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thephantomessoftheopera · 4 years ago

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Notes on Gaston Leroux‘s „The Phantom of the Opera“ - Chapter 22: „Interesting and Instructive Tribulations of a Persian in the Cellars of the Opera“

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This is a flashback chapter that allegedly reproduces the Persian‘s personal account of his previous interactions with Erik before he and Raoul jumped into the torture chamber. It also provides some background on Erik‘s time in Persia. The Persian’s narrative begins with him stalking Erik in the hope of finding a way into his house. On one occasion, when he has taken the boat to get to the wall where the door of the house is hidden, he encounters the “siren”, one of Erik’s ingenuous defense strategies. The trick of the “siren” is to attract any intruder with its singing (as sirens usually do), so they can easily be snatched and dragged underwater when they are close enough. The “siren” is none other than Erik himself, who is using a reed to breathe and sing underwater - something that he learned from the Pirates in Tonkin, a french colony in northern Vietnam (does anyone else want to see Erik give Jack Sparrow a run for his money🏴‍☠️??). He recognizes the Persian just before he can drown him, and drags him to the shore instead, where he tells him that he does not want his presence in his house.

Apparently, when the Persian saved Erik’s life in Persia, he made him promise that he would not commit any more murders. Therefore, he wants to know if Erik was involved in the fall of the chandelier, but Erik denies it, saying that it was badly worn, and that he didn’t make it fall. It’s hard to know if Erik is lying or speaking the truth here - we naturally assume that it was his doing in the context of the novel. However, as the chandelier’s counterweight falling was a real event which happened in 1896, killing one person, all we know is that most likely, it did in fact fall without someone actively dropping it - unless you assume that a real ghost had a very real hand in making the accident happen.

Erik‘s brand of violence in general is a very artistic and impersonal one, which helps him separate his crimes from himself and focus on the art instead of the crime. When the Persian reminds him of the „Rosy hours of Mazenderan“, it is evident that he wishes to suppress those memories, sadly stating that he tries to forget about them, but that at least „he made the little sultana laugh“. Another indication of this mental compartmentalization is Erik‘s occasional use of „illeism“, i.e. referring to himself in the third person. This illustrates the „feeling of "being outside one's body and watching things happen", a psychological disconnect resulting from dissonance either from trauma such as childhood physical or sexual abuse, or from past outbursts that cannot be reconciled with the individual's own self-image.“ I think we can safely say that in Erik‘s case, both factors come into play. Erik was traumatized practically from birth - we don‘t really know about any physical abuse, but in any case, he was emotionally and mentally abused from his earliest childhood (a lack of affection is crippling to a child’s development). Disassociating himself from his crimes then serves as a coping mechanism for him. In his speech, he actually uses the first person far more frequently than the third person, though.

The Persian‘s insistence on controlling Erik‘s behaviour is due to him feeling responsible for any crimes he might commit since he saved his life, and it seems that he regards him as a mixture between an unruly child and a very dangerous animal. Later, we will learn that it was in fact the Persian who brought Erik to Persia in the first place, thus probably also feeling some responsibility himself for whatever Erik did there, and whatever he might do in the future. It is important though that Erik and the Persian - as chief of the Mazenderan police - were both in the employ of the Persian rulers, and those were allegedly far more monstruous than Erik himself, perverting his genius in a way that served their cruel ideas of entertainment.

Throughout his account of the story, the Persian usually calls Erik a „monster“ and always fears that Erik will go through with his threat against „many members of the human race“. He has been spying on Erik and Christine during their lessons, but cannot believe that Erik‘s voice would be „enough to make her forget his ugliness.“

When he witnesses the progression of the relationship between the two, and that they are now seeing each other, he once again tries to stop Erik when he is on his way out to go shopping for Christine, on the morning after the first night she spent at his house. For those who wonder how Erik was able to go out and run errands, here is the resolution: when he went out, he wore a papier-mâché nose with a mustache attached, which would hide the fact that he had no nose - which is apparently his most horrible feature. The fake nose made him „almost bearable“ to look upon, so he was able to go out without wearing a full-face mask.

Erik is angry at the Persian for constantly following him around, endangering his secrets, and threatens that terrible things would happen should he be betrayed. He mentions the mysterious „man in the felt hat“ again, speaking of how he had to take the Persian to the managers twice, and that he himself was there, too. Unfortunately, this is not any more conclusive than before, as Erik usually speaks of his alter egos (the siren, for example) as if they were separate entities.

The Persian insists that he has come for Christine and accuses Erik of keeping her as a prisoner (which is not really true at this point, as he offered her her freedom the night before, and she hasn‘t unmasked him yet). Erik makes the Persian promise to leave him alone if he can prove that Christine loves him for himself by coming back to him of her own free will, and the Persian agrees because he thinks that no one could love „that monster“ Erik for himself (which is kind of a sad thing to think…).

He is therefore reasonably amazed when he sees Christine freely come to and leave Erik’s house, but concludes from observing Christine‘s and Raoul‘s engagement game that Erik „occupied her mind by terror, but her heart belonged wholly to Raoul de Chagny“. Now, as we‘ve seen through Raoul‘s eyes and Christine‘s own account, it was not as simple as that. While terror was definitely in the mix, Christine herself said she cared more about Erik’s tears than his threats, and despite her fears, was unwilling to hurt him and run away until it was too late. Therefore, I personally don‘t think that the Persian has much authority to speak of Christine‘s heart, especially since he does not seem to know her particularly well.

The Persian still intends to find the entrance into Erik’s house and one day, watches Erik enter it through the third cellar. The house is apparently not soundproof, as Erik’s music can still be heard in the cellar above, but obviously no one knows where this “ghost music” is coming from.

He then recounts the events of the day of Christine’s abduction and how he briefly considered preemptively denouncing Erik („the monster”) to the police, but chose not to do so because no one would believe him. He then provides several details from Erik’s backstory: how he learned to use the punjab lasso in India, how he fought as a type of gladiator armed with only the lasso for the amusement of the sultana of Mazenderan in Persia, and how he worked as a contractor for Charles Garnier and was therefore secretly able to build his house into the foundations of the opera during the Franco-Prussian war and the siege of Paris from 1870 to 1871, while official construction work on the opera house was suspended. The house is located between the inner and outer casing that was built to contain the water in the underground lake, presumably towards the western side of the building and roughly on the level of the fourth cellar.

Upon finding himself in the torture chamber, the Persian recognizes that it is the same type of chamber that Erik had built in Mazenderan, and which was used for the execution of prisoners (and occasionally, random people as well) by the sultana. He also concludes that Joseph Buquet must also have been trying to follow Erik and had fallen into the torture chamber where he hanged himself, and that later Erik must have moved the body and hung it on the set piece from “Le Roi de Lahore” (which basically translates to “The King of the capital of the Punjab” - did I mention he has a twisted sense of humour??). But as the lasso, being made of catgut, might have aroused suspicions, he apparently decided to get rid of it somewhere else.

Now, upon finding the lasso at his very feet, the Persian’s fears rise and he tries to get Raoul to stay silent and motionless so as not to alert Erik of their presence in his house...

Next chapter >>

#phantom of the opera #lerouxreadingguide #leroux phantom #gaston leroux #erik the phantom #the persian #raoul de chagny #opera ghost #the phantom of the opera #le fantôme de l'opéra #erik x christine

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greatworldwar2 · 5 years ago

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• No.56 Fighter Squadron RAF

Motto: Quid si coelum ruat ( 'What if heaven falls?')

Squadron Code: US

Number 56 Squadron, nicknamed the Firebirds for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both World War I and World War II.

