Although the founder of ADMK developed cold feet and prefixed the words ‘All India’ to the name of his party, he was well aware of his limitations and never seriously sought a national role for himself. But his successor, right from the moment she insidiously usurped the leadership of that party, had been fancying the dream of national stature for herself, overestimating her fragmentary spoken English. Frantically trying to compete with Kalaignar, every effort she made to attain national stature in politics ended as fiasco. What she could not understand is that Kalaignar did not seek national stature but it was bestowed on him in recognition of his political sagacity, statesmanship and farsightedness.
The only occasion for her to play a role in national politics came as an electoral accident after the 1998 Parliament elections, when the then NDA government led by A.B.Vajpayee was precariously depended upon the support of 18 MPs of ADMK. But she frittered away that ‘heavenly-sent’ golden opportunity in the pursuit of her selfish agenda thereby acquiring the notoriety of the most undependable person in coalition politics.
When people of Tamil Nadu are cursing themselves for the very costly blunder of electing her back to power in the state, she, encouraged by her minions in her party and some sycophantic ‘political commentators’ has seriously started again nurturing the idea of becoming Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, for which her personal friend and Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi is also projected by despondent politicians and the media. With this day dream the actions that she took in the last fortnight in expectation of nationwide acclamation caused no ripples at all and contemptuously rejected.
The first one was what she claimed as walk out from the meeting of the National Development Council ‘protesting’ the humility meted out to her by ringing the bell after the prescribed time of 10 minutes. She might have possibly expected some more chief ministers to protest against fixing time limit for reading out the texts of their prepared speeches. The mainstream media in their antipathy for the UPA government at the Centre cried hoarse over the treatment meted out to her expecting overwhelming response from the people of the country. But none of the chief ministers of the remaining 34 states in India, including her friend Narendra Modi of Gujarat and other BJP chief ministers or the stormy petrel of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee had any complaint against the Centre, thus terribly isolating her. In the recent times this issue on Jayalalitha’s misadventure is the only case where the mainstream media very badly failed to project its pet agenda for national discourse.
But Kalaignar had also participated in NDC meetings as Chief Minister and unlike her, Kalaignar could get the consent of the Centre for demands of Tamil Nadu and his path-breaking suggestions were accepted by the Centre leading to historic and progressive measures. Kalaignar recalled in his epistle on 28.12.2012. “When I became Chief Minister for the first time in1969 I participated in NDC meeting when Finance Minister K.Mathialagan came with me. It was at that meeting that the relations between the Centre and States had to be reviewed. The UNI news agency then had reported that ‘only Tamil Nadu Chief Minister suggested about Centre-State relation at that meeting.” It was in that meeting that I said ‘Banks should be nationalized’ against which the then Finance Minister Morarji Desai spoke harshly. But after a few months, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced nationalization of 14 banks and I invited her to Chennai and conducted a function to felicitate her.
Next when I participated in the NDC meeting on 21.3.1970, I said, “We, who had been raising our voice for Salem (steel plant), have come to power now. But Salem has not yet come. Tamil Nadu is most anxiously expecting announcement for Salem. I ask to lay foundation stone without throwing stone on that desire. I would tell the Prime Minister finally and firmly. In this meeting we want announcement for steel plant. What is the motive in not announcing yet? For whose rule in the state are you waiting for? The additional allocation of Rs.175 crore for states should be shared between all states and our Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu should not be betrayed in Rs.100crore allocated for employment in drought areas. Until we get sanction for these three, I, on behalf of four crore Tamil people, don’t accept this plan and categorically state that I cannot accept it.”
As a result of it, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi immediately on April 17 announced in Parliament that accepting the demand of Tamil Nadu Salem Steel Plant would be started in the Fourth Plan itself. Accordingly at a function presided over by me she herself laid the foundation stone and the plant immediately started. “
Ever since the gang rape of the medico in a bus in Delhi was reported there had been a hysteric appeal for death sentence and castration for rapists as punishment with even the Leader of the Opposition and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj advocating public hanging without trial. The Centre has set up a commission led by former Chief Justice of India J.S.Verma to recommend steps for expeditious trial of rape cases and punishment for the perpetrators. In the meanwhile the Union Home Minister called for a meeting of the chief secretaries and DGPs of states on January 4 to discuss matters relating to sexual offences and find out the views of all states.
