India's Solar Lanterns

Just read a post on solar energy. A NPO in India called Sadguru Foundation supplied 100 solar lanterns to socially and economically disadvantaged households in 25 villages in the Dahod district of Gujarat state between January 2004 to December 2007. Professor Govindasamy Agoramoorthy from Tajen University and Dr. Minna Hsu from the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan studied the effect (translate benefits) of the same to the households. And concluded that solar lanterns were not only ecologically beneficial but also safer and more economical.

Considering that the report is quite old now one would expect that the Indian government should have made all Indian villages Solar Lantern villages! But there has been no such progress. However, we hope that more people will make themselves aware of this technology and it will be used in rural households of various developing nations.

Revolutionary Technology

At Choices we are no big fans of forwards but one of our well wishers forwarded something that made us all sit up. On March 27, 09 a piece of news appeared online that has the potential to change the way our world looks and functions today.

MIT is going to announce its patent on an electrolyzer that can enable each house to create electricity for itself by itself!

They have developed a manufacturable electrolyzer made from cobalt and potassium phosphate. This technology, powered by a 6 meter by 5 meter photovoltaic array on the roof, is capable of powering an entire house’s power needs plus a fuel cell good for 500 km of travel, with just 5 liters of water. Its cheap, its efficient, its manufacturable, and it works on Room Temperature!!

This revolutionary technique could translate into an end to big energy corporates, hydro electricity to create which people are displaced, natural order is disturbed, several species are destroyed and because of which atmosphere suffers.

To read the original post visit this link:

http://cleantechnica.com/2009/03/27/mit-professor-power-your-house-with-5-liters-of-water-per-day/

Pakistan’s Achilles Heel

I came across a rather interesting article today on gopetition.com. Allow me to share with you the article and my thoughts on it.

The article was published by Nigah Zehra on Jan 29, 2009 and titled “Who carried out 2,148 terrorist attacks inside Pakistan” The topic suggested it would shed some light on the fundamentalists behind various terrorist attacks on Pakistan. But Lo and Behold! The Article was much more than I bargained for.

It quotes studies by Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies according to which in 2008 the country saw 2,148 terrorist attacks, which caused 6,825 casualties — 2,267 of them fatal. There are many more statistics but just this was enough to make me sit up.

The Author after quoting above mentioned and more such hair-raising statistics questions if the world is aware of Pakistan’s plight. According to the author America’s suspicions on Pakistan’s commitment to fighting terrorism and the “do more litany” clearly shows that America is not aware of “what the country and its people have been going through”. Immediately after this attention diverts to India. The Author vents out the rage at Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts post Mumbai terrorist attacks wherein though Pakistan presumably convinced the world that it was not responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attack, the efforts were characterized by diffidence (according to the author) and failed to show Pakistan’s anger on India’s baseless accusations.
The real Drama is in the next Paragraph where the Author questions if India has suffered as much as Pakistan has! The answer to that rhetoric question as per the Author is “No”. It evidently infuriates the Author to think that the World believes India has suffered more than Pakistan at hands of terrorism and instead mistakenly believes that safe havens for Taliban and other militants exits in Fata and elsewhere in Pakistan territory.

The Article made me think and this is what I think and what I would like to say to the Author and all those who think similarly:
1. If United States of America is not aware of the “Pakistani Plight” why has it been financially supporting it since before 1980s?
2. Is it not extremely thankless of an individual to curse America when he/she can eat the daily naan simply because America – “The Big Bad Brother” has been pumping in money in his/her country?
3. Notwithstanding accusations (supported by evidences in most if not all cases) of terrorism by various countries can Pakistan really close its eyes to the fact that extremism is growing in its land and that the terrorists who bleed the State are locally grown?
4. Can an honest Pakistani really deny that the Anti India sentiment is strong enough in Pakistan to blind its people to the follies of their government just because India brings them to light?
5. Can any Pakistani intellectual deny that Pakistan today suffers from a severe case of low self esteem (but immense Ego) and feels victimized by the World?

