Friday 17 August 2012

Ecrasez L’infame (Crush the infamy)


Sar Zameen-e-Hind par aqwaam-e-Alam ke Firaq
Qafile guzarte gaye, Hindustan banta gaya”
                         --Firaq Gorakhpuri

News has come that 18,000 North East people have fled from Bangalore, Pune, etc. due to fear psychosis and feeling of insecurity. This is a disgrace to our nation.

             This is not an isolated incident. North East people are often insulted,  humiliated, looked down upon,  and discriminated against, and called ‘Chinks’ because of the Mongoloid  features of many of them. This is shameful. I am reminded of Voltaire’s famous statement ‘Ecrasez L’infame’ (crush the infamy) which is the dictum we should follow.

            Unfortunately the mindset of many people in the plains of India is that North East people with Mongoloid features are not really Indians but foreigners. Hence we have to explain   what is India?

            I have in my article What is India’, explained that India is broadly a country of immigrants, like North America. Almost 92-93% people living in India today are descendants of immigrants, and not the original inhabitants. The original inhabitants of India, as it is now established, are neither the Aryans nor the Dravidians, but the pre-Dravidian tribals or Adivasis e.g. Bhils, Gonds, Santhals, Todas,  etc who were driven into the forests by many our ancestors and treated very badly. They are now only about 7 to 8% of our population. The rest of us are descendants of immigrants, as explained in my judgment in Kailas V State of Maharashtra (2011) 1 S.C.C. 793.

            People migrated into India (mainly from the North West, but also to some extent from the North East) because people migrate from uncomfortable to comfortable areas. Before the Industrial Revolution there were agricultural societies everywhere, and India was a paradise for agriculture, having level land, fertile soil, plenty of water, etc. Hence for thousands of years people have been coming into India.

            This theory, that India is broadly a country of immigrants, explains the tremendous diversity of India --  so many castes, religions, languages, ethnic groups, etc. Somebody is tall, someone short, somebody fair, someone dark, others brown (of all shades), someone with  Caucasian features, someone Mongoloid, someone Negroid, etc.

            We may compare India with China. China has a population of 130 crores as compared  with our 120 crores, and China has more than twice our land area. But there is broad (though not absolute) homogeneity in China. All Chinese have Mongoloid  features, they have one common written script called Mandarin (though spoken dialects are different), and 95% Chinese belong to one ethnic group called the Han.

In contrast, India has tremendous diversity, and  that is why the only policy which will keep our country united and take us to the path of prosperity is secularism and giving equal respect to people of all communities, region, language, race etc. This was the policy of the great Emperor Akbar who gave equal respect to all communities and proclaimed the doctrine of  suleh-e-kul i.e.  universal toleration of all religions, at a time when Europeans  were often massacring each other in the name of religion (see in this connection my judgment in Hinsa Virodhak Sangh Vs. Mirzapur Moti Kuresh Jamaat, available online) . It is because of this wise policy of Akbar that the Mughal Empire lasted so long. This policy was continued by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his colleagues who enacted a Constitution giving equal respect to all Indians.

I am deeply distressed when I see violation of this Constitutional policy by some people. For example, the bhoomiputra (son of the soil) theory propounded by some people in Maharashtra is totally unconstitutional. The people who say that non-Maharashtrians like South Indians, U.P.ites, Biharis, etc should get out of Maharashtra because they are not bhumiputra forget that in that case 95% Maharashtrians will also have to get out of Maharashtra because the real sons of the soil in Maharashtra are the Bhils and other tribals in Maharashtra who are only 5% of the population of Maharashtra.
Moreover, Article 19(1) (e) of the Indian Constitution says that all Indian are entitled to reside and settle anywhere in India. If non-Maharashtrians are made to leave Maharashtra then Maharashtraians in Delhi, U.P., Punjab, etc will also have to go back to Maharashtra. This will be fatal for the unity of our country.

I therefore request all patriotic people in India to understand our country, and see through the nefarious designs of the mischievous elements who want to break up our country.

People of the North East are as much Indians as people of U.P., Bihar, and other States. Any insult to them or their harassment or discrimination is a national crime, and the perpetrators of such crimes should be severely punished.       


