If to mention couple of such encroachments of public space, there is a temple being constructed on the roadside, near the Cliff House, the place of residence of the Chief Minister of Kerala. Yes.. right under the nose of our Chief Minister, and none seems to take notice of the same..truly ‘God’s Own Country’ we live in! Not to mention the temple that sits on the middle of the road at Kumarapuram Junction, or the place of worship, again at the middle of the road, near Chenthitta. There are more.. there is an ‘althara‘ on the road to Regional Research Laboratory, near Pappanamcode, which has a huge potential to get upgraded to a full fledged place of worship in the near future.

Interestingly, while the State of Kerala is doing everything to attract ‘temple investments’ across the state, the Honourable Supreme Court of India on 31st July, 2009 made this observation. The bench comprising Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Mukundakam Sharma asked the central government to ensure that there was no unauthorised construction of temples, churches, mosques and gurdwaras on public streets/public places. The bench observed that “As far as the existing religious places are concerned, we can understand that demolition or removing them may create some law and order problem. But why don’t you consider preventing such constructions in future across the country?”

When the apex court had made such an observation, which even though is not an order to any particular individual, what is preventing our State Government, purportedly rooted on rational and ideology, to act suo moto against such illegal constructions? Or are they promoting temple trade as an investment option for the unemployed youth in the state to emulate, wherein there is no risk of hartals or strikes? Or is it that for our Chief Minister, encroachment of land is something that happens only in Munnar or the reserve forests? Definitely there are more questions than answers!

For thousands of years, religion has been a dominant force in human society. History does not record anywhere and at any time of a religion that has any rational basis. The greatest vicissitude of things among men is the vicissitude of sects and religions. All religions, with their gods, demigods, prophets, messiahs and saints, are the product of the fancy and credulity of men who had not reached the full development and complete possession of their intellectual powers. They focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos and human nature) which resulted in a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle. We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.

RECORD OF EXPLOITATIONS

Religion encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience. Religious persecution down the ages has been done under what is claimed to be the command of God. God is always associated with those things that we do not understand. Criticism of religion is discouraged and stifled. It remains socially unacceptable to point out the main objections which sceptics and freethinkers have about religion.

History is replete with recorded abuses and savageries of organised religion when it comes to power. Live burials, beatings, burnings, cannibalism, buying and selling of human beings, and the chopping off of heads, hands, feet, ears and plucking out of eyes all fill the pages of the Holy Books. Human sacrifices to appease the gods. The Crusades. The Inquisition. The suppression and the execution of millions of women. Pogroms against Jews. The Holocaust. Jonestown, Guyana.

Believers are indoctrinated to ignore the bloody history of religion, and to pay effusive lip service to belief in God and God’s holy representatives on earth. Ordained ministers and priests are “men of God,” “God’s holy instruments,” a race apart, anointed. It is no wonder that these men who wish to misuse power and betray trust are in a unique position to do so. Newspapers are full of reports of financial exploitation, sexual transgressions, the criminal and sexual abuse of children, and women by these ordained men.

Havelock Ellis wrote: “In all countries, religion or superstition is closely related with crime.” Religious doctrine encourages power inequities toward women and children, and such inequities invariably lead to abuse. “The primary epiphenomena of any religion’s foundation are the production and flourishment of hypocrisy, megalomania and psychopathy, and the first casualties of a religion’s establishment are the intentions of its founder.”- Emily Brontë.

It is reason not imagination, that determines what is probable and what is not. A man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary.

We no longer need to be threatened with eternal torture or tempted by eternal bliss in order to form a civilised society.

Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death. Like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the States and Union Territories to formulate, within eight weeks, a comprehensive policy on removal, relocation and regularisation of unauthorised religious constructions.

A Bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and K.S. Radhakrishnan pointed out that in its December 7, 2009 order the States were asked to prevent unauthorised construction of temples, churches, mosques or gurdwaras in streets, parks or other public places. While the States filed affidavits stating that steps had been taken to prevent any future unauthorised construction, in respect of formulation of a policy for the existing unauthorised structures, most of them had not framed the guidelines.

Therefore, the Bench said, it had become imperative to direct the States and the UTs to formulate a comprehensive policy and to identify all unauthorised structures. The State should spell out within what period it would demolish/relocate/regularise the structures. The Bench directed the Chief Secretaries to file affidavits in this regard.

Tamil Nadu stand

In its response, Tamil Nadu said it had evolved a strategy for removing unauthorised structures at public places without hurting people’s sentiments. This “includes the process of identification, to relocate the said structure.” A high-level committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of the Revenue Minister to deal with eviction as well as to monitor the progress of eviction proceedings. The court’s orders had been communicated to all District Collectors and they were directed to strictly comply with the directions.

Andhra Pradesh said that as per a preliminary survey “there are about 647 religious structures on footpaths and road margins in the area of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation; 25 temporary structures which have recently come up and have low potential of creating a law and order problem and can be removed; 55 structures that can be removed by convincing the managements and local people, and 496 structures which are old, permanent and have a high potential of creating a law and order problem.” An action plan had been finalised to conduct a detailed survey and to take action as per law.

Both Karnataka and Kerala said strict instructions had been issued to the Collectors to strictly comply with the court direction that no unauthorised construction of any kind be carried out or permitted on public land. Similar affidavits were filed by other States.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on April 6.

No free laddus at Tirupati from next year

Balaji will no longer bless you for free. Now the Tirupati laddu, that delicious prasadam received by every hand that was raised to praise the lord will have to be bought. Also those who wanted a ‘take away’ version of the blessing will have to pay double the price for each laddu. Now that’s what it means when they say ‘there are no free lunches’. Not even in God’s kitchen.

If you ask me, I say this is reformist. Just last year a family member returned from Tirupati, with a frown instead of flowers. The tale of how temple staff pushed those who greased their palms close to the Lord’s feet, and shoved other unsuspecting devotees away through the queue made my devotion plunge into doubts. Then my naïve relative recounted how some people got more laddus while she was handed just one. Obviously she was unaware of the Cash for Laddu routine. I was horrified. How do you feel spiritual or close to God if you buy your way to Him? How can you pay for blessings?

At least now the price tag on faith is official. It will get documented, accounted and verified. We can hope that the money collected will be well spent on charity or security. This is Kalyug, so let us not hope for everything ideal. Buying legal blessings is still better than bribing for better ‘bhakti’.

Other related Articles

The heat in the religious sweet

‘worship cafes’ mushrooms on public roads and streets; It’s a serious concern for secular India

Recently in September 2009, the World Health Organisation has stated that – “in the next 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other cause of ill health worldwide. Out of all health problems this will represent the biggest burden on society. Poorer countries have more depression than richer countries.” A myth was busted.

Overview:

1. Serious brain disorders like Major Depression, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, Stroke etc. cause premature death and disability. ‘The ‘Burden of Disease in India’ by the National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, September 2005 states that -“Nearly 65 to 70 million people in India are in need of care for various mental disorders in all age groups. Less information is available on the socioeconomic distribution of mental disorders, which are likely to be highly stigmatized.”

2. Stigma and ignorance was visible during the last census in India in 2001. People with disabling mental disorders and mental retardation were all grouped together under the category of ’mental’. “Disability was included as Q15”. –stated the ‘Tamhane report,’ February 2002. The census left out millions of people with severe disabilities caused by serious brain disorders like Stroke, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

3. Stigma, ignorance and the disconnect within the Ministries of the Government of India prevails despite the existence of a National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) which was launched in 1982, the aims of which according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare were

(i) Prevention and treatment of mental and neurological disorders and their associated disabilities.
(ii). Use of mental health technology to improve general health services.
(iii) Application of mental health principles in total national development to improve quality of life.

http://nihfw.org/NDC/DocumentationServices/NationalHealthProgramme/NATIONALMENTALHEALTHPROGRAMME.html

4. The failure of the National Mental Health Programme with its lofty aims was evident when twenty eight people with mental disorders were burnt alive in a fire that broke out in a private facility at Erawadi village, Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu on 6 August 2001. These people were charred to death with their chains that leashed them to poles. What followed was a book with many pages written by many experts. The book lies in a cyber state in the website of the National Mental Health Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare unable to ensure the right to health to millions of people with disabling brain disorders in India.

http://mohfw.nic.in/healthprogmain.html

5.  Besides the disease burden there is an economic burden. Disabling Brain disorders can be devastating to patients and families, requiring lifelong treatment and therapy. People with these illnesses are not able to work and produce as much as other people. Also someone has to care for the person with these disorders. Cost to families and society is very high.

No access to health services

1.When a person breaks a bone in his leg, he needs to get x-rays, have the bones set, have a cast put on the leg, crutches or a walking stick to move around etc. Such services are accessible under the same umbrella of health services enabling the person to recover ensuring his right to health. Whereas for a person in an acute condition of Major Depression, Psychosis, Stroke or Schizophrenia services which are needed to recover are not accessible under the same umbrella of health services in India.

2. Access to emergency services like first aid, ambulance services for taking the patient to a hospital and crisis care centres for admission are not available for millions of Indians impacting their right to health. Without timely treatments, brain disorders become chronic and severely disabling conditions causing immense suffering to the individual and anguish for their families.

