7CPC : MESSAGE FROM MAJ A K DHANAPALANA - HERO OF RANK PAY CASE
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dhanapalan Ak dhanapalanakmajor@gmail.com Date: Mon, Mar 7, 2016 at 11:24 AM
It is good to see from the RTI that the govt has clearly indicated that the NO COMPARISONcan be made between the civilian employees and the Armed Forces Personnel not even with that of Para Mily Forces. TRUE .
On this basis we should make a strong case for an independent package for the Armed Forces taking into account :-
Nature of duties the Armed Forces have to perform,
Call on for 24 Hrs service even in peace time as against 8 hrs service with breaks (The pay should be double)
Services are always away from home town whereas the civ employees get their posting to home town or the place originally employed (compensation should be given for missing a homely life)
Special Pay for the hard areas
Risk allowances
Special operational allowances
Special package and pension for those retiring before the age of 60 yrs, which include guarnteed employment in suitable post).
Special package for the disability occur during service or may occur as a result hard service (the package should include employment of self /spouse)
Armed Forces should be given special status through a gazette notification and No comparison of status should be made at any time at any stage between the Civ/Mily.
The above are only few points came to my mind which can be considered while making a proposal. We can take the services of a consultancy.
HARYANARCHY : HARYANA'S SOCIAL FABRIC LIES IN TATTERS
BY
Raman Mohan
The social fault lines are a cause of concern for the common people. Members of the Jat community clashing with others during the agitation for reservation. PTI
THE violence in Haryana that marked the recent agitation by the Jats seeking reservation in government jobs has shredded the social fabric of Haryana. The brotherhood between the so-called 36 communities, that has been the hallmark of the social milieu in the state for centuries, has been shattered creating distrust among members of different communities. While officially peace has returned and law and order has been restored, life in the teeming cities, towns and villages is not the same as before. The fear factor is all too evident. If the cities tend to wind up the day early in the evening, the villages look sleepy once the sun sets. Post-riots, the nights have become lengthier by at least a couple of hours as people become more security conscious, preferring the safety of the four walls of the home. The bonhomie in village chaupals and bars in the cities is missing. The loud banter, the trade mark of Haryana, have given way to hush-hush manner of talk. The jokes and loud guffaws that cut across caste and community lines in the village gatherings have paved the way for a more serious manner of talk that most find boring. Things are bound to improve in the coming months, but, nobody expects everything will be the same again.
Members of the Arya Samaj take out a peace rally in violence-hit Rohtak. PTI
Despite the fact that the caste system has a strong grip on rural Haryana, centuries of dwelling together had created a system that ensured peace was not disturbed. Barring occasional incidents, members of all communities lived peacefully. Even religion did not deter people from socialising. The elders from all communities commanded a certain respect and in times such as these their word carried weight. Though elections are hotly contested in Haryana, especially panchayat polls, peace is taken for granted. Such was the feeling of brotherhood called bhaichara colloquially that in times of need the village communities always acted as one unit. Just a month before the violent Jat stir, panchayat polls were conducted peacefully. This goes to prove that caste and community factors were never a potent cause of violence anywhere in the state till then. Or else there was no question of peaceful polls. Then, what is it that changed the scene merely weeks later? The answer probably lies in the recent changes in prescribed educational qualifications for the panches and sarpanches. Those elected this time round were merely the luckier ones from amongst the qualified candidates. They won but they did not command respect from the village youth who took to looting and burning anything they saw as the protests turned violent. In the past, panches and sarpanches may not have been educated enough, but they certainly had enough weight in their word to stop the young from taking to violence. So, a proper mature leadership that could have prevented mayhem, was absent in the villages. We need to explore this further to ensure that in our quest for educated representatives we do not have an ineffective leadership on our hands. Political parties need to rework their strategies and have a relook at their moral and ethical values. It is unfortunate that no political party of any hue has come out with its hands clean from this episode. The rebukes to the politicians of every party by the people of the violence-hit areas are a severe condemnation of their role in the agitation and the resulting violence. There is no denying the fact that all the opposition parties saw in this stir an opportunity to hit at the weak government led by Manohar Lal Khattar. Even in the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party, several leaders were initially as much interested