THE
GOOD
WORD
Nov
22
,
2021
- Week
49
Volume 7S-28|
Pages 2
Raksha Samarpan Parv, Jhansi,
gives an added
Bharat First
boost to Indian defence manufacturing
industry
Bhar
at
First
Nov 22, the Supreme Court
(SC) granted protection
from arrest to former
Mumbai police
commissioner Param Bir
Singh in criminal cases
lodged against him in
Maharashtra and sought
responses by Dec 6 from
the state government, its
DGP and the Central
Bureau of Investigation
(CBI).
Singh had accused the then
Maharashtra home
minister Anil Deshmukh of
corruption. He had alleged
a frame up the in criminal
cases made by the state
against him. Singh told the
SC that he very much in
India and not absconding
and that he faces a threat
to his life from the Mumbai
police. He is ready to
appear before the CBI
within 48 hours. Besides
seeking protection Singh
sought a CBI probe into the
issue. The bench of justices
SK Kaul and MM Sundresh
asked the petitioner to join
the probe and ordered that
he shall not be arrested.
At – MidDay,
MSN, NagpurToday
Visit
IndiaWiki.org
sunrise, higher than the
skies; to create a new
India!
The image from the Raj
Bhavan, Lucknow took
social media by storm
garnering over a
160,
000 likes on
Twitter
.
The PM,
on a
three-day visit to Uttar
Pradesh, launched
development projects
worth ₹3,
425
crore in
Jhansi.
Image Twitter, IndiaToday
Nov 22, as
per a senior
IPS officer engaged in
counter-Left wing
extremism (LWE)
operations, with the
death and arrests of key
CPI(Maoist) leaders over
the years, the active
strength of the politburo,
the highest decision-
making body of the
outfit, has shrunk to five
and that of its central
committee to 21.
The CPI(Maoist) central
committee had
comprised 27 members,
of which one,
Teltumbde, was killed
last week in an
encounter in Gadchiroli,
two died due to poor
health and three were
arrested this year.
Among the 27
, 12
hail
from Telangana; four
from Jharkhand; three
each from Andhra
Pradesh and Bihar; two
each from West Bengal
and Maharashtra; and
one from Karnataka. All
are above the age of 50
years. 60% are between
50 and 60 years old and
rest are above 60 years.
At: TOI, MSN
Nov 21, Yogi Adityanath
tweeted these lines on
creating a new India along
with an iconic photo with
prime minister (PM)
Narendra Modi:
-
We set out with a vow,
dedicating mind and
body, to herald a new
Milkha Singh birth anniversary,
Nov 20 – Image
–
BlogSpot, Jhalkari
Bai Jayanti
–
Wikipedia,
Seng Kut Snem, Meghalaya, Nov
23– Image
–
ProKerala
Pakistan gives in
to extremist TPL,
frees chief Rizvi
Maoist leadership
hit by ageing
and
encounters
Nov 18, After initially
declaring the Tehreek-i-
Labbaik Pakistan (TLP),
a banned militant
organization, its chief
Saad Hussain Rizvi a
terrorist and arresting
Rizvi along with more
than a thousand TLP
supporters, the Pakistan
government has been
forced to make a U-turn
on each front. It has
released Rizvi from
prison despite over 100
FIRs against him, both
the party and its chief
are no longer
proscribed under the
Anti-Terrorism Act and
the Imran Khan
government has also
released more than
1,200 TLP workers from
jail.
On October 18, TLP had
launched protests from
Lahore. Massive
crowds thronged the
roads. Clashes with the
Pakistani police in
Lahore and on way to
Wazirabad had claimed
lives of eight policemen.
More at: Republic
Nov 19, Amid
simmering controversy
following a Pentagon
report that China had
constructed a village
within Arunachal
Pradesh, another
Chinese village has now
been detected along the
Line of Actual Control
(LAC) in the same state,
93 kilometers east of
the first with at least 60
houses. The first one
had a 100 houses
.
Satellite images show
that both villages did
not exist till 2019.
China has been
developing integrated
Model Villages along
the 3,488-km LAC for
dual, civil and military
use.
India’s foreign office
had warned it does not
accept any such illegal
construction. A
response to the illegal
encroachment from
India is awaited.
Image: NewIndianExpress
Second Chinese
village spotted in
Indian territory
Nov 19, the
Allahabad
High Court (HC) asked
the central government
to take steps to consider
setting up a panel to
implement the Uniform
Civil Code (UCC) across
India under Article 44 of
the Constitution. Article
44 says that the state
shall endeavour to
secure a UCC
throughout India. The
step is long overdue but
Muslim appeasement
and pseudo secularism
by parties such as the
Congress have blocked
its implementation.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar 75
years back had said its
implementation can’t be
purely voluntary in view
of the apprehension
expressed by some in
the minority community.
