[WpProQuiz 233]

[WpProQuiz 236]

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

1. THE BATTLE OVER MINING IN CHHATTISGARH’S HASDEO FOREST

THE CONTEXT: The state government had in March given a go-head for coal mining in an area of 1,136 hectares under the second phase of Parsa East-Kete Basan (PEKB) coal block.

THE EXPLANATION:                                                             

• The state government had in March given a go-head for coal mining in an area of 1,136 hectares under the second phase of the Parsa East-Kete Basan (PEKB) coal block.
• A sprawling forest in the northern part of Chhattisgarh, Hasdeo Arand is known for its biodiversity and also its coal deposits. The forest falls under Korba, Sujapur and Sarguja districts with sizeable tribal populations. The Hasdeo river, a tributary of Mahanadi, flows through it.

Released in 2021, a report on the region by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, termed Hasdeo Arand the “largest un-fragmented forests in Central India consisting of pristine Sal (Shorearobusta) and teak forests.”

• The Hasdeo Arand Coal Field (HACF) is spread over nearly 1,880 sq km and comprises 23 coal blocks. The demand for mining picked up around 2010, when the Chhattisgarh government recommended forest clearance for diverting 1,898.328 hectares of forest land for Parsa East and Kente Basan (PEKB) coal fields. These were allotted to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL).
• The PEKB coal block is run by Adani Enterprises, the official Mine Developer and Operator in this venture.
• However, this first move was followed by multiple court orders, forest assessment reports, and protests by forest-dwellers.
• In June 2011, the Forest Advisory Committee of the Environment ministry recommended against diverting the forest land for mining. The then Environment Minister, the Congress party’s Jairam Ramesh, overruled this decision, saying coal mining will be done in an area away from the dense forests.
• In 2012, Forest Clearance was granted by the MoEF for mining in phase I of PEKB coal mines, which limited mining to 762 hectares and a reserve of 137 million tonnes.
• In March, the Chhattisgarh government said that it has given permission to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam for coal mining in an area of 1,136 hectares under the second phase of PEKB coal block.
• As of May 2022, two studies by the ICFRE and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have come out. Both have underlined the importance of biodiversity in the region that mining will undoubtedly affect. They also address the issue of human-elephant conflicts, noting that while Chhattisgarh has less elephants compared to other states, it accounts for a significant percentage of conflict due to habitat loss or clearing of forests. Further deforestation could lead to elephant movements spilling over to urban areas, these studies have noted.
• The ICFRE also noted the loss of the natural environment and the “serious impact on the community in form of loss of livelihood, identity, and culture” with regards to tribal people living in the area, if mining were to be allowed. But it backed considering mining in four blocks: Tara, Parsa, PEKB and Kente Extension with “strict environmental safeguards”. It further said that the PEKB block was a “habitat to rare, endangered and threatened flora and fauna”.
• Though cases are pending in various courts and a further study has been suggested by even the ICFRE, in March 2022 the Chhattisgarh government approved the second phase of mining in PEKB coal block.

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

2. RESERVATION IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT

THE CONTEXT: The jurisprudence of reservation relies on the symbiotic coexistence of constitutionally guaranteed equality of opportunity in public employment under Article 16 (1) of the Constitution of India and classifications thereunder various clauses of the same article, especially Article 16(4) and Article 16 (4 A), which are in the nature of facilitating provisions, vesting a discretion on the government to consider providing reservations for the socially and educationally backward sections of the society and to provide reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, respectively.

THE EXPLANATION:

• It is settled law, time and again reiterated by the Supreme Court, that there is no fundamental right to reservation or promotion under Article 16(4) or Article 16(4 A) of the Constitution, rather they are enabling provisions for providing reservation, if the circumstances so warrant ( Mukesh Kumar and Another vs State of Uttarakhand &Ors. 2020).
• However, these pronouncements no way understate the constitutional directive under Article 46 that mandates that the state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
• In fact, the sensitivity of the welfare state towards the weaker sections over decades resulted in the gradual expansion of canopy of reservation in the form of increasing classifications under Article 16, a set of actions that created a wave of litigation by which resulted in the ever-evolving jurisprudence of affirmative action in public employment.
• Reservation in employment which was otherwise confined to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes got extended to Other Backward Classes as well on the basis of the recommendations of the Second Backward Class Commission as constituted, headed by B.P. Mandal.
• The recommendation of the Mandal Commission (1980) to provide 27% reservation to Other Backward Classes in central services and public sector undertakings, over and above the existing 22.5% reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was sought to be implemented by the V.P. Singh Government in 1990 and the same was assailed in the Supreme Court resulting in the historic Indra Sawhney Judgment (1992). In the judgment, a nine-judge bench presided by Chief Justice M.H. Kania upheld the constitutionality of the 27% reservation but put a ceiling of 50% unless exceptional circumstances warranting the breach, so that the constitutionally guaranteed right to equality under Article 14 would remain secured.
• The Court dwelled on the interrelationship between Articles 16(1) and 16(4) and declared that Article 16(4) is not an exception to article 16(1), rather an illustration of classification implicit in article 16(1).
• While Article 16(1) is a fundamental right, Article 16(4) is an enabling provision. Further, the Court directed the exclusion of the creamy layer by way of horizontal division of every other backward class into creamy layer and non-creamy layer.
• In Indra Sawhney Case, the Supreme Court had held that Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India does not authorise reservation in the matter of promotions. However, the judgment was not to affect the promotions already made and hence only prospective in operation, it was ruled.
• By the Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995, which, Article 16(4-A), was inserted to provide that “nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State”.
• Later, two more amendments were brought, one to ensure consequential seniority and another to secure carry forward of unfilled vacancies of a year, the former by way of addition to Article 16(4 A) and the latter by way of adding Article 16(4 B).
• A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court declared the 1995 amendment as not vocative of basic structure of the Constitution but laid down certain conditions which included the collection of “quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment”. . The bench held that the creamy layer among Scheduled castes and tribes is to be excluded from the reservation.
• In the aforementioned case, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court was called on to examine the wisdom of the 2006 judgment in the light of the constitutionally recognised socio-economic backwardness of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which may not require any further substantiation. It was also contended that the requirement to identify creamy lawyer among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes fell foul of Indra Sawhney’s decision.
• The constitution bench invalidated the requirement to collect quantifiable data in relation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but upheld the principle of applicability of creamy lawyer in relation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Jarnail Singh judgment authored by Justice Rohinton Nariman indicates a critical turn in the jurisprudence of reservation.
• The 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), other Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward classes for government jobs and admission in educational institutions is currently under challenge before the Supreme Court which has referred the same to a constitution bench.
• The adjudication awaited in this regard may also turn to be a critical milestone in the jurisprudence of reservation as the traditional understanding of backwardness is broadened to specifically include economic backwardness without social backwardness as is traditionally seen.
• Despite the Indra Sawhney ruling, there have been attempts on the part of many States to breach the rule by way of expanding the reservation coverage and Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act 2018, (Maratha reservation law) came under challenge before the Supreme Court which referred the same to a bench of five judges and one question was whether the 1992 judgment needs a relook.
• Interestingly, the Supreme Court not only affirmed the Indra Sawhney decision but also struck down Section 4(1)(a) and Section 4(1)(b) of the Act which provided 12% reservation for Marathas in educational institutions and 13% reservation in public employment respectively, citing the breach of the ceiling. “The 2018 Act as amended in 2019 granting reservation for Maratha community does not make out any exceptional circumstance to exceed the ceiling limit of 50% reservation,”, declared the apex Court.
• This judgment is likely to rein in the propensity on the part of some State governments to blatantly disregard the stipulated ceiling on electoral grounds rather than any exceptional circumstances as conceived by the constitution bench. It is pertinent to note that several States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh had made submissions before the Supreme Court against any upper limit on the reservation.

3. ABSOLUTION: ON NEED TO COMPENSATE FOR UNLAWFUL ARRESTS

THE CONTEXT: India needs a law to make compensation for unlawful arrest a statutory right

THE EXPLANATION:

• Shoddy investigation is one thing, but a malicious and motivated probe is quite another. The probe conducted by former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) official Sameer Wankhede into a purported tip-off about the consumption of drugs on board a cruise ship, in October 2021, seems to fall in the latter category.
• The raid on the vessel resulted in seizure of narcotic substances and the arrest of several people, including Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. Even though nothing was seized from Mr. Khan, the agency made sensational claims in court about his being part of an international drug trafficking network and, quite strangely, cited messages purportedly exchanged on WhatsApp as ‘evidence’. By the time he obtained bail weeks later, the case had all the makings of a witch-hunt.
• A special investigation team from Delhi, which took over the case after allegations of extortion surfaced against Mr. Wankhede, has now cited lapses in the initial investigation and the lack of prosecutable evidence, and absolved Mr. Khan and five others and excluded them from the charge sheet filed recently. The lapses include failure to video-graph the search of the ship, not conducting a medical examination to prove consumption, and examining Mr. Khan’s phone and reading messages on it without any legal basis.
• It is good that the agency made amends for the mischief done by the initial set of investigators by applying the standard of ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt’ while presenting its final report. At the same time, the NCB has to re-examine its priorities. It is an elite agency in the fight against international trafficking in narcotic and psychotropic substances.
• Its primary focus ought to be on trans-national smuggling networks, while the job of pursuing drug peddlers and raiding rave parties must be left to the local police. While strict disciplinary action is warranted if any officer is found involved in ‘fixing’ someone, it is also time that the Government came out with a legal framework for compensating those jailed without proof. The country does not have a law on the grant of compensation to those maliciously prosecuted.
• However, constitutional courts do exercise their vast powers sometimes to award monetary recompense; the remedy of a civil suit is also available in law, but it is time-consuming. The Law Commission of India has recommended the enactment of a law to make compensation in such cases an enforceable right. Currently, Section 358 of the Cr.P.C. provides for a paltry fine to be imposed on a person on whose complaint a person is arrested without sufficient grounds.
• Such provisions should be expanded to cover just compensation by the state for unnecessary arrests. It is a sobering thought to note that even people with celebrity status and vast resources are not insulated from the misuse of police powers, even while recognising that it is still possible to vindicate one’s innocence and force the establishment to adopt a course correction.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4. DEEPENING STRATEGIC COMMITMENT

THE CONTEXT: The Quad (the U.S., India, Japan and Australia) held its second in-person leaders’ summit in Tokyo on May 24. It has emerged stronger and clearer in its strategy and goals for the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. The efforts by the Quad countries should be viewed not only from the prism of the summits but also from the wider context of international developments and the continuing process of consolidation of the bilateral relations within, especially U.S.-India ties.

THE EXPLANATION:

• This is the second interaction of the Quad leaders held after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That war has no end in sight. With India abstaining from most anti-Russia voting in multilateral bodies, experts in India worried about the impact of Ukraine on the Indo-Pacific region, particularly U.S.-India ties. Some feared that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would face new and intense pressure in Tokyo from the U.S. to condemn Russia. Others argued that the U.S. understood India’s nuanced position on Ukraine and may refocus on China’s strategic game in the region.
• The latter interpretation proved correct. India and the U.S. agreed to disagree on Ukraine but showed full readiness to further strengthen the Quad and their bilateral cooperation, which, U.S. President Joe Biden said, he was “committed to making…among the closest we have on Earth.”
• With China, he has moved beyond the traditional U.S. stance of ‘strategic ambiguity’ and pointedly referred to Ukraine to stress that China’s armed action against Taiwan would be unacceptable and attract a military response.
• The central driving force of the Quad is to counter China’s growing expansionism and belligerence. The grouping’s diplomatic device of defining its raison d’être without ever using the word ‘China’ was best reflected in the ‘Quad Joint Leaders’ Statement’ which reads, “We reaffirm our resolve to uphold the international rules-based order where countries are free from all forms of military, economic and political coercion.”
• Thus, China is not only the glue that holds the Quad together; it is also the fuel that may, through Beijing’s bad behaviour in the future, drive the grouping’s inner consolidation, as shown by an expanding agenda.
• The Quad agenda now covers nine sectors: vaccine partnership and health security, climate action, critical and emerging technologies, cooperation on infrastructure, cyber security, space cooperation, education and people-to-people ties, maritime domain awareness, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The Quad claims to have established “a positive and practical agenda” in year one; in year two, it will focus on “delivery.” This needs to be watched.
• Not all commitments have been met. The promise of making available at least one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to Indo-Pacific countries has fallen short. Excluding what the Quad countries contributed to COVAX, just 25% have been delivered to the region so far.
• This needs to be expanded rapidly. Meanwhile, Quad experts have begun planning ways to enhance capacity for early detection and monitoring of “new and emerging pathogens with pandemic potential.”
• On infrastructure, a new commitment was made at Tokyo for the Quad to extend over $50 billion in investment and assistance to the Indo-Pacific countries over the next five years. While the focus is on the ASEAN countries and the Pacific Island States, a part of this funding should perhaps reach the Indian Ocean region too, with its touch points in Africa.
• The Common Statement of Principles on Critical Technology Supply Chains is significant, as it concerns cooperation on semiconductors.
• The atmospherics of the summit improved significantly after the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) a day earlier. The joint announcement was made by the Quad, seven ASEAN member-states (excluding Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos), South Korea and New Zealand.
• The plan is to prepare their economies for the future by conducting negotiations on the pillars of trade; supply chains; tax and anti-corruption and clean energy; decar bonisation and infrastructure. The IPEF is ambitious, but doable.
• India’s constructive participation in the Tokyo summit and agreement to join IPEF demonstrated commitment to strengthening its strategic partnerships in order to push back China’s dominance. At the same time, New Delhi has agreed to the expansion of BRICS membership. This simultaneous engagement with the Quad and BRICS is New Delhi’s strategic autonomy in full play.
• India’s presidency of the G20 in 2023 and the likelihood of India hosting the Quad summit in 2024 will ensure that it follows a calibrated policy and stays on track, as every major step will attract international attention.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

5. ECONOMY FACING STAGFLATION

THE CONTEXT: The Government, worried about the inflation rapidly inching up month after month, has finally become proactive. The steps announced are designed to lower the prices of basics like diesel, steel, cement and plastics. Wholesale Price Index (‘WPI’) has risen at more than ten percent for more than a year, and in April 2022, it was at 15.08 percent – a level not seen in more than a decade. Consumer Price Index (‘CPI’) has risen 7.8 percent, well above the Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI’)’s target of four percent plus-minus two percent for the fourth consecutive month.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Inflation is high whichever measure we take. The CPI reflects the impact of inflation on the citizen’s budget. If it is higher than the increase in incomes, wages and salaries of people, then their standard of living declines. The WPI is what the producers take into account in their cost of production.
• That in turn determines the price of their product and the profits they earn. Rising WPI sooner or later translates to higher consumer prices, which have been moderated of late by the decline in the wage bill and interest costs. That is why the CPI has lagged considerably behind the WPI for some time.
• The April 2022 data shows that the increase in CPI is accelerating. It is much higher (7.8 percent) than its level in April 2021 (4.2 percent). Also, it is substantially above March 2022, at about 20 percent at an annualized rate. This has given momentum to the rising rate of inflation measured by CPI, and it is likely to continue to rise in the coming months. The government is trying to check this.
• The situation is aggravated by the slowing down of the world economy due to the war in Ukraine and lockdowns in China. They are causing increased supply disruptions and shortages of various critical inputs like energy, fertilizer, metals, computer chips, manufactured products, wheat and soybean.
• Consequently, prices are not only rising; India’s current account deficit has rapidly increased, thereby weakening the rupee against the dollar, though not against other major currencies. Since trade is denominated in dollars, it has meant that all imported items, including energy, become more expensive in India and inflation kicks up.
• Including the unorganized sectors, production, employment and investment have not recovered to the pre-pandemic levels. The economy has recouped only a part of the pandemic hit production in 2020-21.
• Not only is the economy below the pre-pandemic level: if undisturbed by the pandemic, it would have continued to grow at about four percent; thereby in 2021-22, it would have been higher than its level in 2019-20 by more than eight per cent (not the official 1.7 per cent).
• So, at best, one can say the economy is stagnant. Combined with the accelerating inflation, the implication is that the economy is in stagflation. This has serious implications for the economy and especially for the marginalized sections. For them, a reduction in the rate of inflation is not enough, given their stagnant or declining incomes.
• It puts policy makers in a fix. If, to control inflation, they try to reduce demand, then the economy slows down. If they try to boost growth, then inflation may rise. The delicate solution lies in eliminating supply bottlenecks without curtailing demand.
• The RBI raised the cash reserve ratio to reduce liquidity, and raised interest rates to reduce demand. However, these do not address the reasons for rising inflation, which are: supply bottlenecks in India and abroad, the war in Ukraine and consequent shortages, the lockdown in China, the increased pricing power of corporates, closure of units in small and micro sectors in India and increase in global freight charges. Presently, when consumption has not yet recovered and demand is short, an increase in interest rates will only reduce investment, employment and incomes – worsening stagflation.
• It is for government to address supply bottlenecks, check speculation and reduce indirect taxes to lower inflation. Units that have closed down need to be helped to revive. Direct tax collections have to be increased so that the indirect taxes can be cut without driving up the fiscal deficit in the budget. Specific steps for doing this have been suggested many times recently. The budget needs to be redrawn since expenditures will rise with inflation (through, for instance, the subsidy bill) while revenue buoyancy will decline due to slowdown in the economy.
• In brief, the economy faces stagflation, to tackle which government, rather than the RBI, needed to act; the steps announced are a start. More needs to be done to eliminate supply bottlenecks without curtailing demand.

THE MISCELLANOUS

6. WHAT IS THE WEST NILE VIRUS, HOW DOES IT SPREAD?

THE CONTEXT: The Kerala health department is on alert after the death of a 47-year-old from Thrissur due to the West Nile Virus. Earlier in 2019, a six-year-old boy in Malappuram district had died of the same infection. The virus was first reported in the state in Alappuzha in 2006 and then in Ernakulam in 2011.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded RNA virus. According to the WHO, it is “a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae”. Culex species of mosquitoes act as the principal vectors for transmission. It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes between and among humans and animals, including birds, which are the reservoir host of the virus.
• WNV can also spread through blood transfusion, from an infected mother to her child, or through exposure to the virus in laboratories. It is not known to spread by contact with infected humans or animals.
• According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it does not spread “through eating infected animals, including birds. Always follow instructions for fully cooking meat”.
• To date, no human-to-human transmission of WNV through casual contact has been documented, says the WHO.
• The disease is asymptomatic in 80% of the infected people. The rest develop what is called the West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease. In these 20% cases, the symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and swollen glands.
• The virus was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937. It was identified in birds (crows and columbiformes like doves and pigeons) in the Nile delta region in 1953. Before 1997, WNV was not considered pathogenic for birds, but then, a more virulent strain caused the death in Israel of different bird species, presenting signs of encephalitis and paralysis.
• In 1999, a WMV strain, believed to be one circulating in Israel and Tunisia, reached New York producing a large outbreak that spread across the United States and eventually across the Americas, from Canada to Venezuela.
• According to the WHO, human infections attributable to WNV have been reported in many countries in the world for over 50 years.
• WNV outbreak sites are found along major bird migratory routes.
• Today, the virus is found commonly in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and West Asia.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 30TH MAY 2022

Q1.Consider the following statements about India’s external trade in 2021-22:

1. U.S. surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner.
2. Exports to U.S. from India are higher than exports to China.
3. Imports from China to India are higher than imports from U.S.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR THE 28^th MAY

Answer: A

Explanation:

• The Sela Pass is the high-altitude mountain pass located in Tawang District. It has an elevation of 4170 m (13,700 ft) connects the Buddhist city of Tawang Town to Tezpur and Guwahati and is the main road connecting Tawang with the rest of India.

