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Dr. RASMUS TENBERGEN GERMANY INVITS INDIANS ALONG WITH YOGESH SAXENA ADVOCATE GENERAL SECRETARY ALL INDIA BAR ASSOCIATION TO JOIN WORLD PARLIAMENT Contact 9792131584

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Dr. Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

Towards a World Parliament: A Summary of the Debate and a

Proposal for an Electronic World Parliament on the Internet

organized by Civil Society

Paper presented to the First Virtual Congress of the Community of World Citizens, July 2006,

by Dr. Rasmus Tenbergen1

1. Introduction

It has often been claimed that current world order should be democratized and that a World

Parliament would be a necessary and desirable element of such a democratic world order

(Held 1995: 273, Patomäki/Teivainen 2004: 139). There is, however, no detailed and

systematic general analysis of the potential creation of a World Parliament, which includes

an overview of the different possible models and an investigation of their advantages and

disadvantages. Such a general analysis could help to investigate whether and how a World

Parliament would contribute to the solution of the problem of the so-called “democratic

deficit“ in the international system.

The following paper tries to accomplish a first step in this direction. It summarizes the current

debate on a World Parliament and develops theses regarding the potential creation of a

World Parliament. This introduction (1.) is followed by a summary of the debates on the

global democratic deficit (2.), the desirability of a World Parliament (3.) and concrete

proposals for a World Parliament (4.). A separate section discusses the scenario of elections

for a World Parliament organized by civil society on the internet (5.). The conclusion (6.)

summarizes the findings of this paper in ten theses. This paper is not a value-free

description of different positions, it is trying to argue in favor of a World Parliament in general

and a special approach in particular. It is therefore an invitation to debate the findings in the

conclusion.

1 This paper is the result of many discussions with many different partners. I am grateful for all their

contributions, namely to Fabian Kyrieleis and Kenneth Kostyo for their important input.

Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

2. The Global Democratic Deficit

The analysis of past research on global democracy and a World Parliament shows an

interesting ambiguity: on the one hand, the whole spectrum of global governance, global

democracy, and global democratization is subject of many scientific publications (among

many others are Drydyk /Penz 1997, Holden 2000, Scholte 2000,

Patomäki/Teivainen/Ronkko 2002, Slaughter 2002, Zürn/Zangl 2004) and almost a fashion

trend, because there seems to be a consensus that the democratic deficit (i.e. the insufficient

legitimization of important international institutions) is one of the main problems of

international relations (Crawford/Marks 1998 and Nye et al. 2003); on the other hand,

concrete proposals how to solve this problem are very rare.

There are many contributions to special aspects of this problem: to the reform of the United

Nations (Boutros-Ghali 1993b, Ruggie 2002, Patomäki/Teivainen 2004: 17) and the

European Union (for example the articles of Greven, Offe, Zürn and Grande in Greven/Pauly

2000: 35), to the necessity of more accountability (Held 2004a: 264), to the role of civil

society (Florini 2003: 219), and to the change in economic institutions such as World Trade

Organization, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank (Stiglitz 2002:214). These

contributions are helpful for a discussion on good global governance, but they do not offer

coherent solutions for the democracy deficit problem.

Proposals to reform the United Nations must manage the dilemma, that they either do not go

far enough to create significant change or go too far to be acceptable for current decisionmakers.

The analysis of the European Union as a case study must address the question of

whether Europe can serve as a role model for other regions or even for the world as a whole

(Greven/Pauly 2000). This applies in particular to the role of the European Parliament as a

potential model for a World Parliament (Falk/Strauss 2001) both in terms of the history and

the structure of this institution (Levi 2001).

Some contributions to the reform of the economic institutions, for example on the

parliamentary control of the World Trade Organization, are concrete in so far as they offer

specific proposals for the institutional design (Mann 2004, Shaffer 2004, Skaggs 2004). They

are, however, limited to the political control of economic processes and exclude other

political aspects like security policy. In contrast, investigations of the role of civil society often

deal with many different political areas, but on a rather abstract level when it comes to

Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

concrete proposals. The lowest common denominator seems to be the claim for more

transparency and accountability (Kovach/Neligan/Burall 2003).

This applies also to theoretical works in this context. There are abstract hints on a “coming

democracy” (Florini 2003) and even the broadly discussed and far-reaching theory of a

“cosmopolitanism” by David Held (Held 1995, Held 1996, Held/McGrew 2002, Held/König-

Archibugi 2003, Held 2003, Held 2004b, Archibugi 2002), but even in this most innovative

concept the focus seems to be more on theory-building than on concrete proposals for

detailed change in old or for new institutions.

3. The Debate on a World Parliament

The proposal to create a World Parliament has already generated important support in the

political arena, for example Olivier Giscard d’ Estaing’s “Committee for a World Parliament“

lists as members of the honorary boards names such as Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Nelson

Mandela, Sonia Gandhi, Shimon Peres and Jacques Delors. Many academics, however,

remain sceptical regarding the possible creation of a World Parliament.

The most important and most concrete contribution to the discussion is the debate between

Joseph Nye and Richard Falk and Andrew Strauss in “Foreign Affairs“ and in “World Link” on

the desirability of a World Parliament (Falk/Strauss 2001, Falk/Strauss 2002, Nye 2001, Nye

2002b). A “World Parliament” shall be defined for the following as “a global assembly where

representatives are selected on the basis of one person, one vote” (Patomäki/Teivainen

2004: 139).

Falk and Strauss argue that the creation of a global parliament would be the natural and

logical way to overcome the global democratic deficit (Falk/Strauss 2001). For Falk and

Strauss the European Parliament serves as a role model: similar to the European

Parliament, the World Parliament should start with only advisory powers and be founded by

only twenty to thirty avant-garde states which are economically and geographically diverse.

They hope that as time progresses it would gain more legitimacy and formal competencies

(Falk/Strauss 2001).

The proposal of Falk and Strauss has received some attention and has been discussed in

many contributions (Archibugi 2002, Monbiot 2003, Bummel 2005). This applies, however,

more to smaller and more specialized publications like “The Federalist Debate” (compare for

Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

example Levi 2001, Cocciolo 2004 and Vallinoto 2004). The proposal has not led to a

paradigm shift and has not been supported by mainstream academia. It has for example

been rejected by Joseph Nye because Nye does not see the necessary condition of a strong

sense of global community realized and he assumes that citizens of many states are not

willing to be constantly outvoted by one billion Chinese and one billion Indians (Nye 2002b).

