EIGHTEEN TILL I DIE?

 (PERSPECTIVE ON INADEQUACY OF CURRENT JUVENILE JUSTICE LAWS)

BY

Sujata Khanna, Bhavna Sharma and Anjali Mehta

The honourable Minister for Child and Women’s development caught us a bit by surprise. We read in the newspapers, her announcement that the age for trial in an adult court by an offender would stand firm at 18 years. This statement seemed to want to close the juvenile justice debate which is raging in India after a juvenile aged 17 years enticed a woman into a bus and brutally raped her along with five of his adult friends. A few weeks prior to the minister’s announcement, Justice Verma was asked to give a report on the circumstances surrounding this gangrape case and the prevailing lapses. To his credit, the learned justice reached out to each and every citizen of India, inviting their views and observations. His team and he painstakingly read through the scores of emails which reached them and in a months’ time gave their recommendations. In stark contrast, the honourable minister did not choose to reach out to her electorate at large for their views before pronouncing her statement. No doubt she was advised by experts in the field of juvenile justice and she is likely well - intentioned. Her good intentions however, though they may have pleased some of the NGO’s directly looking after juvenile delinquents, have left thousands of ordinary citizens deeply dismayed. We feel left out of the ambit of her concern. Why have our views not been taken into consideration? Does one have to be a juvenile or a delinquent to have the minister’s ear or sympathy?

However, this debate cannot and must not be swept under the carpet. We, the authors (and I am sure we speak for several others), feel the age limit for punishing juveniles for heinous crimes must be lowered to 16 years. Here are FIVE compelling reasons why;

1.       EVOLUTION IS AN ONGOING PHENOMENON

We simply cannot ignore the scientific fact that evolution is a still on-going process. Pick up any edition of a good scientific magazine and you will find articles replete with examples of how evolution is proceeding. It never stopped. Here are a few examples of such articles, amongst scores written on the subject. Peter Ward in the January 2009 edition of the Scientific American reiterates that not only are humans evolving continuously but the rate of human evolution may have increased. He says that humans continue to show genetically induced changes to their physiology and perhaps to behaviour as well. Dr. Rebecca Rogers Ackermann, Department of Archaeology at the University of Cape Town in her compelling article in the September 2006 online issue of Science in Africa, says that evolution and environment impact each other and future evolution may be possible even in our life time.

Even if we just look around us in everyday life, it is clearly noticeable that children are maturing faster... While many of us were ‘simpletons’ well into our teens, we can’t overlook the obvious fact that the current generation seems to be able to process information faster and seem more ‘aware’ of things at an earlier age. Babies today are born with a head full of hair and long nails. Gone is the bald pate of yesteryears! Sandra Steingraber Ph.D., author of a research paper “The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls” published by the Breast Cancer Fund (2007) outlines how the average age of menarche among U.S. girls has declined steadily.

Seeing that humans are evolving, it stands to reason that our laws must evolve in tandem with us. The laws of any country reflect the changes in the country and the times we live in. There was a time when slavery was legal, when shooting a native was legal and when apartheid was regularly practised. It was when people stood up and questioned these laws that things changed. People must keep reflecting and changing with the times. We can’t expect laws to be meaningful if they are not re-evaluated at regular intervals.

2. SEVERAL COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD PROSECUTE OFFENDERS YOUNGER THAN 18 YEARS OF AGE

Here is a look at how some other countries deal with juvenile offenders;

Juvenile law in the UK

There is a provision in the juvenile laws in UK to acknowledge and try juveniles with exceptionally serious crimes differently, disregarding age as the sole factor. More than enough examples are available of children 14 years or below who have been convicted for rape and indecent assault as the children were found of guilty mind (mens rea) . Much of the discussion about reforming the system centres on lowering the age to 14 or even 12 so that younger murderers may be sent to adult court. Attempts by several legislators in 1993-94 to adjust age provisions resulted in some changes, although not the sweeping across-the-board reforms many had argued for. In effect from January 1 is a law that lowers the applicable age of 707a provisions to 14 (from the present 16) and allows the use of the 707b-c process for 14-and 15-year-olds who are accused of committing murder (although not for the other serious crimes listed in 707b).

