‘Section 377 has to be reworded’

There is a raging debate on whether to do away with a law that bans homosexuality in India. Various gay groups in the country have been protesting and seeking a repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which makes homosexuality punishable by law. Union Law Minster Veerappa Moily  added fuel to the debate by saying the government is studying the law.

 

Justice M F Saldanha

Justice M F Saldanha

, former judge of the Bombay and Karnataka High Court, who has had to make some judgments based on Section 377, told rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa says that the Union government has to deal with this issue very carefully and scrapping the law is not as easy as it is made out to be by some gay rights activists.

What are your views on the demands made by gay rights activists regarding scrapping of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code?

Look sex is a biological and from what I have been reading about this issue there is substance in what they are saying. Their contention that sex is biological and same sex relations are an individual’s preference.

Will scrapping Section 377 of the IPC make a difference?

I don’t think it will make any difference to gay rights. Tell me how many cases have been reported under this section. People with a different sexual orientation continue to do what they want and having this law makes no difference to them.

So are you saying that Section 377 has to be scraped with immediate effect?

Not exactly. There are various aspects that need to be considered before taking this decision. On one hand, a section of the people are seeking to legalise same sex relations and on the other we have to think about the society that we live in. In Indian culture it is not acceptable as yet. Hence the government has to take care and ensure that doing away with this section does not make society go haywire. Once this law is scrapped there could arise another demand to legalise gay marriages as is done in some parts of the United States of America.

Your argument is fine as long as it is sex between two consenting parties. What about a case of child molestation or rape of a man by another man?

When I dealt with a case of sodomy of a child, I had only Section 377 under which I could convict the accused. This is the irony. We need to examine this law carefully and ensure that there are separate laws that deal with child molestation. Bringing the entire issue of homosexuality, child molestation under the ambit of one section does not help. And yes as you pointed out a man raping a man is a rarity, but yes it could happen.

The government has to examine this aspect too and ensure that Section 377 is reworded and specifically mentions that sex between two consenting adults of the same sex shall not be an offence. But most importantly the social fallout of repealing such a section needs to be taken before any action is taken.

The government seems to be in two minds where this issue is concerned. Can a repeal of the section be sought claiming that is violative of our fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution?

The concept of fundamental rights has been expanded by the courts to a large extent. Under fundamental rights one has to look at the provision of right to life and under this provision comes the process of life. If one looks at it carefully a sexual preference or homosexuality will surely fall under the process of life. Hence one could challenge the law before the court.

‘Culprits have been arrested in the racist attacks case’

The Australian police have carried out several arrests in connection with attacks and the same has been publicized in the Australian media, a latest email from the consul general of India in Melbourne said.

The mail, which has been sent to Civil Liberties in Hyderabad in response to the action taken against the attackers, says wide publicity to the arrests has been given in the Australian media, but same has not been done in the Indian media.

Arrests have been made in various cases, including the cases of Sravan Kumar, Mir Kazim and Saurabha Sharma.

The Australian government has said some attacks could be racist and the government has pledged in Parliament that there is a need for a tougher legislation and sentencing rules for racist attacks and hate crimes.

Stunning images from the Wild

Wildlife photography, which requires a lot of patience, can be a tedious affair. But for Dr Ajit Huilgol, a reputed kidney transplant surgeon from Bangalore, it is a passion and a hobby. Over the past few years, he has traveled across the globe to pursue his interest, and captutred many breathtaking moments of the wild in his photographs.

“All of us are born with a love for wildlife. Hand over a chocolate to any kid and I am sure he will love it more if it is in the shape of an animal,” he points out.

“For me, the passion towards wildlife never died. We learnt a lot about it during school but it was a trip to Bandipur that revived my interest in wildlife,” he recalls.

Dr Huilgol received his first digital camera in 2006. He takes time off his busy schedule once a year to venture out into the wild. He has clicked over 500 photographs in a very short span of time. He shares some of his favourite photographs with rediff.com.

This is dry grass plains area, similar to Velavadhar in Gujarat or Masai Mara in Kenya and supports a large number of black buck.

A tigress battles bees.

There is a mud road cutting through Baasur Kaval, and the pair of wolves with cubs crossed over to the other side. This part of the park is comparatively heavily wooded and is inaccessible to vehicles. So, we got down and tracked the wolves on foot. The female and cubs moved away, but this male stood his ground and barked out a loud and clear warning not to come closer. He meant it!

