Learning from a neighbour(Paki view of India)

India has implemented a law on eve-teasing under which a person is immediately arrested if a woman complains that he has — in any manner — harassed her. The police are extremely vigilant and effective in implementing the law. The result is that women walk around the streets and ride in commercial vehicles freely and safely

I visited New Delhi, India, in 1992 and then again this year in connection with my partner’s investiture ceremony as SAARC Law president. The visit came as a breath of fresh air. In 1992 the atmosphere was so polluted whenever I stepped out of the hotel, I had difficulty breathing. There was a distinct smell of diesel oil and petrol. I acquired a nasty cough. One had to wash one’s face every hour and every time the sink would be filled with dark soot. This time around, when I stepped outside the same hotel, a cool breeze was gently blowing, I could hear the leaves rustle and actually see the lush greenery of the plantation and vegetation. The air smelt fresh.

At dinner I was told that the reason for this miraculous turnaround in the environment of the city was the ‘judicial activism’ of the Supreme Court of India in a series of cases now known as “MC Mehta Group of Cases”. The Supreme Court decided that the directives it gave for safeguarding the health of the people related to a constitutional right that overrode the provisions of all statutes. It ordered accordingly that all commercial vehicles plying in Delhi should be converted to the CNG models by a specified deadline. The Supreme Court then went on to monitor that its orders were being obeyed. With the people of Delhi supporting the move, all commercial vehicles, including buses, vans, rickshaws, taxis and trucks, were converted to CNG models. The result was obvious to me. By the time I returned to Pakistan I had heard again and again the name of MC Mehta and the Supreme Court judges involved in the matter mentioned with respect and gratitude bordering on reverence. Some even called them “the Gandhis of 2000”.

Back in Lahore, I saw the old buses and vans plying on the roads, spewing “black death” from their exhausts. As we stopped for a traffic light, I saw a motorcycle carrying a mother and an infant standing still right next to such a bus. The mother was desperately trying to protect the child from the smoke by placing her dupatta on the child’s face. I heard the noise of a rickshaw as it blew more “black death” into the air while getting ready — in anticipation of the light turning green — to accelerate. I barely escaped collision with a van that sped past me, leaving me gasping for breath. Then I thought to myself: “Where is the MC Mehta of Pakistan? Where is our Supreme Court? Where is our government? What are our people doing? Are we, by doing nothing, not a part of the problem?”

We can learn a lot from India, both about do’s and don’ts. I wish here to share some more thoughts on the positive side and — being a lawyer — on certain legal and social aspects.

The government has made a law on eve-teasing under which a person is immediately arrested if a woman complains that he has harassed her in any manner. The police are extremely vigilant and effective in implementing the law. The result is that women walk around the streets and ride in commercial vehicles freely and safely.

The government of India has passed strict laws for the safety of its people on the roads. Helmets are to be worn by all motorcyclists. The employers must provide full protective gear, including helmets, to all workers involved in construction work.

The planners have ensured that in spite of construction going on at a rapid pace, Delhi is full of green belts, forests and trees.

Well-protected and adequately-equipped shopping plazas have sprung up all over Delhi. There are currently five malls catering to needs of all income brackets. Another 35 are under construction. Areas have been designated for artisans and craftsmen to directly sell their goods without having to go through middlemen.

There is no visible military presence in the government machinery. There is also a visible trickle down of wealth from the rich to the poor. There is a big middle class. Commercial ventures contain an element of public welfare. I saw, for example, an outlet saying Re 1 was donated for every glass of orange sold there for the welfare of underprivileged children.

The literacy and education situation must have improved a lot. I saw an abundance of bookshops. The number of Indian authors whose books are displayed is increasing. Even the very busy bookshops had nice, quite areas where people of all ages could sit down and read.

The people exhibited a positive attitude. The massive on-going construction work caused traffic congestion and delays. The people, however, seemed to have accepted the traffic jams which started two years ago and would continue for the next seven years. The citizens pointed out, however, that by the year 2010 the city would greatly benefit from these projects. Their approach was definitely long-term.