Juvenile justice law in the US

In some cases, (usually when the crime is particularly heinous), a juvenile may be tried as an adult, in which case they are subject to all the expectations, punishment, fines, and sentences of an adult court.

Juvenile laws in China

Out of step with UN rules calling for the “least possible use of institutionalization” (i.e., the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice or the Beijing Rules), China holds more than 60 percent of juvenile offenders in custody (either in prison or administrative detention) and places only 30 percent on probation.

There is, however, no universally defined age for when a young person stops becoming a juvenile and starts becoming an adult. In many cases the age is 18, but there is a great deal of variety throughout the world and even variations on juvenile law within the US

As far as the current Indian juvenile justice system is concerned, children are put into reformatory homes for three years or until they reach the age of 18. Sadly, these homes serve more to corrupt those who enter their portals than help them in any way. They are under staffed, under financed and suffer from an acute shortage of counsellors. Several children’s rights activists have made compelling and wonderful points on how it is the system which is at fault and not the child. True. However, we can’t ignore the fact that innocent people can’t be made to pay the price for failed reform systems either.

So we need to find a meeting ground where all these points are factored in: namely that the child gets a chance to reform but not at the expense of innocent citizens. Two ways to ensure this would be

1.      To segregate the mild – level offenders from the ones who commit heinous crimes

2.      Have very stringent criteria about who can leave a reform home after being thus ‘reformed’. It stands to reason that different levels of diseases require different treatments. For example, if someone has entered a reform home because hunger caused him to indulge in stealing, it is likely that he may need a lesser period of reform time than someone who has committed a heinous crime. To be truly ‘reformed’ a child committing offences like rape and murder may need 10-15 years of reform and counselling. Child rights activists should recognise this logic. Giving everyone a similar three year period of reform is illogical. Even if the desire is to avoid adult jails, at least the treatment and counselling has to follow a logical pattern. We would also benefit from high quality reform homes. If we can have world class IIT and IIM’s, why can’t we be truly democratic and have world class reform homes??

The bottom line:

Though the focus should remain on rehabilitation rather than punitive action, especially for the juvenile mind, ignoring the degree of crime committed by the same is not acceptable.
For e.g. The Penn state juvenile justice system’s main goal is "imposition of accountability for offences committed"….The idea being that the offender must repair the harm caused by their behaviour. They must be made to acknowledge the wrong impact of the crime on the community.

3 ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES IN GOVERNMENT HAVE A DUTY TO ALL CITIZENS, NOT ONLY TO DELINQUENTS.

The honourable minister, when explaining her stance, said she felt a need to protect the interests of juveniles. However we cannot take a narrow view and protect the interests of only juvenile delinquents. The government has a responsibility to all citizens. When particularly violent youngsters are given light sentences and let off on parole or set totally free, they pose a risk to other citizens who are not able to match them in violence. Especially at risk are other teenagers who are likely to be the social group these teenagers hang out with. There are several examples where criminals have been let off on parole and have been found to commit the same offences again.

We also need stricter parole laws:

In most American states, aftercare, termed re-entry of the juvenile after remand is closelysupervised by juvenile parole officers. Juvenile parole counsellors reintegrate offendersinto the community through various rehabilitation programmes. In Washington, there are 4 types of parole..intensive, enhanced, 30 day transition and sex offender parole.

(The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA"), requires sex offenders convicted before its enactment, including adults and juveniles, to register with the National Sex Offender Registry.

4.A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE COMMITTING CRIMES FALL IN THE 16-18 YEAR AGE GROUP AND STATISTICS REVEAL THE NUMBER IS RISING.