Click for some more stunning images

Hogenakkal row: Karnataka seeks PM’s intervention

Racting sharply to the statements made by Tamil Nadu on the Hogenakkal water project, Karnataka on Monday said that it is not right to go ahead with the project unless and until the border row is resolved.

Minister for Water Resources, Basavaraj Bommai told mediapersons at Bengaluru on Monday evening that Karnataka would be seeking the intervention of the Centre to ensure that this project was put on hold.

Bommai said that he will be writing to the Prime Minister and seeking his intervention on the matter.

The Centre must intervene and ensure that the project will not be taken up unilaterally, he also said.

Earlier on Monday, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin said that Rs 1,334 crore Hogenakkal drinking water project, was on track and expected to be completed by 2012.

“The Chief Minister (M Karunanidhi) had put the project on hold last year only to avoid any confusion or violence whatsoever at that time (as assembly elections were due in Karnataka). The project is now on track and is expected to be completed by 2012,” he told the state assembly.

Karunanidhi had come under fire from opposition parties for “unilaterally putting on hold” the project allegedly to favour Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s ally Congress in the Karnataka elections.

Karnataka had objected to the Japanese-aided project, meant to supply drinking water to Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts bordering the state, on the ground that its share of the inter-state Cauvery water would be affected.

Winding up the debate on grants for the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, held by him, Stalin said he himself had visited Japan [Images] to secure loan assistance from Japanese Bank of International Cooperation.

“Tenders for the first phase of the work have been issued and the work is scheduled to start in 3-4 months. In fact, we want to finish the project ahead of the completion time like the Ramanathapuram Drinking water project,” he said.

Stalin said work on two desalination projects near Chennai were also on track. Responding to members’ demands, he said a drinking water project for Vellore using Cauvery water at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore was being prepared.

Revealed: Why Lashkar’s terror plans for Chennai were called off

Chennai would have seen a spate of terror attacks had the Lashkar-e-Tayiba not called off their plans at the last minute, revealed Sarfaraz Nawaz, the Gulf operative of the LeT, who is currently in the custody of the Bangalore police and is being interrogated for his role in the various blasts that rocked the country.

The reasons to postpone or rather call off the Chennai operation was three fold, he revealed.

A senior police officer in Bengaluru told rediff.com that Nawaz explained that when the blasts in Bengaluru were being planned, the LeT had decided that they would also undertake blasts in Chennai simultaneously.

The entire operation was planned by the Lashkar and later executed by the Indian Mujahideen.

Nawaz said that while the Bengaluru operation was planned in detail, there was not much planning that went into the Chennai operation. The main reason for the cancellation of the operation was due to the lack of planning.

The second reason was due to the want of logistic support in Chennai. The capital of Tamil Nadu and its surrounding areas have never been LeT friendly and the outfit is still setting up bases in those areas.

This meant that the Lashkar was most of the time operating on borrowed logistics rather than a dedicated logistic cell of their own.

Nawaz said that a day before the Bengaluru blast, a call was made from the Gulf by an operative by the name Wali directing them to call off the operation.

During the call he explained that they sensed that the Chennai operation would fail and they did not want to waste any money on a failed operation, since the costs for the operations at Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Delhi were already surging.

The Lashkar also realised that Chennai was the only part of southern India where the heat on the outfit was less. Hence, they decided to keep the Chennai plans on hold.

As part of its larger plan, the Lashkar had planned on setting up a base and several sleeper cells in the city from where it could launch terror strikes, Nawaz said.

Sub-par monsoon may reignite Cauvery water dispute

The biggest dispute that haunts both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is the Cauvery Water dispute. Every year, the chief ministers of both states pray for nothing but a good Monsoon so that a dispute can be avoided and the farmer community is happy over all.However with an extremely uncertain monsoon and there appearing to be nothing more than a drizzle in Karnataka, there is expected to be heightened tension between the two states.

The water level at the Krishna Raj Sagar reservoir has hit a rock bottom and this prompted Karnataka Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa to issue a statement that the stipulated amount of water for the month of June will not be released to Tamil Nadu. Yeddyurappa said that the water levels in all the reservoirs have hit rock bottom and hence there is no chance of releasing water.

