30th March

Wheels of Justice

The article talks that the recent arrest of a top level minister in the Modi government in context of Gujarat riots 2002 sends a strong message that gone are the times when ministers use to get away with such crimes. 

Arrest of Maya Kodnani on Friday under the charges of murder, abetment to murder and arson comes as a significant development in the 2002 riots case. Equally significant are the remarks made by Gujarat High Court justice D H Waghela that religious fanatics who organize mass murders of people are comparable to terrorists. While since past many years only few perpetrators of 2002 riots were booked, Supreme Court finally intervened to establish a Special Investigation Team to pursue the cases and the results are showing now. As the law enforcement in India remains poor in context of riot cases, it is only the foot soldiers that get booked under law while the masterminds often get away with it. Even in the case of 1984 Sikh riots, several of Congress party leaders, who later on became MPs and Ministers, got away in absence of sustained pressure from judiciary and human right groups. However, now the scene seems changing on account of sustained pressure from civil society groups and mass media, technological advancement and interest by apex court to make sure rioters are punished. 

While political class and other sections of the society tend to undermine the gravity of crime like riot against terrorism, Waghela’s remarks could be an eye opener. Police and political class should understand that they cannot get away with law every time. 

Persona Non Grata

The article condemns the South African govt’s refusal to issue a visa to Dalai Lama for the peace conference of other Nobel Prize winners he wanted to attend. At the same time it highlights the lack of commitment South African government has often showed towards human rights issues. 

The denial of visa has invited criticism from all over the world with the loudest voice coming from within the South African govt itself as the Minister of Health Desmond Tutu condemning it as a “disgraceful” and “total betrayal” of South Africa’s freedom struggle. Even in the Zimbabwe crisis, the govt showed little concern towards the violation of human rights. These days the foreign policy decisions of the governments are based on economic considerations rather then moral grounds. China’s growing diplomatic assertiveness, coupled with its economic clout, even made the British PM Gordon Brown to meet with Dalai Lama at an interfaith conference rather then his official residence to avoid political color to it. For South Africa, China is its largest trading partner with $6 billion being invested by the latter. 

However, Dalai Lama had a last laugh over the incident since the conference he intended to attend got postponed for indefinite time while the controversy provided huge publicity. Had the visa been issued to him, it would have remained a quite low profile visit. By the incident both, Chinese and South Africans, have given a new fillip to the Tibetan cause.