It has become a cause of concern that many crimes are being committed by youngsters. They have the physical strength to execute them and a greater degree of the recklessness of youth.It is believed that many smart alec criminals get youngsters to ‘execute’ the crime for them on payment knowing full well that the chap will be out fairly soon. The sons of well-placed people in cities and villages who have a ‘go’ at girls before their 18^th birthday don’t suffer from any terrible consequences. Rather it is the poor girl victim who pays the physical and mental price for the young boys’ uncontrollable hormonal urges. It would be kind to remember that the victim has feelings too! When someone who does this to her gets away lightly, what is it going to do to her self-esteem? Or do girls not deserve a mention when worrying about juvenile delinquent laws? Why is the justice system not focused on the victim when the justice is ostensibly being gained for the victim?

Here are some statistics on the trend of juvenile crimes in India

In 2001, juvenile crimes in India were pegged at 16,509.

In 2011, that figure stood at 25,125.

This reflects an increase of 65% in 10 years.

NCRB( National Crimes Record Bureau) data for Delhi suggests that cases of murder committed by people younger than 18 increased by 85% between 2001 and 2011, robbery by 540%, cheating by 211% and theft by 51.46%. Amod Kanth, general secretary at the Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice, says 16-18 is usually the age when teens become violent.

The country’s crime bureau recorded the following number of rape cases involving juveniles which sure a clear upward trend over the years:

Year       Rape Cases   

2011 ….1,210

2010…….858

2009 ……798

2008…….776

 The NCRB data for 2011 also shows that 64 per cent of all juvenile criminals fall in the age group of 16-18.This should send a warning signal to law makers of our country about the need to look at framing a more effective juvenile law.

5.WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO INTERPRET LAWS IN STANDARD WAYS AND NOT SUBVERT JUSTICE

The public is baffled about the legality of interpreting the law in completely opposite ways in similar types of cases.  Is the law supposed to change with a judge’s own interpretation of it? That would make for a very chaotic legal system!

In the Suryanelli rape case, the accused were acquitted on the premise that the sex was consensual and agreed to by the 16 year old girl. The judgement in that case therefore seemed to indicate that at 16 years of age, the juvenile is deemed responsible for her actions. In rape cases involving 17-18 year old boys, the boys are given juvenile sentences as they are not deemed fit enough to really know the consequences of their actions. The public would beg to ask of the legal system:

Is a 16 year old a juvenile or an adult? If a juvenile, how can consent have been given?

 Are laws meant to protect and secure us or to be such as to provide loopholes for offenders to slip through easily?

Also, if the age of childhood is 18 years then why is right to education for all ‘children’ implemented only till 14 years of age? Why this dichotomy of interpretation when talking about legal and constitutional rights of children? Why does the child labour act talk about 17 years being the age under which a child cannot work? Why not 18 years?

These are questions we definitely hope to have an answer to.

Acknowledgement: The authors wish to thank Dr Amarjeet, gen secy INTUC (CPI) for her valuable time and suggestions.

Address for correspondence: mehtanjali@gmail.com

Rape : a woman's fault ?

Fault lines 

The Statesman 

24 December 2012

Blaming women for the atrocities committed on them is nothing but a perverse denial that can extract a high social cost, writes anjali mehta
 
One of my patients came for a check-up and we got talking. He was a man I thought highly of, therefore I was deeply saddened when he made the casual remark: “In more than 80 per cent cases it is the woman’s fault when she is molested.” I was too stunned to speak so sat in silence while he recounted how women ‘defy’ their parents and stay out late at night, hang out with boys, wear alluring clothes and so on. He explained that by this deviant and provocative behaviour women brought on all this sexual violence upon themselves.
When he finished speaking, I told him I would like to ask him three questions and he must give me a patient hearing and answer them. To his credit, he did.

Question 1:
 In a classroom, a teacher goes out for a few minutes. In the teacher’s absence, most students continue their studies quietly. One child is bored. He talks to his neighbours and tries to induce them to indulge in some mischief with him, but they continue studying and largely ignore him. Feeling left out and irritated that no one is joining in his pranks, this child then gets up and goes to the chalk box and starts throwing chalks at everyone. The class is disrupted .The teacher comes back and sees what is happening.
Should he counsel the boy who threw chalks or should he counsel the neighbours of the boy who did not agree to play pranks with him, leading to his resorting to chalk-throwing?
My patient answered that obviously the boy who threw the chalk should be counselled.
We both agreed that the person who commits the wrong act is the one who is at fault.

