 
**The President Takes Over**

Published by Bhaskar Sarkar, at Smashwords

Cover art: Sarita Sharma

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Copyright Author Bhaskar Sarkar 2012

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to Anna Hazare and his Team and the supporters

of India Against Corruption Movement

And Baba Ram Dev and his Movement to Bring Back Black Money

Contents

Preface

Prologue

The Plan is Made

Emergency is Declared

The First day

The Initial Tussles

New Rules for Elections

Crimes against the State

Some other Ordinances

Law against Economic Offenses

Judicial Reforms

Making Government Departments Accountable

Mauling the Mafia

Some Unpopular Measures

Dealing with Illegal Immigrants

Barbaric Punishments for Barbaric Crimes

Interrogation of Economic Offenders

Law is Enforced

The Raid Raj

Search for Black Money

Strike against Strikers

The president Pardons

Economic Agenda

Things fall in Place

End of the Emergency

Epilogue

Preface

A time has come when any intelligent and patriotic citizen has a right to be alarmed at the state of affairs in India. As of September 8, 2012, it is my personal opinion that our political system as reached a nadir. The political ethos of today must be tormenting the souls of the freedom fighters who gave their lives to see an independent India, a vibrant, progressive, strong India. Our educated youth, who are the primary stake holders in India's future, must also be wondering about their future.

We hear the slogan "Mera Bharat Mahan" or "My India is Great." BJP also coined the "India Shining" slogan. I fail to see what is great or shining about India. We have been independent since 1947 or about 65 years. Let us look at some facts about our achievements:

We are told that we are the fifth largest economy in the world. What we are not told is that our per capita GDP (PPP) is only $2563 per year which is at 115th place out of 195 countries. In comparison, China has a per capita GDP of $5325, Pakistan $2594, Sri Lanka $4265 and Egypt $5495.

Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative index for measuring the state of development in a country. It combines factors like life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living. India stands at 133rd place amongst 195 countries with a score of 0.609 as per the list published in 2008 based on data of 2006. In comparison China is at 90th place with a score of 0.762, Sri Lanka at 104th with 0.742, Iran at 84th place with 0.777, Egypt at 116th place with 0.716 and Congo at 130th place with 0.619.

Our infant mortality rate is 55 per 1000 live births. In comparison the rate is 23 for China, 11 for Sri Lanka and 53 in Nepal. The world average is 48.8 per 1000.

Our literacy rate is 65.2% and places us at 159th out of 195 countries. The rate is 93% for China, 90.8% in Sri Lanka and 71% in Egypt.

As per UNDP list India has 28.5% people below the poverty line. In comparison, China has 4.6%, Egypt has 16.7%, Malaysia has 15.5% and Sri Lanka 25%.

India is in the top 20 most corrupt countries of the world. Recently two software giants of India, Satyam Computers and Wipro have been banned by World Bank from working for them for 8 and 4 years respectively for following corrupt practices. Three other Indian companies have also been barred for the same reason in 2007. Massive financial scams involving trillions of Rupees in allocation of coal mines and spectrum have surfaced. In an unprecedented move, the US daily, Washington Post, published a sharply critical article on the Indian political leadership, the Congress Party and India itself. About the present Prime Minister, Mr. Manhohan Singh, it wrote, "India's silent prime minister becomes a tragic figure...... a dithering, ineffectual bureaucrat presiding over a deeply corrupt government."

Is there anything in the above figure to be proud of? India became independent in 1947, China in 1950. India had been unscathed by Second World War. China had been devastated by Japanese occupation from 1935 to 1945 and 38 years of civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists. Yet China is far ahead of us in every sphere. Why is it so? The answer is simple. China has had more effective governance than what we had. The Chinese leaders were more nationalist than ours. Our political leaders from Pundit Nehru to Sonia Gandhi have never been able to put the interest of the nation above that of self, dynasty or the party.

As of date there are about 40 political parties who contest Lok Sabha (parliamentary) polls. In the last election in 2009, the Congress won 182 seats and the BJP 138. Thus between themselves they won 320 seats out of 545. The other 38 parties and independents won 225 seats. This led to coalitions of convenience and marriages of strange bedfellows with the sole objective of sharing the power and perks of office. And when the share is denied or egos are hurt, support is withdrawn. This leads to intense horse trading and pandering to sectarian interests rather than national interest. It is unlikely that the election results of 2014 are going to be any different.

Many political parties are controlled by dynasties. The Nehru-Gandhi family rules in the Congress, the Badals rule the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Chauthalas rule the Haryana Vikas Party, the Thakres rule Shiv Sena, Devegowdas rule JD (U), Mulayam Singh Yadav and his family rule the Samajwadi Party and so on. The BJP and the communists are perhaps the only parties who are not a dictatorship of an individual or a family.

Then there is vote bank politics. Congress and CPM encouraged immigration of Muslims from Bangladesh since 1971 to increase their Muslim vote banks. They try to hold the vote banks with pro Muslim policies. Most political parties keep trying to increase their share of Muslim vote. The vote bank politics also encourages divisions based on religion and caste. The politics of reservation is a part of this trend. The constitution provided for reservations for 50 years. That has been extended. Constitution provides that Christians and Muslims cannot be given reservation as they have no caste. Congress and some state governments keep declaring reservations for them. The Supreme Court declared that the creamy layer should not be eligible for reservations. Since that was eliminating the children of most politicians, IAS and IPS officers, the creamy layer starts at an income of Rs 4,50,000 ($ 90000) per annum, which makes most of these categories eligible to reservation. The entire political system is based on dividing rather than uniting the country.

The Governments stand paralyzed by internal contradictions and conflicts of sectarian interests. The law and order in most state is so bad that ordinary people, particularly women, are unsafe. Looting the Government treasuries, misappropriation and destruction of public property continues unabated. Governments at center and states do not bother to implement court orders for years. There is no accountability at any level. All Government servants including those employed on essential services like oil sector, transport and banking go on strike and hold the country to ransom. Agitators block trains, burn government properties and beat up police personnel. The Government just refuses to act. It is indeed a sad state to be in the 65th year of independence.

The Parliament has become a farce. The only issue on which our parliamentarians show unanimity is when it comes to increase their own emoluments and perks. The parliament sittings are reducing every year. There is hardly any debate. The members behave in the most undignified manner. The ruling party is unable to pass bills and to conduct any legislative business.

It is not that people do not know what is wrong. Civil society leaders like Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have been holding fasts and agitations. Hundreds of thousands of their supporters, members of "India Against Corruption", have held protests in almost all cities of India. Millions of words have been written and spoken in the media about corruption in high places, about the nexus between the politicians and the criminals, about dividing the country on caste and religious lines in the search of votes that would allow a party to rule the country and enjoy the perks of office. Television channels show advertisements asking people not to vote for criminals and other unsuitable candidates. The right things cannot be done, harsh measures cannot be taken because it may cost votes or annoy coalition partners who are indispensable. The possibility of economic slavery under the developed nations and their multinationals looms large on the horizon.

Can anything be done about it? Can the politicians be expected to forgo their individual and party interests and take measures that will be beneficial to the country and its masses? Or are we destined to endure the rule of self seekers in perpetuity and slowly become a banana republic where the rich and the privileged are in total control and the rest of us become slaves or bonded labor?

Some of my friends feel that Army rule is the only answer. There is no doubt that the Defense Services and the Paramilitary Forces are the only institutions which have some discipline and are relatively free from political influence. But the leaders of these organizations are more used to obeying orders of their mentors than thinking about the problems of the country. And what is the guarantee that once in power they will not fall into corrupt ways of those whom they replace? After all, these organizations are not entirely free from nepotism and corruption. We have examples of the result of military rule in Pakistan.

This book is about what can be done to tackle the situation. Perhaps it is just a dream. But unless we dream, we will have no goals, and no progress.

The Author

Back to Contents

Prologue

Col Bhuvan Sen was a bit of a fool (idealist). When he was passing out of the Indian Military Academy, he had read the famous words of Lord Chetwode:- _"The honor and welfare of your country comes first always and every time; the honor and welfare of your men comes next always and every time; your own honor and welfare comes last always and every time."_

He took these words unnecessarily seriously, and tried to act accordingly. His seniors down the line forgot to tell him that in the modern age, the word "country" had been replaced by the word "boss". He served honorably but did not rise very high in the hierarchy of the Army. In due course he retired.

Col Sen was deeply pained by the state of anarchy that prevailed in his beloved country. There was no effective government. Scams after scams were coming to light. It would appear that every person with authority was out to make money at the cost of the Government exchequer or the investing public. Essential services were often disrupted. Government organizations went on strike at the drop of a hat throwing the life of a common man out of gear. Political parties called "bundhs" (sit in protests) and paralyzed the life of the common man. Murder and extortion were common place as were crimes against women. The police wanted money to register FIRs (First Information Reports). They accepted money to harass business competitors or neighbors. They extorted money from truck and bus operators, auto rikshaws (a mechanized three wheeler), street vendors, and encroacher's of public spaces. They falsely implicated people in cases and extorted money. If the offender had political connections, it was likely that the police would not register the case or investigate it properly. The electricity boards allowed unofficial connections for a bribe or in case of people with influence and did not collect dues from politicians. There were large leakages in collection of customs duty, exercise duty, income tax and other sources of Government revenues. Parties and state governments were falling over each other in trying to grant populist concessions like writing off loans, promising rice at Rs 3 per Kilogram, distributing televisions to the poor and lap tops to students in the hope of getting votes and expect the Central Government to pick up the bill. In the desperate search for foreign investment, national interest and the interest of Indian companies and farmers were available on sale for a few million dollars. Money laundering and tax cheating is condoned in the name of being investor friendly. Banned pesticides and genetically modified seeds which are banned in Europe were allowed to be sold in India. Most government departments did not work. Roads were not repaired or were dug up the day the repairs were completed. Water supply schemes were completed but did not work effectively. Power cuts crippled life and killed industries. Terrorists had a free run of the country, bombing, killing and maiming at will.

There was no political morality. Political power at all cost was the name of the game. Known criminals and mafia dons were given tickets by political parties to contest elections. Elected leaders had no loyalty to the voters but switched sides to gain the benefits of office. Bribes were accepted for using the voting rights during trial of strength in the parliament and no one was found guilty. Elected representatives and their families wanted to be above law. Authority was desired without any responsibility for the acts of omission and commission. Black cat commando protection for self and family had become a status symbol.

Col Sen was very sad. He longed to set the things right. But what could he do? He prayed to God to do something to save his country, to give him the strength to do something to set things right. He prayed often, long and hard. Finally one day God appeared before him and said, "I am pleased with your prayers and your love for your mother land. I am going to give you one chance to do something for your country. I will put your soul into the body of the president. However, to make sure that you do not change your resolve after you become the president, the change will be only for six months after which your soul will revert to your own body. Whatever you want to do, you will have to do in these six months. Tomorrow, when you wake up, you will find yourself in the body of the President. Sort the mess out if you can. My blessings are with you."

Back to Contents

The Plan is Made

Col Sen woke up in a strange room. He was relieved to find that he was alone in bed. The President obviously slept alone. He looked around. It was a very large room luxuriously furnished. It would take some time to get adjusted to the situation. There was little he could do. He did not dare to move out for the fear of making a fool of himself. He waited for things to happen.

At 6-30 AM, the orderly brought in the tea and news papers. He signaled him to place it on the bedside table and picked up one of the papers. There was the usual trash; the tussle between the government and the opposition over "Coal Gate". Which political leader had said what, some predictions on the fate of the government and the progress on the various investigations? It appeared that the plight of the common man was only news worthy if they were raped, murdered or brutalized and that too never news worthy for the front pages. He poured himself a cup of tea and turned to the sports pages. Then he found the bathroom. He hesitated for a moment at the thought of using another's toothbrush but picked it up. It was the Presidents teeth that he was going to clean anyway. The morning chores done, he returned to bed.

The next visitor was a doctor and a nurse. They gave him a thorough checkup. When they were about to leave, he told the doctor to wait. Once the nurse had left, he told the doctor that he was to be declared indisposed and all his appointments for the next three days were to be canceled. He told the doctor to tell the ADC to see him immediately.

Soon after the doctor had left, an elderly lady entered. She inquired about his health and fussed over him. It had to be the president's wife. It was very disconcerting. He assured her that his indisposition was nothing serious and a little rest would set things right. He told her not to worry but to leave him alone.

The next to come in was the ADC. He liked the young fellow. He was a smart keen young man in his ceremonial dress. At his age every one had a bit of nationalism and idealism in them. He hoped that the man had adequate discretionary powers as well. He told the ADC that he was having some memory problem. He should therefore bring all the recent videos taken at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (India's White House), show them to him and point out the various personalities in them. He also told the ADC that he did not want to see any one other than the doctor and his wife and he was not to be disturbed.

The ADC returned after about half an hour with an arm full of video cassettes. Together he went through each one of them getting to know the staff and to observe how the President behaved with the various people and situations. By evening he hoped that he would be able to conduct himself without making a fool of himself. He felt a little tired. He asked the ADC to bring him some whiskey and water. The ADC was aghast. He had never seen the President drink. But he did what he was told. The President poured himself a drink and asked the ADC to join him. They talked about the state of the nation. Then he asked the ADC if he could keep a secret. The ADC assured him that he could. He then told him that he wanted that the Defense Service Chiefs should see him at 9 AM the next day. They should seek an appointment with his secretary and ostensibly come to inquire about his health. He would also like to see the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who should also come to inquire about his health at about 11 AM. The ADC was to go to the houses of the Chiefs and the Chief Justice using his personal transport so that no one came to know of his mission and personally convey the request of the President. He should then come and confirm that the program was fixed. The ADC was intrigued. But, like a good soldier, he kept his thoughts to himself. He downed his drink and left on his mission.

The President had another drink and then hid the bottle. He then rang the bell and called for dinner. At 10 PM, the ADC came and confirmed that the messages had been conveyed and that the Service Chiefs and the Chief Justice had confirmed that the Service Chiefs would come at 9 AM and the Chief Justice at 11 AM.

At 9 AM the next day, the service chiefs were ushered into the President's bedroom. After the usual exchange of formalities, they were seated and tea was served. Once the table had been cleared, the President told the ADC to leave the room and ensure that he was not disturbed under any circumstances. Then he asked the chiefs whether they accepted him as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Force without any reservations. The Chiefs were taken aback at the question. After a brief pause they confirmed their loyalties. The President then told them that he considered that the political and economic condition in the country was alarming. The coalition Government was unable to govern. There were too many parties and they kept pressurizing the government to get what they wanted. The nexus between the politicians and criminals had gained strength over the years. Every public institution was being eroded. Government treasuries were being looted. MP's and MLA's and their families did not want to be accountable as public servants and be liable under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Government was circumventing judgments of the Supreme Court by passing ordinances or procrastinating on their implementation. The coalition Government at the Center and the state governments were not in a position to take unpopular decisions. Corruption had risen to unacceptable levels. The rule of law had been replaced by the law of the jungle. In short total anarchy was prevailing. If the country was to be saved from ruin, something drastic had to be done. He asked the generals if they agreed with his assessment of the situation or not. The Service Chiefs nodded their agreement. The President then told the generals that he felt that the only way to deal with the situation was to declare internal emergency for six months, to dismiss the present Government, to dissolve the parliament and to hold elections under new laws to break the politician criminal nexus. There was also a need for some harsh action to root out corruption, improve accountability of the civil services and stop the looting of Government treasuries. He needed their support to deal with the situation. Were they willing to co-operate? He wanted their decision immediately. The Service Chiefs thought for a few moments and agreed to provide the necessary support.

The President then gave out his plan. The Government and the parliament were going to be dismissed at midnight the following day and emergency declared. Once this was done, he expected some trouble from the vested interests. He felt that some of the political parties would try to organize demonstrations and create law and order problems. The Opposition was likely to welcome the dismissal of the present Government. So no trouble was expected from this quarter. The reaction of the Congress Party is likely to be violent. They are capable of creating problems in Delhi. The ruling coalition could create law and order problems in the states where they are the Government. Most problems could be expected in Assam, Haryana, and UP. Assam was going to be put under Presidents rule. Hence dealing with this state was going to be easier.

Law and order must be maintained at all cost. Though this was not the responsibility of the armed forces, to maintain secrecy, it was necessary that this responsibility was taken over by the armed forces in the initial stages in Delhi, Assam, Haryana and UP. The key to the success in maintaining law and order without bloodshed is prevention of formation of large crowds. The Army must be prepared to deploy large forces in Delhi and the major towns in the states of Assam, Haryana and UP by 0600 hours day after tomorrow. Helicopter surveillance of these towns should be maintained during daylight hours and crowds must be dispersed as soon as they begin to form. Curfews will be imposed if necessary. The Chief of Army Staff was to order a mobilization exercise for all troops in Delhi on the next day. He was also going to form task groups for ensuring protection of major vulnerable points like the Rashtrapati Bhavan, government offices, All India Radio and Doordarshan centers. He was also going to form four small task groups under responsible officers to inform the Prime Minister, the Vice President, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Leader of Opposition of the proclamation of emergency and dismissal of the Government and the Parliament.

The Chief of Air Staff was going to organize the security of the civilian airfields but air traffic will not be disturbed. He will also organize the aerial surveillance of the cities.

All the commanders of the Army, Air Force and Naval Commands would be called to Delhi for a conference and they must reach Delhi before the emergency is declared. They will be called for a briefing by the President immediately after the emergency is declared

Secrecy is most important. All activities were to be carried out under a suitable cover plan. No one will be told of their missions before 2300 hours tomorrow. No physical movement of troops will be permitted till 2300 hours. No one whatsoever was to be informed of the decision that has been taken till the appointed hour.

All troops would be put on full alert immediately after the emergency was declared.

The President asked the Chiefs if they had any doubts and questions. The Chief of Army Staff asked if troops could open fire if required. The President replied in the affirmative. There being no other questions the meeting was terminated. Before the Chiefs dispersed, the President again stressed the need for complete secrecy.

At 11 AM the Chief Justice arrived. After the usual exchange of greetings and a cup of tea, the President swore the Chief Justice to secrecy and informed him of his decision to declare Internal Emergency and asked for his support. He stated that the independence of the judiciary was under threat and this was the only way the Constitution could be saved. He assured him that under no circumstance would the emergency be extended beyond six months and elections would be held within five months. After a lengthy deliberation the Chief Justice agreed to the President's plan. There after they discussed constitutional aspects of the emergency.

The President told the Chief Justice that it was likely that some of the political parties would file suits in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the declaration of emergency. No stay should be issued. The suits should be admitted and heard by a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court. However the cases would have to be prolonged for about a month and judgment reserved. This would allow for enough time to make the situation a fate _accomplii_. The Chief Justice nodded his agreement and left.

The President felt relieved that the plan had been launched without a hitch. He had a hearty meal with his wife. He suggested to her that she should take some time off and visit her daughter at New York immediately. She agreed to his suggestion. He rang his secretary and asked him to make the necessary travel arrangement for the next day. He then had a short rest and sat down to work out the details of the plan and prepare his speech for declaring the emergency.

The Chief of Army Staff returned to his office and asked the ADC to ensure that he was not disturbed. He also told the Vice Chief to inform the Army Commanders that they were to report to Delhi by the next evening for a conference the day after. He then began to plan how the operations were to be carried out. The troops in Delhi came under the GOC-in-C Western Command. It may create a problem if he passed orders directly to the troops in Delhi. He decided to talk to the Army Commander and informed him of his intention to have the troops in Delhi mobilized. The Army Commander asked him if there was any problem. The Chief assured him that there were none. He would explain the reasons at the conference which was to be held the day after. He told his Military Attaché to ask the GOC Delhi area to meet him at 3 PM.

The Chief of Army Staff suddenly realized that the GOC Delhi Area was supposed to be very close to the Defense Minister. To ensure security of the plans it may be desirable to get him out of the way during the crucial period. So when the GOC came to see him he told him about the mobilization exercise he was going to hold to test his Deputy GOC. He also told him that he wanted him to go to Headquarters Eastern Command by the evening flight the next day and carry out a detailed check of the Top Secret documents of the Command Head Quarters. He also told him to issue the necessary orders for the mobilization exercise and to tell the Deputy GOC to report to him after the troops were mobilized and before the orders to deploy was given.

The mobilization orders were issued to the troops in Delhi at 9 AM the next day. This was followed by the usual drills. The troops loaded vehicles as per the loading tables. Additional troop carrying vehicles were hired. Weapons and practice ammunition were issued to the men. Heavier weapons including artillery, tanks and armored vehicles were brought to fighting readiness. Troops got into battle dress and along with their weapons got into a state of readiness to board the vehicle. Reports reached the Deputy GOC, Brig SK Sharma, who went around inspecting units. Once he was satisfied, he went and reported to the Chief of Army Staff. The Chief told him to keep the troops in a state of readiness. The troops should be given a hot meal by 1900 hrs and carry packed breakfast and one days emergency rations. He was to await further orders at his office and all commanding officers were to remain in their offices till further orders.

At the Rashtrapati Bhavan the President found time hanging around him. The draft of his address to the nation proclaiming emergency was ready. But he had not yet got it typed. He did not want to communicate with the Chiefs for the fear of the plan leaking out. He hoped that things were going as per plan. He continued to feign illness and remained confined to his rooms. He saw no other visitors.

The Prime Minister's office monitored the happenings at Rashtrapati Bhavan. There were no reports of unusual activity except that the President was mildly indisposed. The news of mobilization of troops in Delhi had been received. But the army kept playing these silly games to keep themselves busy. So no special importance was attached to these reports.

At 7 PM the flight carrying the GOC Delhi Area left for Calcutta. At 7.30, the Army Chief called the Deputy GOC to his office. Once he arrived, he was ushered into his study. The Chief then offered him a drink and briefed him about the President's intentions and the role he was required to play. He told him that he was required to send armored columns for protection of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Central Secretariat, television and radio stations. He was also to form six teams headed by responsible Colonels or Lt. Cols. with armed escorts of platoon strength each and send them to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to deliver the Presidential Proclamation to the Vice President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition and two spare. He was to keep four columns of infantry of company strength each headed by a major as reserve to meet any eventualities. He was to activate the operations room and be present there and keep him informed. He was to call his order group to his office at 2300 hours. No move to be made before 2330 hours. He should now make out his orders and show them to him before he left. He should also pass an order to the units at 2200 hours for issue of 50 rounds of live ammunition to the troops. However fire should be opened only if the situation goes out of hand and even then only minimum force should be used.

Brig Sharma used the Chief's telephone to pass instructions to his order group to assemble at his office at 2300 hours for orders. He then sat in the Chief's study and made his plans and discussed them with the Chief. At 2200 hours he issued the instructions for issue of ammunition to the troops. At 2230 hours he left the Chiefs residence and returned to his office. His order group was waiting for him.

The President called his ADC to his room at 2200 hours and told him what was going to happen. He gave him the hand written copy of the Proclamation and told him to get the document typed and six copies were to be brought to him for his signature and fixing his seal. The typing was to be done in his presence and the clerk was to be kept in custody till midnight so that he could not communicate with any body till the Proclamation of Emergency had been made. ADC left to get the documents prepared. By 2300 hours the ADC had returned with the papers. These were duly signed and sealed. He told the ADC to inform the guard commander of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to expect an armored column and some officers to arrive. He was to be informed of the arrival of the columns and the officers were to be brought to him when they arrived. The President then waited for things to happen.

At 2330 hours, the roads of New Delhi were not very crowded. As the armored columns moved out of Delhi Cantonment, the few on the roads gazed at the monstrous rumbling machines and the troop loaded vehicles and wondered what was happening. By midnight all columns had reached their destinations. The team led by Col. Dixit reached the television center and walked into the duty officer's room. He handed him the Presidential Proclamation and asked him to interrupt the program and broadcast the Presidents message. The Duty Officer said that he needed authorization from his superiors. Col. Dixit took out his pistol and ordered him to do as he was told.

The President had switched on the television. He heard the announcer say that there was a special announcement from the President. He called the ADC to wake up his press secretary and ask him to call a news conference at 2 AM and inform all TV channels. Things had begun to happen. He turned back to the television.

Back to Contents

Emergency is Declared

It was midnight. Anil Bhardwaj, the duty correspondent at BBC's Delhi office was feeling sleepy. The programs on all channels were changing. The life seemed very dull. Nothing sensational was happening. He was sleepy. He had to do something to keep awake. He decided to do some channel hopping. He tried Star TV. The same silly advertisements about the Axe effect were on. He turned to Doordarshan (India's State TV Channels). The announcer was saying that there was an important message for the nation from the President. He was intrigued. The President did not address the nation very often and that too never at midnight. There must be something important happening. He turned on the recorder and waited.

