Hypocrisy of GOI over the arrest of Devyani Khobragade

I would like to give a word of caution regarding the title before you start reading. If you assume that the title is meant to criticize the action of US, then you are definitely wrong. It is a take on the behavior of the GOI and the National media, and how they ended up looking like jokers to the people who can actually see through the actions of the government and media with regard to their behavior and attitude in such similar situations before.

      America, the name itself is sacred to our government and media who rejoiced and celebrated the victory of Barack Obama, as if he is the Rahul Gandhi of US. The US government arrested, strip-searched and humiliated Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade. This is over some ill-treatment of her maid by way of non-payment of proper wages and therefore resultant visa fraud. If there’s a crime it’s fair she pays a price but it’s her arrest despite being a listed diplomat and subsequent humiliation that has brought out all-round outrage in our Media and political circles. What would we have expected the Government to do? They removed the barricades outside the US embassy, stopped supply of alcohol to the embassy, declined to meet their delegations, tweeted and gave their opinions in panel discussions. Pardon my French, but what did those morons do for all these years? Isn’t this act against a diplomat a direct result of their sucking up to the US administration? Where were they when they actually had to register a protest for its behavior towards our citizens the umpteen number of times, when they were stripped and searched, detained and questioned for hours, before? The only thing that can be established from this incident is how good our Government is at making a fool out of itself.

   When APJ Abdul Kalam was searched and humiliated in US, the Government of India and our media houses let it pass. The only conclusion I can draw from this incident is that as APJ Abdul Kalam, was actually nominated by the Opposition NDA Government, hence his humiliation was tolerable. Because Subramaniam Swamy wrote a harsh article in India, the worshipers of Congress and Commies lobbied with Harvard to cancel his courses and get rid of him. Harvard obliged and what did the media or government do then? They were absolutely relieved that Swamy had been “snubbed” by Harvard. If you love an Indian being insulted by some entity in the US you will have more such experiences. The only time the Media and Government of India made a lot of noise is when Shahrukh Khan was held up. Oh, but he’s a “sickular” guy and also a Muslim so that is an affront to India. That is the hypocrisy of our media morons for you. Our sick media and Congress also celebrated when Wharton cancelled a video conference of Narendra Modi because of lobbying by the same morons. Of course, Modi is not an ‘Indian’ for them as he doesn’t belong to the breed of Congress, and so such behavior was approved by them. The incident of Baba Ramdev being detained didnt trigger any response from our GOI and media as, in the eyes of this Government, wearing saffron is equal to being an extremist and being treated like an animal.

    The heights of madness of this government and few MP’S were witnessed when these "sickular" morons wrote a letter to Barack Obama asking him to continue the entry ban on Narendra Modi. On what grounds do these sick people ask US to ban entry of a fellow Indian who is a CM, to be restricted from entering US. To my understanding these morons must have considered Gujarat to fall under the jurisdiction of USA and hence had tried to make him responsible for whatever had happened, there, without caring about the findings of Supreme Court, which gave Modi a clean chit. The media had made it a point of celebration whenever Mr. Modi was not allowed to US, what I failed to understand is whether Modi is responsible to US Government for them to put a travel ban on him for some incident that has happened in India. These "sickulars" continued their celebrations instead of knowing a simple fact which a school kid also would know that our problems are ours don’t let an outsider be a judge in our case. Begging US to insult one of your own doesn’t earn you respect but proves what sort of sick people you are.

   This Devyani episode too shall pass and the Congress GOI and Media will be back to sucking up to America as they have always done. India had signaled America to get lost after the nuclear tests of 1998 under Atal B. Vajpayee. The current government brought back the days of slavery to a government which doesn’t give a damn about India or Indian people. Looks like the idea of pledging support is now only decided on which regime you suck upto.