Question 2:
A very handsome young man comes out of a popular gymnasium in his cut-off T–shirt. His aquiline looks and well-toned body win him many admiring glances from women. Two girls who know him offer him a lift and he accepts. En-route, the girls stop at a house, pretending to collect something. Soon many women come out of the house and he is forcibly taken inside and his clothes removed and body admired. Till this point he is actually half-enjoying the attention and feeling he must be as irresistible as the men in the Axe ads. Suddenly, the women start touching him roughly. At this point he begins to feel uncomfortable and feels that things may be going too far. He protests, only to find that his refusal has enraged the women. Two of them have been abused in childhood and they feel this is a good opportunity to vent their frustration and anger at what happened some years ago. They thrash him soundly for not submitting to them and leave him lying there. He is greatly bruised all over, thoroughly bewildered and angry about what has happened to him.
Are the girls guilty in this case for molesting the boy or is it his fault for being good-looking and toning up his body to be more attractive to the opposite sex?
My patient answered that obviously it was the girls’ fault.
We both agreed again that the person who commits the wrong act is the one who is at fault.

Question 3:
Indians, like all races, admire beauty. As P B Shelley said ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’. Since mankind came into existence, beauty has been considered a highly desirable quality in humans. Statues are lovingly and skillfully carved, poems are written, paintings done, clothing and jewellery designed, all as an ode to beauty. Beautiful women (both external and internal beauty), have been the inspiration for many a creative soul. The same can be said of beautiful men. Earlier folks seemed to know just what to do with beauty. They took it in their stride; they handled it well. Now beauty is deemed a distraction by some; an evil quality meant to cause man to stray.

Should we hope and pray that all our children are born ugly? Should we dress up girls and boys in sack cloths so that the vulnerable and delicate minds of criminally-inclined people are not pushed over the edge? Or should adults be more responsible for their own thinking and (mature) actions?
My patient answered that he hoped most people grew up with healthy minds and attitudes.

We both agreed that adults should take responsibility for their own thoughts and actions and not use environmental justification for misdeeds. We both felt beauty ought to be admired and not destroyed.

When we blame somebody else, it is a way of absolving ourselves of any responsibility. Till the time people continue to feel that it is a girl who brings this upon herself, they will not feel any great motivation to participate in the issue. The truth is however, different. A wrong has been done, in front of our eyes and we must right it and prevent more wrongs. We must not be mute and silent witnesses to wrongful acts perpetrated in our presence. We have to work together to change things for the better. All must contribute their honest share and might. We must worry not only about our daughters when they stay out late; we need to worry equally when our sons stay out late, drinking and partying.

Yes, common sense dictates that people, especially girls, should not be out alone in the dark at night. Common sense dictates that women should move about in groups and not consume drinks offered to them by strangers at a party as they may be laced. Yes, they should not take lifts from men. However, it takes a very unfeeling and brutal mind to conclude that someone should pay for their momentary lack of judgement or common sense with their honour or their life.

The writer is an eye surgeon

Cherishing mother Earth, ‘Gaia’ .................

   ( Diplomatist plus oct 2012 )

“All the world’s a stage…,” said Shakespeare and how fortunate humankind is that the ‘stage’ supporting us is the incredibly beautiful, colourful, and vast mother Earth. Recognising the pivotal role played by earth in our lives, our ancestors worshipped Mother Nature. The Greeks personified her as the goddess ‘Gaia’.

The renowned scientist, James Lovelock, chose this name when he proposed his hypothesis about the earth’s functioning many years ago. He had an able collaborator in Lynn Margulis, an American biologist .The Gaia hypothesis (now a theory) described the earth as ‘a self-regulating system made up from the totality of organisms, the surface rocks, the ocean and the atmosphere tightly coupled as an evolving system’ and striving to ‘regulate surface conditions so as always to be as favourable as possible for contemporary life.’ 

