Amit Shah’s legacy as a consummate election manager was defined through his role as the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh in-charge for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The party won 71 of 80 seats. His organisational skills were in focus again when he was BJP president, but those who knew him from his Gujarat days were not surprised with this display of political acumen at the national level. Then, in 2019, he became Union home minister, and began building another, more historically relevant legacy. One that could well be the yardstick against which future home ministers are measured. In the past five years, Shah has overhauled the internal security landscape and ushered in reforms that are in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governance model. The biggest of these reforms, in the criminal justice system, was the replacement of the old laws.
Shah said it was a learning that had come in after 75 years. “Every society makes its own laws,” he said, replying to critics who have questioned the need for such a massive overhaul. “The British brought the Indian Penal Code, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act in the 19th century with the objective of consolidating their rule. The aim was not justice, but punishment to the enslaved population. Today, the aim is to create an equal and just society.”
Home ministry officials said that when independent India turned 75, Modi had listed five vows— panch pran—from the ramparts of the Red Fort. The new criminal laws fulfil one of them: “End the mentality of slavery”, where correction, not punishment; reformation, not rejection; justice, not mere penalties; and nationality, not servitude, are at the heart of the reforms.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 18, 2024-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 18, 2024-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
