ensuring privacy on the TSPs. The state has also been arming itself with newer powers and tools for gathering information about citizens. The government announced in 2009 that it would start a Central Monitoring System (CMS) in order to do away with the intervention of TSPs in surveillance; this s started in 2013. The CMS ensures that all mobile calls are tapped regularly and consistently 24x7. Therefore, it is only logical to conclude that the CMS will further conceal unlawful surveillance. Surveillance systems like PRISM, prevalent in the United States, are also similar in nature, but the US privacy laws protect citizens from any arbitrary and illegal use. Despite concerted attempts by the authorities to invade privacy, there has been hardly any demand from the civil society to reform India’s privacy laws. Privacy laws protect citizens not just from state surveillance, but also from private processing of data. Protection from private processing is becoming more crucial in the new environment of information sharing on the internet. While using the net, we give out a lot of data about ourselves, sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. This data is

Right to be forgotten The recent judgment on the “right to be forgotten” by the European Court has brought the issue of privacy protection back into the public debate. The European Court stressed on a new right of oblivion on the internet that rests on the principle of purpose. Data and information collected with the consent of the user must not be processed after the purpose of such collection ceases to exist. This is one of the basic principles of privacy laws and has been incorporated in the Indian draft bill. At present, only “sensitive personal data”, as under the IT Rules, is protected from being processed. The AP Shah report had highlighted the “right to be forgotten” but considered it hard to be implemented in the current environment of information sharing. But the European Court judgment has created the possibility of such an environment where one may seek protection from processing of data on the internet. If the Indian privacy laws are made similar to the EU Directive, on which this decision was based, Indian users could also claim protection from Google’s evils and Yahoo bogeys.

available to various agencies for processing. Some forms of processing are very common and are used by companies for commercial purposes. The advertisements that pop up while you browse on Google are projected after experts study your interests through your browsing history.

or example, if you are browsing for options to buy a new flat in Jaipur, you may be targeted with more real estate ads from Jaipur, or even Rajasthan. Even Facebook intends to do the same. This is called retargeting. Many countries like Canada have already started protecting their citizens against such tactics. Currently, the central government is empowered to intercept any communication on the pretext of security of the state and protection of friendly relations with foreign states. Such a power is given to the government under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act. At present, an authorization from the INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

TECH/ online privacy

home ministry is enough for the state to carry out an interception. It was this weakness of procedural requirement that enabled the Gujarat government to allegedly stalk a young woman.

he Supreme Court, on a public interest litigation filed by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), observed that the substantive law in Section 5(2) must have a procedural backing so that the exercise of the power by the government is just, fair and reasonable. Bhairav Acharya, a Supreme Court lawyer, who has worked on privacy laws, says: “There should be judicial scrutiny in surveillance by the state and there should be a Data Protection Authority protecting collection and processing of data.” A 2011 report by the Group of Experts on Privacy, constituted by the planning commission and headed by the former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, highlighted the gulf between the Indian privacy regime and privacy laws across the world. Some basic principles which were proposed to be added were: notice to the subject of surveillance, consent and purpose of data collection and protection from interception. The UPA government was working on a privacy protection bill and the NDA government may take it forward. The bill proposes stringent regulation on collection and processing of data and various procedural requirements for interception of communication and state surveillance. This will be done by ensuring that the collection is carried out only with the notice and consent of the subject, and the processing might not go beyond the purpose of collecting data. The privacy protection bill also prohibits interception of communication and state surveillance, unless it is authorized by a data protection authority. But, neither the public nor the lawmakers in parliament seem to be hassled by the

The Privacy Protection Bill proposes strict regulations on surveillance and bans interception of communication and state scrutiny unless authorized to do so. 48

July 15, 2014

powers of Big Brother. The harmful effects of surveillance are not direct or tangible. The basic problem with surveillance is that it puts the watcher and the watched in a position of disparity, which could lead to discrimination and coercion of the watched. Imagine a situation in which the state is armed with powers to identify and persecute its critics. This means that actually you do not even have to put up a status on Facebook to get arrested; your searches on the internet and your communications with your friends regarding a sensitive political issue can itself alert the government and land you in jail. The problem is that there is very little awareness about the surveillance being carried out by the state and much less alertness about the right to privacy that we must have against such actions of the state. Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Centre for Internet and Society, says: “There is a false dichotomy that exists due to very little public debate about state surveillance in India. Security and privacy are two sides of the same coin and neither can be achieved without securing the other.” The right to privacy issue should now become a public debate, as it affects every citizen directly.

nlike state surveillance, protection from private data processing on the internet is a major concern. Those who argue that the actions of a democratic state, even when it snoops, are benign, may not view the actions of Google or Facebook or those agencies which can get access to the data transmitted through Google or Facebook, as necessarily benign. Even those who are not scared of the government may be scared of these “other” agencies. The July 2012 cyber attacks on over 10,000 Indian officials working in various offices, from the PMO to the DRDO, should settle any doubts one might have had regarding the online capabilities of terrorists today. Public pressure can often get legislations passed. Civil society must pressurize the state to pass legislations protecting people from surveillance and processing of data. A public cry for protection from private snoopers will lead to protection from state snoopers, since the law for both would be the same. IL

FOCUS/ minorities

NAJMA’S

MUSLIMATICS the minister’s statement shows an abysmal misreading of not only the constitution but also of her own party’s manifesto By Jagdish Sagar

Anil Shakya

AJMA Heptullah, the new minister of minority affairs, started with some fireworks: “Muslims,” she said, “are not a minority”. There were enough of them, she felt, and her real problem was to increase the number of Parsis. Under questioning, she backtracked: “Till I get guidance from the prime minister (PM), I will not draw a roadmap for my ministry.”

STIRRING A DEBATE Heptullah’s (left) remark on Muslims in India raises concerns about the need for defining their status in the right perspective

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

FOCUS/ minorities

ance) have got started with: Ensure access to education and jobs without discrimination, modernize madrasa education, promote Muslims’ livelihood and entrepreneurial opportunities, improve Waqf Boards, ensure a peaceful and secure environment, curate the Muslims’ rich heritage and culture, promote Urdu, and much more. The president’s address contained a brief summary and the PM’s reply to the debate put passion into it. he manifesto is consistent with that: “BJP believes that in India’s ‘Unity in Diversity’ lies India’s biggest strength. We cherish the depth and vibrancy that the diversity in Indian society adds to the nation. BJP is committed to the preservation of the rich culture and heritage of India’s minority communities; alongside their social and economic empowerment.” Muslims, with reason, are the only minority referred to specifically; the manifesto promises to “curate” the Muslims’ “rich heritage and culture”. The best construction one can put on Ms Heptullah’s out-of-the-box loud thinking is that she wanted Muslims to think of themselves as being like everyone else. But, then, how many people think of Muslims as being like themselves? Do more, or fewer, people do so than in the past? Few in India, with its youthful population, are likely to know that Rajasthan, Bihar and Maharashtra, respec-

NO CURRYING FAVOUR The Parsis are gradually diminishing, but that can’t be the reason enough for the government to offer them benefits, and not to Muslims

Admittedly, then, she was just shooting her mouth off. That controversy has fizzled out now, with the PM’s speech replying to the debate on the president’s address.

ut the minister already had a roadmap, if she’d read her party’s manifesto: “It is unfortunate that even after several decades of independence, a large section of the minority, and especially Muslim community, continues to be stymied in poverty. Modern India must be a nation of equal opportunity…. India cannot progress if any segment of Indians is left behind.” The manifesto backs up that powerful statement with a solid “to do” list for the minister that she could (pending further guid-

What the laws decree

evertheless, reading between the gaffes, Ms Heptullah did actually raise a couple of serious questions: who are the minorities and what is proper for the state to do for them? In Pakistan, a minority is anyone the Government says isn’t a Muslim. But ours is a secular state in which we don’t pigeon-hole people by their religion. It’s no accident that the constitution nowhere defines a “minority”; where used, the term has a specific meaning in a particular context. Article 30 gives “all minorities, whether based on religion or language” the right to establish and administer their own educational institutions and still get the same govern-

July 15, 2014

ment aid; for this purpose, Muslims are obviously a “minority”. But no other fundamental right is specifically for minorities identified by religion. The religious freedoms guaranteed under Articles 25, 26, 27 and 28 are for everyone, even foreigners, while they’re in India. (Not even the Sikhs’ religious right to carry kirpans, included in Article 25, has anything to do with being a minority or even a citizen.) Article 29 gives any “section of the citizens”, not specifically a religious community, the “right to conserve” its “distinct language, script or culture” if it has one. The distinction between “script” and “language” is real. Apart from its script (and the inherent cultural baggage of this or any

script), Urdu is arguably a variant of Hindi sharing a common syntax and colloquial vocabulary. Today, the BJP manifesto is right to include Urdu among its priority Muslim concerns but within living memory (if you’re my age) Urdu wasn’t particularly Muslim; especially in spoken form it was the lingua franca of Bollywood and North India. Early in the last century, Mahatma Gandhi favored Hindi as a “universal national language for India…with the option of writing it in Persian or Nagari characters” and requiring everyone to know both scripts. Two scripts for variants of the same language isn’t new: Malayalam has been written in the Arabic script; Konkani in the Devnagari and Roman scripts. Further afield,

tively, have had chief ministers named Barkatullah Khan (1971-73), Abdul Ghafoor (1973-75) and Abdul Rehman Antulay (1980-82). It wasn’t a big splash at the time, but would be unthinkable today. Coming back to the legal and constitutional issue, the National Commission for Minorities Act doesn’t identify any specific minorities: it leaves that for the government to notify and, in 1993, the government notified all the main religious minorities, in demographic pecking order starting with Muslims and ending with Parsis, but leaving out Jains.

n Bal Patil & Anr vs Union of India, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition to add Jains to the list. But it did not strike down classification in terms of religious minorities, it merely suggested: “The Commission instead of encouraging claims from different communities for being added to a list of notified minorities under the Act, should suggest ways and means to help create social conditions where the list of notified minorities is gradually reduced and done away with altogether.” Identifying minorities by religion, to give them a leg up, is thus not to be a permanent feature, but is permissible as a transitional one. Ms Heptullah’s job, like the commission’s, is to help create conditions under

the relationship between Serbian and Croatian is something like Hindu and Urdu. A religion, then, can’t own or be specially identified with, a “language”, at least not a modern spoken language. What about “culture”? Beards or burqas, turbans or kirpans are more obvious (if optional) religious markers than language, but are they markers of any essentially different “culture”? “Culture” is a chameleon word. But, anyway, Article 29 requires India to be multicultural, and seems to leave it to sections of citizens, self-identified, to themselves know whether they have their own distinct culture and what that culture is: a religious group thus can be a “section of citizens” under Article 29, though only to preserve its culture.