Underlying conditions

1. There are still no national public health and anti-stigma campaign related to disabling brain disorders in India. Stigma, ignorance and prejudice still prevail. The Lancet, issue of January 2006 has stated that, ‘Knowledge is the enemy of disease. The public-health services of every country need to protect their populations from polluted and poisoned knowledge in the way they protect their populations from polluted and poisoned water.’ Clean, clear, knowledge — a basic human right and a public health need is as important as access to clean, clear, water, and much more easily achievable.” There is a colossal ignorance about these disorders in India. Misinformation, misconceptions, myths persist.

2. “Barriers to appropriate care’ have been several; with ‘stigma’ being a major impediment to access care, and cultural practices a major hindrance leading to many hazardous practices and neglect of those with mental illness.” – states the ‘Burden of Disease in India’ by the National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, September 2005. Both stigma and ignorance can be addressed through massive public health campaigns educating people about disabling brain disorders. The so called ‘cultural differences’ which are supposed to make us Indians ’so different’ from the Western countries have not prevented the Indian Government from carrying out massive awareness campaigns about a deeply stigmatizing illness like HIV/AIDS. In fact it is the sheer magnitude of these campaigns that have been responsible for the success so far in dealing with HIV/AIDS.

3. There is no mechanism to coordinate and synchronize the services which the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare, Social Justice and Empowerment, Law, Finance, Information and Broadcasting, Defence and Labour are supposed to provide for people with disabling brain disorders. Services which include first aid for emergency care, ambulance services, crisis care centres, affordable medications and treatments, rehabilitation, assessment of degree of disability, long term care, recovery programs, guardianship for care, employment and educational assistance, housing, financial and legal help. Presently without access to these services the quality of life has been severely impacted and the right to health denied to millions of people with disabling brain disorders in India.

4. So far attention has been focused only on the 37 government mental health care facilities in India which house about a thousand people with severe mental disorders. The health care of millions of people with brain disorders living with their families in India continue to be neglected.

The WHO has appealed to countries to increase their support for mental health services.

http://www.who.int/mental_health/en/index.html

However darkness, death and neglect prevail for people living with disabling mental disorders in India.

]]> http://secularcitizen.net/2009/11/24/darkness-death-and-neglect-for-people-living-with-disabling-mental-disorders-in-india/feed/ http://secularcitizen.net/2009/10/03/plea-filed-in-apex-court-against-gi-tag-for-tirupati-laddu/ http://secularcitizen.net/2009/10/03/plea-filed-in-apex-court-against-gi-tag-for-tirupati-laddu/#comments Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:50:22 +0000 secularcitizen http://secularcitizen.net/?p=737 Author : Vinson Kurian                                  Source : Business Line

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct. 2 A public interest petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking ‘suo motu’ action against the grant of intellectual property right (IPR) protection to ‘Tirupati Laddu,’ which is a temple offering.

The petitioner is Mr R.S. Praveen Raj, scientist at the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, responsible for IPR management and technology transfer, among others.

Earlier, Mr Raj worked as Examiner of Patents and Designs at the Chennai branch of the Patent Office.

PREJUDICE CAUSED

Registering Tirupati Laddu as ‘goods’ under the Geographical Indication (GI) of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, has caused prejudice to Article 25 of the Constitution and violation of Section 9(d), Section 11 and Section 9(a) of the GI act, Mr Raj submitted.

He also voiced concern about the danger involved in the ‘private appropriation’ of ‘religious symbols’ and ‘divine indicators.’

The distinct flavour and deliciousness of the laddus made the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), administrators of the Lord Venkateswara Temple, go in for exclusive rights.

A range of rich spices like saffron, refined camphor, cashew nuts, dry grapes, cardamom and ghee go into their making.

The GI Act is meant only for protection of goods and the act defines ‘goods’ as any agricultural, natural or manufactured goods or any goods of handicraft or of industry.

Food stuff also is included in the definition under Section 2(1) (f) provided such food stuff can be stocked, preserved and sold as ‘goods’.

But Tirupati Laddu cannot be classified as an agricultural good, nor a natural good or a handicraft, leaving the option to schedule it only under industrial goods. But it is quite hard for devotees to believe that temple offerings are equivalent to manufactured goods or commercially significant commodities, Mr Raj said.

Allowing the GI registration of goods produced by private entities would defeat the spirit of GI protection, which is meant for protecting, preserving and promoting collective community rights as opposed to private monopoly rights.

However, exclusive rights for ‘products of creative mind’ are being allowed as IPR with reasonable restrictions, only because it is essential for industrial growth. No industrial purpose is served by the grant of ‘goods’ status to a temple offering, Mr Raj submitted.

Festivities and the religious elements apart, the Attukal Temple and the Pongala Mahotsavam has sort of become a religious brand today, which attracts lots of commercial attention from all over Kerala, and the neighboring Tamilnadu and Andhra. While it offers an excellent business opportunity for pottery wholesalers and mom and pop shops, for bigwigs, the pongala congregation provides a suitable platform to advertise their products and services. No wonder, corporate majors and big brands are making a beeline to sponsor various events/activities at the temple during the course of the 10-day festival. The market potential of the event is thought to be in the tune of many crores of rupees.

Realizing the brand potential of ‘pongala’, now many small temples in and around the city (in other parts of the state as well), which until now had only local patronage, have jumped into the pongala bandwagon of late, and started promoting their own ‘pongalas’ to attract women folks from various parts the city and beyond. Stickers advertising ‘pongalas’ in these temples can be spotted inside many KSRTC buses plying within the city limits and beyond. Interestingly, some of these places of worship have witnessed a spurt in the number of lady devotees after they started offering pongala festivals. This is the pongala magic, originally pioneered by the Attukal Temple Trust (ATT)!

No wonder, the Attukal Temple Trust, wary of the growing competition, had gone on to apply for trademark for the picture of the deity of Kannaki, and the caption ‘Sabarimala of Women’ or ‘Sthreekalude Sabarimala’ in their name, and surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) succeeded in getting the same. They just don’t want its competitor temples to cash in on the growing ‘Pongala economy’, that easily runs into tens of millions of rupees.

While, as to whether the deity is trademarkable is a contentious issue that is subjudice now, what is appalling is the apparent callousness with which the temple trust had made the deity, worshiped by millions, into a commercial object, and went on to secure the exclusive rights of its commercial use as well. Equally bewildering to the rational mind is the fact that the Indian Patent Office did not see anything wrong in the commercial intent of ATT, and had straightaway issued the trademark sans raising any questions, even to themselves. Finally, completing the dots, the Kerala Government, which is supposed to be the guardian of everything lawful in the state, did not see anything unlawful in the temple trust’s move. What is more interesting is that the honourable ministers of the state had participated in the grand function in the capital city, arranged for announcing the trademark certification possessed by the trust and their exclusive right on the deity picture.  Now the Goddess is the temple trust’s own property, and not that of her millions of devotees’!

Looking ahead, it can be said that a court directive in the near future might put an end to this contention. But what our devotee folks must realize is that such a directive alone is not going to clean up the malice in the system. Crass commercialization will not only ruin the spiritual element of Hinduism, but also would deride its values to a point of no return, a horizon that we are fast approaching. If the believers still don’t look inwards, and take a hard perspective of how their faith is being misused by the religious institutions in this country, and at a very basic level, what they themselves are doing in the name of faith during such festivals without giving it a second thought, it won’t take long before the cultural and moral bankruptcy slowly corrupts virtually all fibers of our society. It is already running at a negative balance!

]]> http://secularcitizen.net/2009/09/05/brand-pongala/feed/ http://secularcitizen.net/2009/08/17/bt-brinjal-or-any-gm-food-unfit-for-human-consumption/ http://secularcitizen.net/2009/08/17/bt-brinjal-or-any-gm-food-unfit-for-human-consumption/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:09:03 +0000 nevin http://secularcitizen.net/?p=618 This article is to all those non biotech friends of mine and to those who are very much convinced that the eggplant is indeed harmful. What causes this cry and anxiety to the common people is due to the propaganda the media is generating. For all that you know is what you read and for all that you believe is what you read. Does anyone of you know the real truth at all? Let’s just think, we do not know what will happen to humans when Bt brinjal is consumed, but we sure know what has happened in past.

When I say past, I am talking about the conventional breeding that the farmers have been and still doing to release hybrid food crop. The science of hybrids can be traced back more than 150 years. These hybrids are those crops which are resistant to various traits which we now deal using biotech methods as conventional breeding has its own limitations. Now we understand that, there is a conventional way called breeding and a biotech way called transgenic technology to deal with the same problem (i.e. improve upon the yield of a given crop).

Before moving any further, I would like to make it clear that the so called “problem” that I mentioned before is not a situation these private or public players in transgenic technology have created. This problem has evolved naturally. For example, the present drought condition that we face today in India and other countries was a natural phenomenon (some say it is global warming, but I am not going in detail to that aspect). What I want to signify is the fact that, hybrid crop or transgenic crop has hit the market to cope with the changing climatic and natural conditions and ultimately to feed the thousands.

Coming back to the conventional breeding method, it was so very natural for all of us. We were able to accept the hybrid food served in front of us without any apprehension. Now what if I say these hybrids are less vigorously tested than their counter part of transgenic crops? “Less vigorously tested” does not mean it is harmful or marketed with lack of prior testing, it just means transgenic crops have been so anti marketed these days that the scientists are forced to test more and more when compared to hybrids.

