Philosophy in the times of Corona

Raju Korti
The tiny never fall. It is the exclusive preserve of the high and mighty. I am alluding to the world's reigning obsession, the Corona virus. As is my won't, I will spare you the pulpy conspiracy theories and the wisecracks on what is believed to be mankind's latest scourge. I will also skip the pompous sermonizing that you are being served day in day out by self-styled experts on the subject.
The parasite has been weighing down on my mind for reasons more philosophical than scientific. Going by the data coming from medical journals, I gather that the parasites are spherical particles with a diameter ranging from the smallest 0.06 microns to 0.14 microns. For the uninitiated, it adds up to roughly the size of a minute dust particle. Put even more simply, it is so tiny that it is 500 times smaller than the diameter of the human hair. This infinitesimalness is what makes it a Biblical David to us Goliaths in the current battle. It has brought the mighty world with its mighty superpowers and mighty egos to its tottering feet. Presidents, Prime Ministers and dictators never sounded so helpless, crestfallen and humbled as they do today. Little wonder, in their dissipating egos, they are talking of a "world war" against these tiny beings. In the thick of this pandemic hysteria and trepidation there seems to be no clear clue on how to rein in this sprightly little Frankenstein that seems to have emerged from its fictional existence to ferment humans like rarely witnessed before.
Philosophy and metaphysics take over when rationale goes into a lock-down. Not equipped with the intellect to enlighten on a subject in which I am as confused and lost as everyone else -- especially those who have the resignation to admit so -- I can only philosophize. So here it goes when lesser mortals talk of "war":

Jayega jab yaha se
Kuch bhi na paas hoga
Do gaz kafan ka tukda
Tera libas hoga
Matalab ki hai yeh duniya
Kya apne kya paraye
Koi na saath aaya
Do din ki zindagi hai
Kar le jo dil mein aaye
Yeh thaat baat tera
Yeh aan baan teri
Reh jayegi yahi par
Yeh sari shaan teri
Itni si hai musafir
Bas dastaan teri
Kaandhe pe le jaayenge parivaar waale
Yamdoot le pakadkar daalenge apne ghere
Peetega chhati apni, manwa hoga udaas
Chun Chun ke lakdiyo mein rakh de tere badan ko
Mitti mein mile mitti, baaki khaak hogi
Sone si teri kaaya jalkar khaak hogi
Duniya ko tyaag tera, marghat me waas hoga

काहे अपने रंग, रूप, अमीरी, होशियारी और अधिकार का गुमान करते हो भैया! 

This happens only in India

Raju Korti
It has become a stereotype to qualify anything odd or weird happening in this country as "this happens only in India." The decision of the defenders of Nirbhaya rapists to knock the doors of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), after having exhausted every possible manoeuvre to escape the gallows, for once makes justice to that cliche. I have preferred the word defenders to accused because I am sure the four accused of rape and murder have not even heard of the ICJ. Someone there is hell bent on saving their skin even if it means lampoonery of the judicial system and good conscience.
Rape and/or murder are not new in this country and their proportions have reached a stage that no one gives a damn about them except for an occasional short-lived outrage. The Nirbhaya case has plumbed a new depth in criminal mindset not because of the crime per se but the manner in which it happened. A Delhi court which heard a clutch of petitions in the rigmarole made a regulation statement that the accused were entitled to use up all available legal remedies However, none of the courts -- from the lowest to the highest of the land -- expressed any displeasure on the way the case unfolded in the last few years.
It is not my case here to say something as skewed as the lawyers and the masked faces behind them had done their legal homework well. What was manifest was a helpless judiciary which went through the motions with an insouciant calm when at other times it has demonstrated an activism beyond its brief.
The defendants of the accused must know that neither the courts of the country are answerable to the ICJ nor does the case have any international ramifications. It is only States that are eligible to appear before the court in "contentious cases" where what is contentious has not been defined. The ICJ has no jurisdiction to deal with applications from individuals, non-governmental organizations, corporations or any other private entity. The question of providing them legal respite does not arise. The ICJ charter clearly says that a State may take up the case of one of its nationals and invoke against another State the wrongs which its national claims to have suffered at the hands of the latter in which case the dispute then becomes one between States. Since the Nirbhaya case is criminal, the prosecution is the State itself. The ICJ has no jurisdiction to try crimes against humanity. It is not a criminal court and does not have a prosecutor able to initiate proceedings. The accused's case does not even hang by a thread here since the court does not even serve as the last resort for them. Finally, we all know how much importance States give to the ICJ. It has just about the same relevance as the United Nations has which is almost nothing.
I would like to interpret that taking recourse to the ICJ in this case should be treated as insubordination of the Supreme Court and therefore contempt. The Indian courts with all their loopholes and judicial shortcomings are still good enough to deal with the case. By now the canvas and the timeline of the case make it a no brainer about the people who are going all out to save the perpetrators behind their sanctimonious standing and the dilatory tactics exploiting a weak system to the hilt.
It surprises me that no attempt is being made to find out who is in such an overdrive to save the guilty and the agenda behind it even if there are no prizes for guessing. The larger picture does not pertain to the perceived mockery of the judicial system or lack of national conscience alone. It also shams the entire State and its lackadaisical approach in stopping dick lawyers from getting such weird ideas that make it difficult to take cases to their logical conclusion in a system that even otherwise leaves much to be desired. When conscience fails, arguments make out a case for Hyderabad encounters.
For all the sermonizing it makes about probity, integrity and honour of the legal profession, the Bar Council of India has preferred to be a silent witness to this farce while We The People watch in impotent rage waiting for another Nirbhaya to happen and play the same cassette again over candle-lit marches. This happens only in India.