"My beloved countrymen" read the announcer, "It is with a heavy heart that I address you at this hour. When I was administered the oath of office, I swore that I would preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and devote myself to the service and well being of the people. Am I doing that? Or am I another rubber stamp VVIP who is there to enjoy 5 Star luxuries and to overlook all the unfortunate and immoral things that are happening in our beloved country".

"Judge for yourself, my beloved countrymen: Today a party that survived a vote of confidence in the Parliament through blatant use of inducements to arrange cross voting and abstentions is ruling the country. The government is trying to stop investigating disproportionate assets cases of its political allies. It refuses to allow independent investigation into the coal block allotment cases. In Rajasthan, an illiterate woman was made a minister to reward a defector from an opposition party which enabled it to form a government. The government refuses to implement court orders. Illegal mining goes unchecked in spite of Supreme Court orders disallowing it. What right does this Government have to rule this country? It may not be considered correct on my part to question a decision taken by my predecessor. At the same time silence is not always golden. To me the government is totally unconstitutional".

"Judge for yourself, my beloved countrymen: In Assam there is violence between the indigenous people and Muslim settlers that has left almost a million people displaced. Where have these settlers come from? How has the Muslim population of the state grown four times in two decades? Why does the government impose Presidents Rule on the state?"

"Judge for yourself, my beloved countrymen: Today the Government wants to finish the independence of the judiciary. The Judiciary is the only authority in the country that has tried to defend the law and the Constitution. Even the Office of the President of India has failed to do so. It is the only institution left in the country to which the common man can turn to against the arbitrary, motivated and unlawful decisions taken by our honorable political leaders and governments to preserve their personal or party interests. Today, our honorable political leaders have decided to destroy this last bastion of defense of the law and the Constitution. They want to have the judges of their own choice. They would like to transfer judges who do not abide by their wishes, the same way they transfer police officers and honest bureaucrats who do not do their bidding. Political parties do not respect bans on "Bundhs" and Strikes. Allegations of bribes to members of Parliament are not allowed to be tried in courts. The Parliament Speaker constantly warns courts against ruling on executive excesses even when they are unconstitutional. Do you want this last bastion against political domination to be destroyed?"

"Judge for yourself, my beloved countrymen: When a chief minister hands over government land to his personal trust or to his kith and kin at throw away prices, is it rule of law?"

"Judge for yourself, my countrymen: When investigating agencies are denied permission to prosecute corrupt politicians and senior government officials for long periods, is the rule of law being upheld?"

"Judge for yourself, my beloved country men! When officers investigating sensitive cases are posted out when the investigation is incomplete, is the rule of law being upheld?"

"Judge for yourself, my beloved countrymen: When billions of Rupees are siphoned through fraud, no senior government officer or minister is charged for the criminal liability and never tried and found guilty. Is the Constitutional provision of all being equal before law being upheld? Today, a pick pocket or a ticket less traveler, if caught, will go to jail. But a government officer, a senior bank official, a minister who through their acts of omission or commission cause a loss of thousand crores of Rupees cannot be arrested or if arrested are given immediate bail . When children of the rich and powerful indulge in rape or drunken driving resulting death, the police look the other way. Is it thus that the Constitution and the law are upheld?"

"Judge for yourself, my beloved countrymen: When the Supreme Court ruled that the out of turn allotments of houses or plots made to government employees were arbitrary and bad in law and that the occupants should be evicted, the Government did not implement the judgment. Instead they brought forward an Ordinance to regularize the out of turn allotment. Is this upholding the Constitution and the law?"

"Judge for yourself, my beloved countrymen: Today, hundreds of our honorable political leaders, journalists and politically connected people are in unauthorized occupation of government accommodation in Delhi and other State capitals. All of them are among the rich and the famous. But the Government is not willing to take action against them because they are personal friends, relatives or power brokers. Is this called upholding the law and the Constitution?"

"Judge for yourself, my beloved countrymen: Today Rajiv Gandhi's daughter, who is not a government servant, has been given a posh house and VVIP security. The Badal family of Punjab is supposed to have deployed over a thousand policemen for their personal security. Is this equality before law? Will the Government of India provide houses and security to the wives and children of all the ex Prime Ministers of this country? Is this upholding the law and the Constitution?"

"My dear beloved countrymen: If I were to try to recite all the improprieties, all the acts of omissions and commissions of our Central and State Governments, of our honorable elected leaders, their financiers and criminal friends and relatives, and their beloved and above the law children, it would take me days to do so. But I am sure that you will agree that neither the Constitution nor the law is today upheld in our beloved country. The Government is paralyzed by the fear that by whatever action they take, they will incur the wrath of their supporters and they will loose their majority, their power and their perks of office. It is astonishing that most political parties are mortally afraid to face elections. This is because they have betrayed the people. They have betrayed your trust by defecting to other parties to enjoy the power and perks of office. They have betrayed your trust by failing to look after your interest. Do you want that this should continue?"

"Every person who is elected either to the Parliament or to a Legislative Assembly takes an oath to uphold the Constitution and the law. Immediately thereafter, they forget their pledges and start looking for ways and means of protecting their interests and feathering their nests. Do you want these traitors to continue in office? I do not."

"My dear countrymen: You must understand that in democracy no hard decisions can be taken. A party that comes to power by promising you to give rice at Rs 2 per kilo cannot do so in perpetuity. Where will the money come from? A party that comes to power by promising free electricity to the farmers is immoral. Why should the farmer be given privileges which are not to be given to the industrial worker, the maid servant, the construction worker, the unemployed and the old people? Is a government only for the farmers and not for the other members of the society? Where will the money come from? I am sure you all understand that no person can go on spending more than the money he earns for long. Even a government cannot do so. So the state government of Bihar in the 1990s could give a few saris to the poor but could not pay salaries to its primary school teachers. It could allow thousands of crores to be drawn from its treasuries by a few cheats in connivance with government officials and politicians, but it cannot spend money on building roads, providing water supply, giving fair wages to its postgraduate doctors in implementation of a Supreme Court ruling and for generating employment."

"My dear countrymen: You must understand that in democracy our honorable leaders cannot take action against the corrupt, the rich landlords and industrialists. If they do, who will give them money for fighting elections, for building their houses, for educating their children? Do you have any money to give the politicians to fight elections? You do not have enough to live on, to educate your children. You only have a vote. What use are you to our honorable leaders once you have cast that vote in their favor?"

"My dear countrymen: You must understand that in a democracy our honorable leaders cannot take action against criminals. If they do who will give them money for fighting elections? Who will come and threaten you that if you do not vote for the leader, your house will be burnt; your wife and daughters will be raped? Who will capture booths for the leader during elections? Who will kill their political opponents? Who will burn busses, loot trains and shops, destroy public property during agitations and create communal and caste riots? You have no time or inclination to do these things. You are too busy trying to earn your living."

"My dear countrymen: The government is planning to gag the television channels from broadcasting agitations or police actions. They plan to ban sting operations which expose corruption in government offices and high places. Do you want them to succeed?"

"My dear countrymen: In a democracy, you must understand that our beloved leaders cannot act against the bureaucracy. If they do, who will do their dirty jobs for them? Who will hand over government land at throw away prices to their kith or kin and their beneficiaries? Who will make rules so that their friends benefit while their enemies suffer? Who will manipulate rules and award government contracts so that our beloved leaders or their parties can get huge cut backs? Who will prepare cases that will enable them to give favors to their benefactors?"

"My dear countrymen: In a democracy, you must understand our beloved leaders cannot act against the police. If they do, who will protect the friendly criminals while arresting those of the other parties? Who will make sure that cases are not filed against their beloved children, their friends and relatives? Who will only investigate the opposing politicians while covering up the crimes of fellow party men? Political parties are not ready to implement police reforms because that will reduce their ability to manipulate police in their favor. Do you want it to continue?"

"My beloved countrymen: I know that you are not happy with your leaders. I know you are not happy with the Government that we have. But what can you do? Every time you elect a party, every time you elect a new Prime Minister or a Chief Minister nothing changes. Even after 65 years of independence, your villages often do not have roads, water supply or electricity. You cannot get a license without paying a bribe. You cannot drive a commercial vehicle without paying a "hafta" (weekly bribe to police or local goons) to the police. You cannot run a business without paying protection money to the local goons. You cannot get an FIR registered without paying money even if your daughter has been burned for dowry or raped. And if these crimes have been committed by the friends and relatives of our beloved politicians or the rich and the powerful, it is likely that your FIR will not be registered even if you pay the money. I can understand your frustration. I can understand your apathy. What can you do?"

"But what about me, your President, the first citizen of this country, the man in whom, under Article 53 of our Constitution, the executive power of the Union is vested, the man who has taken an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the Law and devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of India, the man who as per the Constitution is the supreme commander of the armed forces. Am I a powerless nincompoop who has to sit in air conditioned comfort and watch over the anarchy that has become synonymous with elected governments? Am I supposed to sleep in comfort while our political leaders bribe their way to power, while thousands of crores are misappropriated from the Government treasuries, while the law of the land is violated every minute, while the rich and the powerful do what they please, while Government lands and Government funds are distributed as largesse's by our honorable leaders to win votes and influence people?"

"No my friends: I do not think the President of India is a powerless man. In spite of all attempts by our honorable politicians to make the President a toothless tiger, in spite of the Forty Fifth Amendment which tries to ensure that the president has no powers, I have the authority under Article 53 of our Constitution to take necessary steps to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the Law. And I have decided that time has come for me to act to defend the Constitution and to look after your interest and the interest of my beloved country?"

"Hence, under the powers vested to me under the Constitution, I hereby declare an internal emergency in the entire Union of India for a period of six months from this date. This declaration cannot be challenged in any court of law for a period of six moths. There after I shall be liable for my acts of omission and commission in any court of law."

"Further, under the authority vested in me under Article 53 of the Constitution, I hereby dismiss the present Prime Minister and his council of ministers and also dissolve the Parliament. A new Parliament will be elected within 150 days and will take over the reigns of the Government from me."

"I also hereby dismiss the Government of Assam for their inability to maintain law and order and check illegal immigration and impose Presidents Rule in the State. I further decree that the elections to the State assembly will be held along with the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections."

"I will leave the other State Governments intact with a warning that they should function within the letter and spirit of our Constitution and uphold the rule of Law. Any failure to do so and any attempt to shield the corrupt or to protect those charged with serious crimes or to allow demonstrations against the imposition of Internal Emergency in the Union would invite dismissal of the Government and imposition of Presidents Rule."

"My first priority will be to launch an all out war on corruption and to finish off the nexus between the criminals and politicians. In the process I will not follow the law of the land. It is my experience in real life that the dictum that no man is guilty unless he is so proved does not work. The rich, the powerful politicians and bureaucrats, organized criminals and terrorist are able to intimidate or eliminate the witnesses and drag their cases for decades. It took 23 years to convict Mr. Sukh Ram of corruption. But he is not in jail. The judgment is being appealed against. The absence of witnesses in such cases is not a proof of innocence. Hence during the period of the Emergency all accused will be deemed guilty unless proved otherwise. The punishments will also be rather barbaric. The details of these measures will follow. I know a few innocent people will suffer. But then, it is always the innocents who suffer. When police resort to firing, it is the innocent bystander who usually dies. When the terrorist plants a bomb, it is the innocents who die. When a fire destroys a building due to neglect of the owners and the authorities, it is always the innocent who die. So what is wrong if a few innocent die for the betterment of their country and their fellowmen?"

"My beloved countrymen: I promise you no miracles. I only promise to fight corruption, criminals and vested interests with your anger and vengeance. I promise to break the nexus between the politician and criminals. I promise to give you a government that works. I also promise to give you a chance to elect clean and capable men as your leaders so that democracy can return and you can prosper."

"Give me an opportunity to serve you, my countrymen. Do not get carried away by the rhetoric's of the dismissed and corrupt leaders and start agitations and create law and order problems. They will try every trick to use you for their gains as they have always done. When the bullets begin to fly some foolish, gullible innocent ones amongst you will die. I can assure you no criminal or political leader will come to face bullets. They have already made enough money and would not like to die without enjoying their ill gotten gains. Do not trust these self seekers. Do not trust the press or the electronic media which the rich and the powerful have bought with their advertisements. Trust me. Bear with me. Six month is not a long time. If you are not satisfied with what I have done, tear me into pieces or kill me. But for the duration of the emergency, be with me. Do not agitate. Agitations will not be tolerated. Give me a chance to serve you and do something for my country. Jai Hind."

Anil Bhardwaj was stunned. He could not believe what he had heard. He began to replay the tape. The telephone rang. It was the President's press secretary informing him that the President would meet the media at the conference room of Rashtrapati Bhavan at 2 AM. Bhardwaj rang his director and informed him of the happenings. The director informed him that he was coming to the office as soon as he could.

Col Malhotra and his escort drove to the Prime Minister's residence to give him the Presidential Proclamation. The night was quiet. There were very few vehicles on the streets. He arrived at his destination without any problems. His men got down and took up positions. It was a few minutes past midnight. He got down and asked the sentry to get the guard commander. When the guard commander came, he told him that he had a message from the President for the Prime Minister which was to be delivered in person. The guard commander went inside with the message. He met the Prime Minister's secretary and gave him the message. The secretary came out and told Col Malhotra that the Prime Minister did not see any one at this hour. The message could be left with him and he would deliver it to the Prime Minister in the morning. Col Malhotra said that the message was important and he would use force if it was necessary to deliver the message. The sullen secretary went inside to see the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was getting ready to leave his office. He told the secretary to allow the officer to see him but without arms. The secretary conveyed the Prime Minister's message to the Colonel. Col Malhotra handed over his carbine to the escort commander and followed the secretary to the Prime Ministers office. He entered and saluted the old man.

"What brings you here at this hour?" asked the Prime Minister. "A message from the President, Sir" said the Colonel and handed over the sealed envelope. The Prime Minister slit open the cover and began to read. Soon his face became grim. When he came to the end, he looked up at the Colonel and said that the President had no authority to declare an emergency. Col Malhotra kept quiet. He then asked the Prime Minister's permission to leave. The Prime Minister nodded. Col Malhotra saluted and left.

The Prime Minister handed over the papers to the secretary to read. Once he had finished, the Prime Minister said that he would not give up without a fight. He told the secretary to call a meeting of the steering committee at the earliest and a meeting of the legislators in the morning. He then began to examine the problem and possible options for actions.

The President had moved into his office. He was relieved that things were moving smoothly. The ADC came and informed him that the representatives of the media had arrived and were waiting in the conference hall. As the President entered the conference hall he was greeted with the glare of lights and flashes of the cameras. He took his seat and invited questions.

The correspondent of the Times of India asked him if the declaration of internal emergency was justified. The President replied that he had explained the reasons in detail in his Proclamation of Emergency and asked the correspondent to study the document carefully. He also requested the correspondents to collect the text of the Proclamation and to publish it in their papers and magazines.

The correspondent for the Indian Express asked him as to what was the guarantee that he would relinquish his emergency powers at the end of six months. The President replied that his word was the only guarantee and he intended to stick to his words.

The correspondent of BBC was concerned about the issue of human rights under emergency. The President replied that the question of human rights was abused by the west. Whereas he was concerned about human rights per say, he was not willing to worry about abuse of human rights of those who do not respect the fundamental rights of others. As far he was concerned criminals, anti socials, terrorists, those who engaged in rioting and vandalism did not deserve to have any human rights. Under emergency they would have none.

The correspondent of Hindu asked if this was not the end of democracy in India. The President assured him that he need not have any such fears. India had been under emergency five times in the past. Each time it was replaced by an elected government. This time also he would ensure that this spell of emergency was succeeded by an elected government.

The correspondent for CNN asked him whether his move would effect relations with the USA and Europe. The President replied that the USA had maintained very cordial relations with autocratic regimes like Batista in Cuba, Mr. Mobutu in Zaire, Pakistan under General Ayub Khan and General Zia Ul Haq, the Shah of Iran and President Marcos of the Philippines to name a few. They still had very good relations with the Royal Family in Saudi Arabia. As long as USA and Europe did not try to impose their will on India, there was no reason for any deterioration of relations with any country. India was willing to extend its hand of friendship to all countries that did not interfere with its internal affairs.

The correspondent for India Today asked if there was going to be any change to the policy of economic liberation. The President replied that six months was too short a time to dabble in macro economics. No major changes on this front should be expected. Efforts will be made to maintain status quo.

The correspondent for Hindustan Times asked how he could be sure that he would be able to root out corruption and break the nexus between criminal and politicians. The President told him to hold his horses and wait for things to happen.

There were a few other questions. The President then excused himself and returned to his office. It was about 3 AM in the morning. He asked his secretary to send for the chiefs of the various intelligence agencies, the Delhi Police Chief and the Director Generals of BSF and CRPF. He then got in touch with the Chief of Army Staff to find out about the situation. The Chief had nothing to report. The politicians seemed shell shocked. The leaders were meeting together ostensibly to work out their strategy. The President told the Chief not to take any chances. Adequate troops must be on the streets of the towns in Assam, Haryana and UP, particularly in the state capitals. Tanks and armored cars should also be deployed. It should look as though the army has taken over. Surveillance must be maintained and all crowd formations must be dispersed as soon as they begin to form.

When the police chiefs had assemble in the conference hall, the President told them that he did not want to know whether they approved of the Declaration of Emergency or not. There was no going back. What he wanted to know was whether they were going to be loyal to him and co-operate in carrying out assignments given. If any one had any reservation, he was free to go on leave. But any dereliction to duty or attempt to sabotage would lead to very unpleasant consequences. He then told the intelligence agencies that he wanted accurate and real-time intelligence on the activities of the political parties and the leading politicians. To the others he said that law and order was to be maintained at all cost. They were to operate in close co-ordination with the Army. They should straight away go and see the Chief of Army Staff and jointly draw up plans for maintaining law and order in Delhi and the States.

The initial briefings done, the President retired to his room to get some rest.

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The First Day of Emergency

Most of the nation was unaware that emergency had been declared. The early risers who usually tune into the BBC were the first to learn of the event. The event was in the morning news of all the television channels. The news papers had a field day. "President Proclaims Emergency" screamed one headline. "Constitutional Coup" said another. There was hardly any analysis or views. The time had been too short. However, the text of the Presidential Proclamation was carried by most.

The reactions varied. The working class had little time to digest the news. Who ruled usually made little difference to them. Their only concern was that there may be agitations and bundhs and their days earnings may be affected. The middle class was generally elated. They hoped that something would now be done to reduce the corruption. May be, the government servants would work. May be the trains will run on time. May be the bank and other strikes would stop. After all, these things had actually happened in this country when Mrs. Indira Gandhi had declared emergency in the seventies. Those who believed that Army rule was the only solution for the country's problems were happy. After all what was the difference between army rule and president's rule? Intellectuals were generally unhappy. They abhorred any intrusion into their freedom and disliked autocratic regimes. The politicians, particularly members of the parliament and those from the state of Assam were distraught at the thought of facing elections. They went into a huddle to decide how to retrieve the situation.

The President was woken up at 6 AM. He got ready quickly and went to the office. He was relieved to find that troubles had not yet started. It was his experience that people did not take to the streets without a hearty meal. So there were a few hours before things began to happen. The first necessity was to disrupt the political leaders and to prevent them form quickly mobilizing demonstrations. He told his secretary to inform the railways and the various airlines that all VIP quotas stood canceled for the coming week. The quota could now be given only to officers of the defense services or the police and intelligence agencies. That should disrupt the travel plans of the political leaders and give them a taste of the problems faced by the common man.

He then spoke to the Governors of Haryana and UP and told them that law and order will be maintained at all cost. The key was to prevent large crowds from assembling and creating trouble. Curfew will be selectively imposed at the first hint of trouble. Round the clock surveillance is to be maintained. The Army will be given all assistance in maintaining law and order. Police and Army pickets will be posted at all potential trouble spots.

The President then spoke to the Chief of Army Staff. He was told that the Joint Control Room had been established and the deployment of troops, paramilitary forces and the police had been coordinated. Aerial surveillance had commenced. The President told the Chief that special vigilance must be maintained around the houses of all MPs and political leaders. No restrictions were to be placed on the movements of these individuals. But formation of crowds at these places was to be prevented. This was to be done by invoking Section 144 (which makes assembly of more than four people illegal) in the area. Only MPs and their staff were to be allowed free movements. Ordinary supporters were to be politely but firmly turned away. The President was to be kept informed of any developments.

The President asked his secretary to send for the Cabinet Secretary and the Attorney General. When the Cabinet Secretary arrived he told him that the secretaries of the different ministries will be in-charge till Presidential Advisors were appointed. Routine functions would continue as usual. However, no major decisions were to be taken without his concurrence.

The President further directed that all members of the Lok Sabha were to be informed in writing that they were required to vacate their government accommodation within one month. They should also be informed that their government transport and security was going to be withdrawn and telephones disconnected on the 31st day. The ministry of housing will immediately issue written notices to all unauthorized occupants of Government accommodation in Delhi to vacate their houses within 30 days. If they fail to do so, they are going to be physically evicted. The State Governments will also be directed to issue similar instructions.

The President further directed that all officers of Government of India, Public Sector Undertakings including nationalized banks and statutory bodies, employees of State Governments, chairmen of State Government enterprises, and heads of cooperative banks and enterprises above the rank of Deputy Secretary will declare their assets on a prescribed form which will be got prepared. In case of sensitive departments like Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, Central and State Exercise Departments, Police, Regional Transport Offices, Revenue Department of Center and States, Municipalities, all officers will declare their assets. They will also declare the assets of their spouses, children and parents. The declaration will include details of all immovable assets and moveable assets costing over Rs 20, 000 with date of acquisition, amount paid and source of funds. They will also declare details of bank accounts, bank or private lockers, shares and fixed deposits held and cash and bank balances. They will also declare the quantity of primary gold and ornaments held with them. The declaration will be submitted to the departmental heads along with a copy to the respective income tax authorities. The officers of the rank of secretary and above will also submit a copy of their declaration to the ministry of finance who will set up a special cell to study these and take follow up action. Any officer who fails to submit the declaration within 30 days will be dismissed from service without pension and gratuity benefits. In case any officer is found to have made a false declaration, the assets not declared will be seized and disposed off and the proceeds will be credited to the Government. The officer will also be dismissed from service without pension and gratuity benefits.

The President also told the Cabinet Secretary to promulgate that any Government Servant who sublets his government quarter or a part of his government accommodation to another whether for a consideration or without charging rent will be immediately dismissed from service. No Government servant will be allowed to retain government accommodation after transfer or retirement beyond the period allowed as per existing regulation even on payment of market rent. It will be the responsibility of the authority allotting the accommodation to ensure that the premises are vacated. The unauthorized occupants will be forcibly evicted if necessary. The civil services rules will be amended accordingly.

The President also directed the Cabinet Secretary to have it promulgated that strikes will not be permitted in government organizations or public sector units. Neither will any form of indiscipline like lack of punctuality, absenteeism and lack of performance be tolerated. Defaulters will be severely dealt with.

He also directed that every evening a press briefing will be held by the public relations departments of the government and the public sector units regarding the measures being taken to root out corruption and improving the functioning of the various agencies. To cut short delays in promulgation of orders, this will be done through the press. The number of government servants dismissed or against whom disciplinary action is initiated would also be mentioned.

To the Attorney General, the president stated that any writ petition filed in any court against the imposition of the emergency or dismissal of the state governments will be properly defended. He also told the Attorney General that he would like to promulgate a number of ordinances. The first would be on the Representative of Peoples Act which governed elections. He would like to see that undesirable people could not stand elections. The details will be discussed and finalized.

The second ordinance will be on offenses against the state. Whereas the provisions were the same as listed in the Indian Penal Code or in the Indian Civil Code, when Government property or dues to the Government were involved, all offenses were to be made cognizable, criminal, non bailable offenses with exemplary punishments.

The third ordinance would prevent the Central and State Governments from providing and facility like water, electricity to any person free of cost. Differential rates may however be levied provided the differentiation is purely on economic grounds.

The fourth ordinance will be on crimes of people in authority. Criminals will commit crimes. But when a protector commits a crime the culpability will increase. Thus if a thief carries out a theft, he will be punished under the existing law. But if a policeman carries out a theft or a store keeper misappropriates items from his own store, he if found guilty will be given three times the maximum penalty laid down in the Indian Penal Code. If the culprit happens to be a Government Employee or a Public Servant, he will be automatically dismissed.

The President told the Attorney General to frame these ordinances on priority and discuss them with him. The President then sat down to select his advisors.

The Congress Steering Committee meeting at the Prime Ministers house was finding it difficult to find a suitable response to the declaration of Emergency. Rashtria Janta Dal having been ousted from their strong hold in Bihar was on a war path. They wanted large scale and violent demonstrations to be organized all over the country. The Left Parties, the Janta Dal and the regional parties were not at all enthusiastic about this course of action. The President may use these agitations as an excuse to dismiss their governments in the states as he had threatened to do and that would make things even more difficult during the forthcoming elections. They wanted to adopt a legal approach and to go to the Supreme Court with a writ petition challenging the imposition of the Emergency. The debate raged on.