UNI

Najma Heptullah’s job, like the National Commission for Minorities, is to help create conditions so that notified minorities can be deleted from the list, not shortened by fiat. which notified minorities can be deleted from the list, not shorten the list by fiat. It’s a no-brainer that under foreseeable conditions Muslims would be the last off that list and Parsis the first. On Muslims, those now in power already had a daunting credibility gap to traverse, and are visibly trying to do just that, but the new minorities minister hasn’t been helping. Finally, there’s nothing in the act or the constitution (or in common sense) that could justify singling out a religious community for help simply to multiply its population. Most would agree that Parsis are our most law-abiding, productive and deservedly prosperous community. They’re an asset and it is saddening to see their numbers diminish, but there isn’t anything the government should try to do about it: they are people, they are not zoo animals. IL

APPEASEMENT CULTURE (Clockwise from top left) Identifying Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, or any other minority community, in India by religion for their upliftment is only a short-term measure

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

SOCIETY/ kerala /gulf wives

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES

material pleasures often canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make amends for these desolate women whose husbands live in the uae. they are trapped by lecherous men, fall prey to depression or suicidal tendencies, and are divorced for suspected adultery By TK Devasia

Amitava Sen

HEN Sajhir Mohammed (name changed), a Malayali toiling in the Gulf, saw internet visuals of his wife back home in Kerala, cavorting with a taxi driver from Kozhikode, he was shocked. Never could he have imagined that the wife he had left behind in Chavakkad in Thrissur district would have an extramarital affair with Muhammed Sultan, a friend of his younger brother. Sultan met her during a visit to his friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house and started contacting her on mobile. The married man with a child soon won her trust and started a rollicking affair with her. Sultan was arrested after Sajhir lodged a complaint.

July 15 2014

Investigations revealed that Sultan suspected the woman of two-timing him and therefore, released the tape on the internet. The use of mobiles and internet to exploit women is on the rise in Kerala, and the ones most susceptible are the lonely Gulf wives whose husbands work there. Modern technology is used by criminals not only to solicit sex, but also extort. Gulf wives are given these gadgets by their husbands so that they can communicate with ease and relieve the tedium of lonely lives. Criminal gangs entrap these women by playing on their vulnerabilities and show their real colors after the latter come to depend on them and enter into extramarital relationships. And, when things get too complicated and go out of hand, the women desperately seek help. TECH DRAGNET Uma Preman, a social worker in Guruvayoor, says exploitation of women through mobile phones is rampant in Chavakkad, known as “mini Gulf ” as almost every house has a Gulf wife. They are easy prey for all kinds of people, be it salesmen, drivers, electricians, plumbers or mechanics. The modus operandi is simple, says Uma. While salesmen leave their mobile numbers in the shopping bags of these women, maintenance workers get access to them when they are called for various jobs. Uma claims they make women call them several times for work and even delay it so that they get time to build intimacy. They also don’t arouse suspicion as odd jobs always need to be done at home. This is a significant advantage as Gulf wives are always looked at with suspicion, not only by relatives, but also by neighbors. According to Uma, criminal gangs have sprung up in Chavakkad to exploit Gulf wives, sexually and financially. They are mainly educated and unemployed youth. Uma herself had to struggle to liberate a Gulf wife, 31, from the clutches of one such gang. The woman started liaising with a gang member after responding to a missed call. She was robbed of her entire savings and ornaments and was in a mental hospital for three years before she recovered. But the nefarious designs of the man continued. He filed a habeas corpus petition in the high

Photos:Pratik Kumar

court, saying she was under illegal detention in the hospital. Uma had to keep shifting her to various hospitals until she regained strength to disown the man and take care of her daughter. “The incident left her husband an alcoholic,” informs Uma. Several women had also approached her after they become pregnant or contracted sexually transmitted diseases, reveals Uma, who also runs a medical information center. One of them, she claims, even threatened to commit suicide when Uma refused to help her in terminating pregnancy. The woman later went to a hospital in nearby Palakkad, presented her lover as a legal husband and got the abortion done on health grounds.

CASH RICH: (Above) Lavish bungalows in Kerala constructed with Gulf money; (Below) Jewellery shops do brisk business in the state because gulf wives love to invest in the yellow metal

COPING WITH INCEST Shockingly, these women, who live with their in-laws, are also victims of the lust of male members of the family, claims Uma. In one case, a woman who had sexual relations

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

SOCIETY/ kerala /gulf wives

“They have learnt to live without sex”

rofessor Hafiz Mohammed, a family fidence from the multiple roles they play in the counsellor in Kozhikode, dismisses absence of their husbands. It’s not easy to accounts of extramarital relations exploit them like earlier,” he says. among Gulf wives and says these are exagA 2002 study on Kerala’s Gulf connection gerated. Mohammed, who did a study on the by Centre for Development Studies says that current state of Muslim women in Malabar, the managerial skills of Gulf wives will have a says: “Gulf wives have learnt to adjust without more lasting impact on the Kerala society than sex. For most of them, the financial security any material change that the migration has offered by their husbands is far more imporbrought about. The study says that the avertant than sex. They won’t sacrifice their lives age age of Gulf wives is 20.5 years, and many Hafiz Mohammed for momentary pleasure.” are better educated than their spouses. “Some sections claim sexual deprivation will affect the The UN Fund for Population Activities viewed this as a mental and physical health of people. I don’t believe this. major asset for Kerala. It praised Gulf wives for their If this was so, it would have affected thousands of nuns canny and flexible attitude with which they run their famiand priests. But they are leading healthy lives,” argues lies, educate their children, build houses, and even manMohammed. He insists that regular communication age the money spend by their husbands. through mobiles and internet has, in fact, fostered greater However, the avenues in Kerala to use these skills are understanding between Gulf men and their wives. few and far between. KV Shamsudheen, the chairman of “Stories of extramarital affairs have been spawned by the Sharjah-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, says men who want to exploit these women. A new generation more than 90 percent of Gulf wives sit idle at home, and of Gulf wives, instead, is trying to gain strength and con- the majority want their husbands to return.

with her brother-in-law, refused to share the conjugal bed when her husband came from the Gulf on an annual vacation. In another case, a 29-year-old woman was so infatuated with her father-in-law that she entered into a relationship with him, following the death of her mother-in-law. These cases of incest came to light after serious complications. Usually, the women suppress them, as the refusal to yield to sexual demands fuels false allegations against them. Dr N Krishnan Kutty, former professor and head of department of psychiatry at

Abused and harassed 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 * Women-related cases in Kerala

July 15 2014

Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha medical colleges, said several Gulf wives facing such allegations had approached him at Varkala, another major Gulf pocket in Kerala, where he is a psychiatric consultant. Many wives are reluctant to complain as it would lead to dislocation. Sunitha (name changed), a 28-year-old graduate, kept her adulterous relationship with her co-brother a secret as she had nowhere to go. Her husband, who works in Dubai, had made her quit her job in a private firm near her parents’ house at Kodungallor and put her in his sister’s house in Kochi after he suspected her of infidelity with her boss. Sunitha is now not allowed to go out alone and remains under house arrest. CLOUD OF SUSPICION Many of these marriages have unhappy beginnings. Sunitha was reluctant to marry a Gulf migrant, but she relented later when her parents pointed out their difficulty in raising a dowry, not only for her but also her two younger sisters. Her dream of a happy, conjugal life vanished when her husband Rajan rushed back

to the Gulf, barely 20 days after marriage, expressing his difficulty in taking her along. He used to visit her once in two or three years and this too was an unhappy experience as he would keep probing her about alleged extramarital affairs. Sunitha’s story is similar to that of thousands of Gulf wives spending a life under the suspicion cloud. Almost 90 percent of Kerala expats work in Gulf countries, and many of them are unable to take their wives along as they don’t earn enough to get a family visa. Unfortunately, suspicion creeps into the relationship as the men leave for the Gulf before getting to know their brides well, says Kutty. There is little scope for further understanding as the men hardly get a month’s vacation, and that too once a year or in two years. The suspicion and loneliness, he says, leads to mental problems in women. Common complaints seen include stress and mild depression. Kutty says he had even been approached by these men to prove the adultery of their spouses. In many cases, this leads to divorce. Even family courts have seen an increase in adultery-related cases. However, K Mohanan, a lawyer at the Thiruvananthapuram family court says many of the migrants were approaching the court without sufficient evidence. Some also file false cases in collusion with unscrupulous lawyers to get rid of their wives and marry other women as their financial status gets better. A recent survey conducted by the NonResident Keralites Affairs Department of the government found about 10 lakh women living separately from their husbands. They account for about 10 percent of the married women in the state. MIGRATION WOES Though much has been reported about the positive impacts of migration, including empowerment of Gulf wives, no serious attempt has been made to study the sexual issues triggered by it. A recent study (which contradicts the 2002 study referred to in the box on the facing page) by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Thiruvananthapuram, says a spurt in migration could lead to sexual anarchy in the state. The signs