According to information available with the government, Karnataka has recorded 136 mm of rain till date and this is 5 per cent below the average rainfall which should have been received by the state in the monsoon season. The revenue minister, Karunakar Reddy says that the water levels in the reservoirs in Karnataka are extremely low.

In the month of June, Karnataka was supposed to release 10 TMC ft of water to Tamil Nadu according to final award of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal in New Delhi. However the water level at the KRS reservoir is 72 feet, which is only 8 feet above the dead storage level of 64 feet. In comparison to this year the water levels at the same reservoir was at 102 feet. Moreover the inflow into the reservoir has come down to just 386 cusecs this year in comparison to 4120 cusecs during last June.

Yeddyurappa says, “Forget irrigation, there is an acute shortage of drinking water in the state. The water levels are so low that water would not flow even if the crest gates are opened up. The only thing that can save us is the rains, he says. However as of now the situation is under control since Tamil Nadu has not yet approached Karnataka seeking their share of water for the month of June.

Now this is not a matter that could be decided by the two chief ministers of the respective states. Both the states are governed by the verdict of the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal. Both the interim and final verdicts of the tribunals had stated that Karnataka had to release water on a monthly and at times on a weekly basis. The quota stipulated for the month of June was 10 TMC of water, which now Karnataka says is impossible to release at this point in time.

An advocate who has fought the case at the tribunal preferred to remain anonymous while giving this comment, “In case there is a distress then water will have to be shared on a pro rata basis, according to the verdict of the tribunal. As of now the Tribunal has stayed the matter since Karnataka decided to approach the Supreme Court challenging the verdict.”

Karnataka at the moment is not doing much to push for an early hearing as it believes that it will not have to follow the verdict of the tribunal since the matter is stayed. Tamil Nadu on the other hand says that the tribunal’s verdict will have to be implemented until the Supreme Court takes a final decision. Karnataka however on its part is watchful and could also push for an early hearing if the rains continue to play spoil sport and Tamil Nadu steps up the heat and demands an immediate release of water as per the order.

MJ RIP- A Tribute

Michael, I love you Michaellllllll.

The scream came, not from a crazed teen but from a toddler hardly reaching over my waist. Nine years on, the kid, a teenager today, may have moved on to other music makers like Evanescence; will she recall — in the light of all the allegations how ecstatically she responded to the King of Pop in 1996, when he had come calling on Mumbai?

The biggest gig to hit India till date, Michael Jackson’s HIStory tour of India was the stuff legends are made of. And for us at the newspaper, it was a ringside view for two reasons. The hotel he was staying in on a trip that politicians would qualify as a whistle-stop one, was just across the road. And, the newspaper I was in at that time was the media sponsor, which meant access to the superstar and his team.

Which was the reason I was at the lobby of the hotel on October 31, when I should have been in the newsroom. For I had been assured of what was every journalist’s dream, an INTERVIEW with the man himself! That was the one concession I could wrangle out of the marketing team when they said we were the media sponsors.

There was little they could wrangle out of us, though. Despite being involved with the concert, no eyebrows were raised when the newspaper published reports regularly highlighting what seemed to be the state government stretching many a legal point in the concert’s favour. An unheard-of scenario today in most newspapers where it is the marketing czars who decide on the news of the day.

With one day to go for the concert, the Boss finally came across and said, yaar, for just one day why don’t you say some good things about the concert, after all we have put money in it

And what better thing than an interview with the man himself just across the road? But there were hassles of time. So I was asked to submit the questions ahead, which was done. Then I was told to be at the lobby at 6.30 pm sharp, and I would be called over to his suite. And so I waited. And waited. And waited.

Thankfully, I was not the only one. There were hordes and hordes of people, socialite-editors, celebrities, the paparazzi, and rubber-neckers, all waiting to catch just a glimpse of MJ as he strode into the elevator. India’s own dance whizkid Prabhu Deva was there, too, no doubt hoping to meet his idol. And when Michael Jackson did materialise, an hour or so later, there was a spontaneous burst of applause. Michael, oh Michael, the teenyboppers yelled like their lives depended on it.

And, once again, the long wait in the lobby.

I have no idea how they knew I was there to see the star, or that there was an appointment to see him, but suddenly I was asked to come along by the minders. Bundled into the elevator and taken up, I entered the long corridor that was flanked by men and women in khaki, from the local police. As I was frisked and passed from hand to hand, the routine was the same. Kuttun aala? Kai karto? (Where are you from? What do you do?). And, after repeating oneself, finally the door!

