10 TIMES NATION * THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

AGENT RANA PART

11
STORY | JUGGI BHASIN
ART | SUBODH PODDAR
Guj riots SIT sleuth No evidence
of Naxal hand
YC Modi is NIA chief in Lankesh
murder
To Oversee J&K Terror Funding, IS Probes TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: The Special Inves-

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: The government
on Monday appointed 1984
batch IPS officer Y C Modi,
who was part of the SC- appo-
inted SIT that probed the 2002
Gujarat riots, as new director
general of National Investi-
gation Agency, while UP cad-
re IPS officer R K Mishra was
appointed as the next DG of
Sashastra Seema Bal.
Modi has been immedia-
tely attached in NIA as OSD
to understand the ongoing
probes related to J&K terror
funding, IS and several other
terror cases till present DG
Sharad Kumar retires on Oc-
tober 31. He will hold the post
of DG NIA till his superan-
nuation on May 31, 2021, an
order of the Appointments
Committee of Cabinet said.
An officer of Assam-Meg-
halaya cadre, Modi is at pre-
sent special director in the
IPS officer YC Modi
Central Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) and is handling
many crucial probes related
to anti-corruption like Em-
braer deal, few cases related
to alleged corruption by so-
me Delhi government func-
tionaries and others.
Kumar, who was appoin-
ted DG NIA in July 2013, has
been given two extensions.
In October last year, he
was given a one-year exten-
sion, apparently to help the
agency complete probe in
Pathankot terror case and
various IS-related cases. Ku-
mar is the longest serving
chief of NIA. Under his ste-
wardship, the agency started
probing terror financing ca-
ses allegedly involving some
separatists in Jammu and
Kashmir, in which seven se-
paratists and renowned busi-
nessman have been arrested
from Kashmir valley and the-
ir links with Pakistan has be-
en established.
The ACC also appointed
senior IPS officer, Rajni Kant
Mishra as director general of
the Sashastra Seema Bal
(SSB), which guards the In-
do-Nepal and the Indo-Bhu-
tan borders. He will hold the
post till the date of his supe-
rannuation - August 31, 2019.
A 1984 batch IPS officer of UP
cadre, Mishra is at present
additional director general
in the Border Security Force.
tigation Team (SIT) personnel,
probing the Gauri Lankesh
murder case, have not found
any evidence to establish the
role of Naxals in the journalist-
activists killing, according to
highly-placed police sources.
The SIT personnel have also
been recalled from Maoist-hit
areas of Dakshina Kannada,
Udupi and Chikkamagaluru
districts of Karnataka.
The teams will return in a
day or two. We have interacted
with every possible person who
was connected with Naxal ac-
tivities and Gauri Lankesh. We
found some Naxals were unhap-
py with Gauri as she had suc-
ceeded in bringing seven of
their comrades back to the
mainstream. But the disagree-
ment does not appear to have es-
calated to the level of killing
her, a senior police officer said
on Monday. The SIT will probe
all possible angles till the cul-
prit is caught, another senior
police officer said. We may
lessen our focus but wont stop

Shah: Was seated in same

probing Naxal angle, he said.

First you eat

police vehicle as Kodnani meat, then
Continued from P 1 court that Kodnani too was es-
corted by police then and she meat eats you
B
BCCL 2017 efore Shah, 12 witnesses was made to sit in the same ve- New Delhi: Union minister
were examined in Kodna- hicle with him. When he got off Maneka Gandhi on Monday

17-gun salute to daredevil UP farmer gets nis defence. Prosecution the vehicle, Kodnani was still made a pitch
witnesses and riots victims sitting in the police vehicle. He for vegetarian-
1 paisa waiver have earlier told the court, dur-
ing the course of the trial
said he had no idea where Kod-
nani went thereafter.
ism, saying hu-
mans are natu-