This argument is attacked by Falk/Strauss and others (Monbiot 2003: 119) with the hint that

empirical evidence shows, that multi-national parliaments vote according to issues rather

than according to ethnic aspects (Falk/Strauss 2002). This trend could even be strengthened

through a World Parliament and lead to “a political culture less beholden to nationalism and

more engaged in promoting human security” (Falk/Strauss 2002: 3).

Nye’s criticism that popular elections “might well produce an undemocratic body that would

interfere with the delegated accountability that now links institutions to democracy” (Nye

2002b: 5) is rejected by Falk and Strauss. They argue that a democratically elected body

cannot interfere with global democracy, that “far too many national leaders are not

democratically elected” and that even democratically elected representatives should not

decide on international questions without control (Falk/Strauss 2002: 2). The core of their

disagreement with Nye is according to Falk and Strauss a dispute on the nature of the

international system: Falk and Strauss do not accept state sovereignty as the leading

principle of the international system, they would rather like to see this replaced by citizen

democracy (Falk/Strauss 2002: 3).

4. Concrete Proposals for a World Parliament

There are not many concrete proposals for a World Parliament in the academic discussion.

Such proposals can be found on the internet (Alliance 21 2003, Johansen 2003) or in

publications which are of a more political than scientific nature (some references of this kind

are in the footnotes of Monbiot 2003 and Patomäki/Teivainen 2004). Monbiot offers a

proposal with arguments similar to Falk and Strauss. He tries to develop a simple model

based on the principle of “one person, one vote” and approximately six hundred multinational

electoral districts (Monbiot 2003: 99). Monbiot focuses, like many other authors, more on the

general argument than on concrete details of the organization of elections to a World

Parliament. The main difference of his model to Falk and Strauss is that his main actor is not

the national state, but civil society, which can elect a World Parliament “without permission”

of the national states (Monbiot 2003: 101).

Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

Bummel refers in his strategy paper for the “Committee for a Democratic UN“ to the proposal

of Childers and Urquhart (Childers/Urquhart 1994) and others to “create a Parliamentary

Assembly at the United Nations as new institution which is established as consultative, semiautonomous

subsidiary body to the UN General Assembly through a vote of the General

Assembly under Article 22 of the UN charter” (Bummel 2005: 109) and lists thirteen concrete

proposals on details of this institution (Bummel 2005: 108).

A detailed summary of both, the general discussion on democratic transformation of global

institutions and special aspects of a potential World Parliament, is offered in the work of

Patomäki and Teivainen (Patomäki/Teivainen 2004). The authors refer not only to the main

debates but also to critics like Bello and Wahl who fear too much centralization if a World

Parliament is established (Walker 1993, Bello 2002, Teivainen 2003a, Patomäki 2002a).

After a critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of a World Parliament Patomäki

and Teivainen regard the organization of a global referendum “based on a statistically drawn

representative sample of voters in different countries” as a meaningful first step towards a

World Parliament (Patomäki/Teivainen 2004: 146).

A short pamphlet by Andrew Strauss offers a comparative overview on different models of a

World Parliament or a “Global Parliamentary Assembly“ (Strauss 2005). After a summary of

his arguments for a World Parliament from other texts he distinguishes between four models:

1. an amendment of the UN Charter according to articles 108 and 109

2. the creation by the UN General Assembly as a Subsidiary Organ

3. Civil society organized elections

4. an interstate treaty process

Strauss calls the UN Charter reform model the „classical“ model (compare Sohn/Clark 1958)

and the one with the best legitimacy from the perspective of world public opinion, but he

expects strong resistance against this plan because it requires the consent of two thirds of

the UN General Assembly plus all permanent members of the Security Council. The problem

of veto powers disappears in the second model, Article 22 of the UN charter requires only a

two thirds majority of the UN General Assembly. In addition to legal doubts whether a

parliament could in principle be called a “subsidiary organ” of the UN General Assembly,

Strauss believes that this model would create political compromises. One example is the

recommendation of Bummel and others (Bummel 2005: 110) that “in the first development

stage, the delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations are uniformly

Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

elected from the midst of the parliaments of the participating countries” (Bummel 2005: 110).

Strauss fears that the special loyalties of national parliamentarians could endanger the

success of the project.

Compromises of this kind would be unnecessary if the elections for a World Parliament

would be organized by civil society. Even though Strauss preferred this model in the

beginning (Falk/Strauss 2000) and even outlined a model for its implementation (Strauss

2005: 8), he mentioned tremendous difficulties to organize and finance such a civil society

process. This problem would be far less important in the last model of a treaty between

avant-garde states which already have the financial and organizational resources for

complex elections. In addition to the arguments mentioned above (Falk/Strauss 2001),

Strauss highlights that this model gives the power to organize the parliament to the

participating states, which posses an interest in the success of the project (Strauss 2005.

10).

5. Elections organized by Civil Society: A provisional electronic World Parliament on

the Internet

If the thesis is accepted that the creation of a World Parliament would be a positive

development, all four models described by Strauss seem to be desirable. There is, however,

no consensus even among supporters of a World Parliament on the question, which of these

models is the most feasible and should be followed to implement the idea. This paper claims

that all four models would constitute a positive development on the international system, but

that elections organized by civil society pose the best chance of an implementation. This

applies even more, if in the beginning provisional electronic versions of a World Parliament

are created on the internet.

Pilot projects of this kind do already exist. Out of the many initiatives in this direction, only the

most radical example should be mentioned: the “World Parliament Experiment“ on

http://www.world-parliament.org. It would go beyond the framework of this paper to describe

this project and its aspects in detail, only a few basic aspects should be mentioned.

Based on the thesis that the creation of a World Parliament is the more likely the more world

citizens support it, individuals are invited to support the establishment of a provisional World

Parliament through their vote. They participate in a decision-making process with only one

ground rule which cannot be changed: that all aspects of the project (content, procedures,

Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

and representatives) can be changed at any time though proposals of anybody, if there is

enough support based on “one person, one vote”. This is not a decision for direct and against

representative democracy, this experiment tries to combine the advantages of both models

by enabling the delegation of votes for smaller or larger parts of the project (the main

parliament, special sub-institutions or even single issues). It is the task of elected

representatives to present the results of the opinion-building process as claims to real life

decision-makers. Both, the legitimacy and power of these campaigns will increase with

growing numbers of participants. After a critical mass has been reached, it should be

possible to transform this provisional electronic parliament with only moral and advisory

powers to an institution that exercises a significant influence on actual political processes.

It seems to be important for the success of this project that its ambition is neither

overestimated nor underestimated. On the one hand, it seems to be crucial in the beginning

phase to keep the claim of a model for a global institution against accusations of naivety, on

the other hand, it should be clear in every phase of the project that representation and

legitimacy in a narrow sense can only be claimed for the participants of the project.

