New Chapter

Hello,

I have now started writing on my own blog www.legaldrift.com.

My subsequent write ups would be published there. Thanks to all who have shown interest in my blog. Legal Drift would not have been possible without the support given by readers of meghnaatnliu.wordpress.com.

Thanks

Meghna

IS IT GAY TIME FOR GAYS?

Meeting of souls and not that of bodies is the Indian definition of marriages. Well then what about  marriage between same sexes? is it a taboo? Is it justified ? More importantly is it legal?

According to Section 377 of the IPC, framed in 1860, ‘‘Whosoever has carnal intercourse voluntarily against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall be liable to fine.’’

The Delhi High Court Decision on 2 July 2009, in the case of Naz Foundation v National Capital Territory of Delhi,  struck down much of S. 377 of the IPC as being unconstitutional. The Court held that S. 377 violated the fundamental rights of an individual enshrined in Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian constitution. However it did not strike down S. 377 completely – it held the section was valid to the extent it related to non-consensual non-vaginal intercourse or to intercourse with minors.

The decision is binding only in the territory of Delhi and has persuasive value elsewhere. Therefore a proper legislation is required in this regard.

The legislation may take some time and until that is done the gays would be subject to cruelties and torture. There have been many cases in this regard may lesbians were raped after their non- consensual marriages. In 2001 gays were forced into medication to cure them. The treatment included aversion therapy and shock treatment. The case was not rejected by the NHRC under section 377.

Many people say that the gays are as normal as you and me. But are they? Have they the same rights as I and You have? They are not treated equally when the constitution says that there should be equality before law and there should be no discrimination on basis of sex, creed, race etc. The homosexuals are belittled by almost every section of the society. They are subject to both legal and social discrimination. Manvanvendra Singh Gohil the first royal to declare himself a gay and Zoltan Parag faced many troubles after declaring their sexual orientation.

It is worth noting  that a recent report suggests that legalizing homosexuality has reduced HIV and AIDS cases.  Even Ramadoss said ignoring this community will weaken India’s fight against HIV. “At present, any doctor treating a gay for HIV can be jailed. In one instance, a social worker languished in jail for nine months for trying to treat a gay HIV infected person,” he said

Rules are framed to suit needs of people and these laws should evolve with time. Manusmiriti declared homosexual behaviour as an offence but the case was similar for other practices which are no longer illegal. Sati, dowry or child marriage were apt historically but later the practices were abrogated. Similar is the case with laws relating to homosexuality. With the growing population of LGBT in India and South Asia there is a need for change in section 377.

Are Indians as ACCEPTED around the World as They Claim they Are? – My Views on Racisim Against Indians

Well it feels great to write again after such a long time. Let me think what should I write… ok!! I can write on a very recent happening which in some way or other affects each and every one of us.

Indians across the world are agitated about the racial incidents that occurred recently in Australia. Similar events have occurred in various other parts of the world.

This event disturbed me too, not particularly because I m an Indian, but because no matter how much we boast about globalisation in the true sense we are not a global community. Issues like migration and brain drain have not only effected the developing countries but have also posed a threat to the developed ones. 

Major conflicts around the world are not only just because of racism. What I believe is that the reason lies not in skin colour but in human nature. We hate it when someone tries to take our piece of cake and this hatred turns man into beast. This has happened in ancient times and will continue happening always.

In Sri Lanka, in U.S.A, in Canada & in Australia, you just name any single place on earth and you can see that the ethnic population has faced problems due to the labour from other countries especially India. I think we need to tackle a more massive problem than racism. 

I believe that in the true sense we haven’t globalised. We have exchanged civilizations, commodities, clothing, food etc, but we are still reluctant to exchange people. Why am I saying so? Well because we have become a global village when it comes to enjoying Italian Pizza’s in Canada, Spanish Salsa in India or French Houte Couture in U.S.A but when it comes to people we have our own reservations.

Most of the people respect both the culture and dignity of other nations but they are some who think otherwise. The minority syndrome has always cropped up both nationally and internationally. I wonder what is the difference between what occurred in Australia and that which took place in Maharashtra. Both events were disgusting and were driven by regionalism.

 It is strange that people adopt foreign things but not people. Lets first accept people and then their culture because their culture is incomplete without them. Lets make the world  not only a global market but a global village.

CRUSH your crushes.. be in love

Ah! I m in love… After a week I think I was in love… a month later i realized  oh that was just a stupid crush…

Well that’s what happens all the time. You wish he would buy you chocolates, gifts and flowers, wait for him to get a glance of him, dream of him every night, make his friends happy, dress to please him and do everything to make him yours. But unfortunately after some time you laugh out at your immaturity.

Prior to this teasers by friends was delightful but now its irritating. What was special is now rotten. Smiles are no longer shared and neither is the excitement. You think nothing special in the guy you could literally die for.

This happens all the time. Your hormones embarrass you in front of your friends who try as hard as a cupid to bring you to closer. Crushes make you feel love. Although love is more meeting of minds than of eyes. But infatuation is something that gives you the doubt of being in love. And believe me the journey of finding whether it is love or liking is the most thrilling experience of adolescence.