It is not the intention to insult Pakistan – a country this Blog has praised earlier for its tenacious hold on Democratic ideals despite various upheavals. However, it is the intention to point out that Pakistani “avaam” (people) needs to open its eyes and accept that:

• it has received ample international aid
• its soil today is ripe with the blood of innocents and moderates and grows extremists
• problems that Pakistan faces today are not creation of other forces but its own failing and
• the Anti India slogans can wait for a time when Pakistan has stabilized itself

Unless they do not accept these facts there is no hope for Pakistan. And it will be foolishness for any Pakistani to think that any country including India would want Pakistan to fail as a State. India watches Pakistan with abated breath and hopes that it will stabilize for the sole reason that a failed neighbour State ripe with Islamic Extremism and Fundamentalism will be a reality worse than India’s worst nightmares. Similarly no country in the World would want Pakistan to fail as a State as that will only give rise to terrorism, endanger international oil interests in Afghanistan, increase Islamic Extremism and maybe even make it easier for terrorists to lay their hands on nuclear arsenal that Pakistan so gladly and foolishly continues to increase.

Pakistan: And the Road to Secularism

The foundation of Pakistan was laid by Muhammad Ali Jinnah who was a man of secular vision. To quote him, in his address to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947 he said to the assembled delegates:

“You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or, to any other places of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed–that has got nothing to do with the business of the State…. We are all starting with this fundamental principle that we are citizens and equal citizens of one State…. Now, I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.”

Jinnah’s death in September of 1948 meant that his secularist perspective lost its most dynamic proponent. The issues involved in defining the character of the new State proved so contentious that Pakistan did not get its first constitution until 1956, which established Pakistan as an “Islamic Republic”. This Constitution of 1956 was abrogated on 7th of October, 1958 and Martial law was imposed; and when, on 8th of June, 1962, Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan, the Chief Martial Law Administrator, enforced his self-made Constitution, the word ‘Islamic’ from its name was omitted. It was only named as “Republic of Pakistan”. The 1962 Constitution established several Islamic institutions but gave them no real legislative power. Further, two portions of the 1956 preamble were notably missing from the 1962 version:

• The repugnancy clause and
• any references to ‘Quran’ and ‘Sunnah’.

Shortly thereafter, however, when the first session of the National Assembly was convened at Dacca, on the move of the well-known member of Jamaat-e-Islami of the then East Pakistan, Barrister Akhtaruddin, the word ‘Islamic’ was added before the word “Republic of Pakistan” and so by the first “Constitution Amendment Act, 1963”, Pakistan was again named as “Islamic Republic of Pakistan”. Since then, the name of this State continues to be “the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”. The amendment even reinstated the repugnancy clause and added an additional phrase stating:
“No law shall be repugnant to the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, and all existing laws shall be brought into conformity therewith”.

The 1973 Constitution was the first constitution to formally establish Islam as the State religion in Pakistan. The 1973 Constitution also retained the retroactive clause of the 1962 Constitution requiring “all existing laws to be brought into conformity with the injunctions of Islam” and created the Council of Islamic Ideology to enforce implementation of the clause.

As often seen with States declaring a State Religion, we see a slight bias towards Moral Principles of the State Religion for example, Article 37 (h) casts a duty on the State to prevent the consumption of alcoholic liquor other than for medical, and, in case of non-Muslims, religious purpose. Article 40 provides for strengthening bonds with Muslims and promotion of international peace reflecting the Islamic philosophy that all Muslims and Muslim nations of the world are one and must stand united.

The Constitution under Chapter 2 (Article 29 to Article 40) lays down certain principles of policy of the State, such as Article 31 which provides that steps shall be taken to enable the Muslims of Pakistan, individually and collectively, to order their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles and basic concepts of Islam, according to the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah. The provisions of this Chapter like Directive Principles in the Indian Constitution are not binding on the Courts but provide guidelines for policy-oriented decisions of all State functionaries. It is to be noted that under this Article the framers manifested their intention to ensure that “Muslims” follow their religion diligently and that State must help them in doing so; no intention to force Islamic way of life on non – Muslims is manifested. Article 20 of the 1973 Constitution contains the following major provision on religious freedom: “Subject to law, public order and morality,–
(a) every citizen shall have the right to profess, practice and propagate his religion; and
(b) every religious denomination and every sect thereof shall have the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions”.

Article 227 in PART IX requires that all existing laws must be brought in conformity with the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah (Injunctions of Islam) and no law repugnant to such Injunctions must be enacted. Immediately though it is stated that:

“Nothing in this Part shall affect the personal laws of non- Muslim citizens or their status as citizens”.

