Latest news with #Inder
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
An aristocratic missionary and a question of property: When SC put checks on Parliament's power to tinker with Constitution
In 1815, the Chatterjee family in Calcutta's Shibpur celebrated the birth of a male heir and marked the moment by donating 100 cows. They also named the boy Golaknath, meaning 'the owner of millions of cows'. Educated in a missionary school, Golaknath converted to Christianity at age 14. Shunned by his family, he is said to have walked thousands of kilometres, first to Benaras, then Allahabad and finally to Punjab. In Jalandhar, the aristocratic Brahmin joined the Scottish American Presbyterian Mission, becoming the first Indian to be ordained a minister. Over a century later, Golaknath Chatterjee's descendants would lend their name to what's perhaps one of the most consequential constitutional cases — IC Golaknath v State of Punjab. In 1962, land owned by the evangelical family ran into trouble with the Punjab government, which ordered that the family's land was 'surplus' under its land ceiling laws. While the right to property was then a fundamental right — it stayed that way until the 44th constitutional Amendment in 1978 — the government had through a series of reforms and Amendments diluted the right over the years. In 1964, through the 17th Amendment, the Parliament had added the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, to the Ninth Schedule, putting it beyond judicial purview. In 1967, the Supreme Court, while deciding on the family's petition challenging the Punjab land ceiling law and the 17th Amendment reopened the question on whether the Parliament could amend fundamental rights. The ruling, for the first time limited Parliament's power to amend the Constitution. While doing so, the court would reverse a view it had consistently held for 17 years until then — that Parliament had the power to tinker with fundamental rights. 'Golaknath was a moment where the judiciary asserted itself against a government that amassed more and more power to change the Constitution. The SC's responsibility to ensure that Parliament's majority does not become majoritarian is as relevant today as it was in 1967,' Dr Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor of Chanakya National Law University, Patna, says. In 1891, when Golaknath Chatterjee died, his son Henry Golaknath took over as Reverend of the church his father had founded in Jalandhar. Henry, one of Golaknath's 14 children, had in 1882 graduated from the Princeton Theological Seminary. Along with his brother William Golaknath, he bought and developed nearly 500 acres around the mission in Bhogpur, approximately 25 km from Jalandhar. While 101-year-old Henry died in 1962, his son Inder and daughter Indira were to inherit the land. However, the District Collector, under the land ceiling law, allowed Inder, Indira and Inder's four daughters a few acres each, declaring around 418 acres as 'surplus' that would vest with the state or the tenants. As the case landed in the Supreme Court, a host of leading lawyers — Nani Palkhivala, M K Nambyar, Ashoke Kumar Sen and Fali Nariman — made the case for Inder C Golaknath, the petitioner. In their arguments, they highlighted the perils of having no restrictions on the Parliament's powers to amend the Constitution. On February 27, 1967, an 11-judge Bench of the SC, headed by then Chief Justice of India Koka Subba Rao, reopened the issue of constitutional amendments diluting the right to property. The Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 1964, had, among other aspects, added the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act, 1953, to the Ninth Schedule, putting it beyond judicial purview. The amendment again raised the same larger question, which was discussed in earlier parts of The Indian Express's series — whether a constitutional amendment can truncate fundamental rights. In Sankari Prasad v State of Bihar (1951) and Sajjan Singh v State of Rajasthan (1964), the Court had ruled that Parliament had no fetters on its power to amend the Constitution. While it was the right to property that Parliament consistently tinkered with, as the ruling termed it, an 'argument of fear' had begun to take shape — that if Parliament can take away one right, it could take away any right. 'It is said that if Article 368 (dealing with amendment process) is held to confer full (power) to amend each and every part of the Constitution as has been held in Sankari Prasad's case, Parliament may do all kinds of things, which were never intended, under this unfettered power and may, for example, abolish elected legislatures, abolish the President or change the present form of Government into a Presidential type like the United States Constitution or do away with the federal structure altogether,' then CJI Rao articulated. In a 6:5 verdict, the SC, in one stroke, overruled its two earlier rulings and held that Parliament did not have the power to abridge or take away fundamental rights. While CJI Rao and five others formed the majority, Justice K N Wanchoo wrote a minority opinion. 