If elections organized by civil society include electronic parliaments, some objections against

this model lose their importance, for example the financial and organizational difficulties

mentioned by Strauss (2005: 8) are reduced dramatically. Monbiot (2003: 104) mentions the

possibility of a cheap electronic assembly, but regards it as an insufficient replacement of

face-to-face meetings. He does not even consider the possibility of a combination of both

formats, which could begin with electronic meetings that lead to non-virtual gatherings in a

later phase.

The strongest argument for elections organized by civil society and against the other three

models seems to be that measurement of success is much easier in this plan. While it is

difficult to see how far away the United Nations are from significant reform steps or how

close avant-garde states are to signing a treaty on a World Parliament, a civil society

campaign for a World Parliament gains legitimacy and chances of success with every single

individual supporting it. This argument can also be used to work against wide-spread

pessimism of global democracy activists. The collection of enough individual supporters is

difficult enough, however, it is already a sufficient condition for the realization of the project

and is therefore a concrete and realistic program of implementation.

Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

6. Conclusion

The main results of this paper are summarized in the following theses:

1. The global democratic deficit is one of the main problems of international politics;

2. The creation of a World Parliament would be an important step to solve this problem;

3. The four scenarios of Strauss (2005) to create a World Parliament (amendment of the

UN Charter, a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly, elections organized by

civil society, and an interstate treaty process) are all desirable;

4. Elections organized by civil society posses the best possibility of success;

5. This possibility of success can be additionally increased if the process starts with a

provisional electronic parliament on the internet;

6. A provisional electronic World Parliament on the internet should give its electors the

possibility to change any aspect (content, procedures, representatives) at any time, if

there is enough support for a proposal based on “one person, one vote”;

7. A provisional electronic World Parliament on the internet should give its electors the

possibility to decide on how far they want to influence the decision-making process

directly and in how far they want to delegate their vote to representatives;

8. A provisional electronic World Parliament on the internet should from the very

beginning, even with little support, claim to be a model for a global institution, but it

should be clear in every phase of the project that representation and legitimacy in a

narrow sense can only be claimed for the participants of the project;

9. A provisional electronic World Parliament on the internet should from the very

beginning, even with little support, try to influence real political processes;

10. The campaign for the creation of a World Parliament depends to a large degree on

the number of individual supporters. It should therefore put a main focus on this

aspect.

Rasmus Tenbergen: Towards a World Parliament

Haindava Keralam - global community of dedicated Hindu Keralites with a peace mission

2012-11-05T14:01:00.001-08:00

Haindava Keralam - global community of dedicated Hindu Keralites with a peace mission
The struggle for existence bears on Natural Selection. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire's ('Hist. Nat. Générale,' tom. ii. p. 405, 1859) excellent history of opinion on this subject. In this work a full account is given of Buffon's conclusions on the same subject. In 1813, Dr W. C. Wells read before the Royal Society After remarking that negroes and mulattoes enjoy an immunity from certain tropical diseases, he observes, firstly, that all animals tend to vary in some degree, and, secondly, that agriculturists improve their domesticated animals by selection; and then, he adds, but what is done in this latter case 'by art, seems to be done with equal efficacy, though more slowly, by nature, in the formation of varieties of mankind, fitted for the country which they inhabit. Of the accidental varieties of man, which would occur among the first few and scattered inhabitants of the middle regions of Africa, some one would be better fitted than the others to bear the diseases of the country. This race would consequently multiply, while the others would decrease; not only from their inability to sustain the attacks of disease, but from their incapacity of contending with their more vigorous Rev. W. Herbert, afterwards Dean of Manchester, in the fourth volume of the 'Horticultural Transactions,' 1822Amaryllidaceae'1826 Professor Grant 1831 Mr Patrick Matthew published his work on 'Naval Timber and Arboriculture,' 'The proposition determined on after much consideration is, that the several series of animated beings, from the simplest and oldest up to the highest and most recent, are, under the providence of God, the results, first, of an impulse which has been imparted to the forms of life, advancing them, in definite times, by generation, through grades of organisation terminating in the highest dicotyledons- and vertebrata, these grades being few in number, and generally marked by intervals of organic character, which we find to be a practical difficulty in ascertaining affinities; second, of another impulse connected with the vital forces, tending, in the course of generations, to modify organic structures in accordance with external circumstances, as food, the nature of the habitat, and the meteoric agencies, these being the ''adaptations'' of the natural theologian.'
I am not sure that I understand some passages; but it seems that he attributes much influence to the direct action of the conditions of life.We clearly saw, however, the full force of the principle of natural selection.
If you can provide me a little support against FANATICS MAULVILIES, IMAM BHUKHARI OF JAMA MASJID, KABA GANDHI, PANDIT NEHRU, NARAIN DUTT TIWARI , HAMWANTI NANDAN BAHUGUNA , HIS SON CORRUPT JUDGE VIJAY BAHGUNA, MULAYAM SINGH, LALU YADAV , Sahhabbuddin, Mukhtar Ansari, Atiq Ahmad having criminal Adulteration corruption Agenda as the weapon for their prosperity what was Adopted By Osaba Bin Laden through Mohhamad Ali Support Created By Clinton Barack Obama Republican Party , I will get 25000 Muslims holding a good reputations amongst all Nationalists Intellectual Gathering offering prayer to Great Shiva wisdom and environmentalists Vegetarianism Aryans Mythology being converted to GREAT NATIONALISTS FORCES of MY NATION. Whether Maha Mandeleswar , Mahant Occupying the different Ashrams having Sex and Having Greed for Money, Having Greed For Power MULAYAM, LALU , DIGVIJAY to be the NON HINDUS. WHO IS HINDU HERE IN INDIA, TO WHOM CRISTIAN MAY ADHERE TO. YOU PLEASE CONVEY THE MESSAGE THAT KAYASTHAS WILL BECOME VIVEKANAND, MAHARISHI MASHESH YOGI HOMI J BHAWA, SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE, LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI , MUNSHI PREM CHANDRA , JAY PRAKASH NARAIN , SWAMI YOGREKHA YOGESH KAYASTHA RATNA , BUT NOT CHITRGUPTA JI FALSEHOOD CREATED FOR BUSINESS BRAHINS MAY BECOME SWAMI NITYA NAND SARSWATI, SHRDYANAND SWARSWATI, DAYA NAND SARSWATI, SWAMI RAM CHANDRA MAHARAJ, SHYAMA PRASAD MUKHARJEE, TAPAN GHOSE JAINISM MAY BECOME ACHARYA RAJNEESH , YADAV MAY BECOME BABA RAM DEV , OBC MAY BECOME NARENDRA MODI , NARAIN KATARIA, PRAFULL GORADIA SCHEDULE CASTE MAY BECOME MAHARAJA SUHEL DEV OF AZAM GARH , BABA BHIM RAO AMBEDKAR, BIRSAMUNDA AMONGEST KOL. NOW YOU HAVE TO ADHERE SPIRIT OF LORD RAM CONTAINED IN SACRIFICE ON THE BEHEST OF STEP MOTHER, HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH KEWAT , A MALLAH, JAMWANT , A KOL, HANUMAN , A BHEEL AND PUT BHIBHISHAN INSTEAD OF RAVAN UPON LANKA.