Love is something you feel within your heart and infatuation is something people tell you about. Given an option prefer to be in love forever but if don’t then what’s bad in loving in installment!!!!!!!!!

Women may rely on the Live In Relationship | Maharashtra, India Government

Adam and Eve never married but they are loved for being the epitome of love. If Romeo and Juliet would have married their love would not have been ETERNAL too. So the moral of the story is marriage curtails space and invites responsibilities and a live-in relation is the one which has commitment without questions and sex without restrictions.

This popular ideology of the west has also effected the east. The Indian values of husband is god and love begins after marriage may not sound absurd with present situation and scenario. There are conflicting views on this issue. My mother would definitely oppose me to be in such relations but may be my friends wont. And so is the case with Maharashtra’s government.

According to the government the section 125 of the CrPC needs to be altered. They intend to change the definition of the term “wife” to help the females who live with a man for a considerably “LONG TIME”. Although it would be on the discretion of the courts to decide what would be called the reasonably long time. This will give the sexual partners and so called other women to claim alimony from their spouse equivalent.

On one hand it would help the women who have no idea about their husband’s First marriage and those who are ditched by their boy friends after sexual exploitation on the other hand it may encourage BIGAMY and ADULTERY. The legal binding to the illegal intimacy would make it equivalent to marriage. So why not marry and have social acceptance too?

Well people may have different opinions about this controversial topic. According to me the merits balance the demerits. A 24 year old girl may need as much as security from her boy friend as 42 year old wife from her husband. This may be a step to bring the generations closer and make the youth responsible.

The drawback lies in its illucidity of words. IF REASONABLY LONG PERIOD then why not define it? Other concern is about the extramarital affairs and polygamy. Wont the law do justice to one lady but ruin the whole family of another? Is it making polygamy and adultery legal? All these questions demand an answer…. The answer that may be judge the validity of the issue.

Law and Public

 LAW is something people look upto when it comes to maintainace of job decorum. Every sentence of the judgement is binding in one way or the other. It hardly matters even if it is a blackletter law. Verdict of the judges is the command for the common. However in a democracy like ours the legislature and the executive have a major role to play. They can ofcourse question a decision through legislative procedures and change it sometimes. But its ultimately the judgement OF THE COURT which prevails.

In the conflict of power all the organs the organs of the state i.e. the legislature, executive and the judiciary take their own constitutional paths to gain superimacy. In the end what matters is who has the law on his side and how well he interpretates it. Its all about keeping the better card with you all the time.

The court has a decoram and hierarchy that is above the other two. A judge can not be pessurised by a cabinat as in case of the executive. It’s true that most of the decisions in our country are more or less influenced by the political conditions, media trials and the prevailing mindsets of the common. But the fact remains if a judge wants to be unbiased nothing in the world can stop him to do so. Rendering justice is far above than the VOTE BANK politics. It is something that should not separate human from human.

In the latest singur issue the verdict was that:

“There was no colourable exercise of power by the Government during acquisition of this land. Landowners who are not satisfied with the compensation amount may move the land acquisition collector”.

Commenting on the judgment, the State Advocate-General said: “The Judges have observed that the land acquisition is valid and just. The court also upheld that the acquisition was for a public purpose. It was a bona fide exercise of power on the part of the Government”.

Accordingly the hopes of the left’s industrial policy would have been left out. Thus verdict has given them a big relief. But of no use. The demand for adequate compensation was the main crux of the issue. There is a massive opposition by Mrs. Mamta Banerjee and her allies. The protest resulted in the physical assualt of two watchmen of the tata motors. Thus Tata is now thinking of withdrawing from SINGUR.

It can be seen that legal issue might have been setteled but the pubic issue was not. Mass Reaction can lead to great revelutions. Thus {Salus populi suprema lex est  the wefare of people should be the supreme law}

Delhi bomb blasts

Delhi, the Heart of India was STRUCK by the serial bomb blasts on the 13thSeptember. It resulted in 18 deaths and 100 casualities. The bombs were located in the posh public areas and renowned market places. These markets form the identity of the city. They are flooded by not only shopkeepers and local shopaholics but by the tourists too.

Who were the victims?

The victims were general Public or mob which cannot be distinguished on basis of religion, caste or creed. They are the normal people who walk on the road, who have simple interests, normal income and lots of responsibilities. They are the ones who have a family to maintain, a career to settle and expectations to fullfill. These people are unaware of what is going behind the back doors of politicians. All they care is to have a peaceful life and a dignified death.

Why were they targeted?

of course to have a greater impact. The more the people die the more they succeed. They aim to have greater causalities every now and then. Their logic is simple. They want to create fear in the minds of the common people. They target the very foundation of democracy. The places they plant bombs are crowded which helps them in many ways. first, they have a greater chance of escape, secondly the causalities will be more, and last of all in a situation like stampede more and more people will die.

Why India?

India is a country which is blessed with almost everything be it geographical, economic or human power. It is one of the fastest evolving countries. Apart from the Kashmir issue, the growing Indian economy can also be a reason.

What are its effects?