in rocking the Khattar boat as the opposition leaders. Leaders of all political parties played a role in propping up self-styled leaders of the various factions of the Jat community that were itching for a stir. None of these so-called leaders, including Hawa Singh Sangwan and Yahpal Malik, has any following in the Jat community. Minus the issue of reservation, they are absolutely irrelevant. But, Jat politicians extended them all help to launch the agitation. Because of this covert support, the agitators were leaderless. Both Sangwan and Malik had receded to safer havens once the agitation got underway. They had no control over the protesters who were left fuming with their communal passions roused. The headless groups became violent in no time. It is difficult to believe that the senior leaders of political parties are naïve enough not to have anticipated violence under these circumstances. Their plea that they never thought the violence will take a communal turn is equally incredulous. In short, all political parties and their leaders must share the blame for the violence that has left the society in tatters. What bothers the common man in Haryana today is not how reservation for Jats will impact them, but, how to prevent the entire state from becoming another flashpoint like Muzzafarnagar. Even seasoned politicians agree that the divide between various communities is so dangerous that violence could recur at the slightest pretext. The distrust among communities in the rural areas could distrub the equilibrium. In the cities, a large number of violence-hit families, especially in Rohtak and Jhajjar, are bound to migrate to nearby Delhi in the months to come. This will create a panic among those who choose to stay. These are areas of concern which the government, political parties and social organisations need to focus on in the future. Politicians in particular need to win over the confidence of the people afresh. As such they had low credibility which has been further eroded by the violence and their role in it. Rohtak, Sonipat and Jhajjar areas have been under the influence of the Arya Samaj for decades in the past. Although this influence has waned in recent years, there is still no dearth of well-meaning figures in the area who can help remove doubts and fears among various communities and make Haryana a land of peace and harmony again.
The writer, a veteran Haryana journalist, worked with The Tribune for 30 years
The arid region of Balochistan, situated at the eastern end of the Iranian plateau, is split almost evenly between Pakistan’s Balochistan province and Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province (a small portion of the southern parts of Afghanistan’s Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces are also part of Baluchistan). Balochistan is today at the forefront of major geopolitical events. Pakistan has faced almost constant turmoil in Balochistan since its independence, even as it strugglesto secure and develop the region with Chinese help.
The port access offered by Gwadar in Balochistan is an important component in China’s emerging transportation network across Asia. Right across the border in Iran, India is struggling to complete Chabahar, its attempt to answer Gwadar and link to Afghanistan by going around Pakistan. Iranian Balochistan is Iran’s soft underbelly, a restless Sunni region in a mostly Shia country, a place where Saudi Arabia can make mischief using groups like the radical Sunni Jundallah.
But what about Balochistan itself? How did it come to be divided and ruled by other peoples? Surprisingly, very little has been written about Balochistan. It has always been uncomfortably sandwiched between the great Persian and Indian empires to its west and east. And unlike their Afghan neighbors to the north, who also felt the constant tug of warbetween Persia and India, the people of Balochistan had no mountains to protect them. It is a region at once neglected, exploited, and ignored.
Balochistan takes its names from the Baloch who inhabit it, a mostly Sunni Muslim people who speak an Iranian language, Balochi, that is oddly classified neither as an eastern Iranian language like Pashto to its north or a southwestern Iranian language like Persian to its west. Rather, Balochi is a northwestern Iranian language, most closely related to Kurdish. It is thus a matter of some conjecture as to when and how the Baloch actually got to Balochistan.
In ancient times, the region was a part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and then various Persian and Indian empires and local kingdoms and was presumably inhabited by some mix of Iranian and Indian peoples. People in Baluchistan followed Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism. The region acquired a notorious reputation due to Alexander the Great disastrously marching back to Babylon after his Indian campaign through its deserts, leading to the deaths of thousands of soldiers.
By the time of the rise of Islam in the 600s, Balochistan was loosely controlled by the Sassanid Persian empire, but as that empire faced the onslaught of the Arabs, Balochistan, then known as Makran (after the name of its coastal region), passed to the control of the Rai Dynasty of Sindh. The Arabs defeated this dynasty in 644 at the Battle of Rasiland conquered Makran, which converted to Islam but continued to remain a lightly populated, peripheral region.
