Reporter> Justice Katju, Do you believe in God? “Aqaayad vaham hai mazhab khyaal khaam hai saaqi, Azal se zahen-e-insaan bastaa vaham hai saaqi..." In English, it means: “Creeds are a delusion and religions merely false notions; from the beginning man's mind has been a slave to superstitions” Reporter> Why are you so controversial? You said, 90% Indians are Idiots? I wish to be uncontroversial, but at the same time I cannot remain silent when I am seeing my country going downhill. Even if others are deaf and dumb I am not. So I will speak out. As Faiz said: “Bol ki lab azad hain tere, Bol zubaan ab tak teri hai” In our Hindu Shastras it is written: “Satyam bruyat, priyam bruyat, na bruyat satyam apriyam” Which means “Speak the truth, speak the pleasant, but do not speak the unpleasant truth”. I wish to rectify this. The country's situation today requires that we should say “Bruyat satyam apriyam” i.e. “Speak the unpleasant truth”. When I said that 90% Indians are fools I said an unpleasant truth. The truth is that the minds of 90% Indians are full of caste-ism, communal-ism, and superstitions. Reporter> So, you are saying, India is a majority of fools, Justice Katju? “Jo chup rahegi zubaan-e-khanjar I will give you 3 reasons, First, in election we vote on the basis of caste and not on the merits of candidate. Why are people like Phoolan Devi elected to Parliament? Second, Majority believes in Astrology, which is pure superstition and humbug! Third, we focus too much on Cricket, Filmstars, fashion, cricket etc. Real problems facing 80 per cent of the people are socio-economic — poverty, farmer's suicide, unemployment, malnourishment, price rise, lack of healthcare, education, housing etc. And until these are solved, our people will continue to be taken for a ride. Reporter> So, you are not happy with state of Indian Democracy... right? Although India's democratic constitution was formed on western models, with freedoms of speech and religion, liberty, equality, etc. But caste-sim, religion vote banks and petty politics has blocked our progress. Democracy is not meant to be run in this manner! |
Reporter> Your thoughts on recent agitation or movements of public voicing their opinions? If you are referring to recent media hyped public demonstrations as a solution to the problem of corruption, then I must tell you what Shakespeare said in Macbeth: “A tale, told by an idiot...Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” Corruption will not be ended mob frenzy or by shouting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Inquilab Zindabad”. Reporter> What is your suggestion for problems our country is facing? Look, we need scientific outlook. It is only then our India will shine. Only science can solve our problems. I just told you problems of 80% of our people….48 farmers have been committing suicide on an average every day, and 47% of our children are malnourished. Our national aim must be to abolish these evils and make our country highly prosperous for all our citizens. To address these problems, I suggest Four People's Principles: (1) Science (2) Democracy (3) Livelihood and (4) Unity of the People Reporter> And... Your take on Indian Media? I regard the Indian media as Hanuman, and I regard myself as Jambawant and Indian people as Lord Rama. Hanuman’s duty is to serve Lord Rama. However, today Hanuman has forgotten his powers and duty because of the curse of a sage. Like Jambawant, I have been reminding Hanuman (the media) of its duty to Lord Rama (the Indian people). Reporter> Do you think Media is the game changer in democracy? My friend, 80% people in India are living in dire poverty. Game change in India can therefore have only one meaning: abolishing poverty in India, and giving the masses a decent life. There are no doubt fundamental rights in our Constitution, e.g. Right to life, freedom of speech, liberty, equality etc. but these are meaningless to a man who is poor, hungry and unemployed. Therefore it is the duty of all patriotic people to help our country abolish poverty, unemployment, and other social evils. That alone can be regarded as a game change. How this will be done is for the people themselves to find out, using their creativity. Reporter> Sir, Nice talking to you, Thanks! Justice Katju’s Blog: http://justicekatju.blogspot.in |
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