No. 56 Squadron was formed on June 8th, 1916 at Gosport, from members of No. 28 Squadron, as part of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). On July 14th, the squadron relocated to London Colney. No. 56 Squadron received its first aircraft, a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c on August 7th, which was followed by numerous other types. On March 13th, 1917, the squadron became the first unit in the entire RFC to be equipped with the then brand new Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 fighter. on April 20th the squadron was moved to support the Second Battle of Arras and flew their first mission on the April 22nd. Its arrival at the front with the latest fighter, combined with the unusually high proportion of experienced pilots in its ranks, led to rumours among its German opponents that the squadron was an 'Anti-Richthofen Squadron', specifically dedicated to the removal of the Red Baron. The squadron did shoot down and kill Richthofen's nearest 1917 rival Leutnant Werner Voss in an epic dogfight.

On March 21st, 1918, the Germans began their Spring Offensive, this forced No. 56 Squadron to pull back to Valheureux, where from they conducted air-to-air patrols for the next four months. The squadron supported the buildup to and provided support during the Battle of Amiens. By the end of the war, No. 56 Squadron had scored 402 victories. During the course of the war, forty of the squadron's pilots were killed in action, twenty wounded and thirty-one taken prisoner. Following the interwar period, the squadron was repeatedly disbanded and relocated. In September 1924, No. 56 Squadron was assigned a red and white checker pattern as a means of squadron identification, something which the squadron would actively use up until 2008.

The squadron finally settled at RAF North Weald in October 1927, where it remained until the end of 1939 and the start of the Second World War. No. 56 Squadron converted to their last biplane, the Gloster Gladiator Mk.I, in July 1937. The Gladiators were flown up until May 1938 when the squadron acquired Hawker Hurricane Mk.Is. The squadron would operate the Hurricane in the opening stages of WW2. No. 56 Squadron's introduction to the Second World War came on September 6th, 1939. The Firebirds, then based at RAF North Weald, were the victims of a friendly fire incident by No. 74 Squadron known as the Battle of Barking Creek. The squadron entered the Second World War equipped with the Hawker Hurricane Mk.I and first saw action during the Battle of France, although they remained based in England and sent flights to France for short periods. The Firebirds ended the campaign by covering the Dunkirk evacuation.

As part of No. 11 Group, No. 56 Squadron was based at RAF North Weald at the beginning of the Battle of Britain. From there the squadron first engaged German aircraft on 31 July 1940. It was heavily involved in the fighting in the south of England during August, although the squadron moved to RAF Boscombe Down on September 1st. It was one of the few fighter squadrons to remain based in the south of England continuously through the battle, scoring 59 kills by the end. Afterwards restationed to Essex, while based here that No. 56 Squadron upgraded to the Hurricane Mk.IIb in February 1941. In April 1941, No. 56 Squadron gained its 'Punjab' nickname after the Indian province of Punjab raised money to have their name attached to a fighter, thus becoming an Indian 'gift' squadron. In September 1941, No. 56 Squadron became the first unit to receive the Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ia which, although troublesome to begin with, the squadron helped turn into a usable fighter.

From August 1942 to July 1943, the unit was based with No. 12 Group at RAF Matlaske in Norfolk. During this time, No. 56 Squadron's role changed from that of low-level defence against Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter-bomber attacks into becoming fighter bombers themselves, attacking ground and sea targets. No. 56 Squadron was to score one confirmed victory while flying Typhoons. After moving around multiple bases in the UK, the squadron moved up to RAF Scorton, Yorkshire on April 7th, 1944, where they converted to the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX. From here the squadron flew escort and reconnaissance missions. As a unit of No. 150 Wing, under the command of Wing Commander Roland Beamont, No. 56 Squadron became an air defence squadron. It was tasked with defending Britain from V-1 flying bombs – of which between 70 and 77 1⁄2 were shot down by the squadron.

In the latter months of the war, the Firebirds were deployed to several airfields in Europe: including Volkel, in the Netherlands; Copenhagen; and numerous bases in Germany. During the Second World War, the No. 56 Squadron claimed a total of 149 aircraft shot down. In the 1960s, the squadron had their own aerobatic display team, 'The Firebirds', which consisted of nine English Electric Lightning F.1As, which participated at many airshows. As of March 2020, the squadron is based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire and serve as the Air Command and Control Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operational Evaluation Unit.

#air force history #royal air force #aviation #fighter squadron #british history #second world war #world war 2 #world war ii #wwii #history #long post #long reads

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thisiswhatwereupagainst · 5 years ago

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Obscure Marvel fancast of the day: Tina Desai at Topaz! The woman known only as Topaz does not know her origins, nor even her real name. She first appears in the “Werewolf by Night” comic series as a blonde Caucasian woman and the “daughter” of a sorcerer named Taboo. it is explained that Taboo was in a prison camp in Punjab where he met Topaz as a child, who had been branded as a witch for making a flower bloom. Taboo adopted the little girl his familiar/ward and began to train her using her powers, which they eventually used to escape. Years later, Taboo made Topaz lure Jack Russell the werewolf to him using her powers, and tried to make Jack tell him where the Darkhold (a powerful book of black magic) was. When Topaz discovered in Jack’s mind that it had been destroyed, Taboo ordered her to kill him, but Topaz refused. When Taboo attempted to slay Jack himself, Topaz stopped him. Taboo cast her out, and was killed in a soon-ensuing fight, so Topaz stayed with Jack and became his lover, helping him learn to control the powers that his lycanthropy gave him. Topaz had many adventures, such as saving Jack’s sister from the werewolf curse, having part of her soul stolen, fighting the sorcerer who took it and regaining it back, taking on Dracula with Jack, Jack’s grandmother using her to raise an army of zombies, being destroyed by the demon Mephisto, being brought back to life, helping Dr. Strange fight Dormammu, and running a bar called The Voodoo Lounge for awhile. As of the 2004 “Witches” series, she was Dr. Strange’s protegee, and now appeared to be of Indian heritage, rather than the white woman she had been previously. This is more befitting of her origins being in India to begin with, so most fans assume that her previous appearance was a product of magic. Besides having two physical forms, Topaz a powerful mystic with exceptional empathic, telepathic, and telekinetic abilities. She can magnify or diminish emotions, infuse life energy, and heal injuries. In addition to being a witch in her own right, she can also be a familiar to other sorcerers, focusing and magnifying their abilities. Topaz is a character I really like, and have always meant to read more of!

#marvel #marvel fancast #topaz #tina desai #fancast #werewolf by night

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squarwell-breakingnews · 3 years ago

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"Gangster" Branded On Inmate's Back, He Blames Punjab Jail Officials

“Gangster” Branded On Inmate’s Back, He Blames Punjab Jail Officials

The inmate’s family members also blamed the jail authorities and demanded action. (Representational) Ferozepur: An inmate at a jail here accused some officials of branding the word “gangster” in Punjabi on his back with a hot iron rod, a charge denied by the prison authorities. The jail authorities said the inmate connived with some other prisoners to get the word branded on his back. The…

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ideamonk · 3 years ago

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"Terrorist" Branded On Back, Alleges Punjab Prisoner, Probe Ordered

“Terrorist” Branded On Back, Alleges Punjab Prisoner, Probe Ordered

De gevangene heeft de gevangenisautoriteiten ook beschuldigd van mishandeling en het niet verlenen van medische zorg Chandigarh: Een undertrial-gevangene in het district Barnala in Punjab heeft de gevangenisdirecteur beschuldigd van marteling en het brandmerken van het woord ‘aatankwadi‘, of terrorist, op zijn rug. Vice-premier Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa heeft opdracht gegeven tot een grondig…

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#barnala #Punjab #punjab gevangene gebrandmerkt