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2012-11-03T04:20:00.001-07:00

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Hangout with Shri Narendra Modi

2012-08-31T10:12:00.001-07:00

Pakistan to see the plight of minority Hindus with their own eyes.

2012-07-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

Safer places meant, out of Kashmir, maybe to Jammu, Udhampur or anywhere; it did not make a difference. Anywhere out of the heaven felt the same. It was just Kashmir which felt privileged. Poshmal would never get to see where she was born, thought her mother. Like the others she would just have to be happy with the stories of the beautiful valley. They were leaving it all behind. They stepped out of the house, got into the truck, with a few other families and drove away. Never to come back to their birthplace. Never to come back to see how their motherland looked like, never to look at those lakes and never to experience the autumn season that looked the most vibrant only in Kashmir. On second thoughts, maybe they did experience the autumns again. After all, that is what they have been experiencing till date.

Like The Chinars that have fallen from their place

The valley too has lost its grace

The heaven doesn’t exist anymore

The charm is gone that Kashmir ever wore

The political gurus make claims lame and tall

The blood of our community is splattered on the wall

We rot somewhere; the media won’t say a word

This human rights violation, it goes unheard!! Kashmir, Assam, Tripura, Bengal, Odisha & all other bordering states need to seal their borders preventing any infiltration as once. At this stage, almost ¾ Western Assam has been captured by Bangla Deshi Muslim infiltrators supported by HUJI, IM, ISI & such terror groups. They hoist Pakistani, Bangla Deshi flags in Assam for past 15 years as they did in Kashmir. They have been attacking local tribes – Karbi Anglong, Khasi, Dimasa, Kachari, Jaintia, Bodo, Chongloi & many such indigenous original tribes in Neelachal – Assam – who have been there for ages. Bangla Deshi infiltrators have captured their lands, houses attacking them, raping their women, killing almost half the tribal population there, posing dire threat to Bharat’s security.”

Today there is arson & hundreds of Tribals are murdered in Assam. Over 500 villages are burnt totally. Tribes & other Hindus are fleeing to temporary shelters, being killed by terrorist infiltrators & by the Govt machinery. Govts are protecting Bangla Deshi Muslim infiltrators & pumping bullets into the original tribes who actually need protection. Almost 1 lakh people are now in shelters – homeless, lost their near & dear ones & everything that those poor Tribals had, because Govts bend before Bangla Deshi Muslims for votes. The PM of ‘India’ & his party’s head Madam called Assam CM to protect Muslims & not the Tribals, otherwise govt agencies would not have killed many Bodos, other Tribals & Hindus with Govt bullets! The PM & Madam never called U.P. CM to stop violence against Hindus in Koshi Mathura, Bareilly, and Pratapgadh etc. The duo never called Andhra CM asking him to protect Hindus in 4 Minar area while Muslims brutally killed them. This shows Govt’s bias against Hindus & special love for Muslims.”

" If Muslims in India constantly crib to have no say and no power, they should come to Pakistan to see the plight of minority Hindus with their own eyes. They'll never complain and learn to live peacefully with their Hindu brethren in India."

-Asma Jahangir, Human rights activist, Pakistan

Asma's right. When pitted against the oppressed Hindus in Pakistan, the Muslims of India are indeed far better. A few days back there was a news that Hindus in Balochistan region are abducted and converted to Islam. The family members of those who've been abducted often avoid lodging complaints for fear of dire consequences. Many Hindus in Pakistan's Balochistan, Sindh and NWFP regions, embraced Islam for survival. Has any Muslim in India ever been forced to accept Hinduism in order to live in this country? The Marathas, who fought against Ahmadshah Abdali in 1761 and couldn't return, are now languishing in Pakistan doing menial jobs. Most of them are sweepers and Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul has the descendants of those Marathas working as toilet-cleaners. June, 2000, Time carried an article (later banned and deleted from the net) written by Craig Gaverns. He interviewed a few Hindu-Marathas (most of those Marathas are now forced Muslims) working as cleaners and attendants at PMA. One of them told him that once a Pakistani captain continuously slapped him and made him eat human excreta for not polishing his shoes properly. He fearlessly told Gaverns to disclose his name (Nanji Ubale) despite Gaverns had grave doubts about that man's safety. His name was carried and within a couple of days, he was hacked to pieces. Even those Hindus who got converted to Islam are treated very badly. They're always reminded of their humble and infidel roots. One such Hindu doctor Ratan Chitkara, who later embraced Islam and became Saeed Khan, was always denied promotion to become the C M H O (Chief Medical & Health Officer) at a hospital in Pakistan's Chitral province. The reason was that he willy-nilly accepted Islam. 'Dil se nahin liya' (not accepted from the core of his heart) observed his born Muslim friend. My point is: Did the ancestors of the sub-continental Muslims ever accept Islam DIL SE ? Were they not converted to Islam by coercion? BBC, London's Roger Amlett's big essay ' Conversions on the sub-continent ' (1998) puts it bluntly " Why do all the 'converted Muslims' of the sub-continent behave in a manner as if their Allah directly dropped them as Muslims from an imaginary heaven? Why do they (or their forefathers) forget that they were cajoled, coaxed and coerced into embracing Islam? " The Hindus in Pakistan constitute 2.67 % of its population, which is now close to 18 crores. According to Pakistan-born Ibn Warraq, an ex-Muslim, " By 2015 this ratio will drop down to almost one percent as very many existing Hindus will have accepted Islam to save their skins, precisely necks." Here in India, Muslims cry foul that they're discriminated against. This happens indeed. But don't they also get their rights and rightful positions in India? In India, Muslims have become the heads of the state. There've been so many top brass in the Armed Forces of India, who're Muslims. Can one show a single really big and influential Hindu in Pakistan? Why wasn't Pakistan's second Chief Justice Bhagwan Das, A Sindhi-Hindu from Shikarpur, Sindh, made the CJP (Chief Justice of Pakistan)? Why was Neeraj Chawla (actress Juhi Chawla's uncle, who chose to stay back in Pakistan following partition) abducted in spite of being a high official on Pakistan's Film Censor Board? Despite his seniority, he was not made the chief of the Censor Board of Pakistan. Has any Muslim been deprived of his rank in the sensitive army because of his religion? Didn't India have Idris Hasan Latif as the Air Chief Marshal? It's very easy to condemn sitting on the fence and when you're getting everything without much efforts. Look from a broader and deeper perspective and you'll realise that you're much better and well-ensconced here than the poor Hindus in Pakistan, who get no representation at any level. They cannot even register their marriage in Pakistan. Karachi and Islamabad universities abolished their Hindi departments and even certificate courses in Hindi because it's the language of the Kafirs (infidels). Except for Danish Kaneria, no Hindu ever played Test cricket in Pakistan, though Anil Dalpat came closest to playing and getting included in the final eleven. Why was Nirmal Mukherjee, a Bengali Hindu of PIA, never selected for the Pakistan national hockey team? He was PIA's vice captain in the early seventies. Veerbhadra Seksaria, the only Hindu industrialist from Pakistan, never got an opportunity to set up a cement factory in Pakistan's lone industrial city, Faislabad (erstwhile Layalpur). Indian media and some so-called secularists like Teesta Seetalvad (her husband's a Muslim), Arundhati Roy (a Syrian Christian) and Mallika Sarabhai (a Gujrati Hindu) scream from their rooftops when something 'wrong' happens to the Muslims in India. Why can't these influential secularists raise their voice in unison against the treatment meted out to the Hindus in Pakistan who live there as gentiles and lepers?