But the King of Pop was still not in sight, this was only the anteroom, filled with his people. I realised I was part of a long chain of people waiting to meet him by prior appointment. So one by one we were passed on from hand to hand, our credentials checked, and then the big moment.

“Hi,” said Michael Jackson, dressed as he normally does, in a red, ornamental suit. It was with some shock that I realised he was not much bigger than me, and we are not talking of Atlas here. We shook hands (warmly, I thought), I managed to not let the occasion overwhelm me, and informed his group that I was from the newspaper (“Oh.”), and was there for the interview, questions for which had already been submitted to him. Before I knew it we were facing a photographer, and in the blink of the flash Michael Jackson and I had been cast on film.

Again I was bundled out, from hand to hand, but I decided to put my foot down, being a journalist and all. But what about the interview, I asked. Oh, Michael is busy, he will answer it and mail it to you, don’t worry. No, it won’t be before the concert, sorry, but afterwards, after he leaves the country. Assuaged, but sceptical (think that goes with one’s profession), I stepped out. I had just spent all of five minutes in Michael Jackson’s suite!

And as the door closed on me, I remembered something important. And the photograph? That will also be sent to you, don’t worry.

Nine years later, I am still waiting for either, or both!

Courtesy: Saisuresh Sivaswamy/rediff.com, Photograph of Michael Jackson in Mumbai: Jewella C Miranda

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A Tribute to My Friend, Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson will be remembered, most likely, as a shattered icon, a pop genius who wound up a mutant of fame. That’s not who I will remember, however. His mixture of mystery, isolation, indulgence, overwhelming global fame, and personal loneliness was intimately known to me. For twenty years I observed every aspect, and as easy as it was to love Michael — and to want to protect him — his sudden death yesterday seemed almost fated.

Two days previously he had called me in an upbeat, excited mood. The voice message said, “I’ve got some really good news to share with you.” He was writing a song about the environment, and he wanted me to help informally with the lyrics, as we had done several times before. When I tried to return his call, however, the number was disconnected. (Terminally spooked by his treatment in the press, he changed his phone number often.) So I never got to talk to him, and the music demo he sent me lies on my bedside table as a poignant symbol of an unfinished life.

When we first met, around 1988, I was struck by the combination of charisma and woundedness that surrounded Michael. He would be swarmed by crowds at an airport, perform an exhausting show for three hours, and then sit backstage afterward, as we did one night in Bucharest, drinking bottled water, glancing over some Sufi poetry as I walked into the room, and wanting to meditate.

That person, whom I considered (at the risk of ridicule) very pure, still survived — he was reading the poems of Rabindranath Tagore when we talked the last time, two weeks ago. Michael exemplified the paradox of many famous performers, being essentially shy, an introvert who would come to my house and spend most of the evening sitting by himself in a corner with his small children. I never saw less than a loving father when they were together (and wonder now, as anyone close to him would, what will happen to them in the aftermath).

Michael’s reluctance to grow up was another part of the paradox. My children adored him, and in return he responded in a childlike way. He declared often, as former child stars do, that he was robbed of his childhood. Considering the monstrously exaggerated value our society places on celebrity, which was showered on Michael without stint, the public was callous to his very real personal pain. It became another tawdry piece of the tabloid Jacko, pictured as a weird changeling and as something far more sinister.

It’s not my place to comment on the troubles Michael fell heir to from the past and then amplified by his misguided choices in life. He was surrounded by enablers, including a shameful plethora of M.D.s in Los Angeles and elsewhere who supplied him with prescription drugs. As many times as he would candidly confess that he had a problem, the conversation always ended with a deflection and denial. As I write this paragraph, the reports of drug abuse are spreading across the cable news channels. The instant I heard of his death this afternoon, I had a sinking feeling that prescription drugs would play a key part.

The closest we ever became, perhaps, was when Michael needed a book to sell primarily as a concert souvenir. It would contain pictures for his fans but there would also be a text consisting of short fables. I sat with him for hours while he dreamily wove Aesop-like tales about animals, mixed with words about music and his love of all things musical. This project became “Dancing the Dream” after I pulled the text together for him, acting strictly as a friend. It was this time together that convinced me of the modus vivendi Michael had devised for himself: to counter the tidal wave of stress that accompanies mega-stardom, he built a private retreat in a fantasy world where pink clouds veiled inner anguish and Peter Pan was a hero, not a pathology.

