For those of us who know very little about the state of social justice in India, this report from Telegraph UK will be most disconcerting:
Mushtaq Ahmed Mir, an unemployed man from Kupwara, decided to sue the Kashmiri newspaper Tameel-i-Irshad after it published a false report claiming he was a defendant in a murder case. He had asked the judge to waive the court fee in the case because he was too poor to pay it.
The judge threw out his case with a ruling that the poor did not have reputations which could be damaged in newspaper reports.
"When the plaintiff is not even in a position to pay the lawsuit fee, he cannot seek damages for defamation, " Judge Nazir Ahmed Fida said. "The dignity of a person of low integrity will not be lowered further in case his name appears in a defamatory piece of news."
...In his appeal ruling, High Court Judge Muzaffar Hussain Attar reprimanded the original trial judge and said his ruling had been "offensive to conscience." "The respect and reputation of a person is not dependent upon how much wealth he has accumulated," he said. If only the rich were entitled to respect "a great disservice will be done to society," he added.
...Leading social commentator Pavan K Varma said the ruling heralded "the beginning of change." "To say that someone who is poor can't have status reflects the mindset of another century, but old attitudes die hard. That the appeals judge threw out the ruling means there's a beginning of change. I'm not surprised that [the judgment] was overruled. That's the significance. Caste is now standing on its head," he said.
- Garry J. Wise, Toronto
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2 comments:
That's religion you are talking about, not caste.
The superiority and inferiority of castes developed in the current day India is due to the weakened plank of love. There are various ages when different castes seem prominent or prosperous on earth. Humans who were teachers or spiritual seekers (Brahmins) since ancient times will have some mental and physical characteristics, which can be inherited by their children. This inheritance could be biological or via education passed from parents to children. In the very ancient times, Brahmins with their mantras seemed to have most of the power. They commanded the most respect because they could get anything people wanted through their mantras; rain, good crop yields, and weapons. Even the movements of materials for the construction of buildings depended upon their mantras. At this time sages were like the leaders of civilizations the world over. In the next age Kshatriyas who have mental skills to dodge enemy attacks and to kill when necessary. The Kshatriyas became the most powerful leaders of society during the next age, with their fighting skills and weapons. If entrepreneurial producers (Vaisas), which include most professions of today (engineer, doctors, artisans, businessmen and farmers) descended from ancestors who were entrepreneurs since millions of years ago, they will have the correct skills as negotiators, who constantly weigh the profit potential. In recent times, success in business made people and countries great. Vaisyas have become the most prominent people today. People today respect business leaders like Thomas Edison, Rockefeller, Bill Gates, Micheal Dell and Jack Welch, for what they have accomplished. The instruction-following producers (Sudras – current day factory operators and clerks are in this category) whose ancestors were following instructions will be able to handle the orders given by others. When computers take over most jobs, it will be the Sudras, who willingly follow instructions of computers the best, who will have the most power. They will be the ones, who can get things done for the rest of the human population. Using their instruction-following skills, they will be the most respected people because they will get people things from computer controlled farms, factories and even construction (food, clothing and shelter). Other people will have to wait on these instruction-followers for their livelihood. In the opinion of this author, India was conquered for a thousand years by foreigners (firstly by the Muslims and then the Christians), so that she can finally overcome this fault of the different castes disrespecting each other. The different castes were supposed to be equal parts of one body but with different jobs. Would a person not allow his head (Brahmin) to touch his feet (Sudra or instruction follower)? Would a person not allow his feet (Sudra) to touch his shoulders/hands (Kshatriya or warrior group)? Or would a person not allow his hands to touch his stomach (Viasya or producer group)?
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