A hybrid plant is produced by crossing between two plant genome and the progeny inheriting the traits from both the species crossed. In such a scenario, there will be a lot of undesirable traits which could be inherited by the progeny. This was one of the many disadvantages/limitations that the breeders faced before. Here, when the whole genome of a plant get inserted to another plant without any due knowledge what could happen in the progeny in terms of metabolite production or protein synthesis, there was no predicament or concern from us. However, when the term “genetically modified plant” was introduced or coined by scientists, the people had concerns about the same. Well here it goes, for all who did not know so far, you and me have been eating “genetically modified plant” under the heading “hybrid plant” in one way or other when you’re going out for a vegetable shopping or when you bought that processed fresh juice.

My dear readers give it a thought for you, where were the people who are now making the noise against genetically modified (GM) crop, before? Why did not they sound against a hybrid which is also another form of genetic modification in plants? What is their interest if scientists are showing a way to go ahead in spite of the food scarcity? These are some of the thoughts I urge you to think for yourself.

When Bt cotton was first introduced in India in 2002, it faced a much warmer welcome when compared to Bt brinjal, the reason being obvious that the former was non-edible. However, there is a success story right in front of us which is being blinded by the activists. The use of Bt cotton has reduced 22% of insecticide usage and has increased the farmers yield by 80%.This yield gain does not include the reduced monetary input that has to be incurred on insecticides. This simple but important data can answer a lot of questions that comes against GM crops.

If you and I are ready to eat a vegetable that are coated with insecticides, why not the same vegetable which have lesser pesticide than conventional ones? Insecticides are toxic substances designed to kill insects, but in addition they can cause acute symptoms in humans like rashes, dizziness and are also linked to chronic diseases, birth defects, reproductive disorders and so on. All the above said symptoms could occur if not used properly or beyond a prescribed limit of insecticides. But who monitors this usage in farmer’s field? For all that we know is our vegetables are fresh in the store we buy.

If this is the present scenario that we are in, why are we so against genetically modified crops? The gene (not the genome as in the case of hybrids) that the scientists insert has a known use to a known target group which has been proved harmless. For example, the gene that is inserted in Bt brinjal reduces the insecticide usage just like Bt cotton. Another fact to this story is that the proteins produced by Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) have been used in farming techniques for many years with no ill-effects on environment or human health. To substantiate this, there has been numerous toxicity studies by independent bodies.

In spite of this, the common people have been misled by these activists. I would like to narrate an example that I personally faced in ernakulam MG road by one of green peace activists. The lady came to me and started propagating that “the gene from scorpions have been used for transforming brinjal and that the vegetables that we eat will no longer be pure for vegetarians as there is an element of non-vegetarian in it”. The conversation went on for 15 minutes from her side, after which I just told her “even if you google ‘bt brinjal’ you would know that the gene did not come from scorpion nor were there a question of non-veg in it”. From then I understood a reality- “the market for information is to the player who creates the maximum sensation out of any given news.” And that’s what happening in this debate over GM foods

Each of us has been given a brain to think and heart to consider, what lays the truth remains the truth no matter who plays it down. If the market for pesticide industry is brimming down why play down the usefulness of GM crops? If these transgenic crops are nothing but a boom for the economic stability and growth, why discourage its effect? To whose vested interest are these activists fighting against GM?

Note: The views and expressions narrated in the above article are of the sole outlook of the author himself and nothing whatsoever to deal with or influenced by a any third party.

This article is from the Beijing Review, vol. 49, no. 21, May 25, 2006 (pp44-45).

Shaolin Temple, synonymous with kungfu and Buddhism in China, is making mega media headlines with the recent of its plan to host an international TV kungfu competition. Partnered with a local television station, the grand showdown is set to offer martial arts practitioners from across the globe a chance to become the next Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee.

The first round of competition began in May in Shenzhen, Beijing, Zhengzhou, Shenyang, Chengdu and Shanghai and in the United States, Germany, Russia, Italy and Australia. The finalists have the opportunity to sign contracts with the Shaolin Temple’s acting agency and land a role in new movies and TV dramas about Shaolin. The competition committee secretary-general Fu Min estimates that, during the six month-long competition, as many as 20,000 kungfu enthusiasts will take part in the first round. As the organisers are looking for actors to be the next generation of international stars, contestants are required not only to be skilled, but also have the charm and good looks to sizzle on the silver screen.

Established on Chan philosophy and famous for its martial arts, Shaolin Temple is being publicly questioned and criticised by many for taking something considered sacred into the world of entertainment. They claim that Shaolin Temple has deviated from its core disciplines of meditation and spirituality. If the trend continues, say detractors, the temple’s function will become nothing more than an ego-driven operation for movie production.

According to historical records, Shaolin Temple was built in the late fifth century at the behest of the emperor of the time, to accommodate an Indian monk who came to China for missionary work. The monastery was built in Shaoshishan Mountain’s lush woods, in central Henan Province. The name Shaolin Temple was derived from the Chinese character ‘lin’ meaning ‘woods’. In the year 527, another Indian master, Damo, arrived at the Temple, where he meditated for nine years and created the Chan philosophy and Shaolin martial arts. Since then, Shaolin has become world-renowned for its kungfu.

Its golden years were between the 13th and 17th centuries. Since the beginning of the 18th century, Shaolin had been forgotten until a movie changed its fortunes. In the early 1980’s, the temple had only 12 monks and one hectare of farmland, a sharp contrast with the hundreds of hectares of farmland and more than 2,000 monks in its heyday. A 1982 movie Shaolin Temple became a blockbuster soon after hitting the screen, turning the temple into a household name overnight.

It began to open to the public in September 1974 and by the end of 1978 it had received a total of only 200,000 tourists. In 1982 alone, however, tourist numbers surged to over 700,000 and climbed to a record high of 2.6 million in 1984. Even today, around 1.5 million tourists are attracted to Shaolin Temple every year to look for the traces of the movie settings there.

Besides tourists, martial arts fanatics, mainly youngsters, come to the temple from every corner of the country. Their demand was soon met by martial arts academies, which sprang up adjacent to the temple. Dengfeng City, where the temple is located, has nearly 70 kungfu schools, of which the largest has 15,000 students. The local economy has been greatly boosted by tourism and the martial arts academies.

It is the first time in its 1500-year history that the temple is so closely combined with commercial interests. The bustling business of souvenir stores, restaurants and kungfu academies seems to have submerged the core disciplines of meditation and spirituality.

The commercialization path is now deeply embedded. Shaolin Temple now has its own welfare foundation, magazine, movie and TV company and martial arts promotion agency.

Moreover, Shi Yongxin, the present abbot of Shaolin, travels around the world in a jeep with a chauffeur and goes abroad frequently to socialise with Hollywood celebrities. In the process he has earned he has earned the nickname in the media of the ‘CEO in a cassock’.

Confronted with queries about the commercialisation of Shaolin Temple, Shi, the first Chinese monk with an MBA degree, said; “Our focus is not on increasing the revenue, since that from the tickets is enough to sustain the expenses of the monks. We expect to preach Buddhism far and wide.”

She also explained that against the globalisation backdrop, Shaolin Temple is expected to respond to the economic and cultural dominance of the Western world. Otherwise, Shaolin would not be able to maintain its social influence, which would fall short of the expectations of Shaolin’s ancestry, he said. Since Shaolin was born and has grown through international cultural exchange, it is aimed at becoming the global centre of the Chinese Chan Buddhist sect and a venue of international communication, said Shi.

Shaolin embraces market economy
Qi Jiashan (columnist at China Youth Daily): Shaolin Temple is no longer the same temple in an inaccessible mountain. Instead, it has been developed and promoted as a tourist resort and even its name Shaolin has been commercialised.

The movie and TV drama production company under Shaolin Temple is to produce future kungfu movie stars while another company is engaged in promoting vegetarian cakes and tea under the brand name of Shaolin. A ridiculous on-line game called Shaolin Legend has been developed, which market observers said is all about tapping the huge market potential of online games and nothing about promoting Shaolin culture.

It seems the temple has become the cash cow of the local government and is firmly entrenched in the market economy. I have heard that Shaolin has applied to be on the world heritage list of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), and my concern is when that day comes, all that is left will be the body of an ancient temple without its glorious spirit.

While Shaolin tries to catch up with modernisation, it is losing its distinctive nature. There is no peaceful place for Buddha in the Temple shrouded by the chaotic martial arts teachings, vendor stalls and entrepreneurship. Instead of a spiritual paradise, the temple is becoming a money-making machine manipulated by some people. The recent trip to Shaolin by Russian President Vladimir Putin has thrust it under the spotlight.  An interesting detail is that the abbot, Shi Yongxin, shook hands with Putin instead of traditionally greeting with palms together, something his critics were quick to pounce on.

Even if the earthly evolution of Buddhism is to some extent acceptable, associating Buddhism with entertainment is rather intolerable. As we know, “Super Girl” is a pure entertainment venture. If people create a “Super Monk” by imitating “Super Girl”, it would have nothing to do with preaching Buddhism.

The commercial tapping of the Shaolin brand has become excessive. What will happen when all the components of Shaolin, including its martial arts, teaching, kungfu books, food and medicine, are developed and consumed?

Chen Ming (associate researcher at the Institute of World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences):
Influenced by the social environment, the purity of Chinese temples has now become part of the marketing strategy of local governments to promote their economy.

I suppose mind cultivation should be the focus of Buddhist temples, particularly Shaolin Temple, an ancient Buddhist shrine. A person should not sacrifice the essentials for economic interests.

Moreover it seems improper for Shaolin Temple to engage in too many commercial activities and operations.