This compromise with reality gradually became unsustainable. He went to strange lengths to preserve it. Unbounded privilege became another toxic force in his undoing. What began as idiosyncrasy, shyness, and vulnerability was ravaged by obsessions over health, paranoia over security, and an isolation that grew more and more unhealthy. When Michael passed me the music for that last song, the one sitting by my bedside waiting for the right words, the procedure for getting the CD to me rivaled a CIA covert operation in its secrecy.

My memory of Michael Jackson will be as complex and confused as anyone’s. His closest friends will close ranks and try to do everything in their power to insure that the good lives after him. Will we be successful in rescuing him after so many years of media distortion? No one can say. I only wanted to put some details on the record in his behalf. My son Gotham traveled with Michael as a roadie on his “Dangerous” tour when he was thirteen. Will it matter that Michael behaved with discipline and impeccable manners around my son? (It sends a shiver to recall something he told Gotham: “I don’t want to go out like Marlon Brando. I want to go out like Elvis.” Both icons were obsessions of this icon.)

His children’s nanny and surrogate mother, Grace Rwamba, is like another daughter to me. I introduced her to Michael when she was eighteen, a beautiful, heartwarming girl from Rwanda who is now grown up. She kept an eye on him for me and would call me whenever he was down or running too close to the edge. How heartbreaking for Grace that no one’s protective instincts and genuine love could avert this tragic day. An hour ago she was sobbing on the telephone from London. As a result, I couldn’t help but write this brief remembrance in sadness. But when the shock subsides and a thousand public voices recount Michael’s brilliant, joyous, embattled, enigmatic, bizarre trajectory, I hope the word “joyous” is the one that will rise from the ashes and shine as he once did.

Courtesy: Deepak Chopra’s blog

Australia Responds

The Australian High Commission in New Delhi [Images] in response to the attacks on Indians in their country has said that it is appalled by the attacks and added that the Victorian authorities have established a hotline to help students.
The response comes in the wake of a letter written by the Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee India which sought to know what measures had been taken to ensure the safety of Indian students in Australia [Images].

The response further states that a hotline has been established to assist Indian students studying in Australia.

The hotline is staffed with people fluent in Hindi and English and through this students can raise concerns anonymously.

Further, the Australian government has also announced a round table which will allow international student groups to speak directly with the government.

The response also states that the Prime Minister of Australia has outlined measures to ensure the safety of Indians and the response by the government is being managed by a taskforce headed by the National Security Advisor.

The response also quotes the statement of the Australian Prime Minister in which he said that Indian students are welcome guests in the country.

“The Australians of Indian descent who are over 20,0000 in number, are members of the Australian family. The Indian community in Australia have a long history of remarkable contribution to our nation and we deplore these attacks,” the response stated.

Attack not racist

Mir Kazim Ali Khan, the 20-year-old student from Hyderabad who was assaulted in Melbourne [Images] on Monday, told the Consul General of India in Melbourne that the two offenders who punched him in the face made no verbal abuse and neither were there any kind of racist remarks.
Anita Nayar, Consul General of India in Melbourne replying to a query by the Civil Liberties India in Hyderabad said that she was responding to queries regarding Khan’s status based on the request made by the Indian High Commission in Canberra.

In her response on Khan’s status, she has said that he was assaulted by two hoodlums on June 22. The duo was later arrested in connection with this case and also another case in which they had assaulted a non-Indian.

“Kazim told us that there had been no robbery nor was there any verbal abuse or any kind of racist remarks. The two offenders just walked up to him, punched him in the face and went away,” Nayar said.

An Australian woman who witnessed the incident helped him to get in touch with the police and the ambulance service, Nayar added.

On Monday, he was given emergency medical attention which consisted of stitches both below and above his eyes.

He complained of blurred vision and pain in the affected area. He was on Wednesday examined by an eye specialist to whom he had been referred by the hospital, and was told that there is some swelling behind the retina which will take a couple of weeks to subside after which his vision should return to normal.

He has sustained no other injuries. He has asked that his family be reassured about his condition.

“We have also put him in touch with voluntary social services in Australia [Images] who will try to help him with his medical bills (his medical insurance has been allowed to lapse) and with free legal assistance on how to claim victim compensation from the Australian government,” the response from Australia also stated.