The recent endorsement by Chief Ministers of a National Human Rights Commission has put back the sparkle in the eyes of those who thrive on commissions.
Here is a possible scenario of a meeting chaired by the Chief Executive (CE) of a state affected by the decision, The meeting was attended by the decision. The meeting was attended by his “high functionaries,” including the Administrative Chief (AC), the Super Cop (SC), and Minions 1,2 & 3 (M1, M2 and M3):
AC: This is to remind you all that this meeting is in pursuance of the directive of the Prime Minister to review arrangements for monitoring the abuse of human rights in our state.
SC: As you are all aware, there are no such abuses in the state, I will let no one interfere in our war against the terrorists, They have no rights: My boys are doing a wonderful job.
M1: I agree with you, sir. To grant the common people human rights is like giving cake to those who only want bread. The boys are indeed doing a wonderful job, just look at the statistics, we have killed more terrorists than we had even though existed,
SC: Shut up!
MI: Yes, sir
CE: Look, I know that my predecessors are to blame for this situation. Various people whose with as run in the state had no idea of how to tackle the situation. But I have promised at the meeting to set up a panel to review the situation, so let us have some constructive suggestions,
M2: Sir, let us have it under the chairmanship of the former Judge who has been talking about human rights for a long time.
CE: You, stupid ass. Don’t forget we had arrested him under TADA and we have just had to release him under pressure. He was the person I was referring to when i said that the “champions of human rights” maintained a deafening silence when innocent people were killed by terrorists.
SC: Sir, it is very simple. You can have one of my newly promoted DIGs as the head of this panel. He will know how to handle the issue. After all, he has the experience,
M2: What a wonderful ideal Set a thief to catch a thief. Wasn’t this man the one who was a SHO a few years ago and he had an entire village whipped to “teach them a lesson”?
SC; Shut up. Don’t you know just how to shut up?
CE: What does our Administrator have to say. He has been keeping quiet all this while.
AC: Well, there is nothing which is quite as simple as this. The idea advanced by our Super Cop does have its merit, though it is of course simplistic and doesn’t take into account all the modalities of the situation, There is the international angle which has to be considered, we do have limited options… we could set up a committee to look into this problem.
SC: Why can’t we just maintain that there are no human right violations in the state?
M3; Because of the media. Newspapers keep on exposing the deeds of your personnel. In any case they are so inept. They can’t even dispose of the bodies properly,
SC: Shut up. My boys are doing a wonderful job under intense pressure.
AC: Ahem, I think I have the answer. Let us setup a panel under the chairmanship of a top bureaucrat, with pay and perks commensurate with those of the Chief Administrator, for a five year term, We, of course, need a person of known integrity and loyalty to the regime, someone who understands the delicate nature of the assignment from the government’s point of view, who we can refer cases to without fear that they will be sensationalized unduly or blown out of proportion,
CE: Yes, yes. Of course. I understand completely. This is absolutely brilliant. I will make the announcement of this panel immediately. The announcement of the chairman can be made after that. When do you attain the age of superannuation, the Ist or 2nd?
AC: The 2nd, sir.
SC; Very good idea, sir. We have worked together for a long time. Well, as a chairman, you will need members too, You know I have this officer who is retiring soon…after all he is human too and he has the right of official perks bungalow, car, phone, etc.
By Roopinder Singh (Courtesy of Tribune)
Article extracted from this publication >> October 16, 1992
