Rocking the wall

by Manish Anand

Hundreds of medicos are being tear-gassed near Supreme Court, the custodian of rights of citizens of India, while the government presents Bill for reservation in educational institutions. The Bill would be referred to the standing committee, and students would return to classes. Few days of anger will peter down, and the political class will have its ways eventually. A pattern well etched in the functioning of Indian democracy.

The judiciary should not be expected to police the ever-cunning politicians. It’s just too much for asking. Still, the worst fear of an average Indian is an encounter with the behemoth Indian federal state.

My bedroom window faces the road where there is a permanent police ticket. While my eyes feel weariness reading literature, I stand by the window to look outside. Policemen there are stopping all the bikers, checking their documents, and as happen in the night-time, one goes on fun ride, forgetting license, the cops there are ever ready to pounce for their shares. While their colleagues might be sleeping in police stations, these folks are on their toes, as their hard work of the night yields fattened pockets.


Though Delhi has much more informed citizens, ready to fight for their rights, the vast swathe of India face the might of the all-pervasive Indian system. A visit to a court in a district town, because it had a good restaurant with non-vegetarian stuff at economical rates, had bewildered me with the functioning of judiciary some years ago. Every nook and corner on the road side, the park, nearby ground were occupied by men in black robes, waiting for their never-ending clients trickling in to them.

Curiosity led me to enquire who these lawyers were, and hard truth turned out to be those who found no other jobs in the world, taking admission in law colleges where there was no need to attend classes, and passing exams were the easiest things in the world. Probably that would have been small town stuff. But what about Delhi. No difference at all! While here law school students prepare for IAS exams, they get a little 50-page guide, called tiggi, which contains all questions and answers that would appear in the exam without any surprise. If you happen to get a job of your choice, well and good, otherwise the wilting, wounded million citizens of India, caught in innumerable litigations, would keep you and your family thriving.

Never mind if you happen to have just few clients, as they will keep you paying till they die as cases run for life in Indian courts.

Power comes as well when you wear black. Cops will always yield and will make an alliance for the thriving business of fattening of purses.

Ever heard of National Judicial Commission. All talks of judicial reforms, which kept print media busy with views and counter views! Political class chose to give it a silent burial as it well served their interests.

Thanks to the Indian judiciary and the police, it’s simplest to harass anyone in India. Few months ago a deputy inspector general of police of Uttaranchal enlightened the author that more than 80 per cent of rape cases are filed either by prostitutes or out of vendetta. Even if cops know the motives, the laws unfolded blindly as accused landed behind the bars with reputation gone with the wind.

The home minister Shivraj Patil while accepting the proposal by women activists for broadening the ambit of sexual assault had well opined that there has to be mechanism to ensure that the law does not become tool in the hands of those who want to harass others. But such tools never exist, or are ever looked at by the law enforcement agencies. Long way to go before any meaningful functioning of law, legislature, and democracy see the day of the light!

Medicos must be better advised to look for alternatives then face tear-gas.