What disconcerted the leaders was the absence of their followers. Only a handful of them had arrived at the Prime Ministers residence shouting President Murdabad (death to the president)! Emergency Murdabad (death to the emergency)! It was reported that the Army, which was out on the streets in strength with their fighting vehicles, were not allowing the supporters to come. It was finally decided that a writ petition would be filed in the morrow in the Supreme Court and the MPs would lead a protest march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The Rashtriya Janta Dal called it the great betrayal.

The situation in the Congress camp was similar. The MPs were holding a meeting at the residence of the Party President. But no solution appeared to be in sight. The members from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal were against any precipitate action for fear of the state governments being dismissed. The others wanted agitation. All agreed on filing a writ petition in the Supreme Court. They also decided to hold demonstrations in the states which were not governed by the Congress. Some of the MP s from Delhi volunteered to organize agitations. It was also decided to declare Bundhs in all states and in Delhi.

The leaders were puzzled by the absence of their followers. They learnt that section 144 had been promulgated and their supporters were being turned back by Army contingents.

The BJP leaders were meeting in their party office to review the situation. On the whole they were happy. They had wanted the dismissal of the present Government and fresh elections. These wishes had been granted. But this assertiveness of the President was dangerous. Some form of protest was necessary. But it may not be a good strategy to antagonize the President when it seemed unlikely that anything would come off it. It was decided that a policy of wait and watch should be adopted. Law and order was to be maintained in the BJP ruled states at all cost.

In the evening, the President reviewed the situation with the Chief of the Defense Services, the Director Generals of BSF and CRPF, the heads of the intelligence agencies and the chief of Delhi Police. There were reports of minor demonstrations from the states. There had been one case of firing in Haryana and two persons were reported killed. The chiefs of the intelligence agencies gave out what they had learnt of the game plans of the political parties. They also gave out their assessment of the expected developments over the next few days. They felt that maximum trouble could be expected in Haryana and Samajwadi Party strong holds in UP. There could also be some trouble in Mumbai. The ruling coalition and Congress Party had given a call for Bharat Bandh. Though the Bandh was expected to be peaceful in most places, attempts are likely to be made to disrupt road and rail services, particularly in Assam and UP.

The President stressed the need to demonstrate the Governments determination to maintain law and order at all cost. He told the Chief of the Air Force to organize aerial surveillance of the railway lines passing through Bihar and West Bengal using fighter reconnaissance aircraft. He also ordered the mobilization of troop carrying helicopters at Guwahati, Calcutta, Gaya, Lucknow and Delhi. He told the Army Chief to organize Para Commando teams to be positioned to clear any rail or road disruptions at the earliest possible once they were reported. He also suggested that video film coverage by the media should be arranged with each team and all actions should be filmed. Troops were to act firmly but with restraint. Loudspeakers should be available with all columns. The crowd should be given five minutes to begin to disperse. Firing, except in self defense will be by three persons, one round at a time with gaps of five minutes for the crowd to disperse after each firing. The fire will be aimed fire and directed at the leaders of the crowd. The same instructions would be applicable to police and para-military forces. Where ever necessary leaders will be taken into preventive detention. The same should be done in the case of known criminal with political patronage, particularly in Delhi. Army and para military presence on the streets should be increased to discourage crowd formation. Aerial surveillance by reconnaissance helicopters of Delhi and other trouble prone cities would continue.

He told the press secretary to announce through all television channels and on radio that all political demonstrations were banned throughout the country for the duration of the emergency.

The President listened to the various news channels. The reactions were on expected lines. There was world wide condemnation of the imposition of emergency but mostly in media channels. The Governments of the world adopted a wait and watch policy. Indian media was no different. Most intellectuals and political leaders denounced the imposition of emergency. There was only one major violent incident. The people had taken the situation in their stride. The President was satisfied with the situation. Round one certainly belonged to the President.

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The Initial Tussles

It was the second morning after the imposition of emergency. The President knew that this was the vital period when he had to assert his will on the people and consolidate his hold on the administration. He glanced through the various news papers. The reactions were predictable. There was wide spread criticism of the imposition of emergency and dissolution of the Parliament and the two state governments in most of the editorials. There was also virulent criticism about the firing incident at Haryana where two persons had died. The papers also carried the instructions on declaration of assets by government servants. The measure was generally welcomed by the people but the press was skeptical about the final outcome.

He checked the situation with the Chief of Army Staff. The night had passed off peacefully. But intelligence reports indicated that some of the political parties were determined for a show down. The leaders had been busy planning massive demonstrations against the President and the imposition of emergency. Trouble and violence was expected during the Bharat Bandh. The President told him not to worry too much about it and deal with situation firmly but using minimum force. The Press and the electronic media should be given free access to all areas. They should be allowed to accompany missions and kept informed of developments. Four hourly press briefings were to be organized. Openness was the key. It should also be ensured that Doordarshan camera crews cover all incidents of firing. Private television channels were also welcome to cover the events.

The Cabinet Secretary arrived. The President discussed with him the list of advisors. Most of the ministers were retained as Presidential advisors. A few new ones were taken from the Opposition so that there was almost equal representation of all political groups. The most notable omission was the prime minister, home minister, coal minister, telecommunication minister and the law minister. In the important ministries of finance, industry, commerce, foreign affairs, home and defense, a panel of three advisors was nominated for advising the President. Each member was from the three major political groups. The Cabinet Secretary was asked to obtain the willingness of those nominated and then publish the necessary notification. The media were to be given the proposed names immediately.

The first hints of trouble began to trickle in at around ten. The aerial surveillance reported the formation of groups of demonstrators from different parts of Delhi. The groups were quickly isolated, confronted and dispersed with tear gas and in some cases lathi (cane) charge. There were stray cases of violence. There was some loss of private and public property. A few persons who were injured were given medical treatment and discharged. There was no incidence of firing.

The reports from the states were similar. In the non NDA ruled states, the Bandh was almost complete. Public transport went off the road. Massive rallies were held and these were addressed by the local and state leaders. The national leaders were generally absent because in the absence of the VIP quotas, most of them had been unable to obtain reservations either by rail or air. The effigies of the President were burnt at many street corners. The President was happy. The people needed to let off steam. Burring effigies was a pretty harmless way of doing it.

In the NDA ruled states the situation was marginally different. The Bandh had been declared. But there were no demonstrations or burning of effigies except in the strong holds of the other parties. Law and order was maintained and no violence was permitted. Public transport was on the roads. Many of the shops and establishments were open. Attendance in banks and offices was substantial though less than normal.

The major problem areas were Haryana, some parts of UP and Assam. Here the demonstrators were more determined. Though the security forces had succeeded in preventing the assembly of large mobs, crowds of a few hundred had collected in many places. Even though they were isolated and confronted by security forces, these mobs were more violent and indulged in throwing stones and soda bottles at the security forces. Some of these crowds dispersed on arrival of the army with a few tanks or armored personnel carriers. At other places the crowds held their ground shouting slogans and resisting as best as they could in face of lathi charges and tear gas. However there was no need to resort to firing. The stand off continued till evening.

The first instance of stoppage of rail traffic near Rohtak, Haryana came to the control room at around noon. A large crowd was reported to have squatted on the track and prevented the trains from plying. The team of para commandos along with the video team of Doordarshan and Star TV were dispatched to clear the line in two MI 17 helicopters. The troops landed at a nearby field. Leaving about 10 men to protect the aircrafts, they headed for the crowd. They were greeted with boos, slogans and a hail of stones. The troops took up positions about 200 m from the crowd and the television teams some distance behind at vantage points. The officer in charge took the loud hailer and told the crowd that the line should be cleared within five minutes. Else he would be pained to open fire. The crowd greeted his announcement with boos, slogans and a fresh hail of stones. The officer looked at his watch and began the count down; four minutes, three minutes, two minutes, one minute. Still there was no reaction from the crowd other than the slogan shouting and stone throwing. The officer asked three of his men to take up kneeling position. "Look to the front", he said. "200 yards, man in white dress with red flag in his hand. One round aimed fire, fire." A volley of shots rang out over the din of the slogans. The man with the red flag and the one next to him fell to the ground. The crowd began to run. A few turned back to help their fallen comrades. The officer called for the nursing assistants and two stretchers. He then advanced to the fallen men with half his men. The two fallen men were given first aid and put on the stretchers and carried to the helicopters. The line was now cleared. The waiting train was flagged off. The troops returned to their helicopters, reported mission completed and returned to base. The whole operation was over in less than three hours. The injured were immediately moved to the military hospital where they were given emergency treatment. Fortunately both were likely to survive.

There were four other instances of attempts to stop road and rail traffic. They were all cleared within a few hours. The casualties mounted to three killed and about seven wounded. Each incident was shown live on television by a number of channels.

The political parties filed their writ petitions in the Supreme Court against the imposition of emergency. The petition was heard. The judges refused to grant stay order. They issued notice to the Government to justify the emergency and to file their reply. The date of next hearing was fixed after one month.

By noon the politicians had received notices with regard to vacation of the government premises allotted to them. They had also received the list of the suggested Presidential advisors. The parties debated whether they would allow their members to be advisors to the President. NDA happily agreed as did the Congress. The debate in the ruling coalition was heated. But finally it was decided that some thing was better than nothing. Through these posts it was hoped that some influence will be retained. The success of the program of agitation was reviewed. The lack of success was demoralizing. However, in the press conferences which followed, the parties put up a brave front. They claimed that the Bharat Bandh had been a complete success. They also announced that they would continue their agitation till the emergency was lifted.

In the evening, the President reviewed the situation with his security advisors. He was happy with the over all situation. He told his advisors that he expected the agitations in most parts of the country would peter out within a week. He told his security advisors, to maintain pressure on the known criminals and ensure that law and order was maintained.

As expected, the agitations petered out within a week. However, the Army and para military forces maintained their presence on the streets to ensure order for some more time. By the month end life for the ordinary man had returned to normal.

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New Rules for Elections

On the third day the President declared a program of elections. These were to be completed within 150 days of the imposition of Emergency. He outlined that the notification was to be issued within 30 days. There after nomination papers were to be filed within 15 days. Objections to nominations were to be filed within 30 days there after. The objections were to be verified and nomination papers scrutinized within the next 30 days. Withdrawal of nominations was to be allowed for 15 days. The elections including declarations of results were to be completed within the next thirty days. The elections in the states under Presidents Rule or where they were due in normal course would be held along with those for Lok Sabha.

The President also issued an Ordinance laying down new rules for holding of elections. The salient points of the ordinance are given below.

Eligibility

Only citizens of India above the age of 25 and below the age of 75 would be eligible to contest elections.

The minimum educational qualifications for the candidates will be a graduate in any discipline. The educational certificates including the matriculation certificates are to be verified.

Disqualifications

Any person who has been convicted for an offense under IPC will not be eligible to contest election.

Any person in illegal or unauthorized occupation of government accommodation will not be eligible to contest elections.

Any person who has been convicted in a case of civil offense involving moral turpitude will not be eligible to contest elections.

Any person against whom a charge sheet has been filed for any criminal or economic offense or against whom an FIR has been filed and the case is under investigation will not be eligible to contest elections.

Any person who has more than two children will not be eligible to contest elections.

Any person who has more than one wife or husband will not be eligible to contest elections.

Any person who is liable to pay income tax but has not filed his return will not be eligible to contest elections.

Any person who has not cleared their old dues to the Government departments like telephone bills, house rent or payment for transport, rest house charges or charges for any other facility provided by any Government agency, will not be eligible to contest elections.

Disqualification of Parties

Regional parties will not be allowed to contest in Lok Sabha Elections. A regional party is defined as a party which has not won seats in the elections to assemblies of at least three states.

Any party which fails to get 5 per cent of the votes cast in an election will be disqualified and those elected on the ticket of these parties would also be disqualified.

However, any citizen of India, who is otherwise eligible to contest elections, will be allowed to contest as an independent candidate.

Any party which fails to nominate women to 30 percent of the seats contested by the party will be disqualified. However, no seats will be specifically reserved for women.

Any party which fails to close their accounts and submit the audit report to the Election Commission within 180 days of the closing of the financial year will be de-recognized and debarred from taking part in any election till the accounts have been submitted and verified.

Objections and Their Disposals

The list of persons who have filed their nomination papers will be published by the election commission within three days of the last date for filing nomination papers in the national dailies. Any person or organization will be entitled to file objection to the candidature of any candidate on the grounds of eligibility or disqualifications as mentioned in the Ordinance within 30 days of the last date for the filing of nominations. These will be in the form of a sworn affidavit giving the full details of ineligibility or disqualification and be addressed to the Election Commission. The scrutiny of the nominations and disposal of the objections will be processed within 60 days of the last date of filing of nominations. If any of the objections are found to be untrue, the person filing the objection will undergo a term of imprisonment of one year. In case of organizations, the person signing the affidavit will be liable. If the allegations are found to be true, the candidate will be disqualified from standing in any election for five years and also undergo imprisonment for one year.

Disqualification after Elections

Any candidate who contests an election and seeks votes either on basis of religion or caste, even if elected will be disqualified if found guilty of such misconduct by a court of law.

Any candidate who or whose agents or supporters use intimidatory tactics on voters, attempt to capture booths or in any other way interfere with the process of election, will be disqualified if found guilty of such misconduct by a court of law.

Any candidate who fails to declare his assets and those of his spouse, parents and children as per the form for government officers will not be sworn in as an elected member. If the candidate fails to declare his assets and those of his family members within 90 days of the swearing in of the other members he will be disqualified. The candidate will also be disqualified if his declaration is proved to be incorrect at any stage.

Any candidate, who after being elected, is charge sheeted for any offense under the IPC, or found to be interfering in the investigation of any offense alleged to be committed by himself or any other person by way of trying to influence the police or any other investigating agency, recommending or getting transferred persons connected with such investigation, would be suspended from the membership of the parliament or legislative assembly. He will have no voting rights while in suspension. The elected person will be permanently disqualified if found guilty of misconduct in a court of law.

Any candidate, unless he is an independent, will be disqualified if he leaves his party and joins or forms another political party.

Any candidate, who after elections, is found guilty of unbecoming conduct like failure to uphold the decorum of the house, using unbecoming language in the house, damaging any furniture or equipment in the house or using physical force on a fellow legislator or any other person in the house or not listening to instructions from the Speaker's chair will be immediately suspended for the duration of the session. If the elected candidate is found guilty of a similar offense a second time, he will be permanently disqualified.

The new election laws created quite a stir. A lot of politicians were extremely unhappy with it. The reaction in the media was mixed. Some welcomed the provisions. Others were critical. The President called a press conference to clarify the issues.

One of the media persons asked why he had committed the nation to an expenditure of over Rs 1200 Crores for conduct of elections. Could the country afford such wasteful expenditure? The President replied that he did not think that election expenditure was wasteful. Any expenditure in purchase of goods and services was justified as it helped the money to circulate and thereby increased GDP and provided income. Purchase of flowers, paintings, pieces of handicraft could all be termed as wasteful expenditure. But in actual fact they were not. They not only generated income and provided employment but also helped preserve the rich heritage of the country. Apart from the traveling and other allowances for the Government staff engaged in the conduct of election, the entire money spent during elections was for purchase of goods and services. It provides employment to a lot of unemployed youth who shout slogans and help in the campaigning. It generates income to printing presses and a host of other services. Such expenditure certainly could not be termed wasteful. Money which is hoarded in cash and expenditure on foreign items of consumption like liquor, cosmetics, and cigarettes were wasteful expenditure because it did not result in the money being circulated or employment being generated within the country. But no media person has ever written a column decrying such wasteful expenditure.

When asked why he had not reserved seats for women but only the number of tickets, the president clarified that it was important that the women got a chance to prove themselves. But it would not be correct to have women given seats without their proving their worth. It would not be fair to the electorate to be forced to accept a woman as their leader. It would also resolve the problem of selecting which seats should be reserved for the women. It would also give a chance to the women to win more than 30 percent seats in the Parliament or the legislative assembly. It was not in the best interest of the country to have incompetent persons elected simply because they were women. It was for the same reason that he had laid down that the minimum educational qualification was graduation in any subject.

When asked if the condition that the candidate should not have more than one wife was fair on Muslims, the President replied that a political leader must be a role model worth emulating. Plural marriages though permitted in Muslim Law are not desirable. It is frowned upon in many of the Muslim countries and among Ismailis. In any case plural marriages are not banned. Only persons with more than one wife or husband could not be a candidate for an election. They only have to make a choice between a career in politics and having more than one wife. Even the King of England had to make a choice between the eligibility to the throne and marrying a divorcee. In any case there is no bar on their working on the organizational side of the party.

Some journalists objected to the restriction on the number of children. Since many of the politicians were of the older generation, this restriction was not fair on them. The President explained that it was vital for the Nation that small family norms were adopted. And it was vital that the people should get the message that persons who had large families were a burden on the society. They were anti nationals and hence could not be expected to keep the interest of the nation in mind. As in the case of more than one marriage, it was a matter of setting good examples. A leader must set an example for the others to follow. In any case he did not think that there any politician who was indispensable to the well-being of the Nation. The restriction only applied to standing for elections. Such leaders could, if they were so inclined, hold party posts and work for their parties.

When asked whether ineligibility of the regional parties to contest the elections to the Parliament would not lead to a breakup of the Union, the President replied that he did not think so. He expected the measure to strengthen the Union. The regional parties had regional interests which did not always coincided with the country as a whole. When regional parties have a say in the government, they tend to promote the interest of their states at the cost of others. Just look at the river water disputes between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka or between Punjab and Haryana. These disputes can never be fairly settled if the Union Government is not able to implement any decisions which are not agreed to by one of the parties. The states need to realize that they depend on each other for essential resources. For example, Punjab or Rajasthan does not have any coal. If coal is denied to them their life would be very difficult. There are many examples of such scarce resources and facilities which have to be shared for common good. This is true not only between states but also between nations. The President firmly believed that regional parties were a threat to national unity. Therefore, their roles should be restricted to the states.

The Press also asked the President whether the rule that a party would have to obtain 5 per cent of the votes cast in an election not to be disqualified was justified. The President felt that the tendency to have unlimited number of parties needed to be curbed. This was not good for the stability of the Government and good governance. When no party had a clear majority, these nonentities tended to become very powerful because they had the power to make or break governments. This is not good for the country. The tail should never have the ability to shake the head. The country should be ruled by one party or a viable coalition. It is therefore absolutely necessary to eliminate the small parties. The President expected the move to polarize the different parties on ideological grounds before the elections. It would also make the parties ideology based rather than personality based. It is ridiculous that every time there is a disagreement in the party on any issues, the aggrieved elements quits the party and forms another. This could in time lead to formation of thousands of parties. Ballot papers would have to be replaced by ballot books. In democracy, the decision supported by the majority must prevail and the minority must learn to abide by the decision of the majority unless they were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Unless this is understood, democracy cannot function

The President was asked that if that was the case, why he did not ban the independents from being candidates for elections. The President said that he had thought long and hard on the matter. But he had allowed the independents to contest elections for two reasons. Firstly it would not be good to disallow a large section of the population from contesting elections. Secondly, the independents that have helped in formation of the Governments of different states have behaved quite maturely and not in a fickle minded way. It also enables candidates who are acceptable to the people but are not given tickets by a party because of partisan, personal or unethical reasons to contest and win. It is most important for the country that the best available candidates get elected as the representatives of the people.

The President was asked why he had banned defections on any ground what so ever. He replied that a candidate got elected by the supporters of a particular political party. If the elected person defected to another political party after the election, it amounted to betrayal of the people who elected him. This is against the fundamental concept of democracy. The present laws regarding defection which originated during the Congress monopoly on political power are manipulative. The Congress made the one third rule so that engineering defections became more costly than engineering defection of individuals. But they did not ban it all together because it wanted to retain the ability to engineer defections to perpetuate its rule and believed that it had more money power than the other political parties and could afford to engineer bulk defections.

The President was asked why he had not suggested any reservations on the basis of religion or cast. The President replied that he did not believe that reservations were either conducive or necessary for the development of religious minorities or the backward classes. Mr. K.R. Narayanan or Mr. APJ Abdul Kalam did not become president just because they were from a backward caste, or economic background. Neither did Dr B. R. Ambedkar become one of the authors of our Constitution simply because he was from the backward classes. It was because of the education they received, because they were very capable men, because they were men of vision who could be trusted with important assignments. Education was the key to development. Without education no one can develop. Minorities and backward classes need education. He was considering a system of scholarship together with reservations in educational institutions to help minorities and backward classes to develop.

The President then asked the correspondents, "When you fall ill, do you go to a doctor after ascertaining his cast or religion? Or do you go to him because he is good and you have confidence in him. When we select a cricket team to represent the country, do you have reservations based on religion or caste? You are even against quotas in the national teams on regional basis. You want the best players who can help the team to win. You want players who can perform. Yet when it comes to selecting our leaders who are going to govern the nation and your destiny, you talk of reservations. Do you think that the selection of a cricket or hockey team is more important than the selection of the leaders that govern the country? If you have leaders without vision, without integrity, without administrative ability how do you expect the country to develop? If you have narrow minded manipulators who depend on cheap popularity gained by emptying the coffers of the country to support populist schemes, who would rather give doles out of money which is not his own but yours but who do not give a damn for development, how do you think this country will develop? If you have leaders who will bribe fellow legislators for their votes, how will you ensure that he does not accept bribes to compromise the interest of the nation? I have never understood you media men. You would write article after article asking for the head of a sportsman who fails to perform or the head of a cricket team that fails to win. How many articles have you written on the lack of development in Bihar or West Bengal during the rule of their longest serving chief ministers?

The country needs educated honorable men with good administrative skills and not dishonorable manipulators to be our leaders to give us good government and development. The new election laws are my humble attempt to ensure that the leaders who are elected to the Parliament are learned, honorable men who do not depend on money or muscle power or caste or religion to get elected. I need your support in my endeavor.

The President was asked if members were disqualified for creating commotion in the house or for disrupting its business, how could the opposition stop the ruling party from passing laws or taking measures which they feel are not correct. The President replied that in democracy, the decision of the majority must prevail. The ruling party has full authority to pass laws or take executive action which does not violate the tenants of our Constitution. The opposition can only highlight and debate their objections. They can also file a case before the Supreme Court if they consider a law passed by the ruling party is unconstitutional. But they have no right to disrupt the functioning of the house or to paralyze the Government. They must wait for the next election and if they win, they can repeal any of the acts.

The President also reminded the members of the media that the current rules for the election would only apply for the coming elections unless the newly elected Parliament felt that there was merit in the new rules and enacted a suitable law to replace the Ordinance within six months. Five years is a very short time in the history of a nation. The experimental laws certainly deserved a chance.

The conference was thereafter declared closed.

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Crimes against the State

The next ordinance promulgated by the President was called the "Laws Governing Crimes against the State." The salient features of the Ordinance are given below.

Preamble

In the ancient days all property and assets of the kingdom were the property of the King. The king therefore took adequate measures to protect his assets. The punishment for destroying or stealing the king's property was invariably death. In a democracy, the property of the state is the property of the people. It belonged to all and hence amounted to being the property of none. Today every body feels free to usurp or destroy public property. You can encroach on public land without being evicted. You can destroy public property without facing punishment. You can avoid paying taxes to the Government and enter into litigation which runs into years. In any case the only punishment could be a fine which you can always claim that you do not have the money to pay.

Our beloved leaders also feel very free in dishing out Government Funds. They give crores of rupees to individuals in the press, their friends and relatives from the discretionary funds of the ministers to ensure favorable coverage in the media. To gain votes they give free electricity and water to farmers, subsidized rations to the poor, waive loans given by the government or public sector banks and overlook theft of water and electricity. They reduce taxes but not expenditure. They give away Government land to organizations and individuals in whom they have interest at throw away prices. They exempt entertainment tax on shows in return for donations to the party funds. Our political leaders and the administration are very generous in the disbursement of Government funds and assets. It would have been wonderful if our leaders were equally generous with their own funds and assets. The result is that every year our Government is becoming poorer and the rich, the powerful business houses and our honorable political leaders and our able administrators and government servants are getting richer. If the loot of Government property and funds is not stopped, soon the government would have no funds to govern the country.

This Ordinance is an attempt to stop the destruction, misappropriation and disposal of Government property and funds. However, this ordinance does not seek to curb the freedom of speech or expression. of the citizens of India. They are free to express their views through news papers, magazines, cartoons, peaceful assemblies and protests. But violence or forcing citizen to join protests or disrupting essential services including blocking roads or rails will not be tolerated.

