Opinion Post bin Laden tremors

Certain facts about the US military action in Abbottabad are well established

Soli J. Sorabjee

May 22, 2011 01:27 AM IST First published on: May 22, 2011 at 01:27 AM IST

Post bin Laden tremors

Certain facts about the US military action in Abbottabad are well established. Osama lived for months in his Abbottabad mansion under the nose of the Pakistan military establishment. Osama was killed by US marines and is dead. Pakistan feels deeply embarrassed,indeed humiliated,by the US military operation,which it understandably regards as breach of its sovereignty. Pakistan has warned the US against any repetition of Abbottabad type action but has refrained from threatening catastrophic consequences. It cannot afford that because of its abject dependence on US aid which totals billions of dollars. The US does not believe that Pakistan did not know about Osamas stay in Abbottabad. There is tremendous trust deficit in the US qua Pakistan about its genuine commitment to the war on terror. Yet,the US cannot abandon Pakistan for fear of extremist forces overtaking Pakistan and gaining access to Pakistans nuclear arsenal. Aye,thats the rub. The regrettable part is Pakistans mindset that India is its enemy No.1. It is hoped Nawaz Sharifs appeal to abandon this mindset proves fruitful. And we in India,should not crow about Pakistans cornered desperate position. We should refrain from making any statements or expressing sentiments which may reinforce Pakistans regrettable mindset.

Amar Singh on the backfoot

Amar Singh is a resourceful politician who has the enviable knack of extricating himself from awkward situations. Amar Singh had succeeded in obtaining an order from the Supreme Court in his petition which restrained the media from publishing/telecasting his tapped telephone conversations with various persons. A Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly vacated the stay and observed that Amar Singhs writ petition was an attempt to mislead the Court on basis of frivolous allegations and by suppression of material facts. The Bench pungently observed: An action of law is not a game of chess. A litigant who comes to court and invokes its writ jurisdiction must come with clean hands. He cannot prevaricate and take inconsistent positions.

Amar Singh admits that the voice in the tapped conversations is his but alleges the CDs have been doctored. Be that as it may,some of the contents of the tapes reveal Amar Singhs wide range of influence,eg his conversation with actress Jaya Prada,with an industrialist J P Gaur about the bid for cement and with Mulayam Singh Yadav about transfer of IAS officers.

After the strong observations of the Supreme Court,clearly Amar Singh is on the backfoot. He will have to do some googly bowling to regain his political stature.

Fundamental rights of birds

Philosopher Jeremy Bentham was scornful about natural rights which he considered as nonsense upon stilts. Later on,natural rights were described as human rights or fundamental rights. Human rights gained currency and acquired legitimacy after World War II. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 enacted by the UN Assembly was hailed as the Magna Carta of mankind. Thereafter,there has been substantial expansion of human rights. In addition to civil and political rights,there are socio-economic and cultural rights,childrens rights,rights of migrants et. al. The latest entrants are animal rights. There are strong divergent views about their enforceability.

Our country has taken the lead. Justice M R Shah of the Gujarat High Court has ordered the release of 494 birds held captive in cages. The order was passed while dealing with a bunch of petitions where the issue was whether birds have a right to live freely and whether they can be kept in cages. The basis of the High Court order is that it is the fundamental right of birds to fly in the open sky and their confinement was violation of their right to live freely. Apparently,Article 21 which is a guarantee against deprivation of personal liberty of persons also extends to birds. Justice Shah has been conferred the Compassionate Action Award by animal rights organisation,People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Perhaps the learned judge also deserves an entry into the Guinness Book of Records for his mind boggling judgment.