PERILOUS LIVES (L-R) Dr Anil Kumar, a psychiatrist thinks that Gulf wives are generally used to a life without sex. Uma Preman, a social worker, says that they are victims of lustful men

Though much has been reported about the positive impact of migration in Kerala, no serious attempt has been made to study the sexual issues triggered by it. are already evident in the rising number of sexual abuses, divorces and suicides. Kerala tops among states in divorces and alcoholism. Sociologists view extramarital relations as a major contributing factor for divorces, which have increased by 350 percent over the last decade. “As extramarital relations are on the rise in Kerala, Gulf wives involved in such affairs could be more. They are more vulnerable due to loneliness,” says Dr Susan Koshy, a family counselor in Thiruvananthapuram. “Most men think we are starved of sex and can easily be taken to bed,” says Sandhya (name changed), a Gulf wife in the state capital. “From the newspaper man to those who come once in two months to take meter reading for water and electricity, the approach is the same. I had a tough time getting rid of the father of my daughter’s classmate,” reveals the government officer. However, most Gulf wives are not as bold as Sandhya or as lucky to have a job. Dr Anil Kumar, a psychiatrist in Guruvayoor, believes that Gulf wives are generally conditioned to a life without sex. But TV, internet or even a stray phone talk with husbands can trigger sexual urge, he says. Therein lies the problem. IL INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

CORPORATE/ aviation

Dogfight Heats Up malaysia’s airasia ingression adds to the woes of indian carriers, forcing them to slash prices, which will increase their losses By Rajendra Bajpai

SETTING BENCHMARKS AirAsia will redefine low-cost flying in India

July 15, 2014

he battle over supremacy of Indian air space is getting hotter and a rainbow of blood is on the horizon. The low-cost carrier from Malaysia, AirAsia has joined the fray to battle the domestic nofrills airlines, while a Tata-Singapore Airlines (SIA) full-service joint venture is getting ready to join the air war. There is no doubt that blood will be spilled, even though passengers will benefit as a result of discounted fares. AirAsia’s inaugural flight from Bangalore to Goa on June 12 was sold out within 10 minutes of the opening of bookings and 25,000 cut-price

tickets for travel later this year were snapped up within 10 hours. Indian carriers have already lost about `600 billion and AirAsia’s arrival will add to their pain. “It will hurt all of us,” says Kapil Bhatia, Chairman of IndiGo, the only Indian carrier which is currently making a profit. AirAsia will be operating in an environment where cut-price tickets will further add to airlines’ losses. Still Mittu Chandilya, 32, a model-turned-business consultant, who now heads AirAsia India, is hopeful of breaking even in a few months, although no low-cost carrier has achieved that feat in such a short period. IndiGo, the fastest-growing and the

largest airline in the country, took a few years to register profit. The new kid on the block is actually a bully. It has deep pockets and an insatiable desire to carve up market share. And cutprice fares are at the heart of the company’s business model. “I believe that you have to be disruptive; you have to be disruptive all the time. I think that 30-35 percent (lower fares) would be disruptive and we will continuously look to see how we can bring that even lower,” says Chandilya. AirAsia’s mantra is simple. It plans to keep its aircraft airborne for 16 hours a day and have a turnaround time of 20 minutes against 30 to 35 minutes for other low-cost carriers, which fly their aircraft for only 12 to 13 hours a day. The longer an aircraft is up in the air, the more money the company makes. A quick turnaround helps companies keep aircraft airborne for a longer period. TURBULENCE IN THE SKIES “Indian carriers have a track record of engaging in unsustainable fare discounting and an unusual willingness to bear losses,” notes Kapil Kaul, head of the Indian unit of the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation. Over the past seven years, Indian carriers have lost a combined `594 billion or an average of $22 every time a passenger boards an aircraft, he says. Amber Dubey, a partner at business consultancy KPMG, agrees with Kaul’s assessment that financial distress would increase with the arrival of AirAsia. It is probable that one or two low-cost carriers might exit the market in the next 12 to 18 months, he says, adding that this could lead to consolidation in the Indian market. Heavy discounting was much in evidence as soon as AirAsia announced its base fare (the price of an airline ticket before surcharges, fees and taxes are added) between Bangalore and Goa at `5, selling tickets for the one-way journey for Rs 990, including taxes and fuel surcharge. “What is predatory, disruptive, dangerous? Offering `5 fares in the peak season and that too within 14 days of travel,” tweeted Sanjiv Kapoor, COO of SpiceJet. He said his airline had no intention of joining the fare

war. But it’s easier said than done. IndiGo retaliated by cutting the base fare to `1 and other airlines also started selling discounted tickets on the route. This is expected to spread to other sectors, as AirAsia expands its footprint across the country. It has begun its operations with a single Airbus A320 but the fleet is expected to expand to 10 or 12 by March next year. Kaul says it will be remarkable if the airline is able to break even in four months as Chandilya has claimed it will. Bhatia of IndiGo agrees with that assessment, saying that in all likelihood the new airline will initially incur losses. DRAMATIC TAKEOFF But the threat of losses has not diminished the enthusiasm of Tony Fernandes, the founder of AirAsia Malaysia, the parent company. He is seen as a street fighter who has been through the rough and tumble of the aviation industry. Fernandes bought the loss-making AirAsia from a Malaysian government company for one Malaysian ringgit or `19 in 2001. He began with two old aircraft and 200,000 passengers in the first year. But now, AirAsia and its subsidiaries have a fleet of 150 aircraft and fly more than 44 million passengers. Its net income in 12 months to December last year was 362 million ringgit, although in 2012 the net income was almost double, at 789 million ringgits. Today it is considered Asia’s biggest budget carrier. While AirAsia India causes much heart-burn, Tata-SIA full service airline will further add to the agony of Indian carriers when it begins operations, hopefully, in September. But Tata-SIA’s targets are not as ambitious as AirAsia India’s. Tata-SIA hopes to make a profit of $16 million in the fourth year, after three years of projected losses—$37.6 million in the first year, $23.1 million in the second year and $6.2 million in the third. The airline will provide direct competition to other players like Air India and Jet Airways as well as indirectly hit low-cost carriers in India. The next few months will be full of anxiety and despair for the airline industry. IL INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

CONTROVERSY/ cricket /zinta vs wadia

NESS IN MESS

the preity zinta-ness wadia spat is not just about bruised egos. it’s also about millions of dollars slipping out of their ipl franchise By Vishwas Kumar

T is “preity nessy” for sure, quip the punsters avidly following the ugly legal duel between the former lovers as if it was a public display of an Indian copy of the American serial The Bold and the Beautiful. With a combustible mix of Bollywood, business, cricket and mafia, it’s a fracas that is heady enough to grab the headlines. While the media has salivated over the unsavory and salacious bits of the fallout between Bollywood actress Preity Zinta and industrialist Nusli Wadia scion Ness, what is obvious is that it is bound to singe both of them. Who knew love could so easily turn to hate? Or that hell hath a worse fury when a man is scorned? They were the best-looking celeb couple in recent times —he, with his rakish good looks and she, with her delectable dimples and bouncy demeanor. And then, they became co-owners of an IPL franchise, Kings XI Punjab. But their mutual affection turned sour after five years together and erupted during an IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on May 30, 2014, when Ness allegedly screamed at her, grabbed her arms and tried to pull her. Preity filed an FIR, claiming that Ness used phrases like “f******g b***h”, and “f**k you”. Ness was apparently provoked when he reached the stadium and found no seat for himself and his mother. As Kings XI co-owners, both Preity and Ness were entitled to 15 seats each, but since it was Ness’ birthday he had bought about 35 extra tickets. But finding all the seats occupied, he contacted the IPL organizers, even as his family and friends kept standing. What annoyed him

July 15 2014

By the time IPL’s third season started in 2010, the valuation of the franchises had zoomed. This was reflected in the sale of a minority stake in Rajasthan Royals to businessman Raj Kundra and his wife, Shilpa Shetty, another actress. Kings XI, which had grossly underperformed in the first two seasons, sought a buyer. Besides the initial $76 million that the promoters had sunk in, many more millions were poured in to buy the players and for administrative costs. But the returns were nowhere in sight. By 2010, only Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had made money. Looking for a way out, Kings XI reportedly struck a deal with Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea football club, for $360 million. All the promoters agreed to sell except Preity, the chairperson. She wanted to retain 6.5 percent of her 23 percent stake. But Abramovich wanted to buy the whole 100 percent. The deal was stuck, even though the entire amount was reportedly transferred by him into an escrow account in an Indian bank. was that Preity kept chatting to her friends all this while, ignoring the Wadias. Preity, on her part, said in her complaint: “Mr Ness Wadia’s aforesaid behavior on numerous occasions has embarrassed me and made me feel ashamed, especially in public.” Police pressed charges under Sections 509 and 354 (outraging a woman’s modesty), 504 (breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC against Ness, based on Preity’s complaint. IT’S ABOUT MONEY, HONEY But there is a story behind this ugly spat between the former lovers. It has to do with Preity’s adamancy, Ness’ egoism and the inability to sell their IPL franchise. The Kings XI franchisee was bought for $76 million between Ness, Preity, the Burman family of Dabur group and Karan Paul of Apeejay Surendra group. Inside sources say that Ness gave money to Preity to buy her 23 percent stake. While it is believed that she returned the money, Ness felt he had given a new lease of life to Preity, as her Bollywood career was on the decline in 2008.

