Activities of the IOS Chapters

ALIGARH CHAPTER

Symposium on anti-Defection Law

A symposium on Anti-Defection Law was organized by the Institute of Objective Studies, Aligarh chapter in its premises at 3.30 p.m. on January 31, 2004 which was attended by the students and teachers of Department of Political Science and Faculty of Law, AMU, Aligarh.

Mr. Mohammad Serajuddin Khan, assistant coordinator of the chapter welcomed the participants and requested them to dwell at length on the ways and means of making the present anti-defection law more effective.

Initially two students belonging to Faculty of Law, AMU, Aligarh presented their written papers and then they were joined by Mr. Mohibul Haque, lecturer, Department of Political Science, Dr. Shakeel A. Samdani, senior lecturer, Department of Law, and Dr. Asif Ali Khan, lecturer at +2 School for Boys, AMU, Aligarh who expressed their views on the provisions of the recently enacted Anti-Defection Law and the possible safeguards.

Many suggestions were forwarded by the audience and the participants to curb the chances of defection of MLAs and MPs. Some of the suggestions are as follows:

§         Qualifications for becoming MLAs and MPs must be reviewed and the political parties must adhere to reviewed qualifications while giving tickets to them and the Election Commission must be given cutting teeth to prevent any candidate from contesting election who is not qualified

§         The speakers of assemblies and the speaker of Lok Sabha must resign just after he/she is elected as speaker from the party he belongs to.

§         The power to decide defections must be vested with the Election Commission.

USA’s Neo-Imperialism

Dr. Raveend Y.R. Khwaja, a physician who is settled in England, delivered a lecture on ‘American neo-imperialism in modern era’ in January 2004. Mr. M. Muqim introduced the speaker and requested him to speak on the subject.

The literal saying that the sun never sets in the British Empire was a practical expression of the fact that from Hong Kong in the Far East to the West Coast of America there was not a moment without sunlight. Even after the American independence the above example was still true as Canada remained in the British Empire.

From 1939 with the commencement of the 2nd World War cracks began to appear in the British empire and with Nazi Germany’s attack and occupation of many weak neighbouring states, the foundations of British Imperialism started to crumble, said Dr. Khwaja.

Britain was justified in pleading to USA for immediate massive military aid. The US President F.D. Rousevelt was initially sincere in committing USA’s air, sea and land power to rescue Britain. But as the 2nd world progressed and USA’s administration and Army Chief sensed a total annihilation of Nazi Germany, the desire for power and the dream for gradual world domination entered into the psyche of CIA which is the permanent policy-making body in America.

It is significant to note that after defeating Hitler’s forces and achieving the objective of a total surrender of Nazi troops, USA did not withdraw from Europe and did not hand over the future control of Germany to Britain and France and other affected states but maintained its domination not only by setting up new bases in Europe but also by maintaining all its air bases in Britain. All this was done on the pretext of countering the threat posed by the cold war and the fear of Russian domination in Europe, and to prevent Russian imperialism or communism in Africa and Asia. Impartial critics of world events were unanimous that apart from the race to the moon, Russian resources were no match to those of USA. Russia’s futile and failed adventure to plant the seeds of communist type of government in Afghanistan proved the correctness of world commentators, remarked Dr. Khwaja.

When the British decided to run away from India and N. Africa and the Middle East in the middle of the 20th century, the CIA seized the opportunity to easily step into the shoes of the retreating Britain.

The method of India’s Partition, suited both the foolish, panicking Britishers and the cunning and shrewd Americans and both of them could foresee a bright economic future for their respective arm manufacturing industries, which were bound to earn millions of sterling pounds and dollars by supplying arms to the panicking Indians and Pakistanis over the Kashmir issue.

USA’s neo-imperialism emerged when the British troops abandoned Middle East and the Palestine sector and deliberately left all their armoured vehicles, few light tanks and machine guns and mortars in the hands of the so called Israeli government which was secretly set up in collusion with the CIA and the British intelligence. Thus while Britain lost its Empire, USA carved one for itself, said Dr. Khwaja.

According to the authentic press interviews and written statements of Mr. Tony Ben, former Cabinet Minister of the Labour government, USA has illegally intervened in no less than sixteen sovereign states. This view was corroborated by Dr. Mahatir, the former Malaysian Prime Minister in an international conference of Islamic states in Kuala Lumpur. Dr. Mahatir gave a detailed outline of American style of imperialism which consists of both armed intervention and economic strangulation of those weaker nations who dare to oppose American policies. This explains the nature of American imperialism, said Dr. Khwaja.