Dehradun at the Crossroads !

 

                 A Vision for a Slow, Livable Valley Town

The Dehradun I Remember:

A Town, Not a City: Dehradun was chosen by my late husband Pawan Jain as his hometown, he wanted to live with nature, greenery, orchards, flowing clean rivers and canals. 

“For me too, Dehradun became a place of belonging. Its soothing weather, peaceful views, unhurried rhythm, and the friendships I found here gave me warmth and time to discover both myself and this town.”Dehradun offered human scale living at a peaceful pace.

The Doon valley was once synonymous with litchis, basmati fields, and shaded sal forests.

 Rispana and Bindal carried clean water year-round, acting as lifelines and flood regulators.

Walking and cycling were natural modes of movement; traffic jams were unheard of.

This heritage of slow living is not nostalgia alone—it is an ecological and cultural asset that can be the city’s strength in the 21st century.

Thirty years ago, Dehradun was cherished as a quiet valley town—green, unhurried, and deeply human in scale. It was a place where time felt generous: the rivers flowed openly, roads were lined with litchi orchards, and conversations spilled leisurely on verandahs and chai stalls. Today, as Dehradun races ahead with urban expansion, flyovers, and mega infrastructure projects, it risks losing the very soul that made it special.

This article is not about resisting development. Rather, it is about asking: what kind of development? Can we imagine a future where Dehradun remains prosperous, but also retains its identity as a slow, livable town—where nature, culture, and community continue to thrive?

What We Risk Losing:

Unchecked development has already reshaped the valley:

Encroached Rivers: Covering and choking riverbeds for roads and housing projects not only kills ecosystems but worsens flooding.

Traffic and Air Pollution: Rapid motorisation has erased the calm streets once central to Doon’s charm.

Vanishing Green Cover: Orchards and open spaces are giving way to concrete sprawl, raising temperatures and cutting biodiversity.

Identity Crisis: Instead of being a green valley town, Dehradun risks becoming just another crowded, anonymous city.

If this trajectory continues, the “sleepy town” that once nurtured generations will survive only in memory.

A Slow, Livable Future:

Instead of chasing the model of a mega-metropolis, Dehradun can pioneer a different urban identity—one rooted in ecological balance, cultural heritage, and livability. By focusing on :

Rivers as Central Public Spaces Restore Rispana and Bindal by removing encroachments, treating sewage, and reimagining riverbanks as green promenades, cultural plazas, , cycling lanes and floodplains—not as roads.

Human-Centered Mobility Invest in surface roads, shaded footpaths, and small feeder connections instead of massive elevated highways. A network of “many small roads” distributes traffic better than one giant spine.

Green Spine and Orchard Belts Revive Doon’s orchard identity with protected belts of litchi and mango groves, urban forests, and community gardens. These are not luxuries—they are carbon sinks, biodiversity havens, and tourism magnets.

 Livelihoods Rooted in Nature and Knowledge:

Leverage Dehradun’s strengths in education, forestry, agriculture, and eco-tourism, rather than overdependence on real estate or quick urbanisation.

Governance with Local Voice:

A “slow city” requires participatory planning—citizens, not just consultants, should define what kind of growth they want. Public hearings must go beyond token exercises.

Why Slow is the Future:

Around the world, the “slow city” or Cittaslow movement has shown that quality of life, not speed, defines urban prosperity. Towns in Italy, Germany, and even parts of Japan have embraced this philosophy: smaller scale, ecological integrity, and cultural rootedness.

Dehradun, with its valley geography, rivers, and educational legacy, is uniquely positioned to join this global network—not by resisting modernity, but by redefining it on its own terms.

A Call to Citizens and Planners:

The real choice before Dehradun is not between growth and no growth. It is between chaotic growth that erases identity and thoughtful growth that sustains it.

Citizens can push for ecological restoration, smarter mobility, and cultural revival. Planners can integrate seismic safety, river protection, and heritage into transport and housing plans. Together, they can ensure that Dehradun continues to be more than just another Indian city: a place where life flows slowly, like its rivers once did, nourishing generations.