Offenses against the State

Any person or persons who willfully destroy or damage any Government property will, if convicted in a court of law, be given a sentence of one year to life rigorous imprisonment depending on the gravity of the offense and the value of the property. The cost of the property will also be recovered from the individual. If the fine is not paid, the moveable or immovable property of the person or persons will be confiscated and auctioned to recover the dues. If the damage or destruction takes place during a political demonstration, the political party will be liable for paying the damage and the political leaders taking part in the demonstration will be held personally responsible and will undergo the prison sentences.

Any administrative authority, police, paramilitary forces or member of the armed forces who fails to do his best to protect the Government property from damage or destruction will, if found guilty of dereliction of duty, be punished suitably and may be dismissed from service.

Any Government Servant, who willfully or through gross neglect, destroys or damages or allows takeover of Government Property by unauthorized persons, if found guilty will be dismissed from service and given a prison sentence up to life imprisonment depending on the gravity of the crime. The Government property will also include files and documents, stores and equipment.

Any person who encroaches on government land or building on any pretext whatsoever will be evicted from the land and will be liable to pay the cost of the eviction proceedings. If the encroacher is a Government Servant , politician , builder or an individual who is in business and the individual builds any kind of structure on the said property without due permission, he will be liable to a punishment up to life imprisonment depending on the gravity of the offense.

Any authority or Government officer who fails to take cognition of an encroachment in his jurisdiction and who fails to take action to get the encroachment evicted will on being found guilty be dismissed from service and suffer a term of imprisonment up to life imprisonment.

Any authority, individual or organization who interferes with the investigation or eviction process will, if found guilty, be punished with imprisonment up to life imprisonment.

Any Government Servant who allows theft of Government resources like water , electricity or fails to recover dues for providing facilities like vehicles , aircraft or any other services provided by the Government, will , if found guilty, be dismissed from service. He will also be liable to make good the loss in revenue and on failure to do so be punished with imprisonment up to life imprisonment. His personal property will be confiscated.

Any person who provides any inducement, either monetary or otherwise, to a Government Servant to allow theft of any government resources or revenue, will if found guilty be punishable with imprisonment up to life imprisonment. The loss of resources or revenue will be recovered from the assets of the person.

Any person who interferes with the due process of law by interfering with the investigation, threatening or offering inducements to the members of the judiciary, the police or any investigating agency or to any witness or in any other way, will, if proved guilty, be punished with imprisonment up to life imprisonment .

Any Government Servant or elected representative of the people, who does not pay dues to any department of the Government for provision of services like telephone, electricity, water, transportation etc. within six months of the bill being raised or the amount being due, will, if he is a Government Servant, be dismissed from service and if he is an elected representative of the People, be permanently disqualified. The moveable or immovable property of such persons will be attached by the Union and if the dues are not cleared within a period of three months, the property will be auctioned off to recover the dues. The balance amount, if any, will be returned to the person.

Any person or persons who resists any Government Servant or agency in the execution of their duty or uses force against such Government Servant or Agency will , if found guilty in a court of law, be punished by imprisonment up to life depending upon the gravity of the offense . If fire arms or explosives are used, the minimum punishment will be death or imprisonment for life.

All offenses under this act are non bailable. The charge sheet must be filed within 90 days unless prior permission of a court has been obtained and the trial will be completed within 180 days of filing the charge sheet. If the investigating agency fails to file the charge sheet in time without prior approval of a court, the officer in charge of the investigation will be dismissed.

Liabilities of Elected Governments or Bodies Like Municipal Corporation

Clause1

Any Government or Municipal Body which grants free facilities free water, electricity, transportation to any individual or group of individual which is not available to all citizens will be dismissed and fresh elections held. The only exceptions would be those effected by natural calamities, or persons displaced by projects.

Clause 2

Any Government or Municipal Body which grants exemption to any individual or organization from paying dues to the Government like sales tax, exercise duty, entertainment tax, etc. will be dismissed and fresh elections held. Any exemption would only be with the permission of the President.

Clause 3

Any Government or Municipal body which parts with any Government Land or property to any individual or organization at a rate less than the market rate would be dismissed and fresh elections held. The only exemption would be industrial joint ventures where the Government is given shares equal to the market value of the property. Any loss to the state occurring from such an action will be recovered from the members of the Government or Municipal body.

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Some other Ordinances

The next day, the President promulgated a number of other Ordinances. The details of these are given below.

Prevention of Proliferation of Weapons

Preamble

The level of violence in the country has reached unacceptable limits. Anti socials, criminals and terrorists are arming themselves with sophisticated fire arms and explosives. These are also being freely used against innocent citizens, police and paramilitary forces. The only way of reducing the level of violence is to free the country of the menace of illegal fire arms and explosives.

Restrictions on Possession of Fire Arms and Explosives

Any person who is found to be in possession an unlicensed fire arm or explosive will be immediately arrested. He will be punished with death by torture, if found guilty in a court of law. The sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment if provides information regarding the source or consignee which will help in their capture or elimination.

The owner or tenant of any premises from where any unlicensed fire arm or explosive is recovered will be immediately arrested. Unless he is able to prove that the fire arms or explosives were kept in the premises without his knowledge, he will, if found guilty by a court of law, be punished with life imprisonment.

Liability to Provide Information

Any person who is found to be in possession of unlicensed arms or explosive and fails to provide authentic information about the source of arms or explosive will, if found guilty by a court of law, be liable to death by torture. If he discloses the relevant information before or during torture, which enables the law enforcement agencies to find and destroy the source of such weapons, the sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment.

Restriction on Production and Trading in Fire Arms and Explosives

Any person engaged in production of arms or explosives without a valid license will, if convicted by a court of law, be punished by life imprisonment.

Any person engaged in procurement, sale or transportation of illegal weapons, will, on conviction by a court of law, be punished with life imprisonment. He will also be liable to death by torture if he fails to disclose the full details of the source of supplies of the arms and explosives and details of sales made.

All offenses under this Ordinance will be non bailable. The charge sheets will be filed within 90 days by the investigating agency and the trial must be completed within 180 days. If the investigating agency fails to file a charge sheet within 90 days, without obtaining a prior exemption from a court of law, the officer in charge of the investigation will be dismissed from service.

Restrictions on Possession of Money in Cash

Preamble

Money in the form of cash is the source of many evils. Cash is freely used for bribing, gaining political favors, influencing decisions, paying "supari" (money) for killings and so on. It also contributes to concealing income and generating black money and causing loss of revenue to the government. It is therefore essential that possession of cash beyond a certain limit be declared a cognizable offense. Money must be kept in banks so that all transactions can be traced if required.

Restrictions on Possession of Money in Cash

No individual will be in possession of cash in excess of Rs 50,000 at any time. If more cash is recovered from any individual or premises during a search, the amount in excess of Rs 50,000 will be confiscated and deposited in the Government treasury. If the offense is repeated, the individual will be sentenced to a period of imprisonment of not less than one year in addition to confiscation of the excess money.

There will be an amnesty period of 15 days from the date of this Ordinance. All individuals are required to deposit their cash in any bank within these 15 days.

No branch of any company registered under the Companies Act, proprietorship or partnership company and no non government organization formed for any purpose whatsoever, will keep more than Rs 100,000 in cash on the premises except on salary day which will be notified in advance. All salary payments in excess of Rs 5000 will be by cheque. If more cash is recovered from any company during a search, the entire cash in excess of Rs 100,000 will be confiscated and credited to Government treasury. In case of a second offense, the head of the branch will be sentenced to an imprisonment of one year in addition to confiscation of excess cash. The amnesty period of 15 days will be applicable to companies.

No business premises will keep cash in excess of Rs 50,000. Items worth more than Rupees 5000 will be paid for by cheque or credit or debit card. If more cash is recovered from any business premises during a search, the amount in excess of Rs 50000 will be confiscated and credited to Government treasury. In case of a second offense the proprietor will be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of one year. The amnesty period will apply.

No political party will keep cash in excess of Rs 100,000 in their offices. All payments to candidates for election expense will be made by cheque. All donations to political parties by individuals or organizations in excess of Rupees 5000 will be by cheque.

Reward for Information Leading to Recovery of Cash

Any person who provides information leading to recovery of cash over and above the ceiling limit laid down will be entitled to a reward of 10 percent of the cash confiscated.

Restrictions on Possession of Gold

Preamble

Once restriction is placed on cash, it is possible that gold will be used in lieu of cash for paying bribes and keeping black money. It is therefore necessary to put some restrictions on the possession of gold. The other reason for this measure is that India imports about 450 tons of gold every year. This puts a great pressure on our economy and foreign exchange reserves. This practice needs to be discouraged.

Restrictions on Possession of Gold

Any person holding primary gold or ornaments weighing more than 1 Kg must declare his gold holding on his income tax return. If the individual is not an income tax payer, he or she will be required to declare the gold holding to the income tax department on a special form to be published in the news papers. If the gold is held on the name of a minor or any other relative, the gold will have to be formally gifted through an affidavit and gift tax would have to be paid on the same. The first return on gold holding will be submitted to the income tax department within 15 days of the promulgation of this ordinance. If undeclared gold is found on any premises, the quantity above 1 kg will be confiscated and credited to Government Treasury.

No individual will be permitted to hold more than 5 kg of gold under any circumstances. If more than 5 kg of gold is recovered from any individual the gold in excess of 5 kg will be confiscated and credited to Government Treasury.

No company as defined under the companies act, no business establishment or NGO is permitted to posses any gold, either primary or in the form of ornaments. However, companies or business establishments who are licensed to sell primary gold or ornaments are exempted. Temple authorities who receive gold offerings are also exempted provided they declare their gold holdings to the income tax department every month.

Reward for Information Leading to Recovery of Gold

Any person who provides information leading to recovery of unauthorized gold holdings will be given a reward of 10 percent of the value of the gold confiscated.

Sanction of Investigation of Charges of Corruption against Ministers, Elected Representatives and Government Servants and their Prosecution

Preamble

All persons who deal with public money do so as trustees and have to ensure that the public money is spent as per rules and regulations on the subject, for the purpose for which they are meant and cost effectively. Hence, when charges of corruption are leveled against such persons, these need to be investigated on priority. However, it is noticed that sanctions are not given to the investigating agencies for carrying out investigation and prosecution for long periods of time. This makes investigation difficult and gives time to the culprits to destroy or to tamper with the evidence. Attempts are also made to use the sanction as a weapon against political opponents. This has to be stopped.

Asking for Sanction

All investigating agencies will make their requests for permission to investigate charges of corruption against ministers, elected representatives or Government Servants or for launching prosecution against them in a court of law, to the competent authority in writing. A copy of the request will be endorsed to the economic offenses cell in the Ministry of Finance and the Central Vigilance Commission.

No sanction will be necessary for investigating persons below the rank of joint secretary or equivalent.

Grant of Sanction

The competent authority will examine the case and grant sanction at the earliest possible but not later than 30 days from the receipt of the request.

If sanction is denied, the reasons for such a denial will be recorded in writing and forwarded to the economic offenses cell in the Ministry of Finance and the CVC. The economic offenses cell will have the powers to over rule the decision of the competent authority.

If sanction is not denied within 30 days, the investigating agency will proceed with the investigation or prosecution without sanction.

Liability of the Competent Authority

If any competent authority appears to have denied the sanction with malafied intent to protect any individual or without applying himself, he will, if found guilty in a court of law, be dismissed and debarred from holding a responsible office in any government.

The economic offenses cell will be responsible to bring such cases to the notice of the President.

Withdrawal of Cases Registered

Preamble

It has been noticed that whenever there is a change of government in any state, a number of cases already registered are withdrawn. This smacks of political favors being granted to party members or supporting criminals. This has to be stopped and law must be allowed to follow its own course.

Restriction on Withdrawal of Cases Registered

Once a case has been registered against any person or persons in a court of law , the state government or police is barred from withdrawing the case without due sanction of the court where the case has been registered.

The court may dismiss the case for want of adequate evidence. However, if the court is of the opinion that the lack of evidence is due to ineffective or motivated action by the investigating authorities, the court will pass suitable strictures against the investigating agency. It will be obligatory for the head of the investigating agency to take note of the strictures passed by the court. He should thereafter investigate the lapse and initiate suitable disciplinary action against those responsible for the lapse. If the head of the investigating agency fails to take or initiate action against the person or persons responsible for the lapse, the services of the head of the agency will be terminated on grounds of inefficiency at the pleasure of the President.

The court may permit a case to be withdrawn provided; the complainant, if he is an individual, withdraws the case. However, cases pertaining to murder and rape cannot be withdrawn.

The court may permit a case to be withdrawn provided that the parties, if they are individuals or companies, involved in the case agree to a mutual settlement and the complainant agrees to drop the case.

Dealing with Unauthorized Construction

Preamble

Unauthorized construction is one of the banes of our corrupt systems. It is common for our builders and real-estate developers to bribe the concerned authorities and to construct more area or floors than that allowed as per the sanction or the prevalent laws. Demolition of such structures is not always possible as the tenants or owners of these premises are often not the beneficiaries of the corrupt practice indulged in by the builder or developer. There is long litigation and the demolitions of such structures serve no purpose. However, to discourage this practice, it has to be ensured that the builders and developers do not benefit from such deeds. This Ordinance seeks to put an end to this practice.

Penalties for Unauthorized Construction

In case a builder or developer constructs an unauthorized structure without a valid sanction from the Competent Authority in the case, or constructs more than the sanctioned FSI and constructs more floors or premises he will be penalized as follows:

If the unauthorized portion is unsold and unoccupied, it will be confiscated by the Government and auctioned and the proceeds will be deposited in Government treasury.

If the unauthorized portion is sold, the property will be valued by an authorized valuer and the builder or developer will be required to deposit in Government treasury the value of the said unauthorized property within three months of the notice to do so. If the builder or developer of the said property fails to do so, all members of the board of directors of the company including the chairman will be punished by imprisonment of seven years and the premises of the offenders will be confiscated and the money recovered.

If the property has been leased out on a rent and deposit, the property will be confiscated by the Government. The rent and deposit paid by the tenant to the builder or developer will be recovered from the builder developer and deposited in Government treasury. If the builder developers fail to do so within three months of such notice, the entire board of directors including the chairman will be punished by imprisonment of seven years. The future rents on the property will be paid by the tenants to the government.

Any Government Servant who has aided or abetted in the construction of the said unauthorized property or failed to take timely action to prevent such unauthorized construction will , if found guilty by a court of law , be dismissed from service without any benefits and be sentenced to up to seven years imprisonment.

Any person who interferes with the implementation of these guidelines and any government authority that fails to take immediate action on cases of unauthorized construction will, if found guilty by a court of law, be punished with imprisonment of seven years. If the person happens to be a government servant, he will be dismissed from service without any benefit.

This law comes with retrospective effect of 10 years.

Rewards and Punishment for Government Servants

Preamble

The Government Servant is restricted in his operation by a number of rules and regulations. The job is secure and promotion is time bound and rarely related to performance. Thus they also rarely see the necessity of being efficient and result oriented. To improve efficiency, it is therefore necessary to introduce a system of rewards and punishment for Government Servants.

Rewards for Government Servants

Any Government Servant who is in charge of a time bound project at the executive level costing not less than Rs. 1 Crore will , on successful completion of the project within the time and cost laid down, be given a reward of Rs 1 Lakh. His superior officer, if any, will get Rs 10,000 and Rs 90,000 will be divided amongst his subordinates in the department in the proportion of their basic salaries. The reward will be exempt from income tax.

Any Government Servant who through his efficient functioning or through innovative decision making saves the nation a sum of more than Rs. 1 Lakh will be entitled to a reward of 10 percent of the amount saved subject to a maximum of Rs 1 Lakh. The reward will be exempt of income tax.

The reward will be claimed by the Government Servant himself, giving full details of his achievements. The claim will be submitted directly to the President with a copy to the next superior officer who will directly forward his comments on the claim to the President. The claim will be disposed off within six months after due verification. If the process is delayed, the head of the department where he functions will be punished with loss of seniority up to five years.

Punishments for Government Servants

Any Government officer who fails to take a decision on any application by the general public within on month of the receipt of the application will be fined Rs 1000 for the first offense. He will be removed from his appointment and demoted if he is found guilty a second time.

Any Government officer, who causes a loss to the state through a delay in decision making or through malafied decision making, will on being found guilty of the charge by a departmental inquiry or a court of law, be fined 10 percent of the loss subject to a maximum of Rs 1 Lakh. If he is found guilty a second time, in addition to the fine, he will be removed from the appointment and demoted.

The complaints for inadequate functioning of Government Servants may be made directly to the President with a copy to the head of the Government Department by the aggrieved party, the media or any non government organization. It will be mandatory for the head of the Government Department to investigate the matter and give his recommendation within one month. Any failure by the Head of the Department to do so will result in his removal and premature retirement.

Punishment for Heinous Crimes

Preamble

Certain heinous crimes like dowry deaths by burning, gang rapes, throwing acid on people and stripping of women are on the increase. It seems that the punishments for these crimes are inadequate. It would also seem that a class of people has come to believe that they can get away with such deeds. Laws for dealing with these crimes are in place. But the punishments for such cases are not adequate to deter potential culprits. It is there decided to punish these offense in such a way that no one would contemplate committing these crimes.

Punishment for Dowry Deaths by Burning

Any person or persons, convicted by a court of law, for burning a woman for any reason whatsoever, will be sentenced to death by burning. The sentence will be carried out at a public place after giving due publicity. The public would be allowed to see the execution free of cost. Television channels would be welcome to telecast the event alive.

Punishment for Gang Rape

Persons, convicted in a court of law, for gang raping a woman will, in addition to serving the prison sentence as per law will have a foreign body inserted in their anus for a period of 6 hours. The punishment will be carried out in a public place after giving due publicity. The public would be allowed to see the execution free of cost. Television channels would be welcome to telecast the event alive.

Punishment for Throwing Acid

Any person or persons, convicted in a court of law, for throwing acid on any person for any reason whatsoever, will have acid thrown on the person to the same part of the anatomy. The punishment will be carried out in a public place after giving due publicity. The public would be allowed to see the execution free of cost. Television channels would be welcome to telecast the event alive.

Punishment for Stripping

Any person or person who forces another person whether male or female to strip naked in a public place or in case of women, forcibly removes any pert of her clothing for any reason whatsoever, will on conviction by a court of law, be punished by parading the said person or persons naked in public for a period of a minimum of two hours and be given ten strokes of cane.

Dealing with such Cases

All the above offenses will be non bailable.

The trial must commence within 90 days of the registration of the complaint.

The trial will be completed within 90 days of commencement.

If the accused are absconding for more than seven days, the accused will be declared proclaimed offenders and all their moveable and immovable assets will be seized, auctioned and credited to government treasury. Any persons harboring the accused, if proved guilty in a court of law, will be treated as co accused and be liable to the same punishment as the accused.

Culpability of the Investigating Agencies

If there is any delay in recording of the FIR or investigation of the crime, the officer in charge of the police station will, if convicted of dereliction to duty by a court of law, be dismissed from service and be deemed to be an accessory to the crime and be liable to suffer the same punishment as the accused.

If there is any laxity in arresting the accused or in the investigation of the case , the officer in charge of investigation will , if found to be guilty of dereliction to duty , be deemed to be an accessory to the crime and be liable to suffer the same punishment as the accused.

Insider Crimes

Preamble

Thieves will commit theft and pick pockets will pick pockets. This is to be expected. But if the person appointed to guard the material commits theft or misappropriation of the material his offense deserves greater punishment. Thus, if a woman is raped in a police station or a bank employee commits a fraud, the gravity of the crime increases manifold. The aim of this ordinance is to ensure that insider crimes are reduced.

Punishment for Insider Crimes

When the protector or man in charge becomes the culprit, the minimum punishment for any crime under the IPC or Indian Civil Code will be four times the maximum punishment normally admissible for the crime.

The President held the customary press conference the day after the issue of the ordinances. A number of the members of the media and certain human rights groups came out strongly against some of the ordinances.

One of the media persons asked the President as to why he had introduced death by torture as a punishment. The President said that under the present laws, it was virtually impossible for the investigating agency to find out any information about the source consignee of the illegal arms or narcotics seized. Same was the case with smuggled gold, arms and explosives. In case of economic offenses, the culprits were not willing to reveal what they had done with the money. The so called interrogation by the investigating agency is incapable of breaking a hardened criminal and obtaining any useful information. Even if the accused confesses during interrogation, he can always plead in court that he did so under duress .Third degree is not permitted by law and if the unfortunate chap died in custody, you media persons and the human rights groups would be at the throat of the Government. But unless reliable information is available, we can not hurt the big fish. Just punishing the couriers is not going to solve the problem. So the best thing is that let a person be convicted just for the possession of the contraband goods. Then, since torture will be legal, either the individual will die of torture, or he will spill the beans and we will be able to bust the criminal organization and mafia leaders.

Another media person asked the President whether making possession of more than Rs. 20,000 in cash will not make doing business difficult. The President replied in the negative and asked the lady whether she had ever been paid by Rs 500 notes except at the ATM machines. She replied in the negative. The President pointed out that the common people did not need to use high denomination notes and did not need to hold large amounts of cash. You have traveler's cheques, debit cards and credit cards. So where is the need to carry or pay by cash. But certain learned economists are recommending the introduction of 5000 and Rs 10,000 denomination notes. Who needs such notes? Only those who want to do large illegal cash transactions. Today you do not require a suitcase to carry Rs. 1 Crore. Would it not be much more convenient for the corrupt if a lady could carry Rs 1 Crore in her purse? It would be much less conspicuous than a suitcase and much easier to hide. Only those with criminal intent needed large quantities of cash.

The President was next asked whether it was possible to force people to part with their cash. The President asked the person to be patient. Let the amnesty period be over. Then he would demonstrate how it could be done. He reminded them of the saying "where there is will, there is a way."

Another asked whether his Ordinance on heinous crimes would not be decried by the developed world and invite sanctions for not adhering to human rights norms. The President replied that in some of the countries like Saudi Arabia, death by stoning, caning etc. were legal. The US and the developed nations have never complained. In Singapore, an American youth was caned for spraying paint on roadside cars. The US tried to stop it but did not put any trade embargo. So there was no justification for imposing sanctions. If the developed nations decide to impose sanctions on India, it will be to prevent it from being strong and independent in its policies and actions. If doing so is in the national interest of these countries, they will find some reason or the other to do it. Being laid back does not always pay. You are then exploited and ignored. The Chinese and the Soviets have proved it on many occasions.

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Law against Economic Offenses

Preamble

The proliferation of economic offenses is one of the most difficult problems of our society. Corruption in Government Departments is rampant. Evasion of income tax , sales tax and exercise duty is common. Stamp Duty is evaded by under valuation of property and paying part of the price in cash. Foreign exchange laws are violated at will and Indians are stashing billions of dollars in foreign bank accounts. Financial companies take fixed deposits from the public, invest large sums as private placements and become insolvent. Bank frauds are common. Banks and financial institutions make huge loans to friends and relatives and politicians without following norms and obtaining securities. Cheques are issued without funds to cover them and no action is taken or action is delayed. Financial results are changed through creative accounting and the audit authorities seem to have no liability. Exporters and importers are under invoicing or over invoicing and making money. The net result is that every day the Government is loosing revenue. People are loosing their life savings. The Government deficit is rising. There is shortage of money to carryout any development work. So the Government is going around with a begging bowl to the developed countries, the IMF and World Bank and foreign investors and trying to get foreign direct investment or loans at any cost. This has to be stopped.

This Ordinance is a step in this direction. The aim is not to rewrite the rules at this stage. That can be done by the elected Parliament. The aim is to ensure compliance of existing laws by redefining punishments and generating accountability. The aim is also to recover misappropriated funds if possible and to ensure that the offender cannot benefit from his misdeeds.

Classification of Economic Offenses

All economic offenses involving more than Rs one Lakh will hereafter be treated as criminal offenses.

Evasion of Income Tax, Exercise Duty and Sales Tax

Any individual who is liable to pay income tax and fails to do so, will, if convicted in a court of law, be punished by an imprisonment equivalent to a minimum of one year or one year for every Lakh of rupees evaded. Financial penalties as applicable under existing rules will also be recovered.

Any individual who pays less tax than liable will, if the evasion is proved to be malafied and not due to a genuine mistake, will if convicted in a court of law, be imprisoned for a minimum period of one year or one year for every Lakh of rupees evaded. He will be also be required to pay his tax dues along with a penalty of 4 percent per month if the evasion is proved to be malafied and 2 percent per month if not malafied.

In case of companies as defined under the Companies Act, business establishments, societies, non government institutions or trusts , political parties, the liability for payment of income tax , sales tax or exercise duty will rest with the managing director or the proprietors or the treasurer of the political party. They will be liable to undergo imprisonment and be personally responsible for payment of unpaid taxes or duties with interest as applicable in cases above.

It is mandatory for all individuals, Hindu undivided families, companies, business establishments, societies, trusts or any other organizations liable to pay tax, to file their returns and pay their taxes by due dates. Any failure to do so will be punished with imprisonment of one week. The liabilities will be as defined in Clause 1, 2 or 3 above.

