Recent terror
attack in J&K
Five of our soldiers laid down their lives in a line of duty, in a recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. While we stand in solidarity with the bereaved families of these jawans and salute the sacrifices they have made, our hearts and thoughts are full of anguish and disbelief of the fact that the perpetrators are still at large despite a massive security operation in the area to hunt them down.
When our Jawans are attacked and killed in cowardly fashion, the entire nation feels the pain. The images of this gruesome attack on jawans, the burning of their vehicle that we see on our television sets may be forgotten over the period, but the sight of victim’s families – the children yelling and screaming for their father, the old parents and wife crying inconsolably, will never be forgotten and go away so easily from our thoughts and our minds. Every year, we notice, several of our civilians and Jawans fall prey to the terrorist attacks. In order to ensure their sacrifices are honoured and acted upon, it is imperative, that amongst other objectives, the primary aims should be to apprehend the culprits at earliest possible, and give a thought to how best we can prevent those casualties in future by strengthening and supporting our Armed forces.
Freddie Dias, Miramar
Facial recognition
tech open to abuse
We as a country are on an irreversible downward spiral into autocracy and are now entering the ‘Deep State’ territory. As part of the Goa Intelligent City Management System as many as 328 CCTV cameras have been installed of which 10 have facial recognition technology embedded. Advanced countries like Belgium, Luxembourg and many states in the US have banned the use of facial recognition as it is open to abuse by the government. Facial recognition which is a subset of biometric privacy laws worldwide is in contravention of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (akin to the Geneva Convention for prisoners) which ensures everyone’s right to a private and family life. Facial recognition, which is a common trope in dystopian novels is slowly creeping into everyday life in India, it is deployed at airports to profile travellers and law enforcement agencies to identify suspects, unfettered by privacy laws that should regulate the use of sensitive data. The government may cry hoarse that FR tech could help in crime fighting but this is just another means to keep an eye on citizens without their knowledge, especially the ones whose views are not in consonance with the powers that be. The recent case of Pegasus, a military grade spyware of Israeli origin used by the government to snoop on political opponents
and brazen denial of the same in the Apex Court by the Solicitor General of India when questioned is a prime example of how the state abuses it’s powers. Deployment of facial recognition technology which does not even require complex installation on devices unlike spyware is yet another nefarious step by the Deep State to turn India into a sheep state, ie. a 100% surveilled society where everyone obeys the ruler’s diktats. We are actually entering George Orwell’s 1984.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Helmets
for children
It is learnt that in a bid to tackle the rising number of fatal accidents involving pillion riders, the Traffic Department of Goa Police has reportedly announced a crackdown on helmetless riders and pillion riders.
This is a good move by the police due to the disturbing fact that reveals an increasing number of pillion riders being killed due to non-compliance of the helmet laws. As per the Motor Vehicle Act, it is mandatory for both the riders and pillion riders to wear the helmet.
It is true the pillion rider is as much at risk of suffering a head injury in case of an accident as the rider of the vehicle. The motor-cycle taxi service is unique to the state.
It is now obvious that the motorcycle pilots will have to carry an extra helmet to be worn by the passenger. The earlier move to make wearing helmets by pillion riders mandatory was met with opposition from various quarters including the motorcycle pilots who argued that passengers will not accept used helmets. Obviously one may not be able to ask for a lift from a biker if the person is not carrying a helmet. What about children being ferried to school and back by the parent on the two-wheeler? Shouldn’t children who are pillion riding also be wearing a helmet? They are more susceptible to suffering a head injury in case of an accident. Are helmets of various sizes for children available in the market?
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Will Modi expand
his cabinet?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unlike in his first term, rejigged his cabinet only once–in July 2021. Generally, expansion of cabinet is done before crucial elections; there are a few ahead. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh go to polls later this year and then there are the big general elections in 2024. It is assumed that picking the right men and women from the poll-going states to head key ministries may send a message or two to the electorate before an election apart from the fact that regional and caste equations come to the fore to impress the voters.
Modi may not buck this trend although he is known to offer some “surprises” in the cabinet reshuffle. The exit of Ravishankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar in the last cabinet rejig was unexpected at least for a citizen.
So was the inclusion of men like Ashwini Vaishnaw. So, it is plain simple for a common man: who will find an entry into the cabinet and who will be shown the exit door. Just before a major election, some top leaders are drafted to work for the party, and the PM may not deviate from this trend as well. Speculations abound over those in the 65-70 age bracket; it is said they may be asked to go.
But there definitely is no clear policy as regarding the much hyped age policy in the government. As far as the poorly performing ministers are concerned, only the PM should know what is “good performance” and who is what. Heavyweights, notwithstanding their showing, may not be touched. Therefore, the reshuffle looks like a routine one without much to expect.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Legal setback for
Rahul Gandhi
In a significant legal setback to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, a Surat sessions court on Thursday refused to grant an interim stay on his conviction in a defamation case, which had led to his two-year imprisonment and ultimate disqualification from the Lok Sabha. The court dismissed Rahul’s argument that the trial was unjust. The court also maintained that Rahul had provided no evidence that would warrant suspending the conviction recorded against him. Notwithstanding the Congress’ assertion that they would challenge the order, the verdict means Rahul cannot be instantly reinstated as an MP.
N J Ravi Chander, Bengaluru