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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India's Covid-19 catastrophe could hurt global supplies of medicines, clothing and shoes Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far resisted calls to impose another total lockdown on the country, even as many regions have announced their own heavy restrictions. But several global industries that rely on India are looking on anxiously. Should the crisis deepen, everything from clothing and pharmaceuticals to financial services and global shipping could feel the pain. More than 200,000 of an estimated 1.7 million seafarers globally are from India, according to Guy Platten, the Secretary General at the International Chamber of Shipping. Many of them have officer ranks and roles requiring important skills, he added. “We hope to goodness” this situation can be resolved, Platten told CNN Business. Otherwise it could lead to big “shortage of seafarers,” which would “disrupt the global supply chain,” he added. As many countries have banned flights from India, it is already impossible to move Indian workers to ports around the world, and swap crews. René Piil Pedersen, head of Marine Relations at Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, hopes that countries start distinguishing between regular travelers and seafarers. Otherwise, he said, the world could face both a serious threat to global cargo flows, and a “humanitarian crisis,” because crews would not be able to leave their vessels and return home. “It will take a heavy toll on their mental welfare,” said Pedersen, whose company employs 30% of its seafarers from India. The pandemic threw global shipping into chaos last year, with nearly 200,000 seafarers stranded for months due to port closures and grounded airplanes. Some workers had started calling their vessels “floating prisons” — and Pedersen fears a return to that scenario if India’s Covid-19 crisis continues unabated. There are also significant delays in the movements of vessels. Some places, such as the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China, “have already imposed strict quarantine restrictions for vessels arriving from Indian ports,” said Sankar Narayanan, manager for shipping at shipping and logistics company GAC India. Experts say vaccinating seafarers could be a solution, but that may prove to be hard to execute. Vaccines and other pharmaceuticals The world’s vaccination drive is already suffering because of the outbreak in India, which typically produces more than 60% of all vaccines sold globally. The country is home to the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine maker. Its vast manufacturing capability is why the country signed on as a major player in COVAX, the global initiative that provides discounted or free doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for lower-income countries. SII agreed last year to manufacture up to 200 million Covid vaccine doses for up to 92 countries. But, with only 2% of India’s population fully vaccinated, the government and SII have shifted focus from supplying vaccines to other countries, and are now prioritizing Indian citizens. The bad news doesn’t end there. Apart from the Covid vaccine shortage, there could be other consequences for the worldwide pharmaceutical industry if the spread of the infection in India is not controlled soon. India is the world’s largest supplier of generic drugs — copies of brand-name pharmaceuticals that have the same effects but cost less. In the United States, 90% of all prescriptions are filled by generic drugs and one in every three pills consumed is produced by an Indian generics manufacturer, according to an April 2020 study by the Confederation of Indian Industry and KPMG. But Indian drug makers get as much as 70% of their raw materials from China, a link in the supply chain that looks vulnerable given the coronavirus surge. At the end of April, China’s Sichuan Airlines suspended cargo flights to India for 15 days. That prompted India’s top pharmaceutical export group to write to India’s ambassador in Beijing, urging him to intervene. In the letter, Ravi Udaya Bhaskar, director general of the Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council of India, termed the suspension “worrisome” — and said it could have a “cascading effect” on the supply chain. “Most countries depend on India for generic drugs, and India depends on China for raw material. It will be a big blow to [the] global pharma supply chain if trade between the two is disrupted,” said Tinglong Dai, associate professor of Operations Management and Business Analytics at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. For now, the impact seems limited. Bhaskar told CNN Business last week that there is currently no shortage of drugs, since big firms have enough raw material to tide them over the next three to four months. He also said that Sichuan Airlines was likely to resume service this week. Sichuan Airlines did not respond to a request for comment. Clothes India is one of the largest textile exporters in the world, and the industry is struggling with severe labor shortages. “This is the first time our generation has experienced something like this. No one was prepared for this dreadful scenario,” said Arpit Aryan Gupta, partner and new business development head at apparel manufacturer NG Apparels, which is in Ludhiana, Punjab, a big garment producing hub. The company, which supplies brands including New Balance and Nordstrom, employs about 100 skilled and semi-skilled workers, and nearly 50% of them have left since the latest Covid-19 surge began. Gupta said he is providing housing for remaining workers on site to keep the factory running. Elsewhere, manufacturers are staring at equally worrisome scenarios. In the major garment production hubs of Delhi and Bangalore — which are also states with a high number of Covid-19 infections — absenteeism among workers is as high as 50%, according to consulting firm Wazir Advisors. And for many manufacturers who are still recovering from last year’s slowdown, the safety of workers has become a huge concern. Domestic clothing industry consumption and exports last year fell by 30% and 24%, respectively, according to Wazir Advisors. “But for 2021, it is difficult to project right now as we are not sure by when this pandemic will end,” the firm added. India is also a major global exporter of leather and leather goods. The country is the second-largest exporter of leather garments and the fourth-largest exporter of leather goods in the world, according to the Indian Council for Leather Exports. It is also a major producer of footwear, after China, producing nearly three billion pairs of shoes annually. Last year, the pandemic dealt a serious blow to India’s leather industry, and businesses had just begun to recover before the latest wave led to massive shutdowns and a shortage of skilled staff. Financial services Big banks and accounting firms are scrambling to keep their online operations afloat, given how important India is as a hub for their back offices. Many companies have outsourced a huge number of information technology and operations jobs to India in recent decades, attracted by an educated workforce and cheaper labor costs. Almost 4.4 million people in the country are employed in IT and business process management, according to the National Association of Software and Service Companies, a trade body. Some companies are taking some measures to address the crisis, include shifting work to other countries, encouraging staff to work from home and extending project deadlines. Goldman Sachs (GS) and Wells Fargo (WFC), for example, have implemented remote work for all employees. But working from home during a pandemic is complicated, especially if employees have to look after sick relatives. There are also challenges around security and data protection, since employees may be handling sensitive company or customer information. UK banks Barclays (BCLYF), NatWest and Standard Chartered (SCBFF) are in some cases redirecting work to other countries to relieve pressure on employees in India, many of whom have fallen ill or have care responsibilities at home. EY India, which has over 56,000 workers, activated a business continuity plan at the start of the surge, which included shifting work to other geographies. Almost all of its employees are working from home, according to Julie Teigland, a regional managing partner. “A significant number of EY people and their family members have been directly impacted by the severe second wave of Covid in India,” she told CNN Business. — Parija Kavilanz and Hanna Ziady contributed to this report. Source link Orbem News #catastrophe #clothing #Covid19 #Global #Hurt #Indias #medicines #shoes #supplies

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latest-news-pm · 4 years ago

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UK Judge To Rule On Nirav Modi Extradition Today: Here's All You Need To Know | CNN News18

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, who is lodged in a London prison as he contests his extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated Rs 14-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, will find out the UK court’s ruling in the nearly two-year-long legal battle on Thursday.

#CNNNews18 #BattleForBengal #JayalalithaaBirthAnniversary #IndiaFightsCOVID19

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CNN-News18 is India’s most awarded English News Channel, and is one of the most respected and dynamic media brands in the country today. CNN-News18 has in a short time, redefined the limits and has set new standards for journalism in Indian news television through its differentiated programming and philosophy of inclusive journalism the spirit of ‘Whatever It Takes'. CNN-News18 continues to be India’s window to the world and world’s window into India. CNN-News18 has been awarded all the prestigious awards in the General News category in the country.

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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Pak doctor who helped CIA track Osama Bin Laden launches hunger strike in jail - world news

The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA track and kill Osama bin Laden has launched a hunger strike from his prison cell, his lawyer and family said Monday.Shakeel Afridi has been languishing behind bars for years since his fake vaccination programme helped US agents track and kill the Al Qaeda leader in 2011.“It is to protest the injustices and inhumane attitudes being committed against him and his family,” his brother Jamil Afridi told AFP after meeting with Afridi in a prison in central Punjab province.His attorney Qamar Nadeem also confirmed the hunger strike.Afridi was jailed for 33 years in May 2012 after he was convicted of having ties to militants, a charge he has always denied.His sentence was later reduced by 10 years.Some US lawmakers have branded the case as revenge for his help in the search for the Al Qaeda chief.The 2011 killing of Bin Laden caused massive embarrassment for Pakistan and particularly its powerful military.For years Afridi has had no access to his lawyer, while his appeal against his prison sentence has stalled with scheduled court appearances repeatedly delayed.His family has also complained of being targeted and harassed by authorities over the years.US President Donald Trump vowed during his election campaign that he would order Pakistan to free Afridi, but since taking office has been largely silent on the issue.The comments sparked a blistering rebuttal from Pakistan, whose interior minister at the time branded Trump “ignorant” and stated that the “government of Pakistan and not Donald Trump” would decide Afridi’s fate.In recent years Pakistani authorities have cracked down on nonprofits and forced them to leave the country, which analysts say was largely tied to the Afridi case due to the security establishment’s fears that NGOs have provided cover for spying. Read the full article

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ehmerapunjab · 8 years ago

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The absence in Punjabiyat’s split universe.

