The New Nation - Internet Edition

THE Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), according to a recent media report, is likely to launch 'a crackdown' on CNG-run auto-rickshaws and taxicabs in the capital city with a view to ensuring smooth running of the vehicles so that a section of drivers cannot charge extra fare and do not decline to go to destinations desired by passengers. The decision of taking of tough actions against the violators of the charted-fare was taken following the failure of the mobile courts conducted suddenly by the road transport authority from time to time as reported quoting the BRTA chairman. In this regard, the BRTA chairman very rightly said : 'There is no other way left to check the whims of the drivers of the 3-wheelers and taxicabs as they have gone out of control. The CNG-run auto-rickshaw and taxicab drivers still charge extra and additional fares from their passengers and refuse to go to their desired destinations although the government has increased fare of the 3-wheelers.

In April this year, the interim government raised the fare of CNG-run auto-rickshaw with effect from May 1 with a commitment by the drivers and owners that they would oblige passengers by running their vehicles to all destinations and on meter fare. The BRTA-run mobile courts have failed to check the whims of drivers even after sentencing many of them to jail and imposing fine. According to the media report, at least 20 CNG-run auto-rickshaw drivers were jailed in last few months and a number of them fined along with cancellation of route permits temporarily of seven auto-rickshaws, but still the government-charted fare is being flouted deliberately by an unruly section of the drivers.

There was no known move or attempt till early years of this new millennium when the past alliance government introduced meter fare for both CNG-run auto-rickshaws and taxicabs phasing out two-stroke 'baby-taxies' responsible for air pollution. Though the mode of charging fare was changed the drivers remaining the same could not give up their chaotic habit of defying rules as many of them taking political advantage at the fag end of the last elected government started charging more and extra fare showing total disrespect to meter fare. It is worth noting that during the pre-liberation period when Dhaka, even as capital city of the then East Pakistan province, used to enjoy smooth running of auto-rickshaws and taxicabs on meters. After Bangladesh emerged as an independent country, operators of auto-rickshaws and taxicabs turned chaotic as people having political clout controlled them and started defying the meter system in an organised way and made passengers their hostage in charging whimsical fares. Dhaka is now a mega city and their smooth running is more required than before. There are around 13,000 CNG-run auto-rickshaws and 10,000 taxicabs according to BRTA. The government should enforce the charted-fare for hassle-free travel of city dwellers.

THE Cabinet Committee of the government has decided to buy 150 jeeps of the Pajero brand for an equal number of Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs). The Citizens Rights Movement (CRM) has opposed the decision. It is reported that the purchase would cost Tk 40 crore at the rate of near about Tk 27 lakh for each jeep. CRM is reported to have termed the said cars too much luxury in a country where '59 percent of the people are landless and most of their daily income is below one dollar.' They called upon the government to cancel the decision and, instead, asked for the purchase of 50 more Volvo double-decker buses to ease the transport problem in Dhaka City.

Pajeroes are not considered viable on the roads in rural areas of the country. Most of the kutcha roads are not suitable for their use. Metalled roads under the upazilas are not many. Moreover, they are neither wide enough nor properly maintained. Road conditions in the rural areas in the rainy season are unsuitable for smooth movement of motor cars. In most cases, the only roads suitable for Pajeroes are the ones that connect upazilas with the district headquarters where UNOs need to go from time to time. So, in view of the condition of roads in the upazilas, concerned people suggest the use of versatile, less expensive jeeps which can be used for both official purposes and as family cars by UNOs.

Again, Pajero brand vehicles generally are not maintainable everywhere in the country. Skilled mechanics and spare parts of Pajeroes are not available at upazila level. So, maintenance of such jeeps may prove to be very expensive and difficult. Such cars may soon be found to go out of order. Regarding fuel of the cars, CNG is now not available even at most of the district headquarters, not to mention about upazila towns. Use of octane to run such heavy vehicles will be costly and become an extra burden.

UNOs need the vehicles not for pleasure trips; they need those for easy and quick movement through both metalled and kutcha roads. UNOs are required to go to far-flung areas under their jurisdiction. They thus need vehicles for rough and tough driving. In the not too distant past, government officials used hardy vehicles like Willy jeeps. The choice of Pajeroes instead of such hardy vehicles is considered worthy of reconsideration by the government.