 If we succeed, Dehradun in 2050 can still feel like the Dehradun of 1990—green, calm, and human in scale—yet resilient, modern, and prosperous. A city where progress and peace walk hand in hand.

The Living Waters of Dehradun

               Geology, Hydrology, and Vanishing Swamps

The Valley of Rivers:

Dehradun, located in the fertile Doon Valley, has always been known as a city of rivers and wetlands. Surrounded by the Yamuna in the west and the Ganga in the east, the valley is a natural bowl where countless Himalayan streams descend from the Shivaliks and Mussoorie hills. Within the city itself, the Rispana and Bindal once flowed perennially, joined by the Suswa, Tons, Asan, and Song and formed a dense network of waterways. These rivers not only nurtured the land but also shaped Dehradun’s earliest settlements, orchards, and cultural landscapes, giving the valley its timeless identity as a “valley of rivers.”

Swamps and Lake-like Features:

Alongside its rivers, Dehradun once nurtured shimmering swamps and jheels (lakes) that dotted the valley floor.

Urban Lakes:

The Clement Town Jheel is the most remembered — a reflective waterbody that arose from swampy ground. Similar wetlands once existed at Kargi, Majra, Raipur, and the Shastradhara foothills, though many have since been lost to urban encroachment.

Geological Origin:

These wetlands were formed in natural depressions of the valley’s porous sediments, where groundwater surfaced or rainwater collected.They served as natural sponges, storing rainwater, recharging aquifers, supporting fisheries, grazing lands, and providing resting grounds for migratory birds.

Hydrological Function:

These wetlands connected directly with the Rispana, Bindal, and Suswa systems. During the monsoon, they absorbed excess flows and overflowed into rivers; in summer, they quietly recharged them through underground seepage.

 

The Secret Reservoir: Doon Gravel:

Beneath the valley lies its greatest hydrological treasure — the Doon Gravel. This vast deposit of sand, pebbles, and boulders, laid down over millennia by Himalayan rivers, acts like a hidden reservoir. Its porous structure allows rainwater and stream flow to percolate deep underground, creating aquifers that once fed the valley’s springs, swamps, and perennial rivers. In the monsoon, these gravel beds absorbed floodwaters; in the dry season, they released a slow, steady flow that sustained rivers like the Rispana and Bindal even in the hottest months. This natural system made Dehradun one of the most water-abundant valleys of the Himalaya.

 

The Drying Sponge: Falling Water Table:

Despite this rich geology, Dehradun’s water table is falling at alarming rates. Over-extraction through borewells has outpaced natural recharge. Wetlands and swamps have been drained or filled, cutting off storage. Encroachment on floodplains and the burial of seasonal streams (raus or gadheras) have severed vital recharge pathways. Urbanisation has sealed the earth with concrete, preventing rain from soaking into Doon Gravel. Deforestation in the surrounding hills and the impacts of climate change — erratic rainfall, heavier downpours, fewer rainy days — have accelerated runoff, eroding soil instead of nurturing groundwater. What was once a valley of flowing streams is now a city where rivers dry in summer, and the water table retreats deeper each year.

 

Fruits of Water and Climate:

Dehradun’s fertile soils, rich aquifers, and gentle valley climate created ideal conditions for unique crops that became part of its heritage.

 

Dehradun Basmati rice:

fragrant and delicate, thrived in the well-irrigated paddy fields nourished by swamps and river canals.Tea plantations, introduced in the 19th century, took root on the valley’s moist, well-drained slopes.Orchards of litchi, mango, jackfruit, and chacotra (pomelo) flourished because of the steady groundwater and the valley’s humid subtropical weather.
Together, these crops turned Dehradun into a landscape of abundance, where rivers and orchards existed sustaining both people and biodiversity.

 

Forests and the Living Waters of Dehradun:

The forests that encircle the Doon Valley are as vital as its rivers and swamps.