The partition of Punjab in 1947 created a paradoxical situation that Punjabis had never experienced before: they were one people, but with two mainlands now — India and Pakistan. In that sense, Punjab ceased to exist; by and large, Punjabis took to perceiving their world through the prism of nation states and national boundaries, shaped by whichever side of the divide they found themselves in.

In the process, the self became the other. The universe of Punjabiyat — a shared way of life — was marginalised. It was replaced by perceptions of contending identities, which have found an echo in the dominant power politics of east Punjab these past 65 years. However, the idea of Punjabiyat has not been totally erased. In ways seen and unseen, it continues to inhabit the universe of the average Punjabi’s everyday life, language, culture, memories and consciousness.

Living paradoxes

Born almost two decades after Partition, my first realisation of a composite Punjab, ironically, was through the presence of absences. Behind my grandparents’ house in our village Akalgarh, in district Ludhiana, is a narrow street. To this day it is called Rajputan de Gali (the street of the Rajputs). This is where the influential community of ‘Rajput Muslims,’ as they were addressed, lived before Partition. The villagers’ reference to the Maseet Wala Gurdwara (literally the mosque turned gurdwara) is yet another symbol of the once powerful presence of Muslims in Akalgarh.

Similarly, there is a pond called Taru Shah da Toba , named after a wandering fakir Taru Shah , who preferred to stay on in our village. Over the years his shrine in the old graveyard has grown in size and stature. Yet there are no Muslims in the village.

To me, these living paradoxes spoke unequivocally of the presence of an absence of Punjabi Muslims from east Punjab. It was a reminder that any imagination of Punjab which excluded Punjabi Muslims would only end up ghettoising east Punjabi society.

The last six decades have witnessed two parallel trajectories in east Punjab as a response to Partition. One trajectory is defined by a dominant mode of politics in the domain of national contestations; the other, reflecting an organic response of people in their everyday lives, emphasises local continuities.

Contestations & continuities

In spite of occasional expressions of bonhomie during a cross-border cricket match, offerings of prayers at each other’s holy shrines for the benefit of competing media cameras, or photo-ops centred on prisoners granted amnesty across the border, it is a fact that politics in east Punjab has always engaged with west Punjab strictly within a nationalist framework — just like India would deal with Pakistan.

Strangely, the State’s Akali leadership, which is never shy of confronting the Centre on any issue, big or small, imagines Punjab no differently. Such is the influence of national boundaries in imposing constricting visions that Punjabi Muslims and west Punjab have been rendered completely invisible in the conceptualisation of the Punjabi self by this brand of politics in east Punjab.

For instance, the complete silence over the killings of Punjabi Muslims in east Punjab during Partition could be explained away by the nation state as a “side effect” of the birth of a nation. But, equally, east Punjab’s political class has chosen to be silent on this issue of Partition, which had a totally different meaning for Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs who shared so much in common with Punjabi Muslims in terms of culture, language, traditions and spirituality.

In all these years, the same east Punjabi political class has shown little interest in articulating any expression of regret for the killings of Muslims during Partition. As for the idea of a reconciliation which would help recover the self banished as the other in 1947, that has never been part of any political agenda.

This gives rise to a significant question. If this is how the State’s political leadership has envisioned Punjab, how is it any different from the Hindutva politics of Hindi , Hindu , Hindustan ? Often, the justification of this silence stems from a positioning based on playing the blame game. It is a political stance that has been used by the likes of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to invoke Newton’s third law of motion during the killings of Muslim minorities in his State in 2002.

In the year of the Gujarat killings, the Rashtriya Sawayamsevek Sangh (RSS) held a massive function in the heart of Amritsar to honour its cadres who had actively participated in the genocide of Muslims in 1947, ostensibly to protect the Hindus and Sikhs in east Punjab. At this Shaurya Smriti Samman function, (honouring the memory of valour), the RSS made an audacious attempt to appropriate iconic Punjabi revolutionaries of the anti-imperialist movement like Shaheed Udham Singh and Kartar Singh Sarabha.

The counterpoint to this trajectory is to be found at levels closer to the ground, in the responses of the Partition generation that witnessed the genocidal violence of 1947 in east Punjab. In the villages straddling the Malwa region of Punjab, people of this generation can often be heard talking about the fate of the perpetrators of the killings, the accounts disturbing in their sharp details. They never fail to describe how the perpetrators, who were from their own community, met with miserable ends. The widely shared faith of this generation in a morality based on the belief that those who commit inhuman acts, suffer in their own lifetime, that there is always a payback, carries within it a great humanist and universal message.

While shooting my documentaries in this region over a decade, rarely did I come across anyone valorising the killers of Muslims. This fast fading generation’s expressions of guilt and remorse seem to be a way of cleansing the soul, with the potential to heal the scars of a traumatic past and show the path to reconciliation.

Memorialising — what and what not

Yet there has been no acknowledgement of this articulation anywhere on a formal level in east Punjab. No memorials have been erected for the one million people who perished in 1947. At the same time, building memorials has been an unceasing political activity in the State. The pertinent ones in this context are the memorials of Wada Ghalughara, Chhota Ghalughara and the Banda Bahadur War Memorial. They are largely meant to invoke the heroic battles of the Sikhs against the Mughal state’s oppression. The point worth pondering is that these acts privilege a memory that is exclusivist, selective and sectarian, over the historical pluralist ethos of Punjab. This act of institutionalisation of memory is not very different from the manner in which Hindu nationalist forces and the RSS invoke the memory of Maharana Pratap and Chhatrapati Shivaji as saviours of Hindus from Muslim oppression.

Away from the glare of such grandstanding lies the universe of the common Punjabi. In so many villages across east Punjab, people throng the shrines of Sakhi Sarvar — Lakh Data Pir or Nigaha Pir as he is called, whose main shrine is located near Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan. This is a vibrant living tradition outside the domain of the dominant faiths of east Punjab that has survived Partition — and is evident in multiple spaces of shared spirituality, especially Sufi shrines.

The political class has never bothered to argue on behalf of such cross-border traditions which speak of multiple expressions of identity. It is more interested in picking and choosing elements which have the potential to harden the identity politics of Us against the Other.

The silencing of language

There is one more interesting dimension to this rubric and it has to do with language. Post-Partition, in west Punjab, the imposition of Urdu virtually decimated the Punjabi language; in east Punjab, Urdu became a casualty of Punjabi. I remember having an animated conversation about Urdu with four elderly men under a pilkhan tree in a village in Ludhiana some years ago. “A beautiful language, with nuances neither Hindi nor Punjabi can equal,” said one. “It’s our language, forged from Arabic and Punjabi,” said another. The third one remembered how, when Partition was announced, “all of us in Class III, studying lesson number 14 in Urdu, threw our Qua’ida in the air and said, ‘ Urdu ud gaya, Urdu ud gaya ’ [Urdu has flown away].” The fourth friend ruminated: “We used to think Urdu belonged to Muslims; nobody knew it was a language.”

Here, too, the dominant trajectory of politics, with a skewed sense of Punjab’s history, continues to deny the organic links between Persia and Punjab — cultural, spiritual and linguistic. It has ghettoised the Punjabi language by keeping Urdu and Persian at bay. Ironically, while people in villages celebrate Gaus Pak Pir from Baghdad, students in Punjab are denied the option of studying Persian or Urdu as a second language.

