India In Chaos, Only Judiciary Can Save

By K C Agrawal

The book is a rare interpretation of India’s Constitution. It attempts at comprehensive diagnosis of India’s maladies and their total cure. It provides a unique opportunity to transform the nation by establishing Governments that are sensitive to human sufferings and capable of fulfilling the ‘basic objectives’ of the Constitution.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd
• Release date: Dec 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9789388942744

K C Agrawal

K.C. Agrawal, an electrical engineer and senior member of IEEE, USA, has over 33 years of experience in different capacities – in academics, PSUs and multinationals, and then running his own industries for 24 years, manufacturing switchgears. Some 20 years ago, greatly moved by the country’s highly deplorable condition and the sight of poverty-stricken people, he pledged to do something for the nation and steer the people out from their sombre plight to a glorious future. The present work is the next step in the furtherance of this cause.

Book preview

Part I

Our Economic Regression,

Human Rights Violations

&

Disintegrating Fraternity

[Due to Defiance of ‘Basic Law’- Parts III & IV of the

Constitution by our governing Guardians]

1

Violations of the Basic Law

(Abuse to Economic Freedom and Equal

Opportunity)

Introduction

The educated people of the nation have proved their mettle at home and abroad. We have proved our might in science and technology. Industries are excelling and so also individual entrepreneurs and professionals, barring the past few years due to the global meltdown and internal regression. Nevertheless it is one side of the coin that shines at home and in the global arena. It is this side of coin that the economic pundits and fortune tellers rely on to predict India will be a superpower by 2050. The author wishes this wishful prediction to come true.

What worries the author and many of his kind is the other side of the coin that forms the bulk of our country; 86 percent, or about 116 crore impoverished people (Table 2.9 (II) (p. 81) and clippings 14, 14A, 17, 19, 20, 24, and more). There are similar number of illiterates or semi-literates (Chapter 8.5 (p. 358)). It is logical to infer that those who are educated (only 14 percent or about 19 crore) of our populace are usually capable of treading their path to success. Not those who remain un-educated or semi-educated.

Education alone is the ladder to success

The author is concerned about this side of the coin; swaggering with the success of merely 14 percent makes little sense. Surely, we, as concerned people, cannot play ostrich to the 86 percent part of the coin.

The perennial failures of our governments to address these strata of our country continue unabated as researched, analysed and presented through this book. This is despite enormous and ever-rising quotas and reservations (in jobs and education), various kinds of economic and social reliefs in forms of NREGA, mid-day meals, farmers’ loan waivers, Rojgar Yojnas, subsidies on loans, electricity and ridiculously low prices for food items like wheat and rice, food security bills, and other dole-outs to alleviate poverty. Reliefs and dole-outs are eating into our resources, but the plight of the impoverished refuses to improve. In fact it is worsening as per new finds of the NSSO (clipping 73A).

It is suggestive of the fact that our governments (Legislature and Executive) are not able to address the maladies ailing the nation in real terms. The World Bank has also expressed similar views (clipping 8D).

Moreover, all relief measures are indicative of economic slavery and lack of liberty, and are tantamount to gross human rights violations (HRVs). This is because there is a lack of creation of opportunities and avenues to earn their living in a natural and dignified way. Reliefs and reservations belittle human self-esteem and dignity and violate our basic objectives. United Nations terms this practice regressive measures which impede the Constitutional goal³ as described under Section 4.1 (II) (p. 121).

It is strictly incumbent upon the State to create conditions and avenues (development of the nation) rather than consistently resorting to charities and dole-outs that are conspicuous compulsions of perennial under-development, and a testimony of fumbling governances.

Subsidies, interest-free loans, free electricity, and waiver of loans indicate our concern for the poor (labour, farmers, and youth). But a gratis handout is a gratis handout and can only be a short-term measure like a first aid during which they should be pulled out of their sombre existence. Reliefs and dole-outs cannot be long-term solutions. Continuation of such kindness is injustice to the rest of the people as it acts as an impediment in the development of the nation and progress of the people. It is also tantamount to destroying our resources. Revenues earned by the government are consumed on dole-outs without tangible development, besides causing budget deficits, rising debts and inflation, further oppressing the common man. Consequently the sorry state of affairs of the nation persists and the plight of the suffering masses never improves.

Not by charity, not by dole-outs which are

human rights violations and abuse of Part III

and IV of the Constitution; our people must

be able, at the very least, to feed themselves

naturally and with dignity.

Inference

— It also means lack of checks and balances on our Legislature and Executive to ensure prudent implementation of the Constitution.

Checks and balances on the working and performance of Legislature and Executive is inherent incumbency of our Judiciary.

I would like to submit with due apologies that it also shows a passive attitude of our learned Judiciary, permitting the regressive, treacherous and parasitic practices adopted by the malevolent governing guardians to set in.

As far as I understand, our Constitution does not permit the Legislature and Executive to resort to such lax and regressive practices for an indefinite period, which disregard Parts III and IV both inalienable provisions of the Constitution [Section 6.4.1 (II and III) (p. 182-183)].

CITATION

The Judiciary too acknowledges the above and has substantiated it through their verdict in the Bandhua Mukti Morcha Case [1984 (3) Section 161].

The Judiciary said that under the Constitution every citizen was guaranteed the right to lead a dignified life (clippings 60, 60A). The Judiciary also admits that they are the watchdog of the governments to check on such regressive practices that violate Parts III and IV of the Constitution.