THE CONTEXT: Myanmar has recently witnessed the mass killing of people who were protesting against the military coup. Thousands of people were forced to flee Myanmar to save their lives from the Myanmarese Army, Junta. This has increased India’s concern about security because many times, along with the refugee and asylum seekers many miscreants enter our borders who may pose a security threat to India.  This issue has also increased the threat of scarcity of resources and a greater burden on the management of refugees in India.

ABOUT THE PRESENT CRISIS IN MYANMAR

• Myanmar has witnessed a Military coup leading to a forced regime change. It was orchestrated by Min Aung Hlang, the leader of the coup that has overthrown the democratically elected government of the National League for Democracy (NLD) headed by Aung San Su Kyi.

WHO IS A REFUGEE?

• Article 1 of the 1951 United Nations Convention defines ‘refugee’ as “A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”

CATEGORIES OF FOREIGNERS

• There are four well-defined groups of foreigners who are different from ‘refugees’. These categories are Temporary Residents, Tourists and Travellers, Illegal Economic Migrants, Criminals, Spies, Infiltrators, Militants, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP).

WHO CAN CLAIM A REFUGEE STATUS?

• Anyone can claim a refugee status provided that the claimant must provide evidence in support of the grounds of persecution or fear thereof resulting in flight from the country of origin.
• The documentation may be in the form of an identity card of employment with some governmental agency in the country of origin, or an identity card indicating membership in a particular group.

HOW IT TURNS INTO A REFUGEE CRISIS AND THREATS TO INDIA’S INTEREST

• The crackdown by the Junta on protesting people has led to the killing of a huge number of people in Myanmar.
• These people are now under the threat of life and they are facing an existential threat. So, to run out the risk of life, people have started entering bordering countries illegally.
• While law and order is a State subject under the Indian Constitution, international relations and international borders are under the exclusive purview of the Union government which is viewing it as a national security issue.
• Even though India has been the home for a large number and variety of refugees throughout the past, it has dealt with the issues on a bilateral basis.

PAST REFUGEE ISSUES INCLUDING ROHINGYA AND GOI RESPONSES SO FAR

• There have been multiple instances where India has faced issues related to illegal immigration. Although India has historically been upholding its ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ philosophy, the present level of the refugee crisis is unprecedented.
• The burden of refugees becomes double because of the double burden of the pathetic situation of job security for Indians and COVID-19 crisis.
• In the case of Myanmar, we witness that the authorities are trying to sign agreements with the different groups; India hopes that the Rohingya problem which is of a different nature will also be sorted out soon.

WHAT IS A REFUGEE POLICY AND WHY DOES INDIA NEED TO HAVE ONE?

• Refugee policy is a long-term policy statement that defines who can be considered a refugee and what rights should be available to them in India.
• Although India has given shelter to many people who were looking for refuge and political asylum, India does not have a dedicated comprehensive document on long term refugee policy.
• India currently follows the policy of strategic ambiguity. This policy allows India to be at a more advantageous position as it can decide the issue of refugee on a case-to-case basis by strategically deciding the case where we can allow refugees to be provided shelter in India and in which case we can restrict them from entering India.

GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS

• Globally, millions of people are forced to leave their homeland because of political persecution, environmental hazards, etc.
• Trends on all major indicators have since the late 1970s pointed towards an increasingly serious world refugee situation.
• For understanding the dynamics of the problem, the political and military activities of the refugees and the processes through which refugee situations are internationalized are also singled out for particular consideration.

INDIA AND UNHCR ON REFUGEES

• India is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a national refugee protection framework. India continues to grant asylum to a large number of refugees from neighbouring States and respects UNHCR’s mandate for other nationals, mainly from Afghanistan and Myanmar.
• While the Government of India deals differently with various refugee groups, in general, it respects the principle of non-refoulement for holders of UNHCR documentation.
• Internationally, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees looks after the issue of the refugee crisis. However, this body works on a consultation and cooperation basis. It cannot in itself provide shelter to refugees. They need the support and cooperation of various state governments to take up refugees and provide them livelihood opportunities.

PROBLEMS FACED BY INDIA IN MANAGING REFUGEES

• The rise in the number of these refugees and asylum-seekers has not been accompanied by a commensurate increase in resources, compelling UNHCR to find innovative ways to meet both existing and emerging protection needs.
• Refugees and asylum-seekers often live in poverty, dispersed in urban areas, where they can face violence and exploitation.

OPTIONS FOR INDIA

1. Show generosity by accomodating those Myanmarese who entered into India for shelter and livelihood as Refugees in India –

• India with its history, culture, and traditions, is today an example of generosity in the way it has opened its borders to all people who have come looking for safety and sanctuary.

Merits:

• This option will showcase that India understands the issue of the humanitarian needs of the persecuted people of Myanmar.
• It will uphold the age-old principle of ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’ which India has been adhering to from time immemorial.

Demerits:

• It will increase the burden of resources on India and at the same time, it will increase the risk of threat to security for India.

This option should be exercised because India will be able to save innocent lives who are in need of shelter and food. If a proper check is maintained in the bordering areas, the issue of security threats can be reduced to a greater extent.

2. Send back the illegal entrants to their country of origin –

• India can send back the illegal Myanmarese entrants to their country of origin by expelling them from the borders.

Merits: 

• This option will reduce the burden of illegal immigrants in India.
• India will not face the issue of threat to security and resources because of refugees.

Demerits:

• It will be against the international norm of the ‘principle of non-refoulment’.
• This option shows India as a state that does not have empathy towards those people who are in need of support and generosity from the Indian Government.
• It will invite criticism from Human Rights Watch groups, United Nations Organisation, other countries as well as Indians.

So, India should not allow such an action that shows India as a state with an apathetic approach.

Hence, India should provide temporary shelter to illegal immigrants till the present crisis is reduced and meanwhile it can formulate a long-term refugee policy. This is the middle path for India. It allows time for India to draw a proper policy document while managing the present refugee crisis in the best possible manner.

WAY FORWARD

• The governments of the country of origin need to do more to create conditions for people to feel comfortable about considering the possibility of returning.
• India should have a framework for long-term refugee policy that can take care of the issues related to refugees and asylum seekers in India.
• India can also think of accomodating the refugees of Myanmar by amending its Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 to encompass minorities from Myanmar into the citizenship provisions.
• Considering the nature of globalisation and the interconnected world, India can look forward to signing the UN Refugee Convention, 1951.

THE CONTEXT: Relations between India and Russia are a strategic partnership that has withstood the test of time, and which enjoys the support of the people of both countries. While their bilateral relationship is free of active conflict, the repercussions of external factors can no longer be ignored or underestimated. On the recent visit of the Russian Foreign Minister to Delhi the areas of divergence over their worldview seemed to emerge with reference to the changing geopolitical scenarios.

These trends combined with bilateral economic ties well below their potential would suggest that India-Russia relations are likely to face some turbulence ahead.

CHANGING GEOPOLITICS

Asia Rising: The world has changed drastically in the last three decades. The Soviet Union collapsed, leaving Russia geopolitically weakened. China has risen dramatically as the effective number two global power and the US power has relatively declined, but it still retains its pre-eminence. The global political and economic center of gravity is shifting from the West to the Asian region.

Geopolitical realignments: Russia-US ties and US-China ties have deteriorated very sharply in recent times as the US sees both these powers as adversaries. Russia and China have forged an increasingly stronger strategic partnership (Russia’s “Pivot to the East”), especially after US sanctions on Russia in 2014 (Crimea Crisis). Russia’s relationship with Pakistan has also seen considerable change in the last five years. At the same time, India-US ties have been transformed, with the US becoming India’s leading partner in many ways including a remarkable growth in defence ties.

Border tensions: No issue affected the Indo-Russian relationship as much as the border tensions between India and China. The Chinese aggression, in eastern Ladakh, brought India-China relations to an inflection point. It has driven New Delhi to shed past hesitations and actively pursue more hard-nosed policies to protect its national interests.

Covid-19 Pandemic: Changing geopolitical equations are greatly accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The US-China rivalry’s acceleration due to the pandemic has made the bipolar dynamic the pivot around which the new world order is likely to revolve. India and Russia are both important players in their own right but neither of them will occupy the top two positions in the world order. India and Russia remain supporters of the multipolar world order. However, their foreign policy choices will inevitably be affected by the way their respective relations with the US and China have evolved.

CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

The Quad and the Indo-Pacific

Russia has been critical of the Quad grouping that has been aimed at ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific against the backdrop of China’s growing assertiveness in the region. Russia has taken a harsh posture towards the Indo-Pacific, with the Russian Foreign Minister characterising the Quad as Asian NATO. Russia asserts that the US-led West is pushing India to join the anti-China camp and also undermine New Delhi’s relations with Moscow.

Despite Moscow’s opposition, India clearly sees the grouping as a necessary response to China. India has firmly stated that contemporary challenges require countries to work together in new and different ways and that such cooperation also reflects the rebalanced character of global politics. India has assured Russia that its own vision for the region remained inclusive in nature, not targeted at any country, but supportive of freedom of navigation and overflight and peaceful settlement of territorial disputes.

Afghanistan

During the 1990s and 2000s, Moscow and New Delhi regarded the Taliban as a threat to their domestic security. However, since 2013, Russia’s stance on the situation in Afghanistan began to change. Moscow reached out to Pakistan and later established “limited” contacts with the Taliban. The Russian approach identifies ISIS, not the Taliban, as the most immediate threat and considers Pakistan a partner for security in the region, along with coordinating its actions in the region with Pakistan and China.

This worries India, which maintains that there can be no choice between the ISKP and Taliban, and views Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. New  Delhi has been a  consistent proponent of  “zero tolerance”  toward terrorist groups.  Another important challenge for New Delhi is preventing Islamabad from playing a greater role in Kabul’s domestic affairs. Given these concerns, Russia’s outreach to Islamabad and the Taliban was unfavorable for India’s interests.

THE FUTURE OF TIES

Both India and Russia are calibrating their foreign policies to adapt to the challenges created by the changes in global politics and economics. Given the disparate challenges faced by India and Russia, it is not surprising that differences have emerged between them. Incidentally, such divergences exist in India’s relations with all great powers and are probably wider in its ties with the United States rather than Russia. The Indo-Pacific and Quad, developments in Afghanistan, Russian arms supplies to Pakistan, Russia’s growing closeness to China, and India gravitating towards the US are the areas of concern in ties between New Delhi and Moscow.

In Afghanistan, the differences are mainly tactical differences and some of these may have been addressed by Lavrov. The broader strategic picture, however, indicates the virtual inevitability of India, Russia, and possibly Iran collaborating closely. The prospect of the reemergence of an Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan will compel India and Russia to align their views and actions.

In Pakistan, it is believed that India’s concerns about Russia’sgrowing ties with Pakistan were adequately addressed by Lavrov.  Russia has reiterated its support for India in Kashmir. On arms sales to Pakistan, Russia reiterated assurances given earlier.

On China-Russia ties, there is enough divergence between Moscow and Beijing to believe that Russia is unlikely to seal an alliance any time soon or take hostile positions vis-à-vis India. Russian actions in 2020 should have been adequate to allay any fears of a China-Russia alliance. Russia expeditiously addressed India’s defence requirements at the height of the stand-off with China. Additionally, Russia played a discreet but important role in getting India and China to talk both in 2017 and 2020 when the two were locked in tense standoffs.

On the Indo-Pacific and Quad, Russia fears that containment of China through the concept of Indo-Pacific and the Quad may extend to the containment of Russia. India is attempting to allay these fears by pushing for greater Russian involvement in the Indo-Pacific. It is enhancing ties with the Russian Far East, promoting the Chennai-Vladivostok corridor, seeking to establish India-Japan-Russia trilateral collaboration in the Far East, and energise India-ASEAN-Russia cooperation. On the Quad, Russia seems satisfied with India’s assertions that New Delhi is not seeking to convert it into a security alliance.

Although there appears to be a satisfactory diversification of economic ties, volumes of trade are still below potential. Both countries are hoping that cooperation in the Far East will provide the necessary fillip to economic ties. Russia is also hoping for greater Indian involvement in the Far East and the Arctic to reduce its dependence on China in developing the region.

Looking at the broader context of Russian foreign policy and pragmatically assessing the bilateral ties offers India a chance to focus on promoting mutual interests. While there is no denying the divergences in the relationship, both sides still have significant areas of cooperation — in the bilateral, regional and global arenas — which must be harnessed. There are too many imponderables at this stage to predict with certainty how Indo-Russian relations will evolve. It most certainly needs careful nurturing.

WAY FORWARD

• As India develops ties with other like-minded powers to deal with the rise of China, it must also strengthen its special, privileged strategic partnership with Russia. The former superpower is an important partner in its Act East policy and a more balanced Russia-China relationship is in its interests.
• The high-level engagement is particularly important in the India-Russia relationship as it remains driven by top-level interaction. Efforts should be to intensify contacts and diversify areas of cooperation with Russia.
• Apart from traditional areas of cooperation, new sectors of economic engagement are likely to emerge — mining, agro-industrial, and high technology, including robotics, nanotech, and biotech. India’s footprint in the Russian Far East and in the Arctic is set to expand. Connectivity projects may get a boost too.
• India should pursue and facilitate Russia’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific. Russia may not use the term Indo-Pacific for some more time, but its active engagement, irrespective of motive, in the region would be beneficial to India and contribute to making the Indo-Pacific “free and inclusive”.
• New Delhi has been consistent in its efforts to promote links between the Indo-Pacific and the Russian Far East. The willingness of India and Russia to promote regional cooperation is also visible in proposals for joint economic projects in the Far East and the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime trade route.
• Russia should play a major role in India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat economic vision that can provide new openings for a more contemporary dynamic economic relationship between the two sides.

CONCLUSION: While India and Russia have successfully addressed divergences between them, even deep, traditional, and “time-tested relations” of the kind they have shared for decades cannot be taken for granted. Both Russia and India find themselves in a complicated situation that requires both countries to maintain a neat balance in their foreign policies. In fact, the future dynamics of their relationship will be, to a great extent, defined by external factors: the state of the Russia-US dialogue as well as the overall geopolitical environment in Eurasia, where China steps up to dominate the ongoing narrative. The navigation between conflicting interests across Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific will define the trajectory of India-Russia ties in the near term.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

1. HOW DISASTERS, AND POVERTY FUEL HUMAN TRAFFICKING

THE CONTEXT: The World Migration Report 2022noted that more people across the world are now displaced due to climate change-induced disasters than conflicts, reversing a historical trend. This has created a vulnerable group of the population that is targeted for trafficking, studies have shown.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Human trafficking is the result of the exploitation of existing vulnerabilities in society such as gender, poverty, place of residence, and geographical locations. These vulnerabilities are aggravated during natural disasters. The devastating situation acts as a breeding ground for traffickers.
• Some 30.7 million displacements in 2020 were triggered by natural disasters in 145 countries and territories, according to the report published every other year by the United Nations International Organisation for Migration.
• Storms accounted for 14.6 million displacements globally, floods for 14.1 million, extreme temperatures for 46,000 and droughts for 32,000, it added. India reported nearly 4 million new displacements due to climate-induced disasters in 2020, the UN migration data showed.
• Total internal displacement across the world due to disasters, conflicts, and violence increased to 40.5 million in 2020 from 31.5 million in 2019, despite containment measures to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, the study added.
• Women and children are primarily trafficked in the garb of employment opportunities, assuring safe habitats, among others.
• Around 143 million people will migrate to their countries by 2050 due to climate change-related events in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, the World Bank estimated in September 2021.
• Droughts could lead to the migration of 22 million more people in Africa, 12 million in South America and 10 million in Asia by 2059 (in comparison to the 2000-15 period), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification estimated.
• Such displacement after disasters leads to people becoming easy targets for traffickers, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees noted.
• The link of trafficking with extreme weather events has been observed across the globe in the past decades. Rising incidents of trafficking were first noticed in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, showed a 2016 report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). In Indonesia, children were abducted and then put up for adoption.
• In Haiti, the 2010 earthquake exacerbated cases of trafficking, according to IOM. In the Philippines — where poverty and trafficking were already rampant — cases increased in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, the organization mentioned.
• Thailand also saw a rise in human trafficking after this typhoon hit. Drought-affected migrants have also reportedly been smuggled from Cambodia to Thailand, the IOM report showed.
• Droughts in African nations have resulted in a rise in marriages of children as young as nine years old, solely because their parents don’t have the money to feed another mouth.
• Young girls of age 13-18 years were sexually exploited “by some members of a non-governmental organization, humanitarian staff, security forces and men in positions of power and influence in exchange for money, food or other goods,” a 2002 study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), citing a survey by UNHCR and Save the Children, the UK showed.
• Evidence of forced early marriages were found in Iran after an earthquake and floods hit Bushehr and Mazandaran. In Fiji, after a flood wreaked havoc, children were forced to stay home to look after their younger siblings during the day and indulge in sex work at night, as per the IUCN study.
• The Pacific Islands, where erratic rainfall, droughts, floods, and cyclones occur frequently, combined with persisting gender-based violence, is another place where crime has gone up, but evidence remains thin.
• Modern slavery and human trafficking are on the rise in India, among other countries, warn the UK-based non-profits International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Anti-Slavery International in a recent report.

2. LAHBERA: HOW THE LAST SANTHAL SETTLEMENT OF DHANBAD IS FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL

THE CONTEXT: The Santhals of Lahbera are fighting for their identity, ancestral land, and survival amid the dust-laden air of coal mines in what used to be their ancestral homeland once.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The settlement of Lahberabasti, surrounded by coal mines, has 50 shanties that are home to almost 500 people. It is the last stronghold of the Santhal tribe in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district.
• The Santhals are fighting for their identity, ancestral land, and survival amid the dust-laden air of the mines in what used to be their ancestral homeland once.
• The district of Dhanbad was a part of the region of Manbhum in the province of Bengal during the British Raj and was home to the Santhals and Mundas. Today, though, it looks like any other locality, with hardly any traces of Santhal identity as one enters it.
• But on going further, a temple dedicated to Marang Buru, the Santhal god of forests, appears. The shrine is simple and plain, with just a few percussion instruments hung on the wall and an image of the deity.
• The Santhals in the basti are gripped by an identity crisis, which they blame on its close proximity to Dhanbad, the second-largest city in Jharkhand.
• Many of them are gradually forgetting their own traditions, torn between ‘mainstream’ culture and their traditional practices.
• Their food habits, art and dressing style has also undergone major changes in the last 50 years, alienating them from their own culture.