Chinese society now does need the influence of Buddhism, but what can temples like Shaolin provide us today? I feel Chinese religious culture faces an awkward situation in its current trend of development.

Commercialization beneficial

Yao Weiqun (philosophy professor at Peking University and Buddhism expert):
Since a large number of temples are located in downtown areas, they are hardly cut off from modern society. But viewing the issue from a different perspective, Shaolin monks can make contributions to charitable causes by donating income from their performance tours to natural disaster relief or to poor school dropouts, which is consistent with Buddhist philosophy.

What needs to be remembered is that martial arts are after all not the core value of Buddhism. Only by combining the essence of Buddhist culture with philosophical thought and Chan wisdom can Buddhism be widely disseminated around the world.

Wang Zhiyuan (researcher at the Institute of World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences):
I have known Shi Yongxin for seven or eight years. He has been devoting great effort to the development of Shaolin Temple.

The affinity between temples and modern society is somewhat unavoidable. The vitality of religions in Hong Kong and Taiwan comes from its combination with the earthly world. Certainly, the combination must follow a principle – the essential emphasis on meditation and spirituality of a religion can never be neglected.

Shi Yongxin is not an exception since great monks are always social activists. They have greater responsibility to shoulder. Anyway, Buddhist doctrines cannot be totally alleviated from earthly virtues. Asceticism and self-isolation of emotions advocated before were due to the limitation of conditions.

Shi Yongxin is wise enough to balance his practical and spiritual life and is an excellent organiser. As an old friend I would urge him to spend more time meditating and practising martial arts and looking after his health, as he appears to have put on a lot of weight in recent years.

Liao Baoping (columnist at Guangming Daily):

Generally, people have the conventional views that monks should always be a sanctuary of purity in an otherwise materialistic world.  Therefore, it is unacceptable to many people that Shaolin Temple is polluted by money, commercial activities and entertainment. However, in my view, these comments are to outdated to be true.

Buddhism is essentially a type of culture. Culture evolves with multiple factors of modernity, so has Buddhism. Monks are not gods. They are humans with flesh and blood. The global TV competition for selecting new kungfu stars is essentially about the commercialisation of a culture in a globalized world.

It was not until the late 1990’s that the cultural industry became a recognised economic sector in China. While the cultural industry yields a handsome share of GDP, there is still a fierce debate going on over the viability of the industrialisation of culture.

The real focus of the problem behind Shaolin’s kungfu contest is, in fact, whether Shaolin culture should be commercialised.

If the answer is no, then as Shi Yongxin mentioned, the income from tickets is sufficient to meet the expenses, and monks can wholeheartedly devote themselves to routine work. But in that scenario, Shaolin would not be able to sustain its social influence. If the answer is yes, probably sooner or later the temple will lose its basic function of helping to enlighten others.

Personally I suppose that Shaolin Temple’s culture should be carried forward and some elements of the culture, like martial arts, can be industrialised, while some, like Chan-sect philosophy, should not be commercialised. Shaolin Temple should therefore differentiate elements of its culture in its commercialisation efforts.

An estimated three million women devotees from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu converged on streets leading to the Attukal Bhagavathi temple here Tuesday and cooked rice offerings on thousands of firewood stoves for the goddess in one of the largest religious gatherings in southern India.
The offering is made on the penultimate day of the 10-day-long Attukal Pongalafestival, which is often referred to as the equivalent of the Sabarimala pilgrimage for women.

The Guinness Book of World Records listed it as the world’s largest annual gathering of women in 1997, when 1.5 million devotees converged here on Feb 23.

“This time the number of devotees has crossed three million. The women are seated on roads. This year several more roads have been occupied compared to last year,” Sreekumaran Nair, the temple superintendent, told IANS.

Attukal Bhagavathi is believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki, the central character of the Tamil epic “Silappathikaaram”.

According to legend, Kannaki destroyed Madurai in Tamil Nadu after the king of Madurai wrongfully imposed the death penalty on her husband. After that, Kannaki travelled to Kerala, where she rested for a while at Attukal and women are said to have cooked pongala to appease her.

Devotees arrived here early Tuesday with earthen pots, bricks, firewood, rice, jaggery and coconut to cook the rice offering.

About 20 sq km area around the temple was choc-a-bloc with women and only those who had reached three days ago managed to get a place to cook near the temple. They lit their stoves after the chief priest lit the main stove in the compound at about 10.30 a.m.

The event, where poor people rubbed shoulders with filmstars, ended at about 2.30 p.m. after the rice was ready and the priests had sprayed holy water from the temple on all earthen pots.

Miss World Parvathy Omanakuttan said this was the second she was offering pongala.

“Last time I won the Miss India crown and became the Miss World runner up after I came here. Amma is really powerful and one really experiences a feeling of satisfaction after doing this pongala. I am really happy I am here,” said Omanakuttan.

“This is the tenth time I am offering pongala. I believe Amma is really powerful. One has to be here to experience the goodness,” said film and TV actress Chippy.

Malayalam superstar Suresh Gopi, who is present alongside the priests when the main stove is lit every year, said that he feels fortunate to be able to participate in the event.

“I keep aside all other work to be inside the temple for the lighting of the main stove. Despite the massive crowd, everything takes place with absolute calmness,” he said.

Sukanya Devi, a resident of Kollam who had come here with her daughter, said: “We attended this festival for the first time last year. Soon after, my daughter got married. We are here this time to give thanks to the goddess.”

Commissioner of Police Ravada Chandrasekhar said 2,000 policemen and 500 women constables besides 15 deputy superintendents of police and three superintendents had been posted for security during the festival.

The day of the Attukala Pongala was a holiday in the district except for IT firms.

The railways ran special trains and added additional coaches for the devotees, while hundreds of stalls put up by social organisations supplied free food and drinking water to the devotees.

After the sea of humanity dispersed, municipal corporation employees took to the streets, clearing away the hundreds of thousands of bricks and earthen pots as well as other debris.

“The whole city seems like a holy place during the festival. I will do my best to see that this is turned into a national pilgrimage centre,” said Lok Sabha secretary general P.D.T. Achary.

The three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said “We are not in favour of termination of pregnancy”, adding further that nature would give protection to them.

However, if to analyze an expert team’s report on the mental condition of the victim, which was read out in the court during the hearing, it painted a grim picture of the victim, as a mildly mentally challenged person who is unable to understand the concept of pregnancy and conception. Even her psychiatrist and gynaecologist had advised constant supervision of the victim, in their respective medical reports, to ensure her overall well being as she may not be able to take care of herself alone. In short, while the medical experts who have studied the victim had clearly stated that the woman is not fit mentally and physically to continue with the pregnancy, the rationale of law had surprisingly chosen to take just the opposite route,  for some reason.

Predictably, the judgment was welcomed with lots of silent criticisms, and ‘what if’ questions from the public at large, and Secular Citizen also joins them in analyzing the different aspects of the ruling, and its implications.

As someone having a third person perspective of the developments, Secular Citizen would like to ask the readers,

• What would be the fate of the child and the mother?

• Why should we have an MTP Act in place if a mentally challenged  rape victim is not bound by its purview?

The court order may be justifiable as a caveat to the misuse of Medical Termination of Pregnancy. However SECULAR CITIZEN smells serious prejudice to the legislative intent of  THE MEDICAL TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY ACT, 1971, in this decision.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 states that a pregnancy may be terminated by a registered medical practitioner of opinion, formed in good faith, if

(i) the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury to her physical or mental health; or

(ii) there is a substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities to be seriously handicapped.

The Act further states that in determining whether the continuance of a pregnancy would involve such risk of injury to the health, account may be taken of the pregnant women’s actual or reasonable foreseeable environment. The Act also mentions that, if the pregnancy is caused by rape, the anguish caused by such pregnancy shall be presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman.

Now, taking a hard look at the facts we have, here, the rape victim is not only mentally challenged, but also the prospect of her ‘actual or reasonably foreseeable environment’ improving is slim. As per the medical reports, she is also in no state of mind to understand the concept of pregnancy and conception, leave alone raising the child. Also, there is no guarantee whatsoever that the child will be born in good health, and without any physical or mental abnormalities that would leave him/her handicapped for life. Further, we can’t say now if continuing the pregnancy would involve a risk to her life.

Shockingly, the woman is an orphan too. MTP Act says that , no pregnancy of a woman, who has not attained the age of eighteen years, or, who, having attained the age of eighteen years, is a lunatic, shall be terminated except with the consent in writing of her guardian.

The court might have taken refuge on its confidence on the social service organisations advocating for the rape victim’s rights. Can we expect the NGOs to act as the true guardian of the mother and child in letter and spirit ? then to what extent ?

Summing it all up, it appears to Secular Citizen that the best option would have been to terminate the pregnancy (considering the peculiar nature of this case),  rather than letting things escalate to more complexities and risks to the mother/child.

Marking the official culmination of a legal battle started nearly a decade ago by Osho Friends International (OFI), against the exclusive right held by the Osho International Foundation (OIF) Zurich for the use of OSHO trademarks in the US, the US Federal Court has ordered the cancellation of Osho trademarks in the US, thus upholding  the order passed by the Trademark and Trial Appeal Board in the US in January this year.  The Trademark and Trial Appeal Board had earlier given the verdict that “the term Osho is generic for the meditations devised by the mystic Osho and the meditation and religious movement arising from there, and as a result, defendant OIF cannot foreclose others from utilising the term OSHO to describe their own goods and services based upon such meditations and movements.”