air warrior Arjan Singh

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi: A grateful nation
on Monday bid a tearful adieu
to Marshal of the Air Force Ar-
jan Singh, with the iconic air
warrior being cremated with
full state honours which inclu-
ded an aerial salute by the
missing man flyby by fighter
jets and a booming 17-gun salu-
te by the ceremonial artillery
battery here.
The mortal remains of Ar-
jan Singh (98), who was the co-
untrys last surviving five-star
general , were consigned to fla-
mes amid religious rituals by
Sikh priests at Brar Square in
Delhi Cantonment in presence
of family members, former PM
Manmohan Singh, BJP vete-
ran L K Advani, defence mini-
ster Nirmala Sitharaman, the
three Service chiefs and seve-
ral veterans, among others.
One thing that struck me
LAST RITES: (From left) Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat, Navy chief
Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa at the funeral
of Marshal of Air Force Arjan Singh in New Delhi on Monday
Awarded a Distinguished
Flying Cross during Burma
campaign of World War-II, Ar-
jan Singh was IAF chief from
1964 to 1969 and successfully ste-
ered the force during the 1965
Agra: Chhiddi Sharma, a
marginal farmer of Go-
vardhan tehsil in Mathura
district of UP, was in for a
PTI rude shock when the dis-
trict administration hand-
ed him a certificate waiving
1 paisa of his outstanding
farm loan of Rs 1.5 lakh.
Chhiddi told TOI that he
just couldnt believe that
such a meagre amount had
been waived from his loan.
This government is mak-
ing fun of us farmers,
he said, adding he wasnt
sure whether it was a mis-
take or not. TNN
Can we unify inheritance law?
for IAF with his daredevil com-
bat flying and upright conduct It is easier to remove gender bias within existing laws than
during service, and later ser-
ved as India's envoy to Switzer-
land and Kenya in the 1970s as
to create a uniform code to overrule them
well as the Lt-Governor of Del- Bina Agarwal
which began in 2009, that Kod-
nani had visited the spot and
incited the mob in the morn-
ing. Their testimonies re-
vealed that Kodnani visited
Naroda Gam between 9.30am
and 10.30am.
In his deposition, Shah
could not tell the court the ex-
act time when he saw Kodnani
at the hospital after he reached
the hospital between 9.30-
9.45am. He told the court that
he did not see Kodnani when
he reached the hospital. He,
however, negated a question
by the prosecution that he first
saw Kodnani in hospital at
BJP national president Amit
Shah outside the special court
in Ahmedabad on Monday
10.30am, when he was sitting
on a bench there.
The only other time to
which Shah committed was
that he left the hospital at
around 1111.15am. He was cor-
doned off by police as an agi- also not true that I have come
tated mob began shouting slo-
gans, and he was made to sit in
a police vehicle. Shah told the
When quizzed by prosecu-
tion as to why did he not testify
in another riots case the Na-
roda Patia massacre case in
which Kodnani has been con-
victed for life Shah said Kod-
nani and her relatives had con-
tacted him to testify, but he nev-
er received court summons.
Despite having full
knowledge that I and May-
aben were together at the So-
la Civil Hospital, SIT never
bothered to contact meIt is
to testify to defend Mayaben
because we belong to the
same political party.
organisations (mostly Mus- tion, consider five notable
ral vegetar-
ians and meat
consumption
harms them. The women and
child development minister
was speaking at the launch of a
film The Evidence-Meat Kills,
directed by Mayank Jain, that
scientifically explores the ef-
fects of meat consumption on
human body.
Studies done over the last
three decades have shown, with
empirical data, that meat is bad
for human body, Maneka said.
All in all, first you eat meat,
then meat eats you, Maneka
quipped. PTI

about my father was that he
was always humble. He always
treated people well, said Ar-
jan Singhs son Arvind, who lit
the pyre. His sister Asha added,
Its the biggest loss for me. He
was a great human being and
an inspiration. Im glad he will
live on in the annals of history.
60k Saplings Planted In A Day At Hero TOI Green Drive
Indo-Pak war after initial set-
backs. In 2002, he became only
the third Service chief to be
conferred with the Field Mars-
hal-rank, the highest honorary
rank in the armed forces, after
former Army chiefs Sam Ma-
nekshaw and K M Cariappa.
Singh set high standards
hi during 1989-90. A philanthro-
pist, he once donated Rs 2 crore
for the welfare of retired IAF
personnel and their families.
The demise of Arjan
Singh brings to an end the
awe-inspiring troika of the co-
untrys three five-star gene-
rals till now.
C
uriously, almost all
discussions on a gen-
der-equal civil code in
India revolve around
marriage, carefully sidestep-
ping inheritance. Yet, it is in-
heritance (especially of land)
that affects millions of Indian
women who depend on agri-
culture for survival, or who
seek protection from domestic
violence. Inheritance of im-
movable property remains
deeply gender unequal, espe-
cially in practice but also in
law. Removing gendered
anomalies within existing
personal laws is quite feasible,
and already in process. It is
creating a uniform gender-
equal inheritance law for all
In many states, land
inheritance continues
to depend on gender
discriminatory cus-
toms and tenurial
laws, which, in many
states, virtually ex-
clude Muslim women
from agricultural land,
contrary to their rights
under the Shariat
communities that presents a
conundrum.
Fifteen years have gone by
since the last major reform of
inheritance law, namely the
rights, since most customs are
highly gender exclusionary,
while under the Shariat, key
female heirs such as daugh-
lim women, reformers and points of divergence: first,
groups). The Muslim Person- Hindu law retains the con-
al Law Board also strongly cept of coparcenary joint
supported this reform in writ- family property. No other
ing, since it would come personal law has an equiva-
within the Shariat. However, lent. Second, Muslim per-
the Law Ministrys response sonal law under the Shariat
was: it is the consistent pol- has very specific rules of suc-
icy of the central govt not to cession. Womens shares are
interfere with the personal less than mens generically,
law of the country until the and these shares can change
proposal comes from in the presence or ab-
a sizeable portion of sence of particular
society. Yet, just five categories of other
months earlier, the heirs. No other inher-
same central govt had itance law has such a
amended Hindu law, complex architecture
a process initiated by of rules. And this is
a similar petition that spelt out in the Ko-
a few of us had jointly ran, leaving little
drafted and cam- room for interpreta-
paigned for. The sug- BYINVITE tion in a gender-equal
gested reform is still direction. Third, per-
doable and has precedence in sonal laws differ on the right
southern states. to will. Hindus, Christians
Similarly, most tribal wom- and Parsis face no restric-
en are governed by discrimina- tions, but Muslim law re-
tory customs and need gender- stricts wills to one-third of
equal codification of their in- property, with Sunni and
heritance rights. One way Shia differences on who can
forward could be for tribal re- get such property and with
whose consent. Fourth, Hin-
du law itself varies by state:
for example, in 1976 Kerala
abolished joint family prop-
erty altogether while the
ONE NATION HSAA retained it, and matri-
lineal Hindus have separate
clude agricultural land, by
ONE CODE rules. Fifth, cultural ideas
about who deserves to inher-
deleting save questions relat- PART 16 it differ: Hindus emphasise
ing to agricultural land. But
elsewhere, land inheritance
To read all the articles in the
series, scan the logo above with
sapinda (shared body parti-
cles in Mitakshara, religious