British Rule and excuse all their criminal acts

2012-07-31T19:56:00.001-07:00

Currently there appears to be a lot of discussion and arguments regarding the Greatness of Ancient Bhaarat in most of the fields like, Science, Mathematics, Metallergy, Astronomy etc. People do ask questions that if that were the case, why the situation has currently seen so deteriorated? They appear to be praising the British Rule and excuse all their criminal acts (like killing Vedic गुरुकुल Education system. Sanskrit Language, the co-operative functioning of the whole community due to चातुर्वर्ण्य, Distortion of Correct History, Destrucion of all small scale industries, Dharmic well being of all Bhaarateey people, even looting the Wealth 9including manuscripts) of Bhaarat etc) that were committed during the period. It really created a set back to Bhaarateey thought process functioning since ancient times. Of course functioning, of our own Government since 1947, has not rectified any of these activities of British in any way.

To continue our efforts, further from the task left since long back, needs us to go back to that period and the knowledge that we had then, isn't it?

I am arttaching an extract from a book 'The Advancement of Ancient Bhaarat's Vedic Culture' by Stephen Knapp along with for your perusal and pondering over. I hope you may understand current problems of Bhaarat little better then

Poshmal is playing in her crèche, while her dad is at work at the municipal corporation office. Right then, her mom had got up from her desk at the State tourism department office for lunch break. She had cooked batt, nadir-daal and dum-aaloo. That’s how her husband liked it for lunch. But then, just when she was about to eat the first morsel, she bumped into this colleague of hers, a 30-something lady. She whispers something into her ear and they exchange terrified looks.

Looks like she will break down any moment. But she struggles hard, maintains her composure and swears under her breath. She has no time to ponder over the entire calamity that has struck; she has no time to wonder how it all happened. All she can think of is her husband’s safety, his well-being. After all, the lady just told her that his name was on the hit list! And, of course, she spares a thought for her daughter, playing in the crèche, oblivious to the impending dangers outside.

Her head heavy with turbulent thoughts, she keeps back the food in the box and starts wrapping up quickly. The thought of her little daughter scares her even more. She hurries with the packing and leaves. Her steps are quick but her thoughts slow; trying to gather all that has happened in the past few weeks. She finally gets herself out of the office and starts pacing towards her daughter.

She wants to call her husband meanwhile but alas! That wasn’t the year of cellphones. She will have to wait for another hour before she reaches his office. Thinking so, she quickens her pace when suddenly she sees that temple. She had been going there right since her childhood. That place had been special to her but today she doesn’t stop to seek blessings, well there is no temple there now. It had been razed a few days ago, just a few remains are left now. She curses under her breath at one moment and the very next moment, her eyes are filled with tears.

Slowly and steadily, the feeling had begun to sink in. It wasn’t random killings of Kashmiri Pandits here and there. It was complete ethnic cleansing; a planned massacre of her community. The sense of fear had been in the air for quite some weeks now. After all, it wasn’t without reason that she had stopped wearing mangalsutra and vermilion. There was a reason why she had stopped bowing her head every time she passed a temple on the road.

There was a reason why her husband used to leave for work at different times every single day and return home at odd hours. Her mother-in-law had stopped going out to buy grocery and the brave grandma preferred staying indoors. The family members would go off to sleep every night listening to the blaring sounds coming from loudspeakers. The life-threatening announcements scared her.

But she still went off to sleep like that on countless nights. But one morning, her heart heavy with fear, she was just outside her room when she saw her neighbour come out. She wanted to speak to her. They had been friends for quite some years now, or that’s what she thought at least. But sadly, Naseem just looked away; like she had never known her. That was when she knew, it was all over. Her homeland, her birthplace, her home, everything would soon be lost! She had hoped to see her neighbours, her friends, protest against whatever was happening but they chose to remain silent!

That moment scared her. She was still thinking about it when a sudden gunshot brought her back to her senses. She rushed to the crèche. Poshmal was still there doing her antics in the cot. She picked her up, ran out of there, went to her husband’s office, trying to keep a straight face. She didn’t trust anyone anymore. She did not want anyone to see the surge of her emotions, the feeling of being betrayed, that feeling of being rendered homeless, the feeling of hatred, and the biggest of all, that feeling of knowing that all she could take with her were her family members.

She walked up to her husband and gave him the news. They exchanged grim looks and left hurriedly. And yet again! While on their way back, they saw their small temple, the Vitaal Bharavi mandir, still not destroyed. The legend was no thief could ever enter that area surrounding the temple and it had held true all these years, but then how were these murderers allowed to come in? Who were they to throw them out of their homeland? Calling them kafirs and making death announcements over speakers; asking them to choose between bullets and their homeland, their sweet homes, their temples, their birthplace, their beautiful memories of a lifetime.