Kalaignar being a statesman firmly refused to tail the so-projected popular appeal for death sentence for sexual offenders and advocated for the first time in the country solitary confinement for life for the rapists. But Jayalalitha hoping to gain lead among states announced with great fanfare a 13-point plan to turn Tamil Nadu into a state totally free from sexual offences and suggested amendments to laws for death sentence for rapists and chemical castration for sexual offenders. Once again the mainstream media tried to sell Jayalalitha’s proposals and miserably failed again.
After the day-long meeting of chief secretaries and DGPs of states on crimes against women and atrocities against SCs/STs, on January 4 , Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told journalists that although many states favoured bringing down the age bar for juvenile offenders from 18 years to 16 to deal with growing cases of sexual assault, there was no consensus on issue of death penalty for rapists. “One or two states openly talked about it but a majority of states did not touch the issue…many favoured life till death for rape convicts without any leniency and without parole.”
Many academics, legal luminaries and social activists harshly turned down Jayalalitha’s barbaric prescriptions for rapists. A group of social activists has written to Jayalalitha opposing the key points of the 13-point programme- castration and death penalty. “While we appreciate the need for immediate enactment of a law for stringent punishment that will send out loud and clear messages, we believe the proposals for death penalty and castration cannot fit into the legal framework of a modern democratic State,” the team said in its letter.
“We believe these are measures that cannot be said to be reformative in approach and cannot reflect the aspirations of a mature democratic nation on a pedestal of human rights and dignity. The use of the Goondas Act also provides wide room for vendetta.”
The signatories, numbering 20, including educationist and former Vice Chancellor Vasanthi Devi, Social activists Sheelu, Geeta Padmanabhan and K.Shanmugavelayutham, N.L.Rajah and M.G.Devasahayham.
Dismissing chemical castration and death sentence as appropriate punishment for rape crimes, a discussion organized by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties in Chennai on Jan.9 turned the attention on the way forward.
Though dissenting voices came up attesting the proposal for chemical castration and death sentence for rapists, the consensus in the house veered towards looking at both of them as inappropriate and barbaric.
The principle of taking an eye for an eye was not viable at all, and the death sentence too had not served its purpose as a deterrent , V.Suresh, National General Secretary, PUCL, said.
Sheelu of Tamil Nadu Women’s Collective reinforced the point that the essential point of punishment is also to provide an opportunity for reformation.
Obviously, the way forward was to look at multiple approaches. While the legal aspect was one key element, it would not do to focus entirely on this angle, participants stressed.
Sashi Kumar, chairman, Media Development Foundation, introduced in the forum the notion that sexual violence must be differentiated from all other forms of violence. Sexual violence was a key component of patriarchy, and seen as a way of forcing a woman into submission. V.Geetha, writer, said it was necessary to examine what constitutes sexual violence and how different it was from other forms, along with cultures of love and sensitivity. She even suggested that PUCL organize a debate on these subjects.
Of course Jayalalitha is accustomed to get snubbed. The mainstream media need not unnecessarily burn their fingers by rejecting her.
v v v
Has Society ‘castrated’
Social Consciousness?
Last week, almost all newspapers published from Chennai carried a photograph showing a middle aged woman lying upside down unconscious in the centre of busy thoroughfare Anna Salai opposite to Tarapore Towers off LIC building, her head profusely bleeding and passersby including a policeman looking at her. The accompanying report was that she was knocked down by a speeding van sometime back and she was lying left unattended by anyone. All these were happening around 10 A.M and when she was finally taken to Government Hospital, Royapettah after nearly two hours, she was declared brought dead. Leave alone the public and even policemen, why did it not strike to any of the photographers and reporters, who gathered there to take snaps of the scene and collect details for reporting, to take out their mobiles and call 100 emergency police call or 108 ambulance service for taking that lady to hospital in time and save her? All these dailies, without any moral compunction, published the report and photograph least bothering about the inhuman attitude of their scribes and photographers. And these are the people who write columns pulling up the irresponsible and insensitive approach of the governments, officials, police and everybody around!