Prem Ranjan Dev

Durga Puja is the greatest socio-religious event of the Bengali Hindu. The concept of Durga as a Goddess symbolising 'Sakti' took a long time to evolve out of many ancient religious texts and traditions. The Skanda Purana says that the Goddess got her name after killing a demon called Durga, who had been harassing the Gods and had stolen the Vedes from them with a view to destroying religions. Then the Gods unitedly sought her intervention, the Goddess destroyed the demon and restored the Vedas. She also incorporated the Vedas into her own body to ensure that these were not stolen again. That is why Durga is also called Vedamoyee. She destroys all the evil forces represent by the six ripus : lust, anger, greed, delusion, arrogance and jealousy.

Durga is tranquil and turbulent, sereve and fierce, soumya and rudra at the same time. However, what is generally worshipped in the Bengali Hindus is Durga as Mahishasuramardini, as the vanquisher of Mahishasura, the buffalo-demon. The conception of Durga as Mahishasuramardini took a definitive shape in the Markandeya and other Puranas, particularly the Devi-Mahatyam or the Chandi that forms part of the Markandeya Purana where the impartance of the Devi or the Supreme goddess is highlighted. Iconographically also, the image of Durga worshipped by the Bengali Hindus is that of Mahishasuramardini as described in the Devi-Mahatyam with ten arms, each with a weapon symbolising shakti. One of these weapons is a spear with which the Goddess pierces the chest of Mahishasura, causing the blood to spurt out. With her sons and daughters Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh-standing by her on both sides, she presents a picture of massive power that prevails over all that is evil.

Durga is the progenitor of the universal process in its entirely. She is the presiding principle of the cosmic manifestation and the source of ultimate goal of all perfection and attainment of all existence. She is essentially unique and one. Durga the divine mother and the emblem of shakti or cosmic energy is also the symbol of the Hindu female hierophany. The worship of Durga as mother is an important feature of Hindu religion. Durga also reflects the importance of what is called woman-power in modern-terminology. Durga is also the symbol of Prakriti, the primordial matter or substance, which' provinces the basis for all that exists in the universe. Since she fights all the forces of evil, the Goddess, as worshipped by the Bengali Hindus, has been invested with ten arms equipped with a wide range of weapons. However, in the different scriptures, the number of arms varies from two to as many as thirty two, the latter number serving as a reminder of the vast sweep of her powers. The Markandeya Purana narrates all these powers in a series of shlokas of which an off-recited one reads "Ya Devi sarvabhuteshu Shaktirupena Sangsthita; Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyri Namo. Namah (Repeated salutations to the goddess who is present in all living beings a 'Shakti').

Two different concepts of Durga are in Vogue one of which is that of 'Mahishasuramardini'. The second concept is that of Durga as Uma, Gauri Parvati, the daughter of the Himalayas, who, as the wife of Lord Shiva and the mother of Laxshmi, Saraswati, Ganesh and Kartik, radiates the peaceful ambience of the divine mother rather than the bellicosity and destructiveness associated with Mahishasuramardini. In this second sense, Durga Puja represents her home-coming from the Himalayan abode of her divine spouse Lord Shiva. It is the concept of Durga as Uma, Gauri or Parvati that great poet Kalidasa projected in his 'Kumarasambhaba'. In the evolution of this concept, the scriptures, literary works as well as, folklores have all made their respective contributions.

Sanatan Dharma is the most ancient and insightful among the Dharmas of the worlds, it is called Hinduism. Our Vedas, Sastra, Puranas and Gita have dealt with it extensively. This vedic Hinduism is an etermil and unfathomable ocean. Hidden beneath its surface are the pearls of wisdom and essence of life. Many sages and great men have traveled on the path of legacy of inspire and help mankind. At a time when the impact of Hindu thought and spirituality is increasing globally and when scholars from many disciplines are discovering parallels between Hindu thinking and scientific thought. True spirit of Hinduism is very relevant to present time. It has answers to problems of relationship between man and man, man and god, it brings man closer to man and creates love for all creation. Sanatan Dharma explains the way for attaining liberation according to each individual stage in life.

Hindu thoughts are democratic and social. There are a number of concepts is Sanatan Dharma which are rarely understood in true depth. According to historians, the conception of Durga as 'mother' might have evolved in amongst the Bengali Hindus under the influence of somecults from Assam, Meghalaya and Burma, where matriarchal traditions had strong roots. Alternatively, this tradition might have travelled to the areas where the Bangali Hindus live in major numbers along with the Dravidians, who came from Mohenjodaro and Harappa, where a similar custom was believed to have prevailed.

