International

Five points to President Kalam — all ears but no hands
By Kuldip Nayar
Rashtrapati Bhavan is not a court of appeal. But over the years, it has become a forum where concerned citizens have sought the attention of the highest in the land to the problems which the government has failed to notice, much less tackle.

The President has no authority to redress wrongs. He has to work through a government. Yet he has often forwarded to it the complaints he has gathered from those who have narrated their tales of woe or that of their friends and associates. He is all ears when listening.

This belief led some eight concerned citizens to meet President Abdul Kalam a few days ago. The specific instance in their mind was that of underworld's attack on film director Mahesh Bhatt. But they had gone to show their concern over a principle — the principle to live securely from the increasing power of the don, the mafia and the underworld to which people were perpetually exposed. They told the President how criminals, communalists and casteists were throttling our democratic, secular polity from breathing free.

They made three points. One was how the creeping fascism was devouring the country bit by bit, and how the anti-social elements pounced upon individuals or groups which dared to differ from them. Two, the respect for the rule of law was lessening day by day.

The authorities did not act either because of political pressure or because of fear of masters. The third point was that society had become so insensitive that it had ceased to realise what was wrong. For many, the dividing line between right and wrong, moral or immoral had ceased to exist.

The President listened to the concerned citizens but said little in response. Even when one of them said that the President, as the guardian of the constitution, should have dismissed Narendra Modi for the pogrom in Gujarat, he kept quiet. Here and there the President sought further information but did not react in any manner to indicate his inclination. It was apparent that he had gone over the same exercise with some other concerned citizens many a time before.

"What are your suggestions?" the President asked.
"Give me five points." One at the meeting tried to propose something. But the President cut him short by the remark: "I want you to put your heads together and e-mail your five suggestions to me directly."

He promised to consider them. The concerned citizens are yet to meet and draft the five points. Their problem is that they live in different cities and have a busy schedule. Yet they want to place the five suggestions before the President as soon as possible because the ball is in their court.
If I alone were to send five suggestions, I would convey to the President something like this:

* There is no doubt that independent India has earned prosperity, power and landmark achievements, especially in the field of science and technology. It is no longer an underdeveloped country. However, we still wallow in poverty, hunger, violence, discrimination, casteism, communalism and unemployment, the problems which have plagued us for decades. This has been compounded by the problem of inequities and inequalities.

* Only 27.8 per cent of the Indian population resides in cities, but three-fourths of the unemployed are in rural areas. If the growth rate of our economy is a commendable 10 per cent, then why is 26 per cent of our population still below poverty line? The real challenge before us is to overcome the imbalance in distribution of our resources and outputs.

* A strong judiciary is a key ingredient in the development of the social sectors. A judge does not merely interpret the law but he moulds it to suit the changing social and economic scenario to make the ideals enshrined in the constitution meaningful. The system is rightly derided by saying that there is too much of law and too little justice. It is pointless to talk of an effective rights regime if the people lack the basic ability to access the justice dispensation system, both in terms of awareness and resources. As an English judge has cynically remarked, "The law, like the Ritz Hotel, is open to rich and poor alike." But can the poor have a realistic access to it?

The greatest challenge before the Indian judiciary is the tremendous docket explosion. The courts are flooded with cases and this has, consequently, led to immense pendency. On an average every year, the Supreme Court decides about 40,500 out of 42,000 cases filed, the high courts decide 1,123,500 out of 1,241,000 cases and the subordinate courts decide 13,222,000 out of 14,229,000 cases filed.

In spite of such high number of disposal, the pendency figures have been rising due to increasing influx of cases. The Law Commission in its 120th report (1987) had stated that in India there are only 10.5 judges per million population (which is now said to have gone up to 12-13) whereas countries such as the US and the UK have between 100-150 judges per million population. This is the primary cause for the staggering number of cases burdening the courts.

Disconcerting is the burgeoning violence. It cannot possibly lead today to a solution of any major problem because violence has become much too terrible and destructive. If the society we aim at cannot be brought about by big-scale violence, will small-scale violence help? Surely, it cannot. Partly because that itself may lead to a big-scale violence and partly because it produces an atmosphere or social theory and does not enable the individual to rise above his petty self and think in terms of the good of all.

* In a sense, every country, whether it is capitalist, socialist or communist, accepts the ideal of a welfare state. Capitalism, in a few countries at least, has achieved this common welfare to a very large extent, though it is far from having solved its own problems and there is a basic lack of something vital. Democracy, allied to capitalism, has undoubtedly toned down many of its evils and, in fact, is different now from what it was a generation or two ago.

* Ultimately, the constitution is the most important for us because it regulates the governance. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, president of the constituent assembly, said after the constitution was passed: India needs today nothing more than a set of honest men who will have the interest of the country before them. We have communal differences, caste differences, language differences, provincial differences and so forth. It requires men of strong character, men of vision, men who will not sacrifice the interest of the country at large for the sake of smaller groups and areas and who will rise over the prejudices which are born of these differences. We can only hope that the country will throw up such men in abundance.