Quote: "Judicial power also includes the power

to take corrective action whenever other

government branches fail in their duty to respect

the rights of the citizens and protect them." K.G.

Balakrishnan, CJI (Clipping 2).

The learned Judiciary, however, has not initiated

a corrective step to impede this evil which, with

time, has become monstrous.

— Permanent reliefs may be essential for those who are disabled or helpless to earn their living and need to be rehabilitated on a long-term basis. To a healthy man alms bring shame and belittle his self-esteem.

During droughts or floods which bring calamity to our rural people, such subsidies certainly provide them the required relief.

But if such occurrences are of a perennial nature, as they are in India, then not relief, rather an investigation is imperative to find a permanent solution to the perennial predicament.

All this would call for development on a long-term basis rather than reliefs or subsidies that are short-term. But our governments consider it enough to provide them reliefs which they mistake as cure. One can easily comprehend that if there is no development, where the relief money shall come from, and for how long? After all the printing of excess currency has a limit and so also living on public borrowings and foreign aids. Moreover there is a limit to the endurance of our mother earth to our consuming the resources without creating them.

Beware our learned guardians! Lest in pursuit

of providing crutches to the impoverished, in

absence of development, we may not ourselves

sink into a marsh and cry for help!

By 2014-15, our quest for more FDI’s, FII’s, foreign loans and technologies through ‘make in India’ philosophy are indicative of it. See Section 2.5 (p. 53) for our regressive economy and Section 2.3 (p. 43) a nation in debt.

This unproductive and unmindful extravagance has not only set in a regressive economy, it has also inflicted colossal inflation which the common man must bear the brunt. The uncontrolled rise in domestic prices also makes our exports dearer and uncompetitive in the global market. It permits countries like China to dump their much cheaper goods in the Indian market causing further deterrence to the home industry, exports, and handicrafts.

— Unbounded Inflation

It may not be a matter of surprise that from 1975 to 2012, inflation – and so the cost of living – has gone up by a minimum of 40 times (4000 percent). I remember when I started my career with a public sector unit (PSU) as a first class engineering graduate in 1960s, my salary was a meagre ` 350 per month as against wages of more than ` 6000 per month by 2012 to a LTI (left thumb impression) unskilled labourer (wages in 1975 were ` 150 per month). Yet their plight has not improved!

1.1. Judicial Citation

ECONOMIC FREEDOM AND DIGNITY

In 1989, a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) filed by two social/ political activists from Orissa, led to the express recognition of starvation as a violation of Fundamental Rights. In 1994, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) acknowledged that starvation is a violation of human rights.⁴ In our country about 66 percent live below poverty line (BPL) or starvation level (clipping 73A). Also glance through Section 2.5 (p. 53). It is a colossal violation of human rights and gross disregard of Fundamental Rights, Part III and economic and social objectives, Part IV of the Constitution, that guarantee dignity.

1.2. Defiance of Constitutional Provisions

(I) VIOLATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, PART III AND ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL OBJECTIVES, PART IV OF THE CONSTITUTION (FOR DETAILS SEE CHAPTER 6 (P. 157)).

These provisions direct the State to secure a social order for the promotion of the welfare of the people. They state that the State shall do its utmost to minimise the inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities to its people. To the contrary, the disparity between the rich and the poor is widening unrestrainedly, indicative of rising poverty. Table 2.11(I) (p. 85) illustrates the outrageously widening gap. The income analysis in Section 2.10 (p. 83) corroborates this. Part IV of the Constitution also calls for distributive justice. Dole-outs are not desirable. Some specific examples illustrating the acute poverty of our large populace and violation of human rights:

–About 30 women were killed in Lucknow in the stampede during distribution of free saris by Mr. Lalji Tandon of BJP in April 2004, during the campaigning for Lok Sabha elections.

–Following suit, the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Mulayam Singh doled out money gratis to its 8.5 lac unemployed youth in September 2006 (the state was under heavy debt).

These incidents reveal our guardians’ incapability of creating means and avenues and the harrowing tale of destitution that our country has attained in the absence of genuine development. And these are the scenes in the cities. It is left to the imagination of the readers to assess the level of destitution our rural populace may be reeling under. It also means the misinterpretation of our Constitution and its flagrant misuse by our governing guardians (Legislature and Executive) for their self seeking interests (building up unscrupulous vote bank using their ill gotten wealth). It may be a matter of worry why our Judiciary stays bystanders and permits the abuse of the Constitution by the governing guardians of the country in this manner. A state of anarchy, Naxalism, and Maoism are natural culminations of this (Chapter 3 (p. 89)). Analysis in Section 2.5 (p. 53) corroborates this.

(II) RESERVATIONS IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION

Article 16, Part III of the Constitution

There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State.

Article 46, Part IV of the Constitution

The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

When the Constitution framers made the provision of reservations in the above Articles to mitigate the difficulties and backwardness of the poverty-stricken minority communities, possibly they did not realise that the very provision meant to take particular care of the economically challenged and backward minority communities would, with the passage of time, become a persistent curse for the very same oppressed people due to the laxity and impunity extended to the Legislature by the Constitutional Article 37 for their non-performance (discussed under Section 6.4.III (p. 166)); as also lack of checks and balances by the learned Judiciary, if the Legislature was fumbling, defying or demeaning the basic law (Constitution). Due to allurements and lip services in absence of tangible development the plight of the oppressed has never