10 comments:

  1. In full agreement Sir. While the constitution says many good things but its implementatio is as farce as a mirage. Had the Indian govt been homogenous in its approach in dealing with such situations irrespetive of who is the perpetrator & what religion he belongs to, this issue wouldn't have got beyond the hands, in fact none would. At one hand we want to go Global however mentality always has been that of a regionalist. For 2 mins, even I were to believe that Bhumiputra theory is correct & Maharashtra belongs to the incumbent Marathis, where does the Indian culture teach to throw one out who has visited your house? Had such creatures been dealth sternly, it would have sent a message - magar yeh ho na saka - so eventually we are selective & we always would - India would keep dis-integrating like this unless someone like Chanakya.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Though I broadly agree with rationale of treating every Indian equally and protecting them under constitutional laws, I think (with sizeable knowledge that I possess) it would be slightly over-board to say 93% of Indians are immigrants and India is like US in this respect. Firstly, the Aryan-Dravidian theory is highly debated one, with some scholars now believing they are one and same civilization. Secondly, Indus Valley Civilization was indeed a native, highly developed and tolerant society. To call them outsiders would be unfair; if only Bhils are real inhabitants, why should we not go further and also consider them outsider (considering tectonic plates and homo-erectus). Thirdly, that India is diverse could also be explained by foreign invaders and their influence on local inhabitants, rather than foreign settlements as was the case in US. Though there is lot of diversity in India, most of them could be assembled in one common genetic group, which makes one doubt on "all-outsiders" theory.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Though I broadly agree with rationale of treating every Indian equally and protecting them under constitutional laws, I think (with sizeable knowledge that I possess) it would be slightly over-board to say 93% of Indians are immigrants and India is like US in this respect. Firstly, the Aryan-Dravidian theory is highly debated one, with some scholars now believing they are one and same civilization. Secondly, Indus Valley Civilization was indeed a native, highly developed and tolerant society. To call them outsiders would be unfair; if only Bhils are real inhabitants, why should we not go further and also consider them outsider (considering tectonic plates and homo-erectus). Thirdly, that India is diverse could also be explained by foreign invaders and their influence on local inhabitants, rather than foreign settlements as was the case in US. Though there is lot of diversity in India, most of them could be assembled in one common genetic group, which makes one doubt on "all-outsiders" theory.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Justice Katju, I so agree with this post, like most of your other posts. I can personally find connection to this post more than others because, I've experienced it personally. My mother-tongue is Tamil. I was born & raised in Maharashtra. My great grand parents migrated from T.N. to Karnataka. Currently my family resides in Bangalore and from the past 4yeas, I live in the US. I don't know what exactly is my native land. But calling myself an Indian seems to make it easy for me.

    I wish the sensible people of India understand this diversity and act accordingly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wish Indian government could utilize you in some better way than just making a toothless chief of PCI!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Don't agree at all!Your blog does not speak about the real issue- about Bangladeshi migrants encroaching on Bodo land and wavers into issue of Maharashtra which has no relevance.The opinion expressed about issue of Maharashtra is one sided and without unbiased study of real study of the issue and the underlying problem.By your logic, we all should allow Bangladeshi people everywhere in India and provide them with full rights as Indians since Bangladesh was part of India one time and our so called secular leaders allowed everyone to decide where to stay!Anything man made including constitution is error prone and needs amended.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I broadly agree with what you wrote, but it appeals to less than 5% of our population.
    In the light of what is happening, what is needed is more police force, more investment in providing needed equipment, and more intelligence gathering. Also efficient and faster justice system.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hon'ble Mr.Justice M.Katju:

    I am in agreement with the concerns raised by your Lordship. Any citizen of India concerned about the national integrity and human rights would share Your Lordship's concerns. I apprehend, politricks (alas! we do not have politicians worth the name in India now, like the one we had about 2300 years ago--Chanakya) behind such incidents that happened to the people in NE parts of India. True, the people from North Eastern parts of India are a neglected lot. It is for the policy makers in Delhi to realize that consolidation and not confrontation is only means to keep this country united and strong.

    With respectful regards,
    Yours faithfully,

    Adv.Anilkumar Kappillil
    Advoate, High Court of Kerala, Ernakulam, Cochin.

    ReplyDelete
  9. HONB'LE JUSTICE KATJU I humbly request you to publish a source wherefrom you have taken a cue that the origional inhabitants of this land were ADIVASIS

    ReplyDelete
  10. To Katju. J,
    "nikala chaahta hai kaam kya taano se ai Ghalib,
    tere be-mehr kehne se wo tujh par mehrbaan kyun ho"...

    ReplyDelete