Over-consumption of natural resources causing their depletion and big changes brought about in the biosphere by our actions cause new feedback loops. These can throw the process of self-regulation into a different gear. The earth has so far survived varying and extreme climatic conditions such as the ice ages. On the other hand, several species have often not survived. We, as a race, need to be mindful of the impact our habits have on fellow species as well as our own.

A few core concerns:

Are we fiddling while Gaia burns?

A comprehensive article on the melting Arctic ice caps by James Astill in the June issue of the Economist described the impact the melting of the ice caps would have on biodiversity, environment, people, and policies. What is astonishing is the diverse perspective of different groups. Those who worry about the long term effects of global warming want to put environmental safety measures in place before the stage of ‘terminal decline’ is reached. On the other hand, many others speak in terms of ‘resources getting easier to access’ and ‘new shipping routes opening up’ because of the melting Artic snows. Why are we even calculating how to exploit the remaining resources in the Arctic areas when we have reason to believe our planet is changing in ways that may one day make it uninhabitable?

It is reassuring that so many scientists from different countries are observing and documenting in detail what is happening g to the planet and the species that inhabit it. We hail their discoveries but do we heed their caution?

It is arrogant and short-sighted for anyone to assume that only man was meant to use the planets’ resources to thrive and that other species are totally dispensable. It does not seem fair to sit and watch smaller and less advantaged species fade away. Will it really matter in the long run if we got a hundred bushels more of Arctic oil or managed to sail more freely in the cold Arctic waters before we, ourselves slowly vanished as a species? Who will be there to laud our last few acts of consumerism? No one can predict the future with certainty, but surely, when the issue is critical, it is better to err on the side of caution.

Are we behaving like spoilt children?

It is reprehensible when we hear how people neglect and abandon their old parents. In such cases, the story is typical. An elderly person signs over the ancestral property over to their children: these children, rather than being grateful, think that they already have the most important thing, i.e. the property, in their grasp and become callous. The parents, who have often made a lifetime of sacrifices, do not get the love and gratitude they richly deserve.

Likewise, should we not feel collectively ashamed when we fail to return the favour that mother earth has shown us by supporting, nourishing, and sustaining us ? Apart from food and shelter, we derive so much of our creativity from her. It is mother earth’s various hues, such as her beautiful mountains and sunsets, which have inspired many a poet and artist. Sometimes, when unhealthy lifestyles and stress get the better of our bodies and minds, we take a quiet holiday in Mother Nature’s lap. She nearly always succeeds in restoring our mental and emotional balance.

While watching out for our own comfort and wellbeing, we do not often stop to consider the ways in which our lifestyles deeply harm Gaia. We use non-biodegradable plastics, which stay around for hundreds of years leaching toxic substances into the air, ground, and water. We buy far in excess of our actual needs and our high rate of consumption encourages more factories and more production. The refrigerators and air conditioners we use release harmful fluorocarbons into the atmosphere. We mine large quantities of precious stones, which are not in any way imperative for survival. We spend a lot of money on advertising and creating a need for things and then invest more money producing and buying them. We sometimes behave like schoolchildren under peer pressure and feel the need to have something only because our neighbour has it.

If people consciously decreased their consumerism, the demand for quantity would go down. A slow sustained use of resources would ensure that they last longer and thus help us enjoy them for a greater period. It is for us to decide between one short glorious burst of consumerism and a long steady enjoyment of it.

Whom are we putting in charge of Gaia, officially?

Who are we leaving the official looking after of Gaia to? The subject of environment rightfully falls under the purview of scientists and environmentalists. Though there is outstanding research work being done by this group on understanding of natural issues, they do not have executive powers. The decisions directly and indirectly influencing the environment are finally made by the governments of the day. The environment is unfortunately, not a high priority when human matters are being settled. Typically, when wars are waged, it is officialdom that is consulted and not any scientists or environmentalist. When we have attacked and plundered other countries, we do send peacekeeping forces and try to put interim political systems in place. However, not many spare a thought for the flora and fauna that has been decimated over there. When we speak about rebuilding a nation, of picking up the pieces and cobbling together a whole, how much attention is paid to the species that are lost forever? How much money is spent in rebuilding natural habitats of animals? Can we undo the long-term effects of pollutants released into the atmosphere, some of which last for several years?