These offenses are bailable.

All voluntary disclosure schemes are canceled. An amnesty period of two months is available to those who would like to file their returns and pay their taxes with an interest of 2 per cent per month including taxes payable but evaded. There will be no bar on investigation of evaded income by any authority.

Offenses Related to Bank Frauds and Frauds Relating to Government Accounts or Treasuries

Any person found guilty of perpetrating a fraud on a bank or Government Account or Treasury by a court of law will be sentenced to death by torture. If the perpetrator of the offense becomes an approver and the conspirators are arrested and the money is recovered, the punishment will be commuted to life imprisonment.

Any person or bank employee or government employee or a minister or an elected representative, who is charged with conspiring or colluding with the perpetrators of the fraud will, on conviction by a court of law, be sentenced to death by torture. The sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment if the person turns approver and provides clinching evidence to establish guilt of the accused and deposits the pecuniary benefits gained from the transaction in a Government treasury.

Any person who stands to benefit from such fraud; whether he directly participates in the fraud or not; will be treated as a co-accused and undergo the same punishment.

These offenses are not bailable. However, the families of the accused will be paid a non refundable ex-gratia payment equal to two thirds of their salaries or Rs 10,000 whichever is less during the period of trial.

Offenses Related to Misappropriation of Public Funds

Any person or company or business establishment, who misappropriates funds collected from the public as fixed deposits, will on being found guilty by a court of law, be sentenced to death by torture. The sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment if the money misappropriated is recovered and the other conspirators are convicted.

Any person who conspires or connives in the execution of the crime and any person or persons who stand to benefit from the misappropriation will be treated as co-accused and will be liable to undergo the same punishment.

Culpability of Auditors

Any auditor or firm of auditors who, in the process of carrying out statutory audits, assists any of his clients in falsification of accounts or fails to bring out clearly and without any ambiguity any irregularity in the maintenance of accounts or offers bribe to any income tax, sale tax or exercise inspector will be made an accessory to the crime and be liable to undergo the same punishment as applicable to the individual or company perpetrating the offense.

Offenses Relating to Corruption

Any minister, elected authority or Government Servant, who is found guilty of demanding or accepting any bribe or gratification in cash or kind for performing any service which is a part of his duty by a court of law, will be dismissed from service and undergo imprisonment for a period of not less than seven years. The individual on being formally charged or being caught red handed will be immediately suspended and arrested.

Any minister, elected authority or Government Servant, who is found guilty of disregarding laid down procedures and showing undue favor to any individual or company and thereby causing a financial loss to the state, will on being found guilty by a court of law, be dismissed and sentenced to death by torture if the amount of loss exceeds Rs. 1 Crore or a minimum of seven years imprisonment if the amount of loss is less. The sentence will be commuted to a lower punishment if the money is recovered. Any person or persons who benefit from the undue favor will be treated as a co-accused whether he is directly connected with giving the bribe or not. In case the beneficiary is a company, the managing director or the proprietor will be held liable.

These offenses are not bailable. The families of the accused will be paid an irrecoverable ex-gratia amount of two thirds their salary or Rs 10,000 per month whichever is less during the period of detention and trial.

Liabilities of the Investigating Agencies

If any member of the police or investigating agency fails to record an FIR or to take cognizance of a crime and fails to carryout a thorough investigation into the allegations , he will be immediately suspended and if found guilty of dereliction to duty will be dismissed from service without any benefit. If the crime is of a serious nature like murder or rape, he will be treated as an accessory to the crime and proceeded against accordingly.

If any investigating agency fails to investigate a crime and file a charge sheet within 90 days of making an arrest without obtaining prior sanction of a court of law, the officer in charge of investigation will be dismissed from service for dereliction to duty.

Any superior officer who fails to take cognizance of acts of omission or commission by their subordinates in connection with cases even after they are brought to their notice by any individual or through the media, the superior officer will be suspended and if found guilty be dismissed from service on grounds of inefficiency without any benefits.

Any minister, elected representative or superior officer who coerces or induces any investigating agency or subordinate to overlook any crime or to go slow on investigations or to show undue favor to any accused , will be suspended and if found guilty be tried as an accessory to the crime.

Laws against Smuggling

Preamble

Smuggling causes loss of revenue. More importantly, it gives economic power to anti socials and thus poses a threat to the security and law and order. Thus it is essential that smuggling is rooted out.

Punishment for Smuggling of Gold

Any person found to be in possession of more than 100 gm of unaccounted gold at any port, airport, sea shore or border areas will, on being convicted by a court of law , be sentenced to death by torture. The sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment if the person provides information about the source of gold and the party to whom it is consigned. It will be further reduced if the information leads to the arrest and conviction of the consignor or the consignee.

Any person who is found to be in possession of smuggled gold, will, if convicted by a court of law, be sentenced to death by torture. The offense will be commuted to life imprisonment if the person provides information about the source of gold and the party to whom it is consigned. It will be further reduced if the information leads to arrest and conviction of the consignee or the consignor.

Punishment for Smuggling of Narcotics

Any person who is found to be in possession of more than 10 gm of any kind of narcotics, will, if convicted by a court of law, be sentenced to death by torture. The sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment if the person provides full and reliable information about the source and consignee of the narcotics. It will be further commuted if the information provided leads to capture and conviction of other persons engaged in the smuggling of narcotics.

Punishment for Smuggling of Arms and Explosives

If any consignment of weapons or explosives is intercepted at any place, the escort of the consignment if any will, if convicted in a court of law, be sentenced to death by torture. The sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment if the person or persons provide full and reliable information about the source and consignee of the weapons and explosives. The sentence will be further commuted if it leads to the arrest and conviction of the consignors and consignees of the weapons.

These offenses will not be bailable.

Punishment for Smuggling of Other Items

These will be dealt with under existing laws.

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Judicial Reforms

One of the weakest areas of the Indian democracy is the judiciary. There is no doubt that the judiciary has made a great contribution to upholding the constitution and ensuring a semblance of accountability of the executive. But there were major problems. There are lakhs of cases pending in courts. Cases take more than 20 years to be decided .Many government servants or other litigants have died before they got justice. Cases related to economic offenses dragged on for decades resulting in the Government being denied legitimate revenue. It was widely perceived that people with money power could manipulate the judicial system so that the cases could drag on endlessly in various courts and people without money power could be forced out, thereby denying justice. Property related cases usually took so much time that landlords found it cheaper and more convenient to go to the Mafia or terrorist organizations or anti socials to get premises vacated. In Bihar the Naxalites were organizing people's courts and providing instant justice and people were going to these courts to get quick justice. The lawyers seemed to have a vested interest in delaying the process of justice. They have little accountability to their clients. Genuine demands of benches of the High Courts being established at important towns were being resisted by the lawyers. The whole system needed urgent reforms so that the faith of the common man in the judicial system was restored. The President decided that something needed to be done at the earliest to sort out the problems.

The President called his legal advisor, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the president of the bar association to discuss the problems. After a day long discussion the following problems were identified.

Shortage of Judges and Infrastructure

There were a large number of vacancies for judges particularly of High Courts and the Supreme Court which had not been filled. The Government seemed incapable of deciding on the panel of judges recommended by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. There was also reluctance on the part of some of the capable lawyers to becoming judges as it usually meant a loss of earning .There was also shortage of court rooms, staff and other infrastructure.

Excessive Litigation by the Government

The Government was a party to almost 50 percent of the cases. Many of the cases were filed by government servants who felt aggrieved by decisions regarding promotions, transfers and disciplinary cases.

Excessive Appeals against the Judgment of the Lower Courts

The financial and other restrictions on appeals to higher courts were outdated and needed revision. The governments were a major culprit in this aspect and invariably appealed against a judgment that went against it.

Excessive Adjournments

These were either due to absence of lawyers or one of the parties praying for more time to prepare for the cases. In many cases the adjournments were by mutual agreement between the parties.

Lack of specialization

Certain types of offenses needed specialization of the judges. These specialized judges were not always available and resulted in delays. There was a need for establishment of special courts for dealing with economic offenses and terrorist or Mafia related cases.

Benches of High Courts in more Cities

There was a necessity of having benches of the High Courts in all the major cities in a state to make it easier for the litigants. These should be established in spite of the objection of the bar association of the states. This would considerably reduce the cost of litigation and delays. By the same logic, there was a need to establish benches of the Supreme Court at all the metropolitan cities.

Lack of Urgency

There was a marked absence of urgency on the part of the police and public prosecutors to process case of criminal nature. As a result many poor people languished in jail without trial for periods more than the probable sentence.

Liberal Issue of Stay Orders

The courts were rather liberal in giving stay orders in cases related to acquisition of land for projects, or demolitions of encroachments or eviction of illegal tenants. Thus the projects got held up and resulted in escalation of cost and huge losses to the states. Once a stay order was obtained the beneficiaries of the stay order left no stone unturned to delay the case.

Based on the above findings the President directed the following actions to be taken:-

The recommendations of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court regarding appointment of judges were accepted in totality. The Legal Advisor was told to ensure that the necessary notification was published within seven days. All infrastructure projects for setting up new courts or additional infrastructure in existing courts which were under planning were to be started within three months.

The emoluments of the judges were revised upwards and the Legal advisor was asked to notify the changes through a notification immediately. All salaries would be taxable. There will be no change to the existing perks.

As long as shortages of judges continue, retired judges may be employed for two years at a time to fill in existing vacancies. The Legal Advisor or Law Minister must ensure that no appointment of a judge remains vacant for a period more than a month.

Where a case is between a Government employee and the Government of India or a State Government and the case has been decided by a court of law in favor of the Government Servant, no appeal against the judgment in a higher court will be permitted. All appeals against such judgments which have been made would be withdrawn within one month and the judgment of the lower court will be implemented within 30 days of withdrawal of the case. In future, whenever the Government of India or a State Government looses a case against its own employee, it would be mandatory for the department to hold a departmental inquiry against the person advising and sanctioning litigation and if malafied intention is established, suitable action would be taken against the authority.

Appeals against judgments of lower courts by the Government of India or State Governments will not be as a matter of routine. Appeals would only be permitted if a gross miscarriage of justice is evident. If the appeal is lost, the authorities recommending the appeal will be held liable and be required to justify the appeal.

All criminal cases pertaining to minor offenses like theft, burglary, pick pocketing, ticketless travel, minor assaults will be reviewed and if the accused has been in custody for more than one year, the cases will be dropped and the accused set free. The review would be completed within three months.

Special Courts will be set up within six months for trial of economic offenses and offenses relating to terrorist activities and the Mafia or organized crime. All trials of offense related to terrorism and organized crime will be conducted outside the state in which these were committed. Such courts would be set up in each state. Courts for terrorist and organized crime would be set up in secure areas like military cantonments.

The number of adjournments allowed due to non appearance of lawyers would be restricted to three. If the lawyer failed to appear a fourth time, the case would be decided exparte.

The number of adjournments allowed when either party requests for more time to prepare the case will be restricted to one by either party unless the court is satisfied with the reason for delay. There after the case will be decided exparte.

All lawyers will come under the preview of consumer courts and would be liable to pay damages if the case was lost through neglect or lack of representation.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court would lay down guidelines for grant of bail and stay orders. It would be mandatory for all judges to follow these guidelines. Any failure to do so will invite dismissal with concurrence of the Chief Justice.

Incase of civil suits, an appeal to a high court would only be permitted if the value of the property or loss is more than Rs. 10 lakhs. An appeal in Supreme Court would only be admissible if the value of loss or property is more than Rs. 1 Crore. The same financial limits will apply for cases of economic offenses. Cases involving more than Rs 10 lakhs would be directly admitted to the High Courts.

In criminal cases, only cases of murder, rape and other heinous crimes may be appealed against in the Supreme Court.

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Making Government More Effective

The perceptions about the Government Departments were not good. On one hand corruption was rampant. The general impression was that nothing would get done unless some palms were greased. Corruption had been institutionalized. If a contract had to be signed, you paid 1 percent. You paid ten percent of the contract value as bribes. The contractor did not object. In fact they felt bad that their money had not been accepted. The officer or person who refused a bribe had to do so apologetically and politely so that no offense was taken. The person who did not take a bribe was considered a fool and not trust worthy.

On the other hand was total apathy. A Government Servant just did not bother about the ordinary man. His business could wait while the Government Servant had his cup of tea or gossip. It did not matter if there was no water in the tap or no electric power. It did not matter if the roads had potholes and was a traffic hazard. It did not matter if trains and planes ran late. It did not matter if government vehicles were the most polluting. It did not matter if food grain was allowed to rot in the open for lack of storage facility. It did not matter if the grain in the public distribution system was not fit for human consumption. It did not matter if life saving equipment in government hospitals did not function and a patient died. There was an explanation for everything and no one was accountable. It was necessary to change this image. It was essential to introduce some form of accountability. It was necessary to lay down a "Citizens Charter" which laid down the acceptable time limits for providing government services.

The President had already announced incentives and punishments. He now laid down some norms for operation of government departments both at the center and the states.

If any retired person was not paid his pension, gratuity and provident fund within one month of retirement, the clerk and officer dealing with the case will be immediately suspended. If an independent inquiry found them guilty of delaying the payments, they will be dismissed from service.

If any government payment to any contractor or supplier was not made within 15 days of submission of the bill the clerk and accounts officer dealing with the case would be immediately suspended. If an independent inquiry found them guilty of delaying payment, they would be dismissed from service.

If any government officer delayed the passing of a bill for payment for more than fifteen days or passed a bill for payment without the goods and services being provided as per the terms of the contract, the officer will be immediately suspended and if found guilty of either delaying payment or colluding with the contractor or supplier and passing excess payment would be dismissed from service.

If action is not taken against the errant officer or clerk in time, his next superior will also be suspended and dealt with in a similar fashion.

Any government servant, once posted on an assignment, will not be posted to any other post or place unless his minimum tenure as per the service rules is completed. The only exception is if the person gets promoted. Any person who posts the person before his term will be jailed for interfering with the functioning of a government. Inadequate performance will not be a ground for transfer. In case of serious acts of omission or commission, the individual will be suspended and if found guilty by an independent inquiry will be dismissed from service.

All Government departments who provide goods or services to the public will fall under the preview of the Consumers Act. Every time the Government looses a case, the person responsible for the loss will be identified and punished.

Any Government servant who does not proceed on transfer after his tenure is completed for any reason whatsoever will be dismissed from service.

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Mauling the Mafia

The President was fully in control of the situation by the tenth day of the emergency. The initial tussles with the political parties were over. The politicians were at a loss to find a way to deal with the situation. The new election laws were a big threat and were likely to finish off the political careers of many. The threats of eviction and withdrawal of official transportation and perks loomed large and unsettled them. But they had been unable to muster adequate strength to organize demonstrations to have any impact. Supreme Court was taking its time to give its judgment on the imposition of emergency. The urgently needed ordinances had been promulgated and had been well received by the public. However, there was skepticism. There was no dearth of laws in the country. It was their implementation that was the problem. The police had been ham strung by political interference. They were also apprehensive of the wrath of the politicians. They were unwilling to act against people with political patronage. At times they were out gunned or bought out. It was now time to act and convince people that the President meant business.

The President decided to start by attacking the Mafia. He called a conference of the Chief of Army Staff, Director Generals of the BSF and CRPF, the heads of the intelligence agencies and the police chiefs of all the states. He said that the most powerful and politically connected Mafia dons in each state were to be dealt with on priority. The action was to be a search and seizure operation at all premises known to belong to the particular don and his henchmen. The raids were to be carried out by the Army, BSF and CRPF so that local influence and loyalties and threats of reprisal were eliminated. The state police were to provide detachments of two officers and twenty policemen including 10 women policemen for making the arrests and taking the post operation legal actions for each Army, BSF or CRPF column. The state police chiefs and the intelligence agencies were asked to recommend the Mafia dons to be eliminated within two days. The President would then decide on the targets and inform the Chiefs of Army, BSF and CRPF about their objectives. Each team was to be accompanied by a video team from the media. Reporters were also welcome. By the fifteenth day every thing was ready. The operations were to be launched at dawn. Persons of all columns were instructed to wear face masks to prevent identification by criminals and subsequent reprisals.

Major Kulwant Singh was the commander of one of the columns assembled at Siliguri for dealing with the Mafia. He and three other men of the battalion, his driver, his second in command and company junior commissioned officer were the only persons who had seen the targets. They, accompanied by an officer of the Bihar CID, had seen the target houses in civil dress in a civil jeep the previous day. Both houses belonged to a notorious Mafia don called Bhola Nath Chaudhury. Mr. Chaudhury was close to the local MLA and his name struck terror in the population of the area. He was reported to be involved in many nefarious activities like trans-border smuggling, gun running, induction of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and settling them, extortion and arranging political murders. He was reported to have a number of well armed henchmen. He had two massive houses with high boundary walls. One was at Kishenganj and the other was at his native village Birganj where he was a big land lord. He spent most of his time in his village citadel.

Major Kulwant had made his plans. He divided his troops into two columns one under himself and the other under his second in command Captain Patel. Each column had one police officer, ten policemen including five women policemen and one video camera team. For each team he had thirty soldiers and one recoilless rifle mounted on a jeep. He had prepared models of the sites and briefed his team. The plan was simple. The teams were to reach the targets before dawn and surround them. The people from the nearby houses were to be shifted so that they did not become casualties in the cross fire. After dawn the houses were to be approached and the inmates be asked to come out and allow the house to be searched. It would be fine if there was no resistance. But if there was resistance, force was to be used and the houses captured. The results of the search were to be reported. However, no one was told as to where the houses were or to whom they belonged.

By 8 PM every thing was ready. Every member of the raiding team had taken his meal and pack breakfast. Equipment and ammunition was checked. The teams mounted their vehicles and led by their commanders, started for their destination. Each column had an ambulance and medical attendant and one doctor.

Major Kulwant reached Birganj at about 3 AM. It was a big village. He stopped the column on the outskirts of the village. He then dismounted with his soldiers and moved towards the target on foot to maintain surprise and to avoid alerting the Mafia. There was a faint moon and the visibility was not too bad. The target was on the outskirts of the village. There were a cluster of houses adjoining it on the east. Otherwise the area around was open for about 50 yards. The dogs of the village began to bark as they approached. Major Kulwant had no difficulty in finding the place and the house was soon surrounded. 20 men were to take up positions along the perimeter and 10 men formed the assault party. There was a school building about 200 yards from the house. Major Kulwant set up his administrative base there. He then collected the assault team and went to get the adjoining house vacated.

The troops went and knocked at the doors of the nearby houses. The inmates were alarmed at seeing the armed men. There was commotion, cries of alarm and confusion. Some one from the target house asked what was going on. "Police", cried one of the villagers. A burly man with a double barrel gun slung on his shoulder came boldly to investigate the commotion. He had nothing to fear from the local police. He was shocked to find a couple of soldiers pointing rifles at him. He was quickly relieved of his gun, and mobile phone, hand cuffed and marched to the school building for interrogation.

The guard at the gate began to get worried when his companion did not come back. He locked the gate and went to inform his master. Bhola Nath Chaudhury was annoyed at being woken up at the early hour. When he had heard the watchman's story, he asked the watchman to wake up the rest of the men and tell them to take up their positions. He also asked two armed men to go and look for the one who had disappeared. These two men were also nabbed by Major Kulwant's soldiers. When the two did not return, Bhola Nath Choudhury was both puzzled and worried. He looked at his watch. It was 4 AM. It would be dawn soon. He dressed and went to the roof to see what was going on. The light was poor. He could not see anyone. He went down and rang up his MLA friend and demanded to know what was going on. The MLA friend knew nothing. Mr. Chaudhury next rang up the local thanedar (officer in charge of the police station) and wanted to know what was going on. The thanedar also knew nothing. He went up to the roof again. This time he saw a couple of soldiers. He immediately knew he was in trouble. He rushed down and again rang the MLA. He told him that there were soldiers surrounding his house and he had to get them removed at once. The MLA said there was emergency imposed and pleaded inability to help. He said that he could have done something if it had been the local police, but he had no influence on the army.

Major Kulwant was watching the house from his vantage point. The light was getting better. He could see some armed men on the roof. He decided to wait for some more time. He passed the order to his men to have their breakfast and tea. He decided to start the operations at 7 AM. The television crew had finished interviewing the apprehended men. They now located themselves to film the battle.

Bhola Nath Choudhury was pondering over the problem. He had learnt that his Kishenganj house was also under siege. He could anticipate what was going to happen. He was also aware of the Presidents decree on holding of unauthorized weapons and cash. Both would be found on the premises. He had a difficult decision to make. Should he fight or should he surrender? If he fought, the result was a foregone conclusion. It was difficult to fight the army. If he surrendered, he would be in jail for life and possibly face death by torture. But if they could hold out till night fall, he could make a break for it under the cover of darkness. He decided to fight.

At 7 AM, Major Kulwant picked up the loud hailer and asked the inmates of the house to surrender. Nothing happened. He waited fifteen minutes and announced again. Again there was no response. The time had come to take the next step. He knew there were about 12 armed men in the house. Assaulting the house would be tricky. He did not want any of his men killed if he could help it. He had a few warning shots fired. He also promised that if they surrendered, they would be treated well. His shots were greeted with shots from the house. The battle had begun.

Major Kulwant now made his plan of assault. He decided to draw the attention of the defenders of the house to the west side and assault the house from the east where the smaller houses provided some cover. He called his order group and gave them the orders. The recoilless rifle commander was to create a breach in the western wall and this was to be followed up by a smoke screen on the west side with the 2 inch mortar and a heavy volume of fire from the west side. He and the assault group were going to clear the house from the east side. Once the main gate was opened, the policemen and women and the camera crew could enter the house. The medical attendant and ambulance should also move in. The time for creating the breach from the west was decided to be 9 AM. From 8 AM onwards the other troops were to fire intermittently to keep the defenders on the roof and the windows off guard. Next the watches were synchronized and Major Kulwant and his assault team left for their position on the east side of the house. They made a long detour to ensure that they were not seen.

Bhola Nath Choudhury also briefed his men. He told his men that they were going to fight it out. The soldiers must not be allowed to come near the house. After night fall they were going to escape. He took up a vantage position on the roof. Soon the intermittent exchange of fire commenced. At exactly 9 AM there was a loud explosion and a portion of the western wall collapsed. Immediately there after the smoke bombs began to fall with dull thuds. A cloud of white smoke rose from near the wall. Heavy firing commenced. Mr. Coudhury and most of his men rushed to the west side of the house to meet the threat. The smoke and firing continued for about 10 minutes.

Major Kulwant and his men jumped up from behind one of the huts on the east side and rushed to the wall. An anti tank grenade created a small breach. The men rushed in through the breach and cleared the house room by room as per well rehearsed fighting in built up area drills. In the process they shot one man. Women cried in terror in one of the ground floor rooms. Within ten minutes they reached the roof and engaged the armed men from the back. Within a few moments, the battle was over. Most of the defenders including Mr. Bhola Nath Chaudhury were wounded, two had been killed. There were no casualties to the soldiers.

The gates of the house were now thrown open. The police and media men came in. The women were escorted away by the women police. The wounded were given first aid and evacuated to the civil hospital and kept under escort. The house was thoroughly searched. Over Rs. 45 lakhs in cash, 10 kg of gold ornaments, 6 AK 47 rifles, 12 shot guns, 6 country made and two 9mm pistols and a large quantity of ammunition were recovered.

The evening news on various television channels were dominated by the news of the raids in various parts of India, particularly in UP and Bihar. At some places the criminals had surrendered without a fight. At others they had fought. About Rs. 6 Crores and over 200 weapons of various types had been recovered.

The next day the intelligence agencies reported that the remaining members of the Mafia had gone under ground. But the raids on their houses continued. Occasionally, cash and weapons were recovered from their premises. The population, who lived under their threat breathed, a sigh of relief. Information about the missing men kept coming. They were hunted down. The Mafia had been mauled.

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### Some unpopular Measures

Next the President promulgated a new set of ordinances which pertained to unpopular measures which were not being initiated by the political parties for the fear of agitations and loosing votes . These are given below.

Income Tax on Agriculture

Preamble

Farmers have paid tax to the kings from times immemorial. History shows that all subjects paid about one fourth of their produce to the king. So it is not understandable as to why agriculturists and those who are engaged in agro based industries should not pay income tax. All persons irrespective of whether they live in urban or rural areas need the Government to carry out development of the infrastructure like roads, irrigation systems, electric power and a host of other facilities. They need the police, judiciary, the countries defense forces and many other Government facilities like education and health services. They want loan facilities, subsidies and procurement of their produce at remunerative support prices. But they are not willing to pay for these services. Do they give anything for free? Then why should they feel that they should get all services free of cost. Why should the revenue earned by the Government in the form of income tax in urban areas be spent for the development of rural areas? It is illogical to exempt agricultural income from income tax.

