Your honour,I dissent

                Legislature, executive and judiciary are the constitutionally defined main branches of Indian Polity with clearly demarcated and obviously balanced roles and responsibilities for each one of them. However the lackadaisical manner in which the inherent authority is exercised by the constituents has resulted in a great deal of cases flooding the judiciary and ensuing reliance of the judiciary even on governance matters. The fact that landmark legislations like Right to Information (RTI), Right to Education (RTE) had its origin from the judicial efforts is a clear vindication of the aforesaid observation. Added to this is the fading independence, if not lack of it and ineptness of the same institution in some of our neighbouring countries, which make our judiciary highly venerable and even sacrosanct some times.

With paramount reverence to this institution, I wish to dissent on certain recent observations and assertions of the judiciary and also appeal it to enlighten me on the below.

 

1.      A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to the nomination of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar as a member of Rajyasabha of our Parliament is rebuffed by the apex court saying the applicant does not have Locus Standee in questioning the ground under which he is nominated as a member. Under Article 80(3) of Indian Constitution the President is empowered to nominate to the Rajyasabha, persons having special knowledge or practical experience in such matters as art,science,literature and social service. To a general public like I, Tendulkar does not fall under any of the grounds mentioned above and we are really obliged to know under what ground is he qualified to become a nominated Member of Parliament so that we shall understand the particular provision of Indian Constitution and abide by it.

2.       Part of the provisions of Article 124(2) reads as follows:

“Every judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President may deem necessary for the purpose……. ”

A general reading of the above provision to comprehend it would never end up in interpreting it in such a way that the Judges of the Supreme Court are to be compulsorily consulted without the equivalent importance to the Judges of the High Court and of the opinion of the President. When such a passage is provided in any of the academic or competitive examinations to assess the comprehending aptitude of the candidate, no credit would be given for such an understanding. Nevertheless I do also admit there is certainly a difference between the layman perspective of viewing this and the view of subject matter experts with the latter like Supreme Court Judges having the role of Constitutional Interpreters.

But nowhere in any democratic society the judiciary itself seems to be vested with the authority to appoint its judges at the higher levels without due consideration to the executives who are the actual representatives of people. Does it not derogate the Constitution and its checks and balances?

The Supreme Court did not allow a PIL related to the above ‘Collegium’ method of appointment of Supreme and High Court Judges quoting no locus standee of the applicant that raises the question what engrosses public interest?

Shouldn’t a general public have interest in understanding the provisions of the Constitution thereby to abide by it which itself is a fundamental duty (Article 51A(a)) as declared by the same reverent institution.

3.      With respect to disputes related to Inter-State Rivers shouldn’t the judiciary take upper hand in ensuring the member states comply with its orders and decrees rather than advising them to go for political solutions? 

      Can’t the judicial leverage of not being subjected to populist sentiments unlike the other political establishments be utilized to ensure that constitutional and national integrity is never disturbed? When the member states fail to comply with many of the pronouncements shouldn’t it invoke necessary legal provisions that would uphold its inviolability? Executive non-compliance if not reprimanded would ultimately belittle the law abiding ones and goes against equality of treatment. 

4.      When the judiciary takes suo motto notice of many irregularities in Indian polity attempting to upkeep probity in public life and private rights, what internal reforms did it carry out when former judges resigned at the brink of being removed from office by Parliament? When legislative provisions to remove Chief Justice of a High Court were initiated he was transferred to North Eastern India from Peninsular India. What does that mean?

5.      Please help me to fathom what involves contempt of court as there are subtleties associated with the critical understanding of any judgement and contempt of court. Personally I feel perturbed in understanding this nuance and many a time end up in not speaking up fearing of contempt of court, as freedom of speech and expression is subjected to reasonable restrictions.

Travails of a bank employee

Finance Minister P.C has recently averred that access to bank is a fundamental right and the citizenry is even counselled to demand for one if it is denied. A bank account is being viewed as the means through which administrative machinery could be made more accountable and its process more transparent. It would entail arresting the pilferage of governmental benefits and also the successive Five Year Plans ideal of inclusive growth. What followed of course is the steep increase in the no. of bank accounts either active or otherwise though over 60% of Indians still lack access to mainstream financial institutions.