FIGHTING FOR RIGHTS

• The Santhals’ struggle for rights to their ancestral land and their daily survival is, however, their top priority.
• Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd, started mining the area in the 1980s. They employed people from the tribe and changed their means of livelihood forever after acquiring their land.
• The new generation of Lahbera Santhals is also now completely dependent on the coal economy, as they have no more farmland to practice agriculture.
• The Vishwakarma Project began here in 2008, converting the underground mines under the Dhansar Project to open cast, giving 37 jobs to local youth in exchange for land.
• Since the mines around the locality are active, the temperature in the area soars 8-9 degrees Celsius above the city temperature. The people of the locality face several problems and have to breathe polluted air every day.
• There is a severe water crisis in the area. There is no scope of digging wells or bore wells for water since the area is surrounded by mines on three sides.

THE POLITY

3. UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS OF ISSUING LOCS

THE CONTEXT: On April 5, the Punjab and Haryana High Court passed omnibus instructions to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) to serve a copy of an issued LOC to the affected person, state the reasons for issuing the LOC and provide a “post-decisional opportunity”. The Supreme Court, however, stayed this particular paragraph of the High Court order.

THE EXPLANATION:

• After several businessmen fled the country after defaulting on loans, the MHA in 2018 brought changes to the 2010 guidelines authorising executives of all public sector banks to generate LOCs against persons who could be detrimental to the economic interests of the country.
• Many citizens have moved courts to get the LOC quashed.
• A large number of agencies which includes the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Income Tax, State police and intelligence agencies are authorised to generate LOCs. The officer should not be below the rank of a district magistrate or superintendent of police or a deputy secretary in the Union Government.
• According to a 2010 official memorandum of the Ministry, details such as First Information Report (FIR) number, and court case number are to be mandatorily provided with name, passport number and other details. The BOI under the MHA is only the executing agency.
• They generate LOCs based on requests by different agencies. Since immigration posts are manned by the BOI officials, they are the first responders to execute LOCs by stopping or detaining, or informing about an individual of the issuing agency. The LOCs can be modified; deleted or withdrawn only at the request of the originator. Further, the legal liability of the action taken by immigration authorities in pursuance of LOC rests with the originating agency.
• After several businessmen including liquor baron Vijay Mallya, businessmen Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi fled the country after defaulting on loans, the MHA in 2018 brought changes to the 2010 guidelines authorising the chairman, managing director and chief executives of all public sector banks to generate LOCs against persons who could be detrimental to economic interests of the country.
• Though an LOC generated by the CBI on October 16, 2015 to “detain” Mr. Mallya existed based on the preliminary enquiry in a ₹900 crore loan default case, it was downgraded to “inform only” on November 23, 2015 as there was no FIR yet against him. Mr. Mallya who was a Rajya Sabha member then was a frequent flyer and he fled to the U.K in March 2016.
• The Ministry recently told the Delhi High Court that banks were authorised to generate LOCs as “in the recent past there have been incidents where the willful defaulters or economic offenders of public financial institutions have left the country after usurping public money or defrauding such public financial institutions.”
• The 2010 Ministry guidelines give sweeping powers to police and intelligence agencies to generate LOCs in “exceptional cases” without keying incomplete parameters or case details against “suspects, terrorists, anti-national elements, etc, in larger national interest.” In 2015, Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai was stopped from travelling to London on a request by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) based on the “etc” provision in the 2010 order. The LOC was later quashed by the Delhi High Court.
• After the special status of J&K under Article 370 of the Constitution was read down by the Parliament in August 2019, LOCs were opened against several politicians, human rights activists, journalists and social activists to bar them from flying out of the country. The number of persons and the crime for which they have been placed under the list is unknown.
• Many citizens have moved courts to get the LOC quashed. The MHA has asserted that “LOCs cannot be shown to the subject” at the time of detention nor can any prior intimation be provided. The Ministry recently informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the LOC guidelines are a secret document and the same cannot be shared with the ‘accused’ or any unauthorised stakeholder; it cannot be provided or shown to the subject at the time of detention by the BOI since it defeats the purpose of LOC and no accused or subject of LOC can be provided any opportunity of hearing before the issuance of the LOC.
• On January 12, a Delhi High Court bench led by Justice Rekha Palli had quashed a LOC against a Delhi businessman Vikas Chaudhary generated at the instance of the Income Tax department. The court said “no proceedings under any penal law had been initiated against the petitioner” and the LOC was “wholly unsustainable.”
• A Delhi court on April 8 while quashing a LOC against Aakar Patel, chair, of Amnesty International India said that “there cannot be any unfettered control or restriction on the right to travel” and that it was part of the fundamental rights and asked the Director of the CBI to tender a written apology.
• As per norms, a LOC will stay valid for a maximum period of 12 months and if there is no fresh request from the agency then it will not be automatically revived.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4. PM TO ATTEND TOKYO LAUNCH OF U.S. TRADE INITIATIVE

THE CONTEXT: India is yet to take a decision on joining the trade partnership framework but is keen to understand the ‘contours’ of the plan.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Prime Minister on May 23, 2022arrived in Japan on a two-day visit to attend a summit of the Quad leaders which is aimed at further bolstering cooperation among the member nations of the influential grouping and discussing developments in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Prime Minister will participate in U.S. President Joseph Biden’s unveiling of the “Indo-Pacific Economic Framework” (IPEF) in Tokyo o, a US initiative for trade partnerships in the region.
• Sources confirmed PM’s attendance of the event is a significant step towards building economic ties amongst Quad countries in the Indo-Pacific, although officials were hesitant to bill the IPEF as a counter the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the 17-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that China is a member of.
• The Quad will organise a special session on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly (WHA) on May 24, where the four countries will jointly tackle issues of disinformation during the pandemic and boosting vaccine confidence.
• The grouping is also expected to discuss and possibly review its Quad Vaccine Initiative project to disburse US-developed and funded, India-made distributed by Japan and Australia amongst Indo-Pacific countries that has been stuck due to what Mr. Sullivan called “regulatory issues” with India.
• The first Quad interaction last year had committed to distributing one billion of the vaccines, made at Hyderabad-based Biological-E by the end of 2022, but has made no headway on the project yet.
• Another issue the Quad is divided over whether to support Taiwan’s request to be included as an observer at the WHA, something China opposes. While the US, Australia and Japan have backed the Taiwanese request, India has made no statement thus far, and MEA officials did not confirm whether India would endorse it.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

5. WHEAT CONFUSION: ON INDIA’S EXPORT RESTRICTION

THE CONTEXT: Apprehensions of shortage in India are misplaced, and the Government must allow export.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India, which surprised the world with its decision to bar wheat export with immediate effect, appears to be on the defensive now after its May 13 announcement. Initially, the Centre had amended the order by allowing export consignments registered in the Customs Department’s systems and handed over for examination on or prior to May 13.
• From the start, indications of a mismatch in demand and supply were evident. Rising levels of wholesale and retail inflation, the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and a lower opening balance of wheat (on April 1, 2022) in the Central pool for the public distribution system than a year ago were well known.
• After several parts of wheat-producing States in the north experienced unusually warm weather in March-April, the Government lowered marginally, early this month, the estimated wheat production, from 111.32 million tonnes to 105 million tonnes.
• As for international food prices, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said that even before the war, prices had reached an all-time high due to market conditions and the high prices of energy, fertilizers and other agricultural services.
• By May 4, the Centre clarified that there was no move to curb wheat export, the reasoning being that this was the opportune moment for exporters to sell in the international market as wheat from Argentina and Australia would begin arriving next month. The higher prices in the domestic market compared to the minimum support price offered by the Government were projected as favourable for farmers.
• Also, just days before the Government’s decision, an official announcement was made that trade delegations would be sent to countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Indonesia to explore possibilities for wheat export.
• In addition to Egypt, Turkey had given its approval for the import of Indian wheat, and an announcement had been made that the current year’s target for wheat export had been fixed at 10 million tonnes, three million tonnes higher than last year.
• India’s decision has faced criticism from the G-7’s Agriculture Ministers. After its U-turn, the Government should not persist for too long with its current position of “restrictions” on the export of wheat, as the move seems to have hit the farmers, if reports of a fall in the price are any indication.
• Lessons must be gleaned from the experience 15 years ago when India took about two years to lift its ban on the export of non-basmati rice, by which time Thailand and Vietnam had moved in to take full advantage. Apprehensions of a food shortage are misplaced, and the Government would do well to lift the “restrictions” sooner rather than later.

6. WHY TEXTILE AND GARMENT INDUSTRIES WANT A BAN ON COTTON EXPORTS

THE CONTEXT: Domestic cotton prices have doubled compared to last year. But does that justify a ban on shipment similar to that on wheat, especially ahead of the new planting season.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Cotton prices have nearly doubled compared to last year. The average modal or most-quoted price of kapas (raw un-ginned cotton) at Rajkot APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) mandi was Rs 12,250 per quintal, as against around Rs 6,300 this time last year. This was also way above the government’s minimum support price of Rs 6,025 per quintal for long-staple cotton varieties.
• Basically, three reasons: The first is lower production. In 2020-21, India’s total cotton lint fibre output was 353 lakh bales (lb) of 170 kg each.
• The second reason is international prices. The Cotlook ‘A’ Index price – an average of representative quotes in the Far East destination markets – is currently ruling at 167 cents per pound, up from 92 cents a year ago. India is the world’s second-largest cotton producer (after China) and third-largest exporter (after the US and Brazil). High global prices have made exports attractive. Also, they have pushed up domestic prices closer to export parity levels, while simultaneously making imports more expensive.
• The third reason is consumption. In the state-owned Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), in March, projected total domestic consumption for 2021-22 at 345 lb, compared to 334.87 lb, 269.19 lb and 311.21 lb in the preceding three marketing years. “Demand has significantly increased, as mills and other users were operating at sub-optimal levels in the past few years. Even during the pandemic, demand for bedsheets and towels had zoomed, translating into higher consumption of cotton and yarn”.
• The area sown under cotton in India has reduced from 134.77 lakh hectares (lh) in 2019-20 to 132.85 lh in 2020-21 and 123.5 lh in 2021-22. This has been largely due to the diminishing benefits from the genetically modified Bt cotton, which helped almost treble the country’s production from 136 lb to 398 lb between 2002-03 and 2013-14.
• Over a period, Bt cotton has become increasingly susceptible to pink bollworm and white-fly insect pest attacks, making it riskier for farmers to grow the crop. Besides, the government does not permit the testing or commercialization of next-generation transgenic breeding technologies.
• This time, the crop was also affected by unseasonal rains in November-December, which affected yields as well as the quality of the bolls from the second and third “flushes” (cotton is generally harvested over three or even four pickings, with the first one in October-November and the subsequent ones every following 20-30 days).
• India’s cotton exports are actually projected at 40 lb this year, down from the 78 lb of 2020-21. At the same time, imports are likely to be higher, at 15 lb, from last year’s 10 lb. Moreover, on April 13, the Centre slashed the import duty on cotton from 11% to nil. Given the anyway lower exports and duty-free imports – which have for now been allowed until September 30, before the next marketing season – there may be no strong case for an outright ban on shipments.
• Further, with domestic prices already rising to international parity levels, exports would slow down in the natural course. Advocates of an export ban say it would not impact farmers, as they have already sold their crop. However, a ban can also send wrong signals ahead of the planting season, which will take off next month with the arrival of the southwest monsoon rains.
• Lint, the white fibre that mills spin into yarn, constitutes only about 34% of kapas. The balance is seed (65%) and moisture. The seed further yields both oil (used for cooking) and de-oiled cake (used as a protein ingredient by livestock feed manufacturers). Kapas rates have firmed up not only because of export and domestic demand for lint, but also due to rising vegetable oil prices. Cottonseed oil is, in fact, India’s third-largest domestically produced vegetable oil. Its estimated output, at 12.49 lakh tonnes (lt) in 2020-21, was next only to mustard (27.39 lt) and soybean (13.29 lt), out of a total of 93.18 lt, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India.
• Kapas is mostly bought by traders and ginning units that separate the cotton fibre from the seeds. The fibre is sold to spinning mills and seed to oil mills for crushing and producing vegetable oil. From every one kilo of lint, mills obtain 700-800 grams of yarn.
• The yarn is further woven or knitted into fabric and garments. India in 2021-22 not only exported raw cotton valued at $2.8 billion but also cotton yarn worth $5.5 billion and fabrics and made-ups worth $8.2 billion. Every part of the value chain, thus, involves exports.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 23rd MAY 2022

Q1.Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is a trade initiative of which the following country?

a) Japan

b) Australia

c) China

d) USA

ANSWER FOR THE21^stMAY

Answer: B

Explanation:

• It evaluates research into GM plants and recommends, or disapproves, their release into farmer fields.
• It is a statutory body.
• It functions under the Environment Ministry.

THE CONTEXT: The government of India has been collecting a myriad of data from various sources and using them for multiple purposes. But hardly these data are shared with the citizens or placed in the public domain. It is also seen that many critical data have not been either published or delayed. This creates a digital divide between the state and the citizenry having implications for governance, privacy, and accountability. This article analyses these issues in detail.

HOW IS THE DATA BEING COLLECTED BY THE GOVERNMENT?

The government collects the data of citizens through various mechanisms that it uses for multiple purposes. The Census, the sample surveys by the NSS, the expenditure surveys, the survey on industries, family, labour, etc., are some ubiquitous instruments for data collection. The govt also collects regular administrative data while providing services to the citizens like licensing, permits, provision of records, etc. Since 2014, the UIDAI and Aadhaar systems have been expanded in scope, and the government is able to collect the biometric and demographic data of people on a large scale. However, there are many grey areas in this whole process having implications for democracy itself.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EFFICIENT DATA MANAGEMENT?

EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY MAKING:

• In government, the most traditional use of data analysis has been the statistical analysis of data collected through various surveys, Census, indices, etc.
• In the traditional methodology, the insights generated from the analysis of the available data were provided to government authorities for effective policy formulation or planning of new programmes, and schemes as well as preparation of the budget for the government.
• For instance, data is at the core of many flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat Mission, Housing for all, One Nation One Ration Card, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, and Fertilizers Distribution, to name a few.

INFORMED DECISIONS BY STAKEHOLDERS:

• The data on various sectors of the economy like employment, consumption expenditure, investment, etc. is crucial for business groups and investors to make informed decisions.

DRIVER OF DIGITAL ECONOMY:

• In this 21st century of Digital Transformation, data is the new oil; data is the new fuel, and data is the oxygen that holds immense untapped potential in it.
• Over a period, data has emerged as an important asset for the development of any country and is also the driver for a digital economy.
  

TARGETED APPROACH TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:

• The prowess of data influences almost every sector of the socio-economic development of our country.
• For instance, data can prove to be highly useful for the formulation of poverty alleviation schemes and subsidy distribution schemes.
• Various schemes of the government, such as the MGNREGA, Pensions Scheme, Farmers Subsidy, Benefits for unorganized labour, Scholarships, etc. can make use of data analytics to identify the right beneficiary, understand their socio-economic status, and use technology solutions for timely dissemination of benefits, etc

APPLICATION IN DIVERSE FIELDS:

• Fields like Criminal Justice and Judiciary can consume data to analyze crime patterns, locate the criminal networks and hotspots of potential crimes, etc.
• This would help the authorities take corrective measures and prevent such incidents from happening.
• Data is precious in fraud prevention also.
• Many financial systems today employ data to detect fraudulent activities, and it is now suggested to integrate a fraud detection module while setting up any financial system.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC:

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, data has been extensively used for contact tracing, prediction of hotspots, trend analysis, and taking appropriate measures to curb the spread of the virus.
• Data was also used for the management of hospitals and the supply of essential medicines and essential goods to citizens at large.

DATA AND DEMOCRACY:

• Access to the data by citizens is critical for a healthy and informed public discourse on issues of policy relevance.
• The mere fact that people have access to data is likely to pressurize the government to improve performance in many areas.
• However, data generation doesn’t guarantee seamless access to people whose lives matter most in a democracy.
• Informed public discourse in any democracy is critical for accountable and transparent governance.

OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA (OGD) PLATFORM INDIA – AN OVERVIEW

WHAT IS IT?:

• The Open Government Data (OGD) Platform India (https://data.gov.in) has been set up by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in compliance with the Open Data Policy (NDSAP) of India.
• The objective of the policy is to provide proactive access to government-owned shareable data along with its usage information in open/machine-readable format through a wide area of the network across the country.
• This data,  periodically updated, will be shared within the framework of various related policies, rules, and acts of the government.

PART OF DIGITAL INDIA:

• Developed using Open Source Stack, the project is one of the initiatives under Pillar 6 (Information for All) of the Digital India initiative.
• It facilitates community participation for further development of the product with Visualizations, Alerts, etc.
• It has an easy-to-use and user-friendly interface with dynamic/pull-down menus, search-based reports, secured web access, a bulletin board, etc.

EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT AND CITIZEN COLLABORATION:

• The platform reflects how the innovative use of information technology has led to a paradigm shift in accommodating the huge data potential of the country.
• The platform has a rich mechanism for citizen engagement, which could help Ministries/Departments/Organizations prioritize the release of Government Datasets.
• Besides enabling citizens to express their need for specific datasets or apps, it also allows them to rate the quality of datasets and seek clarification or information from nodal officers of participating government entities.

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE OGD PLATFORM

• Ministry/Department/State contributes/publishes resources in open format either directly or by Web Services through workflow-based Data Management System.
• Provides single window access to the datasets and apps published by different Ministries/Departments/Organizations/States in open format. –
• Suggestions and requirements of data can be submitted by citizens/ community to help prioritize data sharing by participating ministries/ departments. Anyone can endorse already submitted suggestions.
• People can directly write to Chief Data Officer seeking any further clarification/information on the released resources or related requirements.
• The platform enables better discovery and usage of Government datasets through visualizations and development of apps, mash-ups, etc. Visualization Platform with the facility to create maps as well as different chart options like radar, bar, line, area, pie, column, etc.
• A separate Community portal (http://community.data.gov.in) has been launched to provide a common platform for knowledge sharing through discussion and contribution through Blogs, Infographics, Visualizations, etc., using data available on the platform.
• People can rate the resources (datasets/apps) on three aspects i.e. Quality, Accessibility, and Usability on a scale of 5.
• A separate Event portal for management of workshops, hackathons, challenges, etc. has been created.

THE LIMITATIONS OF THE NDSAP AND OGD

• A large volume of existing government data is still not accessible in digital formats. NDASP is still a policy but not a mandatory policy. As a result, a lot of departments are reluctant or slow to share their respective datasets.
• ​Even when data is made available in a machine-readable format, in most cases, the reliability is questionable; the raw data needs to go through rigorous editing and aggregation before it can be used.
• Different departments collect and collate information in their respective silos using diverse formats and terminology, making it tough to use that data effectively.
• Adoption of data sharing at the state level has also been slow, with only four out of 29 Indian states contributing data to the national portal.
• The granularity of open government data in India has been a concern, as it fails to satisfy the users to access and use only micro-level data.
• The unavailability of official map data due to the conservative map policy of the government and lack of interoperability in sharing this data has discouraged a discourse about better planning, tracking progress in the ‘real space’ and pushing the government to take remedial steps.