In the 11th century, theSeljuk Turks invaded Persia. This is thought to have stimulated the eastward migration of the nomadic tribes (ancestors of today’s Baloch) of central Iran and the area south of the Caspian sea into Balochistan. As these tribes were used to living marginally in arid territory, the move to the even more arid Balochistan was not a catastrophe and was indeed a path of less resistance than fighting the invaders, who competed for the same pasture space in Iran. Around the same time, Balochistan’s largest minority group, the Brahui (who speak a Dravidian language like other South Indian languages) migrated to Balochistan from central India and formed a symbiotic relationship with the Baloch. Many Baloch become sedentary during this period, farming oases. They formed many kingdoms and tribal confederations, sometimes independent, sometimes under the suzerainty of external empires.
In the 1500s, Balochistan,like Afghanistan to its north, became divided into zones of control between the Safavid Persian Empire to its west and the Mughal Empire to its east. This approximately reflects the Iran-Pakistan border today. Because Persia’s Sistan province is a frontier province, it was loosely controlled and its people had leverage over its central government (they could swear allegiance to the Mughals if they wished). As a result, unlike most of the rest of Iran, it managed to escape the central government’s policy of implementing Shia Islam. As for the Mughals, while initially they ruled Balochistan directly from Multan in the Punjab (in today’s Pakistan), it was never a place of much importance. Control was delegated to a local vassal who organized theKhanate of Kalatin 1666 (located in central Balochistan). On behalf of the Mughals, Kalat ruled over the vassals of the states of Las Bela, Kharan, and Makran, which make up most of Pakistani Balochistan. In 1783, the Khan of Kalat granted suzerainty to the port of Gwadar to a man who later became the Sultan of Oman and who decided to keep it as part of his domains. Pakistan had to buy it back from Oman in 1958.
The division of Balochistan into western and eastern halves temporary lapsed during the 18th century as first the Safavid and then the Mughal Empire, and finally the brief empire of Nader Shah collapsed. Balochistan reverted to a collection of principalities, some of which then fell under the control of Afghanistan, but most remained independent. The most important of these independent principalities was Kalat. Within a century, though, the Qajar dynasty established itself in Persia, and the British in India, squeezing the Baloch again. The British attacked Kalat in 1839 as part of their related invasion of Afghanistan, installing a friendly ruler.In 1854, Kalat became an associated state of the British, and in 1877 the British established the Baluchistan Agency to deal with the Baluch princely states in its Indian Empire and directly rule of the northern half of Balochistan, including Quetta.
In the meanwhile, Persia re-conquered western Balochistan, which has remained part of Iran ever since except for a brief period in the 1920s when it acquired its own “king.” The British and Persians demarcated the boundary between their territories in 1871-1872, with some changes made in 1895-1896. Pakistan, which absorbed the princely state of Kalat in 1955 (allegedlyKalat had tried to find a way to join India instead), reconfirmed this boundary with Iran with some very minor changes during a demarcation in 1958-1959.
These agreements basically established the modern frontier between Iran and Pakistani Balochistan, but it is not an arbitrary division that suddenly severed the Baloch nation in two. The control of the western part of Balochistan from Iran and the eastern from the subcontinent has been a fact more or less for over five centuries, and its current division, based on the Anglo-Persian division represented zones of existing control on the ground rather than an unenforceable, random line. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that ethnic Baloch on both sides of the frontier are getting the short end of the stick, because their needs are subordinated to the needs of their states, but unlike the Pashtun and Kurds, they have neither the numbers nor the firepower to seriously contest this and negotiate further rights.
Flag of India Why are retired military officers protesting against the actions of some of the sloganeering students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (JNU)? Is it because by serving in the defence forces of the country or donning a uniform makes them more patriotic or nationalist (take your pick) than these students at the university. Is raising a few slogans against the nation an indication that you love and care for your country less? Definitely not! It is also unlikely that the defence officers ‘concern’ over the developments in JNU comes from the fact that on graduating from the National Defence Academy, they are awarded bachelor’s degrees by the JNU. Even more unlikely is the political motive being ascribed by referring to them as members of BJP’s ex-servicemen cell. However, there may be a more nuanced and meaningful explanation for the actions of these ex-servicemen. In a comment on IDSA website, Lt General VK Ahluwalia (Retd), former Army Commander, highlights two issues in this regard; first, that the youth are quite impressionable and second, they lack an understanding of the rudimentary aspects of national security and its impact on society. The first issue regarding the youth and youthfulness is best described by BS Raghavan in his take on the same event as “idealism, intensity of emotions, acute sense of right and wrong and a burning passion for public causes To understand the General’s point regarding national security, it would be appropriate to get a few aspects of the student’s protest at JNU out of the way, which is that incidents/events of similar nature have been taking place for years in the university; they are confined to the four walls of the campus and that, they are now coming to the fore because of vested interests. The surfeit of videos of the event including the ‘doctored’ ones and their proliferation underlines the fact that the manner in which information is shared, consumed and (mis)used has changed, unlike anything in the past. News is no longer the preserve of journalists nor is it sieved through the wisdom of a seasoned news editor. It is a phenomenon here to stay and each one of us has to adjust to its impact on the society.
