I totally agree. The Jessica Lall case which will be re-opened now (as a result of fervent campaigning and public outrage), will set the precedent for the change that it is about to come about in India's courts of law. I think its imperative that a society should uphold and abide by its legislative frameworks. The Rule of Law governs all of what is done in a political sense, socio-economic sense etc (or at least it should). Its time that this is wholeheartedly applied across the board in India. I think with the public backlash against the verdict on the Jessica Lall case, it demonstrates that ordinary citizens are starting to believe once again that your voice can be heard and should be heard. It always pleases me to see mass mobilisation against injustice. It reminds me of my youth, when armchair supporters would criticise us if we went on a march (at that time against Aparthied, Nuclear Arms etc), stating 'what good does it do at the end of the day-no-one cares'. The point of a democracy, is that the politicos are in power (mostly) because of a individual's vote. What's the point of having the right to vote, if you don't exercise that right or use it to stand up for what you believe in?

P.s. You don't know me Rahul-but my brother acted in a movie with you many years ago. 'Split Wide Open' (Shiv Paul-he was the nasty producer). :-)

I am happy that someone has at last applauded Teesta Setalvad for her efforts and all the calumny that so many were happily dining out on these last few months after the flip flops first started. I have also wondered why no one has as yet been booked or punished for the train burning. It was this one insane act that brought the country almost to the brink. The families of the train victims are also desperately seeking closure on what was as personal a tragedy as the one that the victims and their families of the riots underwent.

Kamini, I agree that this is the start of the much needed overhaul of the whole justice system in this country. My only fear is whether we are capable of relentlessly maintaining the pressure. Its a huge task. I hope people don't presume that the mere re-opening of the case is an end in itself. It is in fact the mere beginning of a long long haul. Even the first step is daunting - as per information provided by a retired Chief Justice, there are 13.5 judges per million people. In the Untied States there are 135 per million! As the IE also commented yesterday, if this figure is frighteningly low, of these few judges there is a shortfall of 15% even in the existing number of authorised vacancies in the High Courts! Then there a myriad other issues, investigation machinery, budgets, political interference and of course corruption at almost all levels starting fom the basic filing of a police complaint. Will the powerful vested interests who stand to lose, abjectly surrender their fiefdoms? I think not.

It's all very well to gloat over Zahira Sheikh getting what she deserved. Will those who are today lining up and falling over themselves trying to get to the TV cameras with their versions of who said what, who did what and who they know were eye witnesses to the shooting of Jessica Lal, ever be asked as to why their consciences suffered collective amnesia for seven long years and as to why they didn't queue up at the police stations to give their versions as they are doing in front of the cameras to-day? Zahira Sheikh is a 20 year old commoner who got greedy because she was perhaps needy. The Jessica Lal culprits are rich enough to pay a hefty entrance price merely to get into a posh place and blow their bank notes. Will be interesting to see what they have to say in their defence.

How on earth did we allow ourselves to get here? Do we have the stamina now to undo the harm we have brought upon ourselves? I think the success or otherwise of this public outrage lies in how we answer these two questions to ourselves.

"why was justice carried out in one case while in the others not one person was found guilty of firing a gun and killing a defenceless woman? The answer is simple, incredibly simple"

Dear Rahul,
Yes indeed the answer was simple. But you couldn't get it. It had nothing to do with this Teesta or her Ngo. It's all about the money.

In one case, where you say justice has been carried out, none of the accused were rich. It's easy to punish poor people for their misdeeds.
However, in the Jessica Lal case, the accused was a rich and powerful person, that's why he was let off. In this country, if you are loaded, then you can get away with anything....even murder.

In India, 95% of the NGOs/Social service orgs are nothing but blackmailing/tax-manipulation outfits. They are driven more often by the need for personal gain rather than a genuine love of justice, in most cases they pursue.

I cannot comment on whether CJP falls in the 95% category or the 5% one as I do not know them personally. However, I agree with the basic intent of your piece that says that if people get united to fight injustice, they can achieve success.

Cheers!
Navin

I am amazed people actually have faith in this Teesta woman after she imprisoned young Zahira and forced her to lie. I am equally amazed that people on this blog who are always waxing forth about justice and calmness do not fault TS for her perpetual hate-mongering. She is simply a low-down opportunist imo. And the media is on her side of course.