LEFT IN THE LURCH This angered Ness as he felt she had no right to derail a lucrative deal, especially when she herself could have earned over $80 million. The anger intensified when, in October 2010, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) disqualified Kings XI and Rajasthan Royals from the League. The board felt that Lalit Modi, who was suspended a few months earlier as IPL Commissioner, had proxy stakes in both teams. BCCI’s sudden move left Ness, the Burmans and Paul with no locus standi to renegotiate with Abramovich or talk to any other investors for the sale of Kings XI. Sources said that Ness felt that Preity had played spoilsport even after he had helped her so much. Preity, on the other hand, thought that she had given up her acting career for the IPL team and had spent considerable time and effort to manage it and, therefore, had the right to continue to own it. She reportedly told friends that the Burmans and Paul had contributed nothing, and even Ness’ involvement was minimal.

What the articles imply • Section 354 Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty: Outraging the modesty of a woman would include all crimes against woman that stop short of penetration, in which case it becomes rape. • Section 504 Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace: To insult a person and thereby provoke the person, knowing that such provocation will cause the person to break public peace • Section 506 Punishment for criminal intimidation: Threatening another with injury to his person, reputation or property with intent to cause alarm or with intent to cause the person to do an act the person is not legally bound to do. •Section 509 Word, gesture or act to insult the modesty of a woman: Uttering a word, making a gesture or sound or exhibiting any object to a woman with the intention of insulting her modesty. Intruding upon the privacy of a woman would also attract punishment under Section 509.

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

CONTROVERSY/ cricket /zinta vs wadia

“Had she gone to the media, not police, you would’ve asked why she has not filed an FIR. Most crimes happen at the hands of people who are known to the victims.” Kavita Krishnan Secretary, All India Progressive Women’s Association, and member, CPI (ML)

“Shame on Preity Zinta for making a molestation out of a tiff between ex-lovers. When little girls are raped and hanged for nothing. If verbal abuse amounts to outraging a woman's modesty, I have a long list of trolls I can file an FIR against.” Tavleen Singh,

“When such spats involve a beautiful and brave former “Bollywood star” who is facing a slow and painful fade-out, and a volatile rich man who happens to be a former lover and... business partner, it’s a made-for-media story all the way.” Shobha De

journalist

writer

“Alas. Why women choose settlement? Get him jailed and 100 people will take lesson!! HOW CAN MONEY NEUTRALIZE CRIME?” A tweet

July 15 2014

After the team’s suspension, Preity tweeted: “Still absorbing the news. “After working so hard in the IPL and putting my everything (into) building this team, (this) is not what I expected!” It hinted that she believed that she was the mind, heart and soul behind Kings XI. In a bid to safeguard her only investments, Preity fought hard against BCCI’s decision. The differences between her and Ness sharpened even more. To worsen matters, the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate investigated the finances and sources of funding of Kings XI, Rajasthan Royals and KKR. Owners were questioned, thanks to complaints filed by BCCI. It was only in 2011 that the Mumbai High Court revoked BCCI’s decision, enabling Kings XI to participate in IPL once again. And this season (2014), the team lost to KKR, which won the League for the second time. At a personal level, their relationship had plummeted. Ness’ ego and possible chauvinism did not allow him to accept the fact that Preity had moved on. In a twitter exchange on celebrity status, which Preity had with fans on May 13, a fortnight before the

Wankhede stadium incident, she tweeted: “2days chat is bout the CELEBRITY! What we expect frm dem & who’s a Celebrity? Can fame be enough reason2 love or hate some1.” In a subsequent tweet, she said: “I’ve few friends as most people only want 2know me cuz Im famous & not4 who I am. I’m admired like a trophy & must always shine & be perfect.” Another tweet was more revealing: “Men want 2date me & own me yet their egos cannot handle that i overshadow them & make them insecure. Ladies n Gentleman this is a Celebrity.” Was it a comment on how Ness treated her during their relationship phase that lasted five years? A BAD SPORT? The fact that Preity had moved on must have rankled Ness. In an interview to a film magazine, Preity said: “It (the affair with Ness) got over in 2009. So, we need to stop mentioning him every time.” Then she dropped a bombshell: “I’ve moved on. He has moved on. There’s someone else in my life and I am happy about it.” However, she did not reveal who that “someone” was. Insiders contend that Ness found it difficult to digest this. His anger and bitterness grew and was reflected in his petty behavior towards Preity. This, coupled with the loss of a lucrative business deal, complicated matters. To add more spice to this sorry affair, entered an underworld don—Ravi Pujari a former lieutenant of Chota Ragan. Pujari called up Ness’ father, Nusli, the great grandson of Pakistan’s founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and promoter of Bombay Dyeing group, and suggested that he should not harass Preity. Nusli complained to Mumbai Police; Purina publicly claimed he was Preity’s fan and only wanted Nusli to ask his son to “behave”. Several political angles were also added to this script. Sources claimed that the Wadias are bound to use their political clout to gag and “control” Preity. However, the actress is no babe in the woods and is capable of pulling strings too. She is reportedly close to Rajiv Pratap Rudy, the BJP MP in-charge of Maharashtra, and is an open fan of Narendra Modi. As the drama unfolds, we have not heard the last of this mismatch. IL

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Internet Censorship Off With His Face!

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June 15, 2014

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GLOBAL TRENDS/ Iraq /isil advance

A NATION ON THE BRINK Smoke billows from the office of a Kurdish political party in Tuz Khurmato, north of Baghdad, in twin car bomb blasts that killed 24 people on June 9

UNI

DEADLY Onslaught the world along with regional powers are manoeuvring fissures in iraq to wring out maximum benefit from the current bloody uprising By Reva Bhalla 62

July 15, 2014

IN THE NAME OF FAITH: (Above) ISIL executing pro-government fighters

VENTS in Iraq over the past week were perhaps best crystallized in a series of photos produced by the jehadist group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Sensationally called The Destruction of Sykes-Picot, the pictures confirmed the group’s intent to upend nearly a century of history in the Middle East. In a series of pictures set to a purring jehadist chant, the mouth of a bulldozer is shown bursting through an earthen berm forming Iraq’s northern border with Syria. Keffiyeh-wrapped rebels, drained by the hot sun, peer around the edges of the barrier to observe the results of their work. From the point of view of Iraq’s jehadist “celebrities”, the 1916 borders, drawn in secret by British and French imperialists represented by Sir Mark Sykes and Francois Georges-Picot to divide up Mesopotamia are not only irrelevant, they are destructible. Today, the most ardent defenders of those colonial borders sit in Baghdad, Damascus, Ankara, Tehran and Riyadh, while the Europeans and Americans, already fatigued by a decade of war in this part of the

Iraq under siege

TURKEY Irbil Mosul

Flashpoints Kirkuk

Baiji

SYRIA

Taken by ISIL Govt-controlled Taken by Kurds

Tikrit Samarra

Jalawa

Dhuluiya Ramadi

Ethnic Divide

Sadfyah

BAGHDAD

Shia-dominated Sunni-dominated Kurd-dominated

Fallujah

JORDAN

IRAN Tigris river

SAUDI ARABIA

What’s ISIL? The ISIL is a jehadist militant group in Iraq and Syria, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It was formed in 2013 and is supported by a number of insurgent groups, including its predecessor outfit, the Mujahideen Shura Council, al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and Jeish al-Taiifa al-Mansoura etc. The aim of the group is to establish a caliphate in the Sunni majority regions of Iraq, later expanding this to include Syria.

Anthony Lawrence

world, are desperately trying to sit this crisis out. The burden is on the regional players to prevent a jehadist mini-emirate from forming, and beneath that common purpose lies ample room for intrigue. TURKEY SEARCHES FOR A STRATEGY With the jehadist threat fanning out from Syria to Iraq, Turkey is struggling to insulate itself from the violence and to follow a strategic agenda in Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey has forged an alliance with the Iraqi Kurdish leadership in a direct challenge to Baghdad’s authority. With the consent of Turkey’s energy minister and to the outrage of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki, two tankers carrying a few million barrels of Kurdish crude left the Turkish port of Ceyhan in search of a buyer, just as the ISIL was ratcheting up its offensive. Upping the ante, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced on June 16 that a third tanker would be loaded within the week. Some 1,500 to 2,000 Turkish forces have maintained a quiet presence in Iraqi Kurdistan. That force will likely expand, now that Turkey has an array of threats to justify such a presence—the ISIL and its jehadist affiliates are holding 80 Turkish citizens hostage—and a growing need to temper Kurdish ambitions. While Iraq’s Kurdish leadership will be reminded of their deep distrust for Turkey, it

If Shiite Iran gets involved in Iraq, it will antagonize the Sunnis, who may be motivated to unify against their historical Persian foe, furthering the ISIL cause. will also be overwhelmed by its own challenges, not least of which is Turkey’s main regional competitor, Iran. IRAN ON THE DEFENSIVE In anticipation of the expanding jehadist threat sweeping Iraq’s Sunni belt, Iran over the past several months has been expanding its military presence along its northern border with Iraq. Tehran now finds itself in the uncomfortable position of having to reinforce its Shiite allies in Iraq militarily. Though Iran has perhaps the most sophisticated and extensive militant proxy network in the region to do the job, this strategy carries enormous risks. The militants rampaging through Iraq’s core Sunni territories will only embrace deeper Iranian involvement in the conflict. There is no better motivation for Arab Sunni fighters of various ideological stripes than a call to arms against their historical Persian foes. An outpouring of sectarian blood feuds will also make it all the more difficult for Iraq’s INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

