Tag: News Analysis

News analysis for scholar to understand the issues in a better way.

No Attempt Made To Frame Uniform Civil Code Despite Judicial Exhortation: SC

At the outset, there can be no denying that it is a matter of greatest concern that none other than the Supreme Court which is the highest court in India has just recently in a latest, landmark and extremely laudable judgment titled Jose Paulo Coutinho vs. Maria Luiza Valentina Pereira & Anr. in Civil Appeal No. 7378 of 2010 delivered on September 13, 2019 and authored by Justice Deepak Gupta while speaking for the Bench for himself and Justice Aniruddha Bose has minced just no words to drive home the valid point that no attempt has been made yet to frame a Uniform Civil Code applicable to all citizens of the country despite exhortations by it. Where is any doubt in this? We all know it very well but yet we see that Centre and Parliament has taken just no action in last more than seven decades to do something concrete to address it!
First and foremost, the ball is set rolling in para 1 of this notable judgment wherein it is pointed out that, ““Whether succession to the property of a Goan situated outside Goa in India will be governed by the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867 as applicable in the State of Goa or the Indian Succession Act, 1925” is the question which arises for decision in this appeal.”
While narrating the facts, it is then stated in para 2 that, “One Joaquim Mariano Pereira (JMP) had three daughters viz. (1) Maria Luiza Valentina Pereira (ML), Respondent No. 1 (2) Virginia Pereira and (3) Maria Augusta Antoneita Pereira Fernandes. He also had a wife named Claudina Lacerda Pereira. He lived in Bombay and purchased a property in Bombay in the year 1955. On 06.05.1957 he bequeathed this property at Bombay to his youngest daughter, Maria Luiza Valentina Pereira, Respondent No. 1. He bequeathed Rs. 3000/- each to his other two daughters. His wife expired on 31.10.1960 when he was still alive. JMP died on 02.08.1967. The probate of the Will dated 06.05.1957 was granted by the High Court of Bombay at Goa on 12.09.1980. Both the other daughters were served notice of the probate proceedings.” 
Briefly stated, it is then brought out in para 3 that, “Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule on 19.12.1961. An ordinance being The Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Ordinance was promulgated on 05.03.1962 and thereafter the Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Act, 1962 was enacted, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act of 1962’. Both the Ordinance as well as the Act of 1962 provided that the laws applicable in Goa prior to the appointed date i.e., 20.12.1961 would continue to be in force until amended or repealed by the competent legislature or authority. Section 5 of the Act of 1962 which is relevant for our purpose reads as follows:-
“5. Continuance of existing laws and their adaptation-
(1) All laws in force immediately before the appointed day in Goa, Daman and Diu or any part thereof shall continue to be in force therein until amended or repealed by a competent Legislature or other competent authority.
(2) For the purpose of facilitating the application of any such law in relation to the administration of Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union territory and for the purpose of bringing the provisions of any such law into accord with the provisions of the Constitution, the Central Government may within two years from the appointed day, by order, may (sic make) such adaptations and modifications, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be necessary or expedient and thereupon, every such law shall have effect subject to the adaptations and modifications so made.””
More importantly, it is then pointed out in para 4 that, “It is not disputed before us that the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Civil Code’) as applicable in the State of Goa before its liberation in 1962 would apply. The Civil Code is in two parts – one part deals with all substantial civil laws including laws of succession and the other part deals with procedure. As far as the present case is concerned, they are governed by the Civil Code. The main dispute is that whereas the appellant, who is one of the legal heirs of the daughters of JMP, claims that even the property of JMP in Bombay is to be dealt with under the Civil Code, the case of the respondent i.e., the daughter who was bequeathed the property in Bombay is that as far as the immovable property situated outside Goa in any other part of India is concerned, it would be the Indian Succession Act, 1925 which would apply.”
Needless to say, it is then made amply clear in para 14 that, “The Civil Code may be a Code of Portuguese origin but after conquest and annexation of Goa, Daman and Diu, this Code became applicable to the domiciles of Goa only by virtue of the Ordinance and thereafter, by the Act. Therefore, the Civil Code has been enforced in Goa, Daman and Diu by an Act of the Indian Parliament and thus, becomes an Indian law. This issue is no longer res integra.” 
What’s more, para 17 then further brings out that, “It is important to note that this Court held that in so far as the continuance of old laws is concerned, the new sovereign is not bound to follow the old laws. It is at liberty to adopt the old laws wholly or in part. It may totally reject the old laws and replace them with laws which apply in the other territories of the new sovereign. It is for the new sovereign to decide what action it would take with regard to the application of laws and from which date which law is to apply. As far as the present case is concerned, firstly the President by an Ordinance and later Parliament by an Act of Parliament decided that certain laws, as applicable to the territories of Goa, Daman and Diu prior to its conquest, which may be referred to as the erstwhile Portuguese laws, would continue in the territories. It was, however, made clear that these laws would continue only until amended or repealed by competent legislature or by other competent authority.”
Furthermore, it is then also made clear in para 18 that, “We are clearly of the view that these laws would not have been applicable unless recognised by the Indian Government and the Portuguese Civil Code continued to apply in Goa only because of an Act of the Parliament of India. Therefore, the Portuguese law which may have had foreign origin became a part of the Indian laws, and in sum and substance, is an Indian law. It is no longer a foreign law. Goa is a territory of India; all domiciles of Goa are citizens of India; the Portuguese Civil Code is applicable only on account of the Ordinance and the Act referred to above. Therefore, it is crystal clear that the Code is an Indian law and no principles of private international law are applicable to this case. We answer question number one accordingly.”
While making a strong pitch for uniform civil code and lamenting total inaction on this front, it is then envisaged in para 20 that, “It is interesting to note that whereas the founders of the Constitution in Article 44 in Part IV dealing with the Directive Principles of State Policy had hoped and expected that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territories of India, till date no action has been taken in this regard. Though Hindu laws were codified in the year 1956, there has been no attempt to frame a Uniform Civil Code applicable to all citizens of the country despite exhortations of this Court in the case of Mohd. Ahmed Khan vs. Shah Bano (1985) 2 SCC 556 and Sarla Mudgal & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors. (1995) 3 SCC 635.” 