This underlines the nationalist perspective echoed by east Punjab politics; it is certainly not a Punjab perspective.

By Ajay Bhardwaj a Delhi-based documentary filmmaker. The Hindu.

#Punjabiyat #Article #Punjab #Punjabi #This is my Punjab #Eh Mera Punjab

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marymosley · 5 years ago

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Languishing Prisons: Pretrial Detention and the Human Rights

Every Individual by the mere birth shall become equipped with the human rights. Multiple violations of human rights in the arena of prison administration is an integral part of the violation of the human rights. The society, in general, considers the prisoner to be the wrong doer and presumes, the mistreatment towards them is considered to be a reasonable in nature. However, the primary purpose of the punishment is to protect the society from the crime and to deter the offender from repeating the crime but not subjecting the offender to the ill treatment. There is a famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi, “Hate the Sin but not the Sinner”. The Prisoner has to be reformed and to be given a chance to lead a dignified life. Ironically, Prisoners were being subjected to inhuman treatment and punishment was in the form of solitary confinement, mutilation, branding, whipping, starving etc.[1] Prisons were considered as a place of terror. Besides, all these Inhuman Treatments, Pretrial Detention (or) languishment of under trials in the prisons had become a major issue in the arena of Human Rights.

An under-trial prisoner is a one who faces trails in the competent court. These prisoners to speak technically, are the ones who face trials and during the thus are kept in the prison. The purpose of imprisonment or confining an under trial within a prison is not to punish, but as a means of keeping the accused of a crime detained until the actual punishment could be carried out and to prevent him from tampering with the evidence or to prevent him from committing the further crime. However, the existence of an disproportionate number of remands, undertrials and other unconvicted inmates in prisons has given rise to increasing public and professional concerns regarding non-compliance with human rights in institutions. This is particularly due to the protracted detention during the pendency of investigation and the trial which take a long time. By taking note of NCRB Annual Prison Statistics Report, one might express their concern about the number of the undertrial and unconvicted prisoners, which had reached alarming and disproportionate dimensions in the recent years[2]. The pathetic situations of the undertrials in the prisons are being revealed through some writ petitions such as the case of Rudul Sah.

The concept of human rights of under-trials was embraced under The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1955) also known as ‘NELSON MANDELA RULE’ which has been adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva in 1955, where some of the important guidelines were laid down relating to the Under trials such as segregation of Under trials from convicted so as to not to get influenced by the attitude of convicts and for the provision of legal aid etc[3].

India being a signatory to the convention made so many efforts and exemplified the human rights for under trials through various Acts, guidelines, manuals and commissions. The National Human Rights Commission has been taking steps to arrange the release of under trials from various prisons in the country, contemplating the problems both from human angle and Prison Management perspective. The NCRB, which submits the Annual Prison Statistics to the government helps the NHRC to assess the Conditions of the under trials in the Prisons. The NALSA and SALSA were also very keen about the conditions of the undertrials in the prisons. Supreme Court in various instances had issued orders to mitigate the problems of the undertrials. It had ordered for the constitution of the “Under trials Review Committee” in 2013 to review the conditions of the Undertrial and to examine how many are eligible for the bail under Sec.436A of Crpc. The State Legal Services Authority has proposed for the fast track courts to dispose the matters relating to the undertrials effectively.[4]

Analyzing the Prison Statistics Report, 2018:

The NCRB, which comes under the auspices of Ministry of Home Affairs, is responsible for providing the annual statistics relating to the prison, which includes various aspects such as Number of Prisons, Number of Prisoners, Categories of Prisoners, Deaths in Prisons and Age and Sex of Prisoners etc. Here, I Just focused on the data relating to the undertrial prisoners.

From the Prison Statistics Report, 2018[5], it evident that there is a steep rise of undertrial prisoners in the prisons from 2016-2018, that is about 10.4% from 2016. The Population of undertrial prisoners in prison by the end of 2016 is 2, 93, 058 and by the end of 2018 is 3, 23, 537, which constitutes 69.4% of the total prison population[6]. Out of 3, 23, 537 undertrials, 51.3% were in District Jails, 35.9% were in central Jails and 10.5% in the sub jails[7]. The UP, Bihar and Maharashtra stands in first 3 consecutive places with highest number of undertrial prisoners[8]. From the above data it can also be inferred that the women undertrials were 12, 663 in number and accompanied by children who stands at 1, 590[9]. The Foreign Undertrials stands at 2, 611.[10]

It is also clear from the above statistics the most of the undertrials are of the age group of 18-30 years and they have come from unprivileged backgrounds with no formal education and belonging to the lower castes[11]. Moreover, there are 5, 104 (1.6%) undertrials who have been languishing in the jails for more than 5 years[12]. There are 1, 822 undertrials, who are eligible for release under Sec.436 but were not released due to the procedural delays[13].

It is pity to mention that there are only 1, 339 jails to accommodate the whole prison population, which constitutes around 3, 96, 223[14]. This depicts the problems of overcrowding in the Indian Prisons. Moreover, the overcrowding, per se, has its own affects. Such as, due to overcrowding all categories of prisoners are clubbed at one place and it may leads to the negative impact on the Juveniles, First time offenders and Petty offenders etc. It also may lead to the violence in prisons and the convicted/ Brutal offenders takes the advantage of the First time (or) petty offenders and name call them with their castes since most of the undertrials belongs to the lower and unprivileged castes and could not afford the legal aid. It also creates the kios in the prison administration. The prison administration instead of being a reformation center just confines itself into a “clerical workshop” by just jording down the names of the prisoners. In the case of Sri Ramamurthy v. State of Karnataka[15], the court has identified the 9 major problems which afflict the prison system and requires the immediate action. “They are: (1) overcrowding; (2) delay in trial; (3) torture and ill- treatment; (4) neglect of health and hygiene; (5) insubstantial food and inadequate clothing; (6) prison vices; (7) deficiency in communication; (8) streamlining of jail visits; and (9) management of open air prisons”.

The 3 major hindrances[16], which are coming in the way of the undertrials, are

(i) Lack of quality legal aid services for undertrial prisoners who cannot afford the services of good lawyers to defend themselves in court. While the state does provide free legal aid services to needy persons through the district legal services authorities, often the quality and consistency of these services are questionable. There are too many complaints against these lawyers about irregular appearances in courts, lack of communication with their clients about the status of their cases.

(ii) Financial system of bail that exists in our country. This means that an accused has to deposit the bail amount in the court till the end of the trial in case of cash bail, or produce a surety who can prove that he can pay the bail amount specified in the bail order in case the accused absconds. This implies that if a person is poor and cannot pay the cash bail or produce a surety, he/she will continue to languish in prison till the trial ends. This, though relaxed with the substitution of Section 436A of Crpc has becoming difficult for the undertrials to get the bail as we can see from the above data.

(iii) Delay in trial process. There are number of factors which are attributed to the delay in the trial process, one of such is the very poor judge–population ratio in India, which stands at 19 judges per million population[17], as compared to between 35 and 50 judges per million population in most advanced countries. There are some other factors which attributes the delay in trial such as Non Appearance of witness, Non Production of Accused in Courts and tactics by the advocates for protracting the case.

Legal Provisions and Judicial Attitude towards Undertrials:-

There is no specific provision in the Constitution which deals with rights of the undertrial prisoners. In order to uphold the Rule of Law and Fairness, the Supreme Court had to interpret Articles 14, 19 and 21 in Part III along with Articles 38, 39, 39A and 42 in Part IV to provide various fundamental rights available to the undertrial prisoners.