About The Author:-

    Manoj Reddy 
    3rd Year, BBA-LLB (Hons.)
    FOL, IFHE, Hyderabad

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Traditional Knowledge- An Introduction

An Eskimo hunter once saw a polar bear far off across flat ice, where he couldn’t stalk it without being seen.  But he knew an old technique of mimicking a seal.  He lay down in plain sight, conspicuous in his dark parka and pants, then lifted and dropped his head like a seal, scratched the ice and imitated flippers with his hands.  The bear mistook his pursuer for prey.  Each time the hunter lifted his head the animal kept still; whenever the hunter slept, the bear crept closer.  When it came near enough, a gunshot pierced the snowy silence.  That night, polar bear meat was shared among the villagers.[1]

What helped the hunter capture his prey is knowledge greater than his own. It consisted of a method modified by generations of hunters. It consisted of the combination of the experiences of the ancestors of the hunter who had observed the polar bear and its habits.  No one can surely tell where this knowledge or know-how actually originated from. Such knowledge, as such, belongs to the community or group of people where it originates from. But in most cases the local indigenous groups, who are in possession of such kind of knowledge, may not be aware of or interested in protecting their intellectual properties under patents or copyrights.

 Traditional knowledge (TK) can be considered as the collection or combination of knowledge, know-how, skills and practices that are developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity of the said community and unique to it.

There is no universally accepted definition of Traditional Knowledge, but the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) classifies its definition into two aspects:

·         TK in a general sense embraces the content of knowledge itself as well as traditional cultural expressions, including distinctive signs and symbols associated with TK.

·         TK in the narrow sense refers to knowledge as such, in particular the knowledge resulting from intellectual activity in a traditional context, and includes know-how, practices, skills, and innovations.

Traditional knowledge can be found in a wide variety of contexts, including: agricultural, scientific, technical, ecological and medicinal knowledge as well as biodiversity-related knowledge.[2]

While it is true that Traditional Knowledge can be protected under the current prevailing legislations related to patents, trademarks, trade secrets etc, but due to certain factors unique to Traditional Knowledge, none of these laws currently provide sufficient protection.  Few of the reasons behind this are;

1)      Lack of an internationally accepted definition, standard or policy regarding traditional knowledge.

2)      Lack of a clear idea regarding what is and what is not traditional knowledge leading to presence of loopholes in the laws.

3)      Traditional Knowledge in most cases is an oral form of knowledge passed down from generations. That leads to no written document, scripture or proof of the origin or source of the knowledge.

4)      Unlike other form of non-traditional knowledge, Traditional Knowledge rights are given to the people of a certain community. ( A lot like Geographical Indicators) 

5)      There is a difference of opinion among the members of the EU and countries like USA regarding the best method for safe guarding Traditional Knowledge.

While it is true that a few countries have adopted the sui generis system of legislations to protect TK and the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), which is a collaborative project between Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology and Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has been estabilised in India to protect the traditional medicinal knowledge like Unani and Ayurveda from being exploited by MNCs ( such acts are also known as biopiracy), there is still some work to be done before it can be safely stated that the interests of all the parties, especially those natives, who want to be left to their own without the interference of the ‘outside world’, is respected and protected, without the greater good of the world sacrificed.  

---

[1] http://www.nativescience.org/html/traditional_knowledge.html

[2] http://www.wipo.int/tk/en/tk/

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ILS Pune Debate

So, it a debate, it is in Pune, and you all should come 

Greetings Debaters!

It's that time of the year again! Oh yes, We’re proud to announce that ILS Law College will be hosting its annual debating tournament - Justice Tarkunde National Parliamentary Debate, 2014 (Second Edition).

Scheduled to be held from 18th January to 20th January, 2014 we'll bring to you, a top notch tournament with THE best Adj Core, truly rewarding prize money,
comfortable accommodation, lip-smacking food (We know how important that
is!) and a really warm OC!

To register, follow the links given below :

Institution Registration:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DE09bMK0s6nPk1K1T903sqOPkKYvgM_yCGeUSupkvOY/viewform

Cross-Team Registration:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1FAfeAmYSvmCiHnnUYiMxWtgHO9BhWsUrDFmpS1jTndY/viewform

Independent Adjudicator Registration:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17OKskkgcMmPYt2jrDWgiuXql_g9-AujSMHnuj9r0d44/viewform

Save the dates 'cause it's going to be one heck of an experience, the kind
you'd never forget! So gear up for some mind-blowing debates this season,
‘cause we're ready to give you one!