Gaia can be whimsical…but are we reading the long-term patterns carefully?

Like humans, Gaia can be whimsical. One begins to understand a human when you stay with them long enough. So it is with Gaia. Definite patterns emerge, albeit slowly. Scientists who have cautioned us about global warming repeatedly warn us not be lulled into a false sense of security every time there is a cool summer. Like weather, climate can also be unpredictable in the short run.

Why is the long term important? Simply because the process of discovery takes time. The first step in any process is identifying and describing the cycles in nature. For example, it is recognised that oceanic phytoplankton release sulphates into the atmosphere in the form of dimethyl sulphides and these can be the nucleus for condensates thus precipitating oceanic rainfall. Next  come the months or years required to fashion the equipment to study the natural cycles in detail -in this case ways to measure dimethyl sulphide in the atmosphere. Finally, the observation should be repeatable/reproducible.

Keeping in mind, the time it takes for a hypothesis to mature into a theory makes it obvious that there are no shortcuts when trying to understanding nature. It did after all take nearly four decades for the existence of Higgs-Boson particle to be scientifically proven!

How can we reach out to Gaia?

We can extend a hand of friendship to Gaia…

Some who recognise their filial duty to Gaia, pay respect through the way in which they live. A few use only glass items in lieu of plastics, have their own home waste recycling systems, try to walk rather than drive short distances, become vegetarians, use solar heating systems, produce their own electricity from solar panels and so on. Each of these small acts is important and reassuring because they show we are mindful. However, these do not yet constitute universal trends and occasionally are still referred to as ‘alternative’ lifestyles.

In our childhood, we enjoyed reading tales of the Phantom. In these stories, news was rapidly disseminated by drumbeats through the jungles where Phantom lived. Every jungle inhabitant was thus quickly updated on any occurrence. A similar phenomenon occurs when you reach out to nature. News travels fast and the entire nature seems to want to embrace you. Should you put healthy plants on your balcony, you will soon find many daily visitors such as birds, bees, butterflies insects, and worms. Or try feeding a stray dog on a few occasions. You can be sure it will turn up the next day at the same time bringing along many more hungry friends!

Being a friend of Gaia means thinking about Gaia every day. Build small environment-friendly  habits into your daily life such as switching off the fans when leaving a room, recycling the paper from old diaries or gifting plants to friends on birthdays. Gaia is appreciative of every tiny act of thoughtfulness. As Kennedy famously remarked “and all these tiny ripples…..million different directions….can build up a mighty wave…..”

We can invest much more on Gaia

People admire the great infrastructure of the developed countries. Good infrastructure means having sound basic amenities … roads, water, and sanitation. However, the infrastructure supporting all the developed and developing countries is planet earth. When we cut down forests, ravage the land and even the seabed in our unending quest for more oil and minerals, we are systematically destroying our infrastructure.

When we study the Indian union budget, it is a complex task to figure out how much money we are actually spending on environmental infrastructure. As a gross percentage of the budget in 2010/2011¹, the science, technology and environment group of services were allotted about 28,051billion rupees out of 8,18,299 billion rupees or about 3.42 %. For comparison, interest payments got 28.5% (2,34,022 billion rupees) defence services 11.2 % (92,061 billion rupees) and social services 4.27% (35,014 billion rupees). In USA in 2009², the federal budget earmarked about 35,149 billion dollars (2.83%) for natural resources and environment. By way of comparison, the national defense budget was 6,56,761 billion dollars (53.06%), transportation was 82,297 (6.64%), education, training, employment and social services was 101511 (8.20%).The estimate for 2011 was 7,44,026 billion dollars for defence (52.59%), 1,01,631 for transportation(7.18%) and 40,604 for natural resources and environment (2.87%).