At the outset let me discuss (not comprehensively however) the experience of an average Indian in accessing this right. Do we have the prejudice that a bank employee, at the counter particularly, is un-affable and un-humane, who doesn’t heed to our queries, who directs to another counter for any additional information sought, who wouldn’t help in filling the documents, who would break the rule for the powerful and would show extra attention in adhering to it for us? If you don’t, then you are not the average Indian I am talking about and you would well be privileged.

My mom used to say that it takes a complete day if she wishes to pledge a gold ornament in public sector banks whereas private money lenders would make it done within 5 minutes. An average Indian who is just functionally literate is not financially literate and would need assistance to access the mainstream financial institutions. When the personnel through whom he views the institution are unfriendly, he is vulnerable to return back to the parallel economy perpetuated by many of the unscrupulous money lenders.

Let us be informed that SAVING for future is a socially ingrained family value in our nation and estrangement of the general community from mainstream financial institutions would entail the whole economy to lose the opportunity to mobilize their savings. No wonder that SAHARA group was able to mobilize over 15,000 crore of INR mainly from the unbanked classes of the society. However this constructive social value is deteriorating at a larger pace among the CREDIT CARDISED class of people. 

   

With the hitherto mentioned proclivity towards banking system,I had a conversation  with my friend who works in a private bank in Ramanathapuram, recently. I was complaining about the attitude of the majority bank employees and was moved to hear from him and wish to record his perspective.

To a reader from Chennai, Ramanathapuram may be nothing but ‘south side’ which is synonymous for ARRIVAAL, AELAY slang and other prejudices. I remember my Warden and Maths Professor riposting 

SOUTHனா என்ன யாழ்ப்பாணமா ?  to us when we claimed we belong to south.

Geographically the terrain is cursed and is a typical THANNI ILLAATHA KAADU in Tamilnadu. Any service provider posted in this region would view it as a ‘punishment’ post let alone my friend who hails from the prosperous delta region. The inextricable link among geographical features, economic development and social development leaves the region a backward one. Hence without enough local employment opportunities, majority of the households in Ramanathapuram would have at least an individual of theirs emigrate and strive in the West and South East Asia. What follows is the surpassing remittance amount and hence the greater demand for banking services.

Here are his travails.

Since majority of the people hail from weaker sections of society they are not even functionally literate forget about the financial literacy. Many a people don’t even know to count the money and would claim extra amount from the bank hence. My friend seems to have lost cool when a customer claimed 5 bunch of 100 rupee notes amount to 5 lakh rupees. 

The customer was alleged to have said 

"விவரம் தெரியாம பேசாதீங்க தம்பி.உங்களுக்குலாம் எவன் தான் வேலை  தந்தானோ ? " 

Clients, sometime place a lower denomination note in the 100 note bunches either unscrupulously or inadvertently and the counting machine would report “Boss, 100 notes intact”. Blank papers are also placed in such bunches he alleged.

He claimed that he would lose concentration while he is counting money and someone queries him. This would lead him to commit mistake and ultimately monetary lose to him. Every day after the business hours, the employees engage in tallying up the amount and if there is any negative difference they have to pay it from their pocket. But any positive differences GOYYAALA would have to be transferred to the bank’s account.

He said that he had the experience of chasing a person and extracting from him the actual amount for the fake notes he placed in his deposit.  The total lose for him in his banking carrier is around 2000 Rs which may not be a big figure to many albeit. If so I would say again that you are privileged.

He said hence he made his mind to remain cursed by the customers for not replying to their queries instead of losing his salary. Thus he is one of the SIDU MOONJI SATHASIVAM according to his customers.

It seems that his colleague had mistakenly delivered 5 lakh rupees instead of 1 lakh rupee to a customer who had demanded for changing his lower denomination money. Since customers demanding ‘denomination exchange services’ do not fill forms, they don’t have the records of transaction. Unfortunately there was a snag in the CCTV functionality then and the customer couldn’t be traced. So his colleague is paying a loan for the differential 4 lakh rupees, a figure which is his monetised 2 year hard labour.

