I was extremely happy to see the Supreme Court lashing out at the Tamil Nadu government for calling a ‘Bandh’ couple of days back. I had iterated in one of my earlier posts Save Namma Bengaluru about how these bandhs in India are not voluntary and are forced closures of business and cause immense social & economic turmoil. They intend to do it for a cause but almost always are nothing more than a show of strength by a political party. Normal life goes into disarray and the babus have a holiday.
Few would know that Bandhs have actually been banned in India and stated to be unconstitutional using this and one earlier case at the SC. A political party was even fined on account of calling Mumbai bandh some years back. The SC makes a clear distinction between a ‘bandh’ and the ‘right to strike’, which is called a ‘hartal’. The right to strike has been identified as the fundamental right of a citizen. But obviously, it should be voluntary, should be peaceful and should not try disrupt normal life of citizens. It can never involve forceful closure of schools and colleges, offices and businesses, violence and lynching.
The SC is one of the few institutions in India, which still has public faith. No wonder the politicians are after it calling moves like the one just stated as ‘judicial activism’. Demarcations between the legislature and the judiciary aren’t clearly defined and the legislature is always over enthusiastic to claim its sovereignty on many sensitive matters. This was more so evident in the fight between General Musharraf and Iftikar Chowdhary in neighboring Pakistan.
Hats off to the founding fathers of out constitution to have made an independent judiciary to let at least some good sense prevail in these times.
Few would know that Bandhs have actually been banned in India and stated to be unconstitutional using this and one earlier case at the SC. A political party was even fined on account of calling Mumbai bandh some years back. The SC makes a clear distinction between a ‘bandh’ and the ‘right to strike’, which is called a ‘hartal’. The right to strike has been identified as the fundamental right of a citizen. But obviously, it should be voluntary, should be peaceful and should not try disrupt normal life of citizens. It can never involve forceful closure of schools and colleges, offices and businesses, violence and lynching.
The SC is one of the few institutions in India, which still has public faith. No wonder the politicians are after it calling moves like the one just stated as ‘judicial activism’. Demarcations between the legislature and the judiciary aren’t clearly defined and the legislature is always over enthusiastic to claim its sovereignty on many sensitive matters. This was more so evident in the fight between General Musharraf and Iftikar Chowdhary in neighboring Pakistan.
Hats off to the founding fathers of out constitution to have made an independent judiciary to let at least some good sense prevail in these times.