Calculating the exact amount spent on protecting our natural resources is not easy as a small part of the concerned budget lies with several ministries such as Earth Sciences, Environment and Forests, Drinking water and sanitation, Renewable energy, Water resources and Science and Technology. It is also a moot point as to how much of the allotted budget actually goes in maintaining the planetary status quo.

We can try to win bonus points with Gaia.

Since the last couple of years, Gaia has been accorded greater importance. In India, the Ministry of Environments and Forests was created in 1985 and by 2006, we had a national environment policy in place. A record of statistics is being kept by Central Statistics office since 1997.

Various national missions are in place in India that play a responsible role in looking after our environment. These include Solar, Enhanced Energy Efficiency (which looks into efficient equipment and industrial processes that can help save energy), Sustainable Habitat (which looks into efficient housing and transport), Green India, Sustainable Agriculture, Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change, and others.

Now that the groups have been in existence for some time, the processes are sure to be in place and we need to move forward to the next level in imaginative ways. Perhaps a popular TV show on environment may help to make it a topic that stays in the public consciousness. A popular cooking, singing, or dance show on the theme of environment may win over the public imagination. Environmental clubs could be established in neighbourhoods much like sports clubs. Perhaps a Nobel should be instituted for exemplary contribution towards protecting or understanding our environment.

We must realise that news related to Gaia is breaking news….

Reading the newspapers in the morning can be a depressing affair. There always seems to be such a lot of bad news to share. Most papers are structured in a way that the front page is used for reporting political and breaking news. This page is liberally peppered with reports of swindles, misdemeanours, and horrific crimes. The centre page has the more deeply researched articles and editorials. Sports and other events follow. The news is a daily reminder of the troubled times we live in.

Mention must be made however, of one popular Korean newspaper that has a rather different layout and a refreshing perspective. The front page usually carries a piece on ambient nature conditions. For example, what trees are in bloom in that particular season, the red dust coming from the nearby desert, which is giving a red tinge to the atmosphere and so on. High quality colour pictures provide a stunning visual effect.

If this could become the popular style - if we are first reminded that we are in nature’s comfortable lap before the bad news is delivered to us, how soothing to our nerves it would be.

We can help Gaia out of vicious cycles

Global warming is leading to various changes on the earth’s surface, one of which is melting of the Arctic ice caps. This trend is further amplified by local feedback loops .When ice melts and becomes water or even a thinner layer of ice, the darker surface traps more heat and this causes further melting. This is referred to as the albedo effect.

Deforestation for agricultural or other purposes causes more Carbon dioxide to remain in the atmosphere, as there are fewer trees to remove this greenhouse gas. Since tree roots draw up groundwater and evaporate it to the atmosphere, in areas devoid of trees, the soil and air are both drier and hotter.

Climatic changes augmented by these types of feedback loops have a profound effect on many species and the least adaptable may be lost to us forever. Since humans have the ability to control their local microenvironment by use of gadgets invented by them, they are not, yet, feeling the impact of climate change that deeply. This security may well be short-lived and many of us are perhaps deluding ourselves about our relative invincibility.

We are one….

Our fates are actually deeply intertwined, and we cannot harm Gaia without harming ourselves. Gaia can be our strongest ally, if only we let her. Let us do well by our friend, our mother, and by extension, by ourselves.

[1] From Indian budget and economic survey

² From US Govt Printing Office site

Bordering on Friendship.

(Diplomatist plus June 2012) 

Bordering on Friendship

Fifteen members of our family travelled together to Amritsar recently. Among several enjoyable highlights of the trip, including visiting the magnificent Golden Temple, was witnessing the change of guard ceremony. This happens every evening at the Wagah border between Pakistan and India.

For those who have not yet seen the ceremony at the Wagah border, it is quite a big local event! 

Fundamentally, it is a change in shift duty of the guards accompanied by the usual army practice of lowering the national flag at sundown; but it has a lot of tradition, pomp and grandeur built around it. Thick gates separate the Pakistani army barrack from the Indian barrack with a metre of no man’s land in between. A large photograph of Mahatma Gandhi adorns one wall on the Indian side and on the Pakistani side a photo of Mr Jinnah is displayed. Facing the barracks on both sides are wide stone steps where people can sit and watch the ceremony.