DATA PRODUCTION AND GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE-AN ILLUSTRATION

CONSUMPTION SURVEY AND PERIODIC LABOUR FORCE SURVEY:

• The data produced by the government’s statistical wings, which have a reputation for being independent and credible, can be used to assess the effectiveness of state policies.
• Recent events, however, have severely harmed this perception. Data from the 2017-18 consumption survey, for example, has yet to be released.
• The survey’s leaked summary results reveal some troubling facts that may not be politically reassuring to the government.
• Similarly, the first Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS 2017-18) was not made public until after the 2019 general election.

REPLACING THE ANNUAL SURVEY OF INDUSTRIES:

• Furthermore, rather than relying on the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), a systematically designed survey for estimating industrial sector GDP, the government has begun to rely on self-reported, unverified data submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs since 2011 obscuring the true state of Indian industry.
• The future of this database is uncertain now that ASI is nearly obsolete for official estimation purposes.
• To date, the ASI is the most dependable and comprehensive source of data for research on industrial productivity and regional patterns.

DATA ON SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN MISSION:

• Another example of undermining the scientific database is the delay in the release of Water and Sanitation Survey data 2018.
• The prime minister declared India open defecation free in October 2019, while the data was released much later, depriving people of an opportunity to assess the status of the Swachh Bharat mission in a scientific manner.

RESIGNATION OF OFFICIALS:

• The autonomy of statistical agencies is compromised for immediate political gains at the cost of sustainability and the quality of democratic governance.
• This is seen in the manner of restructuring the NSO and the resignation of top non-official members from the National Statistical Commission.

OTHERS:

• The government’s refusal to conduct a  caste census, a migrant survey, poverty enumeration, controversy over the death count during the pandemic, etc are some other instances that reflect very poorly on the state of the Indian data ecosystem.

DATA AND DEMOCRACY-AN ANALYSIS

Democracy is the government by consent, and this consent requires reliable and authentic information that enables the citizens to make an informed choice at the ballot box. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of a functioning democracy and the elections cannot be held to be free or fair if the citizens are deprived of real and real-time data on the government, political parties, and the administration, among others. Democracy is also a form of accountable government, and accountability demands access to what the government is doing and how it is doing it. This is necessary for ensuring answerability and the rule of law. In fact, in a democracy citizens are the masters and the government, the servant, and philosophically put, the master has the full right to know what the servant is doing or not doing. This is the spirit in which the freedom of information legislations are being brought by nations. Additionally, the notion of privacy has assumed huge significance, which is being expanded by progressive jurisprudence like India’s Puttaswamy judgment. It is also true that the government should have some elbow room to maneuver with respect to the collection and keeping of sensitive data dealing with national security. But, in other cases, the policy of the government should be based on open data access which will have inherent and instrumental benefits for democracy.

THE POWER OF DATA- THE NEWZEALAND CASE STUDY

The key to the New Zealand government’s success is that it treats data as a strategic asset committed to igniting proactive information sharing to drive better decision-making.

A great example is how accurate diabetes data has helped the New Zealand Ministry of Health provide appropriate and timely care. New Zealand’s Ministry of Health found it difficult to accurately estimate the number of cases in the country since there was no consistent data collection across all general practices and hospitals. With the help of data analysis capabilities, the ministry created a register to accurately predict the prevalence of the condition and help design effective public health policies to support quality clinical improvements.

The New Zealand Ministry of Health was able to integrate information from six different data sources and use Advanced Analytics to identify both those with diabetes and those with the highest prevalence rate. These insights enabled the Ministry of Health to focus its policies on the health policies for these groups.

The exceptional work done by the New Zealand government is being copied around the globe as governments everywhere are looking to provide similar results to their citizens. In fact, the Ontario Government has pledged its “commitment to the people of Ontario to engage, collaborate and

innovate” as it looks to build a “government that freely shares information, unlocks the power of data in a digital age, and brings more voices to the decision-making table through its Open Ontario initiative.

As the New Zealand government has demonstrated, analytics can help save money, drive efficiency, and improve citizen services, all while protecting sensitive data. The possibilities are truly endless; however, the power of analytics can only be unleashed once governments realize the importance of information sharing to enrich the lives of citizens and transform the way the government is run. And that starts with breaking down the culture of data ownership and building a proper infrastructure to securely manage data as an asset.

THE WAY FORWARD

• The government needs to ensure the independence of the statistical agencies and also should timely conduct and release the crucial data even though the results may not be politically palatable.
• The Open Data Policy needs to be implemented in letter and spirit for good governance and participative democracy.
• There must be a comprehensive data protection law in place to protect citizens’ privacy and to prevent India from being slid into a surveillance state.
• RTI is one of the best tools for distributing and sharing data the government has, and the governments should suo motu put these data in the public domain.
• Lack of access to data can increase the distance between the governors and the government, which will have serious consequences on the outcomes of policies and can hamper developmental objectives.
• Various researches also suggest that much of the data is still not analyzed and has huge untapped potential. One of the major challenges right now is the fact that data is currently residing in silos, and thus to unleash the true potential of this data, various IT systems must collaborate and operate in a symbiotic fashion.
• There are certain challenges that are currently preventing these opportunities from being tapped. Issues of privacy and data anonymization are a concern. There is also a lack of standardization of data collection formats that makes it difficult to aggregate and make sense of data The infrastructure to support efficient data collection, processing, and management needs to be strengthened.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), on February 21, 2022, released a policy proposal titled “Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy, 2022”. The policy aims to “radically transform India’s ability to harness public sector data and aim to sell it to the private sector. This can be the beginning of sharing government-owned citizens’ data with relevant stakeholders. Although the market mechanism may be questionable, so is privacy concerns.

THE CONCLUSION: Data is emerging as the key resource of a Digital Economy. Citizens, organizations, and society at large will benefit from the democratization of data as it will become usable to anyone to derive insights and build inclusive solutions for the development of our society. However, the government, while harvesting the citizens’ data for better governance, should not monopolize it and must share them with people, which will improve democratic outcomes in the true sense.

QUESTIONS:

1. Data is the lifeblood of a democratic government. Comment
2. What is an Open Government Data Platform? How far do you agree with the view that democratizing data ownership will help in improving governance outcomes?
3. Critically analyse the relationship between data and democracy.

THE CONTEXT: The Ministry of Earth Science unveiled India’s Arctic Policy on 17 March 2022, titled “India and the Arctic: building a partnership for sustainable development”, with the aim of enhancing the country’s cooperation with the resource-rich and rapidly transforming region. The policy also seeks to combat climate change and protect the environment in the region, which is warming three times faster than the rest of the world. This article explains the need for an Arctic Policy for India, looks into the gaps in India’s present engagement in the Arctic, and analyses the features of India’s Arctic Policy released recently.

WHAT AND WHERE IS THE ARCTIC?

• It is commonly understood to refer to the region above the Arctic Circle, north of latitude 66° 34′ N, which includes the Arctic Ocean with the North Pole at its centre.
• The Arctic is a vast and varied region whose annual cycle is influenced by the strong variation in the amount of light. The further north you are, the more there are daylight hours in winter and nightless nights in summer. In the Arctic, winters are long, and the growing season is short. The Arctic land area comprises only about 5% of the land surface of Earth.
• The Arctic is home to almost four million inhabitants, of which approximately one-tenth are considered indigenous people.
• The Arctic Ocean and its surrounding landmass have been a topic of immense interest and a high-priority area of research among the global scientific fraternity, as well as of importance to policymakers.
• The Arctic influences the atmospheric, oceanographic and bio-geo-chemical cycles of the Earth’s ecosystem.

WHAT IS ARCTIC COUNCIL?

• The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic Indigenous peoples and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic. It was formally established in 1996.
• It is not a treaty-based international legal entity like the UN organizations or trade or regional groupings such as NATO or ASEAN.
• It was set up by the 8 Arctic countries by means of the Ottawa Declaration of 1996. These countries are the US, Canada, Russia, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
• In addition to these countries, 6 organizations representing the indigenous people of the Arctic region have also been given the status of permanent participants.
• India holds one of the 13 positions as the Observer in the Arctic Council.

What is the observer status of the Council?

• The observer status is provided to countries or entities that support the objectives of the Arctic Council through financial or other contributions.
• Observers cannot participate in the decision-making process.
• They are invited to participate only in the meetings of the Council, particularly at the level of the working groups.
• The renewal of the observer status is just a formality. The status, once given, continues until the entity carries out any activities that run against the objectives of the Council.

INDIA’S JOURNEY AT THE ARCTIC COUNCIL

1920: India’s engagement with the Arctic began when it signed the Svalbard Treaty in Paris between Norway, the US, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Ireland, and the British overseas Dominions and Sweden concerning Spitsbergen.

2007: India initiated its Arctic research program in 2007 with a focus on climate change in the region.

2008: India established Himadri- India’s first permanent Arctic research station located at Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway.

2013: India was first granted the Observer status in 2013, along with five other nations.

2014: India deployed IndARC it is India’s first underwater moored observatory in the Arctic region 2014 at Kongsfjorden fjord, Svalbard, Norway. Its research goal is to study the Arctic climate and its influence on the monsoon.

2016: Another atmospheric laboratory was established in 2016 at Gruvebadet in Ny-Alesund with the aim of initiating studies on clouds, precipitation, long-range pollutants, and other background atmospheric parameters.

2019: India was re-elected as an Observer to the Arctic Council.

ABOUT: INDIA’S ARCTIC POLICY

India’s Arctic Policy aims to enhance the country’s cooperation with the resource-rich and rapidly transforming Arctic region. The policy also seeks to combat climate change and protect the environment in the region, which is warming three times faster than the rest of the world. It was released by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

OBJECTIVES OF INDIA’S ARCTIC POLICY

• It aims to strengthen national capabilities and competencies in science and exploration, climate and environmental protection, and maritime and economic cooperation with the Arctic region.
• To strengthen institutional and human resource capacities within the government and academic, research and business institutions through inter-ministerial coordination in pursuit of India’s interests in the Arctic.
• To enhance understanding of the impact of climate change in the Arctic region on India’s climate, economic, and energy security.
• To promote better analysis, prediction, and coordinated policymaking on the implications of ice melting in the Arctic on India’s economic, military and strategic interests related to global shipping routes, energy security, and exploitation of mineral wealth.
• To study the linkages between polar regions and the Himalayas and deepen the cooperation between India and the countries of the Arctic region under various Arctic forums, drawing expertise from scientific and traditional knowledge.
• To increase India’s participation in the Arctic Council and improve understanding of the complex governance structures in the Arctic, relevant international laws, and geopolitics of the region.

RELEVANCE OF ARCTIC POLICY FOR INDIA?

The relevance of the Arctic for India can be broadly explained under three categories:

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

• Under the banner of science and research, the Indian government hopes to build its research capabilities in the region by strengthening existing facilities, such as the Himadri Arctic station in Svalbard.
• It also hopes to align Indian research with international Arctic priorities. The policy further lays down plans to deploy space technology to better study the Arctic region.
  

 ECONOMIC AND HUMAN RESOURCES:

• The Arctic region has rich deposits of coal, gypsum and diamonds and also substantial reserves of zinc, lead, placer gold and quartz. Greenland alone possesses about a quarter of the world’s rare earth reserves.
• The Arctic contains a wealth of hydrocarbon resources.
• Arctic also has the potential to address India’s energy security needs and deficiency of strategic and rare earth minerals.

GEOPOLITICAL AND STRATEGIC:

• The Arctic region is significant due to the shipping routes that run through it.
• According to an analysis published by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, the adverse effects of the Arctic are not just impacting the availability of mineral and hydrocarbon resources but also transforming global shipping routes.
• According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India can play a constructive role in securing a stable Arctic.
• The region holds immense geopolitical importance as the Arctic is projected to be ice-free by 2050, and world powers are making a beeline to exploit the region rich in natural resources.

GAP IN INDIA’S APPROACH

LACK OF AN ARTICULATED POLICY: 

• Even though the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of the Government of India has listed India’s interests in the Arctic to be “scientific, environmental, commercial as well as strategic”, till recently, India was one among the four of the 13 Observer nations of the Arctic Council that did not have a nationally articulated Arctic Policy.

SCIENTIFIC ORIENTATION:

• India needs to go beyond the purely scientific approach in the Arctic. In keeping with its growing stature and consequent say in world affairs, India ought to be better equipped to understand the dynamics of the Arctic geo-politics and governance.

INADEQUATE FUNDING:

• Presently, India’s polar research for the Antarctic, Arctic, Southern Ocean and Himalayas is budgeted under the umbrella Polar Science and Cryosphere (PACER) programme of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). Considering that India’s Antarctic Programme is about five times bigger than its Arctic programme.

POLAR RESEARCH VESSEL (PRV):

• The lack of a dedicated PRV is considered to be a serious impediment to the growth of India’s polar activities.

WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT FOCUS:

• Presently, the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), under the MoES, is the nodal agency for India’s polar research programme, which includes Arctic studies.
• The MEA provides the external interface to the Arctic Council through the United Nations Economic & Social (UNES) Division.
• However, the eight countries of the Arctic Council are divided between the Americas, Eurasia and Central Europe Divisions, possibly preventing a region-wide focus on the fast-changing geophysical and geopolitical Arctic landscape.
• Further, there is no nodal body to coordinate all the activities of the Government of India relating to the Arctic region.

AWARENESS AND CAPACITY:

• The Arctic has largely been ignored in India on the ground that it is far away and does not have a direct impact on India. This has resulted in a lack of national capacity on Arctic issues.
• As the Arctic opens up, India needs to expand domestic capability and capacity by building a wide-ranging institutional base on Arctic maritime, legal, environmental, social, policy and governance issues.
• This can only happen through the introduction of an Arctic-related curriculum in our education system at all levels. India’s engagement with the Arctic needs to be built on sound augmentation of its domestic capacity.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• Expand the capacity and awareness of Arctic-related scientific research by strengthening the NCPOR, involving other relevant academic and scientific institutions in India, identifying nodal institutes and promoting partnerships among institutions and agencies.
• Promote research capacities in Indian Universities in the fields of earth sciences, biological sciences, geosciences, climate change and space-related programmes relevant to the Arctic.
• Widen the pool of experts in sectors such as mineral, oil and gas exploration, blue-bio economy and tourism relevant to the Arctic.
• Strengthen training institutions for training seafarers in Polar/Ice-Navigation and build region-specific hydrographic capacity and skills necessary to undertake Arctic transits.
• Build indigenous capacity in building ships of Ice-class standards, including for research.
• Expand India’s trained manpower in maritime insurance, chartering, arbitration and brokerage for potential usage in the Arctic region.
• Build wide-ranging institutional capacity for the study of Arctic maritime, legal, environmental, social, policy and governance issues, including the application of UNCLOS and other Treaties governing the Arctic region.

THE CONCLUSION: India’s Arctic Policy is aimed to prepare the country for a future where the biggest challenges facing humankind, such as climate change, can be successfully addressed through, Collective will and effort. India can and is ready to play its part and contribute to the global good. Close partnership with countries of the Arctic region and other international partners to ensure sustainable development, peace and stability in the Arctic region will also be essential for the realization of India’s national development plans and priorities. This approach is in accordance with the challenges facing humankind, such as climate change, which can be successfully addressed only through the Indian philosophy of VasudhaivaKutumbakam-The world is one family.

 Questions for Mains:

1. India’s Arctic Policy is aimed to prepare the country for a future where the biggest challenge of climate change. Comment.
2. In the changing geopolitics, initiatives such as New Arctic Policy can be vital to address the emerging energy challenges experienced by India in the recent past. Explain.
3. How far do you agree with this view that India’s New Arctic is less about energy needs and more about being competitive in geopolitics? Justify your view.

THE CONTEXT: The Russian-Ukraine war has disrupted the prevailing global order. The war is threatening to divide the world into two blocs reminiscent of the cold war. However, India committed to its principled position of non-alignment, with its huge demography and economy can be the fulcrum of shaping the post-war world order. This article examines the challenges the country faces and the strengths it carries to be the pivot of this new world order.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING WORLD ORDER

THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL: Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a model of free societies, frictionless borders, and an open economy has emerged as the standard in many countries, which has become a governing order.

FREE TRADE AND PROSPERITY: People, products, services, and capital were able to move more freely around the world as a result of this. During this time, global trade and per capita GDP nearly doubled, signalling a period of universal peace and prosperity.

INTEGRATION AND PEACE: With the goal of shared global prosperity, the world’s societies and economics have become increasingly interconnected. The conventional belief was that such close interdependence among nations would lead to fewer conflicts and promote peace.

IDEA OF GLOBAL VILLAGE: ‘Global Village’ of around 8 billion inhabitants of the world was established on top of modern transportation networks, with the US dollar serving as the reserve currency and integrated payment systems around it.

HOW IS THE GLOBAL ORDER CHANGING?

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is a global geo-economic conflict that threatens to go back to the Cold War era of two dominant power blocs. The Russo-Sino bloc is the producer powerhouse while the Western bloc is a large consumer and hence the conflict between them harms both the blocs significantly. If interconnection and trade between states are mutually beneficial, then its disruption and blockade will be mutually destructive. Economic sanctions enacted in retaliation for Russian actions have harmed all nations, albeit some have suffered more than others. Egyptians are facing food shortages as a result of their reliance on Russian and Ukrainian wheat, Germans face high winter heating costs as a result of their reliance on Russian gas, and Americans face a shortage of electric cars due to the unavailability of car batteries reliant on Russian nickel, Sri Lankans have taken to the streets as a result of economic woes, and Indian farmers face high fertilizer prices triggered by a global shortage.

CAN INDIA BE THE EPICENTRE OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER?

THE CHALLENGES:

• A forced and hurried dismantling of the international dollar-based currency order and replacing it with bilateral local currency arrangements are problematic.
• Buying discounted oil or commodities if it entails a departure from the established order of dollar-based trade settlement or jeopardizes established trading relationships with western bloc markets, can have longer-term implications for India’s export potential.
• India needs not just cordial relationships with nations on either side of the new divide but also a stable and established global economic environment.
• Social harmony is the edifice of economic prosperity. Fanning mutual distrust, hate and anger among citizens, causing social disharmony is a huge challenge to India.
• The communal divide that the country is facing today will affect the growth prospect of the country.

THE OPPORTUNITIES:

• India has benefited enormously from being an active participant in this interconnected world, with a tripling of trade (as a share of GDP) in the last three decades and providing vast numbers of jobs.
• Trade with other nations will always be an integral cornerstone of India’s economic future.
• India’s trade is dependent on both these power blocs and on the current global economic structures of free trade, established reserve currency and transaction systems.
• As the western bloc of nations looks to reduce dependence on the Russia-China bloc of nations, it presents newer avenues for India to expand trade.
• India, as the largest peace-loving democracy, stands to gain enormously from the ‘principled trade’ aspiration of the western bloc that values both morals and money.
• It presents a tremendous opportunity for India to become a large producing nation for the world and a global economic powerhouse.
• By dint of its sheer size and scale, India can be both a large producer and a consumer.

HOW DID INDIA RESPOND TO THE CRISIS?

EMPHASIZED DIALOGUE AND DIPLOMACY: 

• Right from the beginning, India called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the dispute. On many occasions, the country has asked for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities.

PROTECTED NATIONAL INTEREST:

• Russia is a very important partner in a variety of areas for India; similarly, fertilizer prices have a direct implication on the livelihood of a majority of our population and food prices.
• Even the security of the nation is at stake as India maintains its defence posture in the manner that the current security challenges warrant.
• All these are legitimate pursuits of national interest by India.