Besides the Constitutional guarantees, there are so many legal provisions which guarantee the rights to the undertrial prisoners Such as Section 41, 41A, 41B, 41C, 41D, 436, 436A of the CrPC, Section 7 and 29 of the Indian Police Act, 1861 and Section 376(1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The study of the various rights of the prisoners, enunciated in the catena of judgments in the post Maneka Gandhi[18] period can be done under 3 subheadings[19]:

(a) Right to Speedy Trial

The right to speedy criminal trial is one of the most valuable fundamental rights guaranteed to a citizen under the Constitution, which is integral part of right to life and liberty guaranteed under Article 21. In Kartar Singh vs. State of Punjab[20], it was observed: The concept of speedy trial is read into Article 21 as an essential part of the fundamental right to life and liberty guaranteed and preserved under our Constitution. The right to speedy trial begins with the actual restraint imposed by arrest and consequent incarceration and continues at all stages till it consummates into finality.

In the leading case of Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar[21], it was held that where the under-trial prisoners have been in jail for periods longer than the maximum term to which they could have been sentenced if convicted, then their detention in jail is unjustified and violative of Art. 21. It further held that the right to speedy trial is an integral and essential part of the fundamental right to life and liberty enshrined in Art. 21.

(b) Right to Legal Aid

It was also held in Hussainara Khatoon’s Case[22] that “Right to free legal aid as given under Art.39A was implicit in Art. 21 because a procedure which does not make available legal services to an accused person, who owing to his poverty cannot afford a lawyer and who would, therefore, have to go through the trial without legal assistance cannot possibly be treated as just, fair and reasonable procedure and is thus, violative of Art. 21.”

In Khatri v. State of Bihar[23], it was held that the legal aid should not be provided at the commencement of the trial only, but it should be provided when the person is brought before the magistrate for the first time. Lastly; in the chain of these cases ensuring justice to the prisoners, comes the case of Suk Das v. Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh[24], which held that it was an obligation on the part of the Magistrate or Session Judge to tell the accused of his right to have a lawyer at State’s cost.

An Undertrial Prisoner can approach the Supreme Court under Art.32 and High Court under Art.226 and claim for compensation for the violation of his rights while in custody of the police. In D.KBasu v. State of West Bengal[25], the court had talked about the right of compensation of the victims and held that “The claim in public law for compensation for unconstitutional deprivation of fundamental right to life and liberty, the protection of which is guaranteed under the Constitution, is a claim based on strict liability and is in addition to the claim available in private law for damages for tortious acts of the public servants. Award of compensation for established infringement of the indefeasible rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution is a remedy available in public law since the purpose of public law is not only to civilize public power but also to assure the citizens that they live under a legal system wherein their rights and interests shall be protected and preserved. Grant of compensation in proceedings under Article 21 and 226 of the Constitution of India for the established violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21, is an exercise of the Courts under the public law jurisdiction for penalizing the wrong doer and fixing the liability for the public wrong on the State which failed in the discharge of its public duty to protect the fundamental rights of the citizen”.

In Rudul Sah v. State of Bihar[26], it was observed that “One of the telling ways in which the violation of that right can reasonably be prevented and due compliance with the mandate of Article 21 secured, is to mulct its violators in the payment of monetary compensation. The right to compensation is some palliative for the unlawful acts of instrumentalities which act in the name of public interest and which present for their protection the powers of the State as a shield. If civilization is not to perish in this country as it has perished in some others too well-known to suffered, it is necessary to educate ourselves into accepting that, respect for the rights of individuals is the true bastion of democracy. Therefore, the State must repair the damage done by its officers to the petitioner’s rights”.

In Bhim Singh v. State of J&K[27], the court while awarding the compensation to the victim Bhim Singh observed that, “Police Officers who are the custodians of law and order should have the greatest respect for the personal liberty of citizens and should not flout the laws by stooping to such bizarre acts of lawlessness. Custodians of law and order should not become depredators of civil liberties. Their duty is to protect and not to abduct”.

Some other Notable Cases:-

In Moti Ram v. State of Madhya Pradesh[28], the court observed that “The consequences of pre-trial detention are grave. Defendants presumed innocent are subjected to the psychological and physical deprivations of jail life, usually under more onerous conditions than are imposed on convicted defendants. The jailed defendant loses his job if he has one and is prevented from contributing to the preparation of his defence. Equally important, the burden of his detention frequently falls heavily on the innocent members of his family.”

In the case of In Re: Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons[29], the Supreme Court had issued directions to setup Undertrial Review Committee in every district which should specifically look into aspects pertaining to effective implementation of Section 436 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure so that undertrial prisoners are released at the earliest and those who cannot furnish bail bonds due to their poverty are not subjected to incarceration only for that reason. The Under Trial Review Committee will also look into issue of implementation of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 particularly with regard to first time offenders so that they have a chance of being restored and rehabilitated in society

In the case of Maliyakkal Abdul Azeez v. Assistant Collector, Kerala[30], the court while examining the views of Joint committee on Sec. 428 of the CrPC observed that, “The Committee has noted the distressing fact that in many cases accused persons are kept in prison for very long period as undertrial prisoners and in some cases the sentence of imprisonment ultimately awarded is a fraction of the period spent in jail as undertrial prisoner. Indeed, there may even be cases where such a person is acquitted. No doubt, sometimes courts do take into account the period of detention undergone as undertrial prisoner when passing sentence and occasionally the sentence of imprisonment is restricted to the period already undergone. But this is not always the case so that in many cases the accused person is made to suffer jail life for a period out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence or even to the punishment provided in the statute. The Committee has also noted that a large number of persons in the overcrowded jails of today are undertrial prisoners. The new clause seeks to remedy this unsatisfactory state of affairs. The new clause provides for the setting off of the period of detention as an undertrial prisoner against the sentence of imprisonment imposed on him. The Committee trusts that the provision contained in the new clause would go a long way to mitigate the evil.“

Recommendations of Various Committees on Undertrial Prisoners:-

There have been so many recommendations made by various committees, commissions and International Organizations on the Conditions of Undertrial Prisoners. Here, I’m going to deal with 3 Recommendation Reports. They are 78th Law Commission Report, Mulla Committee on Prison Reforms and Amnesty International Report.

(i) 78th Law Commission of India Recommendations:-

The 78th Law Commission Report on Congestion of Undertrial Prisoners in Jails had made a few suggestions in respect to the mitigating the problems of the undertrials. Some of the Recommendations[31] are:-

(a) To deal with the problem of congestion of undertrials, the prisoners had to be segregated into 3 types:-

(i) Persons being tried for non-bailable offences in respect of whom courts have declined to pass an order for their release on bail.

(ii) Persons being tried for non-bailable offences in respect of whom courts have passed order for bail but who, because of difficulty of finding appropriate surety or because of some other reason, do not furnish the bail bond.

(iii) Persons who are being tried for bailable offences but who, because of the difficulty of finding appropriate surety or some reasons, do not furnish the bail bond

and to implement measures mentioned in 77th Law Commission to reduce delays and arrears in the trial courts.

(b) In order to prevent interested parties from prolonging pendency of cases, a certain amount of strictness is necessary to ensure prompt disposal.

(c) Trial Magistrates should furnish periodical statements of cases in which the accused are in custody and which are not concluded within the prescribed time.

(d) In times of some agitation, numerous persons defy law and court arrest, causing a sudden spurt in the number of undertrial prisoners. Most of them would not offer bail. Such persons should be put up for trial soon after their arrest in order to avoid congestion in jails.

(e) Quite a substantial number of persons who are being proceeded against in security proceedings for keeping peace and for good behavior are detained in jail as undertrial prisoners because of their inability to furnish the requisite bond. The cases against those persons should be heard with due promptness and despatch. Efforts should be made to conclude these proceedings within 3 months.

(f) Inordinate delay in the investigation of cases should be avoided. The diversion of police officials concerned with investigation to other duties relating to law and order should be avoided. It causes delay in investigation, as pointed out in 77th Report.

(g) Where the accused is in jail, adjournments of cases should not be granted unless absolutely necessary.

(h) There should be separate institutions for the detention of undertrial prisoners, the induction of a large population of undertrial prisoners in a building essentially meant for convicts being undesirable. However, the creation of such institution is a matter of long-term planning and of financial implications. Other steps to reduce the number of undertrial prisoners may therefore have to be taken.