 

The Green Catchments:

The Mussoorie Hills and Shivaliks act as the valley’s first sponge, capturing rainfall and mist, slowing its descent, and guiding it into the porous Doon Gravel. The Rajaji and Asarori ranges to the south protect the valley’s edge, feeding streams like the Suswa and Song that recharge wetlands in the lower Doon.

Hydrological Services:

Forest canopies intercept rainfall, reducing sudden runoff. Their soils, rich in humus, absorb water deeply, nourishing aquifers. Springs and seasonal gadheras rise from these slopes, their flows directly linked to tree cover. Forests also buffer the valley’s microclimate, cooling air and reducing evaporation from rivers and swamps.

 

Heritage and Biodiversity:

The sal forests of Mothrowala and Lachhiwala, the pine and oak belts above Mussoorie, and the riparian forests along the Suswa all sheltered birdlife, deer, and elephants. They ensured that rivers and swamps were not just water, but thriving ecosystems.

 

Heritage Reflection:

“Dehradun’s waters do not flow alone. They are escorted by forests — oak and pine cradling the springs of Mussoorie, sal guarding the swamps of the valley floor, and riparian thickets binding the Suswa and Song. These forests are the valley’s first reservoirs: catching rain, feeding aquifers, and holding the balance between flood and drought.

Falling water tables are a result of reduced absorption and increased evaporation due to declining tree cover.But it can be mitigated by planting native species, preventing tree felling, and restricting excessive concreting in the valley. Without these green guardians, the ‘valley of living waters’ risks turning into a valley of vanishing streams.

Towards Conservation: Restoring the Balance:

The story of Dehradun’s living waters is not only one of loss but also of possibility.The valley’s geology and forests still hold the key to revival — if cared for wisely.

 

Wetland Restoration:

Protecting and reviving swamps like Clement Town Jheel can rebuild natural sponges that recharge aquifers.Similarly restoring the Rispana and Bindal to perennial health by de-silting, cleaning, and reviving their catchments can bring water back to the city’s heart.Also by protecting and planting trees in the Mussoorie, Shivalik, and Rajaji forests we can ensures the valley’s water sources.

Urban Planning and community involvment :

Permeable pavements, rainwater harvesting, and protection of floodplains must replace the unchecked sealing of soil.From school students to resident welfare associations, citizens can revive traditional wells, naulas, and gadheras, reconnecting the city with its heritage of living waters.

 

Most Importantly:

Dehradun was never meant to be a city of scarcity. Its geology, forests, and wetlands made it a natural reservoir — a valley of living waters. If restored, these rivers, swamps, orchards, and forests can once again sustain not just the city, but the memory of a landscape where water flowed in abundance, mirrored the sky, and nourished both people and crops.

Rivers of Dehradun:-Rispana & Bindal as Living Heritage

Dehradun was once known as a “City of Streams”. To erase these rivers is to erase part of our identity.

The proposed Rispana–Bindal Elevated Corridor threatens to do exactly that.

Construction will mean years of dust and disruption, but worse, it will permanently seal floodplains and groundwater recharge zones. At best, a small fraction of commuters may benefit, while the ecological, financial and cultural loss will affect all citizens.

The Doon Valley, cradled between the Shivaliks and the Himalaya, has always been defined by its rivers. Among them, the Rispana and Bindal flow through the very heart of Dehradun, carrying not just water but also memory, culture, and life. Once celebrated as lifelines, today they are at risk of being buried under concrete in the name of development. As a resident and an architect living here, I believe it is time we pause and reflect: what will Dehradun be without its rivers?

More than Just Water:

These rivers are more than waterways—they are part of Dehradun’s identity!

The Rispana and Bindal originate in the foothills and aquifers of the Shivaliks, eventually merging with the Song River, a tributary of the Ganga. Their sandy, stony beds act like sponges, recharging the groundwater that sustains wells and homes across the valley. Even when the surface appears dry, the riverbed carries hidden reserves that keep ecosystems alive. Their floodplains have, for centuries, protected the city from the worst of the monsoon.