The HC observed that no
community will make
gratuitous concessions.
The State is charged
with the duty to secure
UCC for the country and
has the legislative
competence to do so.
At: OpIndia
Nov 19, addressing the
nation on Guru Nanak
jayanti, prime minister
Modi announced that the
three farm laws which have
faced sustained protest
from a section of farm
lobbies, leaders and
agitators will be repealed.
In Sep 2020, the Indian
Parliament had passed
three farm laws to help
small farmers sell produce
to buyers of their choice. A
Farmers' Produce Trade
and Commerce Bill, 2020
Farmers Agreement on
Price Assurance and Farm
Services Bill, 2020 and an
Essential Commodities
(Amendment) Bill 2020. In
the wake of agitations
orchestrated mainly from
and around Punjab, BJP’s
partner the Akali Dal had
broken their alliance.
In Jan 2021, the Supreme
Court stayed the
implementation of the
farm laws. Protestors
vandalized the Republic
Day parade and instances
of gruesome violence were
reported at gatherings.
Protestors vow to continue
to agitate for other goals.
At: OutlookIndia
Nov 19, prime minister
(PM) Narendra Modi
handed over the
indigenously developed
light combat helicopter
(LCH) to the Indian Air
Force in Jhansi. The LCH
is a twin-engine, 5.8-ton
class helicopter
featuring narrow
fuselage and tandem
configuration for pilot
and co-pilot or a
Weapon System
Operator. It features a
number of stealth
capabilities such as
reduced radar and infra-
red signatures and
crashworthy landing
gear for better
survivability. It uses
advanced technologies
designed for
destruction of enemy
air defence, counter
insurgency, search and
rescue, antitank and
counter surface force
operations. More than
250 vendors are
involved in its building.
Image: FreePressJournal
,
IndiaToday
Modi dedicates
HAL made LCH
Helicopters to IAF
Industrial Corridor for
setting up a plant to
produce propulsion
systems for anti-tank
guided missiles.
He also formally
handed over
indigenously designed
and developed defence
equipment to the three
chiefs of armed forces
in Jhansi. PM Modi
formally gave light
combat aircraft (LCH)
designed and
developed by
Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) to the Air
Force chief, drones and
UAVs built by Indian
startups to the Army
chief, and the DRDO-
designed and Bharat
Electronics Limited-
manufactured
advanced electronic
warfare suite for naval
ships to the Navy chief.
In the run up to the
event structural and
organizational reforms
in the defence sector
provided a roadmap to
the Indian defence
manufacturing future.
The corporatization of
Ordnance Factory
Board; increase in
Foreign Direct
Investment and
exports; setting up of
defence corridors in
UP and Tamil Nadu;
draft Defence
Production and Export
Promotion Policy
2020.
The PM also launched
a project to set up 100
new ‘Sainik Schools’ in
India. These schools
will be set up over the
next two years in each
State/UT in
partnership with
private educational
institutions, state
governments and
NGOs. A 50% fee
support for 50 % of
the students on a
merit cum means
basis will be offered.
Schools will need to
excel in a sport under
the ‘One School, One
Sport’ concept or the
‘Khelo India’ scheme
of the Sports & Youth
Affairs Ministry.
At: JagranJosh
Nov 19, the Ministry of
Defence (MoD) along
with the government of
Uttar Pradesh (UP)
organized a three day
Rashtra Raksha
Samarpan Parv to
bolster India’s defence
capabilities. Organized
in Jhansi the event
concluded on the birth
anniversary of Rani
Lakshmi Bai, the
epitome of bravery and
courage dedicated to
India’s freedom.
In his inaugural speech
defence minister
Rajnath Singh said the
country needs a strong,
modern and well-
equipped military, along
with an equally capable,
vibrant, and self-reliant
defence industry.
In a push for
‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’,
to make the country self
reliant in the defence
sector, prime minister
(PM) Narendra Modi
laid the foundation of a
₹400-crore project at
the Jhansi node of Uttar
Pradesh Defence
Modi, Yogi image with a poem
about a new-India goes viral
Farm Laws that met
with sustained
protest, repealed
Nov 9, the fourth
Scorpene or Kalvari
class submarine, out of
the six to be
constructed in Project
75, was delivered to
the Indian Navy. These
submarines are being
constructed at
Mazagon Dock
Shipbuilders Limited
(MDL) Mumbai in
collaboration with M/s
Naval Group, France.