The couple looked at the deity and then at each other and walked past it. They went home, and even before the elders started asking them any question, they started packing up. Poshmal’s dad started giving instructions to all, quickly moving around the house and looking out of the window every now and then. He would see a few army jawans here and there. It gave him confidence. He said to himself, “I will get my family alive out of here.”

Thinking so, he got busy again, and all of them were done in a few hours. After all, they did not have a lot to take along, nor did they have the time to wait any longer. It was 10 in the night already. They had to leave under cover of darkness with the jawans posted there to make sure that the Pandits were taken to safer places.

Safer places meant, out of Kashmir, maybe to Jammu, Udhampur or anywhere; it did not make a difference. Anywhere out of the heaven felt the same. It was just Kashmir which felt privileged. Poshmal would never get to see where she was born, thought her mother. Like the others she would just have to be happy with the stories of the beautiful valley. They were leaving it all behind. They stepped out of the house, got into the truck, with a few other families and drove away. Never to come back to their birthplace. Never to come back to see how their motherland looked like, never to look at those lakes and never to experience the autumn season that looked the most vibrant only in Kashmir. On second thoughts, maybe they did experience the autumns again. After all, that is what they have been experiencing till date.

Like The Chinars that have fallen from their place

The valley too has lost its grace

The heaven doesn’t exist anymore

The charm is gone that Kashmir ever wore

The political gurus make claims lame and tall

The blood of our community is splattered on the wall

We rot somewhere; the media won’t say a word

Bharatkalyan97: Swamy links spread of terrorism to graft

2012-06-15T02:29:00.001-07:00

Bharatkalyan97: Swamy links spread of terrorism to graft

अखिल भारत हिन्‍दू महासभा: भारत के राष्ट्रपति के चुनाव में पाकिस्तान की परोक्...

2012-06-15T02:21:00.001-07:00

अखिल भारत हिन्‍दू महासभा: भारत के राष्ट्रपति के चुनाव में पाकिस्तान की परोक्...: डॉ0 संतोष राय वर्तमान राष्ट्रपति के चुनाव को जब दूरदर्शिता के परिप्रेक्ष्य में देखा जाता है तो हमें पता चलता है कि हम...

Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?Biodiversity Links for more Information

2012-06-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

This part of the global issues web site attempts to highlight some of the environmental issues and concerns that have an affect on all of us — from what we do, to what we don’t do.

46 articles on “Environmental Issues” and 7 related issues:

Biodiversity

Last updated Sunday, March 04, 2012.

The variety of life on Earth, its biological diversity, is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth. Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to recognize this as being integral to any approach. In some way or form, almost all cultures have recognized the importance of nature and its biological diversity for their societies and have therefore understood the need to maintain it. Yet, power, greed and politics have affected the precarious balance.

Read “Biodiversity” to learn more.

Fast-developing countries such as India should offer up their domestic action plans as part of global efforts when the world gathers for the UN climate talks in Copenhagen this December, says Rajendra K. Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

India's priority is not simply reducing global emissions as quickly as possible but also accessing adaptation technologies to cope with the inevitable impacts of climate change, which will likely include rising sea levels, more frequent and intense cyclones and water scarcity.

Access will depend on partnerships between developing and developed countries, built on well-defined intellectual property rights.

And, under the principle of 'common but differentiated responsibility' as supported by India, the developed world must support technology transfer regardless of whether rapidly developing economies such as China or India themselves commit to reducing emissions.

India is unlikely to commit to emissions limits before 2020 but it can, and should, offer up its National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) as part of a global package of commitments, suggests Pachauri. India will firmly reject having the NAPCC subjected to verification measures but might agree to annual international reporting, he adds.

In either case, unprecedented changes in Indian institutions will be needed to actually achieve the plan's ambitious goal of achieving sustainable development while dealing with climate change.
Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?

Last updated Wednesday, April 06, 2011.

Why is Biodiversity important? Does it really matter if there aren’t so many species?

Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play.

For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops; greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters.

And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Read “Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?” to learn more.

Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions

Last updated Wednesday, April 06, 2011.

It has long been feared that human activity is causing massive extinctions. Despite increased efforts at conservation, it has not been enough and biodiversity losses continue. The costs associated with deteriorating or vanishing ecosystems will be high. However, sustainable development and consumption would help avert ecological problems.

Read “Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions” to learn more.

Nature and Animal Conservation

Last updated Thursday, November 10, 2011.

Preserving species and their habitats is important for ecosystems to self-sustain themselves.

Yet, the pressures to destroy habitat for logging, illegal hunting, and other challenges are making conservation a struggle.

Read “Nature and Animal Conservation” to learn more.

Climate Change Affects Biodiversity

Last updated Sunday, March 04, 2012.

Rapid global warming can affect an ecosystems chances to adapt naturally.

The Arctic is very sensitive to climate change and already seeing lots of changes. Ocean biodiversity is already being affected as are other parts of the ecosystem.

Read “Climate Change Affects Biodiversity” to learn more.

Coral Reefs

Last updated Sunday, January 16, 2011.

One type of ecosystem that perhaps is neglected more than any other is perhaps also the richest in biodiversity—the coral reefs.

Coral reefs are useful to the environment and to people in a number of ways. However, all around the world, much of the world’s marine biodiversity face threats from human and activities as well as natural. It is feared that very soon, many reefs could die off.

Read “Coral Reefs” to learn more.

Addressing Biodiversity Loss

Last updated Wednesday, April 06, 2011.

At the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was born. 192 countries, plus the EU, are now Parties to that convention. In April 2002, the Parties to the Convention committed to significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity loss by 2010.

Perhaps predictably, that did not happen. Despite numerous successful conservations measures supporting biodiversity, the 2010 biodiversity target has not been met at the global level. This page provides an overview on how the attempts to prevent biodiversity loss is progressing.

Read “Addressing Biodiversity Loss” to learn more.

Biosafety Protocol 1999

Last updated Monday, March 19, 2001.

The February 1999 Biodiversity Protocol meeting in Colombia broke down because USA, not even a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to which the protocol is meant to be part of, and five other countries of the "Miami Group" felt that their business interests were threatened. The safety concerns were unfortunately overridden by trade concerns. Some technological advances, especially in genetically engineered food, have been very fast paced and products are being pushed into the market place without having been proven safe. All over the world, concerned citizens and governments have been trying to take precautionary measures. However, 1999 was not a successful year in that respect.

Read “Biosafety Protocol 1999” to learn more.

Biosafety Protocol 2000

Last updated Sunday, July 01, 2001.

A Biosafety Protocol meeting was hosted in Montreal, Canada January 24 to January 28. Compared to the fiasco of the previous year, this time, there had been a somewhat successful treaty to regulate the international transport and release of genetically modified organisms to protect natural biological diversity. However, there were a number of important and serious weaknesses too.

