Zero tolerance towards criminals must for peace to prevail

Going by the established canons of law, it is apparent and absolutely clear that no criminal should go scot-free. The barometer of a government's success in maintaining the law and order and ensuring the Rule of Law are indeed the number of criminal prosecutions held and their success rate during a given period. Both the national and international Laws mandate that all criminals must be brought to book irrespective of their age, social status, education and political or financial superiority. However, it requires an iron will to implement this ideology.

It is pertinent to note that in all the cases culminating into genocide or mass killings, a definite pattern is discernible. Generally, it all starts with small skirmishes followed by verbal exchanges of insulting, denigrating and defamatory language used by either or both sides to a cooked-up dispute. This is followed by continuous sporadic acrimony and at times isolated events of small scale violence. Till this stage, the perpetrators tread very cautiously. If they find that the authorities, elected or otherwise, are bent upon dealing with such unpleasant situation, firmly and decisively, the criminal elements would have a second thought about initiating further violence and in most cases, they will retreat if not relent.

On the other hand, if the powers that be, show laxity or accord kid-glove treatment to the perpetrators of violence for whatever reasons, the criminals get bolder and without impunity take law into their hands by indulging in arson, murders, rapes and destruction of public and private property. Even after such a holocaust, if the people in power turn deaf ears, such heinous acts get seal of approval from the so called 'civilised society' which is not directly affected by any tragic impact of such violence. The Nero-like attitude further bolsters the law breakers who consider themselves by then, as the 'Uncrowned Kings' of their respective geo-political areas.

In recent times, what India has witnessed is the similar scenario. Be it the Mopla genocide in Kerala, Assam and Nagaland mass killings, Muradabad, Delhi, Maharashtra or Gujarat riots or much discussed Kashmir genocide, the toolkit is the same. The official apathy coupled with tacit political approval and 'touch-me-not' approach of the three pillars of our Constitution are the main factors responsible for not only the occurrence of such shameful heinous crimes, but also for their recurrence almost at a regular interval with different names and nomenclature.

The Constitution of India, while assuring to every person living in India 'Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity' has also imposed heavy duty for the effective implementation thereof to the legislature, executive and judiciary. Further, the Constitution empowers the President of India, who is not only the first citizen of the country, but also the Supreme Commandant of the armed forces, to dissolve the Parliament or the state legislatures if he is satisfied that there has been "a total breakdown of the Constitutional machinery" and take all necessary steps to establish the Rule of Law and uphold the majesty of law.

In other words, the ghastly incidents of mass killings, burning of property etc by mob or a group of criminals, if go un-tackled, then it is nothing but a total breakdown of the Constitutional machinery for which only the three pillars of our democracy, namely legislature, executive and judiciary have to be blamed. Further, Media which describes itself as the fourth pillar, too, will have to share the blame for its biased or ignorant reporting of such sensitive issues.

It will be indeed too much to expect from the gullible unarmed people to defend themselves in the face of fully armed violent gangs of criminals. A government worth its salt, legislature worth its stature and judiciary worth its justification, have to rise above all petty differences and constraints and immediately rush to the rescue of the common man. If this does not happen, read without no mistake, the writings on the wall that a day is not far away when the whole country will plunge into chaos, anarchy and civil war! Therefore, following the policy of zero tolerance towards criminals is all that is needed in the present hour.

Karnataka HC junks 'hijab' plea

The Karnataka High Court has unequivocally held that 'Hijab' was not part of the dress-code prescribed by Islam for Muslim girls/women. A three-Judge Bench, in its over 130-page verdict after elaborate discussion and hearing the respective contentions of the parties to the dispute, has ruled that an educational institution is within its rights to prescribe uniform or dress-code and no student can be an exception to its compliance under the plea of freedom of practising religion.

However, the matter has already been taken to the Apex court which is likely to be heard after the Holi vacation. It is understandable that the illiterate or ill-educated religious and political leaders of Muslims may not have that high level of acumen to understand the contents of the high court judgment; but it is pitiable to hear from the law-educated leader such as Asaduddin Owaisi, MP and President, AIMIM that he has the constitutional right to 'disagree' with the High Court Judgment.

Fine, but is he expressing only the disagreement to the Judgment or under the garb of the constitutional right, inciting the Muslims to disobey the court judgment and thereby, commit the contempt of the court, which is a punishable offence! And this is not the first time, he has under the umbrella of the Constitutional right, at the time of Ayodhya verdict, also had indulged in the similar rhetoric inciting the present and future generations of Muslims saying: "Not to forget the injustice done today."

Further, going by Owaisi's recent utterances, particularly during the Uttar Pradesh elections, his open threat to Hindus that after Modi and Yogi's rule who would save them, is nothing but an affront to the constitutional guarantees given to the people of India.

ICJ asks Russia to end war

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) by a majority verdict of 13:2 has asked Russia to immediately stop the ongoing war in Ukraine. Going by the posture adopted by the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the ICJ order is unlikely to be complied with. The ICJ does not have any mechanism to enforce its orders. Hence, the matter will be taken to the United Nation's General Assembly, which too, is not in a better position than ICJ.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs at home has clarified that one Indian Judge, Justice Dalvir Bhandari, who voted in favour of the ICJ command to Russia, has done so in his personal capacity and it has nothing to do with the official stand of the Government of India, which is neutral.