One tree for every child will

passing of the 2005 Hindu Suc-
cession (Amendment) Act
(HSAA). The HSAA gave
Hindu women equal coparce-
ters and widows cannot be
excluded by other heirs, al-
though their shares are small-
er than mens.
continues to depend on gen- the Alive app on your phone or efficacy in Dayabhaga); other
visit http://timesondia.indiatimes.
der discriminatory customs com/uniform-civil-code
communities focus on vari-
and tenurial laws, which, in ous blood & marital ties, or
many states, virtually exclude formers to adapt the Indian proximity of residence, etc.

make the world green again nary rights in joint family

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Indore: Over 18,000 people,
60,000 saplings, and the germi-
nation of an idea The Hero
TOI Green Drive,
on a picturesque
hilltop on the out-
skirts of Indore,
began with a pro-
mise and ended
with a project
that will branch out for gene-
rations to make the world a
greener place.
Minister of state for school
education Deepak Joshi, mo-
ved by the enthusiasm shown
by thousands of participants
at Hero TOI Green Drive, pro-
mised to run an official cam-
paign asking parents of every
child joining school to plant a
sapling in their wards name
and nurture it
till the child
passes out.
The child
will see the
plant grow as
he or she grows.
And the message will be pas-
sed on, Joshi said after plan-
ting a sapling at the green dri-
ve launched by Times of India
along with Hero MotoCorp
Ltd and executed by MPs fo-
rest department.
His message on the slogan
board said it all: Hariyali mein
khushahali (prosperity in gree-
nery). Parents of both go-
vernment and private schools
can be roped in. I will immedia-
tely get the ball rolling, Joshi
said. The forest department
can provide land. Once planta-
tion is done, such areas can be
developed as parks and picnic
spots for people to visit and see
their trees grow, he said.
Padmashri Bhalu Mondhe-
was touched by the green mis-
sion. These are the kind of ini-
tiatives that inspire the young-
er generation to band together
for environment.
property and deleted the dis-
criminatory clause on agri-
cultural land. These were
major steps forward. But for
Muslim and tribal women,
disabilities continue. Mus-
lims are still governed by the
Muslim Personal Law (Shari-
at) Application Act, 1937. Un-
der this Act, the Shariat su-
perseded custom or usage to
the contrary for all property,
except agricultural land. Ear-
lier, Muslims (like most Hin-
dus) were governed by a mo-
saic of local customs, some in
sync with the Shariat, most at
variance with it. By abrogat-
ing custom, the 37 Act en-
hanced Muslim womens
By excluding agricultural
land from its purview, how-
ever, the 37 Act left a major
gender inequality intact. Sec-
tion(2) provides that: Not-
withstanding any custom or
usage to the contrary, in all
questions (save questions re-
lating to agricultural land)
regarding intestate succes-
sion, special property of fe-
males, including personal
property inherited or ob-
tained under contract or gift
the rule of decision
where the parties are Mus-
lims shall be the Muslim Per-
sonal Law (Shariat). Later,
Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh amended the Act in
1949, and Kerala in 1963 to in-
Muslim women from rights in Succession Act, as done by
agricultural land, contrary to Christians and Parsis.
their rights under the Shariat.
Given such divergence, the
idea that we can cherrypick
Such reforms, however, bits from different personal
To change this, in late elide the question of a uni- laws and graft them onto some
2005, I submitted a petition to form gender-equal inherit- new uniform law does not
the then Prime Minister, for ance law, applicable to all. Is appear realistic. A possible
deleting the discriminatory convergence, requiring alternative could be to create
clause on land in the 37 Act, changes in all the personal a separate secular law, based
signed by 465 persons and 46 laws, feasible? For illustra- on constitutional principles
of gender equality, which ei-
ther supersedes existing in-
Consider notable points of divergence: rst, heritance laws, or which peo-
Hindu law retains the concept of coparcenary ple can opt for when they
reach adulthood.
joint family property. Second, Muslim personal
law under the Shariat has very specic rules The writer is professor of
of succession. Third, personal laws differ on development economics,
University of Manchester
the right to will. Fourth, Hindu law itself varies
by state and cultural ideas about who deserves Next|Why Parsis will resist the
to inherit bulldozing of their family laws