Read “Biosafety Protocol 2000” to learn more.

Biodiversity Links for more Information

Last updated Monday, October 04, 2010.

Read “Biodiversity Links for more Information” to learn more.

Vellore Citizen Welfare Forum v. Union of India & others the polluter principle as interpreted by the Supreme Court

2012-06-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

PROTECION OF COAST LINE OF INDIA In Indian Council for Enviro-Legal Action v Union of India the Supreme Court in regard to the 600 kms long coast line emphasised that that it would be the duty and responsibility of the coastal states and Union Territories in which the stretch exists, to see that the notifications issued, declaring the coastal stretches should be properly and duly implemented. Further the various restrictions on the setting up and expansion of industries, operation or process, etc. in the regulation Zone should be strictly enforced. In the same case the court enunciated the principle further that the polluter pays. Once the activity carried on is hazardous or inherently dangerous, the person carrying on such activity is liable to make good the loss caused to any other person irrespective of the fact whether he took reasonable care while carrying on his activity. Under this principle it is not the role of the Government to meet the costs involved in either prevention of such damage or in carrying out remedial action, because the effect of this would be to shift the financial burden of the pollution incident on the taxpayer. The responsibility of repairing the damage is that of the offending industry. In Vellore Citizen Welfare Forum v. Union of India & others the polluter principle as interpreted by the Supreme Court means that the absolute liability for harm to the environment extends not only to compensate the victims of pollution but also the cost of restoring the environmental degradation. Remediation of the damaged environment is part of the process of "Sustainable Development" and as such polluter is liable to pay the cost to the individual sufferer as well as the cost of reversing the damaged ecology. In Goa Foundation v Diksha Holdings Pvt. Ltd the court observed that with a view to protect the ecological balance in the coastal areas, notifications having been issued by the Central Government, there ought not to be any violation and prohibited activities should not be allowed to come up within the area declared as CRZ notification. The court also emphasised that no activities which would ultimately lead to unscientific and unsustainable development and ecological destruction should be allowed. POWER OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO TAKE MEASURES TO PROTECT AND IMPROVE ENVIRONMENT • The Central Government, shall have the power to take all such measures as it deems necessary or expedient for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of the environment and preventing controlling and abating environmental pollution. • Such measures may include measures with respect to all or any of the following matters, namely: i. co-ordination of actions by the State Governments, officers and other authorities- (a) under this Act, or the rules made thereunder, or (b) under any other law for the time being in force which is relatable to the objects of this Act; ii. planning and execution of a nation-wide programme for the prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution; iii. laying down standards for the quality of environment in its various aspects; iv. laying down standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from various sources whatsoever: Provided that different standards for emission or discharge may be laid down under this clause from different sources having regard to the quality or composition of the emission or discharge of environmental pollutants from such sources; v. restriction of areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards; vi. laying down procedures and safeguards for the prevention of accidents which may cause environmental pollution and remedial measures for such accidents; vii. laying down procedures and safeguards for the handling of hazardous substances; viii. examination of such manufacturing processes, materials and substances as are likely to cause environmental pollution; ix. carrying out and sponsoring investigations and research relating to problems of environmental pollution; x. inspection of any premises, plant, equipment, machinery, manufacturing or other processes, materials or substances and giving, by order, of such directions to such authorities, officers or persons as it may consider necessary to take steps for the prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution; xi. establishment or recognition of environmental laboratories and institutes to carry out the functions entrusted to such environmental laboratories and institutes under this Act; xii. collection and dissemination of information in respect of matters relating to environmental pollution; xiii. preparation of manuals, codes or guides relating to the prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution; xiv. such other matters as the Central Government deems necessary or expedient for the purpose of securing the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act. • The Central Government may, if it considers it necessary or expedient so to do for the purpose of this Act, by order, published in the Official Gazette, constitute an authority or authorities by such name or names as may be specified in the order for the purpose of exercising and performing such of the powers and functions (including the power to issue directions under section (5) of the Central Government under this Act and for taking measures with respect to such of the matters referred to in sub-section (2) as may be mentioned in the order and subject to the supervision and control of the Central Government and the provisions of such order, such authority or authorities may exercise and powers or perform the functions or take the measures so mentioned in the order as if such authority or authorities had been empowered by this Act to exercise those powers or perform those functions or take such measures. As considerable adverse environment impact has been caused due to degradation of the environment with excessive soil erosion and water and air pollution due to certain development activities therefore it is necessary to protect the environment. This can be achieved only by careful assessment of a project proposed to be located in any area, on the basis of an environment impact assessment and environment management plan for the prevention, elimination or mitigation of the adverse impacts, right from the inception stage of the project The Central Government has passed certain notifications laying that the expansion or modernisation of any existing industry or new projects listed shall not be undertaken in any part of India, unless it gets environmental clearance by the Central Government, or the State Government. PREVENTION CONTROL AND ABATEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION • No person carrying on any industry, operation or process shall discharge or emit or permit to be discharged or emitted any environmental pollutant in excess of such standards as may be prescribed. • No person shall handle or cause to be handled any hazardous substance except in accordance with such procedure and after complying with such safe guards as may be prescribed. • Where the discharge of any environmental pollutant in excess of the prescribed standards occurs or is apprehended to occur due to any accident or other unforeseen act or event, the person responsible for such discharge and the person in charge of the place at which the discharge occurs shall be bound to prevent or mitigate the environmental pollution and shall also (a) intimate the fact of such occurrence or apprehension of such occurrence; and (b) be bound, if called upon, to render all assistance. • On receipt of such information, the authorities or agencies shall cause such remedial measures to be taken as are necessary to prevent or mitigate the environmental pollution. The expenses incurred by any authority or agency may be recovered from the person concerned as arrears of land revenue or of public demand. COGNIZANCE OF OFFENCES & BAR OF JURISDICTION OF CIVIL COURTS • No court shall take cognizance of any offence under this Act except on a complaint made by (a) the central Government or any authority or officer authorised in this behalf by that Government; or (b) any person who has given notice of not less that 60 days, of the alleged offence and his intention to make a complaint, to the Central Government or the authority or officer authorised. • No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in respect of anything done, action taken or order or direction issued by the Central Government or any other authority or officer in pursuance of the Act.