Even though the Osho International Foundation (OIF), Zurich, had filed a Notice of Appeal on March 12, 2009 in the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit in Washington DC, with respect to the January 13 decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, realizing that their chances are slim in the upcoming hearing, they decided to file for withdrawal of appeal on June 19, 2009.

With the Federal Court finally dismissing the Osho trademarks, anyone in the US can now use the term OSHO without the fear of getting prosecuted. However, in the rest of the world, and in India, the Osho International Foundation’s monopoly on OSHO still reigns unchallenged.

  Now we look forward to the hearing of suo motu case in Kerala High Court in the matter of revocation of trademark on Attukal deity.

Umpteen talk shows followed on television channels. There was no dearth of discussions about homosexuality versus religion. On one television channel a Hindu religious leader stated that Homosexuality was a mental disorder. This was followed by the response about homosexual erotica in Hindu temples and the lack of love and brotherhood in religious leaders. What did temple erotica; love and brotherhood have to do with a mental disorder? No one bothered to explain.

On CNN-IBN Sagarika Ghose with her hallmark, not yet trademarked stentorian tone displayed her bias with pride. The speakers who supported homosexuality were given enough time to swear allegiance to homosexuals and rant against the religious leaders who opposed it to being legal. One of the speakers stated that homosexuality was not a mental disorder. If it was they should be sent to hospitals and not to jails. Ghose as an anchor did not bother to intervene and state that there were only thirty seven government mental health facilities in India which are woefully inadequate for the existing seven crore Indians with severe disabling mental disorders. That was the last count by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. So where was the place for treatment for anyone even if they screamed that they wanted it? Probably she did not know. But then shouldn’t she considering that the founder of CNN, Ted Turner struggles even today with a severe disabling mental disorder.

As for CNN-IBN the arguments against homosexuality which were offered by the speakers spluttered into a silence which was not of their choosing. The cameras moved away from them before they could complete their sentences. A pro-homosexual speaker sitting next to Ghose joined her to snigger at a young Hindu priest from Sabarimala, one of the participants for using the word ‘bestiality’ more than once. NDTV also conformed to the current journalistic trend which seems to be that it is ‘in’ to support homosexuals and ‘blasphemy’ to oppose it. Instead of putting up a fair debate with equal time for all speakers, Vikram Chandra the NDTV anchor hectored a religious Muslim leader who was spunky enough to respond with logical arguments. A Christian father had to admonish Chandra for ridiculing a soft-spoken young man from the audience who was not pro homosexual. A psychiatrist spoke rather theoretically about how the brains of homosexuals were different from the brains of people whose sexual preferences lay with the opposite sex. However he did not show the scans of the brains to the viewers to substantiate his statements.

In the entire celebratory melee somewhere Mental Disorders got the boot and more stigma in India.

SECULAR CITIZEN wondered for a moment, as he could not understand why the media found this an important issue, while they found nothing wrong in the TM on Attukal deity and GI on Tiruppati laddu ?

Burger co makes goddess Lakshmi ad, Hindus outraged

I would hurriedly rush to the kitchen, tear the newspaper and the foil of the chocolate and eat it greedily before it became soft in the humid heat of Thiruvananthapuram. Amma, my mother then would chide to wipe my face and tell me to go and give Chittappan and his friend tea in a tray with the hot snacks. I remember feeling bewildered then when I heard her chuckle and tell me, “Give the tea to Chittappan and his wife.” She would chuckle till the tears ran down her beautiful cheeks. The servants would giggle too. Amma would then stop laughing and the tears would continue to run. It was as if laughter had suddenly turned to sorrow. It was only years later that I understood what Amma’s laughter and her tears meant for Chittappan’s ‘wife’ was a man.

New York Times has written, “India’s society is generally unwelcoming of homosexuality except in the most cosmopolitan circles” which is incorrect. Homosexuality was accepted in many poor and middle class circles where it was understood even way back in the nineteen sixties. When one knew that someone in the family had an inclination towards homosexuality it was accepted with a great deal of sadness because it foretold a life of pain and ridicule for that family member who had leave for a cosmopolitan town to earn his living where it was misunderstood. As for Chittappan he died a broken man unable to bear the grief when his friend left him to get married. I am sure if Chittappan had been alive today he would have been happy. As for his friend who is still alive I wonder what his thoughts are.

In order to understand TV channel’s sms love affair, one need to look into the sms economics that plays out behind the scene. While a normal sms costs 1- 2 INR, a competition sms’, as it is widely known, sets one back by as much as 6/-. In other words, a competition sms costs at least 3-6 times more than a regular sms message sent from a mobile phone. Why it is priced so high? Well, there lies the twist in the tale.

For every competition sms sent out by a person, a part of its cost goes to the respective TV channel conducting the show. If to translate it to numbers in terms of money, this will easily exceed many lakhs of rupees. No wonder, TV channels tend to promote on television that it is the sms sent out by the viewers that makes or breaks the chances of a contestant in the show. The TV channels now play the second trick to induce more sms’ from the audience, ostensibly to let the viewers choose their favorite singers in a totally democratic manner.

To give credence to this part of the story, let me quote the June 15-30 edition of VANITA. It featured an article on the ‘reality behind reality shows’, in which it was mentioned that winners/losers of certain rounds (usually the final stages) are decided in advance, but is kept hidden from the audience in order to give the impression that the show is still on and the sms’ sent by one still matters. In reality it doesn’t. VANITA, in its feature, reports that in at least one case, even after a contestant was eliminated in a particular round (which was already shot by the channel), in order to garner more sms’ from the viewers, the show was made to stretch to include at least three more episodes featuring the said contestant, before airing the elimination round that was shot earlier to finally put an end to the contestant’s woes.

Poor contestants have no choice but to play to the TV channel’s tune, even if they realize what is really happening behind scene, for they are made to sign a contract barring them from making any views/opinion on the show when they register for the event. Save few exceptions wherein some contestants had quit the show in protest, others tend to play along, thanks to the crore-valued carrot ahead. They tend to turn a blind eye to the stick.

VANITA, in the June edition, further reports that TV channels sometimes force certain no-competition clause as well on the contestants, which bar them from taking part or act in competing channels productions or stage shows for a stipulated time, usually one year. If they need to enter into any other projects, they can only do it through the respective channels. It appears that the channels want to forcefully impose themselves as media mangers as well of the popular contestants!

When this entire mega-drama is being played out week after week, intriguingly, the viewers doesn’t seem to realize that it is them who are being mocked by the channels, and nobody else. They fail to comprehend that while the channels and mobile phone operators reap a nice profit each day, it is them who are losing money, and that for virtually no credible purpose. Like in politics, it appears that we seem to lack the discerning sense when it comes to spotting the rot before it ruins the entire berry. Veendu vicharam ennundavum malayalikalkku? Enthaayalum eekkollavum illa!

Of  course, Public Interest Litigation (PIL) provides an effective and inexpensive means for the socially responsible citizens of the country to approach the court of law, to seek remedies to issues wherein the interests of the general public or a section of the public is at stake.  A PIL seeking writ can be registered under article 226 of the Constitution of India in any High Court in the country. It is also possible to approach Supreme Court directly for a writ under Article 32 of the Constitution.

Filing a PIL in High Court or Supreme Court

A PIL in High Court or Supreme Court is filed in the same manner in which a writ petition is filed. If it is filed in the High Court, two copies of the petitions need to be filed (5 sets if filed in Supreme Court). Also, advance copy of the same has to be served to each respondent, and this proof of service need to be attached to the petition filed in the court, and a nominal courtfee (multiplied per respondent) has to be affixed on the petition. The proceedings in the PIL, carries on in the same manner as in other cases.

However, it should be kept in mind that a PIL can only be filed against a State/Central government, Municipal Authorities, and not against any Private party. But, a ‘private party’ can be included as a Respondent after making the concerned state authority a Party. For example, if there is a private factory in the outskirts of Chennai causing lots of pollution, the people living nearby or simply any person can file a PIL against the Government of Tamil Nadu, State Pollution Control Board, with the Private factory owner as a respondent. That is, a PIL can’t be filed against the private factory alone.

Regarding arguing the case, one does not need an advocate to draft or argue the PIL, as long as the petitioner can think, write, and argue straight. Since section 32 of the Advocates Act empowers anyone to represent anyone else in need, it is not essential to employ an advocate for the same. Sometimes the court may ask the “locus standi” to be explained, and the petitioner could do it by coolly quoting Article 51A of the Constitution of India, which underlines Fundamental Duties of a Citizen. It is just about telling the court what you stand for, and why you filed the PIL.

      A trademarks on the picture of deity and the appellation “Sabarimala of Women”, are not only ‘unethical and unlawful (see petitioner’s version in this News)’, but illegal also. It is worth mentioning here that every legislation has a specific purpose, and so for the Trade marks Act also. The preamble of the THE TRADE MARKS ACT, 1999 says explicitly that it is “An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to trade marks, to provide for registration and better protection of trade marks for goods and services and for the prevention of the use of fradulent marks”.

        Having confirmed that the Trade marks Act is meant for the protection of trademarks for goods and services, it would be interesting to see how the Trademarks Act defines the terms, “goods“, “services” and “trademarks”

According to Section 2(1)(j) of the Trademarks Act, “goods” means anything which is the subject of trade or manufacture.

Section 2(1)(zb) says “trade mark” means ‘a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include the shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colours’.

