In continuation of the post Shia Militias Slaughter Women And Children, my attention has been drawn to today’s top story about Saddam Hussein’s trial.
“The last phase of the turbulent trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity resumed on Monday with a boycott by the deposed Iraqi leader and key members of the defence team.
“The Iraqi high tribunal, which is in charge of trying Saddam and his seven former cohorts, said it would continue to hear the defence’s closing arguments with or without Saddam or his lawyers.
“Saddam and the co-defendants are accused of ordering the killing of 148 Shi’ite villagers in Dujail, north of Baghdad, in 1982 following a botched assassination attempt against the deposed leader.“
A former leader of a nation is being tried because he killed those who were trying to assassinate him when he was in power. What should he have done? Offer his other cheek? Given them a feast?
And this action of Saddam is being described as “crime against humanity”. And pray what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan for the past three years now? A war to promote “love for humanity”?
Who should be the judge? Where is the justice? What is justice? These questions are not easy to answer in the context of Iraq and Afghanistan and would haunt and trouble everyone in coming years.
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.