Our Shared Heritage:

These rivers are not just natural features—they are part of our culture and urban identity. Older residents recall bathing, farming, and celebrating festivals on their banks. Colonial-era maps show canals linked to them, carrying fresh water across neighbourhoods. Rispana and Bindal are living systems not drains.Dehradun was once described as a “city of streams,” where orchards, schools, and settlements thrived alongside clean waters. 

Why We Must Be Concerned:.  

This road project will flood parts of Dehradun faster than ever before—because it's choking two rivers.You think traffic will improve? It won’t. But pollution and heat will definitely get worse. But the bigger danger lies beneath! The proposed Rispana–Bindal Elevated Corridor threatens to seal floodplains and aquifer recharge zones.

Globally, cities have chosen revival over destruction. Seoul restored the Cheonggyecheon stream, London revived the Thames’s urban edges, and Ahmedabad revitalized the Sabarmati riverfront. Each became healthier and more vibrant because of it. Why should Dehradun choose the opposite path?

A Choice for Dehradun:

We can either treat Rispana and Bindal as drains to be built over, or as Natural and Cultural Heritage Corridors—spaces to be protected, restored, and celebrated. By treating sewage before discharge, reviving riverbanks with green public spaces, and protecting floodplains, we can transform them into living assets once more.

A Call to Residents:

A city that buries its rivers buries its own soul. As residents of Dehradun, we must come forward, speak up, and remind our planners and leaders that mobility projects cannot come at the cost of our living heritage. The rivers have sustained us for centuries. It is now our responsibility to sustain them.

PARAMJIGYASU

THE WONDERFUL REAR ENGINED DIESEL AUTO

 I am probably not wrong in assuming that the design of The Rear Engine Diesel Auto is developed in India.  It is no Lamborghini. It stands in the front row to win the prize for being the most unwieldy, uncomfortable, unsightly, dangerous and noisy passenger vehicle in the world.  I f I introduced this beast to you all as a textile mill with three wheels, you would easily believe me.

If you have week knees and you have just got down at the railway station with 15 kilos of luggage, it is simpler for you to walk a few kilometres to home rather than try to get in one of these monstrosities.  You could politely ask the driver to get you a six inch high step to climb onto before you step on the floor of the auto but the chances of getting it are bleak.  They don’t  have a six inch step or any other step.

When you sit on the passenger seat and it has not started, you get a good commanding view of the surroundings. Then the driver disappears towards the rear of the auto and starts it with a rope.  The drivers need fairly good back muscles to start the auto because they bend and tie a piece of rope on a shiny wheel and then pull with all their might as if trying to pull out a fat carrot from the soil by grabbing its top.  This `rope trick’  wakes up the giant from its sleep and it goes  `THUK’ one time and then another time after a second  and then   many  quick THUK THUK s in a row, until the driver comes out of his hiding from behind the auto and takes the controls. He puts his hand on the accelerator and hell breaks loose, THAKKAAD, Thukk, chick thakkad THUK DUK Thakkadd, Thuk chick chchick, tuk  tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk THAKKAD, THUK THUK  Dhik DHIK Dhik Thakkadd .

The only thing that separates your own batootie from this desperate sounding machine is a thin piece of foam on a thin piece of ply wood or metal. It is inadequate to say the least.  The vibration and sound permeates to all parts of your being, you cant hear any thing else, you are shaking uncontrollably, you smell something burning under you and wonder if it is the seat of your pants, the seat also gets heated . You also cannot see any thing clearly because you including eyes are shaking, every thing is a blur.