'The power of amendment contained in a written federal constitution is a safety valve which, to a large extent provides for stable growth and makes violent revolution more or less unnecessary,' Justice Wanchoo wrote. It was in the Golaknath case that the 'basic structure' argument was first made by veteran lawyer M K Nambyar, who was inspired by German Professor Dietrich Conrad. Court records show that during the arguments in court, the lawyers referred to how the government was using the legislature as a means of securing changes in the laws which it desires. There were also references to Hitler's Germany. The ruling was perhaps also a reflection of its times. The Republic had moved from a new nation that had emerged from the shadow of colonialism to one that was beginning to confront its internal issues. For the first 17 years, the SC had allowed the Parliament to change the Constitution, but many of those parliamentarians were part of the independence movement. In fact, the first constitutional Amendment was made by the provisional Parliament, which was essentially the Constituent Assembly. As the generation changed, the relationship between the executive and the judiciary too began to change. The Golaknath ruling came around the same time when the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government had come back to power at the Centre, but lost power in several states. The political implications of the ruling had far-reaching consequences for the judiciary. It did not help that Justice Rao resigned as CJI, three months before his term ended and contested for the Presidential elections as the Opposition's candidate. He, however, lost the election to former President Giani Zail Singh. The government, however, saw the court's Golaknath ruling — and subsequent adverse rulings, including the bank nationalisation case (1970) — as open confrontation. The government hit back by superseding judges seen as inimical to its socialist policies. Despite the win, the Golaknaths did not get back their land. 'We didn't even get what was permissible under the law, where each family member could have a standard 30 acres. We received less than one-third of it. Whatever land we did get, we were pressured by villagers to sell it at a ridiculously low price,' Vimal, one of Inder Golaknath's four daughters, tells The Indian Express. The family still retains the 150-year-old 'The Retreat Golaknath House' spanning three acres in the corner of Football Chowk, located in the heart of Jalandhar city. The Golaknath Church, located on the mission compound, is run by Golaknath's sixth-generation descendants. Among Golaknath's many descendants are several illustrious personalities. Dora Chatterjee, the daughter of Golaknath's third child Mary, and Kali Charan Chatterjee, a leading Bengali Christian missionary who was one of India's first woman doctors. Then there was Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, daughter of Priscilla, Golaknath's fourth child, who became a minister in the first Cabinet. Six years after the Golaknath verdict, the Supreme Court would revisit it. This time, in the landmark Kesavananda Bharati ruling (1973), a 13-judge Bench, in a narrow 6:7 ruling, came up with the magic formula — the basic structure test. The SC would say that the Golaknath ruling was valid to the extent that Parliament cannot tinker with fundamental rights, which form part of the basic structure of the Constitution, but the right to property itself, which was essential to Golaknath's descendants, did not form part of that basic structure. Apurva Vishwanath is the National Legal Editor of The Indian Express in New Delhi. She graduated with a B.A., LL. B (Hons) from Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow. She joined the newspaper in 2019 and in her current role, oversees the newspapers coverage of legal issues. She also closely tracks judicial appointments. Prior to her role at the Indian Express, she has worked with ThePrint and Mint. ... Read More
Express Tribune
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Operation Only-Kapoor launched
Listen to article India recently pulled a Paul Heyman on Pakistan turned heel. As a consequence, all Pakistani celebrities who ever worked in Bollywood have pulled a John Cena, because you can't see them. Since the ceasefire, Bollywood is erasing Pakistani artists from all posters, thumbnails and marketing materials across their platforms. It's created this digital bizarro-world where characters disappear mysteriously. This Twilight Zone-esque parallel universe of Bollywood where no Pakistani artist exists, and hence, the remaining characters interact with empty air molecules or their narratives shift dramatically, is an amusing idea that could be a lore of its own – a fictional contemporary version of 16th century North Carolina's Roanoke Colony. Strange disappearances The first casualty of this strange phenomenon was Mawra Hocane, who was removed from the poster of her 2015 film Sanam Teri Kasam on Spotify. Sanam is gone, guys. Now the film should be just called Teri Kasam since the poster now only shows Harshvardhan Rane, standing shirtless and with his back half turned, brooding over a splash of colours as if is being forced into an arranged marriage with the red paint and asked to pose for wedding photos. Ismail please! It's a good thing Saru's father held his nerdy daughter's funeral early in the film. The man was ahead of the times and saw Saru ghosting Inder and possibly