He also declared that Mondays are the actual monsters for bank employees as the bank-less monetary transactions in the previous two days have to be accounted in the economic system only on Monday. Added to this is the junior-senior politics as in any organisation and the associated attempts to thrust juniors with loads of work by the seniors.

So what else? other than changing my attitude towards bank employees.

ரௌத்திரம் பழகுவேன்; களவும் கற்பேன்

இந்த தலைப்பின் கீழ் நான் பார்த்த,என்னைப் பாதித்த, பெரிதும் அறியப்படாத,பேச விளையாத, உணரப்படாத நிகழ்வுகளையும், மனிதர்களையும் எழுத முனைகிறேன். என்னை நிதானம் இழந்தவன் என்றோ, என் சமூகம் தவறுகள் என்று ஒதுக்கி வைத்தவைகளை திடமுடன் செய்ய முனைகிறேன் என்றோ நீங்கள் இந்த தலைப்பை வைத்து முடிவு செய்யாதிருத்தல் நலம்.

                                              'குடி'மகனின் இரவு 

A GENERAL DISCUSSION





  

A Day's Trip - II

Continued from http://rajeevganth.blogspot.in/2013/01/a-days-trip.html

So HP is a figure renowned in SSN Gents Hostel for his timely remarks. I remember an incident where one of my friends by seeing another after years claimed

“Machan, in college you resembled Actor VIJAY and now you look like Thalaivasal VIJAY.” (Reference was about the lack of hair)

Such was the spontaneity of our fellow ‘gangsters’. I suppose HP would have played a stellar role in either naming or popularising the nick names of us in hostel. Every youngster is a MOUNAM PESIYATHAE Gowtham and Chiyan SETHU in his own sense during college life. Such ‘beautiful’ nostalgic memoirs would be there for every reader and its time that we relish it for a while.

A caveat:

                 SMOKING IS INJURIOUS TO HEALTH.

                

                ‘Mathu’ NAATUKKU,VEETTUKKU,UYIRUKKU KAEDU.

HP returned home earlier from office to spend the evening with us. So what else if we adults of post 1991 economic reforms era meet?

***SARAKKU THAAN.

When we are about to order for beers, J said he would require just a full and HP asked sarcastically “just one, J?”

J starred at me that if decrypted would mean “Makka, NAMMAKITTA”.

Yes, you are right we have a flash black.

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HP helped us (J and I) in boarding a bus to the nearby bus stop in the morning so that we shall reach the venue of marriage function at time. After having a glance of the marriage function we were ready for the feast. But was deeply dissatisfied to see no paruppu, sambar,vathakulambu and rasam in the feast. If you ask my fellow ‘Nagercoilians’, they would completely rebuff the meals as there was no‘AVIAL’, a Kerala heritage, mixed vegetables side dish. The ingredients for the recipe are simple. Collect all vegetables that could be cultivated in a mountainous terrain, don’t forget coconut slices and coconut oil.

“AVIAL ILLAINAA,GOYAALA,TENSION AAGIDUVAANGA”

However, PASI and RUSI belong to different departments. So after devouring the Karnataka style vadai, paayaasam, the vegetable fried rice and of course the ‘politicised’ Cauvery water, i-Phone’s GPS application VELLAKKARA THURA AKKA directed us to the nearest bus stop.

No window shopping in Bangalore’s shopping mall is similar to a trip to Chennai without a gaze of MGR’s SAMADHI. Chennai can’t be imagined without MGR SAMADHI, BEACH,SARAVANA STORES for many even now.  Even if you don’t agree with this assertion, you have to be informed that we had decided to go to Forum, Coramangala. Window shopping ideal ended up in the purchase of 400Rs worth Children’s book at a discounted price of 170Rs in Landmark. I did clear all the 50% discount labels from the books because ‘status’ is important. But no sufficient time was killed in this and hence J decided to give nostalgia another chance.