It would be worthwhile to recall that in Shah Bano case of 1985, the Apex Court pulled back no punches to hold clearly and categorically that, “It is also a matter of regret that Article 44 of our Constitution has remained a dead letter. It provides that “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”. There is no evidence of any official activity for framing a common civil code for the country. A belief seems to have gained ground that it is for the Muslim community to take a lead in the matter of reforms of their personal law. A common Civil Code will help the cause of national integration by removing disparate loyalties to laws which have conflicting ideologies. No community is likely to bell the cat by making gratuitous concessions on this issue. It is the State which is charged with the duty of securing a uniform civil code for the citizens of the country and unquestionably, it has the legislative competence to do so. A counsel in the case whispered, somewhat audibly, that legislative competence is one thing, the political courage to use that competence is quite another. We understand the difficulties involved in bringing persons of different faiths and persuasions on a common platform. But, a beginning has to be made if the Constitution is to have any meaning. Inevitably, the role of the reformer has to be assumed by the courts because, it is beyond the endurance of sensitive minds to allow injustice to be suffered when it is so palpable. But piecemeal attempts of courts to bridge the gap between personal Laws cannot take the place of a common Civil Code. Justice to all is a far more satisfactory way of dispensing justice than justice from case to case.”
It would also be worthwhile to recall that the landmark judgment in Sarla Mudgal case which was authored by Justice Kuldip Singh began with this note: “ “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India” is an unequivocal mandate under Article 44 of the Constitution of India which seeks to introduce a uniform personal law – a decisive step towards national consolidation. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, while defending the introduction of the Hindu Code Bill instead of a uniform civil code, in the Parliament in 1954, said “I do not think that at the present moment the time is ripe in India for me to try to push it through”. It appears that even 41 years thereafter, the Rulers of the day are not in a mood to retrieve Article 44 from the cold storage where it is lying since 1949. The Governments – which have come and gone – have so far failed to make any effort towards “unified personal law for all Indians”. The reasons are too obvious to be stated. The utmost that has been done is to codify the Hindu law in the form of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 which have replaced the traditional Hindu law based on different schools of thought and scriptural laws into one unified code. When more than 80% of the citizens have already been brought under the codified personal law there is no justification whatsoever to keep in abeyance any more, the introduction of “uniform civil code” for all citizens in the territory of India.” 
Most notably, it is also observed in John Vallamattom vs Union of India (2003) by the then CJI VN Khare that, “It is a matter of regret that Article 44 of the Constitution has not been given effect to. Parliament is still to step in for framing a common civil code in the country. A common civil code will help the cause of national integration by removing the contradictions based on ideologies.” Can anyone ever deny this? Certainly not!
Moving on, it is then very rightly underscored in para 21 of this latest noteworthy judgment that, “However, Goa is a shining example of an Indian State which has a uniform civil code applicable to all, regardless of religion except while protecting certain limited rights. It would also not be out of place to mention that with effect from 22.12.2016 certain portions of the Portuguese Civil Code have been repealed and replaced by the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceedings Act, 2012 which, by and large, is in line with the Portuguese Civil Code. The salient features with regard to family properties are that a married couple jointly holds the ownership of all the assets owned before marriage by each spouse. Therefore, in case of divorce, each spouse is entitled to half share of the assets. The law, however, permits pre-nuptial agreements which may have a different system of division of assets. Another important aspect, as pointed out earlier, is that at least half of the property has to pass to the legal heirs as legitime. This, in some ways, is akin to the concept of ‘coparcenary’ in Hindu law. However, as far as Goa is concerned this legitime will also apply to the self-acquired properties. Muslim men whose marriages are registered in Goa cannot practice polygamy. Further, even for followers of Islam there is no provision for verbal divorce.”
In other words, the Supreme Court has minced just no words to convey it loud and clear as is quite ostensible from the above discussion in this extremely landmark judgment that no attempt has been made to frame uniform civil code despite judicial exhortation. Time and again the top court has written reams and reams on the dire need of the uniform civil code in our country but Centre has repeatedly turned a blind eye to it! The top court has once again now lauded the shining example of Goa where uniform civil code is applicable to all, regardless of religion except while protecting certain rights. 
The million dollar question that arises now is: Why can’t then it be extended all over India to all people of all religion equally? It can be extended provided political strong will is there which so far has been totally lacking! This is what the top court has suggested by being most vocal about framing uniform civil code and lambasting successive Central governments for not doing anything on this score despite judicial exhortation and very rightly so! 
Centre must stop dishing out excuses for not framing uniform civil code in light of this latest, landmark and extremely laudable judgment and promptly act in this direction so that no one feels that just one community or religion is getting special privileges at the cost of the other! When polygamy can be banned among Hindus in 1955 then why after more than 64 years can it not be banned among Muslims also? It cannot be also lightly dismissed that many Muslim women are battling this out also in litigation as they feel that women is inexorably suffering the most because of it! 
Most importantly: Why evil practices like triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy have been allowed to continue for so long since 1947 till 2019 which has made the life of a woman worse than that of animal? Why triple talaq has been banned after such a long time? Why nikah halala which makes a complete mockery of women has not been banned even now? Same holds true for polygamy!
To summarize, Supreme Court has in a catena of leading cases time and again forcefully argued in favour of uniform civil code but what an unbeatable irony that even after more than 72 years of independence, the idea of uniform civil code still remains just a pipedream! Centre must act right now by boldly acting on what the Supreme Court has directed now so remarkably in this leading case just like it has done in so many cases earlier also! Unquestionably, it is our national interests that will gain most and this must be uppermost in Centre’s priority list at all cost! 
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Preparing for the Interview (part 2)