DESISTED FROM TAKING SIDES:

• While India was at the forefront of addressing the fallout of the war, it has been careful not to take sides despite the push by the West owing to its peculiar circumstances. This has been manifested in India’s abstention in the resolutions in UNGA, UNSC, UNHRC etc.

PROVIDING HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE:

• India has sent humanitarian assistance to Ukraine through Poland and Romania. The consignment comprised medicines, medical equipment, and other relief material.

INFLATION, LOW GROWTH AND EXPORT POTENTIAL

New Delhi is already bearing the brunt of high global crude oil prices (about $110-120 a barrel as against $70 at the beginning of November) as well as rising mineral, metal and edible oil prices, indicating a possible scenario of high inflation and low growth — stagflation. Ukraine has created an unlikely opportunity for select Indian Agri-exporters who trade in wheat, maize, millet, and processed food. Since the crisis unfolded last month, the world has been looking to Indian wheat to fill the huge void in stocks caused by the turbulence in Europe’s breadbasket. Ukraine is one of the world’s top wheat exporters, and Russia and Ukraine together have a 25% share in the global wheat market.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• India thus needs not just a nonaligned doctrine for the new world order but also a nondisruptive geo-economic policy that seeks to maintain the current global economic equilibrium.
• India needs to balance domestic compulsions with its international commitments without being pulled into any bloc.
• India needs to address the domestic problems of social divisions and economic boycotts, and issues of freedom to trade.
• India needs to arrest the slide in democracy being felt in multiple areas lest its credentials will be impacted.
• A new paradigm of emerging global order and India’s role in shaping it need a clear articulation of the contours of “Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

THE CONCLUSION: The reshaping and readjustment of world order will be a unique opportunity for India to reassess foreign policy, economic policy and geopolitical strategy and develop a mantle of global leadership. The strengthening of India’s global economic power through a cautious post-conflict geoeconomics strategy between Russia and Ukraine could represent a decisive turning point in India’s economic history. India could be the cornerstone of this new world order as a peaceful democracy with economic prosperity. But this requires India to first contain the division of the raging community within the country.

QUESTIONS:

1. “To be the fulcrum of the new paradigm of the world order, India needs to address its domestic social divisions “Explain
2. In order to be the pivot of an emerging global order post the Russian-Ukraine conflict, India needs to surpass multiple challenges. Critically Analyze.

[WpProQuiz 224]

THE CONTEXT: On 17 March 2022, the Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj released the Disaster Management Plan of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (DMP-MoPR) with the idea of monitoring, mitigating, and even developing the preparedness at the grass-root level. This article analyzes the role, responsibilities, and issues faced by the PRIs in crisis times and disaster management.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN OF MINISTRY OF PANCHAYATI RAJ (DMP-MoPR)

ABOUT DMP-MoPR:

• Under the Plan, every Indian village would have a “Village Disaster Management Plan” and every Panchayat would have its Disaster Management Plan.
• The aim is to build disaster resilience at the grassroots level among the Panchayats and establish a framework to align the disaster management measures in rural areas to that of the National Disaster Management Authority.
• It incorporates many innovations in addition to being in compliance with Disaster Management Act 2005, National Disaster Management Policy 2009, and guidelines issued by National Disaster Management Authority.
• It has been prepared with a larger perspective of community-based planning starting from Village to the District Panchayat level.

ISSUES COVERED:

• It comprehensively covers areas such as:
• Institutional arrangement for Disaster Management.
• Hazard Risk, Vulnerability, and Capacity Analysis.
• Coherence of Disaster Risk Management across Resilient Development and Climate Change Action.
• Disaster Specific Preventive and Mitigation Measures-Responsibility Framework.
• Mainstreaming of Community Based Disaster Management Plan of Villages and Panchayats and so on.

NEED FOR THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN AT THE VILLAGE AND PANCHAYAT LEVEL

VULNERABILITY TO DISASTERS:

• India is the 7th most disaster-prone country in the world according to the “Global Climate Risk Index 2021” released by German watch, based in Bonn and Berlin (Germany).

INEFFICIENT SOPS:

• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are virtually non-existent and even where such SOPs exist, the authorities concerned are unfamiliar with them.

LACK OF COORDINATION:

• The States also suffer from inadequate coordination among various government departments and other stakeholders.
• The Indian system for disaster management also suffers from the absence of an institutional framework at the Center/State/District level.

POOR WARNING AND RELIEF SYSTEMS:

• India lacks a proper early warning system.
• Slow response from relief agencies, lack of trained/dedicated search and rescue teams, and poor community empowerment are other important challenges.

ROLE OF PRIs IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT

HANDLING DISASTERS AT THE GRASS-ROOT LEVEL:

• The devolution of power and responsibilities to the panchayats will result in flexible and committed responses at the grass-root level in the case of natural calamities.
• Effective and Strong PRIs, working in harmony with the state government, will help tackle the disaster through early warning systems.
• Local population has insights of topography and acquired wisdom of generations to deal with any such kind of crisis situation. Such knowledge can be harnessed at a larger level for the common good.
• Community actions have a significant role in disaster response. For instance:
• The socio-demographic variables and self-satisfaction of community resilience in the context of the Kerala floods of 2018 (the fishermen who were prominent amongst the first responders during this flood).
• Odisha has recurrently been in the news in recent years for the exemplary way in which it has managed to cope with the disasters that have struck its coast and affected its people. Community-based disaster risk reduction is at the very heart of Odisha’s approach to disaster management.

ENSURING BETTER RELIEF OPERATIONS:

• Local bodies being nearer to the people are in a better position to undertake relief tasks as they are more familiar with the requirements of the local people.
• This ensures total transparency in working and usage of funds in every disaster situation.
• They can also be relied upon for undertaking day-to-day running of civic services, providing shelter and medical assistance to affected people, etc.

SPREADING AWARENESS AND GAINING COOPERATION:

• Local government institutions have grass-root level contact with people and they can help effectively in spreading awareness and ensure people’s participation in fighting the crisis.
• They are also ideal channels for NGOs and other agencies’ participation in the rescue and relief operations.

PAST EXPERIENCES – PRIS’ RESPONSE DURING COVID-19:

Amid the peak months of the pandemic, the PRIs played a remarkable role by providing essential leadership at the local level.

• Performed Regulatory and Welfare Functions: PRIs set up containment zones, arranged transport, identified buildings for quarantining people, and provisioned food for the incoming migrants.
• Effective implementation of welfare schemes like MGNREGA and the National Rural Livelihood Mission quickened the pace of recovery while ensuring support to the vulnerable population.
• Made Effective Collaborations: During the pandemic, gram sabhas resolved to adhere to Covid-19 norms. Also, regular engagement with frontline workers like ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers through committees further assisted in handling the pandemic at local levels.
• Organised Local Monitoring Bodies: PRIs organised community-based surveillance systems involving village elders, the youth, and self-help groups (SHGs) to keep a strict vigil in quarantine centres and monitor symptoms in households.

ISSUES FACED BY PRIs

UNCLEAR DOMAINS OF PANCHAYATS:

• Though PRIs are a three-tier integrated arrangement of the village, block, and district levels, they have remained largely ineffective as a consequence of ambiguous jurisdictions and unclear linkages.
• Even in respect of the National Disaster Management Act 2005, the powers and responsibilities of panchayats are inadequately defined and left to be determined by respective state governments.

INCOMPLETE AUTONOMY:

• Panchayats lack systems, resources, and capacities to act independently due to numerous constraints imposed by district administrations and state governments.
• Instead of becoming institutions of local self-governance, as envisaged by the constitution, panchayats mostly act as field implementers of decisions made by state and central governments.

UNAVAILABILITY OF FUNDS:

• The Panchayats are not given enough funds and are bypassed by State-controlled line departments that continue to implement programmes falling within the rightful domain of the former.

INTERFERENCE FROM MPS AND MLAS:

• The interference of area MPs and MLAs in the functioning of panchayats adversely affects the performance of Panchayats.

SIGNIFICANCE OF DMP-MoPR

HELPFUL IN MANAGING DISASTERS COMPREHENSIVELY:

• The convergent and collective actions to envision, plan and implement community-based disaster management plans, would be a game-changer in managing disasters comprehensively.
• All stakeholders including Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), elected representatives and functionaries of Panchayats, etc. would participate in the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the plan.
• The involvement of the community is the key factor in any disaster preparedness strategy and active participation of the community is vital to carry out and sustain the activities relating to disaster management in rural areas.

ENSURE PARTICIPATORY PLANNING PROCESS:

• This plan would be extremely useful for ensuring a participatory planning process for DMPs which is integrated with the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) for addressing disasters across the country and initiate a new era of community-based disaster management, convergence, and collective action with programs and schemes of different Ministries / Departments.

THE ANALYSIS:

• Panchayat- level and village-level Disaster Management Plans, envisage mitigating the challenges in the event of a disaster, at the grassroots and foundational level and it is imperative to keep disaster management plans in mind while making a master plan for the holistic development of Panchayats.
• Most appropriate institution: The Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI), the representative body of the people, is the most appropriate institution from the village to the district level in view of its proximity, universal coverage, and enlisting people’s participation in an institutionalised manner. Their close involvement will make people more prepared for countering natural disasters as well as involve them in all possible precautionary and protective activities so that the impact of the disasters is mitigated and the people are able to save their lives and property.
• Social mobilisation: The PRIs can act as catalysts to the social mobilisation process and tap the traditional wisdom of the local communities to complement the modern practices in disaster mitigation efforts.
• Integration: PRIs will also provide a base for integration of various concerns of the community with that of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) which are engaged in various developmental activities at the grassroots level.
• Leadership Role: The Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) members can play a role of leadership in Disaster management at all stages. Right from the preparatory stage up to the handling of the long-term development activities for risk reduction.
• Though the idea behind such an initiative is commendable the scarcity of resources, deprived authority to make decisions, and lack of guidance, information, and leadership qualities among the locals might prove to be an impediment.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• Resource Availability and Self-Reliance: Local governance, local leaders, and local communities, when empowered can respond to any disaster rapidly and effectively. The local bodies require information and guidance and must-have resources, capacities, and systems in place to act with confidence, without waiting for instructions from above.
• The shift in Disaster Management Paradigm: There is an urgent need for a shift from risk mitigation cum relief-centric approach in disaster management into an integrated plan for economic development with social justice.
• Early warning systems, preparedness, preventive measures, and awareness among people are as much an important part of disaster management as is recovery planning, rehabilitation and other relief measures, which should be focused along with assigning roles to individual members and providing them with the necessary skills can make such programmes more meaningful.
• Collective Participation: Conducting regular, location-specific disaster-management programmes for the community and organising platforms for sharing best practices will strengthen individual and institutional capacities, which can even be replicated in other parts of the country facing similar issues.
• It is imperative to make disaster resilience an inherent part of the community culture now more than ever.

THE CONCLUSION: India has been vulnerable, in varying degrees, to too many natural as well as human-made disasters on account of its unique geo-climatic and socio-economic conditions. Different parts of the country are highly vulnerable to cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, etc. Considering the important role that local communities can play in reducing vulnerabilities and early recovery, DMP-MoPR will initiate a new era of community-based disaster management and collective action.

Mains Practice Questions:

1. “Disaster Management Plan framed by Ministry of Panchayati Raj would contribute to the efforts of the government in bringing convergence in disaster management and planning in rural areas.” Elaborate.
2. “The convergent and collective actions to envision, plan and implement community-based disaster management plans, would be a game-changer for the country in managing disasters comprehensively.” Critically evaluate the above-given statement in the context of autonomy and powers of the Panchayati Raj institutions.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

INDIA’S EFFORTS IN MANAGING DISASTER

THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA:

It was the impact of the Tsunami in 2004 that catalysed the approach of the lawmakers in India to legislate on disaster management and the Disaster Management Act was passed in 2005. The institutional structure for disaster management is hierarchical and functions at three levels – centre, state, and district. It is a multi-stakeholder setup and draws the involvement of various relevant ministries, government departments, and administrative bodies.

The Act provides for the constitution of the following institutions at the national, state, and district levels:

1. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):

• Responsible for laying down the policies, plans, and guidelines for disaster management and for ensuring timely and effective response to the disaster.
• It consists of not more than nine members with Prime Minister as its ex-officio chairperson.

2. State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)

• A state Disaster Management Authority is established by every state government.
• The Chief Minister of the state is the chairperson of SDMA. There are a maximum of 9 members other than the chairperson.

3. District Disaster Management Authority

• The DDMA are set up by the state government via a notification in the state budget. It consists of Chairperson and seven members. The collector District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner would be the chairman.
• The DDMA works as a district planning, coordinating, and implementing body for disaster management.
• It will coordinate with the upper two tiers of the structure and will plan the implementation of the prevention, mitigation, and preparedness at the local level.

4. National Institute of Disaster Management

• It is responsible for planning and promoting training and research in the area of disaster management.
• It is a premier national organization working for human resource development at the national level in the area of disaster management.

5. National Disaster Response Force

• Specialist response force to a threatening disaster situation or disaster. The general superintendence, direction, and control of the Force shall be vested and exercised by NDMA.
• Presently it has the strength of 10 battalions positioned at different locations in the country to provide timely response to any crisis situation.

MANAGING CLIMATE CHANGE-RELATED DISASTERS:

• Globally, disasters in the last two decades have predominantly been climate-related disasters, of which floods are the most frequently occurring type of disaster and storms are the second most deadly type of disaster followed by earthquakes.
• India has adopted the Sendai Framework for DRR, the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030), and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, all of which make clear the connections between DRR, Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), and sustainable development.
• India participates in several multilateral organisations that address these and other issues that benefit from multinational coordination.

CONTRIBUTION TO REGIONAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS:

• As part of its neighbourhood development efforts, India also contributes to regional disaster preparedness and capacity-building efforts.
• Within the context of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), India has hosted DM Exercises that allow NDRF to demonstrate to counterparts from partner states the techniques developed to respond to various disasters.
• Other NDRF and Indian Armed Forces exercises have brought India’s first responders into contact with those from states in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

INDIA’S ROLE AS A FOREIGN DISASTER RELIEF:

• India is also an emerging donor that has provided a substantial amount of foreign disaster relief, as well as foreign development assistance, to other countries.
• India’s foreign humanitarian assistance has increasingly included its military assets, primarily deploying naval ships or aircraft to deliver relief.
• In line with its diplomatic policy of “Neighbourhood First,” many of the recipient countries have been in the region of South and Southeast Asia.
• In the last two decades, India has given foreign humanitarian assistance bilaterally to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and others.
• Few Egs:
• 2004 Tsunami relief.
• 2015 Nepal earthquake relief.
• One of the components in Mission SAGAR.
• Vaccine diplomacy.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE

THE CONTEXT: Fifteenth Finance Commission Chairperson NK Singh on 19 April 2022 delivered a lecture at the Delhi School of Economics and warned about how the politics of freebies could lead to fiscal disasters. Over the years the politics of freebies has become an integral part of the electoral battles in India and the scenario was no different in the recently held assembly polls in five states, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab, and Manipur. This article analyzes the socio-economic costs of freebies by distinguishing them from the concept of “expenditure on the public good, having overall benefits.”

THE IDEA OF FREEBIES:

• The literal meaning of freebie is something that is given free of charge or cost.
• Political parties are outdoing each other in promising free electricity and water supply, laptops, cycles, electronic appliances, etc. These are called ‘freebies’ and are characterized as unwise for long-term fiscal stability.
• However, during the pandemic, governments (both Union and states), as well as the RBI, took several measures to mitigate pandemic effects. This included expansion of the food security scheme for two full years; cash transfer schemes for farmers, expansion of the jobs scheme, etc.

THE COMPLEX ISSUE OF FREEBIES:

• There is great ambiguity in what “freebies” mean.
• Merit goods Vs. Public goods: We need to distinguish between the concept of merit goods and public goods on which expenditure outlays have overall benefits such as the strengthening and deepening of the public distribution system, employment guarantee schemes, support for education and enhanced outlays for health, particularly during the pandemic.
• Around the world, these are considered to be desirable expenditures.
• It is important to analyse, not how cheap the freebies are but how expensive they are for the economy, life quality, and social cohesion in the long run.

Merit goods: are those public goods that result in interference with consumer choices. Here the government will be providing the goods (merit) to a specific section of the society because of their backward status, poverty, etc (depending on their merit, like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan).

Public goods: refer to those goods which satisfy public wants. The main attribute of a public good is that they are supplied by the government jointly for the entire public. Examples of public goods are defense services, pollution control, streetlight, etc.

REASONS FOR THE RISE OF FREEBIE CULTURE DURING ELECTIONS

CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE FOR THE WELFARE OF THE CITIZENS:

• It is based on the principles of equality and is keen to provide equal opportunity to all. It also aims to ensure equitable distribution of wealth. The 4th century BC treatise on the art of statecraft laid out a framework for good governance and welfare, however in present times it is imperative to draw a line between dole or a handout and spending on the public good having greater benefits.

POLITICAL MANDATE: 

• Political parties contesting the polls release their manifesto stating their aims and plans for every section of the society albeit having much of the focus on announcing schemes for their largest chunk of the vote bank i.e. the lower strata of the society.
• Freebies are often used as a tool to conceal the poor performance of the incumbent government on the socio-economic parameters and provide an opportunity to alter the voter’s mindset from real issues to short-term gains.

HISTORICAL BAGGAGE:

• Since independence, parties have been promising some form of freebies to attract voters.
• Even if a new party comes to power, then also it can’t rationalize or outrightly abolish the freebie commitments of prior governments.
• For e.g., Several State Governments have been forced to continue power and irrigation subsidies due to political pressure. Governments fear that discontinuance will antagonize their voter base.

COMPETITIVE POLITICS AND DOMINO EFFECT:

• The rise in coalition era politics since the 1990s has witnessed a rise of new political parties. These small and new parties have to offer more freebies than larger parties to lure the voters. Moreover the increase in competition among the parties to seek the votes, each party tries to outdo the others in terms of populist promises.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF FREEBIES

WELFARE STATE:

• The Constitution places an obligation on the State to take proactive measures for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden.
• For instance, Art. 39(b) of The Constitution of India calls for resource distribution for achieving a common good.

GLARING INEQUALITY IN THE SOCIETY: 

• In India, there is a wide inequality between the rich and the poor in terms of income and wealth. The OXFAM report 2021 showed that the income of 84% of households in the country declined in 2021, but at the same time the number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 142.

STRUCTURAL HURDLES AND MAKING THE BENEFITS OF GROWTH REACH THE LOWEST LEVEL: 

• They gave up land for cities, roads, factories, and dams. However, they largely became landless workers and slum dwellers. Several economists argue that the gains of development have hardly trickled down to the most marginalized section of the society, especially after 1991. The cost of freebies offered is a fraction of what the poor lose.
• The World Bank recognized in the 1980’s that the prevalent policies marginalize the poor and a ‘safety net’ (freebies) is needed.

ECONOMIC PUSH:

• They help increase the demand that prevents the rate of growth from declining further. Free education and health are anyway justified because they are cases of ‘merit wants’ and increase the productivity of labour.

