Between you & me

IT WAS quite a portentous week, what between the Supreme Court unseating the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, and the U.S.-Taliban confrontation.

In upholding the appeals against the Chief Minister's appointment, the Supreme Court did not mince words. It categorically rejected the theory that people's verdict is supreme. It explained that the people's verdict is second only to the provisions of the Constitution. It was a landmark judgment, emphasising once and for all the supremacy of the Constitution against all kinds of legal finagling.

One cannot help feeling sorry for the Chief Minister, the first in that August office to be unseated by the Supreme Court. If only she had waited before filing her nomination in four different places! As matters turned out, she could not only not run for the election from any of the sanctuaries sought, but has now had her nomination overturned. Was it her own decision, or that of her close advisers, nobody knows. With customary grit and self-confidence, she has announced that she will prove her innocence in the courts, and come back as Chief Minister. She is apparently anointing her successor, a pliant member of the party, who is a first-time MLA, who could not be expected to know the nuances of government. Perhaps as traducers say, she will be the eminence grise behind the government, and call the shots. I know as little as you do about our Byzantine political situation, and shall not speculate further.

As of this writing, the Taliban and the United States are having an eyeball to eyeball confrontation. While the U.S. has the backing of most of the world states, and is putting together an awesome Armada circling Afghanistan, the Taliban has been asking all Islamic countries to rally under its banner to oppose the common enemy.

The U.S. has made it clear that it is fighting terrorism, and not Islam. And a number of Islamic countries are not in a mood to go along with the Taliban. The coming weeks are not going to be comfortable for any country, whether belligerent or not. Already the havoc wrought on the United States is beginning to be felt in the stock markets. As the poet said, no man is an island.

In all of these international happenings, we seem to have forgotten all about the bandit, Veerappan. The new phase of tackling him was announced with a lot of derring-do, but nothing, absolutely nothing, has emerged from the fabulous collection of different police personnel after him. At least I have seen nothing that indicates that the brigand is anywhere near capture.

To cap everything, the Director General of Police - said to be handpicked by Ms.Jayalalithaa - has been suspended. The story goes that he is guilty of corruption, as well as sexual harassment of women police officials. So it goes.

PROBUS CLUB Madras, an association of retired and retiring professionals and business persons (3, Third Street, Kasturi Estate, Madras-600086; Tel: 499096) which has been mentioned in this column before, is celebrating International Day of the Elderly on October 1 at 3-30 p.m., at the Russian Cultural Centre on Kasturi Ranga Road, when several involved and interested persons will speak. A book, ``Ageing by Designing the Future'' will be released on the occasion.

THE JAYAPRAKASH Narayan Forum (68, Luz Avenue, Mylapore) has organised an oratorical contest in English for college students to commemorate the birth centenary of J.P. Narayan. The competition will be held on October 2, at 2-00 p.m. at No. 9, Sringeri Mutt Road, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai-28, as also a public meeting on October 11 at Srinivasa Sastri Hall, Luz, to mark the centenary of the departed leader.

ANOTHER STORY for our times, Parthasarathy. Two friends let us call them Rama and Krishna - after a long time. Rama asked Krishna where he had been all that time. Krishna answered briefly: ``In jail.'' Rama, quite concerned, asked what for. Krishna explained what he was put in jail for. Krishna explained the reason. And Rama exclaimed: ``But that is absurd. They can't put you in jail for that!'' Krishna replied: ``I know, but all the same they did.''

S. KRISHNAN

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