In last article of this series, we gave you
some advice on the first type of interviews that is technical round. To recap
in a couple of short lines-
1.      
Be
calm.
2.      
Be
systematic and organized in your thought process.
3.      
Showcase
this clearly to your interviewers.
4.      
State
the assumptions clearly to your interviewer if any.
In this part, we will look into the other type
of interviews- that is the behavioral interviews. One thing that we would like
to mention here is that even when there is no apparent behavior based
question, you are continuously being monitored. You definitely need to be ready
for this.

 

Homework for the interview
process

The process starts way before you enter the
room. You have to dress properly, groom properly, no loud makeup- unless your
job demands it. Look professional, sharp and attentive. There is no need to be
someone that you are not but looking professional and meaning business does no
harm. After all that’s what you are going for.
The next thing is the documents you have to
carry with you. If there was a list given to you before the interview date or
at any stage of the selection process- normally colleges and Government jobs
share the list of documents that candidates are required to bring with them at
the prospectus stage itself. Prepare according to list, double check to be
sure. Arrange them in reverse chronological order- i.e. the latest documents go
first. Make sure that the documents are arranged neatly and do not fall our
when someone opens the file.
Once you are done with the preparations at your
home. The next thing to do is to reach the interview venue. Be punctual, better
be early and wait for a while than be late and give a bad impression. If God
forbid, you are running late because of any reason, or you cannot make it to
interview venue; please inform your interview coordinator as early as
possible. Be apologetic and communicate clearly that you understand the
importance of the interview process, but because of such reasons you will not
be able to make it today, or you will be late. If you are comfortable, give
them gist of the situation but do not drag them into details.
When you arrive at the interview venue, you may
be asked to wait for a while. There may also be many other candidates who may
be interviewing for your job or some other jobs. Whatever the case maybe, be
patient, do not get nervous. Avoid any chit chat with other candidates. If you
are talking, keep the talks professional. Talk softly, maintain the decorum of
the place. And as far as possible, do not run after the candidates leaving the
interview room to bombard them with questions. If they are your friend it maybe
alright, but if they are strangers- it does not say anything nice about you.
We will be continuing this series in later
articles.
Good Luck!

Sports Journalism

Sports journalism is a type of composing that provides details regarding
brandishing themes and rivalries. Sports journalism is the fundamental
component of numerous news media associations. Sports journalists
consistently face more due date weight than different journalists in
light of the fact that games will in general happen late in the day and
closer to the due dates numerous associations must watch.
 However they
are relied upon to utilize indistinguishable devices from news
journalists, and to maintain a similar expert and moral guidelines. They
should take care not to demonstrate predisposition for any group.
Sports journalists work in all media, including print, TV broadcasting
and the web.

Benefits of leaning a foreign language

Introduction
A different language is a different vision to the life.
Federico Fellini
Learning a language other than your own native language has
always its benefit. It just not been advantage to your resume but is also handy
for travelling making one smarter and make better to connect with world. Many
studies have suggested that communicating in different language has a great
benefit.  It is a great asset to mental
awareness supporting cognitive process. Not only this, the brain of a bilingual
people operate is not the same as other, they have different way to
function.  They have another mental level
which bilingual people lack in caliber. 
That is why learning a foreign language has its benefit as it makes your
brain sharper and stronger.
 Few are the Benefits
of learning foreign language.
One doesn’t learn languages in one go and it became
powerful. The brain has to put extra effort for improving the functionality of
your brain. The brain challenges itself to learn, negotiate meaning, and
communicate in different system. It means the learner has skills that boost the
ability of solving tasks as well.It builds multitasking skills.
Toddlers and children are very much skilled in catching new
words and switching between two systems that includes speech, writing, and
structure. Switching between the languages makes a good multitasking as it’s
easy to switch between the languages.
It enhances the memory power
A good learner often likes its brain to do exercise because
it functions well in that case. Learning something obeys the memorizing rule
and a set of vocabulary that assist a learner to gain mental strength and
stretches mental muscles.  This totally
improves an entire memory, that proves that multilingual are better learner and
remembering list and arrangements. They could easily catch names and address,
says many studies. They are also veteran at retaining shopping and merchandise
good list names, and directions.
Help in improving decision making skills
According to a study from the University of Chicago,
bilinguals tend to make more rational decisions. Every language has its own set
of jargon and glitches and subtle implication included in the vocabulary that
influences the judgments. It makes any bilingual more confident on its decision
making skills. They are quick in checking whether initial conclusion stand up.
They hardly become biased and subconsciously influence the judgment.
 What motivates native
English speakers to study foreign languages?
It is said that language is best learned between the
sheets.  If a learner has to study a
language he/she   better aim of a culture
and its diversity. Also help in getting a good knowledge of society are
interactively motivated.   Language and its aptitude is the main tool
that builds for long relationships and meaningful provides communication.
Linguistic studies show that integrative motivation always yields faster and
more effective language learning results than any other type of learning.
Learner studying language can achieve their goal more instantly than others as
they are more motivated. Therefore, tracing its origins or evolution is the
most difficult thing. If we want to know when humans started walking upright,
we can dig fossils.  It helps in professional
or personal accomplishment of anything faster than others as professional or
personal accomplishment.
 Motivation to learn a
language is not problematic but if a learner has a zero cultural curiosity then
it’s hard for him/her to learn. The learning process will be more difficult
than for those with integrative motivation and difficult to target or even
prejudice. Desire to communicate and accelerate language learning that can
motivate one to learn a language.  It is
also a basic need for a cross cultural friendship and one can fuel integrative
motivation.  It is simply a gesture of
respect toward other nation and in-law or distant relative with no English
ability can also motivate language learning.
Conclusion
Learning can never be useless be it a foreign language or
any other type.  It hand help building a
long and friendly relationship that unites two nations.  It may not 
easy but not that difficult to do. Once you learn a language it also
helps both professionally and personally and help in getting a good job role in
different country.

