Perhaps, this is the most simple and
thought provoking piece lately on
this forum. I appreciate we still
have some readers who duly care for
such simple but important details of
common interest to share with other
fellow readers. The buzzword of Ram
Raj (The reign of Lord Rama) where
justice would prevail at every cost
and in every situation is idealism
for Indian societies in the present
scenario. And I am elated to learn
that there exits some village/s that
still give into best endeavors to
make justice and social norms top
priority. I wish our policy makers
and bureaucrats learn some tips from
elderly wisdom of villagers to
practice fair systems in every
aspect of society.
Being an optimistic, every learned
member our society should learn from
the initiate of this small dot on
the map of world and try to do some
brainstorming, if we too could dare
to come forward with any initiative
to make a contribution towards our
society however small or less
meaningful! - Iqbal Azim, Bokaro
Steel City, Jharkhand - June 8, 2006
Nice to know of such a simple
process for solving social issues.
Court and legal matters are now very
costly and a poor people cannot
afford it. If anyone goes to the
civil court for filing a case, for
the first day, he would have to pay
10/- per sheet of typing cost (that
too in double space, one sided),
200/- atleast for the lawyers fee,
20/- bakhshish for munshiji and 50/-
as overall NAZRANA for the ADALAT
staff. The expenditure doesn't end
here. The list keeps growing as the
case progresses, and in mid of the
proceedings, lawyers starts talking
about compromise and ask for a hefty
amount for the matter settlement out
of court. If the police is involved,
then the cost may get escalated to
even 200-300%. Thinking about the
poor people, who earn 100/= a day,
how can he afford to go to court of
law? There are a lot of voices of
judicial fastening and quick hearing
of the matters, but nobody thinks
about these cost aspects which deter
a poor fellow from going to the
ultimate decider.
In light of the above facts, the
process used by the people in
Lohardagga village is really great.
That is helping them in settling
their matters and saving their
hard-earned money. But it is still
vague in those matters in which
punishment is sought, like murders,
rapes, molestation etc. Have the
elders of the society have got such
powers that they could put a dacoit
or rapist under bars? Moreover,
these processes are applicable only
to the homogenous society where all
are economically and socially equal.
I am not sure whether a rich man
would follow the orders given by the
elders in favor of a poor man.
Despite all drawbacks, these
processes should be welcomed and
should be initiated in rural as well
as uban areas. However, it would be
difficult to apply that in urban
areas due to weaker social bounding.
- Ravish Kumar, Hyderabad - June
9, 2006 |