The next day, ‘The Times of India’ published the first page ‘investigative report’ under the headlines “Nirbhaya’s friend speaks out : We lay naked for 2 Hrs. 15-20 vehicles passed by. No one offered help. ‘3 PCRs wasted 30 minutes arguing about jurisdiction’ ‘Cops didn’t lift her. I did, with my injuries’”
The report goes on: “While Nirbhaya’s brutal gang rape horrified the nation, the events that followed the crime revealed shocking callousness on the part of both citizens and the police. In his first public statement, Nirbhaya’s friend said on Friday that the two of them lay naked on the road for more than two hours with people stopping to look at them and then moving on.
“My friend was grievously injured and bleeding profusely. Car, autos and bikes slowed down and sped away. I kept waving for help. The ones who stopped stared at us, discussing what could have happened. Nobody did anything,” he said in an interview to Zee News channel.
According to him, the apathy did not end even after the police entered the scene. Three PCR vans arrived at the spot. Then, in an exhibition of mindless, totally insensitive bureaucratic behavior, the cops spent the next half-hour arguing over whose jurisdiction the crime fell under. “The police did not pick us up. One of them tore a sheet and offered it to me to cover my friend. In my injured state, I picked her up and put her in the PCR van,” he said narrating with poise and composure.
“The police took us to Safdarjung Hospital rather than the nearest private hospital. Had it not been late at night when there’s hardly any traffic, my friend would have died the very day,” he said. “When we reached the hospital I sat without clothes on the floor for a long time even as my friend was taken inside for treatment.”
He said for the next four days, he lay on a stretcher in the police station, where he was not provided any treatment or counseling. In fact, he added that his treatment was being done at a private hospital on his own expenses.
And the report goes on…. This report was widely published in all dailies and telecast on all television channels with each having their own interpretations of the events.
These two are not isolated incidents showing the apathy, insensitivity bordering on inhumanness, callousness etc., of not just the few people mentioned in these reports , but almost all of us around in the country –mostly in urban areas, particularly in metropolitan cities.
Is the society as a whole to be blamed for such total lack of social consciousness? But such insensitivity to the miseries of people around cannot be imagined in rural areas or the so-called slum areas of cities. The more we claim to be cultured, civilized, elitist and sophisticated to be, the more such ‘society’ castrate – now a popular word chanted by elitist circles as punishment for rapists- our social sensibilities and consciousness. After all at home we are taught to mind our own affairs and least bother about others’. That is said to be the quality of good and sensible people! r
The only occasion for her to play a role in national politics came as an electoral accident after the 1998 Parliament elections, when the then NDA government led by A.B.Vajpayee was precariously depended upon the support of 18 MPs of ADMK. But she frittered away that ‘heavenly-sent’ golden opportunity in the pursuit of her selfish agenda thereby acquiring the notoriety of the most undependable person in coalition politics.
When people of Tamil Nadu are cursing themselves for the very costly blunder of electing her back to power in the state, she, encouraged by her minions in her party and some sycophantic ‘political commentators’ has seriously started again nurturing the idea of becoming Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, for which her personal friend and Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi is also projected by despondent politicians and the media. With this day dream the actions that she took in the last fortnight in expectation of nationwide acclamation caused no ripples at all and contemptuously rejected.
The first one was what she claimed as walk out from the meeting of the National Development Council ‘protesting’ the humility meted out to her by ringing the bell after the prescribed time of 10 minutes. She might have possibly expected some more chief ministers to protest against fixing time limit for reading out the texts of their prepared speeches. The mainstream media in their antipathy for the UPA government at the Centre cried hoarse over the treatment meted out to her expecting overwhelming response from the people of the country. But none of the chief ministers of the remaining 34 states in India, including her friend Narendra Modi of Gujarat and other BJP chief ministers or the stormy petrel of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee had any complaint against the Centre, thus terribly isolating her. In the recent times this issue on Jayalalitha’s misadventure is the only case where the mainstream media very badly failed to project its pet agenda for national discourse.