Preparing for the Interview! (part 1)

Interview process is normally one of the last
rounds of the selection process. Be it college or job or even getting
admissions for your children in some schools- you have to pass through an
interview round. It involves face to face interaction with current employees of
the organization who have held the roles similar to what you have applied for,
or they have an experience in that area. Since this is a face to face round, a
lot of things become visible which could have been hidden during written tests
or other phases of candidate screening. While most of us are scared of this
additional stage, this is not necessarily a bad thing. You have a perfect
opportunity to showcase the things about you which you could not show in
earlier stages of the selection process. You can show the interviewers what
sets you apart and why they should prefer selecting you over other similar or
even higher scoring candidates of the earlier rounds.

The interviews mainly are of two types.
Technical and behavioural. There can be multiple rounds for each of these or
within the same round both the aspects of the interview can be handled. This
varies with the organization you are interviewing for and the level you are
interviewing for. If you are interviewing for above manager level, you should
be prepared to handle more than 4-5 rounds of the interviews. So, it is obvious
how important interview plays nowadays in candidate selection. Love it or hate
it but you can not ignore it. Therefore, it is only wise to be prepared for the
interviews.

Technical Round of
Interview

The technical rounds are not much different
from pen and paper rounds except that the interviewer tends to improvise on the
questions and understand your thinking process. On a real job, one can not
expect to deal only with the situations that have come in at some point of
time. There are new challenges every day, therefore it is a fair ask to
evaluate the thinking process of the candidate. Therefore, our advice is
definitely to learn your subject well. You anyway did that for pen and paper
rounds.
But the one extra thing, that we would like to
advice you, is to showcase your thinking process. Take the interviewer through
your thought process and approached the problem. Of course you need to be clear
and organized in your thinking. Only a clear and systematic thinking can be
translated into solving newer problems at work. Therefore, organize your
thought process and practice to express it in a systematic way to your
interviewers. If you are making any assumptions about the question asked,
mention them clearly or ask your interviewer if you can make those assumptions.
If you can showcase your thought process to
your interviewer, there is nothing to bother you in the technical round. Be
calm, and even if you are not sure about the final answer, proceed in steps, in
a systematic way to the most reasonable conclusion you can think.
Good Luck!

Being Human: An evolutionary Story (Part 2)

Introduction
In the earlier chapter we saw how a small
counter-intuitive evolution that shifted our voice box, probably due to
inherent habit of gossiping, made us better at communicating. Apart from
biological evolution like opposing thumbs, upright walking; our ability to
communicate was the first turning point in history of human evolution.

Chapter 2: Communication and Co-ordination

With shifted voice box, we developed ability to
produce hundreds of sounds. More complex and organized than any other animals.
This enormously improved our ability to communicate.
 After
sounds, probably came word and sentences. Writing technique, even in pictorial
forms, came much later as far as we can tell. But we already had evolving brain
and memory. So even without our inability to communicate with written words, we
could easily store massive memories compared to other animals. We started
planning, we started coordinating, we started creating processes. This
enormously improved our ability to work together. From a group of 10-20
individuals like most animals, we became a group of thousands of individuals.
And now we could achieve what smaller groups could not even imagine.
We could hunt the biggest animals.
Archaeological evidences show humans hunted even largest mammoths, boars and
wildest and scariest animals. We could clear our paths, build safe parameters
define our territories. We passed them on as stories and advices. We started
communicating with each other. We formed very large groups who coordinated
according to set processes and wisdom of hundreds of man-years.

What makes us special?

What makes us special. Co-ordination or
communication is not unique to us. All animals, even plants communicate in
their own way. Bees can communicate miles about discovery of nectar. Birds can
communicate spotting of lion etc. Sharks can smell slightest traces of blood in
an ocean. But these all instances of communication are very limited-
mono-syllabic if we may call this. Imagine being able to say only “yes” or
“no”. How limited we would become! So, the depth, dimension and lucidity give
our communication method a unique superiority.
Same goes for co-ordination. All animals
co-ordinate at some scale or the other. But we co-ordinate in scale of billions.
Traffic lights, law and order, stock market trading, currency notes… all are
the proof of efficiency of our co-ordination. But again, this is not just about
number. Bees and ants can communicate in huge numbers as well. But then, as
mentioned earlier, their communication is mono syllabic. So, their numbers and
their abilities as a team is very limited.
If you look closely, even the smallest units-
like a family or a relationship or the largest units- like countries,
religions, markets- they are all based on only these two things only-
Communication & Co-ordination. Of course, we can develop methods and invent
modes to do these better, faster and in more High-Definition- but at the heart
of this all- there are only two things- Our ability to communicate and our
ability to co-ordinate.

Women Politics

Women in politics in the cutting edge time are underrepresented in many
nations around the world. Ladies have insufficient open doors in social
interest, particularly in taking a stab at political rights and power in
the administration and diverse institutions. This verifiable
inclination still perseveres, in spite of the fact that ladies are
progressively being politically chosen to be heads of state and
government. All through the world ladies face deterrents to their
investment in governmental issues. These boundaries are to be found in
winning social and financial routines, just as in existing political
structures.
 Women, as the traditional essential overseers of youngsters,
frequently have a more unmistakable job than men in upholding for kids,
bringing about a twofold profit as far as the advantages of women
representation. Women delegates advance women rights, yet additionally
advance the privileges of kids.

