Justice SN Srivastava's judgment that Bhagwad Gita should be the dharma shastra surprised many. Though more surprising were his other observations in the lengthy judgment. (And latest is cancellation of appointment of 10,000 Urdu teachers, the decision* which came on September 14 as I was writing this post)
The observations about the threat to Hindus in this country, the safety of temples and similar other concerns of the learned judge were absolutely unwarranted in the context of the case. He better write a voluminous book on his thoughts after his retirement which is due in the next couple of days.
The case was regarding dispute over shifting of a temple between two brothers. Even before we have seen similar sentiments and the display of erudition, often unwarranted, in decisions of Allahabad High Court. The same judge had earlier this year given the judgment that Muslims were not a minority in Uttar Pradesh which was stayed by a division bench later on.
The judge says that, "“…It is the duty of every citizen of India under Article 51-A of the Constitution of India, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, to follow dharma as propounded by the Bhagawat Gita…”. Read the complete Telegraph story here.
As India Time writes that there is nothing of this sort in article 51A and...such judges have no place in Indian courts. Read the two entries on this blog here: Link1 Link 2
Compared to states in South India and even other parts of the country, UP had a highly communalised society and the bureaucracy (also police) was much more biased compared to other regions. The low percentage of Muslims in jobs was proof of it.
Judges also come from the same society and often their personal biases get reflected in such verdicts that go beyond their scope and take the shape of sermons based on their personal beliefs.
The reactions of the Law Ministry was prompt and several legal luminaries including former Chief Justice VN Khare termed the judgment as unconstitutional. In times when people have lost faith in most of the institutions except the courts, shouldn't the judges be more careful.
*Meanwhile, as I write this the Allahabad High court judge Arun Tandon has cancelled the notification regarding appointment of 10,000 Urdu teachers. These teachers were appointed during the regime of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Read an old link about his past judgment regarding Aligarh Muslim Univeristy (AMU) at Milli Gazette Here.
Friday, September 14, 2007
It's Allahabad High Court again!
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6 comments:
Nasheman par Nasheman is Qadr Tameer Karta Jaa...
Ke BIJLI girte Girte aap khud Be - zaar Ho jaye...
Thanks for telling the other side of the story....You da man!
Very interesting! After the ASI trouble, this.
Another foolish judgment! Lets see how the Law Ministry handles this...
On Aligarh Muslim University:
AMU needs good administration to benefit the Muslims studying presently there and to serve the Muslim community as a whole. Ending in sine die, giving authority to police to enter campus & hostels, creating more chaos than required, eroding precious study hours has become a tradition of AMU.
Such irresponsible attitude of the administration has given benefit to OTHERS to take advantage in controlling the University, which slowly may end up in taking away its minority status too.
I remember Prof. Ahtesham Nizami, Dean Mechanical Engineering asked me some help in his project to open a Fire Engineering College at AMU. On my next visit, I asked him the status of his project & he sadly said, "Beta yahan kuch nahin ho sakta". Such is the state of affairs... AMU administration did not allow him! Isn’t this sad??
Is the administration a string-puppet? But who is playing it????
I hope Mr Srivastava's opinion and decisions is not based upon watching too much of CNN and FOX news!!. I hope he understands what he is talking about. He should understand that India is a country that has 18 different (or so) official languages and India has many forms of many religions. Gita is a holy book and has many good things but forcing that book upon others and who do not understand it , will be a grave mistake. This will give the power back in the hands of Minority Brahmins who have lost their grip on power slightly in an emerging big Indian democracy.
Regarding AMU, I hope the minority character of AMU is preserved. This is unfortunately the only institution that serves the demands of modern education for impoverished Muslims masses that live in and around this institution.
Regarding the gory situation in AMU campus, its falling standards etc, is not new. I have seen the best and the worst. To me AMU is like the Ganges that still flows and serves the people in spite of being abused and raped by her own sons and daughters. It gets polluted and sometime it smells bad like the Ganges. But every year the new Monsoon (new admissions) cleans and purifies it and brings new hope. I hope students and more importantly the teachers understand the mission of AMU tahreek and shoulder their responsibility while they benefit from this great institution.
Best wishes
Anser Azim, Chicago
"Compared to states in South India and even other parts of the country, UP had a highly communalised society" - absolutely.
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