Tax holidays for development of backward areas are understandable. But the agriculturists have enjoyed tax holiday for sixty five years. Hence this tax holiday must end. All individuals or companies who are engaged in agro-based industries will be required to pay income tax.

Tax Liability

The slabs and rates of income tax payable by individuals and companies engaged in agriculture or agro based industries will be the same as for other individuals and companies. An expert body is being set up to work out a method of assessing income and develop a Form on which the tax return is to be submitted. This expert body recommendation will be submitted to the President within three months and Government orders will be issued within six months.

Interim Rates of Payment

Till the Government works out the system of assessing the income and develops a Form on which the return is to be submitted, an interim system as given below shall operate.

All individuals who have more than 20 acres of irrigated land or more than 5 acres under sugarcane or 3 acres under grape cultivation or who have constructed a cement concrete house of more than 100 square meters or are in possession of private cars or jeeps will pay an ad hoc income tax of Rs. 1500 for the current financial year. This amount will be paid within 3 months.

All companies engaged in agro based industries of any kind including dairy, floriculture, plantations etc. will pay an ad hoc income tax equivalent to 1 per cent of turnover. This amount will be paid within three months of issue of this ordinance.

Exemptions

All agro based industries will be allowed a tax holiday for a period of 7 years from their incorporation. In case of plantations, they will be allowed a tax holiday of 25 years. During this period they will pay only one percent of their sale as tax.

All individuals who are starting new cultivation of grapes or any fruit orchard will be granted exemption for the particular area for a period of seven years.

Penalties for Non Payment of Tax

Non payment of the tax will be treated as an offense against the state and be dealt with accordingly.

Ban on Strikes by Government Servants

Preamble

All Government Departments and Public Sector Undertakings provide services to the people which are both essential and vital. Disruptions of these services cause enormous hardship to the people of the nation. They also cause unacceptable economic losses. Government service provides great job security and post retirement benefits which are usually not available to the private or unorganized sector. Hence strikes by Government Servants or employees of a public sector undertaking are not acceptable. This is going to be a condition for employment in the Government sector. There exist many forums for redressal of grievances like administrative tribunals and courts. In case of any grievances, these authorities can be approached. But in no case will the Government allow its own employees to hold the Government and the people of the nation to ransom.

Ban on Strikes by Government Servants

Any strike or go slow agitation by any Government employee or any employee of any Public Sector Undertaking including nationalized banks for any reason whatsoever is hereby banned.

Acceptance of the Condition

All serving Government Servants including the employees of the Public Sector Undertakings including nationalized banks would sign an declaration accepting this condition within 7 days of the issue of this Ordinance. Those failing to sign this declaration would be dismissed from service. All new entrants will be required to sign this declaration at the time of appointment. The civil service rules will be amended accordingly.

Penalties in Case of Strike

In case of a strike, all union leaders will be declared as having committed crimes against the State. They will be immediately arrested and imprisoned. All Government employees who do not report for duty will be dismissed from service without any terminal benefits. All essential services like water, electricity, telephone, of the Government Accommodation or any accommodation for which the Government is paying house rent allowance and where the striking workers are staying will be immediately cut off. The employees will not be permitted to move out of their colonies except for going to work. However their families will have full freedom of movement. All Government accommodation where the striking workers are staying would be got vacated within one month of the commencement of strike. In case any public property is destroyed or any act of sabotage takes place to any installation, the culprit would be deemed to have committed a crime against the state and be proceeded against accordingly. In case during any demonstration any inconvenience is caused to the general public, the demonstration would be broken up using force as necessary including resorting to firing.

Reinstatement of Striking Employees

After a strike has been called off, the employees will be eligible to apply for reinstatement. The applications will be considered on merit. The employee will loose his seniority in his rank. 10 percent of his basic salary will be deducted for every day of absence from duty if he is reinstated.

Elections to Labor Unions and Voting on Actions Plans

Preamble

All elections are a democratic process and the individual has full liberty to indicate his choice without fear or favor. Unfortunately, unless the voting is by secret ballot, threat of reprisals can prevent a free choice being exercised. Instances of intimidation during elections to labor union have to be curbed. Violence or threat of violence cannot be allowed to dominate our lives.

Elections will be by Secret Ballot.

Elections for all union office bearers and at all labor unions will be by secret ballot. These elections will be conducted by State Election Commissions who will be responsible for conducting free and fair elections and maintaining law and order during elections.

Eligibility

Only employees of the industrial unit or government department will be eligible to contest for the post of any office bearer in the labor union of their organization. Outsiders will not be permitted to contest. Any employee who has been found guilty or is under investigation for any serious breach of discipline or for misappropriation of funds or for any offense under IPC or who has served a prison sentence for any offense under IPC would not be eligible to contest for the post of any office bearer of any labor union.

Disqualification

Any union official found guilty of use of physical force or conspiring or organizing to use of physical force on any fellow member of the union or a member of the management will be disqualified and will cease to be a member of the union. The offense would be taken cognizance of and the matter dealt with under law. Any union member who indulges in acts of indiscipline like repeatedly coming late, using abusive language in the presence of the management, disobedience of lawful orders of his superior, and if found to be incapable of performing the duties assigned to him, will be disqualified. He will also be disqualified if he is found guilty of any offense. He will be suspended during the period of inquiry.

In case any illegal strike is organized and the strike is proved to be illegal and without due notice in a labor court, the union officials taking part in the strike would be disqualified and would cease to be a member of the union.

Privilege of Union Members

The Union members will be exempted from duty for a maximum of 10 days in a month. Otherwise, they will attend to their duties.

Derecognition of Unions

Any Union which fails to submit an audited account of the Union Funds, within 180 days of the close of the financial year will be derecognized. Its assets would be seized and credited to the welfare fund for employees of the company or organization. The president and treasurer of the union would be arrested for misappropriation of public funds and be tried accordingly.

Maintenance of Divorced, Separated or Abandoned Wives and Minor Children

Preamble

It is unacceptable that a husband, irrespective of his religion or caste, be allowed to divorce his wife or abandon her and not provide her and his minor children maintenance. On one hand we are trying to bring in legislation to ensure that children are forced to maintain their aged parents, on the other hand we do not insist on the husband to provide for his wife and children. We cannot have these women being forced into prostitution or the children being made destitute for no fault of theirs.

Liability to Provide Maintenance

Any husband, irrespective of religion or caste, who divorces his wife or separates from his wife or abandons his wife without divorce will pay as maintenance to his wife a sum equal to 30 percent of his basic salary or his business income every month. Any father will pay an additional sum of 10 percent of his basic salary per child to his wife if his children are in the custody of the mother.

No maintenance would be payable to the wife in case she remarries. However, the maintenance of the children would continue. No maintenance will be payable if the wife is in service or business and has a basic salary or business income of more than Rs 10,000 per month or if her salary is more than that of her husband. In case her salary is less than Rs. 10.000, the husband would be required to pay 30 percent of his salary or the difference between the salary of his wife and Rs 10,000, whichever is less. However, the maintenance of the children would be paid.

Penalty for Non Compliance

If any husband or father fails to pay maintenance to his wife or children, he will be arrested and charge sheeted. If found guilty by a court of law, his moveable and immovable property will be confiscated, disposed off and credited to government treasury. There after, the wife and children will be paid maintenance of Rs 10,000 or 30 percent of the husbands salary; which ever is less; by the Government.

Security Arrangements for VIPS

Preamble

A large number of VIPs and ex VIPs are being provided security by NSG at great cost to the nation. The number of such people are ever increasing and adding to infructuous expenditure of the Government. A situation has arisen that even criminals with political connections are being provided with security at Government cost. This must cease forthwith.

Fundamental Principles of Providing Security

All serving ministers of the Central or State Governments who are dealing with sensitive ministries connected with maintenance of law and order will be provided with NSG security cover. Security cover for other ministers will be provided by local police.

All serving judges who deal with cases involving terrorists or Mafia cases would be provided with NSG security cover.

All retired senior officers of the defense services, police, paramilitary forces, ex ministers and retired judges who have taken action against terrorist groups or the Mafia and are on their hit list will be provided SSG security cover for a period of 10 years from their date of retirement. The necessity will be reviewed after 10 years.

Other retired Prime Ministers, ministers, government servants or members of their families will not be provided with NSG security cover. If they require security cover, they will apply to the local police, who will examine the request and provide security as provided under law.

This Ordinance will come into effect after 30 days during which time those whose NSG security cover is to be withdrawn will make their own arrangements.

The unpopular measures created a furor. The Bharatiya Kissan Union and a few other farmers' organizations came out strongly against taxation of agriculture. They threatened to launch agitation and said that they would refuse to pay taxes. There were articles both for and against the measure. Some said that there would be a fall in agricultural production. There was a demand that the measure be withdrawn.

The trade unions and the Left Parties decried the ban on strikes and the election laws. Effigies of the President were burnt. The President was dubbed anti labor. The leaders of the Central Government workers unions gave a call of indefinite strike till the measures were withdrawn.

The Muslim parties came out strongly against the laws on maintenance of wives and children. They claimed that the laws infringed on their freedom of religion.

The President stood firm. He said that he was not going to be curbed by threats and warned that those who adopted the path of agitation would face dire consequences. He reiterated that the measures were long over due and only competitive populism of the political parties had prevented these measures from being adopted. He welcomed delegations of the interested parties to discuss the measures with him.

A delegation of farmers came to discuss the issue of tax on agriculture. They pointed out that the life of a farmer was very difficult. The production was unpredictable and depended on rainfall. The farmers were not getting remunerative prices for their produce and were unable to make a proper living. The President said that as per the tax laws only those who earned more than Rs. 150,000 per year were required to pay tax. So as far as the small and marginal farmers were concerned, they would still not be required to pay tax. As far as the rich farmers were concerned the story was different. If agriculture was un-remunerative, how could they afford to build palatial houses, buy cars costing over Rs. 5 lakhs, have all modern amenities and have fat bank balances? A Government officer living honestly required a life time to buy a house and a car. Yet he paid income tax. So why should the rich farmers who earned adequately not pay tax?

The delegation of the Left Parties and union leaders came to discuss the ban on strikes and introduction of secret ballots for union elections and other clauses relating to functioning of unions. They claimed that agitations in the form of strikes, Bundhs and "Gheraos" (sit-ins) were fundamental rights of the labor. They had the right to negotiate remunerations and to prevent exploitation of the labor by the management. The President said he disagreed with this contention. The fundamental rights of one group of people can not result in denying the fundamental rights of another set of people. The Kerala High Court has already ruled that bundhs are illegal because they infringe on the rights of others. For example, the electricity boards cannot go on strike and deny electricity to the consumers. The railways cannot go on strike and deny the right to travel of millions of countrymen. I have not heard of a strike in the Soviet Union or China in the last fifty years. Both are communist countries.

It is also noticed that the Unions are launching agitations on issues which are none of their concern. The matters like disinvestment in public sector, privatization etc. are matters for the Government to decide. The Unions have no business to interfere in these issues.

It is also noticed that some unions are carrying out agitations which are harmful in the long run. Take for example the agitation about cultivation of paddy and utilization of paddy lands in Kerala. The farm labor union is asking for wages which the farmer cannot pay. So they are going in for plantations and other utilization of the land. If farming becomes un-remunerative, why would farmers cultivate. And if farming stops how will farm labor get employment. On one side you want rice at Rs. 2 or 3 per kg. On the other side you want procurement price for paddy to be Rs. 7 per kg. How is this possible? The interest of the nation comes first. The President was not going to allow anything that is against the interest of the nation.

To the Muslim leaders, the President said that maintenance of wives and children had nothing to do with religion. No religion is unjust. The simple issue is that no one can shirk his responsibilities on grounds of religion. If you marry and have children, you have to provide for the wife and children whether you choose to live with them or not. That is the law of natural justice and the law the world over. If the Muslims were not prepared to accept this responsibility, the State would have to step in and enforce it. The President failed to understand what kind of fathers and mothers were the Muslims? Did they have no concern for their daughters and the children in the society? He was unable to appreciate their objection to the law.

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**Illegal Immigrants**

Next, the President turned the heat on illegal immigrants. He promulgated an ordinance, the salient features of the Ordinance are given below.

Preamble

No country in this world allows any foreign national to enter their country without valid travel documents like passport and visa. No country allows foreign nationals to work in their country to work without a valid work permit. Why should India do otherwise? We are an over populated country. We cannot provide employment to millions of our citizen. It is ridiculous for us to allow millions of citizens of our neighbors to stay in the country without valid travel documents and to work. This is against the interest of the people of this country. We must get rid of all illegal immigrants at all cost.

Definition of an Illegal Immigrant

Any person of foreign origin including Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan who has arrived in this country without valid travel documents or is working without valid work permit, will be treated as illegal immigrants.

Any person of foreign origin who came on a valid visa but who could not get the visa renewed within the stipulated time will not be an illegal immigrant if he has applied for extension of his visa. However, if the application has been rejected, and the individual has not left within 7 days of the rejection of the application, the individual will be treated as an illegal immigrant.

Incase of people from Bangladesh, 31 December 1976 will be treated as the cut off year for detection and deportation of illegal immigrants.

Punishment for Illegal Immigration

Any foreign national detected without valid travel documents in India will be arrested and put into fully secure detention camps (similar to prisoner of war camps) established for the purpose in all states of the Union. These detention camps will be run by a new organization created for detection and deportation of illegal immigrants with the help of central security forces. They will be deported at the earliest. If the country of origin does not accept them, they will be kept in detention camps on subsistence rations. No medical aid will be provided unless the same is paid for by UN or any NGO. The men and women with children will be kept separate, even if they belong to the same family, so that no breeding can take place.

If an illegal immigrant is found to have purchased any moveable or immovable property, the same will be confiscated by the State and auctioned and the proceeds will be credited to the State.

Punishment for Abetting Illegal Immigrants

Any person found guilty of assisting illegal immigration by way of help in crossing the international boundary, providing money, arranging for travel or shelter, arranging for ration cards or any other documents or help in any way to legitimize illegal immigration, if found guilty by a court of law, will be sentenced to death by torture. The sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment if the person provides information about the modus operendii and provides evidence to convict other persons engaged in the business.

Any person who provides shelter to an illegal immigrant whether for a consideration or not, if found guilty in a court of law, will be imprisoned for a period of one year for the first offense and 5 years for a second offense.

Any person who employs an illegal immigrant with full knowledge of his being an illegal immigrant would be fined a sum of Rs. 10,000. In case the employer is a contractor or any commercial organization, they will be fined Rs 100,000 per person for their first offence. Their license to pursue the business will be withdrawn and their bank accounts will be frozen for one year in case of a second offence.

Any person who sells or leases any property to any illegal immigrant will be fined an amount equal to twice the market value of the property. The property will be seized in case of a second offence, auctioned and the proceeds will be credited to government treasury.

Detection and Deporting of Foreign Nationals

A special Central Government Department would be set up in all states within one month of this notification to deal with detection and deportation of foreign nationals and for the management of the detention camps. To start with the department would be manned by officers and men, serving or retired, of police, intelligence agencies, the defense services and para military forces. Within three months, Cells of this organization will be established in each district of the border states, Delhi and Mumbai. The department would operate under the Ministry of Home Affair.

Special Courts will be established in all states to speedily deal with cases of illegal immigration. In border states, there would be one court per district. To start with these would be manned by retired district and sessions judges. These courts would be established within three months of the promulgation of this ordinance.

It is obligatory for all Indian citizens to report cases of illegal immigration. Any person who fails to report a case of illegal immigration would, if found guilty by the special courts, be sentenced to one years imprisonment. In case of a second offense, the punishment would be five years of imprisonment. The report would be made to the police station in whose jurisdiction the case is reported by registered post with a copy to the nearest Cell for detection and deportation of foreign nationals.

If any police station fails to record such a complaint or fails to investigate such a complaint within a period of thirty days, the Station House Officer will be suspended immediately. If found guilty, he will be dismissed from service and imprisoned for five years.

Amnesty Period

All illegal immigrants are given an amnesty period of one month during which time they can voluntarily go back to their countries of origin. After one month they will be proceeded against under this ordinance. The amnesty period will also be available to those who have sold or leased immoveable property to an illegal immigrant provided he reports the matter to the police immediately.

Promulgation of this Ordinance

This Ordinance will be promulgated in all national and vernacular news papers once every week for one month.

During the usual press conference on the subject, the President was asked whether this ordinance would lead to harassment of the minorities. The President felt that since the reporting of illegal immigrants was mandatory under law, it is up to the minorities to report such cases voluntarily. If they did not do so, they became abettors of a crime and would naturally be liable for punishment under the law. Criminals, if arrested or proceeded against under law cannot claim that they are being harassed.

The President was asked whether in such a vast country it was possible to detect and deport illegal immigrants. The President felt that once the employment opportunities were effectively denied, the immigrants would be forced to return on their own. It is our unscrupulous businessmen, contractors and landlords looking for cheap labor and house wives looking for cheap domestic help, who were the main reason for illegal immigration. Once this aspect has been taken care of, illegal immigration would stop on its own.

When asked if the measures were in keeping with international law, the President pointed out that the practice of keeping illegal immigrants in detention centers was universal. Hong Kong detained the boat people from Vietnam in detention camps and forcibly deported them and no one has complained. Australia has detained boat people trying to enter the country in camps outside Australia. Bangladesh has detained Burmese Muslims trying to enter their country and is trying to deport them and no one has complained. Bhutan forcibly pushed people of Nepalese origin into India and the international community has not complained. So why should any country or the international community complain if India takes a tough stand on illegal immigration. We have people of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Shri Lanka and some of the African countries coming and settling down in India. Is India the dumping ground for all the unwanted population of Asia and Africa? If any one wants to settle down in India, they must apply for and obtain citizenship or work permits as per existing law. They cannot just walk in as they feel like. Of course, Hindu minorities in Pakistan who face persecution will be given citizenship on arrival.

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**Barbaric Punishments for Barbaric Crimes**

The President continued his efforts to make every one feel that he meant business. He decided to start with punishing some perpetrators of barbaric crimes. He asked his Legal Advisor to check if any persons had recently been convicted of dowry deaths, throwing acid at a person, stripping of women in a public place and gang rapes. The Legal Advisor checked and confirmed that the Delhi High Court had confirmed sentence of three persons found guilty of burning their daughter-in-law for dowry and three youths for kidnapping and gang raping a minor girl. The Rajasthan High Court had also confirmed the sentence of three youths for throwing acid on the face of a girl. The court had also passed strictures against the police for not perusing the case properly. Four village elders of a village in UP had been found guilty of stripping a schedule cast woman for allegedly having an affair with a higher caste young man.

The President said that barbaric punishments for those guilty should be organized on the following Sunday at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi. The guilty would be brought to Delhi for the punishments. The time for the event would be 5 PM. The event would be covered live by all channels of Doordarshan. The other television channels were also welcome to cover it if they wanted to. The event would be given wide publicity in the media and entrance to spectators into the stadium would be free. The policemen against whom the court had passed strictures for improper investigation should be dismissed and tried as accessories to the crime.

It was 4 PM on the Sunday afternoon. The Talkatora stadium was almost full. In the center of the ground were three tables and three stakes. There was a microphone on each table and on each of the three stakes. Near the stakes were three jerry cans of kerosene. On a table near the stakes was placed a bottle of acid and a matchbox. Three metal rods, round at one end and about an inch in diameter were placed on each table.

The prisoners were brought to the stadium at about 4.30 PM. The first group consisted of three people, one young man in mid twenties, a woman in late thirties and a woman in late forties. Their charges were read out on the loudspeakers. They, the husband, his mother and his sister had poured kerosene on their daughter in law while she was working in the kitchen and set her on fire because her family did not provide adequate dowry.

The second group consisted of three young men. Their charges were also read out by the announcer. They had abducted a teenage girl of their locality and gang raped her for four days because she had reported them to the police for eve teasing. They wanted to teach her and other girls a lesson that they would have to submit to the indignities of powerful young men in silence. Otherwise, they were to suffer the same fate.

The third group consisted of three young men and a dismissed police officer. The young men had poured acid on the face of a girl because she had refused to marry one of them. The police officer had tried to avoid recording the FIR and had delayed arrest of the accused as they were children of powerful families and had paid bribes to have the case hushed up.

The fourth group consisted of four elderly looking men. They were totally naked. Their heads were down and their handcuffed hands were trying to cover their private parts. They, as members of a village panchayet, had stripped a schedule cast woman of their village for having an affair with an upper cast boy.

First, the three groups in handcuffs were taken round the stadium and then brought to the center of the ground. The group of naked men kept going around the stadium pulled by ropes around their waists. The first turn was of the third group. They were ordered to go to the stakes. They refused and sat down on the ground. All the accused began to plead for mercy. Their cries for mercy were picked up by the microphones and heard all around the stadium. The crowd watched mesmerized by the spectacle. All around the country people watched the event on their televisions in horror. The three young men and the police officer were dragged to the stakes and tied. A woman, her face horribly disfigured by acid burn marks, went to the table and picked up the acid bottle. The television cameras focused on her horrible face. Cries of terror and pleading for mercy from the men at the stakes rose to a crescendo. The girl walked up to the first person and opened the bottle. The cries continued. Wet patches appeared on the trousers of the men. The girl threw the acid at the face. The cries of terror were now joined by shrieks of pain. The act was repeated three more times. The cries of agony had now taken over. The nation watched horrified. At the end of fifteen minutes, the young men were removed form the stakes. An ambulance drove up. The shrieking men were put into the ambulance and removed to a hospital for treatment.

There was a hushed silence. It was now the turn of the rapists. The three young men were dragged to the tables and their trousers were pulled down. They were now laid on the tables, face downwards, upper body on the table and legs vertical and securely tied. Their faces were near the microphones. Their exposed anuses quivered. Their pleas for mercy rent the air. A young girl was ushered to the tables. She was the victim. She picked up the iron rods and inserted them into the anuses. There were howls of pain. She went from table to table, inserting, withdrawing, twisting in a frenzy. The howls continued. She worked with frenzy. The cries of agony only spurred her on. She too had cried for mercy, to be spared. And the brutes had just laughed and squeezed her breasts. Now it was her turn to inflict pain and indignity. The spectacle continued for half an hour. Then a whistle blew. The girl was taken away. The rods were removed from their anuses. The men were untied from the tables. The trousers were pulled up and buttoned. They and the naked men were led away.

The sun was about to set. The flood lights were now switched on. The last three sat cowering on the ground, wailing for mercy. The evening headed for its gory end. The three were dragged, howling and protesting to the stakes and secured. Then a man came. He was the father of the girl the three had set alight in cold blood after pouring kerosene on her. He now opened the jerry cans and poured kerosene on the three at the stakes. The pleas for mercy rose to a crescendo. The audience watched in mute horror as the victim's wails rent the evening air. The man picked up the matchbox and struck a match. The small flame flickered in the light. He tossed it on to the man. A shriek of agony and terror filled the stadium as the person caught fire. The man lit another match stick and tossed and then another. Three screaming bodies were now engulfed in the fire. This is how my daughter would have cried thought the man. He had no remorse, only hatred. Smoke billowed from the stakes. A smell of burnt flesh filled the stadium. One of the persons broke free from the stakes and ran helter skelter till she fell on the ground. But the fire was remorseless. Then one by one the screaming voices fell silent. One by one, the people in the stadium filed out in hushed silence. Their minds full of the horrifying spectacle. Some vomited. All felt sick. The bodies burnt on.

The President watched the event on the television. So did millions of others in the country and abroad. The President was satisfied. The people knew what they could expect if they committed such barbaric crimes. He hoped that there would be no need to repeat the spectacle.

There was wide spread condemnation of the demonstration in the media in India and abroad. Diplomatic protests were received. The western nations threatened economic sanctions. The President was severely criticized. When asked for his reactions by the media, the President said he was not impressed by the entire hullabaloo. Let the daughter of any of the human rights activists be gang raped, burned alive or stripped naked or have acid thrown on her and then he would like to hear their views on the subject. Those who committed heinous crimes will not be spared under any circumstances. Let the western nations do what they felt like. He would continue to do what he thought was right.

The spectacle, the cries of agony remained etched on the people for a long, long time.

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Interrogation of some Economic Offenders

The traumatic moments of barbaric punishments for barbaric crimes were still fresh in the minds of the people. The President decided to use the opportunity of interrogating some of the economic and other offenders. He told his Legal Advisor to get him the list of the guilty of the major scams, persons found guilty of trading in weapons, narcotics and gold smugglers found guilty and sentenced to death by torture. The Legal Advisor produced the list. The President went through the list and selected a few after careful deliberations.

The first was a politically connected person called Soma Sunder Rao, an official of the State Trading Corporation who was found guilty of showing undue favor to a foreign company for supply of fertilizer and thereby causing a loss of about Rs 100 crores to the Government. The second was a couple who were directors of a financial company who had misappropriated about Rs 200 crores of public deposits. The third was a business man from whose residence a dozen AK 58 rifles had been recovered. The fourth were two people from whose room 10 kg of narcotics had been recovered. The fifth had been arrested at the Delhi airport with about 30 kg of gold in his possession.