Let us read down the ‘national security’ aspect to the level of the operational environment of our security forces in say Jammu and Kashmir (J&K); where, as events in JNU were coming to a head, an anti-terrorist operation at Pampore was underway. There were reports that while the operation was in progress local villagers had raised pro-independence and pro-Pakistan slogans. After the operations ended, there was news from another village, where the villagers refused to allow the bodies of the slain terrorists from being buried in the village burial ground. These reports highlight the intensity, diversity and the extent of polarisation of local sentiments and opinions, which are directed at the security apparatus.
There are also reports of increasing incidents in J&K of civilians of forming human shields or rushing at the security forces to provide protection to terrorists during operations. Only few days ago a young boy and girl were killed rather tragically in one such incident. Contrary to public perception these ‘peripheral’ incidents impact the security forces. So narrow and closed is the ambit of our debates and deliberations that in years of discussions on human rights violations and excess in insurgency areas by security forces, not one “expert” has ever thought it prudent to highlight and discuss what goes through the mind of a soldier when he accidentally kills or even witnesses civilian casualties that occur as collateral damage during conduct of anti-terror operations. A soldier is seen as an insensitive instrument of the state. The shrieks, cries and laments from the families of the civilians killed do not just bounce off the soldiers protective body armour. In an operational area these incidents traumatise and stress a soldier as much as the anxiety of his own well-being.
The participation of women and youth complicates the operating environment for the security forces and this is the very reason why they abhor such situations and terrorists and their supporters on the other hand, seek to create one. While local reactions in such situations are factored-in by the security forces, it is this ‘external stimulus’ which adds to soldiers disquiet. Therefore it came as no surprise when Syed Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference called for a state-wide band (shut-down) in the wake of the events at JNU and Shabir Shah referred to rule of ‘Brahmin elite’ in India and their efforts to muzzle the voice of the minority and lower caste in India. Since there is nothing such as “in-campus proceedings” any longer, students at JNU have to be cognizant and cautious of the unintended consequences of their “academic deliberations” in a ‘connected world’. Perhaps, much in the same way as care is given by a director of a movie with smoking scenes is ensuring that his work does not end up condoning a harmful activity.
The reactions of the retired defence personnel to the events in JNU are not an attempt to tar or deride the protesting JNU students as ‘anti-nationals’, or to suggest that students should in any way forsake or “enjoy” less their right of freedom of speech. It is a plea, that for the sake of their countrymen in the security forces, they should exercise their right to free speech in a more responsible manner. *Monish Gulati is the Associate Director (Strategic Affairs) at the Society for Policy Studies. He can be reached at: mgulati@spsindia.in. This article was published by South Asia Monitor.
HARYNARCHY:BACKWARD MARCH . WHO ARE THE JATS. WHAT DO THEY WANT?
Indian Express analyses the background and circumstances of the agitation for reservation that has Haryana on the boil.
Who are the Jats, and what are they demanding?
Jats are an agricultural caste group in Haryana, and seven other states in North India, notably Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. In Haryana, they are the predominant caste, and therefore politically influential. In his tome on the “Panjab Castes” following the 1881 census, Sir Denzil Ibbetson noted that “from an economical and administrative point of view [the Jat] is the husbandsman, the peasant, the revenue-payer par excellence… he is usually content to cultivate his fields and pay his revenue in peace and quietness…” The Jats currently out on the streets across Haryana are demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions under the OBC category.
When did the demand begin?
Discontent boiled over after the 1991 Gurnam Singh Commission report included Jats in the Backward Classes category along with seven other groups, and after the Bhajan Lal government withdrew the notification that had been issued for inclusion. Two more Backward Classes Commissions set up in the state excluded the group – in 1995 and 2011. Reservation for Jats was one of the poll promises made by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who came to power in 2004; he subsequently wrote several letters to the Union government seeking their inclusion of Jats. After an agitation, in April 2011, the government set up the K C Gupta Commission to go into the question once again. In 2012, the commission recommended the inclusion of Jats and four other castes, Jat Sikhs, Ror, Tyagi and Bishnoi, in the category Special Backward Classes (SBC). The Hooda government accepted the report and 10% quota was granted, but this was later set aside by the Supreme Court.