(i) The question of providing for bail hostels for persons who, though ordered to be realeased on bail, cannot offer bail, has not been considered in the Report as a part from its financial implications and need for long-term planning, its prospects in the present conditions are rather remote

(ii) Mulla Committee on Jail Reforms:-

Committee on Prison Reforms headed by Justice Anand Narain had submitted a report in which it had made some of the recommendations regarding the undertrial, unconvicted prisoners. Some of the Recommendations are as follows[32]:-

(a) Lodging of under trials in jail should be reduced to bare minimum and they should be kept separate from the convicted prisoners. Since under trials constitute a sizable portion of prison population, their number can be reduced by speedy trials and liberalization of bail provisions.

(b) A Board of Visitors should be appointed in every district to visit regularly all police lockups in the district and report the conditions of the undertrials.

(c) Institutions meant for lodging the undertrial prisoners should be as close to the courts as possible. Undertrial prisoners shall not be taken to the court on foot or roped with each other

(d) Release of Accused person on personal recognizance should be encourage in certain cases.

(e) The time spent by the undertrials in the jails should be put to the benefit of both prisoner and the society. They shall be made to work and to be paid on the basis of work done.

(iii) Amnesty International Recommendations:-

Amnesty International in its report “A Study of Pre Detention Trial in India”, had made some of the Suggestions[33]. They are:-

(a) Standardize the remuneration paid to legal aid lawyers across India, and ensure that lawyers are paid competitive salaries in a timely manner.

(b) Set up a computerized database and tracking system for prisoners in all prisons, which will regularly alert prison authorities on undertrials eligible for release which will be maintained and updated at the state-level.

(d) Strengthen the monitoring of legal aid lawyers’ effectiveness to ensure accountability and quality representation.

(e) Ensure that legal aid lawyers at the state, district and taluk levels are required to submit regular reports on the status of their cases, and hold lawyers failing to do so accountable.

(f) Ensure that legal aid lawyers are paid on a monthly basis.

(g) Undertake regular awareness programs in prisons to ensure that all undertrials are informed about their legal rights, including access to legal aid, procedural safeguards and bail.

Other Recommendations and Conclusions:-

I believe that some of my recommendations will also contribute to mitigate the adversities and problems, which are being faced by the undertrials. They are:-

(a) At present NHRC is responsible to deal with the cases of torture in custody but the NCRB should also be included to deal with this cases so as to gather the statistical information and date more precisely.

(b) In order to uphold the justice the court has to adapt to the speedy trails where the under trail prisoners can get quick access to the justice, in which ad hoc courts shall be establishes and Special Public Prosecutors shall be appointed. The registrar of courts shall be bestowed with the duty to oversee the list of cases where the undertrials are being held in prisons for a long time.

(c) The officials who deal with prison administration at ground level comes from the minimal educational backgrounds which brings in the necessity of providing adequate training. Besides the work pressure channelizes the workforce to use inappropriate means of treating the prisoners. So, there has to be given adequate training and the knowledge of law which governs the prison administration.

(d) The cases which are compoundable in nature and the offence which are not grievous in nature should be allowed for the plea bargaining and the duty lies with the Jailer and the court.

(e) There should be prisoner unions which are capable for availing their rights.

(f) There should be real time governance through implementation of the state of art technology.

The Conditions of the undertrials are so pathetic in India. Though, this problem is not unique to India, but it must focus on finding the solutions to the problems of undertrials. With the effective implementation of the above recommendations from the committees, commissions and some of my suggestions, I believe we can reduce the problems of the undertrials.

[1] Merville Rodrigues, “Prison System in India-Reforms and Challenges”, in Parag Agrawal (ed.), Criminal Law and Justice 1779 ( Jus Dicere and Co., 2019)

[2] Justice Anand Narain Mulla, “Report of the All India Committee on Jail Reforms” 170 (1983)

[3] Aditi Palit, “An Insight into the Psychology and Legal Facet of under trial prisoners”, 10 Pen Acclaims 2(2020)

[4] Ibid.

[5] National Crime Records Bureau, “Prison Statistics India, 2018”(2019)

[6] Ibid. at xi.

[7] Ibid. at xii.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid at 95.

[10] Ibid. at 117.

[11] Ibid at 94.

[12] Ibid. at 162.

[13] Ibid. at 173.

[14]Ibid. at ix.

[15] (1997) 2 SCC 642.

[16] Vijay Raghavan, “Undertrial Prisoners in India-Long wait for Justice”, 4 Economic and Political Weekly 17-18 (2016).

[17] PTI New Delhi, “India has 19 Judges per 10 Lakh People: Data”, Business Line, 2018, available at < https://ift.tt/33UrWy7 > (last visited on 08-07-2020)

[18] Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, AIR 1978 SC 597

[19] Saket Singh, “Role of Supreme Court towards a New Prison Jurisprudence”, 6 Student Advocate 60-61 (1994)

[20] 1994 SCC (3) 569

[21] AIR 1979 SC 1369

[22] Ibid.

[23] AIR 1981 SC 928

[24] AIR 1986 SC 991

[25] AIR 1997 SC 610

[26] AIR 1983 SC 1086

[27] AIR 1986 SC 494

[28] AIR 1978 SC 1594

[29] AIR 2016 SC 993

[30] AIR 2003 SC 928

[31] Law Commission of India, “78th Report on Congestion of Undertrial Prisoners in Jails” 26-28 (1979)

[32] Supra note 2 at 174-175.

[33] Amnesty International, “Justice under Trial: A Study of Pretrial Detention in India” 23 (2017).

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visionmpbpl-blog · 7 years ago

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New Post has been published on http://www.visionmp.com/salman-khan-bail-blackbuck-case-jodhpur/

Salman Khan gets bail in Blackbuck case on 2 bonds of Rs 50,000; highlights

In a major relief to Salman Khan, the Jodhpur sessions court on Saturday granted bail to the Bollywood actor in the blackbuck poaching case of 1998 with two bonds of Rs 50,000 each. Hearing Khan’s bail plea on Friday, Jodhpur District and Sessions Court Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi had reserved his judgment until Saturday. A day before, a Jodhpur court had convicted the Bollywood star for killing two blackbucks, an endangered species, 19 years ago while shooting for the film Hum Saath Saath Hain, and sentenced him to five years in jail.

The other co-accused in the case — actors Tabu, Saif Ali Khan, Neelam and Sonali Bendre — were acquitted of all charges.

Meanwhile, Judge Joshi, who was scheduled to hear the actor’s bail plea in the blackbuck poaching case, has been transferred by the Rajasthan High Court, along with 87 other district judges. The judge had asked for more documents, such as files of previous cases heard by Rural and High Courts before taking a decision on the actor’s bail plea.

Salman Khan’s case was presented in the sessions court on Friday by senior advocate Mahesh Bora, who came with a 51-page bail application. He said the witnesses’ statement should not be trusted in the case and argued that the actor should be given the benefit of the doubt. He also questioned why only Salman Khan had been convicted and all other co-accused acquitted.

The Bollywood actors accused in this case allegedly went hunting on October 1-2 in 1998 outside a forest reserve near Kankani village in Jodhpur while shooting for Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Highlights of Salman Khan’s bail plea hearing

The Jodhpur sessions court judge on Saturday heard Salman Khan’s bail plea and decided to pass order bail after lunch. This was after the prosecution read out the eyewitness account before the judge and said the rural court’s verdict should not be suspended. The eyewitness account proves Salman Khan’s crime, the Prosecution read. After hearing both sides of the arguments, judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi shut his eyes for few minutes, smiled and said he needed some time.

According to sources, Salman Khan’s counsel Hastimal Saraswat argued that the actor has never jumped bail in the past and has always appeared for trials in the case.

Ahead of the hearing, Salman Khan’s sister Alvira and his long-time bodyguard Shera were at the court. Hundreds of fans also thronged outside the Jodhpur sessions court, hoping the actor would get bail today.