Chidambaram Getting No Respite From Courts

It is really astonishing to learn that the former Finance Minister of India who is also an eminent and senior Supreme Court lawyer – P Chidambaram has been refused anticipatory bail by the Delhi High Court just recently in INX Media Scam Case pertaining to corruption and money laundering! What is even more astonishing is that this has happened notwithstanding that P Chidambaram was represented by a battery of senior and eminent lawyers led by stalwarts like Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi! What is most astonishing is that Justice Sunil Gaur who authored the latest judgment delivered by the Delhi High Court in the case titled P Chidambaram Vs Central Bureau Of Investigation in Bail Appln. 1316/2018 & Cri. M.A. 10976/2018 And Bail Appln. 1713/2018 & Cri. M.(B) 1163/2018 in P Chidambaram Vs Directorate Of Enforcement, Delhi has minced just no words to observe that this was a “classic case of money laundering”. He also said point blank that facts of the case reveal that the petitioner is the king pin or the key conspirator.
Be it noted, just a day after the Delhi High Court denied P Chidambaram’s plea for anticipatory bail in two cases of alleged corruption and money laundering linked to INX Media, he also failed to get a respite from the Supreme Court despite the urgency cited by his lawyers and his legal team comprising of senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Vivek Tankha, Salman Khurshid and others to take up his petition for interim bail before a Supreme Court Bench of Justices NV Ramana, Mohan M Shantanagoudar and Ajay Rastogi in Court No. 3. Even as the CBI and ED issued separate lookout notices for him who remained missing – Chidambaram’s counsel was informed by the Supreme Court Registrar that the plea had been listed for Friday. Congress party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala while talking about Supreme Court’s refusal to accede to Chidambaram’s plea for an urgent hearing said that in his years as a practising lawyer, he had never seen “technicalities in the Supreme Court registry coming in the way of fundamental rights”. He questioned that, “Can a small technicality prevent the honourable Supreme Court, whom every citizen respects and looks upto, refuse to even hear cases.” 
It may be recalled that on May 15, 2017, the CBI registered an FIR alleging irregularities in the FIPB clearance for INX Media to receive overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram’s tenure as Finance Minister in the UPA government. In 2018, the ED lodged a money laundering case. In its submissions, the CBI alleged that Indrani and Peter Mukerjea had made a payment of $5 million and $4.50 lakh to Mr Chidambaram in 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively, for settling issues related to violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by their former companies, INX Media and INX News. Sibal and Singhvi argued that the FIPB approval to INX Media was given by six Secretary-level officers but no action had been taken against them. 
While countering the defence allegations, the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta said that the former Minister needed to be questioned on the money trail, alleging that he had played a key role. Mehta said that the CBI had to interrogate Mr Chidambaram in custody as he was non cooperative and evasive in replies in the corruption case of monumental magnitude and the agency was not extorting his confession. The court has allowed Mr Chidambaram’s family and lawyers to meet him for half an hour every day during his custody.
We also saw how a Delhi court allowed the CBI to take Chidambaram into its custody for four days in connection with its probe into the alleged corruption in the INX Media case. Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar while remanding him in custody till August 26 said in a 10-page order that, “It is impressed upon the investigating agencies to ensure that the personal dignity of the accused is not violated in any manner. Considering all the facts and circumstances of the case as brought to the notice of the court, I am of the view that police custody remand of accused P Chidambaram is justified.” He also made it clear that, “The allegations made against accused are serious in nature and there cannot be a dispute with the fact that a detailed and in-depth investigation is required in the present case.”
It is well known that in the INX Media case, the company’s promoters – Peter and Indrani Mukerjea who are now in jail for allegedly killing Indrani’s daughter from an earlier marriage had allegedly approached Chidambaram to get foreign investment clearances. Indrani turned approver in this case and gave a testimony against Chidambaram which largely form the basis of the CBI case against him. Founded in 2006 by the Mukerjeas, INX Media made an application seeking clearance to a foreign investment proposal on March 13, 2007. The application was made to the Chairman of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which was an erstwhile inter-ministerial body that was responsible for processing FDI proposals. It was chaired by the Economic Affairs Secretary and had other permanent members including the Secretaries of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Commerce, Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs. 
Be it noted, the company had proposed to get FDI worth Rs 4.62 crore, which was cleared by the FIPB with an approval from then Finance Minister Chidambaram. But in violation of the conditions, the company got Rs 305 crore with a premium of Rs 800 per share. This ostensibly created suspicion which prompted the Income tax (IT) department to issue a letter to the FIPB demanding a probe into the matter. To wriggle out of this crisis, the company entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti Chidamabram who is the minister’s son and the promoter of Chess Management to get the issue addressed amicably by influencing public servants in the FIPB, according to an FIR filed by the CBI. 
What followed next was that INX Media was advised by the FIPB to file a fresh application for the downstream investment already made in the company. CBI alleged that the request of the IT department to probe the matter was also scuttled and the Finance Ministry not only granted fresh proposals, but also “misinformed the investigation” being conducted by the IT department. It has further alleged that an amount of Rs 10 lakh was paid to Advantage Strategic for management consultancy charge towards the FIPB notification and clarification. The company also generated invoices of Rs 3.5 crore towards INX Media.
Truth be told, according to CBI, Advantage Strategic is indirectly controlled by Karti, which has been strongly denied by him and his father. It is also alleged that INX Media promoters Indrani Mukherjea and Peter paid $5 million and $4,50,000 US dollar to Chidambaram in 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively for settling the issues relating to violation of FEMA. Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar went on to say that allegations of payment being made to the accused in the year 2007-08 and 2008-09 are specific and categorical. In his order, he further said that, “The trail of this money, if so paid, is to be ascertained. No doubt it is a case, to a large extent based on documentary evidence, but those documents need to be traced and their value and their worth for the purpose of the investigation in this case is to be ascertained.”
On his part, Chidambaram said that neither he nor any member of his family had been made an accused in the INX Media case. He said no chargesheet had been filed in the case and the FIR by the CBI did not impute any wrongdoing by him. He said that he will respect the law even if it is applied with an “unequal hand” by the investigating agencies.
In conclusion, it may well be said that it is a big setback for P Chidambaram as Delhi High Court has not just declined his bail plea but also has not hesitated in bluntly saying that facts of the case prima facie reveal that the petitioner is the king pin or the key conspirator. It is because of this adverse order that CBI proceeded ahead to arrest him from his house. Not just this, even the Special CBI Court after hearing both the sides gave the custody of P Chidambaram to CBI for four days till August 26. But P Chidambaram who has also appealed in the Supreme Court is still hoping to get some respite from it. Let’s wait and see what happens finally! But one thing is for sure: P Chidambaram who is a former Finance Minister as also former Home Minister has handled many important portfolios in the UPA regime is facing troubled waters which he has never faced before but he is also determined to not give up so easily! Many top and eminent lawyers of the Supreme Court like Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and others are defending him with full gusto and he himself is a senior lawyer of Supreme Court and certainly he won’t allow his legal acumen to not be fully utilized in his own case! This is certainly the toughest challenge of his high-profile life that he has faced till now as odds are heavily stacked against him and his son Karti! Only time will tell what happens finally in his case! We have to keep our fingers crossed till then!
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave, 
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.

