Mumbai Blues

To a casual observer, India this past week presented all the masala of a tasty curry, spiced with layers of tear-spilling onion, in the Bharat Shah saga, a large pinch of salt in Stephen Hawking and the String theory, a liberal sprinkling of masala in the visit of Li Peng and a healthy dose of soul fry in the Kumbh Mela -- ingredients that made for a good curry or even a potboiler (Hindi film style), that had the city hold its collective breath and heave a sigh.

Bharat Shah's arrest shocked Mumbai in that there was an air of disbelief and sorrow amongst his nears and dears, yet joyful glee amongst the green-eyed monsters of jealousy and envy, cloaked in the garb of arbiters of the faith, and self righteous piety. This cold unfeeling, betrayal by people who once befriended you, albeit in merrier times, shows us how shallow the world we inhabit is and how apt the truism `you come alone and you go alone'.

The merits of the case and its speedy trial is now a matter for the judiciary and they can act only when the police complete their investigation but even for a moment contemplate a scenario that Bharat Shah is innocent then the blatant mockery of the system that the trial by the press has ensured will be amply highlighted. If indeed the tapes exist and are held as conclusive proof, I urge the authorities to make copies of the tape and ensure their safety as things have a habit of mysteriously disappearing when convenient and strangely no questions are raised. A case in point is the infamous evidence against the `anti national', high profile cricketers, each of them vilified by a hostile media to the point of ostracisation, yet the mighty CBI could not find a shard of evidence against any of them and they were let off with a rap on the knuckles.

The `tapes' against them recorded conversations with bookies who were in the control of the subversive underworld warlords, yet has any of this evidence ever been produced anywhere other than as hearsay? It can be said that the tapes if they existed was potent evidence but what happened to them? It was patently unfair to throw the book at some of our ace cricketers damage their reputations, ruin their careers, caste aspirations on their character merely to censure them.

I now come to the crux of the matter, if the rights of a citizen in a democracy is impinged upon, especially the right to freedom, what restitution does our system ensure to the individual who is perhaps innocent? Is he compensated monetarily, does the state make amends, does the free press carry the denials that ensue? No! he is merely left to crawl back into the shell that his life has now become to try and pick up some of the pieces and muddle on as best as he can. It is frightening thought that our liberty can be lost at the whim of a power that be, in a nano second, perhaps to be restored at the the whim of another power figure at, some later date, all to satiate the irresistible crab mentality of the top drawer few, living in glass houses.

Greed has become the acceptable face of raw ambition and the blind pursuit of material gain taints the film world like no other, as stars are broken or made every Friday and an actor is only as good as his last film's success or failure. If into this mixture of quick black money, greed, fame and fortune, an element of fear and intimidation is thrown in, Hey Pesto! Reel life and real life begin to merge.

It then means a compromise with the unsavoury element, which a majority plump for, versus living in the shadow of death forever. Can this pass for reasonable choice in any civilised society?

If the politician, the bureaucrat, the media tycoon or industrialist was thus threatened what would be the reaction? A severe crackdown on that unsavoury layer of the underworld for starters. Weak and vulnerable as film world is perceived to make them easy prey as they do not have full scale industry status yet, which forecloses legitimate money channels. A hit film makes collections of crores week after week, a good percentage of it from the parallel economy, now doesn't that sound like easy pickings? Yet over-stepping or crossing the Lakshmanrekha can have disastrous consequences as we now witness in the Bharat Shah case.

We all count amongst our friends film stars but how often do we ask them about the brush they must constantly have with the mafia? Narco terrorism, smuggling, hawala, extortion and threat to life are all very palpable aspects of the Mumbai we live in as indeed New York or London and have to be tackled with ominous precision, the task of the savvy police force is no mean one but `innocent till proven guilty' is the basic tenant of our judicial system and honour it we must.

In France, the son of the late President Mitterand is on trial for arms dealing, yet he is out on bail, as is the then Foreign Minister of France, who has trial dates set for January. In England, Nadeem secured bail till his trial was posted. A natural surmise to all these high-profile trials is `innocent till proven guilty' and therefore bail is the precedent. Again, I would like to highlight that no man seeks to be an exile from his own country and even die-hard criminals dream of a return to their homeland, their own country.

With vast business interests in India even the powerful Hinduja brothers, despite having a country of residence outside India, are willing to come home this month to put up a fight to clear their name in the Bofors case, on condition that they were not going to be harassed.

I laud the difficult role of the law enforcement agencies in tracking down law breakers, the august role of the judiciary in painstakingly pouring and sifting through time consuming cases can only be cause for praise and admiration, yet a speedy trial is a must and if indeed clinching evidence exists then proceed they must, expeditiously to avoid soul searching criticism at a later date.

I revel in pride being a citizen of India, I wonder and marvel at the vast amphitheatre that life in the city affords us, a week where the city hosted a genius scientist and a leader of the most aggressively developed nation China, yet I'm left with a niggling doubt about the state of our city if the underworld is really dictating terms from behind the veil of a terrorist state. Is anyone really safe?