Very few Indian journalists are worth reading, the rest – including the worthies like Sardesai, B. Dutt, etc - are all superficial and pen ponderous pieces without saying much and make huge sums. One would say that among the biggest beneficiaries of our economics liberalization is the mediamen eg the ND TV chief, a one-time psephologist is now worth over Rs.500 crores! Swaminathan Iyer, economics editor of the TOI, is a very rare exception and has a refreshing take not just on economic issues but other serious problems plaguing the country – he is brilliant and always hit the nail on the head without beating about the bush. His piece, “Without quick justice, politics will stay crimilized” on Sunday Times makes for compulsive reading… …”The moribund justice system gives a huge incentive for criminals to contgest and win elections. Judicial processes are so dismally slow that hardly any resourceful person gets convicted quickly, and many die of old age before exhausting appeals. So, nobody knows for sure who is a criminal and who is an innocent victim of false accusations… The right way forward is surely for the SC to device procedures that ensure quick, time-bound justice. Judges are fond of saying that justice delayed is justice denied, yet they have failed dismally to end this injustice… When nobody is convicted beyond appeals for decades, those with muscle and money quickly overwhelm those who are honororable and law-abiding. There is an old saying that if law-breakers are not in jail, they will be in the legislatures. That is the case today… It is also that endless judicial delays have created huge inducements for criminals to enter politics, and to success over law-abiding rivals. Many judges have condemned criminalized politics, amidst much public cheering, but need to acknowledge their own culpability in this mess… We cannot truly reform politics until we reform the justice system. A land without justice in a reasonable period will necessarily be a land in which law-breakers will beat law-abiders. This will be true not only in politics but in business, the professions, and everything else. .. A major reason for the popularity of Maoists in some areas is they provide instant justice, through what they call people’s courts… Of all the scandals that beset India, none rivals the scandalous lack of common justice.” (All discerning and right-thinking Indians will whole-heartedly agree. In a civilized society, most citizens are law-abiding more because of the laws of the land acting as a deterrent. Unbridled corruption, malpractices, criminal activities and lawlessness thrive, as they are in India, because most people with or even without political, financial, physical clout, have no fear of the law.)
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 07:59:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015