Times of India: Thiruvananthapuram:
Monday, January 30, 2017.
Forcing the
national anthem upon citizens would reduce a passionate hymn into a humdrum
chant of official line, said Gopal Krishna Gandhi, former Indian civil servant
and diplomat and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He was delivering the second
Justice Krishna Iyer memorial lecture organized jointly by Campaign for
Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), National Campaign for People's
Right to Information (NCPRI) and Common Cause here on Sunday.
"Our
national anthem is probably one of the greatest anthems in the world and I sing
it with full heart. But when I am asked to sing it under an order, I lose the
passion," he said.
Calling upon
the government to bring political parties under the purview of the Right to
Information (RTI) laws, Gandhi also said the government's intention to vitalize
the cash composition the country could only be considered genuine if it made
obligatory for political parties to disclose the identity of their donors.
"As per available statistics, Rs 1,14,000 crore has been donated to recognized
political parties in India during 2004 to 2015, of which a very small amount
has come from known sources. It includes Rs 8,000 crore donated to national
parties by unknown sources," he elaborated.
Gandhi said
that India was being ruled by fear, distrust and money. "There's a kind of
fear to face reality. Lokpal has not become a reality and Whistle Blower
Protection Act has not yet been notified. Fear rules in an era of randomization
of ministers, digitization of bureaucracy and robotization of diplomats,"
he said.
Asserting
that India with its plurality was to be held together and not to be ruled, he
also said that the country could not be dominated by a single ideology or
religion.
Among others
who took part in the event were politician and activist Prashanth Bhushan,
social activist Aruna Roy, founder-director of National Law School Madhava
Menon, and the first chief information commissioner of India Wajahat
Habibullah.
.JPG)
.JPG)