As for the Lall case - Amardeep Singh has a very good analysis on his blog. It seems the laws in India are such that they are designed for criminals to get off the hook. Read "Why Manu Sharma Got Away With It":

http://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/blog.html

Dear Divya,

Strange but I see the way most of the media treated TS as contrary to how you do. As for her having kidnapped and forced her to lie, a thorough investigation was undertaken and there are records and proof of Zahira having monies she couldn't account for and none of that was traced to TS but to unknowns which is currently being investigated.

The way I see it, if it were not for her and her efforts alone, the case would never have been re-tried and no one would have been held accountable. Do you think those who have now been sentenced are innocent? Is it possible to believe that with the riots spread over so many days, that all the hundreds of accused in the dozens of cases, were all innocent and that even one single conviction was not possible in any of the cases that were tried in the Gujrat courts?

I haven't yet read the link you have given but will. To-morrow being Sunday, my computerless day, will get back to you with a follow up on Monday. Till then have great week end.

Rahul,
Justice has come to be a much abused word now, for you never know when its 'just' or not. conviction alone is no justice for it is better to let 10 guilty go free rather than convict even 1 innocent.
Even if the conviction in best bakery case are 'just', and they were actually involved in what they have been charged for, the fact remains that the masterminds of the riots are untouched, unscathed.
You still call this justice, and pit it as a benchmark against the injustice that happened to Jessica Lall?
It's like convicting the nazi generals, and acquitting hitler for he did not personally go and shove jews into the gas chambers. It's like
dismissing off the evil of abetment to kill and ruin as not being as bad as killing itself.
I am sure you did not mean that, but the fact is, if we hale the best bakery convictions, we are allowing ourselves to be befooled, coz the truth is, we have LOST. The people who played havoc with our lives got what they wanted, and believe me, such convictions are a part of the political games that they play.
I agree with your sentiment of 'people's action' but equally important for the ordinary people is to see beyond the obvious. The killing of Binderwala in operation blue star was considered by 'ordinary person' as the victory of good over evil. The discovery of a mass grave later by a journalist, who went missing just after a year of release of his report on police atrocities during militancy in punjab, has become a trivia among the human right 'activists'.
One of the reasons sighted for such 'over looks' by the public is the lack of information systems. I do respect some parts of the activist media in india, but then the penetration is minimal. However, I have also come to believe that there is a lack of ability of the indian public to look through and read political and social developments intelligently.
And one such example is haling the courts over the convictions in the best bakery case.

Public (media) uproar over Jessica Lal murder case has opened a door for public opinion to enter into the deep dark alleys of absolute power, corrupion where justice has been left gasping for death.

But there is still some hope left. Today as we all post our comments, there is yet another case (Meher Bhargav) in Lucknow that has been put up for scrutiny in the public domain by the media.

While I hope that justice will not be denied in her case as her family does have political bearings, I also want to think about those victims who are not able to gather any kind of support as they are not so high profile and those who do not make a sensational story for the media to set their TRP's soaring.

If some research is caried out, I am sure it would prove that the accused in most of the high profile cases are not first timers (e.g. as reported in this Kasliwal case, this was not his first victim)...these unknown and weak victims are the food that go on to give strength to these criminals to proceed to the next level. Need of the hour is to revamp the judicial system (firstly get rid of the vacations for the court) so that speedier trial leads to timely justice which would encouage more people to come forward and seek justice.

Short but simple, The problem doesnot lie in the judiciary, it is in the system...
Sad but true, we are the ones who have made this system...

Hi Dara - My memory's a bit rusty about this matter now and I don't really feel up to digging into it. Suffice it to say I don't trust Teesta.

Gday Mr Bose,

Just out of curiosity will you be competing in the rugby sevens for India in the delhi 2010 games?

-n-

Thanks for the link Divya. What the lawyer says is true but it is just the tip of the iceberg really. Just getting to the stage where witnesses are involved is a tough task.You need to live as long as people did in Moses' time to did to even get there.

