A State Of Pretence

Once again, the best Sunday columns I read are by Meghnad Desai and Manas Chakravarty, both on the Liberhan Commission, which took 17 years to submit its report on the Babri Masjid arson. Lord Desai speaks of the “politics” that Justice Liberhan played – and they are all politicians, aren’t they? Manas Chakraverti takes a few huge digs at the injustice of it all. I particularly liked this historical reference:

“For the anti-Sikh riots,” pointed out a historian, “they had the Marwah Commission, the Misra Commission, the Kapur Mittal Committee, the Jain Banerjee Committee, the Potti Rosha Committee, the Jain Aggarwal Committee, the Ahuja Committee, the Dhillon Committee, the Narula Committee and the Nanavati Commission, one after the other, so it was like a serial.”

What can I add to that? Nothing much – just repeat the old adage that “justice delayed is justice denied.” Justice Liberhan has been instrumental in the denial of justice. His is the “pretence of justice” in precisely the same way as Chacha’s central planning and Keynesianism are the “pretence of knowledge.” Indeed, in much the same way that they are all a “pretence of democracy.”

It is all one big ugly sham.

Pretenders rule.