Good riddance

Jagdish Tytler has stepped down. This is as it should be. No individual can be held higher than the nation, the values of this nation and th...

Jagdish Tytler has stepped down. This is as it should be. No individual can be held higher than the nation, the values of this nation and the norms it sets for itself. In that sense, Tytler8217;s resignation, even if it came after two days of shameful denial, symbolises the best traditions in our democracy. It came after a process of institutional inquiry, Parliamentary debate, and public action. Whatever may have been the failings in the G T Nanavati Commission Report, it revealed that justice has not been done in the 1984 anti-Sikh carnage and that it needs to be done. Tytler8217;s exit is a step in that direction. A small step but a significant one because it comes, let us not forget, after 21 years of prevarication and deception. It has to be followed by other purposeful steps.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh8217;s speech in Parliament on Wednesday reflected this new maturity when he said that he was making a 8216;8216;solemn promise8217;8217; to the nation that justice will be done, that everyone guilty will be punished. A courageous pledge and a heartening one. Equally heartening was the BJP and their allies8217; words of outrage over the betrayal of justice, over the massacre of innocent citizens just because they were of the same religion as Indira Gandhi8217;s assassins. One can only hope that these words are not forgotten when the Nanavati-Shah commission reports to the Gujarat Assembly. If the Prime Minister ensures that his promise is kept, he will have raised the bar of political conduct and accountability, not just for his own party but for all political parties. For, the justice principle is a non-negotiable one in a democracy. It cannot be tossed aside, as some apologists have suggested, by the passage of time. Getting away with murder 8212;as the Supreme Court so eloquently reminds us on Gujarat8212;undermines the quality of our democracy. That is why this chance of a second shot at justice in the 1984 carnage should be seized with both hands. As a nation, we cannot afford to go wrong on it again.