Deepavali: let's celebrate the significance of light
Crackers have made a lot of noise in the supreme court as the festival of lights came close. Supreme Court has taken a tough stance against crackers this time. It has banned full time bursting of crackers by putting a time cap on this. And in cities like Delhi, crackers are totally banned. Air pollution in Delhi has reached alarming levels. Crackers have contributed to rising levels of air and noise pollution in the country per se. No sooner did the SC give it's verdict on this issue based on environmental concerns, Sangh Parivar and some political parties are making sounds louder than the crackers. They are deeming this as an attack on hindu dharma! They are carrying a message to people that there is a close link between crackers and festivals. Indian festivals share close bonds with nature and its cycles. Common people have been responding to the changing rhythms of nature by celebrating festivals. Agriculture is the main focus behind these festivals and they are celebrated accordingly.
Festivals are about worshipping air, water, river, soil, land, agriculture and basically everything that keeps the life going. With the interference of vaidika approach, these simple celebrations turned into traditions and turned against the spirit of nature. Let's take the case of rivers and lakes. They are the lifeline of the agrarian class. Hence they called them as mothers and goddesses. But the priestly class turned folklore into traditions. There is a difference between agraians calling the water bodies as gods and priestly class's inference as thus. Priests linked mythological stories to rivers such as Ganga and called her a goddess. They made people believe the dead would attain salvation of their bodies were disposed off in river Ganga. As a result of that, Ganga river is so polluted today that even if one spends thousands of crores the river cannot be cleaned up. The water cannot be consumed. Chauti is a festival celebrated by agrarian community who'd put together all the crop they had grown into the shape of Ganesha and worship it before it was consumed. This was their way of respecting the nature and expressing their gratitude for her gift of bounty.
Ganeshotsava today has been hugely politicised. It is now a public festival. Just one look at our lakes and rivers after Ganeshotsava can reveal where the celebrations have landed us. In the past, festivals taught us to respect the nature and be grateful for what we have received from her. But today, the same festivals are pushing us to abuse the nature. If authorities tell people not to immerse the idols in lakes, politicians instigate people telling them this is an assault on their religious freedom. They hide the fact that protecting and respecting water bodies is very much part of Indian tradition as much as celebrating a festival is. The name Deepavali itself is self descriptive. The festival is about celebrating the light and not the cantankerous sound. Mythology yields to Deepavali celebrated by the priestly class. But the folklore has different tradition to its rendering of the festival. Their festival does not come from mythology but from agriculture. They worship the harvest by placing lit lamps before them. This is the time when darkness has to end in the celebration of light. Prosperity enters home as a rich harvest.
The small live lamps heighten the spirit of Deepavali. Crackers only make noise. Much like our politicians and religious leaders’ speeches. Sound cannot eradicate the darkness inside our souls. It burns to make loud noises. That brightness never lasts long. After a cracker has died, the things that remain are darkness, dust and bad smell. None of them represent the Deepavali that we know, instead they represent whatever the festival seems to abhorr. For the same reason, it is important to light lamps than burst crackers on the occasion. That is like upholding the spirit of the festival.
There is also a practice of welcoming the prosperity and fruits of labour by lighting lamps. But when we burst crackers, we'd be reducing the prosperity to dust. Instead of sharing our richness with the poor in our neighborhood, we would be reducing money to nothing but ashes. We would be insulting goddess of wealth by doing this. And in the meantime, we'd also be polluting water, air and the environment around us. More than 200 children lose eyesight every year in our state alone, owing to crackers. Our festivals should end the darkness and fill our hearts with light. But owing to crackers, a lot of lives are being filled with permanent darkness. No one can blame the festival for this darkness that affects their lives forever. It has turned into a curse because we have chosen crackers over lamps.
Manufacturing crackers is a big business and a mega industry. People who make explosives are also part of this business. Miscreants are very much part of this racket. Which is why politicians and miscreants need these explosive manufacturing facilities to remain in existence. They need the front of Deepavali to run their businesses. This is exactly why we need to understand the spirit of the decision given by the Supreme Court and celebrate Deepavali more meaningfully to brighten up our homes and hearts.
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Justice Nagarathna calls for creation of judicial reforms commission to reduce pendency in courts
Bengaluru (PTI): Justice B V Nagarathna of the Supreme Court on Saturday called for the creation of a judicial reforms commission to reduce mounting pendency in the courts, saying systemic incentives across stakeholders were contributing to delays in justice delivery.
She was speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association's (SCBA) first National Conference on the theme "Reimagining judicial governance: strengthening institutions for democratic justice" here.
Nagarathna, who was part of the panel session addressing "From Pendency to Prompt Justice: Rethinking Justice Delivery in Indian Courts," said, this reforms commission must have membership not only from the judiciary of the Supreme Court, the High Court, as well as the District judiciary, but also have members from the Bar, Attorney General, Solicitor General, and also certain members representing the Bar at the institutional level, such as the Bar President, and from the government side to enable an inter-institutional dialogue on reducing pendency.
She reflected that, from the point of view of various stakeholders, a litigant gains from the status quo, to proceed to prolong proceedings.
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"A lawyer or an advocate loves adjournments and postponement because he/she benefits from per appearance and extended timelines. A government department reduces bureaucratic risk by appealing rather than accepting defeat.
"A judge, and particularly a trial judge, is always acting with caution because he/she is confronted with appellate reversal, and therefore he/she prefers procedural caution rather than having an aggressive docket control. Each of these decisions is individually rational, but how does it help the system? It is only leading to systemic delay," she added.
In order to break this equilibrium, Justice Nagarathna said that what is required is institutional interventions through a judicial commission to reduce pendency, rather than merely exhorting better conduct from judges, adherence to procedural timelines, asking advocates not to seek adjournments, urging the government to reduce litigation, or expecting courts to function round the clock and judges not to take leave.
On pendency, the judge questioned the inclusion of defective filings in court statistics, suggesting that such cases should not be counted until they are procedurally ready for hearing.
She also underlined the role of the government as the "largest generator of litigation", noting that officials tend to file appeals to avoid scrutiny, even in cases where disputes could be settled earlier. This, she said, results in cases travelling through multiple judicial levels unnecessarily.
"The government publicly expresses concern about judicial backlog, while simultaneously feeding that backlog through relentless litigation," she observed.
Justice Nagarathna further claimed judicial capacity is constrained by inadequate public investment, including delays in appointment of judges, lack of infrastructure and insufficient use of technology.
Among the measures suggested, she called for improved case management, curbs on unnecessary adjournments, adoption of technology, prioritisation of cases, promotion of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and creation of specialised benches.
She also urged advocates to adhere to professional and ethical standards, litigants to avoid frivolous appeals, and the government to adopt a practical litigation policy and ensure timely funding and appointments in the judiciary.