Digital Media

Digital media can be made, seen, circulated, changed and saved on
advanced hardware gadgets. Digital media frequently appears differently
in relation to print media. This type of media has a noteworthy
expansive and complex effect on society and culture. Joined with the
Internet and individualized computing, digital media has caused
problematic development in distributing, news coverage, advertising,
etc. Digital Media is a mix of innovation and substance, and building
advanced media items requires groups of experts with different
aptitudes, including specialized abilities, aesthetic aptitudes,
scientific and creation coordination abilities. 
These abilities should
be adjusted in a group, with all colleagues concentrated on making the
best client experience.  Digital media has likewise presented new
difficulties to copyright and licensed innovation laws, encouraging an
open substance development in which content makers deliberately
surrender a few or the majority of their legitimate rights to their
work.

Fake News

Fake news is a kind of sensationalist reporting or purposeful publicity
that comprises of intentional disinformation or deceptions spread by
means of customary print and communicate news media or online social
media. The incorrect information is frequently brought about by
correspondents paying hotspots for stories, an exploitative practice
called checkbook news coverage. Digital news has brought back and
expanded the use of fake journalism. The news is then frequently
resonated as falsehood in online life however at times discovers its way
to the predominant press also. 
The significance of fake news has
expanded in post-truth legislative issues. For news sources, the
capacity to pull in watchers to their sites is important to create web
based publicizing income. Simple access to online commercial income,
expanded political polarization, and the prominence of web-based social
networking, basically the Facebook News Feed, have all been embroiled in
the spread of phony news, which contends with genuine news stories.
Fake news is composed and distributed for the most part with the goal to
deceive so as to harm an office, substance, or individual, as well as
addition monetarily or politically, frequently utilizing dramatist,
unscrupulous, or by and large created features to build readership.
Likewise, misleading content stories and features win promoting income
from this action

Photojournalism

Social media encourages you interface
up with individuals everywhere throughout the world. The positive impact
of online networking on kids incorporates, adapting new things,
interface with more distant family and companions. It gives powerful
stage to upgrading tyke’s information. Web based life rouse youngsters
to show signs of improvement at correspondence and supports opportunity
of self-articulation. Online networking encourages the advancement of
specialized ability and handy comprehension of innovation in the tyke.
The impermeability of social media guarantees that there is no control
on the extent of data. Such circumstances can prompt kids chancing upon
disgusting, unsafe or realistic sites that may influence their reasoning
procedure.
Digital harassing is
another developing pattern among internet based life sites. Cyber bully
can have perilous and conceivably lethal impacts. It claims numerous
exploited people every year.

Numerous children are affected by the ground-breaking promoting they see
via social media sites, and it unequivocally impacts their purchasing
propensities. These youngsters and their folks should know about how
they are focused on so more brilliant decisions can be made around their
ways of managing money. Investing an excess of energy can likewise
influence your youngster contrarily and regularly lead to web based life
dependence. Enslavement can show itself as different indications and
may even influence your youngster’s physical health. An excess of social
media can influence the kid’s capacity to create solid relational
connections. The children are flexible, and the torrential slide of data
can overpower them. Even though there are positive effects of social
media on children but on the other side the social media sites have
negatively affected the minds of children.

TIME!

What is time? The passing seconds, hours and
days? The past, the present and the future?
We do not
exactly know, yet. But the concept of time has been around in all
civilizations, Religion, philosophy, science even poetry and arts. The concept
of time has always been there.  After all
it is the time that spends us. Nobody sane (and human) can ignore thinking
about this.
By common
sense, we all understand there was a past, there is a present and most likely
there will be a future. The events are interconnected the past affects the
present and the present will affect the future.
There is a
causality, and anything can only affect the future events it cannot have any
impact on the past.
Such
concept also make it interesting to think about paradoxes when we consider the
time travel.