Well the effects can be devastating. India is land where Muslims have shred blood equivalent to the Hindus. The terrorists are aiming to strain the secular relations of the citizens. They also intend to effect the tourism industry to a great extent. They want India to be politically and economically weak. They want to earn power and position by sitting on the pile of the bodies of the victims.

What is India’s Reaction?

Well India is country which has always stood by its principles. I know he have lost our brothers and sisters in this fight and believe me its just not a sentence. Indians feel for their country as they feel for their mother. They have decided to combat terrorism and they will succeed.

Pursuit of Happyness – The True Happiness !!

What amounts to happiness? In my opinion happiness is something that makes a person feel good internally. A personfeels better even thinking about certain things. When a beggar is given a Penny the feeling of contentment seen on his face is the definition of happiness for me. People already fulfilled in life may not expirience complete happiness ever. It can be only cherished when you have scarcity. It may not necessarily be on the economic front.

A girl who is deprived of the support of her family for further studies would be more than delighted if she is gifted books from her father. A child labour would wish to  play one day with his friends without getting his wages cut. A women who is subject to marital violence would experience epitome of joy if her husband talks to her nicely. An entrepreneur would love it if someone praises his efforts.

Happiness is something which can never be quantified. Its an abstract thing which you feel every year when you cut your birthday cake. Its the joy of admiring the sunrise at the sea shore. Its the satisfaction which you get when you make your parents proud. HAPPINESS to me is the genuine smile one gives when he/she achieves something. Its is not not only psychological but makes psychological impact too.

HAPPINESS is the first footstep to optimism .

Give stress some stress

Stress!!!! what is it? It is the bread and butter of the present times.It is the consequence of the incapability to adapt change.

Well if you say that you don’t get stressed then you live in a Utopian world. STRESS is something that is encountered by all of us whether we like it or not. Change is the inherent feature of any activity. TRANSFORMATION leads to improvisation and new beliefs. But how susceptible are we to these changes is what determines the level of our stress.  Every change is a challenge to the set ideology which is again and again challeged to evolve and grow into new beliefs. A traditional Hindu father would not appreciate his daughter to wear mini skirts but if she does it ll amount to stress for him.

Then whats the remedy ? Well if you cant readily accept changes in your professional life,family affairs,social thinking,academic front etc then don’t just criticize things as they are. Because the world never changes for you. You have to adapt certain changes and criticize them logically if possible.For example, half a century ago women in India used to follow purdah system delicately,time changed and now the women freely move around conversing with the opposite sex with no hesitation. Now the traditional father, I mentioned above must give  a thought to his daughters  perspective. What he concludes may be what he perceived at the first instance.

Well the things are not as simple as projected by me.You take time to adjust to these transformations.What to do till then?what are many ways to overcome stress?  Well one is meditation. It is the panacea of all most all mental disorders and psychosomatic pains. The other one being the pep talk it is the remedy for self. One encourages and constantly counsels oneself. It is done by most of us consiously or unconsciously. EXERCISE also helps a lot. It is a permanent solution to the problem which not only heals the body but also the mind. Interaction and public speaking builds up confidence and makes a person aware of the changes prevalent in the time. One should always remember that nothing is permanent neither success nor failure.

NOTHING CAN BE CONQUERED IN A DAY’S TIME YOU NEED TIME AND PATIENCE. An individual can utilize stress constuctively to improvise and this what can give STRESS SOME STRESS

Seniors and Ragging

What is ragging? Ragging is a form of an abuse which is encountered by the newcomers of an educational institution generally in the  India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and in many other countries. It is more severe than HAZING which is practiced in west and is similar in nature.

Well in NLIU, the students esp. girls were very fortunate. Our ragging was more of a  personality development programme or PDP. It helped us in many ways. One day we were asked to introduce ourselves to the class. It was a nice gesture as it build confidence in public speaking for many of us. We as juniors could interact with any senior irrespective of their batch. They were kind enough to guide us in academics as well as the college activities. The two weeks of PDP were amazing. We had a sense of anxiety for all most everything. Everyone had different perceptions about each other. Some felt homesick, some felt bored, some wanted to get ragged , some were too scared even to get introduced.

But all this  ended in a two weeks time. Those seniors which were considered strict turned out be our best mentors. They started helping us in every possible way they could. Well this  transformation was also in the form of a celebration.

That day was the most  contrasting for the first years. In the morning we had the champo day {fools day}. We were dressed as stupids for the entire day. We had to oil our hair,make a fountain pony tied by a red ribbon, with funny makeup,kurta,pajama,sports shoes etc. It was an exciting day. We were treated as celebrities. Everyone clicked our photographs and treated us in a special way. Everyone laughed at us including the teachers,seniors and we ourselves.It was an unforgettable instance.

The evening was totally different. We had our introduction party which marked the end of so called ragging. We were formally introduced to the college and were treated specially. All the newcomers were given roses. Many students gave splendid performances which included dances,poems,drama and what not. Every one had the choice to put up his or her show. After the formal introduction of every new student, we had  jam  session which continued for hours. It was our first party and we enjoyed allot with everyone.

Its not the period in which you are ragged matters but the period thereafter which determines your relation equation with everyone.