Boom for some and doom for others
In football-crazed Germany this month, there are two clear losers: sex and the cinema. After months-long news reports on the convergence of some 20,000 sex-workers into Germany and expectations of a bonanza season, it now seems many are heading home, unable to compete with the thrills of the game itself.

"They come here to drink and watch football," says Niko who runs a video store in downtown Frankfurt's Red Light District. "we can't compete with that!" adding with a smile, "after all this beer the men are no good for anything else!" It is clear from the almost unending carnival atmosphere that has taken hold of this usually sober country, that the entertainment industry - in all its definitions - is losing out on the takings.

Theatres, cinemas and museums, which cyclically tend to do badly in the summer, are taking an even harder knock from football mania. As fans flock in thousands to city centres replete with open-air screens, museum corridors and cinema halls are left standing empty. A ticket seller at the 12 screen Metropole, Frankfurt's largest cinema, was almost nodding off when being approached late afternoon, traditionally a good time to nip into the cinema and escape the summer heat. She agreed that the combination of the weather and football is taking its toll, which even the running of matches in the foyer has done little to reverse. With this much self-generated excitement, it seems the regular entertainers have had to take a back seat.

Not so, however, for the Gastronomy sector, or better to say, the drinking business. Beer producers are working round the clock to meet soaring demand, with shortages of bottles sending tremors through the industry. One producer went so far as to say "it is your national duty to bring your empties back," which even in a stupored state the ever-disciplined German public may just heed.

Among the happiest this month are workers in restaurants, bars and cafés. At the Römer square in Frankfurt, Carlo, an Italian waiter exclaims he has never seen anything like this before. "This is a café, people come here for cappuccino and cake, but now it's beer and more beer. We go through some 50 crates (around 500litres) in one evening. We have turned into a Kneipe" (pub). One can multiply that tenfold for the pubs in the vicinity. Denis at the 'Haus Wetheym' also at the Römer tries to catch his breath in-between matches. "Yes, business is great, but it also depends a lot on where and who is playing. When they play in Frankfurt and when the English or the 'Hollanders' are here it is fantastic. They drink a lot of beer".

One factor that is helping to draw fans into bars and cafés is the installation of indoor and outdoor television and screens, including even in the smallest of takeaways. Alfonso, who runs a pizza takeaway with some limited seating in a more residential part of the city, says at first he didn't get a TV; but after the Italian restaurant next-door got one and started advertising special offers, he caved in. Since then he runs a full house during matches. "We have to compete with the Main (river) arena," adds Samuel, an owner of a café set a little apart from the square. Our regular customers don't come because of the crowds, so we have to get the others in to compensate. He has invested over 3,000 euros in two large flat-screen TV's and hopes it will pay off.

It certainly has brought in dividends for the vendors of these products. At Saturn, one of the country's largest electronic goods stores, business has never been better.

Its main store on the High street has seen television sales double this month, especially of the significantly more expensive flat-screen variety, and the bigger the better. The spending spree hasn't however spilled over to other consumer goods. "No one is buying more music systems or cameras; it's just TV's, TV's and TV's," says a shop assistant at the store.

Also cashing in on the euphoria are sports goods stores. An Adidas store on the High street was crowded with curious Japanese tourists, less interested in the state-of-the-art sports shoes launched for the season, but rather in the array of branded memorabilia filling the store. For many, doling out up to 65 euros (around SLR.8,000) for an official World Cup T-shirt is well worth the price. Also selling like hot cakes are souvenir footballs with miniature versions going at 15 euro apiece. Further down the road are shops selling unofficial, non-FIFA patented products, which can be snapped up with some good bargaining for a fraction of the price.

This is what Johannes, who sells everything from hats to hoop-la's embellished in team colours, is hoping for. He stands daily from ten in the morning until eleven at night peddling his wares. "I came from Stuttgart because business here is better, but there is also a lot of competition" he says. On a good day, which means hot weather and a thrilling match, he can make up to 900 euros. On a bad day this drops to 100-200 euros. "It's best when Germany plays and wins. Then everybody is in a good mood and they buy souvenirs also of other countries like Brazil and Ghana - although now they buy more German colours," he says, reflecting the growing pride of the Germans as their team continues to make strides.

And again for every winner there is a loser. Karstadt, one of the main department stores on the High street has seen business plummet this month. In anticipation of an influx, the store hired extra staff, extended opening hours and stays open on Sundays. The reality has turned out different. "All we do is twiddle our thumbs and wait," say two depressed assistants at the music department, who were playing with the souvenir footballs when being approached. "No body wants to shop, they just want to play football", complained one, not seeming to notice the ball in his hand.

As Alfonso at the pizza takeaway puts it, "people just want to be together and have fun. They want to eat, drink and watch football. No one wants to stay alone at home". Nikos at video store would no doubt agree. This is a time to celebrate with friends, and the cinema and the sex shop are just too much of a loner's space.