Finally it starts to move, Please read the Thakkad thuk chick, thakkad thuck chchick three times faster and three times louder to get the effect right,  The feeling is the direct opposite of `simply heaven’  as described in a suiting’s advert.   Also the suspension of the bloody gizmo comes into action.  It seems they replaced the shock absorbers with two pieces of Bamboo of equal length and diameter.  The combined effect of the shock giving capacity of the auto and the unexpected-ness  and size of  Dehradun potholes can shift somebody,s  vertebrae inches away from their original position. To aid this readjustment of the spine comes the back rest which is a piece of wood, all of ten inches wide
.  

The seat is inspired by the old Hyderabad Pedal rickshaw. The seat of this auto was designed for midgets, if you are medium height and place your bum on the seat and your feet in the space in front , then your thighs will be up in the air because the seat is 12 inches higher  than the place where you put your feet, you can  semi squat or you can sit in a semi crossed leg position so that the sides of your shoes are resting below and there is no grip, you hold on to an assortment of pipes on which the canvas on top is strung to prevent yourself from falling off.

I got into one on a cold winter morning coming back from the railway station so I also experienced its wonderful device for preventing the draught from hitting the body .  There were two large rolled up curtains which came down on both open sides of the auto. These things were tied up somewhere near the floor with a long loose string. The draught was channelized onto my face rather than getting stopped. The whole curtain also kept  flying off totally and exposing me completely, it made a large sound,   a PHACHACK  SWISH  PHACHACK SWISH  when it came back after flying for a minute,  I was  powerless to stop it because I was hanging on for my spinal chord and  my life with my frozen hands, once or twice this huge dusty curtain hit me hard physically on my leg.  I wasn’t even able to prevent my luggage from shifting from left to right and polishing the dirty metal floor clean because i had no spare hands or legs.

It didn’t have to brake much because there wasn’t much traffic in the early morning but it all had to end and it had to stop when it reached my house, a loud screech emanated from under the auto but nothing else happened.   I thought he was going to overshoot my house, then the  screech grew louder and louder,  enough to wake the neighbours and then it stopped suddenly. So suddenly that I and my baggage got lifted from our awkward positions  and got plastered on the back of the auto driver and the cold metal pipes supporting his  seat.

Fortunately I got away with a mild backache, a head cold and a minor dacoity. No limbs were lost and vertebrae have more or less held, but  that is only because I eat my vitamins on time.  

I am going to do two things. One  I am going to strongly recommend that you first look at the auto before you agree to  get into one, reject the one described above.  India  still produces low floor, quiet  and comfortable autos. Secondly i am going to file a public interest litigation against those who allowed these horrors to come onto the road.  Join the petition.

Param Jigyasu

 

You can write to me at paramjigyasu7@gmail.com 

 

IF NOT THIS, WHAT IS FESTIVITY ?

 He weather is wonderful, a gentle breeze is blowing, somebody is playing a tune on the Surbahar, (a string instrument, a little bit like Sitar) some more people are accompanying on pakhavaj,  I am in the company of friends whose heads are nodding rhythmically to the tunes, occassionaly they open their eyes and raise their arms in appreciation of the mastery of the musicians. One teenaged girl is arranging some of the 200 odd `diyas ‘ lit in front of the stage . Interspersed with potted plants, the diya’s are kept on a `jaali’ made with red bricks.  A hundred flames flicker with the breeze and create a delight for photographers. The atmosphere is beautiful, even idyllic.  The setting is `other worldly’. 

I am not dreaming, All this is not happening on a posh house boat in the backwaters of Munnar and I haven’t paid a fortune to be here. In fact I have paid nothing, zero rupees and zero paisas to partake these pleasures.

I am in Viraasat, the 15 day annual cultural bonanza in Dehradun and have been lucky to get a seat in the third row from the stage. The performing group is Sh. Gundecha, the leading pakhawaj player of India.  The girl who is arranging the Diyas is a volunteer like dozens of others who are helping to organize this Jamboree of an event. It brings together Painters, singers, musicians, dancers, craftsmen, poets and many other performers of different hues and nationalities. No wonder the venue is bursting at the seams. It has become an annual habit for the ordinary citizens of Dehradun and a complete addiction for the `Culture Vultures’ of Dehradun. It is no surprise that performer after performer congratulates the people for being Quiet and patient.  Congratulations Dehradun, you have won a place in the hearts of performers who really appreciate an appreciative audience.