GLOBAL TRENDS/ Iraq /isil advance

Photos:UNI

AN AGE-OLD RIFT (Above) Shia women in Najaf come out in support of the Iraqi army fighting Sunni rebels

Shiite government to recruit enough allies among Iraq’s Sunni population to fight against the jehadists. Indeed, the ISIL would not have been able to mount its lightning surge across Iraq, had it not been for the substantial support it has received from local Sunni tribes, who in turn receive substantial support and guidance from sponsors in the Persian Gulf. Our attention thus turns to the Saudi royals sitting quietly in Riyadh. SAUDI ARABIA STIRS THE POT This has not been a good year for the Saudis. A Persian-American rapprochement is a living nightmare for the Sunni kingdom, as is the prospect of the United States becoming more

Next stop, T Jordan, India?

he Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), buoyed by its recent successes in Iraq, wants to expand its regional reach. The June 15 edition of the Jordan Times reported that Amman had beefed up security along its border with Iraq amid fears that the ISIL is inching toward the kingdom. Quoting unnamed Islamist sources, the report added that the jehadist group had established a branch within the kingdom as part of its plans to create a regional emirate. The militant group’s intent to expand into Jordan follows the region’s geopolitical logic. After its push into Iraq, and already controlling significant swathes of Syrian territory, the jehadist group can try to push into the Hashemite kingdom from two directions. Jordan is the

July 15, 2014

self-sufficient in energy production. Saudi Arabia has little means to directly sabotage USIranian negotiations. In fact, as we anticipated, the Saudis have had to swallow a bitter pill and open up their own dialogue with Iran. But the Saudis are also not without options to make life more difficult for Iran, and if Riyadh is going to be forced into a negotiation with Tehran, it will try to enter talks on its own terms. Thus the focus is on Mesopotamia (Iraq), where Iran cannot afford to see its Shiite gains slip and where Saudi Arabia—both the government and private citizens—has maintained strong ties with many of the Sunni tribes in Anbar and Mosul provinces that have facilitated the Sunni uprising. There is no love lost between the Saudis and the ISIL. In fact, the Saudis have branded it a terrorist organization and have even uncovered cells of the group on Saudi soil plotting against the kingdom. But the ISIL is also not the only group participating in the current offensive. Former Baathist fighters from the Naqshabandiyya Way, along with Jaish al-Mujahideen and Jaish Ansar al-Sunnah are also playing a substantial role in the fighting. Most of the Sunni militias and the growing number of Awakening Council (Sunni fighters recruited by the United States to battle al-Qaeda in Iraq) defectors joining these militias coordinate directly with the Majlis Thuwar al Anbar (Anbar insurgents’ council), which in turn coordinates with the

only opening available to ISIL—the group cannot move north into Turkey, nor could it move southwest into Lebanon. Even in Jordan, though, the group faces considerable challenges. For starters, the Jordanian regime is far more stable than Syria or Iraq, and its security forces have proved to be quite effective. Furthermore, Jordan has strong backing from the United States and Saudi Arabia, especially since the kingdom became a critical staging ground for support to Syrian rebels. Washington and Riyadh can extend financial, intelligence and military assistance to Amman. But Jordan is also a key sanctuary for rebels, and this aids the ISIL’s cause. Jordan is the native country of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the slain founder of the organiza-

ISIL on a selective basis. Saudi Arabia’s acting intelligence chief, Yousef bin Ali al Idrisis, is believed to be in direct communication with the Majlis Thuwar al Anbar, affording Riyadh the opportunity to influence the shape of the battlefield — and thereby to entangle Iran in a highly sensitive spot. As a bonus for Saudi Arabia, the price of Brent crude has climbed to $113 a barrel for the first time this year. Saudi Arabia is not the only one that welcomes this bump in the price of oil; Russia is quite pleased with the outcome in Iraq as well. A MYSTERIOUS MEETING IN SOCHI Just days before the ISIL-led offensive in Iraq, a quiet meeting took place at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s vacation spot in Sochi on June 3. Putin invited Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal to see him and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who cut short an engagement in Moscow to get there on time. Our attempt to obtain information about the gathering from Russian and Saudi contacts resulted in scripted and strangely identical responses that claimed that Saudi Arabia and Russia were discussing a power-sharing resolution for Syria. Syria may well have been on the agenda, but we suspect there was more to these engagements. Both Saudi Arabia and Russia share two key interests: undermining the US-Iranian

tion that later became ISIL. However, the kingdom’s jehadist landscape is currently dominated by forces that oppose the group and are aligned with al-Qaeda and its Syrian ally, Jabhat al-Nusra. Though ISIL has its own supporters in Jordan, the best-known jehadist ideologues in the country—people such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi and Abu Qatada—have criticized the group. — Courtesy Stratfor

Stop Press

Recent reports indicate that ISIL hopes to interfere in the Kashmir issue. Several Indian militants from the valley have joined the organization, and ISIL’s pan-Islamic territorial vision expands upto Kashmir.

Riyadh wants to influence non-ISIL militants in Iraq; it shares common oil and Iran-related interests with Moscow. Putin met Saudi’s Saud al-Faisal in June. negotiating track and ensuring oil prices remain at a comfortable level, i.e., above $100 a barrel. There is little either can do to keep Iran and the United States from negotiating a settlement. In fact, the jehadist threat in Iraq creates another layer of cooperation between Iran and the United States. That said, Washington is now facing another major Middle Eastern maelstrom at the same time it has been anxiously trying to prove to itself and everyone else that the United States has bigger issues to deal with in other parts of the world, namely, in Russia’s backyard. If an Iraq-sized distraction buys Moscow time to manage its own periphery with limited US interference, all the better for Putin. Meanwhile, if Saudi Arabia can weaken Iran and test US-Iranian cooperation, it might well be worth the risk for Riyadh to try—at least for the time being. A LESSON FROM HISTORY Whether by mere coincidence, strategic design or a blend of the two, there are as many winners as there are losers in the Iraq game. Russia knows this game well. The US, the heir to the Sykes-Picot map, will be forced to learn it fast. When the French and British were colluding over the post-Ottoman map in 1916, czarist Russia quietly acquiesced as Paris and London divided up the territories. Just a year later, in 1917, the Soviets threw a strategic spanner into the Western agenda by publishing the SykesPicot agreement, planting the seeds for Arab insurrection and thus ensuring that Europe’s imperialist rule over the Middle East would be anything but easy. The US administration recognizes the trap that has been laid. But more mindful of the region’s history this time around, Washington will likely leave it to the regional players to absorb most of the risk. IL

RIPPLE EFFECT (Top) Iraqi tribal fighters and security forces on security deployment on the outskirts of Diyala province to ward off Sunni militant attack; (above) members of Shia community protest against ISIL brutalities at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi

— Courtesy Stratfor INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

GLOBAL TRENDS/ parenting rights/united states

Preaching to

PAPA

a highly stringent legal regime in america deprives many individuals of the right to bring up their children By Seth Freed Wessler

Illustrations:Anthony Lawrence

July 15, 2014

he laws permitting termination of parental rights were mostly written in an era when serious mental illness was assumed to disqualify patients from participation in normal life, including parenting. In many states, the mentally ill or intellectually disabled could be sterilized. Indeed, a 2012 presidential commission report found that “parents with psychiatric disabilities experience the most significant discrimination when they attempt to exercise their fundamental right to create and maintain families.” “When [mentally disabled] people were institutionalized, they could not keep their

kids. Now they’re living on their own, and they’re not allowed to keep their kids," said Patrick Yewell, who recently retired from a career as a foster care caseworker, supervisor and administrator in Kentucky’s child welfare system. Rudy, a 42-year-old West Indian-born man in the Bronx, New York, was also denied custody of his daughter. His chance to raise her now rests largely on a psychiatrist’s evaluation consisting of two visits and a review of Rudy’s records. Rudy has long struggled with chronic bipolar disorder, for which he has been repeatedly hospitalized. Rudy is also intellectually delayed—an IQ test placed him at the borderline of intellectual disability. He has no history of violence, abuse or neglect. His only child, J, who is now 3, was removed from the hospital immediately after she was born and placed in foster care. Rudy has been asking to be allowed to raise his daughter with help from his mother and sister. Authorities first took J because of significant concerns about her mother. J’s mother, from whom Rudy had separated before J was born, had already lost three other children to foster care. One of the children removed from J’s mother and placed in foster care later died at the hands of a relative of J’s mother. And like Rudy, J’s mother suffers from mental illness and intellectual delays. On June 28, 2010, Rudy watched as two Nassau County caseworkers and a cop walked out of the hospital with 4-day-old J. (ProPublica confirmed details of the case through court documents and multiple interviews.) Rudy, who has closely cut hair and often dresses in baggy sports jerseys, recalls the day his daughter was taken as the saddest of his life. “I asked them why they took my daughter, and they didn’t respond,” Rudy remembered in a soft stuttering voice with an accent left over from his childhood in St. Croix. “I asked them if I could hold her before they took her, and they wouldn’t let me hold her.” Rudy began what would become a weekly ritual: Riding two trains and a bus every Tuesday from the Bronx to Long Island to spend 75 minutes with J in a room in the INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

GLOBAL TRENDS/ parenting rights/united states

county child welfare office. Some caseworkers were suspicious of Rudy. “The major concern for the family is both parents’ mental health issues,’ child welfare officials wrote in a court document.