SOCIAL STABILITY:

• Freebies enable the government to release the growing discontent in the marginalized section. They keep a lid on societal disruption which would be far more expensive.

INCENTIVES FOR THE RICH:

• The well-off and businesses get ‘freebies’ that are euphemistically called ‘incentives’. Since 2006, the Union Budget estimates these to be between Rs 4-6 lakh crore each year. If the well-off who don’t really need freebies can get so much, why can’t the marginalized (especially women and youth) get a fraction of it?

CUSHION DURING EMERGENCIES:

• COVID-19 has been one of the biggest health emergencies in the world for over a century. Such extreme events warrant state support to prevent chaos and disruption in society e.g., the free COVID-19 vaccination for every individual in India led to more prudent management of the pandemic.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST FREEBIES

UNDERMINES THE SPIRIT OF DEMOCRACY: 

• This is the primary concern as many people tend to vote for parties based on the free incentives offered by them. They fail to judge them on their performance and don’t utilize their franchise as per merit. Even the Supreme Court has observed that freebies shake the root of free and fair elections.
  

FALL IN PRODUCTIVITY:

• Freebies create a feeling in the masses that they can live with minimal effort. This decreases their productivity towards work e.g., a trend has been created that whoever avail loan from banks does not repay them, expecting a waiver of loans during the election. This gives rise to moral hazard and an incentive to default.

FISCAL STRESS:

• Freebies generally form part of revenue expenditure. Excess allocation towards them leaves little to spend on capital expenditure which is a prerequisite for achieving long-term growth.
• A case in point is the states which have been rolling out freebies in keeping with poll promises and ended up increased public debt with unsustainable fiscal conditions.

DISCOURAGES THE HONEST TAXPAYER:

• It creates a sense of discontentment in the mind of an honest taxpayer whose money is used to fund the freebie expenditure. This feeling is more dominant especially when the State is unable to improve the public services due to freebie commitments.

SECTORAL COLLAPSE:

• The populist measures of loan waivers have put significant pressure on the banking sector.
• Similarly, rising power subsidies have enhanced pressures on Discoms who are failing to sustain themselves.

WASTAGE OF RESOURCES:

• Promises of free water and electricity create severe stress on the water table and lead to over-exploitation as seen in the states of Punjab and Haryana.
• NITI Aayog has cautioned that 21 major cities of India are on the verge of running out of groundwater in a few years.

ALLEGED INFRINGEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS:

• Promise/distribution of irrational freebies from the public fund before election unduly influences the voters, shakes the roots of the free-fair election, disturbs level playing field, vitiates the purity of the election process, and also allegedly violates Articles 14, 162, 266(3) and 282.

LANGUOR AMONG THE MASSES:

• Recurring the nature of the freebies in the Indian socio-political scenario also makes the masses develop the habit of acting irresponsibly and dampen their spirit to work hard.

THE ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE

• India could face the prospect of sub-national bankruptcies if States continued to dole out freebies to influence the electorate, Fifteenth Finance Commission Chairperson NK Singh cautioned, terming the political competition over such sops a “quick passport to fiscal disaster”.
• We must strive instead, for a race to efficiency through laboratories of democracy and sanguine federalism where states use their authority to harness innovative ideas and solutions to common problems which other states can emulate.
• If the political parties go for effective economic policies where the welfare policies or government schemes have good reach without any leakages or corruption and it is targeted at the right audience, then infrastructure and development will take care of themselves and the people will not require such kinds of freebies.
• Central government’s debt-to-GDP ratio is supposed to be 40% but now it has crossed 90%of the GDP, while the states have managed to keep their debt-to-GDP ratio at almost 27% in FY 2020. Hence the problem of financial stability is more pressing at the level of the centre.
• Political parties shall also provide the road map for achieving the targets mentioned in the manifesto and also the rationale behind enlisting such targets.
• Certain freebies are important to cushion or safeguard the socio-economic fabric such as the basic healthcare facilities, school education, subsidized ration, etc. Such interventions by the government, guide the economy in the long term growth by strengthening the human capital.
• Freebies during the crises situation also help in sustaining the economic cycle through demand pull growth such as in COVID times.
• Qualified freebies such as the ascribed conditions of creating public assets through MGNREGA also contribute in more than one way in economic growth by increasing the productive capacity of the population.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• There should be a strengthening of internal party democracy so that promises of development and not freebies are made in the elections. This would also reduce the magnitude of the criminalization of politics.
• The Election Commission should be given greater powers like the power to deregister a political party, power of contempt, etc. This would curtail the distribution of liquor and other goods during elections and ensure expenditure as per the desired limit.
• The Government should use the money spent on freebies towards job creation and infrastructure development as advised by Madras HC in 2021. This will lead to social upliftment and progression of the State.
• The focus should now be tilted on improving the efficiency of public expenditure. This requires focusing on outcomes and not merely outlays. One good example is the Pradhan Mantri UjjwalaYojana:
• Arresting the health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels thereby reducing the out of the pocket expenditure on health.
• Employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.
• Improving India’s performance on Sustainable Development Goals-SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 5 (gender equality) and especially SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
• Distribution of LPG subsidy through direct benefit transfer (DBT) also led to a decline in the subsidy bill.
• In the long run, eradication of unnecessary freebie culture requires an attitudinal change in the masses. It is high time that the ruling government should be made accountable for using tax revenue because freebies always prove to be a burden on taxpayers.
• The idea rendered by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has called for a wider debate on the freebies promised during polls and the possibility of making election manifestos legally binding. This will restrict the poll parties from making extravagant promises.

THE CONCLUSION: India has experienced the politics of freebies for a long time and the outcome of those policies has been sub-optimal, inefficient, and unsustainable. Therefore rather than doling out money, the focus should be on spending it efficiently. It is high time the discourse on improving public expenditure efficiency should take center stage while discussing the role of fiscal policy in India. However, until that is achieved, reliance on acceptable freebies like health, education, etc. can’t be completely stopped.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. ‘Instead of announcing freebies on the eve of elections, political parties need to come out with a clear road map with definitive time frames to solve the problems being faced by people for years.’ Elaborate.
2. ‘Irrational freebies in an under-tax country like India are not economically viable in the long run.’ Critically evaluate.

THE CONTEXT: On April 7, 2022, in the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee, the Union home minister said that Hindi, not a local language, should be acknowledged as an alternative to English. He added that people of different states should connect with each other in Hindi, not English. This has generated a debate that the Union government is trying to impose Hindi on the speakers of other languages. This article examines this issue in detail.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE HOME MINISTER’S SPEECH

Union Home Minister remarked that people from different states should start talking to each other in Hindi while presiding over a meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee. In various parts of the country, Hindi should be learned as a second language after a mother tongue. He declared Hindi to be the “language of India” and claimed it should be considered a viable alternative to English. Now the time has come to make the Official Language an important part of the Unity of the country. He also stated that Hindi would have become a compulsory language in the North-East.

WHAT ARE THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS REGARDING OFFICIAL LANGUAGES?

PART 17 OF THE CONSTITUTION:

• Part 17 of the Indian Constitution (Articles 343 to 351) has detailed provisions concerning the official language of the Republic of India.
• Articles 343 and 344 of the Indian Constitution include the key provisions governing the Union’s official language.
• The Constitution does not provide for a national language.

ENGLISH AND HINDI AS THE CO-OFFICIAL LANGUAGES:

• The Official Language of the Union is Hindi, written in Devanagari script.
• The original Constitution stipulated that English would be used for all official purposes of the Union for a period of 15 years from the date of the Constitution’s adoption.
• The Constitution stated that the President might, by order, permit the use of Hindi in addition to English and the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international form of Indian numerals for any of the Union’s official purposes for the specified term.

ROLE OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT:

• The Constitution also states that the Parliament may, by law, provide for the continued use of English for any specific purpose beyond 15 years.
• The Constitution has given the central government complete control over the formulation and implementation of language policy.
• It is also the role of the center to promote and develop the Union’s official language (Hindi) (Art. 351).

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE STATES:

• Though Hindi is the official language of India, the states may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the state or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of that state.

LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION:

• According to Article 346, the official language ​​of communication between one state and another, or between states and the Union, is English.
• If two or more states agree that Hindi can be the official language of communication between those states, that language can be used for such communication.

COMMISSION CONSTITUTED UNDER ART 344:

• The President at the expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years by order constitute a Commission.
• It will consist of a Chairman and other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule.
• It shall be the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the President as to:
• the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union.
• restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the official purposes of the Union etc,.

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE COMMITTEE OF THE PARLIAMENT

As per Article 344, a Committee consisting of thirty members, of whom twenty shall be members of the House of the People and ten shall be members of the Council of States, will be constituted. The members will be elected respectively by the members of the House of the People and the members of the Council of States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. It shall be the duty of the Committee to examine the recommendations of the Commission constituted under Art 344 and to report to the President their opinion thereon.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ISSUE OF LANGUAGE SINCE INDEPENDENCE

PRE-INDEPENDENCE: 

• Before India became independent, the sole language in use for all official and administrative purposes was English.
• In 1947, when India gained Independence, the issue of language was one of the most hotly contested in the Constituent Assembly debates.
• While many of our founding fathers had called for Sanskrit and Hindi to be used as our republic’s lingua franca, there was major dissent from the people who did not speak Hindi as a native tongue.

STATE RE-ORGANISATION:

• The 1948 Linguistic Provinces Commission, also known as the Dhar Commission, observed that the formation of provinces exclusively on or even mainly on linguistic considerations is not in the larger interests of the Indian nation.
• The Fazal Ali Commission, 1953 recommended restructuring the states based on language but not before giving a sound rationale for the same.
  

LANGUAGE CONFLICT:

• Vehement opposition from the legislators and agitation from the student intelligentsia, especially in Tamil Nadu, forced the then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri to make a national radio broadcast assuring the Tamils that English would be continued to be used in interstate and Centre-state communications and in Civil Services Examinations.
• In 1967, the Indira Gandhi government amended the 1963 Official Languages Act and allowed for the continuation of English as the lingua franca of the Indian Union.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY:

• The NEP draft earlier made studying Hindi mandatory till Class 8 in non-Hindi-speaking states, and due to opposition, it was dropped.

PRESENT ISSUE:

• Hindi as the link language and the opposition to it.

ENGLISH AS THE PREFERED MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

The 2011 language census uncovered that only 12 out of India’s then 35 states chose Hindi as their first language. Even though Hindi is spoken by about 43% of India’s population, only 26% or just over 1/4th of Indians speak the language as their mother tongue. The 2020 NEP, which the Union Cabinet approved, called for the medium of instruction to be the mother tongue of a student ‘whenever possible’ till the VIIIth standard. According to a Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) report of 2019-20, despite Hindi remaining the biggest medium of instruction in India, accounting for around 42% of the share, the preference for the English medium is on the rise. Studies indicate J&K has nearly 100% enrolment in English, trailed by Telangana, which has a nearly 75% enrolment. Another 2020 NSO study found that over 50% of pre-primary schoolchildren who spoke one of 13 regional languages at home, including Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Punjabi, were enrolled in English medium schools.

WHAT ARE THE ARGUMENTS FOR HINDI AS A LINK LANGUAGE?

SPOKEN BY A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE: A large number of people speak Hindi either as their mother tongue or otherwise, and hence promoting Hindi will be more feasible than other languages.

IDENTITY OF THE NATION: The entire country must have one language that becomes the identity of the nation in the world. If there is any language that can tie the whole country in one thread, it is the most spoken language of, Hindi.

ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS: Having a language that is spoken and understood by all the people of a country is beneficial from the economic standpoint as it will provide for effective communication, open up new markets and improve trust between the seller and buyer.

SOCIAL MILIEU: Lack of understanding of each other’s language is held to create distance between individuals and communities, which impacts social cohesion and prevent generating social capital.

CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE: A holistic reading of Part 17 of the Constitution, the Official Language Act 1963, various policies and schemes of the government make it clear that there is a strong mandate for promoting Hindi. The idea of a link language is one approach in this direction.

GANDHIAN VIEW: Mahatma Gandhi, during the freedom struggle, had described Hindi as the national language and called for its adoption and many members of the Constituent Assembly echoed such sentiments.

WHAT ARE THE CRITICISMS OF SUCH A PROPOSAL?

CENSUS DATA EVIDENCE:

• Residents of only 12 of the 35 States and Union Territories (UTs) reported Hindi as their first choice of language for communication (Census 2011).
• But there is a caveat. “Hindi” is an umbrella term encompassing 56 languages (mother tongues), including Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Hindi, and Chhattisgarhi.
• While 43% of Indians speak “Hindi”, only 26% speak Hindi specifically as their mother tongue.

UTILITARIAN ARGUMENT:

• The claim that Hindi is a better language than English because the majority speaks it cannot be sustained since it is a majoritarian argument.
• Instead, we must address a pragmatic question: which language, Hindi, or English, would be more advantageous to citizens as they pursue better lives?
• To put it another way, would learning English assist native Hindi speakers, or should Hindi be pushed on the non-Hindi speaking populace for their “benefit”?

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX COMPARISON:

• A comparison of the Human Development Index (HDI) of States and UTs reveals that regions with a higher share of English speakers have higher HDI scores (Chart 1), while states with a higher share of Hindi speakers have lower HDI scores (Chart 2).
• This indicates that greater quality of life correlates with a higher proportion of English speakers.

MIGRATION AND LANGUAGE:

• More people from the Hindi-speaking States have been migrating to the non-Hindi-speaking regions in search of better livelihoods.
• An analysis of the 2011 Census data also shows that net in-migration for the Hindi States, where Hindi is spoken by at least 50% of the population, is negative.
• This indicates that the migrant outflow was higher than the inflow in these States. In non-Hindi States, the net in-migration was positive. This pattern was observed for all types of migrations, including those done for work and education.

DEPRIVATION OF OPPORTUNITIES:

• Native Hindi speakers will have a clear advantage over others when it comes to employment opportunities.
• Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar will beat Telugus and Kannadigas, and Malayalees with ease in the job market, where language abilities are a primary factor.

POLITICAL AND CIVIL SOCIETY OPPOSITION:

• The north-eastern states, the southern states, especially Tamil Nadu, are regions where Hindi is very negligibly used.
• Different political parties and civil society organisations have raised concerns against the proposal to make Hindi the communication language.
• Making one language, a communication language is considered a step towards centralisation and degrading other dialects.

ENGLISH IN A HINDI STATE: THE UTTAR PRADESH EXAMPLE

In what looks like a revolution, the UP Government recently made 15,000 primary and upper primary schools switch to English as the medium of instruction. Reports said that the objective of the policy switch was to develop the English-speaking skills of children studying in government schools so that they could compete effectively with students coming from convent-run schools.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Although the promotion of Hindi needs to be undertaken through multiple media, the perception of its imposition needs to be avoided.
• The Unity of our country is built and strengthened on the edifice of diversity and not on homogeneity and sameness. Hence, while there can be efforts to develop a language that will aid in effective communication and trust-building among communities, other languages should also be given their due status.
• As English has significant utilitarian value, especially in a globalised economy and given India’s inherent strength of the service sector, English language teaching and learning also should be given impetus.
• Higher political functionaries of the government need to focus on building consensus on sensitive issues.
• Making Hindi flexible by accepting words from other local languages would help promote both Hindi and local Indian languages.

THE CONCLUSION: The idea of a national language finds its expression in multiple areas, including the debate over “link language”. While it is desirable to have a language spoken and understood by all, it is not necessary for a nation’s integrity and progress, as seen in Canada, the USA, etc. In fact, politics need to focus on the “bread and butter issues” in India and not rake up issues that have no immediate relevance. Nevertheless, the debate over the link language needs to be seen in the larger context of centralisation tendencies the polity is experiencing which is not a healthy proposition for good governance.

QUESTIONS:

1. By explaining the Constitutional provisions related to Official Languages, comment upon the debate over Hindi as the link language.
2. The idea of a national language finds its expression in multiple areas, including the debate over link language. While it is desirable to have a language spoken and understood by all, it is not necessary for a nation’s integrity and progress. Critically Analyse.

THE CONTEXT: In the second week of April 2022, the USA hosted the fourth India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. The dialogue was preceded by a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joseph Biden. Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar participated in the dialogue from India. In this article, we will analyse the outcome of the dialogue.

WHAT IS 2+2 DIALOGUE?

• 2+2 Ministerial is the highest-level institutional mechanism between the two countries.
• It is a format of dialogue where the defense/foreign ministers or secretaries meet with their counterparts from another country.
• India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategic partners: the US, Australia, Japan, and Russia.

KEY ISSUES DISCUSSED IN 2+2

• Ukraine-Russia war
• Global Partnership and Indo-Pacific Cooperation
• Mutual Prosperity, Innovation, and Resilient Supply Chains
• Climate, Environment, and Clean Energy
• Science, Technology, Cybersecurity, and Space
• Global Health
• Defense and Security
• Counterterrorism and Counter Narcotics
• Education and People-to-People Ties

OUTCOME OF THE DIALOGUE

ON UKRAINE:

• India’s refusal to criticize Russia or vote on UN resolutions criticizing Russia.
• India’s decision to increase its import of Russian oil.
• India’s refusal to join USA and EU sanctions and negotiate a payment mechanism to work around the sanctions through Rupee-Rouble payments.

INDO-PACIFIC, QUAD, AND CHINA:

• Like with Russia, the Joint Statement did not refer directly to China.
• As an associate partner, India would join the Bahrain-based multilateral partnership, Combined Maritime Force (CMF).
• The CMF is a multinational maritime partnership, which exists to uphold the Rules-Based International Order (RBIO) by countering illicit non-state actors on the high seas and promoting security, stability, and prosperity.

MILITARY COOPERATION:

• MoU on Space Situational Awareness Agreement, the two sides have launched a cyberspace dialogue this year.
• More bilateral and multilateral military exercises to enrich the defence partnership between the two countries.
• Cooperation on co-production, co-development, cooperative testing of advanced defence systems, investment promotion, and the development of Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in India.
• This is important as India has often linked its defence dependency on Russia to the transfer of technology and co-production opportunities.
• Explore possibilities of utilizing Indian shipyards to support mid-voyage repair of US Naval ships- this would be a new step forward.

BILATERAL PEOPLE TO PEOPLE TIES:

• Values and bonds are strengthened by about 200,000 Indian students in the US.
• They set up a Working Group on Education and Skill Training, which will bring academic institutions in the United States and India together to develop new joint research programs.

HUMAN RIGHTS:

• This perhaps was an area the meeting went off-script, as US Secretary of State Blinken said at the joint press conference that there were concerns about India’s record.
• Later, in a State Department 2021 Human Rights report that included a chapter on India listing a number of allegations against the government and police forces.
• However, Mr. Jaishankar said that Human Rights had not been discussed at the 2+2 and that India too had concerns about Human Rights in the US, like the attacks on 2 Sikhs in New York.

ANALYSIS OF THE OUTCOME

INDIA FOLLOWS AN INDEPENDENT FOREIGN POLICY: 

• Despite creating too much pressure from the USA side, India maintained its foreign policy and gave preference to its own interest.
• Before the dialogue, the USA argued to India not to import oil from Russia, but India refused it by saying that India just imports only 1-2% of Russia’s oil.

