Deplorable parliamentary behaviour

THE ugly spectacle of councillors in the Delhi Municipal Corporation coming to blows was nauseating. Similar disgusting incidents have happened in the past, for example in the Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka Assemblies, and in Orissa, where Chief Minister Navin Patnaik was injured in a fracas that took place in the Assembly. To call these ruffians 8220;representatives of the people8221; is a cruel linguistic distortion. Apart from stringent disciplinary action against them, another effective method to curb such incidents would be to ostracise them from social and public functions and by pillorying them in public. The electronic media can help by continuously telecasting these incidents and thereby mobilising public indignation against these hooligans. But remember, the blame also lies with the people who elected these ruffians.

Insult and punishment

FREEDOM of expression, an invaluable guaranteed fundamental right, is not absolute. There is no fundamental right to defame a person or to publish blasphemous statements. Disagreement with traditional religious thinking or criticising religious practices and suggesting reforms in temperate language is not per se punishable as blasphemy under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code. Our Supreme Court has held that any and every act of insult to religion is not punishable unless the act is perpetrated with the deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of a class of citizens. One may legitimately criticise the tenets of a particular religion but it is not permissible to malign the founder of a religion or the prophets it venerates.

Whether Taslima Nasreen has in her public statements or writings violated the law of the land is to be determined by a court of law having regard to the standards of reasonable persons and not of those who perceive insult in every critical point of view. A bunch of fanatics does not have the licence to attack her and publicly proclaim that she should be decapitated. These acts of the concerned MIM legislators constitute serious offences and they should be promptly prosecuted. The chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court has rightly described the attack on Taslima as a national shame and observed that 8220;if we remained silent today it might happen again8221;. And the next victim could well be the painter M.F. Husain. Bigotry is not the monopoly of any particular religious community.

New espionage

A DISTANT cousin of mine, 8216;Navroji Uncle8217;, wore a huge coat with several pockets that were filled with tea, sugar, milk, butter, oil and chocolates. The reason for this strange attire was his unshakable conviction that his neighbours had requisitioned the services of lizards to spy on him and to get at him by consuming the eatables he carried on his person. He firmly believed that lizards were employed by the Axis forces in North Africa in World War II in order to spy on the Allied forces8217; movements and that had led to the Allies8217;debacle before El Elamein.

The use of animals for espionage appeared totally ludicrous then and Navroji Uncle became a figure of fun. Things have changed. Recently, the Iranian intelligence service has arrested over a dozen squirrels inside the country8217;s borders on the ground that they were spying for western powers. According to them 8220;the squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act . . .8221; Navroji Uncle8217;s forebodings were not totally crazy!