eloping with Cena. Poor, shirtless Inder. But hey, at least, no one pinky swore to marry him and died right after signing the nikkah certificate. Ali Zafar I mean Luv's brother (not Danyal Zafar) didn't steal his brother ki dulhan. Imran Khan (no, the other one) and his wife lived happily ever after since Zafar didn't exactly 'Luv' his dysfunctional family and kept his distance. I say, good for him. In Om Shanti Om, Javed Shaikh never got into an accident that killed Om Prakash Makhija. His wife gave birth to a son but they didn't name him Om Kapoor nor called him OK The child was named Osama Baksh. They call him O Bey, and he obeys his parents. The tragedy, however, is that Shanti Priya never got justice. In Tamasha, Ranbir Kapoor later met Sandy (Shanti Priya's doppelganger) in Corsica. But RK never recovered from his trauma, because his father left a long time ago. He continued his 9-5 and never became a theatre director. In another chapter, Adhyayan Suman never touches Humayun Saeed's heart with his song. It's not that Humayun has no emotions, he just didn't attend the concert since the 'Jashn' wasn't big enough and Backstreet Boys cancelled their appearance last minute. There's no Zaalima to romance with Shah Rukh Khan in Raees track's thumbnail either. Fawad Khan, on the other hand, disappeared entirely out of Milli's life. Milli turned out to be the 41st doctor to quit treating the king and never met or fell in love with the Rajasthani prince. She was later kidnapped by filmmaker Anurag Kashyap but rescued, and went on to Maskali her way through life. Meanwhile Fawad got sick of the royal lifestyle. For a while, he considered stealing his brother's manuscript to publish under his own name and become a famous writer, but his conscience didn't allow him. Kapoor and Sons lived not-so-happily ever after, despite Fawad's absence. Fawad, though, went on to become a successful DJ but never met Alizeh (Anushka Sharma). She never became his 'aadat'. My guy Ranbir played the long time and eventually convinced her to marry him. She pretended to be in love with him for the rest of her life, which, fortunately for her, wasn't very long. There's also a possibility that Bollywood uses AI to remove Pakistani artists from entire films but the actors behave as if nothing has changed. Neither the audience nor the cast can hear them, but they pretend they are there. I mean, if we can play along with R-Truth's Lil Jimmy, this shouldn't be a big deal. Instrumentals Speaking of habits, Atif Aslam's Aadat never became the anthem for Kalyug. But what will Kunal jam to while he works out and gets ready for revenge? How will the montage be edited without the iconic alaap and the subsequent beautiful gibberish? Who will now shine like a setting sun like a pearl upon the ocean? Who, I ask, will come and heal us? The people demand answers. Madhuri Dixit will have a good arc, though, since no 'jaahil zamana' will be her enemy. No re piya, Dia, and no heartbreaking melody to dance to. Mustafa Zahid's Tera Mera Rishta is muted as well. Now Emraan Hashmi roams around streets, deep into his Awarapan, not to free doves but seeking a melody to hum. The Andalusian Dog While this list could be endless, this pretense that Pakistani artists haven't had a significant impact in Bollywood is quite hilarious on its own. This attempt at 'purifying' Bollywood of its foreign enemy contaminants only makes one pay more attention to it. That's not to overestimate Pakistani influence on Bollywood but one can't deny the star power and contributions of local artists. You can't imagine anyone beside Fawad Khan as DJ Ali. You can't think of Kalyug or Zeher and not remember Atif's hits. In fact, the films may have been forgotten at this point, but the music is still alive (rejoice, Don McLean). Certain Bollywood films would feel like absurd sequences akin to Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel's Un Chien Andalou (The Andalusian Dog, 1929). It'd look like as if David Lynch directed overly long musical episodes of Black Mirror with a crossover with Twin Peaks where Pakistani actors are replaced with inanimate objects like David Bowie with a glowing orb (albeit it was after his death). If Lars von Trier can have Nicole Kidman pretend she's in a small town while on an empty soundstage with chalk marks, anything can happen. Regardless, this weird strategy to pretend, even if only in posters and thumbnails so far, that Pakistani artists never worked in Bollywood, that the industry is disinfected from the likes of Atif and Fawad, is quite an amusing but ridiculous step. It speaks to the increasing anti-Muslim hatred in India. While the country is being reshaped to fit that fantasy, even the fantasy world of cinema is being molded according to the absurd 'Muslim-free utopia' ideology of Modi. The step is akin to keyboard warriors picking old films and cancelling dead actors for their outdated views online. It serves zero purpose and benefits nobody. You can change your future, but attempting to erase history is as futile a task as rolling a boulder up the mountain for eternity. But hey, at least, we can imagine Sisyphus happy. Paap Culture is a column about cynical commentary on bizarre pop culture happenings
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Ranbir Kapoor's Animal and Shraddha Kapoor's Stree 2 DELAYED Harshvardhan Rane's Sanam 2: Makers