DEFENSE:

• More military exercise is a good step to counter the Chinese activities in the Indo-pacific area.
• Apart from it, cooperation in the field of defence testing systems is an important development, which has often linked its defence dependency on Russia to the transfer of technology and co-production opportunities.

ON CHINA:

• Both countries tried to maintain a distance from China’s aggression on India’s border; this shows that the USA and India don’t want to take any chance in the present circumstances.

HUMAN RIGHTS:

• The USA showed concerns about human rights violations in India. But later, foreign minister S. Jaishankar said that Human Rights had not been discussed at the 2+2 and that India too had concerns about Human Rights in the US, like the attacks on 2 Sikhs in New York.
• What was clear is that despite the talk of “shared values”, this is another area of dissonance between India and the US.

2+2 AND THE LOST OPPORTUNITIES

2+2 AND INDIA-USA RELATIONS: THE JOURNEY SO FAR

WHY SHOULD THE USA CONSIDER SOME OF INDIA’S CONCERNS REGARDING RUSSIA?

The relations between India-USA are deepening day by day, but India wants to maintain healthy relations with Russia also, and the USA should consider this. The USA should not pressure India to take a stand against Russia because of the following reasons:

THE WAY FORWARD

• PM Modi and President Biden discussed a new India Pacific Economic Framework Initiative- collaboration would include digital trade and supply chain resilience. This can open up more opportunities for enhancing cooperation between the two countries.
• India made it clear that it would retain its freedom of choice in maintaining a friendly relationship with Russia. These meetings helped better understand India’s position at the official level and reduced misperceptions and unrealistic expectations.
• It is hoped that the US would avoid unnecessary hectoring to India, particularly on sensitive issues, as the latter would be forced to respond likewise for its own reasons.
• Differences of views on certain issues cannot be resolved immediately, and both countries would need to nurture this relationship with patience, understanding, and positive approaches.

THE CONCLUSION: The recent 2+2 meeting between India and the USA was not big on announcements but sent a reassuring message on the strength of the India-US partnership and its ability to focus on bilateral ties, even amidst a major geopolitical challenge where the two countries are not on the same page.

Just add to your knowledge
2+2 BETWEEN INDIA AND USA

• The US is India’s oldest and most important 2+2 talks partner.
• The first 2+2 dialogue between the two countries was held during the Trump Administration in 2018.
• India and the US have signed a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation:
• Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016,
• Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) after the first 2+2 dialogue in 2018,
• Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020.
• The strengthening of the cooperation mechanisms between the two militaries is of significance in the context of an increasingly aggressive China.

COMBINED MARITIME FORCES (CMF)

• The CMF is a multinational maritime partnership, which exists to uphold the Rules-Based International Order (RBIO) by countering illicit non-state actors on the high seas and promoting security, stability, and prosperity.
• CMF’s main focus areas are counter-narcotics, counter-smuggling, suppressing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation, engaging with regional and other partners to strengthen relevant capabilities in order to improve overall security and stability, and promoting a safe maritime environment free from illicit non-state actors.
• CMF has 34 member nations: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, United States, and Yemen.

Questions:

1. ‘The relations between India and the USA are deepening continuously, but these should not be at the cost of India-Russia relations. Comment
2. How far do you agree with the view that India leaning too much towards the USA will cost its foreign policy independence? Substantiate your view.
3. In recent times, the 2+2 dialogue initiatives in foreign policy provide more scope to resolve the bilateral issues. Analyse the statement in the context of India’s 2+2 dialogues with the USA.

THE CONTEXT: United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 07 April 2022 suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over reports of gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights by invading Russian troops in Ukraine. This article analyses the issue in detail.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT

REASONS BEHIND THE SUSPENSION:

• Russia was suspended from the UN Human Rights Council after the 193-member General Assembly voted to adopt a resolution moved by the United States over allegations that Russian troops killed civilians while pulling back from towns around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
• In the 193-member UNGA, 93 nations voted in favour of the resolution, while 24 were against it. Fifty-eight countries, including India, abstained from the process.
• This met the two-thirds majority benchmark in which only the voting members, not abstentions, are counted from the 193-member General Assembly.

THE PROCEDURE AND HISTORY:

• As per the rules, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) can suspend the rights and privileges of any Council member that it decides has persistently committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its term of membership.
• To suspend a member, one needs a two-thirds majority vote by the General Assembly.
• This is only the second time the UNGA has suspended a country from the 47-member UN Human Rights Council after its formation in 2006. In 2011, Libya was thrown out through a resolution adopted by UNGA through consensus.
• But for the first time, one of the permanent members has lost its membership rights in a UN body.

INDIA’S STAND:

• India chose to abstain from the vote, saying that any such decision must follow the “due process” of investigation first. However, India also sharpened its criticism of Russia by reiterating the need to respect the three red lines in international relations:
• “Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states”,
• “UN Charter” and
• “International law”

AN ANALYSIS OF THE VOTE:

• Less than half the members of the UNGA voted in favour of the resolution, but it was enough to pass the resolution. The Russian permanent mission to the UN voiced its opinion on the social media platform that the adoption of the resolution was an “illegal and politically motivated step” to punish a country that pursues an independent foreign policy and also announced that Russia was voluntarily “terminating” its membership in UNHRC with immediate effect.
• Some countries even voted against the resolution for the reasons being:
• Heavier pressure from Russia for outright opposition to the resolution, rather than abstentions especially the countries having close ties with Moscow.
• The precedent of removing a country from the UNHRC because of human rights violations – while it may seem like an obvious step – would be controversial for a number of countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan both have faced criticisms for violations of human rights at home (both are members of UNHRC currently).
• Though Russia was in its second year of a three-year term on the Geneva-based council, which cannot make legally binding decisions. However, the council’s decisions send important political messages and can authorise investigations.
• Furthermore, India abstained from the resolution albeit reiterating the condemnation of the civilian killings in Bucha and supported the call for an independent investigation.

THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

ABOUT: The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.

FORMATION:

• The Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006. It replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
• The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) serves as the Secretariat of the Human Rights Council.
• Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
  

MEMBERS:

• It is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
• The Council’s Membership is based on equitable geographical distribution. Seats are distributed as follows:
• African States: 13 seats
• Asia-Pacific States: 13 seats
• Latin American and the Caribbean States: 8 seats
• Western European and other States: 7 seats
• Eastern European States: 6 seats
• The UNGA takes into account the candidate States’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments in this regard.

MECHANISMS:

• Universal Periodic Review: UPR serves to assess the human rights situations in all United Nations Member States. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists.
• Advisory Committee: It serves as the Council’s “think tank” providing it with expertise and advice on thematic human rights issues.
• Complaint Procedure: The complaint procedure addresses communications submitted by individuals, groups, or non-governmental organizations that claim to be victims of human rights violations or that have direct, reliable knowledge of such violations.
• The Council also established various subsidiary expert mechanisms to provide the Council with thematic expertise and forums providing a platform for dialogue and cooperation. These bodies focus mainly on studies, research-based advice, or best practices.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE UNHRC

UNHRC has played the role of a political platform that aims to ensure that human rights remain a top priority within the UN.

GLOBAL REACH: UNHRC has a wide mandate which facilitates it to respond to human rights cases across the globe. In doing so, it also brings the members of civil society together for voicing concerns related to human rights in their respective local regions.

SPECIAL PROCEDURES:

• The Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures mandate-holders are made up of special rapporteurs, independent experts, or working groups composed of five members who are appointed by the Council and who serve in their personal capacity. Special procedures undertake country visits; act on individual cases and concerns of a broader, structural nature by sending communications to States and other actors bringing alleged violations or abuses to their attention
• These independent experts report at least once a year to the Council on their findings and recommendations, as well as to the UN General Assembly. At times they are the only mechanism alerting the international community to certain human rights issues.
• There are two types of Special Procedures mandates: the thematic mandates, such as water and sanitation, arbitrary detention, the rights of migrants, violence against women, torture, and human trafficking, and the country-specific mandates.

UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW:

• The Universal Periodic Review motivates nation-level dialogues on human rights and also mandates that every UN member state examines human rights on a regular basis. It ensures transparency and accountability in the functioning of UNHCR.
• i.e. the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations.

CONDEMNING THE VIOLATIONS: In the recent past, the resolutions adopted by the UNHRC have highlighted and condemned distinctive violations despite the efforts to the contrary by some members of the HRC. For example, in the midst of the Arab Spring, the Human Rights Council voted unanimously to suspend Libya’s membership. More recently, the Council did not permit Syria to bid for a seat on grounds of human rights violations and appointed an investigation there.

ISSUE-BASED COALITIONS: There are an increasing number of countries from all parts of the world which have started working together to further human rights, irrespective of their shared history and regional politics. The regional bloc voting practices have become a matter of the past and considered discussion along with collective action is becoming possible.

DEBATE ON CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT AREAS: Controversial subject areas have also been addressed at the HRC, including LGBTIQ rights and religious discrimination. South Africa’s efforts to acknowledge the rights of LGBTIQ faced strong opposition from neighbouring countries but it was supported by far-away countries like Brazil, Colombia, the United States, and many others.

THE CRITICISM OF THE UNHRC

BIASED FOCUS ON THE ISRAEL-PALESTINE CONFLICT CESSPOOL OF POLITICAL BIAS: The UNHRC is accused of an anti-Israel bias as it passes resolutions that focus on alleged Israeli human rights violations while ignoring similar allegations against the Palestinian side. Most recently the 49^th session of UNHRC that ended on 01 April 2022 passed a total of 35 resolutions and 3 of them were concerned with the Israel-Palestine issue (All 3 of them were in favour of Palestine).

MEMBERS WITH QUESTIONABLE HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS: Just like the UN Commission on Humans Rights, the UN Human Rights Council also elects members like China, Pakistan, and Russia who have poor or questionable track records on Human rights. It raises questions on how effective or unbiased the organisation is.

IGNORANCE OF OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES: It was reported in 2008 that the UNHRC was being controlled by a few Middle-East and African nations with support from China and Russia, in order to shield each other from criticism.

LACK OF STANDARDS: The USA withdrew from the council during the Trump regime but again joined the present regime. The powerful member nations taking such steps also undermine the credibility of the global body.

GLOBAL REPRESENTATION: Although the geographical quota system addresses the disparities in global representation, it is also the Council’s most serious flaw. With a few honourable exceptions, the overwhelming majority of countries outside Western Europe and other groupings have flawed-to-abysmal human-rights records and policies. Many are not democracies. Few have representative governments. Fewer still have an incentive to pursue and commit to universal human rights.

INDIA AND THE UNHRC

• India was elected for the sixth time to the Council for a three-year term with an overwhelming majority that began on January 1, 2022.
• As part of the third stage of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, India’s National Human Rights Commission delivered its mid-term report to the Council in 2020.
• A number of UN Special Rapporteurs have also written to the Indian government, voicing their concerns about the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020. Though there are several concerns with the draft, a few of which are related to human rights are mentioned below:
• Opens the Floodgates of Violations: The environmental lawyers have argued that the Post-Facto Clearance of the Projects is likely to encourage industries to commence operations without bothering clearance and eventually get regularized by paying the penalty amount and thus opening the floodgates of violations.
• Strengthens the Government but Weakens the Public: The draft offers no remedy for the political and bureaucratic stronghold on the EIA process, and thereby on industries. Instead, it proposes to bolster the government’s discretionary power while limiting public engagement in safeguarding the environment. Also, the draft, by limiting public consultation, is not in consonance with protecting the rights of tribals, among others.
• Reduced Time means Reduced Awareness: The reduced notice period for a public hearing from 30 days to 20 days will only make it difficult to study the draft EIA report, more so when it is not widely available or provided in the regional language. Moreover, the reduction of time would particularly pose a problem in those areas where information is not easily accessible or areas in which people are not that well aware of the process itself.
• UNHRC Chief also voiced concerns and criticisms against India on various occasions such as:
• The impact of actions by the government of India on the human rights of the Kashmiri people, including restrictions on internet communications and peaceful assembly, and the detention of local political leaders and activists.
• Arbitrary use of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act throughout India.
• The National Register of Citizens verification process in the northeast Indian state of Assam, caused great uncertainty and anxiety among the people.
• The unprecedented farmers’ agitation at the borders of the national capital over the three farm laws also drew the attention of the UN human rights chief.
• India was quick and firm to present counter statements in defence of India’s stand on such issues and stated that:
• The UNHRC needs to be uniform, consistent, and even-handed when it comes to human rights abuse or denial of civil rights to people across the world and should not resort to a selective approach to seeking accountability for civil rights from different member states.
• India is also of the view that human rights shall be implemented in a non-selective manner and with due respect to non-interference in internal affairs.

THE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• India recently abstained from a vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The Council passed a resolution calling for the formation of an international commission to investigate Russia’s conduct in Ukraine.
• India abstained from voting on resolutions concerning the Russia – Ukraine crisis, on as many as six occasions including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution concerning the safety of four nuclear power plants and a number of nuclear waste sites, including Chernobyl, because the Russians had taken control of them.

 THE WAY FORWARD – IMPROVING THE WORKING OF UNHRC

• The impact of the crisis had been felt beyond the region, with increasing food and energy costs, especially for developing countries, and it is in everyone’s collective interest to work constructively, within the UN and outside, towards seeking an early resolution to the conflict.
• No solution can be arrived at, by shedding blood and at the cost of innocent lives and it is peremptory to choose the side of peace and collectively work towards an immediate end to violence.
• UNHRC does not have a separate Secretariat. Though UNHRC and OHCHR function in tandem, both the bodies should have separate specialized secretariat staffs which will further enhance their functioning.
• The decisions on resolutions of the UNHCR are taken, based on the voting of the member nations. Consensus building might prove to be a more feasible approach in a multilateral body.
• To strengthen the global trust in the organisation it is imperative not to have a nation with a bad human rights record as a member of UNHRC.

THE CONCLUSION: Over a decade ago, when the UNHRC recommended the suspension of Libya to the General Assembly, there had been no vote since the resolution was adopted by consensus. The resolution against Russia is passed with 93 votes in favour, 24 against, and 58 abstentions i.e with consensus. A hasty move at the General Assembly, which forces countries to choose sides, will aggravate the division among member states, intensify the confrontation between the parties concerned, and could be adding fuel to the fire. The move to expel Russia may not contribute to reaching a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine war and could further escalate the polarisation in the international community. The credibility and legitimacy of the multilateral platforms will be enhanced with concrete steps to end the conflict, merely ousting a member would not be sufficient. The response/retaliation from Russia is yet to be seen which will further define the course of history.

Mains Practice Questions:

1. “The human rights record of some of the member-states in the council has not been in line with the aims and mission of the UNHRC, which has led to critics questioning its relevance.” In the light of the given statement critically examine the relevance of UNHRC in contemporary times.
2. “Despite the continued participation of several western countries in the UNHRC, they continue to harbour misgivings on the understanding of Human rights.” Elaborate.

[WpProQuiz 220]

THE CONTEXT: The Country Reports on Human Rights were released by the US Secretary of State on 12 April 2022. The report on India has flagged concerns over arbitrary arrests and detentions, extra-judicial killings, violence against religious minorities, curbs on free expression and media, including unjustified prosecution of journalists. This article primarily focuses on press freedom in India and concerns issues raised in the report.

THE REPORT: The report is prepared by the US Department of State and submitted each year to the US Congress it is retrospective in nature and contains a country-wise discussion of the state of the internationally recognised individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT

ARBITRARY ARREST AND DETENTION: Indian law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention but both occurred during the year, with police using “special security laws to postpone judicial reviews of arrests. Pre-trial detention was arbitrary and lengthy, sometimes even exceeding the duration of the sentence given to those convicted.

VIOLATIONS OF PRIVACY: Citing media reports on journalists being targeted for surveillance through the Pegasus malware, the report flagged violations of privacy by government authorities, including the use of technology to arbitrarily or unlawfully surveil or interfere with the privacy of individuals.

CURBS ON FREE EXPRESSION AND MEDIA: The report highlighted instances in which the government or actors considered close to the government allegedly pressured or harassed media outlets critical of the government, including through online trolling. It detailed the government’s order of February-2021 directing Twitter to block accounts of journalists covering protests against the three (later repealed) farm laws.

ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION: The report highlighted the cases of Amnesty International India, whose assets were frozen by the Enforcement Directorate, and the suspension of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) license of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) for alleged violations.

THE REPORT AND THE PRESS FREEDOM IN INDIA

• The report systematically lists cases where freedom of the press was endangered by government and non-government actors.
• The report noted that international watchdogs including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch had also documented a downslide in India’s application of democratic rights for the media and an increase in continuous harassment.
• There were also cases, especially in states, of journalists being killed or targeted by vested interests due to their professional work, it says.
• In June 2021, a journalist for the newspaper Kampu Mail was killed by two gunmen in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly for his investigative reports into illegal sand mining.
• The UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay had also taken cognizance and asked authorities to end “gunpoint censorship”.
• The report also mentions the arrest of comedian Munawar Faruqui and four other persons for allegedly offending religious sentiments with jokes that he did not even deliver but planned to perform.
• The report also noted that the World Press Freedom Index 2021 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described India as “very dangerous for journalists” with the rank of 142 among 180 countries.
• Further, the report listed that government officials at both local and national levels were involved in “intimidating critical media outlets through physical harassment and attacks, pressuring owners, targeting sponsors, encouraging frivolous lawsuits, and in some areas blocking communication services, such as mobile telephones and the internet, and constraining freedom of movement”.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE REPORT

• Citing media reports on journalists being targeted for surveillance through the Pegasus malware, the report flagged violations of privacy by government authorities. The report was also critical of the government’s involvement in allegedly pressuring or harassing the media outlets critical of the government while noting that the government generally respected the right to freedom of expression.
• Though there are instances of the alleged government pressure on the media houses and even there have been circumstances that warrant courts cautioning the media about the manner of its reportage. However, the general view is that the public has a right to know and it is the duty of the media to disseminate the information. The court in various instances took cognizance of the media reports and directed the state machinery to do the needful.
• The USA is entitled to have views; India also posted its strongest repudiation against America for constantly pontificating on human rights and press freedom.

PRESS FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY

MAKING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE: Free Media makes people question the decisions of the government and make it accountable. It conveys the people’s needs and desires to government bodies, making informed decisions and strengthening society as a result.

VOICE OF THE MARGINALISED: The free media by being the voice of the masses empowers them with the right to express opinions.

FREE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS: A free exchange of ideas, free exchange of information and knowledge, debating, and expression of different viewpoints are important for the smooth functioning of democracy. A free press can inform citizens of their leaders’ successes or failures.

FOURTH PILLAR OF DEMOCRACY: Due to these attributes, the Media can be rightly considered as the fourth pillar of democracy, the other three being legislature, executive, and judiciary.

THREATS TO FREEDOM OF PRESS

BIASED MEDIA: Corporate and political power has overwhelmed large sections of the media, both print and visual, which leads to vested interests and destroys freedom.

FAKE NEWS: The government’s pressure in the name of regulations, the bombardment of fake news, and the influence of social media are dangerous for the occupation.

PAID NEWS: Corruption-paid news, advertorials, and fake news are threats to free and unbiased media.