People come from near and far to watch the ceremony which takes place daily. The audience starts taking up vantage positions on the stone steps in the early afternoon itself. Patriotic songs blare from microphones two or three hours before the event and really build up the mood. Many from the audience climb down onto the road below and start to dance enthusiastically. At 5 o’clock this party is interrupted by the master of ceremonies. The dance floor goes back to being a road and the revellers remember what they came for in the first place. A relative silence descends as all wait for the more serious business of the ceremony to start.

A powerful command from the guard commander suddenly pierces the silence and heralds the beginning of the event. The commanders on both sides compete to keep their voices as loud as possible and the words stretched out as long as their breath allows, giving us a slight feel of the Opera. Suddenly, the lead pair of soldiers start marching smartly to the gate. On that particular evening, it was heartening to see two young women in uniform take the lead. Thereafter, more soldiers march individually or in small groups to the gate. It is a matter of prestige for the soldiers to be well turned out and to march with such agility that their legs touch their foreheads on the upswing. When they come close to the gate (and consequently face to face with their rivals), they swagger, click their heels smartly, thrust out their chests and adjust their headgear with mock-aggressiveness. All these gestures are meant to convey confidence and intimidate their counterparts on the other side. Throughout the hour-long show, the master of ceremonies, mike in hand, guides the audience on when to clap or shout and when to be (relatively) quiet. At one point, the gates are opened, the soldiers shake hands and the flags of the two sides are lowered in perfect unison. After that all too brief interlude of togetherness, the gates are shut again.

Those thinking that a guard changing ceremony might be a solemn occasion, will find themselves mistaken. It is more along the lines of a boisterous and friendly cricket match. There is a sense of drama and various emotions course through the mind. Though each side fervently encourages their own soldiers with loud shouts and clapping, there is a healthy curiosity for what is happening on the other side of the gate. Everyone keeps looking over to the other side to see how they are faring in the friendly competition of smartness and bravado. There is a desire to wave out to the audience on other side (people often do that) and establish a rapport.

Surely, there is a sense of pride in one’s particular country. But for those who originally belonged to undivided India there is also a deep sense of longing and nostalgia. Their past seems so tantalisingly close and yet so far away. As my mother in law wistfully said “Do you know Lahore is only 31 miles away from where we are sitting now?” Many people of that generation earned their professional degrees in Lahore. Several think about where they were born, where they lived and worked and are engulfed by a curiosity to see what changes time has brought to their old haunts.

What is impressive is the perfect harmony and unison of the so-called rivals when performing the ceremony. Each side keeps a watch on the other and they synchronise their movements perfectly making it look beautiful. Even the flags are lowered simultaneously with hardly an inch of difference between their heights. One can’t help but reflect on how well we work together as a team.

As individuals, many of us have faced the sorrow of a good sound friendship suddenly turning sour. A single incident can spark the unravelling of a relationship and sometimes things come undone at such breakneck speed that all concerned are left a little breathless. We may feel shattered. We may feel a deep sense of loss. There may be anger, bitterness and sorrow but underlying these is a secret longing to go back to the way things were before all hell broke loose.

 
If we extrapolate this to an entire community, one can try and imagine somewhat the collective sense of loss felt after the bloodshed and displacement of the days of partition. No doubt, the minds of many revert back to and relive the months and days of horror when it all came apart. When friendships established over a lifetime were destroyed in one fell swoop.

 
There must be profound regrets on both sides about the process by which a hardworking and close-knit community fell apart into fragments.

I can recall Jagjit Singh’s mellifluous voice reminding us of that moment in which love comes alive “woh pal ki jis mein mohabbat jawan hoti hai”. I wonder how many people across the border feel nostalgic and await that moment when, by some miracle things can come together once more. Can we be friends all over again? It would be so heartening if in our lifetime, the gates are opened and Indians and Pakistanis alike dance to a common tune…for example Ghulam Ali singing “Bichad ke bhi mujhe tujhse….”