Concept of time in Philosophy
and Religion

All religions deal with the concept of time in
their own way. While some are quite similar, others differ from each other. But
most of them go like, at t=0; God created the stars, earth etc. He set the
things in motion. Some religions also talk about cyclicity of time. How eras
come and go. And how they will come again. They talk about a past- where we did
something, and we are being rewarded or punished for it now. It also talks
about how our present behavior will influence our future.
Time helps religion to establish a good
behaviour norm in society. It helps them calm the quirky minds who would
otherwise fall into despair or revolt.
Astrology, which hovered very closely between
religion, philosophy and sometimes even science, is a way to predict one’s
future based on one’s past and present.

Concept of time in Science

Time was considered absolute and sacrosanct in
the world of physics until Einstein came along in the early 20th
century. What he said was something more fundamental and purer about the nature
of the universe. His entire reasoning was based on the logic that “laws of
physics would be same for everyone irrespective of their nature of
(non-accelerated) motion.”
This therefore posed a new challenge. From
different experiments and observations, we had found that speed of light
remains constant through all conditions. So, if somebody is moving and still
observing the same speed of light as we do- then they must experience the space
and the time differently.
This opened up a new branch of science. Time
cannot be absolute. Every observer will experience it differently so that their
experience about the laws of physics remain same. It further goes on to talk
about the factors of time dilation, space dilation etc. It also gave raise to
topics of paradoxes like “Twin brother paradox”.

Conclusion

Time is definitely a fabric that helps us
understand a lot about the universe. But, as physics puts it, perhaps our
experiences of physical laws are more fundamental than the time itself. And
that goes in sync with philosophy also.
You may be 50 years old, but how many days have
you lived? How many days do you remember? Only that part is the meaningful
life.
As an old dialogue goes-
“Do not count the life in days but count the
days in life.”

Being Human: An evolutionary Story (Part 1)

How did we get here?
Sometimes this is the most important question
one can ask oneself. Corporations, individuals and even nations do this
introspection. But most of the time this is done post a failure to draw lessons
and improve in future. But what if we do not know what failure looks like?
For example, we have generation(s) who think
that they were happier in their childhood, in their villages, living the lives
of their parents. Nothing stops them from going back to that world, from
burning their mobile phones and deactivating their Facebook accounts. But
nobody does. We march forward- even when we know we have left our happiest
habitat. What kind of success is this? Why do we move in wrong direction
despite having all the signs that happiness lied the other way? Are human
beings destined to be doomed?

Chapter 1: Making of the Human

Humans were a nobody among
thousands more powerful species 70000 years ago. How did we climb so high so
fast? Brains you say- but that does not help against lions or floods. Human
beings learned to make and use stone tools thousands of years later. Brains may
be the reason for our might today, but it definitely was not for many thousands
of years.
The ingredients of the rise of
humans is a perfect story of butterfly effect.
It all started with human’s
ability to speak. The voice box moved up in the throat allowing us to generate
thousands of different sounds- much more than any animal ever before. We
started producing sounds, talking to each other, gossiping, adding more details
to our communications. If we wanted to inform a fellow human being that a group
of lions is approaching, we did not just say lions like most other animals did.
We added much more information- how many, what age, how hungry, what gender?
This helped us prepare well, prepare for defense and counterattacks.
We started creating stories, that
we would pass on to our children, and they to their children and so on. Our
knowledge was not limited by knowledge of one individual- as it was in case of
most other animals- but our knowledge was the collective knowledge of our
present tribes and our forefathers. If one human being invented fire, no one
else ever had to do it again! The knowledge would automatically come through
tribe, through generations! Thus, humans had more time to learn new things, and
expand horizons. If we are sitting today in a comfy room on a laptop- it is on
the shoulder of millions of our fellow humans and forefathers that we are
sitting.
And of all things, how it
started- Habit of gossiping!

This is also interesting to note that this
evolution was kind of counter intuitive. The upward movement of voice box meant
that we ran a risk of choking. We developed ability to cough a few thousand of
years later. So, this seems like a counterintuitive step of evolution. Or,
perhaps the habit and need of gossiping is far deeper inside us than we know….

Hindi is the language of coexistence. Its growth will never be at the cost of any other language: Shri Amit Shah