I have often written that cities have a character much like people. This annual event makes Dehradun  a much culturally aware  and learned city.  It graduates to be counted in the list of  capital cities  as it grows taller every year with the completion of the event.  It has given us all  a chance to listen to a Galaxy of Performers at Virasat including many Padma honour holders and also Bharat Ratna’s.

Viraasat is organized by some crazy individuals who I am told beg and borrow money to organize this festival, they then beg the artists to perform here at reasonable prices. Then they beg the thousands of people who come to listen to the top performers of the country (and from abroad). They beg the people to not litter the venue, keep their mobile phones switched off and to remain seated during performances. (Lately they also have to beg some individuals to not disrupt the proceedings who are saying that local artists are not included).

Organizers please continue to be crazy, please continue to beg and borrow, we the audience promise that we shall behave, even pay a small entrance fee,  Sponsors please keep your Purse strings loose for making these events possible. Weather gods , please be kind as you have been this time. Protestors, join the fun and be a part of this movement, or become national level performers to be included. 

The primary purpose for writing this piece is to thank the organizers who no doubt think at some point that organizing Viraasat is a thankless job.  The media has stopped writing about the effort it takes to organize it because its regularity gives the impression that it all happens in `auto’ mode. 

I can speak for myself and maybe for some others too, that year after year, we enjoy the music,  the lights, the candles, the mela (fair) like atmosphere, the food, the handicrafts and the general `everybody wins’ sort of mood. Thank you very much organizers, you just made my year.

This for me is Diwali. If not this, what is festivity?

 

 

Param Jigyasu

published in GP on the 31st oct 2013

 

PLEASE LEAVE MY SUNDAY ALONE

 There seems to be something wrong with us as a society. We are working seven days a week. We will go crazy very soon, we might even get overheated  and explode. As it is we have a six days a week  I fear that  14.28 : 85.72 Ratio of holiday to working days  in a six day week  is much worse than 28.57: 71.43 ratio of a five days a week.  The ratio  is 1:6 compared with  2:5 of a five day a week.

My biggest complaint is against Schools. They have something happening every Sunday. Extra classes, registeration,  sports day practice, marathon race, marching practice, student body meetings, self improvement workshops, play practice  and what have you.

Why ? Is six days not enough, is one extra hour every day not enough. When will the children learn to wash their own sports shoes and help in the house, when will they get an oil massage and when will they learn to bind their own books, paint a fence, mend the bicycle, polish the car,  go for helping out their grandmother, buy vegetables,  when will they go to Church,  Arya Samaj and the Gurudwara who have their programmes on Sundays. Will the children ever be able to do `Kar seva’. Will they be able to do community service ever in their life if they have spent a majority of their Sundays in their formative years doing this that and the rest in Schools.

I have been planning a picnic with  some four families for the last 8 to 10 weeks on a Sunday. Children in these families are of various ages and go to different schools. Its  just not being possible. All the children and their parents have some or the other school duty.

Mothers, specially working mothers have so much work to do on a Sunday, wash some extra clothes, do some essential shopping, call on their own mothers, , get the sofa fabric changed, mend  some clothes, hang a picture, get their hair dyed, get some other stuff done at the parlour, tend to the garden, wash the window panes, make pickle, read a book, some magazines, do some special cooking, rearrange their cupboard, do some winter/summer putting away of clothes.  It is for this reason that mothers hate this business of having to get children ready and drop/pick children from School on a Sunday. Dear School `wallahs', please return my children to me, i have lent them to you for six days.

My second complaint is against people who are friends but who want to sell something to you. Dear friends , please don’t sell anything to me on a Sunday, unless i ask you for it.  