   While picture ‘per se’ is not a trademark as per the above definition in Section 2(1)(zb), it seems that the Trademark registry have given an extended meaning to the term,, “MARK” capable of being graphically represented and including combination of colous. Of Course, there is no surprise in this matter if they could grant a trademark to the deity as such. Ironically, the Trademarks Act mandates the registry to ensure that the trademark is distinctive and non-deceptive by a thorough Novelty Search. (A simple search in Internet will show you that the trademarked picture is the icon being worshipped by crores of people in Kerala and even outside).

    Looking from other side of the deal, I could find no clue about the “Trade or Manufacture” associated with the Temples, the “Goods” being manufactured in Temples and the need for a “TRADE MARK” to distinguish their “Goods” or “Services” from their Competitors.

The Trademark Registry says that they have granted the trade marks for “Temple Services”.

   It just prompted me to have a look at the definition of “Services” under Trademark Act.  According to Section 2(1)(z), “service” means service of any description which is made available to potential users and includes the provision of services in connection with the business of any industrial or commercial matters such as banking, communication, education, financing, insurance, chit funds, real estate, transport, storage, material treatment, processing, supply of electrical or other energy, boarding, lodging, entertainment, amusement, construction, repair, conveying of news or information and advertising.

   To the best of my understanding the term “temple services” is meant for “services to the temple” (supply of pooja materials on payment basis for example). But, as per the definition of “services” in Section 2(1)(z), the services shall be connected with business of any industrial or commercial matters and made available to potential users.

      It is hard to believe for a common man that a place of worship is a equivalent to a business establishment and the devotees are potential users of the facility.

     The Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust claims that the Trademark would help them to prevent unauthrised use of the picture and the title. So they are aiming at the monopoly conferred by Section 28 (1) of the Trademarks Act, which says “Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the registration of a trademark shall, if valid give to the registered proprietor of the trademark the exclusive right to the use of the trademark in relation to the goods or services in respect of which the trademark is registered and to obtain relief in respect of infringement of the trademark in the manner provided in this Act.” 

      There may be many roadside vendors using the picture of attukal deity in their products (many times as a reverence to the deity and not essentially by commercial interest). Attukal temple trust would threaten them in the name of Trademark certification. No need to say that it would result in religious tensions.  

      There is one more danger. If this picture continues to be registered, another person (may be from some other religion also) can apply for a Trademark by modifying any part of the picture with some other expressions which are not auspicious. As per law, trademark registry will have to grant a trademark on that, as it would be “distinctive” and “not deceptive” (lawyers will easily prove it).

     Shockingly, the Trademark registry has no intelligence to understand the wisdom of the law makers in inserting the following clause vide Section 9(2)(b) of the Trademarks Act. 

According to the inventor, by modifying the entire circuitry of mobile phones, multiple SIM sockets can be incorporated into them, which would then enable the handset to communicate simultaneously in different networks, with a switching time between networks cut down to few nanoseconds. He had filed for his patent in 2002, and was granted the same in February 2008. Since then he was attempting to get cell phone makers to pay up a royalty fee for the dual SIM phones they make/sell in India.

Mobile phones, according to Ramkumar, comes under his patent are,

• Mobile phones that has provisions for more than one SIM card or modified SIM cards.
• Mobile phones with more than one SIM socket/modified SIM sockets to receive SIM cards.
• Cell phones having more than one earphone/ headphone jack, wherein the said jacks accept one earphone/headphone plugs and/or blue tooth devices.

His opponents, however contend that Ramkumar’s invention is nothing but prior art. One of the importers pointed out that “the right that Ramkumar claims is for a generic class of products, over which he has no patent rights in any case”. Samsung Electronics, another high profile party involved in the suit, argues that the patent itself need to be revoked on the above mentioned grounds,  alongside mentioning that their imported product is anyway grossly different from Ramkumar’s patented product. As the matter is currently sub-judice, lawyers of both parties are refusing to divulge anything more on the contentious suit.

For now, the Madras High Court had issued an interim injunction restraining some of the cell phone makers from manufacturing the dual SIM phone/sell the same in India until the issue is resolved.

Read it here -

TRIPS and Temple Trade: Monopoly extends to Trading of Faith

We are witnessing crass commercialism creeping into various activities of our people. Such commercialism is objectionable even in business ethics and enlightened management practice as it is counterproductive in the long run. In particular, the exclusivist rent-seeking trend in the claim of intellectual property rights is harmful in a developing economy, as it does not promote productivity and innovation.Furthermore, we are dipping to the nadir when temples start claiming intellectual property rights to the deities and offerings.

Tirupati Laddu.

    The latest example is the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) sought for the Tirupati laddu, the sweet offering, prasadam, of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple  by the temple trust,  vide the Hindu, 2009 March 16. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which manages the world’s richest temple, has submitted an application before the Geographical Indication Registry seeking the GI tag for geographical exclusivity for the temple offering. TTD is reported to have an approved annual budget of Rs1,925 crore for 2008-09, projecting a revenue of Rs. 40 crores from the sale of the laddus. Obviously it is not in any financial hardship to justify the action unbecoming of its divine grace, to seek protection claiming intellectual property rights on the laddus.  

Attukal Deity.

     It is reported that Attukal Temple Trust has claimed exclusive right to the temple deity’s picture and “Women’s Sabarimala” appellation, vide Indian Trademark Journal no.1388 (Regular), 2008 March 16, p. 3583. Accordingly, Attukal Bhagavathy temple trust claims the entitlement of the picture of the deity “as such”. This certification given as a trademark, originally intended for commercial advantage, seems to be inappropriate as it is dangerous and objectionable to have religious symbols appropriated for business.

       There is no valid justification for seeking intellectual property rights by the two temple trusts. With prosperity we expect magnanimity, especially where divine grace so amply visible. If the trusts see a problem of misuse of the faith symbols, it should be solved to the extent appropriate by administrative action, rather than through a legalistic approach that can lead to problems in the future. The rule, Buyer Beware (caveat emptor), should be enough in both cases with the known degree of risks involved. Commercialism masquerading with hypocrisy would not help our temples or culture.

Temple for Trade?

    ”Trademark is used in the course of Trade,” according to the Trademark Act, 1999 Section 2(1.e.) under Definitions and Interpretations. Should  ‘TM’ marking is to be made on the pictures used in worshipping!  Trademark is to indicate the source of manufacture or trade origin of the goods or services and hence to protect the ‘goodwill’ of the undertaking. Will it not be inappropriate for the Attukal Bhagawathy temple or the Tirupati temple to call itself a business undertaking and proprietors of a trade? Is it not dishonourable to claim that the Temple Trust is trading in the picture of the deity as a monopoly and that the economic “good will” protected by the trademark is for letting an object and a place of worship as a “service”? Will it not lead to unending law suits between temples, and between temples and commercial undertakings? Will it not be disgraceful? All this is for what gain? I trust the Trust will see the deep and far-reaching implications and retrace the steps to its rightful place to deserve divine grace with a charitable attitude. Without such ‘protection’ the temple had already got the recognition for drawing the largest assembly of women devotees from the Guinness Book of World Records. This year it was reported that 25 lakh women assembled  on the Ponkala day of March 10. The Tirupati temple also remains the richest without such protection.

TRIPS tripping our balance.

     The cause of this unbelievable fall in our values can be traced to the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights regime (TRIPS) imposed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). That, in turn, was the result of the aggressive posture taken by developed countries in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations in the early 1990’s to retain their advantages of earlier start. That posture was objected to because it would be used for holding the handicap and extending the exploitation of the developing countries. Patents, trademarks and other intellectual properties sought to be protected by exclusive provisions of TRIPS were pointed out as unfair to the underdogs. They would be benefiting only the parasitic ‘rent-seekers’ and not the creators. In my article, “India and the Dunkel Proposals” and presentation at the Kerala Science Congress in Thrissur in 1992, the unfair exploitation implied was exposed. The objection was based on my experience as an inventor with 15 international patents and understanding from participation in an international patent committee.   What was feared has become real. It has also led to conflicts and expensive litigation by countries like India. It led to desperation to others that cannot afford to fight.

   The exclusivist, alien culture has unfortunately spread to other areas. The most objectionable area is the trade and trademark in faith symbols. Tirupati prasadam and Attukal devi are drawn to the market place and litigation arena. Even in the religious environments commercialism seems to dominate where, on the other hand, a charitable mind is expected. This is because of the corrupting influence of the WTO regime of TRIPS,  which is alien to the Indian heritage.  

Time to Act

       If this legalistic regime can tempt and corrupt the charitable outlook that should characterize a progressive temple trust, what more harm can it not do to the social values and heritage of our country? We have already seen other aberrations and perversions in the opportunistic use of the provisions of the TRIPS at the international level. Thousand times the annual per capita income of India had to be spent on cases related to untenable patents taken on herbal remedies of India. A new world order, different from that envisaged by the WTO, therefore, should be our goal. It is necessary not only to ensure economic justice for all but also to protect the sublime culture and sustainable values of human heritage and its enhancement through innovation. The emerging controversies on the trade and trademarks of faith symbols should awaken us to the urgent task of struggling for the change. The debilitating global economic meltdown should provide the context and opportunity to undo the harm. In the meantime, native charity and discretion should protect us from the temptations for seeking and using such instruments of litigation as provided in the imposed regime.