Named ‘INS-Vela’, the
submarine was
launched in May 19
and completed all
major harbour and sea
trials including weapon
and sensor trials. Three
of these submarines
are already in
commission with the
Indian Navy. Vela is set
to be commissioned
into the Navy on Nov
28
.
The diesel-electric
attack submarine is
another potent
platform in the naval
arsenal.
Image: News9Live-ANI, PIB, TOI
Nov 21, defence
minister Rajnath Singh
commissioned the 163
metres long, 17 metres
wide, 7,600 ton
displacer, stealth,
guided-missile
destroyer INS
Visakhapatnam into
the Indian Navy at
Mumbai
.
It is the
first
of four destroyers in
the ₹35,000 crore
project 15B. Singh said
a primary role of the
Navy is to secure sea
routes, critical to world
economy, in the Indo-
Pacific. The ship can
touch a speed of 30
knots, is fitted with a
modern surveillance
radars, anti-submarine
rocket launchers,
torpedo launchers and
anti-submarine
warfare helicopters. It
is also equipped to
fight under nuclear,
biological and chemical
(NBC) warfare
conditions.
Image DefenseTalks
,
IndiaTVNews
Abhinandan awarded a Vir Chakra
SC grants Param Bir
Singh protection
from arrest
Uniform Civil Code
long overdue says
Allahabad HC
Navy to commission
Scorpene class
submarine, Vela
Destroyer, INS
Visakhapatnam,
commissioned
Nov 23, group captain Abhinandan
Varthaman was awarded
a Vir Chakra by President Kovind for shooting down a
Pakistani F-16 in Feb
2019
after India’s Balakot airstrike.
-
PTI
Nov
22
,
2021
|
Week
49
| Volume 7S-28
Bharat First
Visit
IndiaWiki.org
PAGE 2
THE GOOD WORD
independence.
The turf war set off by
the NJAC judgement
cast the government as
a rogue organ
interested only in
thwarting independent
judicial functioning. If
the NJAC was indeed
such an effort, it was a
woefully poor one. It
was headed by the
chief justice of India
and had a majority of
three judges. The
government only had
one representative, the
law minister, who
already played a key
role in collegium
appointments. The
eminent civil society
member would be
elected by a committee
of the chief justice of
India, the PM and the
leader of the
opposition in the Lok
Sabha. This was hardly
the stuff to frighten
judges, let alone the
nation.
But tarnished in this
way, the government
changed tack.
Thereafter, it dragged
its feet on reforming
the collegium system,
refused to appoint
serval outstanding
judges, appeared to
enter into tacit
compromises with
certain chief justices
and looked for
advantage over
principle. Each of these
actions damaged
judical independence.
The worst fears of the
NJAC bench had come
true, and worse, they
had provoked it.
But the judgment had a
deeper impact beyond
judicial appointments.
It signaled the
readiness of the
Supreme Court to be
the first port of call for
those who wanted to
stand up to the policies
and programmes of
the Modi government.
Petitions flooded in on
the most significant
political issues of the
day - Aadhaar,
electoral bonds, Rafale,
Central Vista. Several
of these were notably
by opposition
politicians.
There many have been
incidental legal
questions in each of
these controversies,
but Aadhaar should
primarily have been a
question of whether
the technology was
inclusive enough and
not a constitutional
question about
whether it violated
individual privacy,
Rafale should have
been about attempting
to convince the public
of the alleged corrupt
foundations of the
contract, Pegasus
about getting the
average citizen to care
about someone tapping
their phone rather than
appointing a "technical
committee" to probe
into an already
shadowy controversy.
With many significant
political issues
becoming
"judicialised," it
appeared as if the
judges of the Supreme
Court, not the
opposition, were
primarily charged with
dislodging the
government. This was
an impossible ask and
one that the judges
aided by a few public-
spirited lawyers had
foisted on themselves.
Unsurprisingly, with
judgments sometimes
being pronounced in
favour of the
government and at
others not being heard
quickly enough, judges
were called out for
being pusillanimous.
The weight of
expectation was clearly
showing.
In the courtroom on
that sultry October
morning, one person
understood the
consequences of his
brethren straying from
the confines of the law.
In dissent, Justice
Chelameswar upheld
the NJAC's
constitutionality saying
the court ought not to
arrogate to itself the
exclusive province of
upholding the rule of
law. By doing just that,
the majority judges of
the Supreme Court had
contributed to shaping
the future course of
politics in India. Modi
handsomely won a
second term and the
political opposition lay
in tatters. The
judicialisation of politics
had unwittingly ended
up emaciating it.