See you all at the ILS Debate - The first time you're excited, the second
time you'ready!

Best Wishes and Regards,

ILS Debate Society

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Interview With Surendra Ananth- President of ALSA

In conversation with Surendra Ananth, current President of the Asian Law Students Association.

Q) Tell us something about ALSA and its history?

The ASEAN Law Students’ Association was established at the First ASEAN Law Students’ Conference in Jakarta, 18 May 1989. By 2002, the five member countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, came to the idea of extending its scope of membership in order to enhance the achievement of its objectives.

The International Law Students’ Association of Peking University (ILSA PKU) which represents ALSA China was established in March, 2003.

The Law Association, Hong Kong University Students’ Union (LA, HKUSU) was established in 1969. It has long been a local student body serving law students in the University of Hong Kong. According to its constitution, LA, HKUSU represents its members locally and internationally. After attending a few conferences held by ALSA, it decided to join the ALSA.

Enlightened by the vision and purpose of European Law Students’ Association in 1996, the Japanese law students decided to set up an Asian Law Students’ Association in East Asian countries. By the Seoul Declaration in 2001, the International Department of Legal Aid Association of Peking University, ALSA Japan, ALSA Korea and ALSA Taiwan officially decided to continue to discuss how to build a network between the countries. In 2002, after the Korean Conference and in the Asian Forum held in Japan, the merging with the ASEAN Law Students’ Association was agreed. This was made upon the vision and purpose of the first ALSA members.

The basis for the national committee of the Asian Law Students’ Association in Korea was first created by Seoul National University law school students in 1998 through ALSA SNU, a full national committee by the name of the Asian Law Student’s Association of Korea was formed in the summer of year 2000 consisting of two universities; Seoul National University and Ewha Woman’s University.

The ASEAN Law Students’ Association which is composed of the member countries Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand represented by Mr. NitiNernchamnong, representatives of the International Department of Legal Aid Association of Peking University, Law Association, Hong Kong University Students’ Union of the University of Hong Kong (LA, HKUSU), Asian Law Students’ Association Japan (ALSA Japan), Asian Law Students’ Association Korea (ALSA Korea) and Asian Law Students’ Association Taiwan (ALSA Taiwan) attended the Asian forum and signed the Tokyo Agreement on 7 September 2002 to agree to merge into a single association which took effect by a resolution passed unanimously by ASEAN Law Students’ Association, the International Law Students’ Association of Peking University formerly known as the International Department of Legal Aid Association of Peking University, LA, HKUSU, ALSA Japan, ALSA Korea and ALSA Taiwan on 23 October 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand.

That sums up our long history. As of now, we have 14 member countries with 12,000 student members. The main goal of this association is to develop the skills and talents of its members to help them in various aspects of their professional career. It is association rich with cultural diversity, as our members come from different races and religions. However, we believe that regardless of our background, we exist as one. Thus our motto, ‘ALSA Always Be One’.

Q) Tell us about how you joined ALSA and your initial days?

I joined ALSA as a first year student in the National University of Malaysia. I was active in the university chapter, before I was involved in the organizing committee for the ALSA International Conference in Kuala Lumpur. During my third year of studies, I was elected as the President of ALSA Malaysia. It was during my final or fourth year of studies that I was elected as President of ALSA International.

Q) Can law students from countries not a part of ALSA be involved with ALSA.?

Constitutionally, one has to be in a existing national chapter to become a member. However, non-member students can still be involved, if the host of an event allows

Q) How long have you been the President of ALSA?

For about 3 and a half months since end of August 2013.

Q) What do you rank as the greatest achievement of ALSA under you?

Currently, we are realizing plans and projects put forth by our predecessors. We are still at a very early stage. However an achievement to note would be the release of the Asian Journal of Legal Studies [http://ajls-alsa.com/archive/], where credit must be given to its editor, Adrian Fong.

Q) What are your plans regarding the growth of ALSA in the near future?

We have a few major projects in place. One to note would be the establishment of our very own Moot Court Competition. We are preparing the ground work, and we expect to launch it in early 2015. We are also coming up with a systematic exchange program, where law students would be able to carry out internships in other countries through ALSA.

