Far from curbing terror, we find that draconian laws used by a corrupt and communal police are creating conditions which will only exacerbate the problem.
Joseph Stiglitz was the chief economist of the World Bank for three years till January 2000. Before that he was the chairman of President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers. No one can speak more authoritatively or with greater inside knowledge about the functioning of the Washington consensus institutions.
The Aam Aadmi party is of the view that Kashmir is an integral part of India. Needless to say that I share this view.
I first met Mr Tarkunde in 1976 during the Emergency, when Civil Liberties had been extinguished and the Habeas Corpus case was being heard by the Supreme Court, which would decide whether one could even approach the courts against illegal detention by the State, during the Emergency.
India is a land of minorities. Everyone belongs to some minority.
Chinese engineers have spent years finding solutions to the problems of building a railway line on permafrost ground at altitudes above 4,000 metre.
A corrupt judiciary is hardly likely to hold a corrupt executive to account.
In order to provide for their independence, the Constitution made judges of the superior courts immune from removal except by impeachment.
How we decide the vexed issue of the method of selection of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts would determine the future of our democracy and the rule of law in the country. We are faced with the twin problem of selecting the best judges and also ensuring that the judiciary would be insulated from executive interference.
Over the years, the judiciary has expanded its own powers by creative interpretations of the Constitution, particularly Article 21 which guarantees the right to life. This has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to include the right to a healthy environment, to health, primary education, livelihood and shelter.
The question of burden of proof is relevant only in a situation where there is no evidence either way.
Some are motivated by a desire to mould the law to expand the rights of the downtrodden, while other may be motivated by a desire to maintain the Status Quo. Some may even be motivated by a desire to protect what they perceive to be their class interest. And such motives may not always even be conscious to the judges.
The lack of judicial accountability exemplified by the lack of a system of selecting judges and of dealing with complaints against them, has indeed led to the system gradually losing its integrity.
I said that there is considerable alienation among the people of Kashmir which is primarily because of the human rights excesses by the security forces in Kashmir and the impunity from prosecution given to them by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
You cannot cave in saying something that is against your conscience and belief. That self-righteous ego is a must for any self-respecting, truth-loving person.
The court's reputation is affected by what people say only if it seems to have a ring of fairness and authenticity.
When I said that the court should be willing to suffer even intemperate criticism, I did not mean that people should level intemperate criticism. What I said is even if criticism is intemperate or unfair and bordering on scurrilous and abusive, it will be understood for what it is by the people.
Every Indian wants a strong and independent judiciary. Obviously if the courts get weakened, it weakens the republic and harms every citizen.
Long live democracy!
I am pained that I have been held guilty of committing contempt of the Court whose majesty I have tried to uphold - not as a courtier or cheerleader but as a humble guard - for over three decades, at some personal and professional cost. I am pained, not because I may be punished, but because I have been grossly misunderstood.