I also found that India is a country with many problems some of which we in Pakistan do not face. But let us pick a few of the ideas that are working successfully in India and implement them in Pakistan. For my part, I am looking for Pakistan’s MC Mehta to lend me his signatures. I shall take the petition to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to convert all commercial vehicles in Pakistan to CNG.

The people exhibited a positive attitude.

And the People are Hindu, not Muslim. The writer need look no further than that.

CNG refers to compressed natural gas.It's a far more cleaner fuel than petrol/diesel.The state govt of Delhi has ordered that all public vehicles in the state have to switch to CNG,a decision which was not exactly popular at first.

MC may either be a person's initials or it could refer to Municipal Counsellor.

Hmm,India has over 138 million Muslims itself.& A quiet a few living in Delhi itself.But Muslims living a democracy are known to be more civil than their counterparts living in feudal dictatorships.

Hindus, whose growth rate has reportedly declined in the past decade, constituted 80.5 percent or 828 million while Muslims made up 13.4 percent or 138 million, according to the Indian census.

Might be something about being a a very small minority too.

There are plenty of stories in the press about muslims going on the rampage in india and hacking people to death. Its not as civil as you may think.

Yep,but compared to their folks in Saudi Arabia & Pakistan,the Muslims in India are far more bearable.A good chunk of scum who operate in Jammu & Kashmir are Pakistanis or backed by them.

Hmm,India has over 138 million Muslims itself.& A quiet a few living in Delhi itself.But Muslims living a democracy are known to be more civil than their counterparts living in feudal dictatorships.

"Feudal dictatorship" is the operative expression here. I don't know much but I read that the main reason Pakistan is a failed state is that there was never any program of land reform after independence like that which India under Nehru (one of the few things he got right, apparently). So most Paki peasants are tenant serfs with no economic or political enfranchisement and the national wealth is tied up with a handful of oligarchs (just like the Philippines).

Actually,Nehru's legacy has been skewed up terribly over the past few years.Most people don't know that he openly sided with the US after the 1962 Sino-Indian war-an alliance that was only broken by late 60,due the US preferring an Islamic dictatorship to a fragile secular democracy.The same goes for his economic policies.The mixed economy model he adopted south to set up a platform for more egalitarian competion(in 1947,80+% of Indians were under the poverty line).The Sad thing is that his daughter,Indira Gandhi tightened economic controls rather than loosen it,ensuring India fell behind the PRC.It was Nehru afterall,who set the foundation of the IITs & IIMs.

The same mistake is made about Nuclear Weapons-most people consider Nehru as utopian peacenik,but it was he who directly ordered research into nuclear weapons after he learned of China's nuclear ambitions.The bomb was tested by his daughter,weaponised by his grandson & openly tested & declared by the previous AB Vajpayee govt.Though I must say his policy towards China & ignoring calls for a common civil code(for all of India's religions) was pathetic.

Moreover,the land reform policy was more State oriented rather than Centrally ordered.You cannot give Nehru a lot of credit for that as the details were implemented by state governments.& State govts of all political colours including regionalists & communists did undertake commendable work on land reforms.

That article makes some good points, and it is true that Delhi has improved *vastly* in the last five years, but many of those improvements are restricted to Delhi - in general, Delhi municipal administration is far better than any Indian city. Also, the Supreme Court's judicial activism is something I find pretty chilling - this time it was in a good cause...the next time they usurp executive authority I'm not sure what will happen.

And land reforms have brought in their own set of problems. I agree that they were vital, socially, culturally and politically in empowering landless serfs, but now we are faced with agricultural land that is highly fragmented and composed of small landholdings and essentially unable to farm efficiently or generate economies of scale. Still, without it we would be Pakistan, which is not a pretty thought.

Actually,most people in India support Judicial activism.They have lost total faith in the other 2 branches,which are in essence one(due to parliamentary model).

The SC & state high courts have intervened when it was widely accepted that the Executive was not doing it's part.

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