Romantic film enthusiasts rejoice! Harshvardhan Rane's 'Sanam Teri Kasam' is getting a sequel. Directors Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru initially planned a follow-up, but shifted focus due to trends like 'Animal' and 'Stree 2.' Now, fueled by fan demand, 'Sanam Teri Kasam 2' is back in development. Sapru confirms the sequel was always envisioned, exploring Inder's journey after profound love. Harshvardhan Rane 's Sanam Teri Kasam remains a cult favourite among romantic film lovers. After years of anticipation, a sequel is finally in the works. In a recent chat with Hindi Rush, directors Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru revealed they had always planned a follow-up, but shifting audience preferences put those plans on hold. At the time, intense thrillers like Ranbir Kapoor 's Animal and horror-comedies like Shraddha Kapoor 's Stree 2 were dominating the box office. Now, with fan demand on the rise, the much-awaited sequel is officially back on track. The Sequel Was Always Part of the Plan Filmmaker Vinay Sapru confirmed that Sanam Teri Kasam 2 was "always part of the plan." Speaking about the highly anticipated sequel, Sapru revealed that the idea to continue the story was already in place when they were writing the first film. Planning the Emotional Continuation Vinay explained that they had always intended Sanam Teri Kasam to have a sequel from the very beginning. He mentioned that when crafting such an intense, emotionally charged love story, it's only natural to wonder about the fate of a character like Inder. How does he move on after such a profound love? Sapru revealed that the continuation of Inder's journey was already written during the first film's creation. Focusing on New Trends: Animal and Stree 2 He added that during that time, no one really inquired about a sequel. Instead, they were encouraged to focus on films like Animal and Stree. Fan Demand Brings the Sequel Back to Life With fans now eagerly requesting a continuation of Inder and Saru's emotional journey, the filmmakers have decided to revive the project. Vinay Sapru confirmed, "Since there's demand now, we've pulled it out and started working on it again." The renewed interest is evident, as Sanam Teri Kasam was recently re-released and went on to surpass its initial box office records.
Express Tribune
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
'Sanam Teri Kasam 2' to hit theatres next Valentine's Day
Listen to article The highly anticipated sequel to the 2016 romantic drama Sanam Teri Kasam has been officially confirmed, with makers revealing significant updates about its release. Following the successful re-release of the first film in theatres this February, the film's directors, Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, shared exciting news with fans. The filmmakers stated that Sanam Teri Kasam 2 is almost ready and will likely be released on Valentine's Day 2026. In an exclusive interview with India Forums, they revealed that the story of the first film was always intended to be told in two parts. The second part, they explained, has been prepared for some time, and they are confident in the direction the narrative will take. The ending of the original film, which saw Harshvardhan Rane's character, Inder, approaching a tree with the voice of Saru (played by Mawra Hocane) echoing in the background, was deliberately crafted to pave the way for a sequel. The filmmakers confirmed that the script for Sanam Teri Kasam 2 had been ready long ago, but the recent resurgence of the first film, following its re-release, had encouraged them to move forward with the sequel's production. With Valentine's Day fast approaching, the directors assured that Sanam Teri Kasam 2 will be released next year, tapping into the romance-themed holiday. "We feel it's the right moment, given how the first film has been received this Valentine's," they said. "Part two is almost ready, and fans will get to experience the next chapter of Inder's emotional journey." Additionally, most of the music for the sequel is already in place, further building anticipation for the romantic drama's return to the big screen. The filmmakers expressed their gratitude for the loyal fan base the film has built since its 2016 debut and reiterated that they will honour the audience's deep emotional connection with the characters. Sanam Teri Kasam, starring Rane and Hocane, was initially met with mixed reviews but gained a cult following over time. The re-release earlier this month exceeded expectations, crossing its original box office collection within just two days. As one of the highest-grossing re-releases in India, the film's resurgence only added to the excitement for the sequel. The confirmed return of Harshvardhan Rane as Inder has further fuelled speculation around the upcoming film, with fans eager for more of the heartfelt romance that captivated them years ago. The makers have now officially announced the sequel, with the promise of "more" following the epic love story of the first film. In other related news, Mawra Hocane , who starred opposite Harshvardhan Rane in the first film, recently tied the knot with actor Ameer Gilani in a private ceremony, sharing pictures on social media.