This provision however does not suffice to prove that Muslim dictates are not being forced upon the non Muslim citizens. It is necessary for any nation to have a strong and independent judiciary in order to develop a check and balance system for the Executive. This element is however absent in Pakistan. It is because of the weakened judicial machinery that Articles of secular potential enshrined in the Constitution are not effectively implemented.

The judicial system established by the 1973 Constitution has been effectively weakened by the creation of a separate Federal Shariat Court mandated to strike down any law deemed repugnant to the injunctions of Islam. The decisions of the Shariat Court are binding upon the High Courts and cannot be over-ridden by Parliament. Moreover, Presidential powers compromise the independence of High Court judges and of the Supreme Court judges nominated to the Shariat Court.

At the economic level, Musharraf’s government moved towards Islamization of the banking system. In July 2003, the State Bank of Pakistan issued guidelines for the introduction of Islamic banking. These guidelines required ‘stand alone branches for Islamic banking’ or separate counters in existing branches, and separate books of account to be maintained for Islamic banking transactions.

Article 51(4A) of the Constitution was amended in 1985 so as to bar non-Muslims from voting in elections to the general seats of the National Assembly. After the amendment, non-Muslims could only vote for non-Muslim candidates contesting on reserved seats for the religious minorities. The same however came to an end with the repeal of Article 51(4A) by Chief Executive Order No. 24 of 2002. A few other Articles too must be looked into in order to understand the position of political rights in the country. The preliminary condition to recognition of such rights is however a stable political system which is missing in Pakistan. Frequent military coups and drafting of new Constitutions has led to centralization of power and has failed to respond to the needs of its extremely diverse population. This has led to a sense of marginalization and deprivation, sub- national and ethnic conflicts and separatist tendencies among various disenfranchised groups and regions. In such a scenario where Fundamentalists are known to have a strong hold on any government that comes in power and where rulers find it necessary to bow down to their demands in varying degrees in order to legitimize their usurpation of power, and where Judges fear persecution when they take a liberal view of laws like Section 295C of Penal Code, equal voting rights alone can not guarantee political power to religious minorities which is essential for secularism to exist.

Under Section 295 C an offender may be punished with death or lifetime imprisonment if it is proved that he used derogatory language toward or regarding the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Critics of this section focus on the severe quantum of punishment. They argue that capital punishment is not commensurate with the “violation” involved. On the other hand, proponents argue that the purpose of the penal law is to preserve public order by mandating retribution for any act that grievously injures the religious feelings of a large class or community. Those in that class or community, it is argued, should be saved from gross injury perceived to occur by such outrageous actions. In a number of cases involving the Ahmadis, the courts have held that Section 295C must be narrowly construed and its consequences strictly applied. However, in these same cases, the minimum punishment available has actually been given.

Pakistan’s Constitution though declares Islam as the State religion and prohibits a Non Muslim from being elected as the President, has the potential to lead the country towards becoming a Secular State. However frequent coups and repealed constitutions force us to accept the bitter fact that in Pakistan it is the ideology of and capacity to sustain him/her self in face of severe pressure from Fundamentalists that decides Secularism’s fate in this country where Secularism has never had the chance to truly develop. Thus it can be easily said that fate of Secularism in Pakistan is not written by Constitution, Law or Judiciary but by individuals in power.

Gangajal Mentality in Jharkhand

A conscientious cop trying to improve the system meets stiff resistance. When the villians have tested the system’s patience to the limit subordinates of this honest cop snap and take their frustration out by drowsing acid on the villians. In no time the cowardly town terrorized by Yadav family is rejuvenated and takes matters in its hands dowsing acid on every criminal – taking law in their own hands.

Just fiction? Not really. Reality is closer to Reel than we sometimes realize. Recently, villagers in eastern India burned eight suspected robbers alive and beat four others to death.
Is it an illustration of human’s beastly nature? senseless mob violence? or something deeper? more serious? The incident took place in Pakur district of Jharkhand (a State in Eastern India), a State known for its lawlessness and ‘jungle raaj’. Corruption is deep rooted and the State machinery has failed so miserably that citizens are left with no choice but to take the law in their hands to protect themselves against crime.