Q) Tell us in brief about some activities that ALSA conducts for the benefit of Asian Law students.

Our 2 major activities would be the ALSA Conference and ALSA Forum. In these events, we organize debate competitions, moot competitions, workshops, table discussions and many other academic activities. This is a great platform for law students to be exposed to the different legal systems in Asia. It is also a great opportunity for international networking.

In addition, we have about 6 Study Trips per year organized by different countries. Our partnership with the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) and the Australian Law Students’ Association (AusLSA) enables our members to attend their conferences in Europe and Australia respectively. Members also have access to summer law school programs in Europe through ELSA.

To conclude, there are countless benefits for students.

Q)  How can Law students of different countries be working members of ALSA and work for it?

The president of each National Chapter is a member of the Governing Council, which is the decision making body for ALSA. Despite coming from 14 different backgrounds, we have had no problems or issues when working together.

Q) Your message for all budding lawyers and future law students.

Do not stick to your books and grades. Networking is extremely crucial. In the era of globalization, your network makes all the difference. It is very important to be exposed in the international arena, may it be through ALSA, Moot or other competitions. Unlike the past, law students in the present are presented with a lot of opportunities to hone their skills. My advice is to make use of these opportunities. Dreams will only remain dreams if you don’t put in effort to turn them into reality.

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Call for Papers

Indian Journal of Legal Philosophy (IJLP) (ISSN: 2347-4963) invites 

1. Articles, 
2. Short Notes, 
3. Book Reviews and 
4. Case Commentaries 

from the legal fraternity of the country for Volume 2, Issue 1, January - March 2014.

Submissions may be sent to editor@ijlp.in. 

Last date for submissions of paper is 28th February, 2014.

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Law School Myths:- Cracking Clat

Before you proceed reading further, let me tell you exactly what this is about. This is about all you people who made it to the NLU’s and also about all of those who didn’t. This isn’t a story about how amazing Law Universities are.  It’s about the people, not the places. Now that I have generated enough curiosity and confusion in your mind to be sure that you will read the entire thing before judging, let me begin.

So, you fought with the demon called CLAT and made it into a NLU? Good job! You must be on top of cloud 9, right? You must already be thinking how you’re the next CJI or maybe Salve. NEWS FLASH: - You are nothing right now. I am sorry, let me re-phrase it. You are nothing unless you prove otherwise. Let this sink in.

Now let me tell you why. And the reason is so simple after I am done explaining even you would admit that I am right. Getting into an NLU doesn’t make you great. Cracking CLAT doesn’t mean that you are the God of Law (Sorry folks, I know it might come as a shock to a few of you, but the tons you learn in your CLAT coaching classes, isn’t enough to even help you pass first year.) . I have met more people than I care to remember who cracked CLAT and made it to one of the top NLU’s without the slightest idea as to the difference between the Bar and the Bench. I refuse to go into a discussion as to how ‘difficult’ CLAT is (Anyone who has given CLAT or compared the different years papers would get my hint.). The point here is that, if you really think you are amazing just because you passed CLAT, you wouldn’t need college, would you?

Something similar needs to be noted by the so called non- NLU law students. Just cause you are not in the top law college of the country doesnt mean that you get the right to whine about the lack of opportunities. Yes, it might a a minor setback, but in the legal world if you are really good enough, you can always find opportunities for yourself. Being a student of a non-NLU student is not an excuse for not working hard enough to get opportunities. Ultimately it doesnt matter where you come from, what matters is where you intend to reach. If you try hard enough you will succeed. Never blame the situations for your failure, cause the situations are more often than not, a direct or indirect result of your own actions.

All NLU students kindly consider this, only 2-5 % of every batch to pass out of a Law School is considered its “cream.” But you might say, “Hey, what the hell? I am a NLU pass-out. I deserve to be picked by a Law firm before all the other riff-raff from other colleges.”  Being in a NLU doesn’t make you special or great. There are over a thousand of students passing out from all the different NLU’s all over India. At the best, a mere 50 law students would shine extraordinarily each year, maybe even less. And guess what, all those 50 students won’t be just from the NLUs. While it is true that there are more success stories in NLUs than other law schools, these credit for those success stories goes to the students alone.