My third complaint and the most serious one is against those people who tend to keep those meetings/ pieces of work for a Sunday which require the maximum amount of uninterrupted time. If such a person is your boss, or a client if you are a working professional, then you are going to hate him with your guts. Dear Boss please  reform, finish your work latest by Saturday evening and leave your subordinates alone who are single and who have wash their clothes and meet their girlfriends,  you also go out  to fly a kite with your children, the fear is they will never learn from anyone other than their father.

There is a fourth group of people who are even more irritating. They ask what you are doing on a Sunday and when you tell them that you are thinking of re-potting some of the rose bushes and redoing the vegetable patch, they think that you are being ridiculous and you would be better off discussing balance sheets which are ` already overdue’.  They will tell you that picnics are for kids and watching movies is for bored housewifes and washing the car is a waste of time and going out cycling is giving too much trouble to your body. A big BOO to this kind.  Discussing and doing leftover work is a better use of time .

I hope the readers will agree that letting your hair down and roaming around the whole day in pyjamas and not doing too much sensible things on a Sunday is equally important.

Why don’t we work properly and really hard in the six available days?. We shall  discuss that another day but for the time being please have some fun on a Sunday and don’t ruin it for someone else too.

 

Param Jigyasu

 

HOW WILL THEY CELEBRATE GANDHI JAYANTI

 I am thinking about our poor local Netas (leaders). They won’t have anything to say in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s  on this 2nd of October after  garlanding his statue.  

 I say this because it is my humble expectation that people  would go to the Samadhi of Bapu, the father of our nation  on that day, put their hand on their heart and say, this is what I have done for the people of this country in the past year, I have served the `Daridranarayan’ in these ways. This is how I have used my position of power to benefit some others who are in need.  I educated some children, pulled so many people out of poverty and so on.

That is not going to happen because our men and women in the government would have  nothing to say. They will spend only two minutes in front of the Samadhi, because the heart to heart chat is going to be of a small duration.

Neta is not going to tell Gandhiji about the shooting incident by one of their own MLA’s  perhaps in a drunken state upon a lot of others , Even the man who has been shot has been made to keep quite. FIR lodged under pressure of the opposition in the assembly. If that man was a thin chap wearing a beard, the security  chaps would have shot him dead  there and then. The Macho man is himself not going to be seen within a mile of the Samadhi.

Netaji is not going to have a confession about dragging his feet in the matter of rescue and rehabilitation of the poor in the hills after the Recent Floods.  Netaji will not speak about the arrogance of his officers in dealing with the problems stated by the ruling partys and the opposition’s MLA’s and the junior officers .

Babu’s  will not tell Gandhiji about the mining where thousands of trucks move with political patronage.  The various ministers will not talk of moneys collected in transfers, promotions and recruitment.  Gandhiji would perhaps not  understand the  need to bribe someone to get a certain ‘plum’ posting because he may not  understand that some postings had more potential of ` upar ki kamai’ than the others. I am sure that our netas will not spend any time explaining this.

The Neta’s will not tell Gandhiji about the cat fight that occurred in Mussoorie on 15th of august about who gets to pull the rope to unfurl the national flag on the city square, no ,no, they would feel so small in talking about this. Its another matter that they may have actually become very small when they did the wonderful arm-wrestling show.

Netas may have some things to tell about the human suffering  in the past three months in the hills, they may tell Gandhiji that petrol now costs Rs 80, the same as onions, the US dollar which used to cost Rs 1 in his time costs Rs 65 and the British pound is Rs 100. If a Britisher could buy one metre of  cloth then , with the same money he can buy 100 metres. Gandhiji is going to be very sad to hear all this. The Neta actually will not waste time in telling all this. The neta will probably just keep quiet.

I suspect that  netas will wear their imported watches, their terry-cot  Safari Suits, take a seat in a convoy of cars to reach home, have  a drink of scotch whiskey  and go to bed.