But Kalaignar had also participated in NDC meetings as Chief Minister and unlike her, Kalaignar could get the consent of the Centre for demands of Tamil Nadu and his path-breaking suggestions were accepted by the Centre leading to historic and progressive measures. Kalaignar recalled in his epistle on 28.12.2012. “When I became Chief Minister for the first time in1969 I participated in NDC meeting when Finance Minister K.Mathialagan came with me. It was at that meeting that the relations between the Centre and States had to be reviewed. The UNI news agency then had reported that ‘only Tamil Nadu Chief Minister suggested about Centre-State relation at that meeting.” It was in that meeting that I said ‘Banks should be nationalized’ against which the then Finance Minister Morarji Desai spoke harshly. But after a few months, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced nationalization of 14 banks and I invited her to Chennai and conducted a function to felicitate her.
Next when I participated in the NDC meeting on 21.3.1970, I said, “We, who had been raising our voice for Salem (steel plant), have come to power now. But Salem has not yet come. Tamil Nadu is most anxiously expecting announcement for Salem. I ask to lay foundation stone without throwing stone on that desire. I would tell the Prime Minister finally and firmly. In this meeting we want announcement for steel plant. What is the motive in not announcing yet? For whose rule in the state are you waiting for? The additional allocation of Rs.175 crore for states should be shared between all states and our Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu should not be betrayed in Rs.100crore allocated for employment in drought areas. Until we get sanction for these three, I, on behalf of four crore Tamil people, don’t accept this plan and categorically state that I cannot accept it.”
As a result of it, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi immediately on April 17 announced in Parliament that accepting the demand of Tamil Nadu Salem Steel Plant would be started in the Fourth Plan itself. Accordingly at a function presided over by me she herself laid the foundation stone and the plant immediately started. “
Ever since the gang rape of the medico in a bus in Delhi was reported there had been a hysteric appeal for death sentence and castration for rapists as punishment with even the Leader of the Opposition and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj advocating public hanging without trial. The Centre has set up a commission led by former Chief Justice of India J.S.Verma to recommend steps for expeditious trial of rape cases and punishment for the perpetrators. In the meanwhile the Union Home Minister called for a meeting of the chief secretaries and DGPs of states on January 4 to discuss matters relating to sexual offences and find out the views of all states.
Kalaignar being a statesman firmly refused to tail the so-projected popular appeal for death sentence for sexual offenders and advocated for the first time in the country solitary confinement for life for the rapists. But Jayalalitha hoping to gain lead among states announced with great fanfare a 13-point plan to turn Tamil Nadu into a state totally free from sexual offences and suggested amendments to laws for death sentence for rapists and chemical castration for sexual offenders. Once again the mainstream media tried to sell Jayalalitha’s proposals and miserably failed again.
After the day-long meeting of chief secretaries and DGPs of states on crimes against women and atrocities against SCs/STs, on January 4 , Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told journalists that although many states favoured bringing down the age bar for juvenile offenders from 18 years to 16 to deal with growing cases of sexual assault, there was no consensus on issue of death penalty for rapists. “One or two states openly talked about it but a majority of states did not touch the issue…many favoured life till death for rape convicts without any leniency and without parole.”
Many academics, legal luminaries and social activists harshly turned down Jayalalitha’s barbaric prescriptions for rapists. A group of social activists has written to Jayalalitha opposing the key points of the 13-point programme- castration and death penalty. “While we appreciate the need for immediate enactment of a law for stringent punishment that will send out loud and clear messages, we believe the proposals for death penalty and castration cannot fit into the legal framework of a modern democratic State,” the team said in its letter.
“We believe these are measures that cannot be said to be reformative in approach and cannot reflect the aspirations of a mature democratic nation on a pedestal of human rights and dignity. The use of the Goondas Act also provides wide room for vendetta.”
The signatories, numbering 20, including educationist and former Vice Chancellor Vasanthi Devi, Social activists Sheelu, Geeta Padmanabhan and K.Shanmugavelayutham, N.L.Rajah and M.G.Devasahayham.
Dismissing chemical castration and death sentence as appropriate punishment for rape crimes, a discussion organized by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties in Chennai on Jan.9 turned the attention on the way forward.
Though dissenting voices came up attesting the proposal for chemical castration and death sentence for rapists, the consensus in the house veered towards looking at both of them as inappropriate and barbaric.
The principle of taking an eye for an eye was not viable at all, and the death sentence too had not served its purpose as a deterrent , V.Suresh, National General Secretary, PUCL, said.