A lot of students lose the potential they initially had when they make it to any college, that is when they let their ego and prides get into their head. The reason why NLISU, NALSAR, WBNUJS are deemed so highly even among NLUs, is not cause whoever makes it there is amazing. It is because these colleges shine, shape and give you all the opportunities that a student might need to outshine. But that doesn’t mean that you will shine. The colleges work is to shine. Whether you are a diamond or mere rock is for you to decide.

So let me summarize what I am going on about for all those who didn’t pick up the hint yet. Law colleges are amazing, but just because you are in one doesn’t mean you are amazing. Getting into a top law college doesn’t make you special. Surviving it does. Surviving doesn’t mean merely passing the 5 years. No, that would be called escaping. Surviving means understanding the complex, ever evolving world of law and adapting yourself to it. Look at it like this, Law is like a dangerous jungle safari. The colleges are those guides who instruct you on methods of survival in the wild. The top NLUs would be those experienced guides who would provide you with the latest high-tech resource. A new unknown college would mean you need to be more determined and put more effort than others in your line. But just because you have the resources at your disposal doesn’t guarantee their proper use, does it? This is where my point lies. How you use your resources depends on the individual. Any Law school can tell you what will be the best and the worst case scenario. They won’t help you when things turn bad in the real world. The fact is that in the long run it doesnt matter which law school you are from. It is you who should be special to begin with. Similarly, those not in NLU’s should sit and cry about the lack of opportunities. In Law School, there is nothing called lack of opportunities. NLU or not, if you are good enough, you will make it. In this respect Law is a lot like mathematics. You either understand it, or you don’t, you can’t be forced to learn it, irrespective of whether you are in NLUJ, GLC or SOL Christ University.

Out there in the real world, where you come from isn’t as important as what you can do. It is not about your college, it is about what you have done in that 5 year except just passing your subjects.

It should be noted that the writer has no problem whatsoever with NLU’s or other colleges. This writing is merely a satire. A dark humor aimed at Law students anywhere who initially deem themselves above rest of human race simply because we are in a Law School.  

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The Shehzada, Mango Man and a Vikas Purush : A tale of election 2013

        To a country that has been a witness to umpteen elections, the winning or losing of a party is not an unusual phenomenon. The sphere of democracy has seen many stalwarts as well as new stars rise, fall and retain their power in the political setup of our country. But the one that has risen today whose win is a reflection of aspirations of people and the dissatisfaction is none other than Arvind Kejriwal, who was called an ‘ant’ by a congress minister. He has emerged to be the giant slayer who has reduced the grand old party to a mere third by defeating a veteran like Sheila Dixit giving a fitting reply to the existing parties that he is here to stay and that the process of shift has just begun. This is the story of a "mango man" and his party (Aam Aadmi Party) which evinces a striking fact that what is being sought by people is not free schemes but instead, good, clean and accountable governance where their mandate is respected.

       Defeats are normal in politics and there is absolutely no dishonour in losing a democratic election. Some defeats are tolerable, others are severe. Either way, it is how a party and its leaders respond to that defeat that defines their character. But the Shehzada doesn’t seem to have learnt anything from the crushing defeat in the UP election in 2012. The "escape velocity" for development and change cannot be attained by mere words but with conviction and actions. Tearing away one piece of legislation and giving free schemes by more legislations is not all what people are asking for, and it’s high time that the prince understands the fact that only "will power and confidence" doesn’t help one to overcome an election and discontent of people.  It’s time for the prince to step into reality and concede that the party in his leadership is a wreck and he needs to do more than just imagining of bringing about a change. This would be one birthday gift to the Congress President to see and accept that they are completely decimated in Rajasthan and Delhi and are helpless while BJP got a hattrick in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