“While working in Robert BOSCH, I was frequent to this bar, makka.”

So we were in that bar.

* One full beer of XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, a mini Mountain Dew, Prawn masala(strictly non-Chinese) was the first order. A full beer was sold at a price 30% over MRP. The bar was not too good but not bad as the 5 billion $ TASMAC bars. Perhaps no gated site would be as bad as that of the best performing public sector undertaking in India. Two more orders of half XXXXXXXXXXXXXX beer each followed. After completing intermittent rounds of smoke, we were riding in a ‘metered’ auto to Narayanapura.

CUT PANNINAA …..

Location: liquor shop in Narayanapura.

Flashback ends

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So HP was informed about the reason of J restricting himself to just a beer.

HP : “ADA PAAVI. RIGHTU VIDU.”

* Totally three full beers of the same XXXXXXXXXXXXXX were ordered.

Though initially we had decided to buy aerated snack packs as side dish, a sudden turn out of an incident exhorted us to go for PAANI POORI masala as side dish.

Without focusing the hands that secure a puppy in a drizzle or the lock of hair falling over the face in a breeze, the only FEMALE passer-by of my travelogue is being introduced.

A mobile Paani Poori Shop, some **Hindi speaking customers with their cacophonic noise around, the sound and flame of an illegally diverted domestic purpose only gas cylinder-stove duo, some THERU NAAIs (not us) surrounding,

the GIRL orders for one by two  paani poori masala and stands beside the shop chatting with her accompanying friend.

***To our limited knowledge we believe that she was well aware that we were not just looking but staring at her sometimes. According to J she looked at him, to HP she stared at him and to me she would speak to me soon .So generally speaking, she would look at US and suddenly she would turn towards her friend.

We were even discussing

J: “Shall I go and speak to her?”

Me: “What would you speak?”

J: “I am about to be engaged else I would surely approach her”

J: “I would ask her name”

All: “She is lean, homely and lovely”

We did not worry about knowing what they both were discussing.

Her order was ready by then and so was our purpose being there. We left the place.

J: “I think she is about 20 years”

HP: “No she would be a school goer”

Me: “I am not sure.”

HP: “I saw some acts of immaturity. She is around 17.”

Discussion about her continued in the first round of beer….

J: “She had been waiting in the parking slot for some time before riding her vehicle.”

Unanimous decision: “Let’s have someone eye the shop for next one week at this time and follow up then…”

“CHEERS MACHI”

Now discussion took the topic of what Love is?

HP to me:  “What do you think?”

I know about them and remained placid…

HP: “NEE USHHAR PARTY. You won’t speak now.

My mind voice:

சாதாரணமாவே அவனுங்க off பண்ணாத வாய்க்கா pump-set மாதிரி நிக்காம பேசுவானுங்க..இன்னைக்கு கேட்கணுமா.

For those who know me, it’s business as usual for me. Others could take anyway.  As a passive participant, paani-poori as a side dish appeared novel and really missed a Chicken Tandoori and chettinadu masala.

Discussion continued…

HP: “I had been following a girl in my office but was afraid to tell her.”

J: “It’s not love. Love is instantaneous.”

J in full form: “You are not afraid. You are deliberating the situation before deciding. Love is about spontaneity.”

In the mean time we were searching for some profiles and asking

“Google, google, please search……..” and you know by now why profiles are not to be made public.

In the III round GOD made the entry but did not know how he did.

“ KADAVUL IRUKKAARA ILLAIYAA?”

HP: “MACHI, when I go mid-night alone to get a smoke, I would think about GOD and would get the valour to go alone. So GOD is a feeling and he is there.”

Me: “Super mapla”

J: “No.You can neither disprove nor prove his presence. The faith of presence of GOD or his absence or the agnostic faith that he may be present/absent is itself GOD”

J continued : “makka, I went from level 0 to level 2 in the afternoon drinks and now I started again from level 1 and is in level 3”

But after hearing this, I totally felt like out of order and helped myself by diverting the topic.

J: Where would a boy look at when he first looks at a girl?

Me: So what about a girl then?