Email: IndiaWiki2020@gmail.com
Website: http://TheGoodWord.IndiaWiki.Org
The NJAC quickly
became a symbol of the
Modi government's
feared assault on the
pillars of democracy.
Seemingly carried away
by this sentiment, the
Supreme Court struck it
down as
unconstitutional. It was
a political judgement
through and through,
seemingly written to
reassure citizens that
the Supreme Court
would be their bulwark
against a powerful
majority government as
long as it remained
immune from
governmental
interference in
appointment.
This image of the
Supreme Court as a
government-free
enclave was evocative
but ultimately
simplistic.
Governments, not just
in India but elsewhere
in advanced
democracies, have
always played a pivotal
role in appointing
judges and financial
judicial functioning.
Courts, true to the
adage that one must
keep their friend close
but enemies closer,
have engaged with
governments to
maintain amity without
compromising
To illustrate: All great
teachers have taught,
"Resist not evil," that
non-resistance is the
highest moral ideal. We
all know that, if a
certain number of us
attempted to put that
maxim fully into
practice, the whole
social fabric would fall
to pieces, the wicked
would take possession
of our properties and
our lives, and would do
whatever they liked
with us. Even if only one
day of such non-
resistance were
practiced, it would lead
to disaster. Yet,
intuitively, in our heart
of hearts we feel the
truth of the teaching
"Resist not evil." This
seems to us to be the
highest ideal; yet to
teach this doctrine only
would be equivalent to
condemning a vast
portion of mankind. Not
only so, it would be
making men feel that
they were always doing
wrong, and cause in
them scruples of
conscience in all their
actions; it would
weaken them, and that
constant self-
disapproval would
breed more vice than
any other weakness
would. To the man who
has begun to hate
himself the gate to
degeneration has
already opened; and
the same is true of a
nation.
Our first duty is not to
hate ourselves, because
to advance we must
have faith in ourselves
first and then in God.
He who has no faith in
himself can never have
faith in God. Therefore,
the only alternative
remaining to us is to
recognize that duty and
morality vary under
different circumstances;
not that the man who
resists evil is doing what
is always and in itself
wrong, but that in the
different circumstances
in which he is placed it
may become even his
duty to resist evil.
Swami Vivekananda
Karma Yoga
a series of extracts
Swami Vivekananda Image courtesy Newsgram.com;
With many
significant political
issues becoming
“judicialised,” it
appeared as if the
judges of the
Supreme Court,
not the opposition,
were primarily
charged with
dislodging the
government. This
was an impossible
ask and one that
the judges aided by
a few public-
spirited lawyers
had foisted on
themselves.
Constitution through
Parliament for setting
up the NJAC, which
would be a new
institution responsible
for appointing the
country's most
powerful judges.
Comprising three
judges, the law minister
and two eminent
citizens it would
replace the judical
collegium - the coterie
of senior-most judges
responsible for the
appointment of their
successors to the
Supreme Court and the
High Courts.
For seasoned court
watchers, the
amendment was hardly
exceptional - the
collegium had been
near-universally
criticized for nepotism
and arbitrariness. There
was political consensus
that it needed to be
abolished. The
amendment sailed
through Parliament
with bipartisan support.
Scarcely had the bill
passed that it ceased to
remain an enactment
merely about judicial
appointments. Senior
lawyers filed petitions
in the Supreme Court
on how judicial
independence was in
peril. Commentators
enchoed this sentiment
Source - Times of India
Author - Arghya
Sengupta
Image - NewsTrackLive
After failing to get its
way on judicial
appointments, the
government has played
political hardball with
the judiciary, and the
opposition, by failing to
capitalise on political
controversies, has
undermined itself by
taking matters to court.
On a hot October
morning in 2015, in a
packed courtroom no. 4
in the Supreme Court of
India, a five-judge
bench pronounced its
long-awaited judgment
in the National
Judicial Appointments
Commission (NJAC)
case. The judgment, on
how judges were to be
appointed to the
Supreme Court and the
High Courts, should
ordinarily have
interested only lawyers
and judges, but it
captured the nation’s
attention in a manner
few would have
anticipated.
In 2014, the Narendra
Modi-led BJP had
formed the first single-
party majority
government in three
decades. On New Year's
Eve, the government
piloted the 99th
Amendment to the
How an SC-center standoff weakend judiciary,
politics