A somewhat identical practice was in vogue in Sumer. It is believed that the people of Sumer hailed from the eastern and north eastern regions of India and might have taken with them the custom of worshipping the 'mother'. The Bangali Hindus, it is claimed, were good seafarers and traders in ancient times and used to travel to the island of crete in the Mediterranean Sea. Some of them were said to have colonised in crete where they introduced the worship of Goddess.

Man is the maker of his destiny and he can exercise his free will, but at the same time he has taken upon himself the responsibility to ensure full participation in the entire cosmos and consequently between man and gods, man and nature, man and other living, beings and finally between man and man. May our Durga Puja become fruitful.

Syed Mujtaba Quader

The quickness in the dispensation of justice, and the degree of empathy society has for the disadvantaged, are two of the most important measures of the state of advancement of a nation. On both counts we Bangladeshis fall far behind. No money or investment is required to attain this - all that is required is the cultivation of a state of mind. With the growth of multifaceted NGOs like BRAC, ASA and Grameen Bank and the presence of a vociferous civil rights community the disadvantaged may have found some solace in recent times. But, the dispensation of quick justice seems to have taken a back seat in a pseudo-democratic environment where political parties take advantage of the ignorance of the common people and the greed of the privileged ones. The more that one can use the judicial system for one's own selfish ends, the more successful he becomes. The legal system seems to have become a tool for the clever, the wily and the unscrupulous to the detriment of the entire nation. Individuals vie with each other to climb the mountains of achievement through the dishonest manipulation of the judicial system but they cannot see that the entire edifice of peaceful communal living is sinking in an abyss of wrong and evil.

After all, justice is the defining periphery for the value system of a people. By definition, if there is no value system there can be no justice, and conversely, if there is no justice there can be no value system. Moreover, if justice cannot be delivered over an extended period of time, then it can be said that there is no justice during that period of time. 'Justice delayed is justice denied' the famous quotation from British Prime Minister William Gladstone is well understood by schemers who have learnt that delaying justice is the way to defeating justice. Their mode of operation is quite clear - delay justice and you have control over the authority that be. And by extension, you have power over the whole system and the nation. In recent times, delaying justice has become the most important tool for unscrupulous people to be outside the system and eventually to manipulate the system from this vantage point. Going to court is the easiest way to win time and thereby have control over the situation. 'Not to decide is to decide' and if indecision can be forced upon the rightful adversary through the workings of the court, the decision will always favour the wrongdoer. The principal cause for the deflowering of our value system is the inability of our intellectuals and the legal system to recognise this. How many land grabbers do we know today who have gobbled up land of hapless villagers just by registering a case in the local court. How many dishonest businessmen do we know who have stopped banks from foreclosing on mortgaged property by starting a court case. How many builders do we know who build huge buildings openly disregarding established building codes only by virtue of a court case. How many tenants do we know who go on occupying other people's property by just registering a court case. How many families around the country remain perpetually enmeshed in torment and anguish on account of a few square yards of inherited property because of one single court case. The list goes on and on.

The lower judiciary is the most affected. Court cases linger for years and years and litigants cannot go to a higher authority when the lower court itself is delinquent in its responsibility to delve out justice. It is important to note here that, although, legal cases are almost always taken to the High Court by the losers for getting better judicial dispensation, getting out of the lower court itself may become an almost Herculean task, win or loose. There are quite a few ways that these delays take place. The first is by a combination of skillful lawyers and insensitive judges finding many causes for deferring hearing of the cases month after month for no rationale reason at all excepting insensitivity and lethargy in carrying out their work. Sometimes dates are given two months away for no relevant reason at all. No methods exist for the litigant to appeal to a higher authority to seek redress from these whimsical actions of delay which over an extended period of time tantamount to the denial of justice. The second is by lawyers who take the cases from court to court on flimsy technical grounds in a labyrinthine exercise of slippery judicial process that never finds traction anywhere. The third is by collusion between opposing lawyers who find much financial benefit in letting the case drag on and on for years. The fourth is by judges delaying the process as much as possible for finding financial benefit themselves. The fifth is by court officials in charge of court documents and procedures who subscribe to all forms of stratagems to prolong cases for financial benefit. This list may go on and on. In all these cases the person who benefits the most is the person who is in the wrong, be it the litigant, the lawyer, the court official or the judge. Although edicts have been promulgated in the past by various governments to speed up the workings of the lower court, in practice, these have been mostly unsuccessful because of other technical legalities that supercede these edicts. Avenues for appeal to a higher authority against the inactions of the lower courts have been conspicuously neglected in these edicts.

