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Journalism of Courage
The ancient Hindu lawgiver Rishi Jaimini laid down that the law of the land is greater than personal law. English law, which the Indian Penal Code follows, is rooted in the Ten Commandments. In both ancient and medieval times, rulers hung a bell which the poorest and lowest could ring and demand justice. Their authority came from scripture. Till recently, Rajput kings addressed their people as 8220;subjects of Govind Devji8221; Jaipur or 8220;subjects of Eklingji8221; Udaipur since kingdoms were ruled in the name of God. When we transformed from subjects to citizens, we forfeited our rights it seems, since what happens in our country now in the name of law is often rank injustice.
Our police have the lowest credibility as instruments of justice, so why does our media project their version without hardly ever giving the version of the accused? Remember the NRI who was arrested in Darjeeling for killing the English schoolgirl? There was no advocate for him when the police made him confess and TV channels reported it. I am not 8220;supporting8221; him, how could I, but speaking clinically, fair trial processes require that the accused has a right to remain silent. The systematic leaks by our police of 8220;confessions8221; most noticeably now in the case of the Kanchi acharya have a negative effect on the rights of the individual accused. They also damage the trial as too many versions start floating around and justice is the first casualty.
Folklore has a story about a medieval Sultan who was about to kill a yogi for not converting to Islam, saying, 8220;Log woh kaafir hain jo bande nahin Islam ki8221;. The jogi lifted a matted lock that looked like an 8216;l8217;, 8216;lam8217; in Arabic, and said, 8220;Lam ke maanind hain zulfein meri Ghanshyam ki: log woh kaafir hain jo bande nahin IS lam ki.8221; 8216;They are infidels who do not submit to the Lord8217;s locks8217; meaning, 8220;I too am a believer and I have my rights, like you8221;. The sultan let him be, for his wordplay encapsulated the genesis of justice from the Word.