The President said that the persons would be interrogated in public at the Talkatora Stadium the following Sunday. Full media coverage was to be arranged. A full alert was to be placed at the all airports to stop any person named during the interrogation from fleeing the country. Police teams should be standby to arrest people who were named during the interrogation.

The stadium was full of inquisitive people. What would the President do this time? In the center of the ground were six 200 liter drums on what appeared to be improvised chulas (ovens using firewood). There was a water tanker and a heap of fire wood, a jerry can of kerosene and matches. The drums were securely tied to six posts. Inside each drum, unseen by the crowd were two bricks.

The guilty men and women were brought to the stadium and taken to the drums. They were given a collar microphone and headphones were placed over their ears. They were then put into the drums and firmly tied to the posts. Water was filled up to their waists. The fire wood was placed under the drums and a little kerosene was sprinkled on the wood. The fires were then lit. The water began to warm. The bricks on which the guilty men and women were standing began to get hot. The persons began to feel the hot water on their thighs. At this stage the firewood was pulled out. The interrogators were now ready for the questioning. They explained that if the person did not answer the questions asked correctly and fully, their lower bodies were going to be boiled alive.

The interrogations were long but there was no need to light the fires again. They all talked giving full details of who were their collaborators.

Soma Sunder Rao revealed the names of the people who had conspired with him to defraud the government, how the papers were prepared, how the foreign exchange was cleared and how much kickback was received. He gave out the list of persons who got the kickbacks and how the money was received. He also explained what he did with the money he had received and agreed to return the money. He agreed to provide proof of what he had said and to provide information about the activities of the other conspirators.

The couple revealed how they had siphoned off the money, how they had transferred some of the money to foreign banks and what they had done with the money. They agreed to get the funds back into the financial company so that its liabilities could be paid.

The arms dealer revealed his source of arms and the modus operendii of the system. He revealed the names of persons to whom weapons had been sold. The narcotics and gold smugglers also came clean.

The public interrogation did not have the same public impact as the barbaric punishment for barbaric crimes. Many places were raided based on the information provided. More documents, cash, weapons, narcotics and gold were recovered. Many arrests were made. Many rich and powerful people were nabbed. Crores of rupees were recovered. Interrogations became easier. For the first time, there was considerable success in dealing with economic offenders.

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Law is Enforced

35 days had elapsed from the date of proclamation of the Emergency. The President decided that time had come to enforce the rule of law. He felt that, first the leaders must be made to follow the law . The rest would follow suit. He called his Advisor for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the Cabinet Secretary, the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Delhi Police and told them that all Government accommodation which is in unauthorized occupation will be got vacated within 7 days starting the next day. First the houses unauthorizedly occupied by ministers and MPs will be cleared. The eviction will be carried out by the Army. Twenty eviction squads will be created. Each eviction squad will consist of twenty soldiers, five policemen and five police women and three vehicles for transportation of luggage and a video recording team. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development will issue twenty eviction orders daily and hand these over to the officer nominated by the Chief of Army Staff. The personnel staying in the house will be removed by the police personnel. Thereafter, the Army men would remove all the moveable objects in the house and dump the same on the parade ground at Delhi Cantonment. The owners will remove their baggage from the parade ground at their own convenience and at their own cost. The owners would be responsible for the security of their belongings. The vacant house would be looked after by a police picket till it was taken over by the ministry. The media would be informed of the action being taken the previous day. The inmates were to be treated with courtesy but firmness. Persons resisting would be bodily evicted. The Chief Ministers of the States were asked to take similar action and report eviction of all unauthorized occupants of Government accommodation failing which their Governments would be dismissed.

Only about 20 percent of the Government accommodation had been vacated as directed by the President. The others were too used to be treated differently or too busy with their political agenda to pay heed. Some of them were horrified to find the eviction party at their doors at 9 AM. They pleaded for more time but to no avail. One by one the occupants were forced out and the moveable property taken away. One MP got violent and broke the window panes of the house. He was promptly arrested for crimes against the state. One MP and his personal bodyguard brandished weapons and forced the eviction party out of the premises. The party commander reported the matter to his superiors. Soon a truck load of armed soldiers arrived. Force was met with force. The MP and his guard were arrested for interfering with the execution of duty by a Government servant. By evening, all the twenty houses had been vacated. Much of the event was recorded by the media on video and shown during the news broadcasts. The news papers were full of the details.

A new sense of urgency dawned on the others. By the third day all unauthorized occupants had vacated Government accommodation.

The President next turned to theft of electric power. He called the Chief of Army Staff and the heads of the electricity boards to form teams to check if there was any theft of electric power. The teams began to go around various industries, shops and houses. Hundreds of unauthorized connections were detected. The managing directors and proprietors of the various industries and business establishments were arrested for crimes against the state. A number of electricity board officials were also arrested and dismissed. The electrical load of the premises was worked out. Bills for 5 years consumption were worked out and recovered. The message was loud and clear. Overnight meters were installed and proper billing commenced.

Eviction of encroachments on Government land also commenced. Armed teams of police and army dozers cleared encroachments along the railway tracks and roads. In Mumbai alone about a Lakh of people were rendered homeless. Life in the slums was greatly disturbed. Domestic servants became non available in certain areas. Business and industries suffered as the workers did not report. The misery of the people was obvious and covered by the media. Many organizations appealed to the President to stay the demolitions. The President agreed to defer the demolitions by a month. But he was adamant. The rule of law was to be obeyed. Either the State Governments were going to make alternative arrangements or the people would have to go back to the villages. If people wanted domestic servants, they would have to provide accommodation for them. If business establishments or industries wanted labor, they would have to provide accommodation. Indiscriminate encroachment of Government land was just not acceptable.

Teams were formed to identify unauthorized construction. Some of these had already been identified. Now action was initiated against the builders and developers as per the Ordinance on the subject. Payment notices were served and money was recovered from the builder developers. Many municipal employees dealing with sanctions of such structures lost their jobs. Some landed in jails.

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The Raid Raj

The President was the first to declare his personal assets and those of his family as per the Ordinance issued for Government Servants. Now with the 30 day period for declaring the assets by government servants coming to an end, he decided to lead by example. He called the Chief of Army Staff and the heads of the enforcement directorate and income tax department to carry out a raid on his houses to verify his declaration of assets. He said this had to be done in all seriousness. He requested the resident director of BBC to accompany the raids to ensure that the search was thorough and no leniency was shown. All present vehemently protested against the President's decision. How could the house of the president be searched? It would be a great indignity to the head of the nation. The President stood firm by his decision. He said he wanted to tell the nation that no one was above law. And there was no stigma attached to the search. The stigma would be attached if any incriminating things were found. Since every one was to be searched, it was only correct that the searches started with the President.

The President said that the searches must be thorough. Every nook and corner must be searched. All securities and fixed deposit certificates would be studied. All bank lockers were to be opened and their contents examined. All gold found on the premises must be weighed. Cash over Rs 20,000 and gold over one kilogram will be seized unless it had been declared. Metal detectors were to be used to search gardens, floors and wall to detect hidden metal.

The President laid down that twenty teams would carry out searches in each city every day. Each team would have an army officer and a detachment with metal detectors. It would have adequate men of the income tax and the enforcement directorate to carry out the searches within one day. All known premises of an individual and his close relatives will be searched on the same day.

The raids were carried out as directed. The search was covered by media teams and was shown on all channels. It sent shivers down the spines of the corrupt officials and politicians. Some tried to request friends and relatives to keep the loot for some time till the raids were over. Some asked their servants or confidants. Some went to the religious places and dumped money and jewelry into the hundis (donation boxes). Some gave it away to the beggars and to the poor. Still it was difficult to get rid of the loot. There was just too much of it. Many just did not have the heart to part with it. They tried to hide it as best as they could and hoped that it would not be found. Some informed the police where the money and gold was hidden and claimed the reward.

Once the thirty day time limit for declaration of assets by Government Servants and politicians was over, it was found that 20 percent had failed to file their returns. Their services were immediately terminated and they were the first to be raided. Once this was done all other government servants, secretary and above, officers of sensitive departments like police, custom officials, exercise inspectors, officers of Central and State governments who dealt with construction, procurements and employment, Regional Transport Officers and all ministers were searched. It was a massive operation and continued for months. A substantial amount of loot was recovered. Many Government Servants lost their jobs.

About 50 percent of the senior officers in the Government were found to have assets more than their known sources of income. These assets were seized and the officers dismissed. Fear lurked in the corridors of power. A new, younger and cleaner lot of officer took charge. The level of corruption dropped.

The President now turned towards some of the non gazetted staff in some of the sensitive departments. Patwaris (holders of village land records), revenue officials, meter readers in water supply and electric supply departments, ticket checkers of the railways, reservation clerks, clerks in municipal corporation, sales tax and exercise departments, and union leaders were targeted. The cash and assets seized was astonishing and in some cases exceeded those of the senior officers. These people were suspended and after inquiry, dismissed from service.

The people were delighted with the happenings. Train conductors were giving berths without asking for money. It had become possible to get things done without paying. It was a miracle in itself. They only wondered how long this trend would last.

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Search for Black Money

The amnesty period for putting cash into bank was almost over. About a thousand crores had been deposited in the banks. But this did not match the estimated figures of black money in the country. The President decided that preparations must be made to ferret out the black money. He called the Army Chief, the Police Chiefs, the heads of the income tax and enforcement directorates of each state and Delhi. He said that the most important business areas and residential areas were to be searched to unearth black money. The areas to be searched would be decided by the president himself, the day before the raids. There would be one hundred joint teams of the Army, Police, Income tax and enforcement directorate for each metropolis and 50 teams for each semi metropolis. Each team would have at least three police women to deal with the women. The searches would be video recorded. As usual press would be free to move about and record the events. The Army will cordon off the selected area and search all incoming and out going vehicles or persons. However movements of personnel would not be stopped under any circumstances. Cash, gold and foreign currency over and above the limits laid down will be confiscated and credited in the nearest nationalized banks. The deposit counters of all nationalized banks would remain open as long as required. The teams should be formed within three days. The operations would start on the orders of the President.

Three days later, the President sat down with the Chief of Army Staff and maps of each of the metropolis and the cities. He marked the areas of Chandni Chowk, Caunaught Place and Defense Colony of Delhi, Fort , Nariman Point and Pali Hills in Bombay, Parrys, Nugambakkam and T Nagar of Madras , Bara Buzzar , Dalhousie and Bhowanipur areas of Calcutta , Banjara Hills of Hydrabad and so on. The Army Chief passed on to the messages to the respective commanders. By dawn, the next day the areas had been cordoned off and the searches began. The searches continued for three days. Every house or business premises in the area was thoroughly searched. There were many heart rendering scenes. Some women held on to their bags of gold ornaments. Mighty businessmen prostrated themselves at the feet of the raiding parties and begging for forgiveness and promising to deposit the cash on the morrow. Some even offered huge bribes to the teams to let them go. It had worked earlier but now, with so many agencies and camera teams involved, it did not work. Some of those raided developed heart problems and had to be evacuated to hospitals. There were many crestfallen faces.

Almost all business activities came to a standstill on news of the raids. They were on every news bulletin. The nation watched with great interest as the totals of the seizures kept going up. Others with black money watched with great apprehension wondering when their turn would come. At the end of the three days, a little over 5000 crores, over two million worth of foreign currencies and over one ton of gold had been seized.

The President was not satisfied. Much more had to come out. But he gave another amnesty period of ten days. This time the results were better. About 15,000 crores and about 100 tons of gold was declared and deposited in the banks. The President examined the recoveries from different areas. He felt that the declaration from small towns and rural areas was still not adequate. He started the raids all over again. This time he targeted the large farmers, doctors, lawyers and other professionals, large contractors, jewelers and businessmen who had large houses, telephones and cars. This resulted in seizure of another 5000 crores and another 100 tons of gold over a period of a month. He then gave another amnesty period of ten days. This time over 10,000 crores and 200 tons of gold were deposited in banks. So at the end of three months of emergency, over 50,000 crores had been deposited in banks and about 500 tons of gold had been declared. The government had seized over Rs 10, 000 crores and after the tax on the money deposited in the bank had been collected, the revenue of the Government had gone up by over 35,000 crores. With about 300 tons of seized gold in the kitty, the President ordered the sale of gold by counters of the nationalized bank at the market rate as announced in the news papers. The demand for gold also decreased. The prices of gold fell by over Rs 3000 per 10 gm making smuggling gold extremely unattractive.

The banks became flush with funds. They did not know what to do with the money. They desperately looked for people to whom money could be loaned. All banks started housing loans and loans for financing cars and other consumer goods. The interest rates fell by one percent.

Shops and restaurants catering to conspicuous consumption were in for bad days. People were no longer forced to spend cash. The market for premium consumer took a beating.

Hawala (illegal foreign exchange traders) dealers had also been mauled. Sacks full of their money had been confiscated. This led to a breakdown of their payment system. The people remitting money through these channels began to loose faith in the system. They now opted for normal banking channels. The foreign exchange remittances increased and the foreign exchange reserves improved. The Rupee became stronger in the foreign exchange market. The import bill began to reduce.

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Strike against the Strikers

The raids on the union leaders of the Central Government Employees and dismissal of some of them for having assets beyond their incomes proved to be too much for these special class of people, who were used to seeing Government officers and ministers cowering on their chairs during meetings. In their anger and desperation, they gave a call for an immediate strike. The call had a mixed response. The politicians, particularly of the Left Front, egged them on and assured them of all support. But many in the rank and file were wary. They remembered what Indira Gandhi had done to the railway strike during the emergency of the seventies. The President was not a person to be trifled with. He had demonstrated his ruthlessness. There was much to be lost and little to be gained. Many did not want a confrontation with the President. They tried to reason with their union leaders. But it was to no avail. Some of the leaders had lost all and were ready for a fight to finish.

The President on the other hand was happy. He wanted to establish the futility of going against the Government. He called the Army Chief, Chief of Delhi Police and the secretaries of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Housing and Urban Development. He told them that he wanted the names of all Union Leaders and their residential addresses. This information and the location of all government colonies were to be given to the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Delhi Police. He instructed that all union leaders were to be arrested by dawn. All the colonies of government servants would be surrounded by police and the Army and it will be ensured that no one was prevented from going to work. He also addressed the nation on television and told them that the strike was illegal and contrary to law. He warned Government employees that they must report for work or face the consequences.

By five in the morning all union leaders had been arrested. Heavy police and Army presence was visible at each colony. A check post had been established at each out gate. All persons trying to leave were asked where they were going. Those who said they were going to join duty were allowed to proceed. Those on strike were not permitted to leave. Those trying to obstruct persons going to work or threatening them were quickly arrested. About 80 percent went to work. The remaining 20 percent went on strike. Some went to their offices on the pretext of going to work and then began to shout slogans and threaten others. They were immediately picked up and taken to their homes. By noon the electricity and water supply to the houses of the striking employees had been cut off. All vendors were prevented from selling any item to the families of the striking employees. A sentry was posted to each block and the neighbors were told not to provide anything to the families of the striking employees. Soon the striking employees were busy ferrying water. None of the employees were able to leave their colonies. The labor leaders were unable to muster people for any demonstration. Some hard core agitators threw stone at their neighbor's houses. They were quickly arrested for destruction of public property.

The strike fizzled out before the third day. By the second day 95 percent employees had joined work. By the third day almost all had reported for work. Those who went on strike were dismissed. Those who had not been involved in any acts of violence were reinstated with loss of seniority and on payment of the fine. Normalcy had been restored. The union leaders and those who had indulged in violence were dismissed and jailed. Cost of damages was recovered from them and repairs were carried out.

The Left Parties cried foul. West Bengal observed a day Bandh. The President ignored the event. His aim had been achieved. He did not think that there would be any more strikes by Government employees during the emergency.

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The President Pardons

10 policemen of Delhi Police had, by mistake, killed two business men and injured a teenager in a shooting incident on 31 March 2011. The policemen, in civilian clothes had surrounded the victims traveling in a Maruti Esteem car at a traffic signal and apparently without any provocation and sprayed the car with bullets. Delhi businessmen Mr. Pradip Goyal and his friend Jagjit Singh died on the spot. The incident created a lot of commotion in the media. The inquiry was conducted into the incident by the CBI and charges were framed. The policemen were first suspended and later arrested and tried. After a short trial they were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment.

The President was not at all happy at the turn of events. He sent an emissary to the convicted policemen and advised them to apply for Presidential pardon. The policemen did as advised. The President promptly pardoned them. The Presidents action was welcomed by the Delhi Police but was severely condemned in the media. The President called a press conference to discuss the issue.

At the press conference the President was asked as to how he could condone such a cold blooded and heinous crime. The President replied that nothing in the trial had brought out that the crime was premeditated. None of the policemen knew the businessmen. There was no motive for the crime. The Policemen had nothing to gain by killing the businessmen. It was a case of mistaken identity. The policemen were after a notorious gangster of UP. They had information that the gangster was traveling in a similar car. Unfortunately they attacked the wrong car. If they had killed the gangster, they would have possibly been given the Presidents Medal and the press would have lauded the achievement. He was fully convinced that it was a genuine mistake. Hence he felt that there had been a miscarriage of justice. Hence he had pardoned the policemen. He hoped that the pardon would help to restore the morale of the police and security forces and help in the war against crime.

Some of the media persons felt that the pardon would encourage the police to be trigger happy. The president felt that the media persons had never been in a do or die situation. When you are dealing with an armed gangster or terrorist, it was suicidal to ask questions first. Killing your own men in war happened quite often. Instances of shelling or air attacks on own troops are not unknown. Though every effort is made to avoid such instances, these things do happen in the fog of war and have to be condoned. Otherwise no one will fire his weapon in fear of accidentally killing somebody. No one would like to confront a gangster or a terrorist as if they don't shoot in time, they would die. If that happens, how is the nation going to fight terrorism or the Mafia. How are we going to control an unruly mob that is looting or endangering life and property if the police become afraid to fire their weapons for fear of prosecution? How can law and order be maintained? The President said that he would never condone a death in custody case. The learned media and the prejudiced human rights activists must learn to distinguish between a deliberate misdeed and a genuine mistake.

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The Economic Agenda

The period of emergency was coming to an end. Some differences with the internal emergency imposed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi were becoming obvious. Mrs. Gandhi had imposed the emergency to contain the opposition and to consolidate her own political power. There had been censorship of the media. But the present emergency was different. It aimed to eliminate corruption, improve the functioning of the Government and to destroy the nexus between politicians and criminals. It tried to stop economic offenses and tried to improve resource mobilization. It aimed to take certain steps which were beneficial and necessary for the country but could not be taken in the environment of competitive populism that prevailed in the country. There was no media censorship. In fact the President was completely transparent in his actions and media friendly. He took all criticism on his chin and tried to explain the compulsions behind the actions which he took. He tried to communicate with the masses through the media with a fair degree of success.

In one of the press conferences one of the media persons asked the President as to what he thought of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The President said that he was a great admirer of Indira Gandhi. The Lady had more guts and nationalism in her than all her successors put together. Her annexation of Sikkim, nationalization of banks and handling of the Bangladesh War had been exemplary. She had the guts to stand up to the developed world in matters of national interest. She was the moving force behind modernizing and strengthening the defense forces. She had the guts to demonstrate India's nuclear capability. The space and missile development programs originated in her time. Every person has some weakness. She had her share. But she did more for her country than anyone except perhaps Jawharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel. She believed in a strong and self reliant India. She never sold national interests for a few million dollars of aid or direct foreign investment like some of our ministers are ready to do.

One of the media persons asked the President as to why he had not said anything about the economic agenda. The president replied that any economic agenda took a long time to implement. He did not intend to extend the emergency and hence did not attempt to set it right. He had only tried to improve resource mobilization so that the incoming Government would not be under the same compulsions to toe the IMF, and World Bank line and go around with a begging bowl. But he had very strong views on economic solutions.

He said, "The first requirement is to understand that the slogan "Free enterprise" and "being governed by market forces" is bullshit. The principles are used by the economically strong to subjugate the economically weak, to further their economic interests. What is the meaning of free enterprise? Does it mean that a person with money or with access to public money through friendly banks and financial institution has the right to hoard scarce resources, create artificial scarcities and manipulate the market? Off course, they will make good profits. But the question is at what cost to the people of the nation. Why are we against bonded labor? Why are we against exploitation in the unorganized sector? These are ways of making good profits. Are we not trying to make our beloved country a country bonded to the developed world or our workers bonded laborers of industries and big business?"

"Does free market mean a right to create monopolies so that prices can be hiked? Today, Boeing and McDonald are trying to merge and finish off Air Bus Industries. The world is not satisfied that Fokker has been finished off. The US wants complete monopoly of aircraft manufacture. Is it free enterprise or denial of opportunities? Is it economic liberalization or economic exploitation?"

"Why are the western countries creating such a hullabaloo about child labor? Is it that their concern for Indian children is more than their mothers and the Indian leaders? Or is it simply their inability to produce goods and services at our costs and an excuse to prevent cheaper Indian products from capturing their markets and damaging their industries? Have they forgotten that they have used the same child labor during their industrial revolutions to make profits? Perhaps, some of the learned media men need to read Charles Dickens's David Copperfield. We will adopt western labor standards when we reach their state of economic development. Till then the western world should just lie off and look at the problems of their own societies."

"Have we forgotten the damage done to our cottage industries by import of cheap British cloth? Have we forgotten Mahatma Gandhi's insistence on khadi (cloth produced on hand looms)? Have we forgotten the Swadeshi (Nationalist) Movement started by Gandhiji? Does purchase of foreign consumer goods like Sony television or Samsung refrigerator or foreign soaps and cosmetics improve the economy of the country, strengthen the Indian industry or increase employment in this country? Do we want that import of foreign goods and services should destroy our industries, create unemployment and make us totally dependent on foreign supplies so that they can withhold supplies and twist our arms whenever they feel like. Have we learnt no lessons from the embargoes placed by US and the western world on countries like Cuba, Libya, Iran North Korea and Syria? Have we not learnt from Japan which, in spite of its enormous economic strength, refuses to open up its markets fully to American or European products and refuses to allow import of cheap rice on grounds of national interest?"

"We need to understand that the developed countries are keen to invest in India not because they love India but because they need our market to survive. The growth of demand in these countries is stagnating. The growth of the GNP is stagnating and they are finding it hard to even achieve a 2 percent growth. They have reached the end of the marginal productivity curve. They need captive markets. What better market can they ever find? A weak democracy of 300 million middle class and 1 million rich western oriented Indians under a pliable, gullible political leadership. Actually they hate our guts and our independent and moralistic foreign policies. China understands this and they stand firm. The Chinese are not afraid of trade wars."

"We need to understand that the west and particularly the US want to dominate the world. They are always looking for leaders like Gorbachov who, for a few dollars, will be willing to sell their country. Yes. Gorbachov presided over the breakup of the Soviet Union because he was promised the Nobel Peace Prize. Western countries are always looking for foisting the teachings of economists like Adam Smith and other neo-liberals. Look what they did to their own countries. The western free enterprise has had horrific human effects. It has created millions of living dead even in the western countries. Almost half the population lives in abject poverty. Housing, education and basic health care which were guaranteed is no longer available. Real incomes are below 2000 levels.(For detailed information on poverty in the developed world please read "Growth and Decline of Economies of Europe and US": http://smashwords.com/b/231033). We need to be especially careful because Manmohan Singh, Chidambaram and Montek Singh Ahluwalia are all west educated neo-liberal economists who are more business friendly than people friendly."

"We keep talking about liberalization of our economy. What does liberalization mean? Has any one defined liberalization? Does it mean complete absence of any control mechanism? Does it mean giving the industry a right to evade taxes and exercise duty? Does it mean giving the traders the right to hoard food grain, create scarcities and increase profit margins? Does it mean giving financial companies the right to collect fixed deposits from the public and then misappropriate the amounts? Does it give a right to directors of banks to break or bend rules and give bad loans to politicians, friends and relatives? Does it mean giving right to the industry to violate environmental laws? Does it mean that there should not be any factory inspectors or inspectors for checking observance of safety standards? Does it mean giving the Indians the right to stash money in foreign banks so that the other country benefits? Does it mean giving rights to Drug Mafia and tax cheats to invest in our stock exchanges so that share prices rise?"