What are the legal issues involved in granting reservation to Jats? What is the policy in neighbouring states?
On March 17, 2015, the Supreme Court quashed the UPA government’s decision to extend the OBC quota in central government jobs to Jats, refusing to accept that Jats were a backward community. Consequently, the reservation introduced for Jats in Haryana and eight other states — Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Bharatpur and Dholpur districts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand — was set aside. In April 2015, the NDA government filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the March 17 verdict.
A decision on it is pending.
Where do the Jats stand in Haryana’s political hierarchy?
Since being carved out of Punjab in 1966, Haryana state has had 10 chief ministers, and seven have been Jats. Jats comprise 27% of the electorate, and are the state’s predominant caste group, who dominate a third of the 90 Assembly constituencies in the state. The leaders of the two main opposition political parties — Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the Congress and Abhay Singh Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal — are Jats. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar represents the Punjabi community, and belongs to the Khattar caste.
The Jat agitation is centred on Rohtak, Jhajjar and Bhiwani — the three districts that, along with Panipat, Sonipat and Hisar, are known as the state’s Jat belt. The three districts are mostly covered under two parliamentary constituencies — Rohtak and Bhiwani — and 18 Assembly constituencies.
The BJP won 10 out of these 18 seats, while six went to Congress and two to INLD.
Watch video: Visuals Of The Jat Agitation, Rapid Action Force & Central Reserve Police Force
But if the Jats are so politically influential, should they not already be well represented in higher education and government jobs?
According to the K C Gupta Commission, Jats had 17.82% representation in Class 1 and 2 government jobs. In the lower grades, this representation is estimated at as high as 40 to 50%. The representation of Jats in educational institutions was 10.35%. The literacy rate among Jat men is said to be 45%; among women, about 30%.
The Jats’ primary occupation remains farming. The average landholding is 2-3 acres. Only 10% of Jats are landless. Over a decade ago, some sections of Jats were not ready to accept the status of “backward class” because at that time land was not fragmented, and most Jat landholdings were large. With changing times and dividing families, however, holdings began to shrink.
So, which are the castes that do have reservation in Haryana?
Out of 80 castes, only 16 — Ahir, Arora/Khatri, Bishnoi, Brahman, Gossain, Gujjar, Jat, Jat Sikh, Kalal, Mahajan/Bania, Meo, Muslim, Rajput, Ror, Saini and Tyagi — do not find mention in the lists of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes notified by the Haryana government. The Ramgarhia caste, which is synonymous with Khati or Barhai, also does not find mention in the list of Backward Classes of the Haryana government. The remaining 63 castes/communities have been notified either as a Scheduled Caste or Backward Class.
Did the Khattar government fail to anticipate the anger of the community?
The BJP is heading the government for the first time in the state, and the lack of experience could have led to an inaccurate assessment of the situation. The Jat agitation for reservations has been an annual affair around this time of the year (February-March) since 2012, but this year’s violence could have something to do with the BJP still being seen as an outsider in Haryana’s traditional Jat politics, its election victory notwithstanding. Of the eight cabinet ministers (including the Chief Minister), only two are Jats.
Where is this agitation now headed?
The Jats have trashed a government offer to include those with annual income of less than Rs 6 lakh under an Economically Backward Persons (EBP) category with a 20% quota, to be shared with four other castes: Tyagis, Rors, Bishnois and Jat Sikhs. The government has now announced it will prepare a draft Bill for reservation, and try to bring it in the Assembly session beginning March 17. However, such a Bill may not stand judicial scrutiny in view of the 50% ceiling on quota in government jobs imposed by the Supreme Court. This ceiling has been reached in Haryana, which has 27% reservation for OBCs, 20% SCs and 3% for the disabled. This is why the Punjab and Haryana High Court had struck down the Congress government’s 10% per cent quota for Jats, Jat Sikhs, Bishnois, Tyagis and Rors as Special Backward Classes
ROILED ELSEWHERE
By: Satish Jha
Patidars in Gujarat
On July 6, 2015, Hardik Patel, 22, started an agitation under the banner of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti to demand the inclusion of Patidars in the OBC list. A mega rally in Ahmedabad on August 25 led to caste riots. At least 9 Patidar youths and one policeman was killed. According to police records, between June and December 2015, Patidars organised 1,251 protest meetings. Patidars, who are farmers, are counted among Gujarat’s wealthiest communities. They have nearly 14% of the vote share, and are traditionally BJP supporters. They have applied to the Gujarat OBC commission seeking OBC status. Hardik is in jail, charged with sedition. He has been accused of trying to “dislodge a democratically elected government” by waging war against the state in order to force it to take an “unlawful decision” on reservation for the community. The charges under Sections 124A (sedition) and 121A (conspiracy to wage war) have been upheld by Gujarat High Court; an appeal is pending in the Supreme Court.