      Everything now points to the BJP emerging as the single largest party, by some distance in the coming Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of "Vikas Purush" i.e the man of development, Narendra Modi. Undoubtedly, the momentum is for BJP and it has to maintain and simultaneously consolidate its position. The job only gets tougher and tougher for Modi to sell his development model and ideas in a more effective way as Chattisgarh and Delhi tell us that there is no Modi wave to neutralise the local factors. The credit for the victory of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan should be given to the stellar performance of Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s government which could triumph over the anti-incumbency wave and take the party to a third term in the state which has shown that Shivraj is a Modi in making.  Coming to Rajasthan, the fruitful results are an outcome of Raje's efficient portrayal of pathetic performance of Gehlot government that was labelled as a corrupt incompetent government. In the battle for India, Modi has to navigate his party through the minefields of Bihar and UP moving from the comfort of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. He has to play his cards safe with an array of regional satraps watching him to bet on the outcome at the right moment.

About The Author:-

    Manoj Reddy 
    3rd Year, BBA-LLB (Hons.)
    FOL, IFHE, Hyderabad.

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LEGAL STARTUPS IN INDIA: LAW IN AN SOCIAL NETWROKING ERA - Part I

      In India, Law has always been regarded as a subject which drags you more into books. But, after the introduction of five year law courses this stream of education has taken a professional shift. The new curriculum has brought new innovations where law can be pursued within the traditional discipline and even beyond that. The experiments in the form of interdisciplinary law courses and recently, the introduction of legal studies by CBSE in the intermediate level have welcomed such products.

Law is equipped with co-curricular activities in which mooting is at the first place. Information about Moot Court competitions is available at different websites like Students at Law(http://studentatlaw.in/ ), Advocate Khoj ( http://www.advocatekhoj.com/ ), Law Mantra (http://lawmantra.org/  )  and Lawctopus (http://www.lawctopus.com/ ) . News about the happenings in the legal and the extra-legal world are available at websites like Live Law (http://www.livelaw.in/ ), Legally India (http://www.legallyindia.com/ ), Bar and Bench (http://www.barandbench.com/ ). Other activities which are a part of the Law School are MUNs, Parliamentary debates and the very recent Mock Parliaments and MUNs. Updates on these are also available on the mentioned websites.

Depicting the biased nature of the author here, I hereby return back to my story. When suddenly one day I navigated through the webpages of The Knowledge Steez (http://knowledgesteez.wordpress.com/ ), I found information regarding ‘Call for Papers’, Internships, workshops and Essay writing Competitions.  After several enquiries, I eventually landed up finding out what these things actually meant and what ‘The Knowledge Steez’ actually was. In the whole course of navigation, I came across websites like Conference Alert (http://conferencealerts.com/) and The Social Science Informer (http://thesocialscienceinformer.blogspot.com/). Information on Legal Internships is also available on Click Internship (http://clickinternship.wordpress.com/). Legal Trigger is again a player in the league(www.legaltrigger.com ).

Moreover, the solutions of these websites are available at Facebook groups like Law Students in India (https://www.facebook.com/groups/lawstudentsofindia/) and Legal Point (https://www.facebook.com/groups/legalpoint/ ). For the Sake of Argument (http://sbfsa.blogspot.in/ ) is also a takeoff. These are a few; and there are many more.

  The above article is a part of the Law In Social Networking Era Series. Please keep visiting for the next part of this article.

Author:-

Tejaswini Ranjan

2nd Year, CNLU

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INDIAN MEDIA AND THE ALLIED DEBATES - Part I

Media is the fourth pillar of Indian democracy. It is a source of information, awareness and also, a mode creating sensational news. The visual and the apparent resources entrusted with media inevitably make media a responsible entity. Therefore, “ETHICS” to regulate media becomes very much important in a country like India where multiple societal faiths exist. Nowadays, most of the part of a newspapers front page is filled with advertisements; this clearly indicates that the idea to make more and more money is on ascendant.Also, media has continuously been publishing news which keeps it away from the informational and educational pursuit.

Now the interrogation which stands up is “Should Media be regulated?”. In the first overview, the answer ascends an affirmation but when we inspect the norms of Indian democracy, the idea is subject to negation. The Fundamental Rights enumerated in the Indian Constitution here play a judgmental role. On one side, these rights provide the ‘Freedom of Speech’ but on the other side, they restrict this freedom. This makes the regulation a subject to debate.