"If liberation of economy means making it simpler for an entrepreneur to set up or run his business, I am all for it. Red tape in giving approvals to set up businesses must be eliminated. If liberalization means simplification of rules and reduction of discretionary powers in the hands of government servants, I am all for it because discretion is generally used to aid the party for a consideration or to help ones kith or kin or friends to make a quick buck by selling the license or permit. But if liberalization means doing away with all controls and safety standards, I will not buy it. We have no morals or concern either for our workers or the public at large. Most of our industrialists or businessmen want to maximize profits at all cost. Hence we have Bhopal Gas tragedy and the Uphar Cinema tragedy. He have labor including children working in hazardous industries without any safety gear. Most of our industrialists have no qualms about polluting the environment. They have no hesitations in turning our rivers of joy, our Ganga, Jamuna, Damodar and other rivers into rivers of sorrow, into sewage and industrial waste disposal channels. If liberalization means reducing import duties so that revenue is lost and our industries get wiped out, I will not buy it. Sony can say that we will run at a loss for 5 years and then we will make profits. How many Indian Companies can make losses for 5 years and still survive. Let us first define liberalization. Then we can decide to what extent we want to liberalize."

"We need to understand that the west promotes free enterprise and foreign investment not because they believe in them. They have their own protection mechanisms. They impose quotas for imports. They ban imports from developing countries under various pretexts. Did they not ban the exports by BHEL and Atomic energy commission after we tested the atom bomb? It is not for any ideological considerations but simply because they do not like competition."

"We need to understand that IMF, World Bank and western rating agencies want us to reduce subsidies. But they do not complain against the subsidies given by the developed world. In America, billions of dollars are paid to farmers not to produce because if they produce there would be surplus production and prices will fall. All the developed nations subsidize their farmers. They want our production to go down so that they can export farm products to our country and their farmers prosper. Whether our farmers prosper or not is not their concern."

"Our honorable finance minister believes that poverty can be eradicated by growth in GDP. He believes that if the country must achieve 8 to 9 per cent growth at any cost, poverty can be eradicated. But let us look at some facts. Our GDP has grown from Rs. 2,40,238 crores in 1990-91 to Rs. 3,07,854 crores in 1995-96 at 1980-81 prices. Our per capita income has increased from Rs 4,983 in 1990-01 to 9,321 in 1995-96. The number of scooters on the roads has increased from about 9 lakhs in 1990-91 to 13.5 lakhs in 1995-96. The number of cars has increased from about 1.8 lakhs in 1990-91 to about 3.5 lakhs in 1995-96. However, the population below the poverty line has increased from 229 million in 1987 to 320 million in 1995-96. How does the finance minister explain this? If the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, how can poverty be eradicated?"

"Our finance ministers are honorable and learned men. I am illiterate by comparison. But I certainly cannot understand how industrial growth can have a corresponding effect on agricultural incomes. The finance minister lauds the growth in production of food grains. It is indeed laudable. However if surpluses are produced and markets cannot be found for the surpluses, prices will crash with untold misery to the farmers. It is a fact that the farmers of Bihar produced a record crop of potatoes during 1996-97. What was the result? The prices crashed. The crops could not be sold. It rotted in the houses of the farmers causing disease. Did any one in the Government shed a drop of tear or take any action to bail out the farmers? Did the media take notice?"

"I will submit to our learned finance ministers and our great economists that about 76 percent of our population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Unless their incomes increase there cannot be any poverty eradication. Their incomes cannot be increased by smoking foreign cigarettes, drinking foreign liquor, using foreign cosmetics, eating McDonald burgers, using Samsung refrigerators or Sony televisions. Their incomes cannot be increased by foreign investment in the stock market. Agriculture must be made profitable. Remunerative prices must be ensured by Government procurement of surpluses at realistic support prices. This procurement must cover not only grains but all kinds of produces. The farmers should not be punished for producing more. They must be rewarded. The wages of farm labor can increase if the incomes of our farmers increase. Once these 600 million men have money to spend, there would be demand for goods and services. Then our industries will have booming markets and the required growth rates can be achieved."

"I will submit to our learned finance ministers and economists that employment in rural areas cannot be improved by imports. The small village industries like oil mills, "atta chakkis" (grinding machines for making flour), and animal transport systems need to be strengthened. Is it not strange that every district and at times even taluka (sub-divisional) towns in Maharashtra have engineering colleges? They produce engineers who cannot find employment. But there are hardly any training institutions on agriculture. Not even 1 percent of farmers have any formal training in agriculture. Is this how we are going to improve our productivity? I have come across very few institutions for training of nurses and health workers. Is this how we are going to provide health care to our 600 million rural brothers and sisters? We cannot and will not eradicate poverty unless we can improve the income and life of our farmers and the people living in the villages. All this talk of moving into the 21st Century has no meaning when 76 per cent of our population is not even living in the 20th century. We must get our priorities right."

"I will submit to our learned finance ministers and economists that a country cannot achieve long term economic growth by relying on foreign capital. Look at the so called Asian Tigers. The economies of South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore faced problems during the economic down turns of 1991 and 2008. Their currencies were in doldrums. Foreign capital does not come as charity. Profits are the only motive. They come with strings attached. They undermine our sovereignty. We must grow at our own pace and by generating internal resources. Whatever foreign capital comes must come on terms which are acceptable to us."

"We try to look at China's growth without understanding the circumstances which led to it. It is true that China has a trade surplus and a healthy foreign exchange reserves. We try to attribute this growth to the so called liberalization of the Chinese economy and to foreign investment. What we forget to notice is that China earns billions of dollars through arms exports which we do not. It earns billions of dollars by violating intellectual property rights and by manufacturing and selling American products to the American markets. But we do not. China had controlled the growth of consumption of petroleum products during the nineties but we did not. China is an autocratic country. It does not need to practice competitive populism and waste funds but we do. China has been following a single child norm for years. We cannot even come down to two children per family. China does not have the same hunger for gold where as Indians require about 450 tons of it per year to hoard and give at marriages. This results in a drain of foreign exchange to the tune of about 5 billion dollars. And in spite of their so called economic growth, China has over 200 million unemployed in rural areas. Some of its villages are also struggling like ours. The other side of the river always looks greener. Let us not read too much into the so called Chinese success story. Let us try to understand what they have achieved and how."

"Our honorable finance ministers and economists keep talking of globalization, of lowering import tariff, of improving quality through competition. I do not see how throwing open our markets to multinationals and foreign investors in retail is going to improve our economy and improve employment. The tobacco giants of the world, who are being restricted from selling their products in their own markets, are planning to sell their product in our markets. How does import of foreign cigarettes or foreign liquor improve our economy or increase employment? How does direct to home television improve our economy or employment? It will, in fact, put many of our cable operators out of operation and reduce employment. It will eliminate many of our television studios and reduce employment. What prevents our Bidi (Indian cigars) trade from being taken over by the tobacco multinational forcing millions of part time workers out of employment? If we assume that demand is finite, what ever share of the market we surrender to foreign products is from the share of our own products. This means that non essential imports are always at the cost of Indian industry and means job losses."

"It is difficult to turn back the clock. We have joined the World Trade Organization. We have agreed to lower tariffs and to allow foreign investment with minimal restriction. We have accepted a system of intellectual property rights which deny us use of products we have used for centuries without paying royalty. The farmer cannot use the grain grown on his field as seeds. We are committed to increase the cost of medicines and health care. Yes, we have made many commitments to our so called benefactors which are not in our national interest."

"The only good thing is that these are commitments made by weak governments and not by the people. World Trade Organization can force our Government to lower import duties and allow imports. But they cannot force the Indian people to buy their products. Let us fight their evil designs in their own way. Let us boycott all foreign products. Gandhiji gave us Swadeshi. He told us to boycott foreign goods. The British did not allow Indians to produce salt. Gandhiji showed us that we could. Let us go back to the teachings of Gandhiji. Let us again boycott foreign goods. Let us boycott all shops which sell foreign goods. Let us socially boycott all those who use foreign goods, who cannot do without foreign cigarettes and foreign liquor. Let us boycott all ladies who use foreign soaps and cosmetics. Let us organize a national movement. Let us regain our economic independence. Let us be self reliant and strong. Let the people of India tell the multinationals to quit. I can assure you, they will quit. They are businessmen. If the cannot sell they cannot survive. They must go."

"We are always crying about lack of infrastructure. It is a problem that needs to be tackled. But why do we not look for cost effective solutions. Why do we not modernize our old power plants? It would certainly be cheaper and quicker to modernize old one than to construct new ones. Why do we go in for new alignment of roads and not improve existing ones? I heard that roads are being designed for speeds of 120 km per hour. Do we have any vehicle other than a few luxury cars which can travel at these speeds? Why do we not tap our vast hydroelectric power potential by small and medium projects which do not disturb the ecology or the population, require less outlay and can be completed in a short time?. The Bramhaputra by it self could meet 25 percent of our power requirements?. Why are we wasting money on gauge construction instead of increasing the capacity of our trunk and economically important lines?"

"Why do we not take sensible economic decisions? We are short of petroleum but we are dieselizing the railways. We have almost unlimited reserves of coal but we have discarded the steam engines. Have we ever considered that if there is a war in the Middle East or an economic sanction as faced by Iran or Syria and we cannot import our requirement of petroleum products, what would happen to our infrastructure or our economy? Why can we not build on our strengths?"

The President said, "Our economic problems were by no means as insurmountable as it is being made out to be. The problems seem insurmountable because we want too much too soon. In the process we are not trying to focus on sustainable growth. What is the use of allowing uncontrolled growth in motor vehicles when we do not have oil reserves to sustain such growth"? Parking is becoming a major problem along with pollution .The need is to improve public transportation system and non conventional, cost effective systems like rickshaws , animal transport , inland water systems and more Metros. They may appear to be backward steps but they are employment intensive and energy efficient."

"The focus of our development has to be to cut out ineffective expenditure. Loss making industrial organizations whether in the private or public sectors have to be either modernized or closed down. It is a stupid but populist policy to keep on paying wages and accumulating losses. Some will suffer but that cannot be avoided. Unproductive organizations are like cancer or AIDS. They will only lead to slow death of the nation."

"The other important step is to make expenditure cost effective and reduce gestation period of projects. It is necessary to take up a few projects at a time and make adequate budgetary allocations to them rather than take up large number of projects and be unable to provide adequate funds to finish them quickly. The latter policy born out of political compulsions results in time and cost over runs and breeds inefficiency."

"We must privatize in all but the core sectors. There is absolutely no justification for running state transport corporations or hotels etc. by the Government and keep making huge losses. Government ventures in these departments must be closed down. If the workers want to run these organizations, they must come up with measures to make these organizations profitable. If the workers want to keep their jobs, they must increase productivity and reduce waste. They can be given a few years time to turn around these organizations or face closure. However, it is foolish to disinvest in profitable public sector undertakings just to get some short term cash flow. It is better to increase budget deficit."

"Policy decisions need to be economically viable. It is ridiculous to raise the support price of sugar cane with out a corresponding increase in the price of levy sugar. Such actions will make profitable industries sick and set off a host of problems like non payment cane dues, drop in production, shortages and increase in prices."

"The issue of rations through public distribution system to all families with an income of more than Rs 5000 per month should be immediately stopped. The public distribution system in rural areas needs to be strengthened."

"Economic development must be aimed at increasing the income of the farmers. The support price system should cover not only a few grains but a host of other products like potatoes, onions, and fruits. Procurement should not only cover Punjab, Haryana and a few states but all the other states, particularly the backward ones. Agricultural infrastructure like cold storages and store houses must be constructed both in the private and public sectors so that there is no distress selling and exploitation by middle men. The Government must ensure that the farmers get remunerative prices for their produce."

"We must generate competition within the country particularly in the Public Sector. We should give far greater autonomy to public sector banks to try to increase their profitability, to have different wage structures and incentive schemes. They should be allowed to franchise some of their products in the same way as the foreign banks. We should allow the nationalized general insurance companies to go into life insurance and allow Life Insurance Corporation to go into general insurance. They should be given autonomy to form their own packages and organizational structure. We should split the railways into say ten corporations like the Konkan Railways. The Chairman of the Railway Board should naturally be the one who runs the most profitable corporation. Similarly we could split Air India by dividing their assets and liabilities into two corporations each. We should make ONGC into three corporations to look after the three regions of the country. All public sector undertakings must be made completely free from the ministries as far as decision making is concerned. Serving bureaucrats and politicians must not be permitted to hold any position in any public sector or state government organization. The management should be totally professional."

"Lastly we must deal firmly with corruption. He says give me proof of corruption and I will take action. How does one, particularly a third party give proof of corruption. Bribe giving is between the giver and the taker. The giver is not going to complain because he gains from giving bribes. The taker cannot be expected to complain. The third party cannot complain because he cannot have any evidence. The only way corruption can be eliminated is by transparency in Government decisions and by making Government servants accountable for their deeds. If a bill is not cleared by the accounts department within the laid down time, the accounts officer must be sacked. If a retired person does not get his pension, gratuity and provident fund within seven days of his retirement, all persons dealing with his case should be sacked. If the signing of a contract is delayed after the tenders have been opened, the competent authority must be sacked. These are the tell tale sign of the arm twisting that goes on to get bribes. If work is substandard, the person in charge of supervision must be sacked. Transferring a government servant should not be treated as a punishment. Only suspension followed by termination of service if found guilty is. If the Prime Minister is really serious about eliminating corruption he must act tough. He must first clean up the top echelons of his government as I am trying to do and then enforce the checks and balances and maintain transparency in the dealings of the Government."

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Things Fall in Place

By the end of 120 days things had begun to fall in place. There was appreciable improvement in the functioning of Government departments. Good progress was being made in investigation of economic offenses. The Mafia was on the run. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition had been recovered and confiscated. Lot of encroachments had been removed. There were no reports of destruction of Government property. Most of the illegal immigrants had been identified and lodged in detention camps. Many had left on their own. Many house wives of Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta were without their domestic help. There was an increased demand for labor from the under developed areas of Bihar, UP, Orissa Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. No fresh cases of dowry deaths, gang rapes or stripping of women had come to light. The number of pending cases in courts had shown a strong downward trend. A lot of progress had been made in the recovery of black money and the process of raids was continuing. The Governments coffers were full. Tax compliance had improved. The people seemed happy. In the absence of strong demand, gold prices were down. Foreign remittances had increased considerably.

The election to the Lok Sabha and the States of Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh were approaching. The political parties were busy with their campaigning. The President called the Election Commission and briefed them on the conduct of elections. The President told them that free and fair polling must be ensured. In all sensitive and trouble prone constituencies, the Army was to be deployed for the conduct of elections. Adequate video coverage of polling was to be ensured.

The President decided to address the nation on the eve of polling on Doordarshan. He said:-

"My beloved countrymen, the time has come for you to choose your leaders. These leaders will govern your destiny. If your choice is wrong, the old corrupt systems will come back. Corruption will again raise its ugly head. The criminals and their friends will come back to rule. The rich and the powerful will again manipulate the Government. Nothing will happen to them. It is you who will suffer."

"You must cast your vote. This appeal is particularly applicable to those who do not vote on the premise that your vote makes no difference. It is your national duty to vote and try your best to elect the best candidates. You must do your duty for your country."

"When you vote, do not go by the religion or caste of the candidate. You are not selecting a groom for your daughter. These considerations do not matter. When you are seriously ill, do you first see the religion or caste of the doctor? Or do you go to the best doctor you can afford. The men you select are going to be the doctors of this country. They have to identify and cure the illness of our country. You must select the best."

"Do not go by the manifestoes of the different parties or their promises. How many times have the people you have elected kept their promises? If they say they are going to remove unemployment, they are liars because it is not possible for any government to provide jobs to all. Where will the jobs come from? If you require 5 workers for harvesting, do you employ 10? If government employs more people than it requires, then it will run at a loss. And if the government runs at a loss it will soon have no money. If it has no money how can it do any development? How can the government function without money? It will have to borrow money from other countries. What happens when you borrow money from a money lender? You become his slave. If your country becomes the slave of other country, you will also become slaves."

"If they say they are going to give you rice at Rs 2 per kg, do not vote for them. How can any government buy rice at Rs 5 per kg and then sell it at Rs 2 per kg. They are trying to bribe you and get your votes. And one who gives bribes to get votes will also look for bribes when they are in office. So corruption will return. Beware of those who offer you money to vote for them; who offer to write off your loans; who offer you free electricity for your votes. They are not honest people or honorable people. If a leader gives you money for votes, he will make sure he earns more money than he spends through corruption."

"We have gone through so many elections. You have elected so many leaders. What have they done to solve your problems? They have enjoyed power and luxuries at your expense. Only good, honest and capable people can run an effective government. Only honorable people keep their promises."

"Do not vote for people who have betrayed you, the people who have got elected on your votes and then went and joined another party in search of power and perks. A traitor is always a traitor. They do not deserve to be leaders."

"Do not vote on regional considerations. If India is not strong, the states or regions cannot prosper. If every region tries to pull in their direction and there will be no progress or development."

"When you go to vote do not be swayed by the speeches. You have seen most of them at work and you should know which party is worth voting for and which is not. The best way to do this is to first decide who you want to head the country, to be its prime minister. You will know who the party leaders are and who will become the prime minister if that party wins. So once you have decided who should be the prime minister, vote for all candidates of that party. If that party does not win, you will not get the prime minister of your choice. And if you do not get the prime minister of your choice, it is unlikely that you will get the kind of government you want."

"If you find that the party of your chosen prime minister has selected an unworthy candidate do not vote for him. If you find that the candidate selected asks for votes because he is from a certain caste or religion do not vote for him because then he will try to favor people from his caste or religion. If you find that the candidate is corrupt or a criminal, do not vote for him. If he wins corruption will return. Vote for the most learned, honest and capable man."

"It is said that in a democracy, people get the government they deserve. You have selected very few good governments. This is because you have voted on the basis of caste and religion. It is because you have been fooled by promises. It is because you have tried to look for regional benefits. Think big, my countrymen. If you love your country, if you want good government, if you want development, select the party you vote with care. Remember, in war, good soldiers are necessary but a good leader is invaluable. It required a Shivaji to lead the Marathas to be strong and powerful. It required a Rana Pratap to challenge the might of the Mogul empire. It required a Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose to organize the Indian National Army. It required a Mahatma Gandhi to lead us to freedom. A great leader makes ordinary people do great things. Select your leader with care, my countrymen. Give him your full support, your trust. Give him a clear mandate."

"Do not neglect women candidates just because they are women. Women have many good qualities. They are more disciplined, more compassionate and less violent or corrupt. There have been many women who have been great leaders. We had Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, Razia Sultana and Rani Durgawati who were great leaders of the past. We had Indira Gandhi, Begum Bhutto, Kahlida Zia, Sheik Hasina and Margaret Thatcher who were great leaders of their countries. We had great women freedom fighters like Annie Besant, Aruna Asaf Ali and Sarojini Naidu to name a few. Women have and can be great and effective leaders if given a chance. Vote for women who deserve to be voted for, those who have worked for you."

"I am not canvassing for any party. I, as the President, must be neutral. But it is my sincere advice to all my countrymen that use your vote to select the best leaders irrespective of their sex, caste or religion. But most importantly select your prime minister and vote for his party. Only then can the country prosper. And if the country is strong and prosperous will its countrymen prosper."

The President's speech had some effect. The polling percentage went up to over 65 per cent. In spite of the predictions of political pundits that days of one party rule was over, one party did come to power. Thirty five percent of the seats went to women. The country now had a Prime Minister who was the choice of the people. It was a new look Parliament. Many of the colorful leaders of the past were absent. They could not contest the elections because of the new laws. Some had been defeated There was great hope and expectations.

The President called the elected leaders of the parties for discussions. He told them that he would like most of his ordinances to be converted into laws in the first session of the Parliament. He could not allow the country to return to the state of anarchy which had prompted him to declare emergency. They had two choices. Either they impeached him and removed him or he would reimpose emergency if some of the important laws were not passed. Each ordinance was critically reviewed and debated upon. Some were modified. Some were dropped. But it was agreed that a majority of the ordinances would be converted into laws.

On the 165th day of emergency, he called the leader of the successful party to form the Government and prove his majority on the floor of the house after seven days.

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### End of the Emergency

On the 172nd day the first session of the new Parliament was convened. The new members declared their assets and were sworn in. Thereafter the speaker was elected and the Government won the vote of confidence. The new ministers were sworn in. Over the next two weeks, the various bills were introduced and passed.

On the 187th day of emergency, the President again addressed the nation. He hoped that he had fulfilled his responsibility of upholding the Constitution and the rule of law. He said that the new Prime Minister and his team should take their responsibilities seriously. He hoped that they would lead India into a golden era. The coffers of the Government were full. There were no populist compulsions. The difficult deeds had been done. Now it was for the new government to work selflessly with a purpose, with pragmatism and patriotism to build a strong, prosperous and secular India. He wished the Prime Minister, his team and the people of India the best.

With these words, he declared the lifting of the emergency.

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Epilogue

It was the 188th day of the switch. Col Bhuvan Sen woke up in his own body in his own house. He found that he was sleeping alone in the guest room. It was 6.30 AM. He completed his ablutions and did "pranayam" (a form of yoga). Then he went down to the kitchen and made three cups of tea. He poured one cup in a glass and poured the other two into the flask. He then went out to look at the small vegetable garden that adorned the roof of the house. Things were in a state of neglect. There were lots of weeds in the beds. Things would have to be attended to. He went downstairs. The news paper vender came and handed him the news paper. He read it carefully. Things had indeed changed. It had not been just a dream after all. He quietly went to the bedroom and thanked his God. At 8.30 AM he went to the kitchen and poured the other two cups into glasses. He put them on a tray along with a few biscuits and walked into the bedroom. His wife was asleep. He softly said, "Would you like to get up my dear? Tea is served." His wife opened her eyes and smiled. "Thank God you are back to normal," she said. "I have been so worried."

The President also woke up in his own bed. He was happy to be back to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. It had been a very frustrating time for him. He seemed to have been having a very very long nightmare. The orderly came with the tea and news papers as usual. He read them with interest. Things had really changed.

Is our political nightmare ever going to end? Are we ever going to be rid of greedy, power hungry, corrupt political leaders who are willing to rob and sell our country for personal and party interests? Are ever going to see an end to the ever growing nexus between the politicians and the criminals? Are we ever going to see the end of the all prevailing corruption that prevents our country from gaining its rightful place amongst the countries of the world? Are we going to see the end of the politics of reservations, of dynastic rule, an end to child marriage, dowry system and other social evils that plague our society? Or are we going to continue to be held to ransom by our various government departments? Are we going to be abducted, terrorized and killed at will by the Mafia? Will our wives and daughters continue to be raped, stripped and burnt at will by the rich and the powerful? Will we enter the 21st Century as a strong vibrant economy under an impeccable leadership or as slaves to the multinationals and the western world? Will we ever have a president who is not a puppet on strings or a party willing to uphold the Constitution and the law at the helm of the affairs?

May God Bless India

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### ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bhaskar Sarkar was born at Calcutta, India in 1940. He graduated in civil engineering in 1963 and joined the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army and hung his boots after 28 years of distinguished service in the rank of Colonel. A keen student of military history, economics and international affairs, he has eleven published and a few unpublished books to his credit. The author has published a number of E books. You can view these at Author Profile: <http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Bhaskarsarkar1940>

Pakistan Seeks Revenge and God Saves. India ISBN 81-85462-11-9. Fiction.

Tackling Insurgency and Terrorism. ISBN 81-7094-291-8. Non fiction.

Kargil War, Past Present and Future. ISBN, 1-897829-61-2. Non Fiction.

Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army. ISBN 1-897829-73-6 . Non Fiction.

Thirty Nine Steps to Happiness. Non Fiction. 81-248-0142-8

President Takes Over. Fiction. (Unpublished)

Practical Approach to Vaastu Shastra. (A Peacock Book)

Earthquakes, All we need to know about them. ISBN 978-81-248-0188-8. Non Fiction.

**Decline and Fall of the American Empire. Non Fiction. (Unpublished)**

**Nationalism: Economic Strategy for Survival of Developing Countries. ISBN 978-81-269-1093-9.**

**An Introduction to Religions of the World. ISBN 978-81-269-1339-8. Non Fiction.**

**Can the American Economy be Saved? Non Fiction. (Unpublished)**

**Who is Afraid of the Chinese Dragon? I am. Non Fiction. (A Peacock Book)**

**Tackling the Maoist Menace. ISBN 978-81-269-1636-8. Non Fiction.**

**Prevention, First Aid and Treatment of Diseases with Homeopathy. (On offer)**

**The Laments of a Rational Pessimist. (On offer)**

The published E Books of the Author are:

Fight Class War Now: http://smashwords.com/b/206829

Be A Rational Pessimist: http://smashwords.com/b/177158

Occupiers of Wall Street: Losers or Game Changers: <http://smashwords.com/b/175532>

Homeopathy for Prevention of Diseases and Self Medication: http://smashwords.com/b/229505

To sample or purchase Heomeopathy for Prevention of Diseases and Self Medication: http://smashwords.com/b/229505

To sample or purchase Growth and Decline of Economies of Europe and US: http://smashwords.com/b/231033

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