Kapus in Andhra By: Sreenivas Janyala
On January 31, sidelined former TDP leader Mudragadda Padmanabham called a meeting of Kapus to demand the TDP government fulfil its poll promise to include Kapus in the BCs list. The YSR Congress Party extended its support to the meeting, held near Tuni railway station in East Godavari. The crowd turned violent, set a train on fire, attacked the police station and set vehicles afire. The government has been dragging its feet in giving guidelines to the K L Manjunath Commission constituted to recommend the inclusion of Kapus in the BC list without disturbing the existing quotas. In 2014, Kapus, who constitute 23.4% of the population of AP, backed N Chandrababu Naidu. After the unprecedented violence, a shocked Padmanabham withdrew the protest but warned the government he would sit on a protest fast. Naidu has assured that the Manjunath Commission would submit its report within six months.
Jats in Rajasthan By: Mahim Pratap Singh Before March 2014, Jats were in the central list of OBCs in Gujarat — Jat (Muslim) — and Rajasthan (except in the districts of Bharatpur and Dholpur). Jats also figured in the state lists of Haryana, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, UP, MP, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The UPA sought the advice of the National Commission for Backward Classes on including Jats from these nine states, and the two Rajasthan districts, in the central list of OBCs. The NCBC advised against it, “as they are not socially and educationally backward community”, but the government notified an amended list anyway. The decision was challenged in the Supreme Court, which in March 2015 scrapped the central OBC quotas for the Jats in question, including in the two Rajasthan districts. Rajasthan Jat leaders have now expressed solidarity with the ongoing protests in Haryana. Some college students have carried out a protest in Bharatpur.
HARYANARCHY :LET THE TRUTHBEHIND THE "HIGHWAY HORROR" PREVAIL
Haryana Counts its Losses
Rs 20,000 crore(Industry body Assocham's estimate)
As state shares borders with Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and UP and is the transit route to highways and trunk railway lines, the collateral damage would be more.
Govt asks affected people to file their claims as early as possible so that interim relief could begin by Feb
The rumour weighed more than hearsay, too revolting to be true. The allegations of a gang-rape near Murthal on NH-10 in the heat of the Jat quota stir deserves to be looked into given the lawlessness that built up in many parts of the state in the past fortnight. In such a heinous crime, social stigma is the big challenge for victims to come out openly. Yet there was credible information. Within hours of the report appearing in this newspaper, two senior Haryana officers, one IAS and another IPS, visited the areas mentioned in the report and came out with official statements that "nothing had happened." The police were in a hurry, so much so that it forgot to scan the fields where the alleged rapes took place. It was only after news channels showed soiled and torn clothes that the local police was forced to retrieve them. The Tribune team was pressured to withdraw the story in the same way as the eyewitnesses who narrated the tales of horror were forced to turn hostile. The National Commission for Women (NCW) took a suo mou notice and visited Murthal. The NCW member, a former BJP spokesperson from Panchkula, met the quoted eyewitnesses after they had been "tutored" by the police. A notice was issued to a Tribune journalist on Feb 25 via an email asking him to appear before the Commission in New Delhi, with all "evidence." The NCW was politely asked to reschedule the appearance. One of The Tribune staffers has been warned: 'Reveal the evidence or we (police) will register an FIR and arrest you.' Attempts have been made to hack another team member's Twitter account. The phones are already under surveillance. Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken two separate suo motu cognisance of the news report. The question is: How can the Sonepat police, accused of dereliction of duty, conduct a probe against itself and give it a clean chit too? Despite all kinds of pressure, eyewitnesses are now coming out to narrate the tales of horror. Truth will prevail.