 

Param Jigyasu

 

Punishment for rape

 A lot of people are saying a lot of things about Rape and the correct punishment for it.  It is interesting how everybody is making laws for Rape with the exception  of the law –making  body, The Indian Parliament

Every third person in the  government is a lawyer these days instead of a common sensical  common man . The opposition has also got a lot of lawyers as a counter balance.  The debates on TV look like court room battles.  One would not give the debates  such an honourable mention if Leaders of opposition, Cabinet ministers and party spokespersons didn’t appear on them with unfailing regularity. 

Mukul Rohatgi  (Ex Additional Solicitar General) once said on one of these debates  “Whenever a crime happens there are voices which say- Hang them by the nearest lamp post, but that is not how laws are made”.   Death for rape is more easily said than done.  

One governmental  lawyer-spokesperson said that Rape has to be categorized into the following categories.  Rape in marriage, rape outside of marriage, rape of a minor, rape of an invalid/demented person, rape with violence, rape with brutality, rape with attempt to murder and Rape with Murder. This sounds sick but the punishment for the last two types of crimes is already death if it is a rarest of the rare cases. 

What is left then is the case of Rape. What is Rape ? There is a large chapter of Legalese on the definition of rape. The reason why I lift a pen to put on paper is to say that all rape is Violence, Rape is not a crime of passion, Forced Sex may be a small part of the crime but it is mostly violence. It is a different violence, it is always brutal because the perpetrator uses his brute force to inflict injury both physical and mental in order to permanently scar and scare the victim. So what should be a good punishment? 

The important thing here is what is happening inside his mind.  He thinks that someone somewhere will support him. HE THINKS THAT IT IS A SMALL INFRINGEMENT ON SOMEBODY’S PERSONAL SPACE WHICH WILL BE FORGOTTEN JUST LIKE MANY OF HIS EARLIER INDISCRETIONS.   In other words a person only takes the step to do a full fledged rape only when he has made small moves in the past and they have been ignored/forgotten  or  encouraged by his friends and peer group. Such a person takes the laxity of the justice delivery system for granted. Such a person thinks  he is never going to be caught and punished. Maybe he thinks that he will get a small punishment of which he is not scared anyway.  It is done by a person who is summarily  `Uddand’  (roughly translated means insolent). So what should be the correct punishment?

Some people have raised questions about the jail system itself being so faulty that a prisoner has too many rights and eventually he may manage to scare the victim or get out one day and get back at the victim and family. Therefore a jail term is no good.  I will write a separate piece on that later but first the conclusion of the above essay. 

A lot of studies have indicated that rape is an act of violence and all the punishment should be directed towards curbing of the violent tendencies.  If  prisons could reform then lets send them there.  Perhaps we need to relax this business of human rights of prisoners a little bit for rapists. The punishment has to be visible yet not cruel like in the Roman times.

I want you people out there to think if we could think of new methods outside of the existing system to reform them with the purpose of integrating them back in the society. Here are a few suggestions. They are all better than killing the rapist (death penalty)  or making him a Government guest with proper human rights  for 20 years.   We have to make them work and  not deprive them  of the company of other humans. 

1.       Make them wear a  collar/ belt / leg strap  on which `I am a rapist’ is written. Let them out and let them work in the middle of everyone. 

2.       Make that collar emit a sound every ten minutes which says `mujhe afsos hai, main balatkari tha’  ( I am sorry I was a rapist) 

3.       Rather than making their other organs useless , make their  hands useless. How about letting them do menial jobs  but with their hands tied with a handcuff.  Hand cuff should read `I am a rapist’.

4.       Give them a job in a public place like a gate-keepers/ shoe keepers  job or as a cashier in a super market where a lot of people will see them. Make them wear  a metal plate which says `I am a rapist’. Keep them  symbolically chained to the gate or the desk. Make them give part of their wages to some fund which rehabilitates victims. 

5.       Put them in for hard work on a shipping vessel/light house/ with no leave for 10 years.

 

Please send me your thoughts on paramjigyasu7@gmail.com  . The debate is not yet finished

Param Jigyasu