thers described him as a loving, if inexperienced, father. One caseworker note from a visit in September 2011 described Rudy as “gentle and caring,” rocking J to sleep on the couch at the county office. Two weeks later, a different worker wrote that he was “getting more adept at caring for the child.” J’s mother, meanwhile, stopped showing up for visits and failed to appear in court. But just over a year after J was first placed in foster care, two Nassau County officials pulled Rudy into a meeting room after a visit with J and told him that the county planned for J to be adopted by her foster family, case documents show. “They said I have a mental illness, they were trying to see if I would sign away my rights,” Rudy said as he sat one recent evening in his Bronx apartment, a pot of rice steaming on the stove. “They expected it to go smoothly, they expected me to surrender my rights.” In New York, counties are required to appoint an attorney for parents at risk of losing their kids, but Rudy hadn’t yet been given one. Unsure of what was happening, Rudy went home and called his sister Rubeka, in Tampa, Florida. “He sounded really upset. Not really angry, but more hurt,” said Rubeka, who works as a psychiatric nurse. Rudy and Rubeka consulted a lawyer and came up with a plan in which Rudy would move in with his sister and mother in Florida so they could raise J together. J’s mother, who was also facing the termination of her parental rights, and whose mental health, according to case notes, was deteriorating, agreed to the plan. (J’s mother declined to discuss the case with ProPublica, except to say she supported Rudy’s effort to get custody.) But Nassau County officials told Rudy that he should have laid out the plan months earlier and that because so much time had passed, federal child welfare law

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required them to request termination of his parental rights. The county’s records suggest that caseworkers had warned Rudy about this; Rudy said he did not understand he could lose his rights so rapidly and that he waited because he believed J’s mother was going to regain custody. Caseworkers also noted that visits between Rudy and J had gotten harder as she grew older—she would often cry inconsolably; she knew her father only as the man she saw on Tuesdays and considered her foster parents her real mother and father. But these were not the reasons Nassau County authorities listed when they petitioned a county court to sever Rudy and J’s legal ties. Instead, the county filed to terminate his rights based on his mental illness. Under New York law, parents can lose their children if courts decide their mental disabilities render them incapable of parenting for the “foreseeable future”. The Nassau County Department of Social Services would not respond to questions from ProPublica about the case or any related policy issues. The county referred ProPublica to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services. That office declined to comment as well and referred us back to Nassau County.

n the summer of 2012, a judge sent Rudy to Dr. Joseph Scroppo, a psychologist and attorney who has held appointments at several New York universities. Scroppo has a contract with Nassau County to perform forensic psychological evaluations and make recommendations about whether parents should keep their children. Scroppo’s evaluation was exhaustive compared with many in other parental rights cases. He met with Rudy alone for nearly 10 hours. Then Scroppo watched Rudy interact with J for 30 minutes. He gave Rudy an IQ test, asked him to define words, stack blocks and read a few sentences. He reviewed Rudy’s mental health records, including his hospitalizations for manic episodes, and case notes from the child welfare department. Scroppo concluded that Rudy could not be trusted to raise his daughter. Rudy’s “score indicates that he is probably

capable of semi-independent living but would experience significant problems if he were to attempt fully independent living,” Scroppo wrote. Citing Rudy’s hospitalizations, Scroppo concluded that Rudy ‘is now, and for the foreseeable future, unable to adequately care for the subject child.” During a hearing in May 2013 in Rudy’s continuing parental rights case, Rudy’s lawyer, who was appointed to the case when the county filed for termination, grilled Scroppo on his evaluation. “Your testimony...suggested that [Rudy] would have difficulty functioning fully independently; is that correct?” Rudy’s lawyer, Lauren Broderick, asked. “Yes,” Scroppo replied. “[But] wasn’t it your understanding that [Rudy] was cooking his own meals at the time of your evaluation?” Broderick said, looking down at her notes. “I’m not sure whether he was cooking his meals or not,” Scroppo said. “Did you inquire?” Broderick asked, looking up. “No, I did not,” he said. “Wasn’t it true at the time of your evaluation that [Rudy] was paying his bills?” she went on. “He was responsible for his own hygiene?” “As far as I knew, yes,” Scroppo said. Broderick continued to push Scroppo to offer evidence from Rudy’s life. Instead, Scroppo said, “I based the [categorization of ] semi-independent status on the test that I administered to him.” New York’s law allows mothers and fathers to present alternative evaluations in court, though funding is not always made available to pay for them. Rudy’s sister and brother scraped together several thousand dollars to hire an evaluator for a second opinion. Dr Barry Rosenfeld, a psychologist who directs clinical training at Fordham University, did not just administer tests. He spoke to the people in Rudy’s life to get a better sense of him—and pieced together a very different picture. He discovered that in the early 2000s, Rudy shared an apartment near Tampa with Rubeka and their brother Mitchell. Mitchell had a baby boy and Rudy would take care of

Rudy, intellectually challenged, has no history of violence, abuse or neglect. But his only child was taken away from hospital after birth and placed in foster care. him. “My son was around 3 or 4. We’d go out for the night, or on the weekends, and Rudy worked less than us, so we’d leave my son with him,” Mitchell said recently over the phone from Florida. “I never had any worries about that.” Rosenfeld learned from Norma Gonzalez, a caseworker who’d met regularly with Rudy in the apartment building where he lived when J was born, that “[Rudy] successfully manages his own day-to-day needs and has done so consistently for 3 years.”

osenfeld noted that Rudy’s plan to raise J with his sister indicated not incapacity, but a responsible recognition of his own need for help. “There appears to be no evidence that [Rudy]... is unable to adequately plan for care for his daughter,” he wrote. ProPublica asked a third party to read the two evaluations and to assess the soundness of their methods. Maurice Feldman, a psychologist based at the Centre for Applied Disability Studies at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, researches parenting capacity evaluations. He said that the two evaluators relied on different methods and assumptions. Scroppo’s evaluation didn’t take into account the help Rudy planned to have from his family; Rosenfeld’s did. “The first evaluator makes the assumption of the scenario that the parent has to parent the child totally independently,” Feldman said. Feldman also said that even though Scroppo’s report was relatively thorough, it exhibited a common flaw: It measured mental disability in isolation from its impact on parenting. “There is a conceptual leap that the first assessor used,” Feldman said. He concluded that because Rudy scored “low on cognitive and personality disorder measures, therefore he can’t parent,” Feldman said. “But that is a fallacy.” “There is nothing in the first INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

GLOBAL TRENDS/ parenting rights/united states

Natural bond In India, the concept of foster care doesn’t exist and there are no laws that can separate children from parents. Legal issues arise in case of a divorce. While the mother is the natural guardian and the custody of the child normally goes to her, even if she is economically weak, in case she has any mental instability the court might weigh the well-being of the child and give the custody to the father. But there are precedents wherein mothers have got the custody of the child despite their mental condition.

evaluator’s report, none of the materials cited, that would lead me to believe he can’t take care of his daughter.”

croppo declined to speak with ProPublica about Rudy’s case. But he did speak in broad terms about mental health evaluations in child protective cases, which make up a significant part of his practice. “Evaluators are tasked with evaluating the specific parents, not the support system or other persons in their lives,” Scroppo explained. “It’s driven by the fact that only the parent is going to have ultimate decision making over the child. Although the parent may have—and I think it would matter if they did—a team to help them, it would hinge on their ability to be responsible. The law is for me to look at the parent in and of herself.” Academic studies have found that mental health parenting evaluations often take this self-sufficiency view of parenting. But as Feldman argues, “Nobody raises their child in a vacuum.” The American Psychological Association guidelines actually encourage evaluators to reach out to “extended family members and other individuals when appropriate (e.g., caretakers, grandparents, clinical and social services providers, and teachers).” Yet often that doesn’t happen. One reason evaluations come up short is money, said Nicholson, the Dartmouth psychiatry professor who researches parents with mental illness. “Really thorough evaluation is pretty resource-intensive, and nobody wants to do them,” Nicholson said. “Nobody can actually afford that.” Even Scroppo agrees that these cases can be hard calls: “The severity of the mental illness is important in making any determination. And sometimes the line is not clear.” When Rudy is well, he is soft-spoken and thoughtful. “I am really focusing on being a father to my daughter. My dad was a good

While one evaluator concluded that Rudy could not be trusted to raise his daughter, another one found no evidence that he was unable to plan for care for her. 70

July 15, 2014

dad—he worked hard, he took care of us, and I want to do the same thing for my daughter,” Rudy said last fall, after returning from work at the grocery store where he stocked shelves. He also knows he would likely struggle to raise J by himself. Rudy has bouts of numbing depression and high-paced mania. At their worst, Rudy’s manic states can flare into delusions. The last time he was hospitalized was in the winter of 2013. He and his sister Rubeka say the stress of the case, and the threat of losing his daughter, finally overwhelmed him. But raising J alone, of course, hasn’t been the plan. “If he slipped into an episode, we would know it,” Rubeka says. “We would have been there to support her together.” Rudy acknowledges there are no easy answers nor perfect endings. The case has now dragged on for nearly four years. J has “been in foster care for a long time,” Rudy said. “It will be hard to take her out of foster care. [The Department of Social Services] is saying that she bonded with the foster mom. It’s a tough case, you know.”

hen authorities take a child, a 1997 federal law mandates that they must provide parents with access to the programs and services they need to reunite with their children. If the issue that brought a child into foster care is homelessness, child welfare systems must find parents housing. If it’s drugs: treatment. If it’s abuse: parenting classes. But the law does not explicitly cover disabilities, mental or physical. In New York, courts can relieve child welfare departments of having to prove they have made efforts to reunify families if judges deem a mother or father too mentally disabled to parent. That has been Nassau County’s position regarding Rudy. But without setting up supports and services, there may be very little way to know whether a parent can raise a child. Rudy was not offered parenting classes or help moving to an apartment where J could join him. IL —Published courtesy ProPublica. This is second part of the article on parenting rights

BOOKS/ raghu rai

TWO FACES 72

July 15, 2014

he has captured numerous moments of anguish and ecstasy in independent indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. this time, the loneliness of former prime minister manmohan singh and the winning body language of narendra modi moved raghu rai to do a pictorial study in contrasts By Ramesh Menon