Sheelu of Tamil Nadu Women’s Collective reinforced the point that the essential point of punishment is also to provide an opportunity for reformation.
Obviously, the way forward was to look at multiple approaches. While the legal aspect was one key element, it would not do to focus entirely on this angle, participants stressed.
Sashi Kumar, chairman, Media Development Foundation, introduced in the forum the notion that sexual violence must be differentiated from all other forms of violence. Sexual violence was a key component of patriarchy, and seen as a way of forcing a woman into submission. V.Geetha, writer, said it was necessary to examine what constitutes sexual violence and how different it was from other forms, along with cultures of love and sensitivity. She even suggested that PUCL organize a debate on these subjects.
Of course Jayalalitha is accustomed to get snubbed. The mainstream media need not unnecessarily burn their fingers by rejecting her.
v v v
Has Society ‘castrated’
Social Consciousness?
Last week, almost all newspapers published from Chennai carried a photograph showing a middle aged woman lying upside down unconscious in the centre of busy thoroughfare Anna Salai opposite to Tarapore Towers off LIC building, her head profusely bleeding and passersby including a policeman looking at her. The accompanying report was that she was knocked down by a speeding van sometime back and she was lying left unattended by anyone. All these were happening around 10 A.M and when she was finally taken to Government Hospital, Royapettah after nearly two hours, she was declared brought dead. Leave alone the public and even policemen, why did it not strike to any of the photographers and reporters, who gathered there to take snaps of the scene and collect details for reporting, to take out their mobiles and call 100 emergency police call or 108 ambulance service for taking that lady to hospital in time and save her? All these dailies, without any moral compunction, published the report and photograph least bothering about the inhuman attitude of their scribes and photographers. And these are the people who write columns pulling up the irresponsible and insensitive approach of the governments, officials, police and everybody around!
The next day, ‘The Times of India’ published the first page ‘investigative report’ under the headlines “Nirbhaya’s friend speaks out : We lay naked for 2 Hrs. 15-20 vehicles passed by. No one offered help. ‘3 PCRs wasted 30 minutes arguing about jurisdiction’ ‘Cops didn’t lift her. I did, with my injuries’”
The report goes on: “While Nirbhaya’s brutal gang rape horrified the nation, the events that followed the crime revealed shocking callousness on the part of both citizens and the police. In his first public statement, Nirbhaya’s friend said on Friday that the two of them lay naked on the road for more than two hours with people stopping to look at them and then moving on.
“My friend was grievously injured and bleeding profusely. Car, autos and bikes slowed down and sped away. I kept waving for help. The ones who stopped stared at us, discussing what could have happened. Nobody did anything,” he said in an interview to Zee News channel.
According to him, the apathy did not end even after the police entered the scene. Three PCR vans arrived at the spot. Then, in an exhibition of mindless, totally insensitive bureaucratic behavior, the cops spent the next half-hour arguing over whose jurisdiction the crime fell under. “The police did not pick us up. One of them tore a sheet and offered it to me to cover my friend. In my injured state, I picked her up and put her in the PCR van,” he said narrating with poise and composure.
“The police took us to Safdarjung Hospital rather than the nearest private hospital. Had it not been late at night when there’s hardly any traffic, my friend would have died the very day,” he said. “When we reached the hospital I sat without clothes on the floor for a long time even as my friend was taken inside for treatment.”
He said for the next four days, he lay on a stretcher in the police station, where he was not provided any treatment or counseling. In fact, he added that his treatment was being done at a private hospital on his own expenses.
And the report goes on…. This report was widely published in all dailies and telecast on all television channels with each having their own interpretations of the events.
These two are not isolated incidents showing the apathy, insensitivity bordering on inhumanness, callousness etc., of not just the few people mentioned in these reports , but almost all of us around in the country –mostly in urban areas, particularly in metropolitan cities.
Is the society as a whole to be blamed for such total lack of social consciousness? But such insensitivity to the miseries of people around cannot be imagined in rural areas or the so-called slum areas of cities. The more we claim to be cultured, civilized, elitist and sophisticated to be, the more such ‘society’ castrate – now a popular word chanted by elitist circles as punishment for rapists- our social sensibilities and consciousness. After all at home we are taught to mind our own affairs and least bother about others’. That is said to be the quality of good and sensible people! r
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