Here are the top 10 developments so far in the blackbuck poaching case in which Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail: 1. Judge hearing Khan’s plea transferred: The District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi, who was scheduled to hear the actor’s bail plea in the blackbuck poaching case, has been transferred by the Rajasthan High Court along with 87 other district judges. Joshi was scheduled to take a decision on Saturday on the bail plea filed by the actor in Jodhpur Sessions Court .

2. Second post-mortem report of blackbucks nailed Salman Khan

The second post-mortem report of the two blackbucks played a key role in proving that the animals had died of gunshots, as the trial court, while convicting Salman Khan, mentioned that it has been proved beyond doubt that the Bollywood superstar had shot them. The medical board report stated that there were holes, one inch in diameter, in the bones of blackbuck carcasses and this could be caused by shots fired from a gun. Relying on this report, the trial court refused to admit the argument of the defence that the hole had been made by the investigator using a charred piece of coal just to establish the story of poaching and frame Salman in the case.

3. When Salman makes mistakes, it is blown out of proportion: Meanwhile, actor-filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar told PTI that he believed “everyone makes mistakes, but when my friend Salman Khan is at fault, it is blown out of proportion”. “Salman is one guy who is ready to take the rap, the blame (on himself). He is human at the end of the day. Who doesn’t make a mistake? I definitely make a mistake. But when he makes a mistake, it is blown out of proportion,” Manjrekar said.

4. All quiet on the Bollywood front as Salman spends another night in jail: Salman Khan on Friday spent a second consecutive night in a cell of the Jodhpur central jail, A few of his Twitter-savvy colleagues, meanwhile, ventured online to voice their support for the ‘Sultan’ of Bollywood, arguably the industry’s most saleable star. Yesterday, director Subhash Ghai, actor-politicians Jaya Bachchan and Raj Babbar, besides actors Varun Dhawan, Arjin Rampal and Samir Soni were among the people backing Salman, after his conviction in the case. Today, there was an online silence from the biggies of the industry. However, some of his friends and colleagues did visit the actor’s family at their home in Mumbai’s Galaxy Apartments. But most big stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar, active on social media and known for articulating their views, stayed quiet.

5. Salman spends a restless night in Jodhpur jail: Salman Khan spent another restless night in Jodhpur central jail and was being given no-frill meals without any concessions for his star status. Salman was given sprouts and milk for breakfast after a late night, said Deputy Inspector General (jails) Vikram Singh on Friday. The star was given Hindi newspapers by the jail administration in the morning on his request. Salman met his lawyers and bodyguard Shera before the bail hearing in the district and sessions court.

6. Brand Salman in peril: Khan has been the brand ambassador for Thums Up, Revital, Wheel, Suzuki Motorcycles, Yatra.com, Dixcy Scott, Splash and Relaxo, besides a few others, including his home brand ‘Being Human’. But with all the controversies surrounding him over the past few years, most brands have been a bit circumspect in using him as their face in the market. As it is, while SRK (Tag Heuer, Airtel, Videocon, Nerolac, Emami, Hyundai, Pepsodent, Dish TV, Big Basket, etc) and Aamir (Vivo, Samsung, Tata Sky, Coca-Cola, Titan, Snapdeal, etc) always endorsed classier and more upmarket brands, Khan somehow had to remain content with middling to average offerings in the market. Thums Up was his most prominent endorsement but there too he got replaced by Ranveer Singh. Despite his superlative success on the big screen, somehow ad agencies and brands shied away from Salman. He was a successful brand but a flawed brand.

7. What happened in Jodhpur sessions court on Friday? Judge said jail term fair given Salman Khan’s clout, gravity of offence: Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri, in his 201-page verdict, said that since the culprit was an actor and had a substantial following, his actions were observed and followed by the masses.

“The accused (Salman Khan) is a popular actor whose deeds are followed by people. Despite this, the accused hunted two blackbucks. It is not justified to give Salman Khan the benefit of probation in view of the manner in which he hunted by shooting two innocent, moot black bucks that come under the purview of the Wildlife Conservation Act,” the verdict said.

Khatri said that, “considering the rising number of cases of illegal hunting of wildlife animals, looking at the circumstances of the case and gravity of the offence, giving the benefit of Probation of Offender Act does not appear justified.”

The prosecution said, “we wanted maximum punishment”

Mahipal Bishnoi, counsel for the Bishnoi community, had said on Thursday, “After the court convicted Khan under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment along with a monetary fine of Rs 10,000. We had asked for maximum punishment available under the provisions of the Act, which is six years, but the court sentenced him to five years. From the beginning, our case was strong because of watertight evidence and the fact that the witnesses stuck to their statements.”

More report sought: According to reports, the sessions court has sought a detailed report on the blackbuck poaching case from the trial court.

False statements? During the hearing, Salman’s counsel argued that the witnesses’ statements were not reliable and had discrepancies. To this, the public prosecutor retorted that the council must then prove these statements wrong.

8. Salman Khan gets death threat from local gangster: A Punjab-based gangster, Lawrence Bishnoi, on Friday threatened to kill Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

The notorious gangster was brought to a Jodhpur local court on production warrant. While being taken into the police vehicle, Bishnoi said he would kill Khan in Jodhpur itself. On the reported threat to Khan by the gangster, Jail superintendent Vikram Singh said: We are thinking of keeping him with some other prisoners from tomorrow so that he is not alone considering the threat to him.”

Jodhpur police had arrested Bishnoi for his involvement in twin cases of firing. He was again arrested by the police for his involvement in the murder of Vasudev Israni, an electronic businessman from the city.

9. Rs 5 bn worth of Salman Khan films hang fire: Salman Khan, sultan of the Rs 1 billion box-office club, might just be dethroned. He is slated to star in four major films over the next two years — Race 3, Dabangg 3, Kick 2 and Bharat. While the last three are in pre-production stages, Race 3 is in production in the UAE. Trade analysts said Rs 4-5 billion is riding on these films, which might be affected by his sentencing.

Khan has starred in some of Bollywood’s most successful films, the latest being Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), which made Rs 3.39 billion in India.

“It is too early to say if the projects will be shelved or whether Salman (Khan) will be replaced with another actor. If he gets bail and is allowed to finish the immediate projects, then at least Race 3 will release on the announced date,” said a trade analyst.

10. Animal rights activists welcome Salman conviction: Animal right groups on Thursday welcomed the sentencing of Bollywood star Salman Khan in a 1998 blackbuck killing case, asserting the verdict proved no one was above the law, while a section of activists said the actor should have been given the maximum punishment under the Wildlife Act.”The verdict shows, whether you are Salman Khan or an ordinary citizen, the facts will be heard by a court and the law will prevail,” PETA India spokesperson Sachin Bangera said. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), People For Animals (PFA), Wildlife SOS and Humane Society were among the groups that welcomed the verdict.

Salman convicted because he’s a Muslim, says Pak FM: Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif linked the sentencing of Salman Khan in the blackbuck case with the actor’s religion and said he has been sentenced “because he’s a minority”. In an interview with Hamid Mir of Pakistan’s Geo TV, Asif said, “Salman Khan has been sentenced because he’s a minority. To sentence him in a case that is twenty years old goes on to show that lives of those who are Muslims, ‘untouchables’ or Christians are not valued in India.” “Maybe if he belonged to the religion of the ruling party of India he would not have been given such a harsh sentence and the court might have been lenient with him,” he claimed.

Supports pours in for Salman Khan on Twitter: Latest trend on Twitter and Facebook is #IStandWithSalmanKhan. A Twitter user said, “Without Salman Khan, Bollywood is like banjar zameen (barren land).” Another user said Salman is known for his generosity nothing should happen to him.

“It’s simply wrong for him to suffer for something that has not even been done by him,” the user added.

His fans have also been circulating messages across social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. Here is one such message that is being widely circulated:

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