In this confusion and chaos the only leverage that a litigant can reasonably apply is to be able to choose and change lawyers at will depending on how much benefit a litigant perceives to be receiving from the person who is supposed to represent him and his interests in the court. It is a fundamental fact that a litigant goes to court with the intention of asserting his lawful rights, in other words, to win the case. If there was not even a slim chance of winning a case, the litigant could not be expected to go to court at all - the litigant would have to yield and submit to the stronger adversary outside of court. The only exception as explained above is the self-confessed and unashamed wrong-doer who goes to court with the only intention of delaying resolution of the issue and thereby benefiting from the delay. So, in order to win the case, the litigant is pre-disposed to selecting the best person in his understanding to represent him to win the case. This right of the litigant to choose and select a lawyer of his liking is fundamental to the disposal of justice in the present system. Market forces are supposed to play its role in fostering excellence in the legal profession. Instead, even this fundamental right of the litigant is being infringed upon in our present day judicial practice. The Bar Council has made it a rule that a lawyer once empowered to handle a case cannot be changed without a formal written release from the lawyer. Courts do not accept changes in legal representation without clearance from earlier representatives. Obtaining exception to this requirement is lengthy and cumbersome. This involves making an application to the Bar Council and obtaining a ruling in this regard. This is almost impossible to do for common litigants with no knowledge of the law. The argument may be that this aspect of the practice prevents litigants from not paying fees to lawyers.

Although, this may be true on paper, lawyers are known to use this ploy to keep clients tied up to themselves for years on end for benefit only to themselves with no caring at all to the actual cause of delivering justice. No issue can be more paramount in the judicial system than to deliver justice to litigants. Petty attempts of lawyers and their associations to protect their own selfish interests ahead of the interests of the litigant are repugnant in the least. This kind of anti-competitive practice breeds incompetence in the legal profession and thereby ultimately harms the litigants' and the public's interests. If it came to that, lawyers could always take delinquent litigants to task through the courts themselves. In actuality the complexity of this issue is compounded by the lawyers themselves by not presenting exact rates and prices for their services beforehand to inexperienced litigants. Market forces are disregarded by not allowing lawyers to advertise in any form thereby keeping litigants at the mercy of arrogant and selfish lawyers who are wary of competition from younger practitioners.

Presently a sense of hope mixed with expectation about getting justice in our society has taken root among the citizens with the coming of the security services backed Caretaker Government. The judiciary is finally going to be separated from the executive and this seems to be the most important step towards getting out of the judicial-political morass. Corruption seem to be taking a dive and a ray of hope has emerged that justice in the courts shall eventually prevail. However, when one examines the facts one cannot but despair. There are over 140,000 writ petitions alone pending for dispensation on the desks of the high court. According to a study, a vast number of other civil and criminal cases are in the courts for disposal.

The number of cases is more than the population of the country because some people are involved in multiple court cases. According to the same study, the average time taken for a court case to be resolved in Bangladesh is 9.5 years. Some court cases have been known to go on for 50 years. In many cases the initial need for instituting a court case gets extinguished by the time a verdict is given by the court. How can any legal system tackle such formidable statistics? May be, the strategists will be well advised to think again about what we are up against.

The success of efforts to make the judiciary independent and make rule of law viable in the country to a large extent depends on the good will and cooperation of the Bar Council and the Bar Associations coupled with the ACC and other organs of the state in initiating reforms in their rules and ranks to reflect the requirements of modern times and the needs of the litigants. Simply separating the judiciary from the executive may not uproot all the evil. The matter may have to be tackled in the spirit of a revolution.

Finally, we need to remember the famous quotation from the English philosopher Edmund Burke who said, 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing'. If we do not do anything to protect the right-doer and punish the wrong-doer then we cannot blame anyone if the knife is pointed in our own direction tomorrow.