OF FATE INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

BOOKS/ raghu rai

aghu Rai may be 72, but he does not look it or live it. He is a bundle of boundless energy and as he talks, the passion of his work as a visual chronicler of history flows through. As he edits his photographs and relives the moments he has captured, at his tastefully done-up office, a stone’s throw away from the Qutub Minar, he listens to Indian classical music to inspire him. He loves music and wanted to be a musician. Photography just happened by the way. Thank God for that! Raghu is among the best photographers in the world and has been published in international publications. Since 1965, he has clicked thousands of photographs that have become

July 15, 2014

immortal in magazines and his books. His email id: raghuraisindia@gmail.com says it all. “I love this country and its people, and daily hope that one day every Indian can live with dignity,” he says. Acclaimed for his portraits of Indian political leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he stopped clicking political events 25 years ago. But when the country was hit by scams and collapse of governance during UPA-II, he thought he couldn’t turn his face away. There was so much happening, as youngsters stormed the social networking sites with their anger and desire for better days. The youth took on every politician it could. So, on January 17 this year, Raghu thought it was worthwhile to attend the Congress Working Committee proceedings. Nothing seemed to

have changed in the party, as sycophants chanted typical slogans in praise of Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul. When he looked at the photographs he took, he was amazed at how he had captured expressions of utter loneliness and isolation of the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. His face and body language said it all—how he felt alone, humiliated, isolated and ignored. Raghu found that Singh had the same expression throughout the proceedings. Almost all the shots and frames—18 of them—had the same feelings of alienation and hurt. No one talked to him. “There was the same gloom on his face, as if he was living a nightmare. He hardly spoke or made any impact on the meeting. He did not seem to have been the prime minister of the world’s largest democracy for the last 10 years,” says Raghu.

Raghu was pained to see Manmohan Singh humiliated, isolated and ignored. Almost all the pictures exhibited feelings of alienation and hurt. The photographer sat back and thought of what he saw in Singh’s pictures. At the Congress meeting, he found that the party was in complete denial of the scams and corruption that had stained it. It did not even feel the pulse of anger that was sweeping India. He remembered how he had photographed the towering and aggressive personality of Indira Gandhi, who was defeated during the Emergency but rose again, as the opposition could not put

INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

BOOKS/ raghu rai

Rai had stopped clicking political events 25 years ago. But he couldn’t remain aloof from the rising anger against the government, especially during the Anna Hazare movement.

The Tale of Two: An Outgoing and an Incoming Prime Minister By Raghu Rai Published by: Authors Upfront

Price: `1,500

July 15, 2014

its act together. The energy she infused into her party was missing in the 2014 meeting; the sycophancy in January 2014 was sickening. Meanwhile, the BJP was on the warpath, with a new aggressiveness to ride to power again. Raghu thought it would be worthwhile to study the contrast between the two parties, and their leaders. That took him to the BJP convention, held two days after the Congress’ meet. The difference that Raghu witnessed was stark. The BJP was electrified into ensuring that they win the elections, and it was more than obvious. Narendra Modi, then the PMcandidate of the BJP, was firing the party with his extempore speeches, and bringing in drama and emotion at every step. Raghu aimed his camera at Modi and found him bubbling with energy and hope. Each photograph of the future prime minister showed how he was in complete control. When he examined the photographs of both Singh and Modi, Raghu knew that it could be an excellent political study in contrasts that was punctuated with irony and pathos, failure and frustration, hopes and dreams. Raghu quickly penned down his experiences at both the meetings and how he saw the two leaders. Also, what he thought of the aspirations of a new young India impatient for change. His latest book, The Tale of Two: An Outgoing and an Incoming Prime Minister, visually tells the story of a historic election. Every picture tells a tale, a characteristic that Raghu always had. In his book, he says: “Outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hopes history will judge him kindly. When the supreme power brings a wave to take you up and grants you the opportunity to be the supreme commander of the nation as large and complex as India, it expects you to perform your duty. Political compulsions and religious manipulations cease to hold any meaning in the larger interest of a nation and our part of the duty must be performed by each one of us flawlessly. In this

nobody gets another chance, just like Manmohan Singh would not get a third chance.” Looking at the pages of his book, he says: “The UPA won the second term because of Manmohan Singh. Ironically, they lost in 2014 because of him.”

aghu says that his friends commented that he had become a Modi supporter. “I am not anyone’s supporter. Anyone who supports the idea of India has to be helped. When I saw how he spoke in parliament, he did not seem to be the same Modi who was criticized all the time. He now realizes he has to change, he has to deliver. India will not take any excuses from him, as they have given him a majority and he has no coalition partners to pull him down. Modi is acting with dignity and we need to give him a chance. The moment he won, he seemed like a new man and I hope that feeling is true. My loyalty is only to the truth, as it speaks to you at that moment. The rest is history. We must receive and perceive the truth without any bias. This is our dharma.” When the Anna Hazare movement against corruption erupted, Raghu went to witness it. “I was amazed to see the determination of families, who had come there with small children in their arms to support the movement against corruption and increasing crime. I told myself it is this corruption that is destroying India. The movement was so huge that I realized it could not be ignored anymore.” Raghu began photography in 1965. When he looks back, he feels that India’s legal system let down its people by not ensuring that there was speedy justice and dignity to the victims. “What does one say about a system where innocent little girls are gangraped and then hung to death in the middle of the village? Is this zero tolerance?” he asks. And then he adds: “There has been a lot of misgovernance and total lack of accountability. Unless we are all accountable, nothing will change.” IL

BRIEFS

Jailbird Gupta He was the cynosure within the global business community, and an icon among management students. Most believed that he could not have been involved in insider trading. However, Rajat Gupta, the Indian-born and former director of Goldman Sachs, was sentenced to two-year imprisonment at the minimum security satellite camp of the Federal Medical Center in Massachusetts(US). In June 2012, when he was initially found guilty of leaking boardroom information to a billionaire hedge-fund owner, several jurors cried as they left the courtroom. The 65-year-old Gupta, an IIT-Delhi and Harvard alumnus, had helped his friend and former business partner, Raj Rajaratnam, who is currently serving an 11-year sentence for running a massive insider trading scheme.

Shilpa in a soup

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra have landed in a “yellow” soup. The India Bullion and Jewelry Association (IBJA) slapped a legal notice on the duo’s company, Satyug Gold, to recover `25 crore for the non-payment of the requisite license fees. Satyug Gold had signed a deal with IBJA to use the latter’s name. However, Shetty and Kundra failed to pay the fee.

No to 52-week courts Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that it was impractical to keep the courts open round the year, as was desired by Chief Justice RM Lodha. Instead, he suggested reduction in the long vacations of the courts. Rohatgi added that a multi-pronged strategy was needed to weed out unnecessary and lengthy procedural laws and there was a need to rethink the litigants’ right to appeal, even in petty matters, to the Supreme Court.

Stranded with newborns

An UK-based couple stranded in India with their new-born surrogate twins for the past three months due to passport delays have sought Britain’s help. Kiran and Bina Salivi from Greater Manchester travelled to Gujarat to collect their twins. The children have been granted British citizenship but due to processing delays the family has not been able to return. Local Labor MP Julie Hilling raised the couple’s predicament in the British parliament.

Underage sexting perils

A US study found that a majority of minors engage in “sexting”, but were unaware of its legal consequences. The study, conducted by Drexel University, was based on a survey of 175 undergraduate students at a US university. The study said: “More than 50 percent of those surveyed reported that they had exchanged sexually-explicit text messages, with or without photographic images.” A majority of the respondents were unaware that they could be booked under the US laws related to harassment and child pornography.

Shirking rape responsibility

The UN child rights watchdog has voiced concern over India’s law enforcement and justice authorities for shirking from their responsibilities to fight sex attacks.The Committee said that despite an uproar over gang-rape of cousins in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, “there has been dereliction of duty in relation to rape cases” and that it was alarmed by “widespread violence, abuse including sexual abuse and neglect of children.” INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

CONSUMER WATCH

News briefs on how buyers can enforce their rights and seek remedial measures Second-grade treatment In these days when parents depend on tutors to ensure that their wards score high marks, several teaching bureaus have cropped up to provide these services. But many fool the parents. Suparna Singh, a resident of Wadala, in Mumbai, wanted a tutor for her younger son studying in class II. The tutor had to come home between 4 pm and 5 pm every day. Singh got in touch with 3D Home Tutors in February 2012. The agency claimed that it had well-trained and experienced teachers and agreed to her condition. Singh paid `75,000 as annual fees. However, on April 1, a lady tutor came to Singh’s place only to tell her that she had

problems with the timings. Singh called up the agency for replacement. The next one who came had never worked with the agency and was unprofessional. A despondent Singh made several calls to the agency, and was told that she could get the services of a male tutor. Singh wanted a female. Another came but refused to teach daily. Singh kept requesting for a teacher who fitted the bill, but the agency did not respond. The agency was unwilling to refund the annual fees. Singh sent a legal notice but to no avail. A relentless Singh knocked the doors of the Central Mumbai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on August 6, 2013. As the agency didn’t turn up, an ex parte order was passed against it by the forum, which ordered it to refund the fees and pay `19,000 as compensation for rendering poor services and causing mental agony to Singh.