Union Minister of Home Affairs Shri Amit Shah graced the Hindi Divas Samaroh 2019 as Chief Guest today at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Also present on the dais were Ministers of State for Home Affairs Shri Nityanand Rai and Shri G Kishan Reddy, as well as Secretary and Joint Secretary, Department of Official Language.
Shri Shah said that while unity in diversity is India’s defining trait, a common language is needed as a culturally unifying factor. Shri Shah remarked that even Gandhi ji and Sardar Patel, who forged a united India, appealed to people to accept Hindi as the national language. Shri Shah lauded the work done by the Department of Official Language in popularizing Hindi, and appealed to citizens to work towards making Hindi the most widely used language in the world. Shri Shah also emphasized Hindi as a factor that unites India.
Shri Shah appealed to all to get connected with Hindi. He noted the unanimous consensus for Hindi as national language in the Constituent Assembly, in spite of the Assembly’s sheer diversity. He said that this decision was an important factor in ensuring cultural unity of India. Noting on the linguistic richness of India, he said that the nation was home to 122 languages and more than 19500 dialects.
Shri Shah said that a country that forgets its language kills its cultural existence. Language connects us to the roots of the nation. Addressing the youth of India, Shri Shah called for introspection and said that if we lose our language, we will be cut off from our culture. He asserted that the richest languages of the world belong to India. The depth of Indian languages is unparalleled, because of the equally unparalleled depth of Indian culture. 
Shri Shah said that we must leave the inferiority complex towards Hindi and our other languages that has set in due to colonial hangover. He called for greater use of the national language in all aspects of life. He said that only when we understand the importance of Hindi, can it thrive and prosper. He said that we must be proud of our language. Noting the role played by teachers in the growth of languages, he said that teachers and educators must instil a sense of pride about Hindi in students.
Shri Shah said that while diversity in languages is the strength of our nation, a national language needed so that foreign languages and cultures do not overpower our own. He proclaimed that next year, the Hindi Divas Samaroh would be a public program, as Hindi belongs to the people. He said that the Government would take Hindi Divas outside Delhi, and would celebrate a Hindi Saptah across the country. He called Hindi the heart and soul of the freedom struggle.
Shri Shah noted Vinoba Bhave’s love for Hindi and Gandhi ji’s assertion that a nation is mute without its national language. He said that our power to express our culture will die in the absence of our national language. Quoting Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya, Shri Shah said that without Hindi, democracy is not possible in India. The language of the state should be that which people can understand. He remembered Purushottamdas Tandon, who proclaimed national language to be the lifeblood of a nation.
Shri Shah remembered former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the first Minister of External Affairs to give a speech in Hindi at the United Nations in 1977. He hailed this as a seminal step to break the inferiority complex of Indians with respect to Hindi. He also hailed former Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj’s contribution to the global growth of Hindi, who encouraged the UN to use more Hindi, including on Social Media. This eventually led to the Hindi Twitter account of the UN.
Praising the Prime Minister’s commitment to Hindi, he noted that  wherever the Prime Minister addressed expatriates, he spoke in Hindi. Shri Shah noted that the Prime Minister addressed even the  UN General Assembly and the World Economic Forum in Davos in Hindi, making him the first head of government to address WEF in a national language other than English. 
Shri Shah called upon institutions and individuals to be committed to the growth and use of Hindi. He spoke of the need to proliferate Hindi in technical fields like medicine, engineering and law. He expressed confidence that Hindi would have reached ever greater heights by 2024 elections. He asserted that the growth of Hindi will never be at the cost of any other language and added that Hindi is the language of coexistence.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State Shri G Kishan Reddy said that while Telugu was his mother tongue, he had equal love for Hindi. He said that a mother tongue and national language must go together. He noted that the Constituent Assembly accepted Hindi as a national language, as it had been the unifying thread between cultures,  religions and regions during the freedom struggle. He called Hindi a source of self-pride for the country. He noted the famous Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi’s love for Hindi. He added that Hindi is India’s greatest social and cultural heritage and is emerging as a powerful cultural capital of India. He remarked that even multinational firms were accepting Hindi as a functional language. He noted the growing popularity of Hindi with India’s films, and said that the growth of Hindi on the global stage adds to India’s soft power. He advocated a greater use of IT for the development and popularization of Hindi.
Minister of State Shri Nityanand Rai said that languages are the souls of societies and nations. People express themselves in their languages. He added that Hindi consists of our emotions and aspirations, and acts as a connecting language for the whole of India. He called Hindi the symbol of India’s democratic system and said that our nation’s identity depends on the strength and popularity of our national language. He noted that the Constitution has given us the responsibility of the growth and development of Hindi and called for greater use of Hindi in the official work of Union Government and that of various regional languages in the official work of State Governments. He said that Antyodaya is our goal, and Hindi plays a vital role in achieving that goal, as it is the commonest language of communication across the nation. 
Shri Shah launched the E-Saral Hindi Vakya Kosh and E-Maha Shabda Kosh Mobile App, both initiatives of the Department of Official Language that aim to harness information technology for the growth of Hindi. He awarded Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar and Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar to government departments and public sector units respectively for their contribution to Hindi.

The 15th Finance Commission meets with the Ministry of Women and Child Development

The 15th Finance Commission headed by Shri N.K. Singh and including Members and senior officials of the Commission held a meeting with the Union  Minister for Women & Child Development Smt. Smriti Z Irani and her team of senior officials of the Ministry of WCD.
  
The Ministry’s proposals for enhanced allocations for its important schemes covering Anganwadi Services, Poshan, Women Welfare, Women Safety, Women Empowerment were discussed in details.
Among its major recommendation for the consideration of the Commission: 
  • The Ministry of WCD has requested the 15th Finance Commission to include gender Budgeting in its fiscal devolution formula. 
  • In the Commission’s Vertical Devolution the Ministry has requested for prioritizing gender concerns within schemes/ programmes – with a minimum compulsory allocation of 25% to 40%.
  • In its horizontal devolution the Commission has been requested to incorporate gender criteria (Child Sex Ratio and Female Labour Force Participation) as a criteria for horizontal devolution of funds between States. 
  • The Commission has also been asked to provide for basic and performance grants under which additional activities could be added to current activities of Local Bodies for promoting gender equality.
The Ministry of WCD has also called for: 
  • Incentivizing performance: States with better performance in Women Education/ Health Outcomes/ LFPR/ Nutritional Outcomes may be considered for incentive grants.
  • Fiscal Equalization: Gap funding for States to reach normative levels of social sector spending.
  • Enhanced Funding: up from 1% to 1.5% of the Union Budget for WCD.
  • Development of CDI/ GDI based on International Practice.
  • Revamped indicator for women participation in workforce.
  • Increased allocation for Health and Education.
  • Reservation of certain percentage of funds for Women centric development works by local bodies.
  • Increased funding for capacity building of elected women representatives.
  • Women & Wataer: Jal Shakti Abhiyan / Augmentation of Water Resources.
  • Mechanism for single data source for SDGs with Annual Measurements.
The Commission has noted all the issues raised by the Ministry and has assured that they would look into all of them carefully while framing its  report to the Union Government