I do not wish to give any chance to the recently flourishing ‘outrage’ industrialists to utilize the comfort given by the lenient laws. Answers to the above question are hence CENSORED to abide to the Indian Constitutional principle of freedom of speech and expression subjected to restrictions on the grounds of decency and morality.

J: “How many cigarettes, do you smoke?”

HP: “What about you?”

J: “Depends on the combination. If I am drunk then it would go uncounted within sometime”

HP: “Assault. I would smoke many”

Me: “How many of us know that our father would have guessed that we would smoke and we are a drunkard?”

HP: “I lost cool when my father cut a phone call in front of me and looking at me

said “KUDICHUTTU OLARURAAN, THAMBI” .”

There were also many unconnected discussions throughout. As the reader would have understood by sometime earlier there is neither objectivity nor conclusion in this Incident 3 which is so perplexing. However this would be the state of mind of anyone who remains   passive in the situation like above.

He would think “MACHI ROMBA MOKKA PODREENGA DAA.”

But ask the main actors they would be self-complacent since they would have shared whatever is there on their mind. “NEEYA NAANA” Gopinath would have apparently rewarded them, according to their version. It is a state of mind where all externally imposed morality would be wilfully broken and vengeance is ventilated and even reticent would become excessively demonstrative.

By the time another friend of ours entered the scene we were done with our discussion and he found us scattered in the room in this fashion ‘A leg of one on another’s stomach’

If you did not notice asterisks anywhere above, search for them again.

* XXXXXXXXXXXXXX  represents a liquor brand.

Have you ever wondered about the reason why liquor brands spend a lot for promoting soda or water and calendar of theirs but not for liquor? It is unlawful to advertise and promote liquors in TASMACised India. Be proud of how law abiding the writer( ‘padippu mela sathiyamma’ NAANAE THAAN) is.

**I would have phrased the sentence as “some Tamil speaking customers with their cacophonic noise around” had I published this post to Hindi speaking audience.

***I wish that this part be taken less seriously.

Incident: 4

The intention of our travel was to attend the marriage function of my friend’s brother and this was the first time I have attended a marriage function in Karnataka. So don’t ask me how many functions have I attended in Kerala or Andhra. I haven’t.  Having known the background of this marriage we are not disappointed to see a low turnout of ‘relatives’ for the event and one reason being the marriage was on Wednesday. Seems not just Tamils but also others too follow this

“PON KIDAICHAALUM PUTHAN KIDAIKAATHUU“

A marriage being an alliance between two families in Indian society, this case it was an Inter-State family alliance. Forget about the political differences between the states, Tamilnadu was under Karnataka based Vijayanagar Empire for over centuries and the bride’s family could content themselves by noting that Vijayanagar Kingdom and the groom’s family both are Telugu speaking and of the same religion. Who knows my friend could have had a royal association. Thus they could look out for anything integrating them. Mean while if you have guessed the caste of my friend, then you are a ‘qualified’ social scientist and

ATHUKKU NICHAYAMMAA NEENGA SERI VARUVEENGA. Fill few suitcases and approach

THALABATHI or AMMA; book a berth for Loksabha 2014.

Love cum Arranged marriage is widely in public discourse in recent times and in my personal discourse at least, as both my brothers did decide their life partners themselves. I had even attempted to canvass my eldest brother to go in sync with my parent’s view but was matured enough to be reluctant in the case of second. My parents are ‘convinced’ that their daughters-in-law are either of the same caste or of the same religion however they are without any regrets now. But having seen me as an ardent supporter of my brother’s love, they would be worried that I might repeat the same. Even if I do there would be ‘acceptance’, if not reception but if I don’t, it would mean MORE for them. And MORE here is more to the core; perhaps sky as the limit.

An average middle class father ostensibly is not ready to be denied the right to choose the life partner for his ‘kid’, for his kid is a kid even when he becomes the CM of Uttar Pradesh.  

And now a days it appears as if MARUTHUVAR AIYAA also has a role in deciding who should marry whom. So please get an NOC from him if you are married already and an authorisation charter if yours is imminent.

                                                           ENDS

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