Dr. N.N. Panicker, tatsat@vsnl.com

      The pass percentage in the Patent agent qualifying Examination, conducted last December, is 28%. In the previous years as well, it wasn’t any different. Why is it so? Is it because the examination format is a tough nut to crack? Or is the evaluation too stringent that candidates invariably fail to secure the minimum cut off required for the different segments of the said examination?

Well, it could be a combination of all these factors. The patent agent examination tests a candidate’s skill in terms of his/her grasp of the Indian Patent Act 1970, proficiency in drafting legal documents for various clients, in hypothetical legal circumstances, and one’s command in drafting a complete specification of potential inventions, complete with claims, over two papers - Patent Act and Rules (Paper I) and Drafting and interpretation of patent specifications and other documents (Paper II).  One’s knowledge of Patent Act, as well as the various facets of IPR domain in general, is again tested in a Viva Voce by a select panel.

In order to pass the patent agent examination, a candidate has to score an overall score of 60%, with a minimum of 50%  in the two papers that constitute the written test, and the Viva Voce separately.

As it was observed, more often than not, candidates who had failed to secure the pass percentage had managed to score above 50% in Paper I and Viva Voce. In other words, the soft spot for most of them was Paper II, drafting and interpretation of patent specifications and other documents. The reasons for this pattern are quite obvious. While Paper I demands learning the sections/rules of Patent Act from a book for most part, which many in fact does, drafting of documents/specification takes practical experience, and acquired skills, which is not easy to simulate otherwise. This is also one of the reasons why there is a large chunk of people among successful candidates every year, who are working or have worked in a legal firm.

  Having said that, however, with some real hard work, it is still possible to crack Paper II, but one should be prepared to travel that extra mile. Unfortunately, most of the candidates, especially those who are working full time (other than in law firms), never puts in that extra effort required to prepare oneself for Paper II, and fails as a result.

  There is No doubt that the career as a patent agent/attorney is very lucrative.  In respect preparing a patent document, multinational corporates offer a remuneration, which is not in any way less than $ 5000 (Say Rupees 2.5 Lakhs). Even in respect of a patent application from an Indian company, a skilled Patent agent/attorney can demand service charges to the tune of many thousands in Indian Currency. However acquiring such technical skills demand very good science background and extensive training in addition to the knowledge of Patent Law. 

   Few publications of late that have come up with Patent Agent Examination guides, prepared by experts in the trade, to aid aspiring candidates in helping them crack the Patent Agent Examination puzzle. While secular citizen is not taking sides, for aspiring candidates, it is advisable to refer to one of those books for valuable suggestions on the exam patterns and other tips. But above all, what matters the most is one’s own sincere efforts and hardwork !.

       Aspiring candidates may also read the following key information about the career of Patent agent and the registration formalities.

Rights and responsibilities of patent agents 

1. to practice before the Controller of Patents; and
2. to prepare all documents, transact all business and discharge such other functions as may be prescribed in connection with any proceeding before the Controller under Patent Act, 1970

        He/She may sign all applications and communications to the Controller on behalf of his client. His/Her work also includes drafting of patent specification, making an application for Patent, making subsequent correspondence with the PatentOffice, attending hearing on behalf of the applicant, filing and taking part in opposition proceeding or defending his case against such opposition filed by some other party. 
   
Qualifications for registration as patent agents 

(a) He/She is a citizen of India; 

(b) He/She has completed the age of 21 years; 

(c) He/She has obtained a degree in science, engineering or technology;

d) He/She has passed the qualifying examination conducted by the patent office.

     The qualifying examination for Patent agents will be held twice in a year, at each of the appropriate office under Controller General

Application for qualifying examination 

    Application for the qualifying examination shall be made on plain paper addressed to “The Controller of Patents” in the prescribed manner along with requisite fee in cash / cheque / D.D. in favour of “The Controller of Patents” and shall be submitted to the nearest Patent Office (Chennai for south India) along with two copies of passport size photos and with relevant documents. 
   

Registration of patent agents.- 

      After a candidate passes the qualifying examination, and on payment of fee for registration, His or Her name will be recorded in the register of patent agents and a certificate of registration as a patent agent will be issued by the Patent Office.

The backdrop to my question is that the whole trip from Chennai to the Kerala capital, a total distance of 800+ km, cost me just 256/-. Yes, just two hundred and fifty six INR!

My journey commenced on April 31st, 3:20pm, from CMBT, in a Chennai – Trichy express. Thanks to the long weekend ahead, reservations for the day were closed long back, as the seats on all long distance buses were well booked in advance, thus leaving me with no other choice, but to split up the journey into convenient segments, with no rigid timetables whatsoever to stick to. In a sense, I thought, this is nothing to complaint about as now I could plan my bus rides ahead with lots of freedom (yes..in the middle of the night!). But at the end of the 320 km grueling journey (for which I paid just 105/-), I was left with little enthusiasm whatsoever to explore beyond the confines of the Trichy bus stand. On top of that, I was hungry to the limits (and thirsty as well), having been spent about 9 hrs sans any food in the bus.

So food first! After grabbing a quick dinner or a very early breakfast (at 1:30 am it could be both), I positioned myself to fight for a seat for the next phase of my journey, from Trichy to Madurai (142 km). The bus stand was unusually crowded in the middle of the night, as hundreds eagerly waited with heavy backpacks and other luggage, not to mention ladies with kids, to catch the next bus to their native places. If to draw parallels, I would say our Thampanoor bus stand never gets crowded like this at anytime of the year. For Chennai bound people, it was a bit more easy as two-three buses started from the bus station, and all the seats were up for the grabs. For the south bound passengers, however, it was still a stiffer challenge, as the buses coming from Chennai were all full to the brim, and there were not many buses originating from the station towards any place towards south, beyond Madurai, at that hour either. Even the frequency of buses to Madurai wasn’t anything that would make a Tamilian proud. So, I had to make the call sooner than later. If I were to prevent any further delays in my trip, I desperately need to squeeze into the next Madurai bound bus, no matter whatever happens. There are no ifs & buts in this hour of urgency! And I did exactly that.

There was a maddening rush as the T-T fast passenger slowly rolled into the bus station, and I also willingly dissolved into the crowd. Even though I failed to secure a seat, I successfully managed to find a comfortable position to stand, with a metal pole nearby to lean on for support. Not bad a performance, given the crowd response I had to endure outside!

I got a seat after standing for over 3 hours, and by the time I caught up with a quick nap, I found myself at the doorsteps of Madurai Corporation. My watch said 5:20 am. TNSTC charged 40/- for the trip. May I remind you, In Kerala, a KSRTC bus ride of similar distance would easily set one back by 90-100 INR. Does TNSTC have a magic wand?

Fortunately, things were better in Madurai, and with much less effort, I managed to get into a Kanyakumari bound fast, for the last-but-one phase of my journey, and this time, I managed to secure a seat as well. There was not much crowding in the bus either. After few minutes, when the conductor tapped on my left shoulder, yelling ‘tickets’, I extended him a 100/- note. He politely asked if I could tender a 30/- change as well, and I happily obliged, assuming that the ticket fare is somewhere in the 120-130 rupee range. I was wrong! Along with the ticket to Nagerkovil, he handed back a 50/- note as balance. Yes! The whole journey of 271 km, from Madurai to Nagerkovil, costs one just 80/-. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. A similar journey in Kerala would have easily set one back by 160/-, if not more.

The last phase of my journey, from Nagerkovil to Thiruvananthapuram, was a cake walk when compared to my earlier ordeals. There are frequent buses – operated by both KSRTC and TNSTC – connecting the two places, and having been already impressed with the fare structures of the latter, I preferred to complete my last leg of my long journey in TNSTC. The ticket cost 31/- and soon I was back in my home town in just under two hours, on May 1st, after a long 23 hours since I started from Chennai.

Back in the confines of my bedroom, while taking stock of my travel expenses, minus the money spent on food/water, I found out that the whole journey from Chennai to Thiruvananthapuram cost me just 256/-. That is a cool eighty rupees or more lesser than the sleeper class fare to Chennai from Thiruvananthapuram or vice versa.

So, why the KSRTC charges us more, and unreasonably in Kerala? If TNSTC can run their shop profitably with such low fares, why KSRTC can’t? Why are they fleecing us so nonchalantly? And worse, what is holding us back from raising our voices against this exploitation?

Before long, the next high profile ‘shoe attack’ occurred in India, and it was the Indian Home Minister, Chidambaram, who had found himself ‘facing the shoe’ this time. It happened in a press conference at the AICC headquarters on 7th April, when Jarnail Singh, a Sikh journalist, flung his shoes at Chidambaram, apparently in protest against Jagadish Tytler’s let off by CBI in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. The only difference here was that Mr. Jarnail did not attempt to hurt the minister, as he threw the shoe sideways across the dais where the minister was sitting, and at the same time, got away with what he had intended to achieve with his theatrics. The AICC saw what was coming, and did not wait for another day to deny Jagadish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, another co-accused in the riot case, party tickets in the upcoming elections.

In between, another shoe throwing incident happened, but was not widely reported in the media, in a poll rally in Kurukshetra. This time, it was a retired school headmaster who took his ‘shoes into his hand’ before hurling it at Congress candidate Navin Jindal.

The latest shoe-throwing incident to grab media headlines has BJP leader L K Advani at the receiving end. And the person who gave Advani a masterclass on the ‘might of shoes’ is none but a former functionary of the saffron party itself, Pawas Agarwal. He was aggrieved at the party leadership for ‘removing him from his post’, which he blames on groupism within.