The recent arrest of two editors of a reputed news channel in relation to the “Paid News” on the Coalgate scam has also become pejorative. The arrest of the two girls on their updates on the death of a leader in India is again critical. The reporting guidelines for Media are a directive again; the question is how much is that justified. Moreover, media in India is not limited to the contemporary designation; it extends to social media as well. The pros and cons taking in account all the trends and types are to be discussed in furtherance of this debate.


 This is a part of the series of Analysis of Indian Media & Journalism. Please keep checking for the next part.

Author:-

Tejaswini Ranjan
2nd year, CNLU,

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HARVARD 2014 CONFERENCE , APPLY

THEME : The Many Faces of Asia: Shaping Identities in a Dynamic World

Dates: February 14-17, 2014
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

Deadlines :
November 1, 2013 - Application opens
November 30, 2013 - Early application deadline
December 15, 2013 - Regular application deadline 
January 10, 2014 - Early registration deadline 
January 20, 2014 - Regular registration deadline

The Official Promotional Video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDWZLNfJpXY

LINK : http://www.hpair.org/conf/hconf2014/

CONFERENCE AMBASSADOR : TEJASWINI RANJAN (tej049@gmail.com)

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“My Country”- Right or Wrong?

I am reminded of a parable of Mencius, the disciple of Confucius. If a child were on the brink of falling into the well, we spontaneously reach out to save it. And this is not done to win public acclaim or to merit the gratitude of the parents of the child. It is simply something which our humanity deep down within us impels us to do.

Affluence creates a weak person and a fragile culture. On the other hand, the confrontation with human suffering and response in terms of compassion has developed in the victims some of the values we require to sustain a different world - solidarity, humaneness, the spirit of sharing, technique of survival, readiness for risk-taking, endurance and steely determination in the midst of adversities. In the world of the victims, unlike in the world of globalisation, the good does not get identified with the “successful”. The good and the just are the ideals the world needs to relentlessly strive after.

There ought to be a moral restraint on nationalism. This is not only because of the violence, oppression, war and destruction an emotionally charged national chauvinism could cause to others who do not belong to the nation, but also because of the oppression nationalism could cause to the poor and the weak within its own boundaries.

One of the unfortunate things we are witnessing today in global politics is the absence of even a modicum of ethics and moral consideration. The Chanakkiyan or Machiavellian approach to power and expediency seem to rule the political realm under the guise of nationalism. The primary way of practising ethics in the ambit of politics in general and nationalism in particular is transcendence and openness. The ‘religious’ character with which nationalism is vested could blinker the vision and call for allegiance of the people for violence, crimes and inhumanity. There will be no hesitation to resort to ethnic cleansing, in order to uphold the ‘nation’ and its interests. Under the label of “anti-national” or “unpatriotic”, critical voices that awaken a nation from the nationalist passion to reason and sobriety, could be stifled. Like Noam Chomsky there are, fortunately, men and women in every country who critically challenge an uncritical and anti-humanist nationalism. 

The secular ideal of democracy is often procedural and formal. If democracy is the prevalence of the will of the majority in governance, then this is a very dangerous conception, since under the cloak of democracy what would happen is the “tyranny of the majority”. Rightly did John Stuart Mill in his time raise the critical question, “how could a minority be free when it is forced to conform to the will of the majority?” The institution of formal democracy could co-habit with religious nationalism of the majority. In this way, religious nationalism becomes even more dangerous, because it can easily wear the democratic mask to impose itself on the rest of the identities in a polity. All this shows a mere liberal and secular nationalism alone cannot respond to the issue of diversity and plurality of identities.

This Article Is A Part Of The Utopia Series. Utopia is not an unreal figment of imagination, or a chimera we chase in futility. It is the projection of another real order of things, a different set of values, and a new shape of the world and society. The suppressed identities, women, minorities, Dalits and tribals and all those who are marginalised in any way project their utopias. Utopia leaps out from the shoulder of may struggles to glimpse and experience the new and the different. Critique is indissociable from utopias.

Collected & Contributed By- 

Agriti Shrivastava,

Article Analyst, FSA

CNLU, Patna

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