Dinesh Trivedi 4
Lodi Estate
New Delhi
January 2, 2013
Respected
Prime Minister Sir,
I
write this letter with anguish, concern and a sense of responsibility, not only
as a Member of Parliament, but also as a common citizen of India. The series of
gruesome incidences taking place across the length and breadth of the country,
especially involving women, children and senior citizens, including the recent
barbaric gang rape involving a young girl aged 23 years, has shaken the
conscience of the common man. The incidences appear to be just the tip of the
iceberg, as there must be innumerable such unreported incidences of sexual
harassment be it at workplace, home or even in religious organizations.
The
prime essence of democracy is the rule of law, which our Constitution has
provided to one and all. It has taken the sacrifice of innumerable Indians to
get our freedom. Many Bhagat Singhs, Raj Gurus and Bismils have given up their
lives so that we as a nation feel secure and free. A democracy cannot survive
if the rule of law is applicable to only a selected few influential people like
politicians, civil servants or the rich and famous. Crime is on the rise and I
can say with a lot of concern that if this continues without immediate check
then we could lose the very essence of democracy. To my mind, these
incidences are just the symptoms of a cancer which is taking deep roots in
India. Till date, even after 65 years of independence, we are still being
governed by laws and acts which were framed by British rulers for them to rule
Indian subjects effectively, and not for our security and freedom. We are
still being governed by the 146 year old Police Act of 1861. It is a sorry
state of affairs that the mindset of the Government is the same as that of the
erstwhile British rule. Perhaps we have collectively become insensitive towards
the dignity of human beings and our conscience doesn't get shaken up by either
a terror attack, gang rape, or the very fact that millions of Indians sleep
hungry and without shelter. As a Member of Parliament I feel responsible not
only towards the people of my constituency, but to the entire nation. I see
young and bright students sitting in the gallery watching the proceedings of
the Parliament and getting traumatized after witnessing acrimony in the house,
their faces full of shock and disbelief. These young boys and girls are the
future of this country and they certainly deserve a better India of their
dreams and aspirations which they expect the political leadership to provide.
The
need of the hour is to recognize that somewhere we have failed to live up to
the expectations of the founding fathers of our great democracy.We should come together and seriously introspect to find solutions rather than
apportion blame. India is a country of bright and talented people second to
none and I have no doubt that if we get back our value system, it will not be
difficult to regain the true spirit of India. As the saying goes, “charity
begins at home” - we need to clean up our own house i.e. the legislature. As
per available information, there are many legislators with serious criminal
records. Their cases should be tried by fast track courts so that either they
are acquitted if proven not guilty, or convicted, as there is no place for a
single legislator with a criminal record to be either in the Assembly or the
Parliament. I had personally taken up the matter related to criminalization of politics,
namely Vohra Committee report, with the Hon’ble Supreme Court, whose judgment
is still pending implementation by successive Governments. There have been
various committee reports involving police reforms, including Padmanabhaiya
Committee, to meet the growing challenges. Mr Soli Sorabjee chaired a committee
that drafted a Model Police Act which is still gathering dust. The bottom
line is that the entire bureaucracy and the police have been completely
politicized and the system works only for their political masters (bosses) be
it Chief Ministers of States or the Union Ministers in the Cabinet. The
fact is that they should be working for the people and not their political
masters. Slowly but surely the common man is losing faith in democratic
institutions such as Parliament, CBI, CAG, Judiciary etc., despite these
institutions having a good number of capable and honest people. One of the few
steps that can be taken immediately is to do away with the exhibit and show of
power symbols, especially the privileges of the political class, such as beacon
lights, the right of way to ministers and VIPs, pilot cars, etc. The only
exception could be that of the Hon'ble President and Prime Minister, and that
too within civil limits. I hope you as the Prime Minister will realize the
danger signals hovering over our Nation which need to be addressed immediately
before this cancer consumes our democracy and we all are left only to regret.
It
is of utmost importance that the temple of democracy i.e. the Parliament should
function the way it is supposed to, without acrimony. Unfortunately the
Parliament is getting reduced to a mockery and hooliganism and the Hon'ble
Speaker is virtually terrorized (cutting across party lines) and forced to
adjourn the house time and again, hindering the normal functioning of the
Parliament. The politicians today appear to be serving their political
parties first rather than the Nation; their priority must be “COUNTRY FIRST”. I
strongly feel a legislator must take an oath of allegiance first to the country
along with the Constitution before entering Parliament or Legislative Assembly.
Unless
we act now, history will not pardon our disconnect with the aspirations of the
masses.
Yours
Sincerely,
Dinesh
Trivedi
To: Dr.
Manmohan Singh
Hon'ble Prime Minister of India
Why
a Jew can grow his beard in order to practice his faith
But
when Muslim does the same, he is an extremist and terrorist!
Why
a nun can be covered from head to toe in order to devote herself to God
But
when Muslimah does the same she's oppressed
When
a western women stays at home to look after her house and kids she is respected
because of sacrificing herself
But
when a Muslim woman does so by her will, they say, "she needs to be
liberated"!
Any
girl can go to university wearing what she wills and have her rights and
freedom?
But
when Muslimah wears a Hijab they prevent her from entering her university!
When
a child dedicates himself to a subject he has potential
But
when he dedicates himself to Islam he is hopeless!
When
someone sacrifices himself to keep others alive, he is noble and all respect
him.
But
when a Palestinian does that to save his son from being killed, his brother's
arm being broken, his mother being raped, his home being destroyed, and
his mosque being violated -- He gets the title of a terrorist! Why? Because
he is a Muslim!
When someone
drives a perfect car in a bad way no one blames the car .
But
when any Muslim makes a mistake or treats people in a bad manner - people
say "Islam
is the reason"!
Without
looking to the tradition of Islam, people believe what the newspapers say.
But question what the Quran says!
