Restoring Childhood?

The imposition of recent ban under the Child Labour Act 1986, is not going to do any miracle as in the last eleven decades ,at least two dozen of laws have been passed in India over child labour could not check violations. Functions Act Of 1881 fixed seven years as minimum age limit . Child Labour Act 1938 enhanced age limit to fourteen. ILO wanted it to be eighteen in case of hazardous forms of work. Child labour includes work harmful to physical and mental health, safety and development of the child .1991 census estimated 112 lac full- time and 107 lac part-time child workers in India . Even after half a century of Independence ,right to free education could not be exercised.in its true spirit. HDR(2000) indicated that elementary education is best cure to remove child labour. Immediate needs overshadow long term needs. Families surviving on child earnings would need support. It is said that children should study and not work. But who will teach them? While working as domestic ,office .dhaba or factory –help, they not only bring salary but also get old but useable articles like clothings etc.and other incentives in addition to the total meals. The state may at the maximum can render free education or provide sub-standard mid-day meal only. In the light of the present ban ,if stern measures are taken, the child work-force may simply shift to the homes or may become a prey in the hands of antisocial elements if adequate rehabilitation or supportive facilities are not extended . We should not forget that product of the ban ,the idle girl child labour may be abused and compelled to adopt the path of flesh trade. Firstly it is to be seen how effectively the ban is enforced and then the consequences it emitts will invent the needful.

S. K.Mittal

Sambhar of 69

to those who have listened to bryan adams' classic a zillion times...

I had my first real six rupees,
stole it from my father's pants.
went to a madrasi hotel,
to eat the sambhar of 69.
Me and some kadke dost,
had it all and we caught bukhaar,
jimy puked, joey got ulcers,
and Bagga ne maari dakar.

Oh when I went back there now,
the food was as stale as ever,
and though it was 1999,
still the sambhar was being served over there,

that was the worst food of my life.

Therez no use in complaining,
when you got no other place to eat,
rushed in the evening to the doctors clinic,
but he too was at the toilet seat, yeah

standing there waiting outside,
nurse told me I will wait forever,
oh and when I held my breath,
I knew that I had to use that loo there
That was the worst food of my life.

Back to the sambhar of 69.

Man I was getting killed,
I was full and restless,
I needed to unwind,
I guess nothing can wait forever - FOREVER... NO!!!!

And now the dhabas are changing,
new dishes have come and gone,
sometimes when I pass that old madrasi lane,
I still smell it, I can't be wrong.

Standing in those unwashed clothes,
the waiters still call me in there,
oh the way my nostrils burn,
I know that it will be served forever,
what was the worst food of my life.

yeah it was the sambhar of 69,
the sambhar, the sambhar, the sambhar of 69 ...............

Source: anonymous

Capital punishment: If Circumstances demand, can be reverted.....?

History is evident to the fact that instances have been there when an accused turned convict ,was proved and declared innocent after a lapse of some decades. Under similar circumstances if an accused who has been hanged is proved to be innocent some time after the capital punishment has been awarded and executed, can in any way the misact of the mishap be reverted? On one hand where there is no scarcity of cases when the police have deliberately left flaws to let the criminals go scottfree, cases are there when the innocent were framed for vested interests. Right to life being a fundamental one ,comes under the compass coverage of human rights also .Moreover only the almighty is empowered to take life. Generally it has been observed that the culprit is not hanged for the crime he has committed but due to the aggressive public opinion that forms against the commission of crime.and that depends on the version of the police and the presentation by media .A mercy petition before the President of India, if remains unheard for four years, becomes convertible for life term imprisonment. Under the practice ,in the corrupt system ,adopting delay tactics , the manipulators make use of the provision, get the capital punishment converted into life term which is generally adjusted against the period they have already been in jail and hence discharged making a mockery of the law. For those who deserve capital punishment only , it should be life imprisonment till death and not one of the kind that ends in 10-12-14 years due to the provisions of law. During this period, there should be allowed no parole no holiday, whatsoever.

S. K.Mittal

NHRC Verdict on mass cremations and disappearances

Although NHRC has come forth with a historic and appreciable judgement , yet it supplements a list of lapses and omissions including compensation which is quite a meager one as most of the victims were in their prime youth and had a very long tenure at hand to support their family. The quotable point of the case that will make it worth mentioning as authority is that NHRC has a statutory bar not to inquire into cases of incidents of more than one year old ,its inquiry in this case is worth recording. When NHRC started investigation, Union Govt. of that time questioned its jurisdiction in view of one year time limit, Commission rejected the objection, Govt. got the inquiry stayed and appealed to the Supreme Court. Apex Court had ruled that Commission had jurisdiction not only to deal with the matter , but also added that ”any compensation awarded by the Commission (to the dependants of the victims) shall be binding and payable “. In this case time limit set by Protection of Human Rights act has been waived and condoned keeping in view the mass human rights violations. The notable point and questionable thing is that the entire matter was concerned with the Punjab State and the Punjab Police ,any action if taken was to be faced by them ,any compensation if awarded was to be paid by them , then why the Union Govt. had to move the apex court .. This establishes the very evidence to the connivance between the union and the state Govts. The Commission should have pulled the union govt. for their futile and unconcerned effort.The thinkers, intellectuals, and the human rights activists may not make out one thing. Would the next of kin of the declared -dead and cremated in police record, but who are otherwise alive and living with a changed ficticious identity (as came in light sometime ago) ,also be entitled to the compensation. It is another thing that at that time some most incapable but good manipulators police personels succeeded in elevating themselves to the prime and premium posts with premium stations, also got the matter hushed up when questioned by media. Anyhow the order of NHRC is to work as a local application on the deep wounds of the sufferers and not as soothing or curing affect. Already very much delayed justice is nothing but a denied one and the victims though deserve yet may not succeed in getting the culprits booked as the latter are more powerful and influencial as compared with the former one.

S. K.Mittal