"Hazardous Substance" means any substance or preparation which, by reasons of its chemical

2012-06-11T06:58:00.001-07:00

. "Hazardous Substance" means any substance or preparation which, by reasons of its chemical or physico-chemical properties or handling, is liable to cause harm to human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism, property or environment. Environmental pollution means imbalance in environment. The materials or substances when after mixing in air, water or land alters their properties in such manner, that the very use of all or any of the air water and land by man and any other living organism becomes lethal and dangerous for health. POWERS OF THE SUPREME COURT The Act does not curtail the powers of the Supreme Court. It has from time to time in various matters issued directions and orders to control pollution. DIRECTIONS ISSUED TO CONTROL VEHICULAR POLLUTION In Mehta v Union of India 1999 in order to control the chaotic traffic conditions and vehicular pollution, the Supreme Court issued the following directions. (a) All commercial/transport vehicles which are more than 20 years old should be phased out and not permitted to ply in Delhi after October 1998 (b) All such commercial /transport vehicles which are 17 to 19 years old (3200) shall not be permitted to ply in the National Capital Territory, Delhi after 1998; (c) Such of the commercial /transport vehicles which are 15 and 16 years old (4962) shall not be permitted to ply after December 31, 1998 The Supreme Court made this order applicable to all commercial/transport vehicles whether registered in the National Capital Territory of Delhi or outside (but ply in Delhi) which are of more than stipulated age and which do not have any authority to ply in Delhi.

Man is both creator and molder of his environment, which gives him physical sustenance and affords him

2012-06-11T06:56:00.002-07:00

The Environment Protection Act provides for protection and improvement of environment and for matters connected therewith. The United Nations conference on human environment, held in Stockholm in June 1972, proclaimed that " Man is both creator and molder of his environment, which gives him physical sustenance and affords him the opportunity for intellectual, moral, social and spiritual growth. In the long and tortuous evolution of the human race on this planet a stage has reached when through the rapid acceleration of science and technology man has acquired the power to transform his environment in countless ways and on unprecedented scale. Both aspects of man's environment, the natural and man made are essential to his well being and to the enjoyment of basic human rights even the right to life itself. "Environment" includes water, air, and land and the interrelationship that exists among and between water, air and land and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property. "Environmental Pollutant" means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be, or tend to be injurious to environment

We live in the “Time of the Vulture”, a time in which cowboy capitalists

2012-06-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

We live in the “Time of the Vulture”, a time in which cowboy capitalists – who have been with us since the discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa in the nineteenth century – are becoming ever more rapacious and immoral (if that is at all possible), a time in which the Ministerial Handbook has become a Bible of sorts for some people (to justify the self-important and ostentatious lifestyles of Ministers and government officials), a time in which the bribing of state officials and politicians are taken for granted by members of the old and new business elites – all in the service of securing humongous bonuses for executives.
It is a time in which the 50 million South Africans who pay some form of tax are required to subsidise the lavish spending habits and the lifestyles of the few rich and famous individuals who are milking the state dry, all in the name of either respect for the free market or for the need to restore the dignity of those who were cruelly oppressed during apartheid (as if a person’s dignity can ever be measured in money terms and can be bought and sold like designer trinkets at a Houghton flea market).
It is a time in which voters are increasingly becoming more disillusioned with corrupt and greedy councillors; dithering, self-righteous demagogues masquerading as politicians; and smarmy, rapacious and often incompetent captains of big business.
In these times it is perhaps understandable that a politician languishing in the political wilderness in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) – the sad and ineffectual second house of Parliament where many political has-beens languish in pristine obscurity, secure in the knowledge that they have been rewarded for showing a special talent for mediocrity, blandness and the ability (so prized by politicians) never to allow an original thought to enter their brains, let alone to pass over their lips – that such a politician would take a stab at saying something he or she believes might be popular with voters.
It is understandable, yes, but not wise. Enters the esteemed Denis Joseph, DA MP in the NCOP, who told an ad hoc committee of that august institution during a debate on a draft code of conduct for judges that a strong message needed to be sent out to the members of the judiciary that they were not untouchable.

Nothing stops this parliament reviewing whatever is on the table and coming up with a new package … I get the impression that the judges feel that, because there was such an agreement, it should not be touched, it should be for life…. I think it’s important we tell these judges [that there are] many other laws we are changing, many systems we are changing. The judges must also realise that this new parliament is going to deal with them in terms of fairness and equality [for] all people who work for the state.

The danger is that this populist statement might find favour with the public. After all, are we not wasting money on salaries for judges, money that could be better spent on paying for textbooks and antiretroviral drugs, for houses for the homeless and more free water for those who cannot afford to pay for it?
But in my view this is a dangerous and irresponsible statement. I say so not because I am particularly fond of judges or that I think judges are beyond criticism. When judges act in ways that conflict with the values enshrined in the Constitution, when serving judges resist attempts to force them to declare their financial interests, for example, or when they interpret and enforce legislation, common law or customary law as if the Bill of Rights was never passed, when they apply the law as if male domination and heterosexism is not only accepted but required, they need to be lambasted in a vigorous manner.
But there are very good reasons why the Judges Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act provides for the continued payment of judges after their retirement, using a complicated formula to determine the exact amount of such a payment. Simply put: without the financial security provided by these provisions in the Act, the independence and impartiality of the judiciary will be seriously threatened. This is why section 76(3) of the Constitution states that: “The salaries, allowances and benefits of judges may not be reduced”.
In De Lange v Smuts the Constitutional Court confirmed that “a basic degree of financial security free from arbitrary interference by the executive in a manner that could affect judicial independence” was an absolute requirement for an independent and impartial judiciary. Quoting from a relevant Canadian judgment, the Court stated that:
The word ‘impartial’ . . . connotes absence of bias, actual or perceived. The word ‘independent’… reflects or embodies the traditional constitutional value of judicial independence. As such, it connotes not merely a state of mind or attitude in the actual exercise of judicial functions, but a status or relationship to others, particularly the Executive Branch of government, that rests on objective conditions or guarantees. Although judicial independence is a status or relationship resting on objective conditions or guarantees, as well as a state of mind or attitude in the actual exercise of judicial functions, it is sound, I think, that the test for independence… should be, as for impartiality, whether the tribunal may be reasonably perceived as independent. Both independence and impartiality are fundamental not only to the capacity to do justice in a particular case but also to individual and public confidence in the administration of justice. Without that confidence the system cannot command the respect and acceptance that are essential to its effective operation. It is, therefore, important that a tribunal should be perceived as independent, as well as impartial, and that the test for independence should include that perception. The perception must, however, as I have suggested, be a perception of whether the tribunal enjoys the essential objective conditions or guarantees of judicial independence, and not a perception of how it will in fact act, regardless of whether it enjoys such conditions or guarantees