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Friday, April 22, 2011

Will the Law ever take its own course in India?

by Col LK Anand Retd
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With cases of high corruption and illegal acts of innumerable politicians in nearly all the states of the country emerging day after day, can anyone predict, what and when would be the final outcome in sight? The claims of the people in power, that the law will take its own course to bring the guilty to book, are bound to be belied, knowing the performance so far, of our tainted agencies like police, CBI and CVC. What then are the options to sort out the current mess, which seems to be heading upwards, unbridled, and towards gigantic proportions? Under the circumstances, does anyone in India believe, that there is still a scope for the success of the legal route adopted by this Government, to punish the guilty? This apparently is a ploy of the government to divert the peoples’ attention from the main issues, under which the government is reeling.
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Has our Government or bureaucracy ever lived upto the expectations of its people? Will judiciary come up with something unique to undo the prevailing trend, we all being aware of the delays caused, not in years but in decades, by the judicial process in India? Will there be a change in the fate, to which the Indian judiciary is being confined lately, by the lowly government functionaries? Past experiences show that, wherever, the state machinery fails to perform, due to gross mismanagement by the unaccountable bureaucracy, well known for not only misguiding the politicians, but also the entire Nation, by their misdeeds and corrupt practices, it is the Army, which invariably comes to the rescue of the Nation.
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Country’s population understands that, a few cases of corruption overly publicised by the media against the defence forces, do not adversely influence the image of the forces, which overall is still the cleanest amongst all government civil and commercial establishments. The cases highlighted though are miniscule but unpardonable and most probably been committed through pressures and pursuance of non military authorities. The defaulters amongst the military big wigs certainly should not be spared and deserve most stringent of punishments. The others would definitely jiggle out somehow. This certainly does not debar the army from taking up any role which the citizens expect it to perform.
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Unfortunately, the law enforcement agencies, not being autonomous, are working at the beck and call of a number of leaders, who could be classified as anti nationals, rogues and criminals and have literally become nonperforming assets of the Government. The authority of the Apex court has also become questionable under the hoodwinking approach and the attitude of the Attorney and Solicitor Generals of the UPA government. The President cum Supreme Commander of India, being in a rubber stamp position, apparently is incapable of any effective action for the cause of the Nation. So, what is the remedy to save this country? No one would like to opt for Egypt like situation in India, which eventually has been handed over to the Army to set things right.
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Since, the totally tainted, inefficient and indifferent machinery of the Government, seems to be failing on all fronts, as also may be deliberately unwilling, to sort out the mess and put its own house in order, it deserves to be replaced or refurbished with drastic changes, as soon as possible. Accordingly, it is strongly felt that a time has now come, for the Government to hand over country’s administration, to its most efficient and reliable constituent ie the Army. The Army would be more than willing and certainly have the determination, expertise, ability and resources to perform this honourable role of administering the country, if handed over to it. All the states and union territories should also function under the control and observation of the Army.
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Army, with the assistance and close co-operation of other defence services, can certainly play a more than a major role, in combination with and advice of many top level experts in various fields, the really patriotic and enlightened citizens of India. Handing over administration to the Army should not be construed as a Martial Law.
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It is only for the purpose of setting the house in order, if required by the use of intimidatory tactics and use of force, to bring lawlessness to an end, as well as to apprehend and punish all criminals in all walks of life including the underworld, in the Army way of doing things. The Army has to be given complete control of the country, with a totally free hand, including putting all the services including bureaucracy, under its direct control. The functioning of the Government and the Ministers will have to remain suspended till the Army fulfils its task. The Judiciary should function as heretofore, must be kept independent and should assist the Army in fulfilling its renewed role, rather than acting as a spoke in the wheel.
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It can be expected that, the Army would strive to not only root out all the ills in the existing system and reform the country’s politicians and the bureaucracy, but also would set up a proper rule of law in the true sense, which has become a major casualty today. The forces will certainly compel all the government agencies to function in the manner they are designed to. This requirement would be there for may be two to three years or till the next general elections. There is thus an inescapable need to resort to a certain degree of ruthlessness now, to fulfil such ambitions and aspirations of the Indian citizens and to sort out the prevailing mess. It has to be done if not today, may be tomorrow or may be a day after, but we cannot delay it indefinitely to let the situation deteriorate further. A public debate and poll on the subject could also be held to get a majority view from the Indian population.
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by Col LK Anand Retd

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