Who will be the next to face the shoes? Well, lets wait and watch!

Is ‘not to vote’ a fundamental right of the citizen? In other words, can I or you prefer ‘not to vote’ in an election, and record this fact in front of the Presiding Officer, if we are not satisfied with the available choices of candidates on the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) ?

Well, even if there is no such provision exist anywhere in the Constitution of India, Rule 49 O of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 confers upon the voters, an option to NOT TO VOTE, if they wish so, and record this fact in the register of voters (with the Presiding Officer) so that no election fraud or misuse of voting takes place on that person’s name later that day. But how many of us are aware about the existence of Rule 49 O?

The text of the Rule 49 O of the Conduct of Election Rules says:

“Elector deciding not to vote. — If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form 17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark.”

 According to the Rule, the voter choosing ‘not to vote’  must record it with the presiding officer at the election booth, an act that will violate the ‘secrecy of the ballot,’ the cornerstone of the whole electoral process. Earlier, in the paper ballot era, it was possible to ‘waste’ one’s vote, without violating secrecy of the ballot, by stamping on multiple candidates. However, the current scenario do not give this leeway to the voters anymore. Since the EVM has only the list of the contesting candidates on it, voters can’t make use of this wild option to choose none.

Perhaps fed up with the current crop of candidates that we get to choose from in an election,  and given one’s inability to reject them if so preferred, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been moved by People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) seeking a direction to the Centre and the Election Commission to induct a provision for “negative” voting in the Representation of the People Act, and hence giving the voter the right to register his “rejection” of the candidates. Perhaps we may have to wait a little more to see if we really get a chance to ‘vote out’ our politicians with a single button press on the EVM.

 However it is worth mentioning here that unlike some of the hoax mails circulating in the web, there is no provision whatsoever in the Constitution of India or the Conduct of Election Rules that empowers the Election Commission of India to order a re-poll should the winning margin of the candidate is less than the number of negative votes polled. This is totally an absurd claim, and nowhere near to truth. Visit http://www.49-o.Info for more clarifications on the hoax surrounding Rule 49 O.

Trivia: In the present world, only Russia lets its people vote ‘against all’ candidates.

        It was quite accidental that I came across a short news item in THE HINDU  that the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust got the certification of Trade mark and hence exclusive rights to use the temple deity’s picture and the title “Sabarimala of Women”.  The most objectionable aspect in this matter is the trade of  faith and the use of faith symbols as trademarks. Moreover trademark cetification, originally intended for commercial advantage seems to be inappropriate in this context, as it is dangerous and objectionable to have religious symbols appropriated for business.  It passes a wrong message to the public that a place of worship also is a “business outfit” or “origin of trade and commerce”.        The message propagated by Attukal temple trust as to its claim for the exclusive entitlement for the use of picture of deity and the appellation “Sabarimala of Women” and its legal right to prevention of unauthorised use of the picture and title is a serious prejudice to article 25 and article 26 of Indian Constitution (Part III - Fundamental rights). While the icon of attukal deity is a “Common” (Belonging to all her worshippers), and hence the use of image of Goddess is to be left unencumbered for all her worshippers, its private appropriation by the temple trust would enable monopoly for the use of the picture of Goddess by the trust alone.          It is a common sense that “Trade marks are used in the course of Trade”.  A Trademark is to indicate the source of manufacture or trade origin of the goods or services and hence to protect the ‘goodwill’ of the undertaking. It will not be appropriate for the Attukal Bhagawathy temple trust  to call itself a business undertaking and proprietors of a trade. Further it is dishonourable to claim that the Trust is trading in the name of the deity in respect of letting the place for worship. Moreover the trust may in turn prevent the sale of any product affixed with picture of the goddess unless a license is obtained from the trust and the trust may charge heavily for the license even from the roadside ordinary merchants selling pooja items with goddess symbol.  

      Page 3583 of Indian Trademark journal No. 1388, Regular, March 16, 2008  reveals that Attukal Bhagavathy temple trust claims the entitlement of the picture of goddess “as such”. It is dangerous that religious symbols (especially image of deity etc.) are being appropriated for business in a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic, which promises JUSTICE (social, economic and political), LIBERTY (of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship) and EQUALITY of status and opportunity. Trademark on the picture of Attukal deity is equivalent to taking a patent on the symbol pranava manthra, OHMKARAM or a monopoly on “Holly mass”.

     As far as Attukal Temple Trust is concerned, this mistake might have caused by ignorance of the provisions of the TM Act, but the mistake from the part of Office of Controller General of Patent, Designs and Trademarks can never be justified. Clause (b) of Subsection (2) of Section 9 of Trademarks Act, 1999 makes it clear that a mark shall not be registered as a trade mark if it contains or comprises of any matter likely to hurt the religious susceptibilities of any class or section of the citizens of India.  It is quite alarming that the trademark registry lacked the intelligence to understand the wisdom of the lawmakers in inserting the above provision.

    The Trademark Registry also did the following serious mistakes

a)    Overlooked the provisions of section 9(1) of Trade marks Act especially its clause (b) as to the intended purpose, values and geographical origin of the trade mark symbol claimed besides ignoring section 2(1)(h) in respect of whether the picture of deity is “deceptively similar” to other goddess images.

b)    Interpreted “Temple services” as “services being provided by the temple” (which has no relation to Section 2(1)(z) of Trademark Act 1999), while the term “temple services” is meant for “services to the temple” (supply of pooja materials on payment basis for example).

         From the definition of “trademark” in Section 2(1)(zb) and the definition of “goods” in section 2(1)(j) in the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the purpose of trademark legislation is very clear – protection of  Trade and Commerce. Further, section 2(1)(z) of Trade marks Act, exemplifies that “services” meant by TM Act are services in connection with business or commercial matters and those rendered against payment of a sum. Apparently, services provided by a Temple trust are not supposed to be considered as “services” under Trade Marks Act, 1999.

         It is very essential to quote the relevant provisions from Trade Mark Act, 1999 to reflect the alarming devastation to the integrity of the country if such unhealthy practices of private appropriation of religious symbols are allowed. Section 28 (1) and Section 78(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 testifies the monopoly gained by the proprietor of the trademark or “certification trademark”. Further Section 29 and Section 75 of Trademarks Act, 1999 empowers the proprietor of the trademark to sue all the unauthorised users.

    It implies that the  Attukal temple trust would prevent all the persons from the unauthorized use of such mark in the course of trade, or from using any mark that is identical with or somewhat similar to the certification trademark it claims on the picture of deity. But here the major issue is that the trademark is granted to a religious symbol. This may prevent a devotee or worshipper from using the picture of Attukal deity even for his or her personal worship if it is not authorized by the Attukal Temple trust and in turn this will be a serious prejudice to religious freedom guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Therefore  it is imperative that the temple trust be restrained with immediate effect from the act of propagating through media, press and its own website, the monopoly over the use of picture of deity.

           As a person working in the area of Intellectual Property Rights (which includes Patents, Trademarks, Copyright etc.) for the past seven years in various capacities, I’m very concerned about the potential devastation to the country that is likely if private appropriation of religious symbols are allowed.  Any person irrespective of his religion, caste or native, can claim trademark for said religious symbols with slight changes in its appearance and may use it for various business or trade practices. In such an eventuality the religious feelings of a mass of people may be hurt and it would endanger religious harmony of our secular country. We can’t even imagine the situation, if such a religious symbol appropriated, as a trademark happens to appear in such a place or in such a product that is not apt.

    I’m further shocked to observe a decision from Bombay High court in 1999 as reported in Indian Express that Section 295 of Indian Penal Code is toothless to punish commercial exploitation of an object of reverence, such as picture of deity if such mark had been in use for long time by the proprietor of the mark. Interestingly, Justice parkar who delivered the above judgment points out that the aggrieved person should have preferred a request for cancellation of Trademark before Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks or Tribunal.

          I’m also worried to observe that Section 57 and Section 47 of Trade Mark Act mandates the applicant to go through a number of procedures after paying Rs. 3000 ( Form TM - 26), even when protection of “public interest” (and “not commercial interest”) is urged. It implies that the general public would be penalized for the mistake done by the Trade Mark Registry in understanding Section 9 of the TM Act in its right sense. I also doubt whether there is any provision in Trade Mark s Act, 1999 conferring “suo moto” powers to the Controller General for cancelling a trademark registration.

    Therefore it is necessary that all those trade marks granted by TM registry and susceptible to religious faiths be reviewed for referring to the appropriate Government for takingsuitable  measures to cancel them in greater public interest and with reference to article 25 and article 26 of Indian Constitution. There is absolutely no doubt that trademarks on religious symbols increases the vulnerability to dangerous consequences that prejudices the religious freedom. TM Registry will be incapable to deny registration on a moderately modified form of a religious symbol appearing in trade mark register if it is sufficiently justified by lawyers as distinctive and non-deceptive, even while such symbol can spur religious issues at a later stage.

 Only solution is a “BIG NO” to private appropriation of religious symbols.

             I represented twice to Chief Minister of Kerala, requesting him to intervene and take measures to get the trade mark revoked in larger public interest. I also wrote to Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark, Govt. of India to look into the matter. I also wrote to all the press and media establishments in Kerala to sensitise the public about the danger in the appropriation of faith symbols for trade. 

              ”LET US NIP THIS TREND IN THE BUD”

 Read a related article in Spicy IP also