Illustrations: Amitava Sen

Life insurance drains life savings A person buys a life insurance policy but do insurance firms protect the money. No, going by what Virendra Pal Kapoor, a scientist at the National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow, had to go through—that too at the hands of the State Bank of India, a state-owned entity. In 2007, Kapoor, 64, bought a five-year term SBI Life Unit-linked insurance plan (Ulip) on the advice of Vinod Kumar Harjai, his agent. According to Kapoor, the agent suggested that Ulip would help him to invest in equities just like mutual

July 15, 2014

funds, as well as provide insurance cover, almost free. Kapoor also unknowingly opted for the higher sum assured instead of the minimum sum under the policy. Unlike mutual funds, Kapoor did not receive regular statements and had no clue about his money’s whereabouts. Even the agent was not clear in answering his queries. When his policy was about to mature, Kapoor went to SBI Life’s office in Gomti Nagar. Instead of clarifying his doubts, the officials made him fill a maturity claim form, telling

him to leave the amount column blank. After seven days, `248 was credited to his bank account, when he had paid `50,000 as premium for five years. A protracted legal battle ensured with the insurer. A complaint was filed at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). SBI Life responded with an unclear letter. Fed up, Kapoor filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court in September 2013. The court found chinks in the policy and observed that wrong guid-

India Post’s disservice It seems the postal department still needs to wake up from its slothful slumber and perform, at least in Arunachal Pradesh. The inordinately late delivery of a document deprived a candidate the opportunity to appear for the state civil service commission examination. Ratul Paboh of Oyan in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh

received the admit card on March 25, 2010 while the date of examination was January 10, 2010. The letter was posted at Itanagar on December 12, 2009. Paboh’s residence is 26 km from the post office at Pasighat. Finding it irresponsible and callous, a district consumer court in the state directed the postal department to pay `20,000 as compensation to Paboh.

At the mercy of Maharaja Air travel may have grown in India, but it has brought in perils like delayed or cancelled flights, missing baggage and harassment by airline officials. Patna resident Madan Mohan Lal Das filed a complaint with the Delhi State Consumer Commission against Air India for intense hardship. Das said that on arriving at the IGI Airport on April 27, 2007, for an early morning flight to London, he and his wife were told that it was four hours late. The complainant further alleged the airline didn’t allow them

to board the return flight on October 26, 2007, saying the flight was full. They were told to come the next day. On October 27, 2007, the couple had to shell out an additional £100. Arriving at Delhi airport, the couple found their baggage were missing. Three were returned after five days. But, one was still missing. The commission, taking cognizance of their mental and physical agony, asked Air India to pay `80,000 as compensation and `50,000 as litigation expenses.

ance was given to the customer. For example, the agent had ticked the higher sum assured whereas Kapoor was not aware of it. Moreover, the policy had the clause that if the fund value went below `10,000, the policy would be nullified and the money would be returned to the policy holder at no extra cost. But, the insurer switched to another fund with IRDA’s approval. But, Kapoor was not told about the switch, despite IRDA’s direction to do so. The court in its judgment on May 29, 2014, observed that the insurer

couldn’t vouch that the terms and conditions were properly explained to the policy holder. It also held SBI Life guilty of changing the policy without written consent from the policy holder. While nullifying the contract, the court directed SBI Life to pay back `50,000 premium and `10,000 as refund and expenses for the writ petition. Slamming the insurance watchdog, the court also ordered IRDA to examine all insurance policies offered by SBI Life and reject them in case of any irregularities. INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

IS THAT LEGAL?

Bound by words

Young and settled

Arun, a cotton trader, and Varun, an owner of a textile mill, are childhood friends. Arun agreed to sell 500 tons of cotton every month to Varun at an agreed rate. In view of their long-term relationship, Arun did not enter into a contract. Varun paid Arun the full sum in the first two months but failed to do so later. Can Arun enforce the verbal agreement in a court? The Indian Contract Act, and contract legislations the world over, clearly state that a contract may be in either written or oral form. The requirement is that there must be an express will of both the parties to enter into the contract. An oral contract can also be legally enforced as a written contract; the only issue with it is in proving its existence. The existence of a written contract is fairly obvious, where the terms and conditions are stated in written form. On the other hand, an oral contract does not have a writing to support its terms, conditions or even existence. So, in order to prove that such contract exists, one has to rely upon the testimony of witnesses. In the above case, if Arun can prove the existence of a contract with Varun, supported by some witness testimonies, then he can enforce the contract before a court. In the Texaco vs Pennzoil case, it was said: “An oral contract is as good as the paper it’s written on.” Oral contracts, when made correctly before witnesses, can be enforced.

A 16-year-old girl was forced to marry a 20-year-old boy by her parents. But in five years of their marriage, the couple adapted to each other and started living happily. Is their marriage a legal one? And can they continue to stay married? In India, child marriages are governed by the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA). The PCMA defines child marriage as one in which either the girl or the boy is underage—less than 18 years in case of the girl and less than 21 years in the case of boy. Therefore, such a marriage is considered an offense and is punishable. However, in case such a marriage takes place, it would not be void. But, it does not mean that the parties to the marriage are bound

Amitava Sen

July 15, 2014

Lalit Khitoliya

by the socially-recognized union. The act provides that the couple can nullify such a marriage; a boy or a girl can petition the court to declare the marriage null and void, within two years of reaching the legal age of consent—the girl can file a petition till she is 20 years while a boy till he turns 23 years. In this case, the marriage would be a legal one, as the limitation period for nullifying it has lapsed. And the couple can continue to stay married.

Always sinned? If a group of people commit rape, can a woman member of the group, who aided the rape, be convicted? According to the definition of rape in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, only a man can rape a woman. But in Priya Patel vs State of Madhya Pradesh, a husband raped a woman in his house. The wife reached the house at the same time and when the victim pleaded her for help, she slapped her and left the room. The Madhya Pradesh High Court held that even though a woman may not rape a woman, she may be prosecuted and convicted for gangrape, under Section 376(2) (g) of the IPC, for facilitating the act of rape. But the Supreme Court

Amitava Sen

overruled this judgment in 2006, observing that it is conceptually inconceivable for a woman to rape. In such cases, women can, at the maximum, be prosecuted for abetment of such offenses. But according to Section 109, read with Section 376, the punishment would be same as punishment for rape.

1. A burn artist is a ....... A: fireman B: self-immolator C: swindler D: fire-eater 2. If you are a gumbeater, you are a …… . A: talker B: liar C: flatterer D: singer 3. A pat on your back if you know the right spelling: A: Ascension B: Accension C: Ascention D: Asension

have fun with english. get the right answers. play better scrabble. By Mahesh Trivedi

D: joy 8. Hexa for 6, deca for 10 but hepta for......? A: 7 B: 1/2 C: 11 D: None of the above 9. A ......... is kept in a scabbard. A: diamond B: sword C: ring D: needle 10. Used for testing purity of milk. A: Hydrometer B: Milometer C: Fat-reader D: Lactometer

4. Mohan is handsome. So they call him ...... . A: Don Juan B: Adonis C: Hoyden D: Mr Right

11. To ensconce is to ...... . A: run away B: allay fears C: settle snugly D: take forcibly

5. Asphyxia is suffocation but what’s aphasia? A: Loss of strength B: Loss of vision C: Loss of memory D: Loss of speech

12. The lecturer is overscrupulous. He is ....... . A: pedantic B: niggardly C: slapdash D: uptight

6. What’s “caveat emptor”? A: Let the buyer beware B: Let the accused go C: Empty the glass D: Law is final

13. She SMSed l - l to him. What’s that? A: Mom, pop here B: Confused C: See you in college D: Going to sleep

7. Concatenation means ...... . A: surprise B: anger C: linking

14. WUWH. Know this internet slang? A: Wish you were home B: Wish you were here C: Wish you well,

Honey D: Wish you worked harder 15. Which one of these does NOT mean “ugly”? A: Grotesque B: Limburger C: Fish-faced D: Wipe-out 16. A Kiwi is a ...... . A: Japanese B: New Zealander C: Kenyan D: Filipino 17. Logophile is a person who loves ....... . A: forests B: drawings C: computers D: words 18. A pile of bricks, a bunch of flowers but a ......... of grass. A. bundle B. tuft C. heap D. bale 19. Full form of DNA? A: Dimethyl Nitro Acid B: Derivative Next to Ancestors C: DeoxyriboNucleic Acid D: Diagnosed Not Affected 20. Senicide is killing of old person but uxoricide is ...... . A: murder of wife B: murder of master C: murder of foreigner D: murder of king

ANSWERS 1. swindler 2. talker 3. Ascension 4. Adonis 5.Loss of speech 6. Let the buyer beware 7. linking 8. 7 9. sword 10.Lactometer 11. settle snugly 12. pedantic 13. Going to sleep 14. Wish you were here 15.Wipe-out 16. New Zealander 17. words 18. tuft 19. DeoxyriboNuc leic Acid 20. murder of wife

Y L D R WO ISE

SCORES

0 to 7 correct—You need to do this more often. 8 to 12 correct—Good, get the scrabble board out. Above 12—Bravo! Keep it up! textdoctor2@gmail.com INDIA LEGAL July 15, 2014

PEOPLE / football fever

CHEERING ON Soccer fans cheer for their favourite teams in colorful wigs, scarfs and facepaint at a promotional event at a mall in Hong Kong.

Photos:UNI

HEADY FEELING Young boys train under the shadow of football legends, Ronaldinho, Messi and Zidane at a playground in Chennai, India.

ORIENTAL HUES South Korean fans at their patriotic best, dressed up in a traditional attire during the South Korea and Russia match at the Pantanal Arena in Cuiaba. VAMOS BRAZIL Marilza Guimaraes da Silva, 63, proves she is a die hard Brazilian fan by donning the colors of the national flag at her home in Brasilia.

SPORTY FLAVOURS Bakers in Kolkata create an edible version of the FIFA trophy ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

BLESSED BUNCH Peruvian shamans bless the posters of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and other key football players outside the National Stadium in Lima.