What I love about your post is how beautifully politically naive you have been. How you have picked a side and stuck to it, and fought for it, and believed in it, and spoken for it. There is much that your post says about you as a person, and unfortunately, much less about the circumstance around you. Real life Mr Bose, is rarely quite as black and white. Hypothetically, taking the events at face value, and Teesta as having wrung justice for the aggreived, let us not forget that Zaheera, started out as being the aggreived. Let us not forget that while in Jessica lal's case those witnesses who turned hostile are now being afforded [protection, Zaheera, also a young girl from a minority community threatened with her life and often more, proved turn coat out of fear. When Shayan Munshi can be forgiven and still reap modelling honours, zaheera is a dog? Where was police protection to a young woman then? Nobody condoes what she has done, I am just implying that circumstances are more complex than what is apparent. most of us do not know the truth and never will. We just look at those who find ways to believe in this system, smile, shrug, and hope when and if it ever happens to us, someone will believe in us as strongly.

The Quest for Rahul.
Movies that is. I can't find many of your films - not the Indian markets, not Netflix, not even in the barely-surviving video/dvd shops.

So can someone advise me on how I might find your movies:
White Noise
Everyone Says I'm Fine
English August,
etc. etc.

Thanks for any advice.

Hey lilinou!

I SO know what you mean ... it sucks doesnt it?:(
I m a fan of Mr Bose here.. to say the least :p.. n yeah i cant seem to find any of his movies.. especially those wonderful ones like Everybody Says I am fine and Split wide open etc.. unbelievable good movies but... without any DVD's!
I dont know where your from, I m in Australia, n i try to get some of his films, i have Mr n Mrs Iyer and 15 Park Avenue.. but none of his old stuff:(.. if your from India, ya could check Planet M, they could have some.. good luck!

Ciao!

PS- to all those pple who are gangin up on Mr Bose, STOP!!! he is one of the very few pple out there who actually CARE about the state of *real* India and wants to DO something about it, which says a LOT about him as an individual!

And, Mr Bose .. if ya r readin this... Rock on!!;)

Shreya
I am in Boston and have sought his films in every venue I have available. I even have the guy at New Aapna market - probably the best resource for Indian music and dvds here on the search but he can't find them.

When I am in India, I frequently don't find the art house films, usually the mainstream ones, so Mr. Bose if you ever read these blogs, perhaps you could give us some advice on where we can access your movies. And I know you say you don't dance, but I would love to see you do it anyway - it's way healthier than smoking as we know.

15 Park Avenue isn't even on dvd yet, or so I have heard.

lilinou!
Hey! well firstly, 15 Park Avenue IS on DVD!! i have watched it one DVD although it wasnt the "copyright" one heh,.. but you should be able to find it in Boston. Yeah most art house films arent released on DVD's in India, which is a real shame!! but you just gotta keeep ur eyes and ears open for them aye!

hehe, i dont know about Mr Bose dancing... but i much prefer the intellectual and thought provoking side of him :p.

Shreya,
I guess I will have to wait for the non-pirated version of Aparna Sen's movie.

BTW, I like the intellectual side of Mr. Bose but it is not binary, not one over the other.

As a lover of dance, which is probably what spurred my initial interest in Bollywood films, dance can be poetry in motion, unless of course you are your average American jock.

Dance is not part of our American culture, unlike other cultures (Hispanic, Indian, Southern European) and I wish it were. The different forms of classical Indian dance are exquisite, and I love to see when they are fused into modern-day hip-hop or other types of dance -which is a lot of what you see when Farah Khan does her choreography. Fun, joyful, and why do those attributes have to be separated from intellect. They don't.

Take a movie like Dil Se - the choreography of Chaiya Chaiya was beautiful, but still a political film, a love story, a social commentary. And personally, I way rather see dancing than smoking.

Is smoking intellectual and thought provoking. Not for me it isn't. I would take the beat over the bidis any day.

Rahul,

Next time split your argument into shorter paragraphs. They'll be easier to read and digest. Then teh mental activity will be with your argumnet and not with the letters on the
page.
I know this critique may seem unnecessary within the big picture, but every little helps, nay?

Sobia..............

Rahul,

In support of what your'e trying to say:

In the Quran, Allah has said, that when you see an injustice or something you disgaree with you can do three things. (I am paraphrasing here)

1) You can get up and physically change it.

2) If that's not possible, speak out against it.

3) And even if that's not possible for you, then atleast see and feel it wrong in your heart.

The message is universal. We simply cannot afford to turn our heads away from injustice, war, or any ill of the society we live in.

Sobia..........................

Justice Served: While Jessica Lal waits in the side lines, the two black bucks murdered in 1998 are finally at peace. Justice has been served. The film star must pay the price for being a celebrity. I may not have been this upset over Mr. Salman Khan's sentence if I did not have Aaj Tak (recent addition to my household cable line up), exposing the realities of Indian social and judicial set up.

Well, perhaps Ms. Lal has some hope. If the black bucks found justice, she may too.

Trying to be fearless is the first step towards actually changing the face of what is "justice"/"corruption" in India. Well written post. I also liked your Q&A session with William Dalrymple at IHC.

Some of the things that you have written at the end of the article-one wonders that with the medium like the internet available why are like minded people not coming together for a common cause. That should be one of the primary purpose of blogging. One can solicit support on controversial issues like the Jesica Lall case or the recent reservation controversy. Just because a govt has been elected, it does not imply that it can do whatever it likes for five years and get away with it. If we don't use internet and specifically blogs to rally for a common cause, how are we any different from our ancestors who had no such medium.

lliniou:)
Thats great that you r really into dance and all.. and yeah bollywood is known for this musicals... but Rahul Bose is not the typical bollywood pin up boy...hence, it is highly unlikely for him to be seen dancing around trees.

I respect ur opinion about the coexistance of dance n intellect. I , however, think cinema should be more about intellectual poetry... n I m personally not a musical freak , though i love Sound of Music n such..and its probably got to do with the fact that, most of those run of the mill bollywood "musicals" are just garbage which no narrative or plot structure and the same old cinematography.. it is formalaic to the point where it doesnt even make any sense.

Also, Hiren, yeah i agree with you, n who knows if Mr Bose chances upon this forum.. he may do something baout it:)

Btw.. i was watchin Mr n Mrs Iyer ( starring the wonderful Konkona Sen Sharma and Rahul Bose) on DVD for like the millionth time ,hehe... n it never ceases to amaze me and inspire me..

It’s taken me few days to figure out whether I should put in my pennies worth of opinion on this page as the entries seem to progress from the sublime to the ridiculous.

As a prosecutor I can say with some conviction that sometimes you can get a verdict you didn’t want and can hardly bear to live with for the most inexplicable of reasons. Even when you think you have all the evidence lined up and the witnesses ready to go, the Judge and/or the jury decides that somehow you have failed to meet the burden of proof or that the proof is not somehow sufficient to get you the verdict you want. Then the media get a hold of the story and when you see it in print you sometimes wonder whether you were in the same room as these people!!

But this cannot and does not mean that you stop going after the bad guys. You just take a very deep breath, exhale and go after the next one and hope that it turns out the way it’s supposed to.

Justice is a big word and hides a multitude of sins and community activism is good thing but as with all good things and healthy dose of practicality must be taken at the same time.

We can’t win them all but hey; at least I know I tried.
Chand

AMEN!! to that..... while we are on the topic of being injustice.....what have you got to say about the injustice happening in your own feild (BOLLYWOOD)?? i totally think that it is not just to give opportunities to the son's and daughters (with no talent or passion) of the movie veterans...just because they are related to them. where on the other hand there are loads that are out there with the right attitude and talent wasting their lives away...where is the justice??? why is it that married female actors cannot be appreciated as same when they were single when they first started out. what has being married to do with anything. and why do one has to sleep their way through to satrdom or to even get a role (big or small). i true believe that the passionate actors like urself and the veterans should build up some guts and have the balls to get rid of this injustice that is limiting the industry from growing....u know Bollywood might produce the largest amount of movies in the world but one needs to think what sort of movies are coming out and who they are or shud be targeting.far enought if they dont want to make it in english language but at least make it worthwhile for publics money. they have the wrong understanding of the word Entertainment. it aint about dancing around the trees(hate this expression) anymore......

would like to hear ur thoughts on this rahul:)
shareel7@hotmail.com

take care
shareel