ATTACK AGAINST JOURNALISTS: The security of journalists is the biggest issue, killings, and assaults on Journalists covering sensitive issues are very common. Reports such as ‘Freedom in the World 2021 (Freedom House, US)’, ‘2020 Human Rights Report (US State Department)’, and ‘Autocratisation Goes Viral (V-Dem Institute, Sweden)’ have all highlighted the intimidation of journalists in India.

CENSORSHIP BY THE STATE:

• The political leaders encourage censorship of media. Various efforts are made to control and contain media through stringent norms and regulations.
• The IT Rules 2021 force digital news publishers and video streaming services to adhere to a three-tier structure of regulation. It will have a government committee at its apex. It is feared that the new rules will have implications for freedom of expression and the right to information as:
• I&B Ministry is entrusted to formulate an oversight mechanism and establish an inter-departmental committee for hearing grievances. This body will also have censorship and blocking powers.
• The regulation will be done by a body composed of bureaucrats who might perform discretionary censorship thereby enhancing political control.

SEDITION LAW: Arbitrary use Section 124A of IPC under which sedition is punishable by life imprisonment endangers the freedom of journalists. This leads to fear among journalists to work freely.

POLITICAL INFLUENCE: Corporate and political power has overwhelmed large sections of the media, both print and visual, which leads to the promotion of biased views and vested interests thereby harming the very nature and mandate of free journalism.

HOW JUSTIFIED ARE THE OBSERVATIONS MADE IN THE REPORT?

ARTICLE 19 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA: The Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with ‘Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc. Freedom of the press is not expressly protected by the Indian legal system but it is implicitly protected under article 19(1)(a) of the constitution. However, Freedom of the press is also not absolute. A law could impose reasonable restrictions on the exercise of this right explicitly mentioned under Article 19(2).

ROMESH THAPPAR v. STATE OF MADRAS, 1950: The Supreme Court observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations and was of the opinion that Constitution framers choose to not include the word “Sedition” in Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India which shows that “criticism of Government, exciting disaffection or bad feelings towards it, is not to be regarded as a justifying ground for restricting the freedom of expression and of the press unless it is such as to undermine the security of or tend to overthrow the State.”

VINOD DUA v. UNION OF INDIA: The Supreme Court said that “Every journalist is entitled to the protection under the Kedar Nath Singh case (which defined the ambit of the offence of sedition under Section 124A IPC).”

• In Kedar Nath Singh (1962), five judges of the Supreme Court made it clear that “allegedly seditious speech and expression may be punished only if the speech is an ‘incitement’ to ‘violence’, or ‘public disorder’”.

SELF REGULATION AND MEDIA ETHICS:

• Media in India is free and self-regulated with no state interference.
• The concept of Self-regulation is a voluntary act on the part of an individual media professional as well as a media organisation. It is not imposed by any external agency therefore it carries more credibility in the eyes of the public.
• Self-regulation ensures that the media can operate independently which is in the interest of the media as well as its different stakeholders and the audience.
• To facilitate ethical conduct, a number of self-regulatory mechanisms exist for the Indian media such as codes of ethics and the Press Council of India.
• Organisations like News Broadcasters Standards Authority (NBSA) and Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) have been set up as an internal self-regulatory mechanism for television (news and entertainment) respectively.

VIBRANT DIGITAL NEWS ECOSYSTEM:

• In the past few years, India has witnessed a plethora of vibrant online news broadcasting organisations. With the public looking beyond mainstream media for reports from the ground, independent digital platforms are emerging as a source of credible news.
• While digital media has helped amplify local issues and movements, its emergence has also turned the lens on issues concerning vulnerable communities, remote regions, and the environment, subjects that many sections of the mainstream media might have maintained a distance from.

JUDICIARY TO THE RESCUE

• In April 2022, the Delhi High Court quashed the lookout circular issued by the Enforcement Directorate against journalist Rana Ayyub on the ground of it being devoid of merits as well as infringing her human right to travel abroad and freedom of speech and expression.
• In March 2022, the Supreme Court stayed the Central government’s decision to revoke the security clearance of Kerala-based news and current affairs TV channel Media One “on the basis of intelligence inputs which are sensitive and secretive in nature”.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Legislation: Similar to the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020 which provides protection to the healthcare service personnel from the ‘act of violence, and the Whistleblower Protection Act, 2014 which provides adequate safeguards against victimization of the person making such complaints, the country needs a more detailed law regarding the media to protect not only the freedom of expression and speech but also journalists’ safety.
• Better regulation: Efforts must be made to enable regulations that would lower the barriers to media ownership and reduce the concentration of media ownership.
• Strengthening the justice system: Strengthening the courts, the police, the justice system, and the rule of law is important to provide adequate protection for journalists.
• Incentivization: Government must Institute awards and other forms of recognition for excellence in watchdog reporting.
• Independent agencies: There is a need to establish independent press councils; media watch groups, ombudsmen, and other media self‐regulatory bodies autonomous from the government.
• International Reports: Reports from international watchdogs such as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch shall also be used as a mirror to reflect upon the lacunas and failures and not just a reason for rebuke.

THE CONCLUSION: The Indian government has emphasised that the Indian Constitution provides for adequate safeguards under various statutes for ensuring the protection of free voice even for journalists. Expressing disaffection or bad feelings towards the government is not to be regarded as a justifying ground for restricting the freedom of expression and of the press. Furthermore, the media houses and journalists should also be mindful of the manner of their reportage in their duty to disseminate the information.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. “Various reports have highlighted the intimidation of journalists in India and India’s ranking on various indices such as World Press Freedom Index has been falling in past few years.” Elaborate on the reasons for the same and suggest measures to strengthen the freedom of the fourth pillar of democracy.
2. “US-India relations share strength and comfort level to deal with differences even if the two sides may not agree on all issues.” Examine-in context of Country Reports on Human Rights, 2021.

THE CONTEXT: In April 2022, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) presented a Performance Audit Report on ‘Functioning of Unique Identification Authority of India’. This Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India contains significant observations and recommendations emanating out of the Performance Audit conducted on ‘Functioning of Unique Identification Authority of India’.

This article explains the findings and recommendations by the comptroller and Auditor General of India in its recent report.

KEY POINTS ABOUT THE AUDIT REPORT

• The Performance Audit included an assessment of the Enrollment and Update Ecosystems as well as the Authentication Ecosystems of the UIDAI for the period from 2014-15 to 2018-19.
• Audit scrutinized the processes beginning right from the enrollment up to the delivery of Aadhaar number and subsequent use of the authentication services.
• The systems put in place for maintaining security and confidentiality of data were also subject to audit examination.

About Unique Identification Authority of India

• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (“Aadhaar Act 2016”) on 12 July 2016 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Purpose: UIDAI was created to issue Unique Identification numbers (UID), named “Aadhaar”, to all residents of India.
• The UID had to be:
• robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities, and
• verifiable and authenticable in an easy, cost-effective way.
• As of 31 October 2021, the Authority has issued 131.68 crore Aadhaar numbers to the residents of India.
• Under the Aadhaar Act 2016, UIDAI is responsible for Aadhaar enrollment and authentication, including operation and management of all stages of the Aadhaar life cycle, developing the policy, procedure, and system for issuing Aadhaar numbers to individuals, and performing authentication and the security of identity information and authentication records of individuals.

UNDERSTANDING THE KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT

NO DOCUMENTS FOR PROOF OF RESIDENCY:

• The Aadhaar Act stipulates that an individual should reside in India for 182 days or more in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of application for being eligible to obtain an Aadhaar.
• In September 2019, this condition was relaxed for non-resident Indians holding valid Indian Passport. However, UIDAI has not prescribed any specific proof/ document or process for confirming whether an applicant has resided in India for the specified period and takes confirmation of the residential status through a casual self-declaration from the applicant.
• There was no system in place to check the affirmations of the applicant. As such, there is no assurance that all the Aadhaar holders in the country are ‘Residents’ as defined in the Aadhaar Act.

DE-DUPLICATION PROBLEM:

• The uniqueness of the identity of the applicant, established through a de-duplication process, is the most important feature of Aadhaar.
• It was seen that UIDAI had to cancel more than 4.75 lakh Aadhaars (November 2019) for being duplicates.
• There were instances of issues of Aadhaars with the same biometric data to different residents indicating flaws in the de-duplication process and issues of Aadhaars on faulty biometrics and documents.
• Though UIDAI has taken action to improve the quality of the biometrics and has also introduced iris-based authentication features for enrollment for Aadhaar, the database continued to have faulty Aadhaars, which were already issued.

ISSUE OF AADHAAR NUMBERS TO MINOR CHILDREN:

• Issue of Aadhaar numbers to minor children below the age of five, based on the biometrics of their parents, without confirming the uniqueness of biometric identity goes against the basic tenet of the Aadhaar Act.
• Apart from being violative of the statutory provisions, the UIDAI has also incurred an avoidable expenditure of ₹310 Crore on the issue of Bal Aadhaars till 31 March 2019.
• The UIDAI needs to review the issue of Aadhaar to minor children below five years and find alternate ways to establish their unique identity, especially since the Supreme Court has stated that no benefit will be denied to any child for want of an Aadhaar document.

DEFICIENT DATA MANAGEMENT:

• All Aadhaar numbers were not paired with the documents relating to the personal information of their holders, and even after nearly ten years, the UIDAI could not identify the exact extent of the mismatch.
• Though with the introduction of online scanning (July 2016), the personal information documents were stored in CIDR, which stands for (Classless Inter-Domain Routing)the existence of unpaired biometric data from an earlier period indicated deficient data management.

NO DATA ARCHIVING POLICY:

• UIDAI maintains one of the largest biometric databases in the world; but does not have a data archiving policy, which is considered to be a vital storage management best practice.

LACK OF MONITORING SYSTEM:

• UIDAI had not effectively monitored funds released to States as Grants-in-Aid towards ICT assistance for creating infrastructure.

ISSUES IN THE GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL SYSTEM:

• The process of capturing grievances/complaints have not been streamlined and does not display a clear picture for analysis.
• The complaints lodged at the RO (Registered Organizations) level did not get the attention of UIDAI HQ, compromising the effectiveness of the grievance redressal mechanism, besides the delays in the settlement of grievances.

INEFFECTIVE DELIVERY SYSTEM:

• UIDAI’s arrangements with the Department of Posts were not adequate to guarantee delivery of Aadhaar letters to the right addressee, as seen from the large number of Aadhaar letters being returned as undelivered.

RECOMMENDATIONS BY COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL OF INDIA

PRESCRIBE A PROCEDURE FOR SELF-DECLARATION:

• UIDAI may prescribe a procedure and required documentation other than self-declaration in order to confirm and authenticate the residence status of applicants, in line with the provisions of the Aadhaar Act.

TIGHTEN THE Service Level Agreements (SLA) PARAMETERS OF BIOMETRIC SERVICE PROVIDERS (BSPS):

• UIDAI may tighten the Service Level Agreements (SLA) parameters of Biometric Service Providers (BSPs), devise foolproof mechanisms for capturing unique biometric data, and improve upon their monitoring systems to proactively identify and take action to minimize multiple/ duplicate Aadhaar numbers generated.
• UIDAI may also review a regular updation of technology.
• UIDAI also needs to strengthen the Automated Biometric Identification System so that generation of multiple/duplicate Aadhaars can be curbed at the initial stage itself.

EXPLORE ALTERNATE WAYS TO CAPTURE THE UNIQUENESS OF BIOMETRIC IDENTITY FOR MINORS:

• UIDAI may explore alternate ways to capture the uniqueness of biometric identity for minor children below five years since uniqueness of identity is the most distinctive feature of Aadhaar established through biometrics of the individual.

REVIEW CHARGING OF FEES FOR VOLUNTARY UPDATES:

• UIDAI may review the charging of fees for the voluntary update of residents’ biometrics since they (UIDAI) were not in a position to identify reasons for biometric failures and residents were not at fault for the capture of poor quality of biometrics.

FRAME A SUITABLE DATA ARCHIVAL POLICY:

• UIDAI may frame a suitable data archival policy to mitigate the risk of vulnerability to data protection and reduce the saturation of valuable data space due to redundant and unwanted data by continuously weeding out unwanted data.

LEVYING PENALTIES:

• UIDAI may levy penalties on Biometric Service Providers for deficiencies in their performance in respect of biometric de-duplication and biometric authentication. Agreements in this regard should be modified if required.

OTHERS:

• Reducing dependence on other agencies for support.
• Improvement in the financial management of grants.
• Introducing a single centralized system for grievance redressal.

 THE WAY FORWARD

• UIDAI should immediately take steps as per the recommendation suggested in the CAG report.
• The Public Account Committee should also examine the functioning of the UIDAI in the highlight of the CAG report. Public Account Committee can provide further recommendations for improvement of its working.
• UIDAI should adhere to the principles of the RTI and put the information suo-moto in the public domain. This will generate an element of accountability and improvement for the agency.
• As the Aadhaar ecosystem is being used for multiple purposes. The agencies should scale up and streamline their infrastructural capacity to meet the increasing requirements.

THE CONCLUSION: Aadhaar is a revolutionary tool that promises to transform our country’s governance, and UIDAI has a significant role in it provided that the emerging issues need to be taken care of and confidence is built among citizens. Although UIDAI is playing its crucial role the recent report of CAG and the issues highlighted need to be addressed for an effective delivery system and gaining the trust of citizens.

Questions for Mains:

1. Discuss the issues highlighted in the Performance Audit Report of CAG ‘Functioning of Unique Identification Authority of India’. Suggest effective measures to resolve these issues.
2. Aadhaar is a revolutionary tool that promises to transform our country’s governance and UIDAI has a significant role in it provided the problems in its functioning are addressed. Explain.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

CIDR– CIDR stands for Classless Inter-Domain Routing. It is an IP address assigning method that improves the efficiency of address distribution. It is also known as super netting replaces the older system based on classes A, B, and C networks. By using a single CIDR IP address many unique IP addresses can be designated.

THE CONTEXT: The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, was enacted by Parliament on April 6 to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act of 1920. The new law empowers police and investigating agencies to acquire and keep personally-identifying information on individuals, such as bio-metrics and biological samples. The Bill, which was introduced on March 28, was quickly passed by both houses. However, various segments of society have expressed worry about the implications for privacy rights. This article examines the issue in detail.

Note: on 18^th April 2022 the President has given assent to the Bill.

KEY FEATURES OF THE BILL

• The Bill expands:
• the type of data that may be collected,
• the persons from whom such data may be collected, and
• the authority that may authorize such collection.
• It also provides for the data to be stored in a central database. Under both the 1920 Act and the 2022 Bill, resistance or refusal to give data will be considered an offence of obstructing a public servant from doing his duty. Table 1 compares provisions of the 2022 Bill with the 1920 Act.
• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will be the central agency to maintain the records. It will share the data with law enforcement agencies. Further, states/UTs may notify agencies to collect, preserve, and share data in their respective jurisdictions.
• The data collected will be retained in digital or electronic form for 75 years.   Records will be destroyed in case of acquitted persons after all appeals or released without trial.   However, in such cases, a Court or Magistrate may direct the retention of details after recording reasons in writing.

COMPARISON OF KEY PROVISIONS OF THE 1920 ACT AND THE 2022 BILL

WHAT IS THE NEED FOR THE BILL?

CAN YOU BE COMPELLED TO GIVE YOUR MEASUREMENTS?

The scope of consent is one of the most criticized aspects of the Bill. Under Clause 3 of the Bill, a person may be required to give his measurements. The persons discussed under the said clause may be compelled to give their measurements. The proviso to Clause 3 clearly provides that a person may not be obliged to give biological samples until and unless he has been arrested or convicted for an offence against a woman or child or an offence punishable with more than seven years of imprisonment. Therefore, in simple terms, any person who is arrested for an offence that does not involve women or children and is punishable with imprisonment of less than 7 years, then such person can be compelled to provide all other measurements, excluding biological measurements. The scheme of the Bill is such that a person may be compelled to give his measurements. As per Clause 6 (2) of the Bill, in case a person refuses or resists providing the measurements, then he would be deemed to commit an offence under Section 186 IPC.

 WHAT ARE THE ISSUES INVOLVED IN THE BILL?

FAILS THE TEST OF ARTICLE 14:

• The object of the Bill is to use modern technology and make the criminal justice system more effective.
• Only those arrested for offences punishable by 7 years or more, or those arrested for offences against a woman or a child may be compelled to give their biological samples,
• But all arrested persons may be compelled to give measurements other than biological samples.
• This classification bears no rational nexus to making investigations more efficient.
• Moreover, there lies no option of consent with the person; hence it is nothing but manifestly arbitrary.

VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 20(3):

• As per Article 20(3), one cannot be compelled to be a witness against himself.
• A bare reading of the Bill makes it clear that the measurements of the person may be recorded and be used against him at his trial.
• Hence, the provisions of the Bill will be hit by Article 20 (3)

VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 21:

• In order for the Bill to stand the test of judicial review, it must satisfy the fourfold requirement of the doctrine of proportionality laid down in Justice KS Puttaswamy v Union of India^.
• While the Bill has the legitimate aim of improving the investigation, detection, and prevention of crimes, it fails to satisfy the other three requirements, namely, suitability, necessity and balancing.

ABUSE OF POWERS CONFERRED:

• It may be seen that the Bill provides for a police officer or prison officer above the rank of head constable or head warder to collect measurements, which is excessive and may lead to abuse of power and rampant corruption.

TIME PERIOD FOR WHICH THE DATA IS COLLECTED:

• The Bill aims to preserve the records of measurements for a period of 75 years from the date of collection of such samples.
• Hence, it lacks reason and is arbitrary.

AMBIGUOUS DEFINITION:

• The definition of “measurements” is very “ambiguous and nebulous”. Whether brain mapping and narco analysis will be used as part of “biological samples and their analysis” is not spelt out.

CREATION OF A POLICE STATE:

• Opposition MPs have said that they are not opposed to police reforms or modernization of police forces but to certain provisions of the Bill.
• Observing that a head constable can prepare one’s complete identification profile under the new law, they said, whether the government wants to make India a police state”.

NO DATA PROTECTION LAW:

• The law would be introduced without a data protection law, which India so desperately needs and in the absence of such a law, there is the likelihood of its misuse and abuse.

CONSTITUTIONALITY OF COLLECTING BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES OR OTHER MEASUREMENTS FOR FACILITATING INVESTIGATION

The Supreme Court of India held in State of Bombay vs Kathi Kalu in 1961 that the expression “to be a witness” under Articles 20(3) of the Constitution does not include a person in custody giving his specimen handwriting or signature or impression of his thumb, finger, palm, or foot to the investigating officer. Similarly, it has been held in a slew of cases that taking a blood sample for a DNA test, a hair sample, or a voice sample will not amount to compelling an accused to become a witness against himself. This is because such samples are harmless and do not convey information within the accused’s personal knowledge. As a result, the legality of taking biological samples or other measurements to aid investigation has long been established. The only exceptions are scientific techniques, namely narcoanalysis, polygraphy and brain fingerprinting which the Supreme Court in Selvi vs State of Karnataka (2010) held to be testimonial compulsions (if conducted without consent), and thus prohibited under Article 20(3) of the Constitution.

WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?

REMOVING THE AMBIGUITIES:

• Under what circumstances can a cop be allowed or denied access to this database?
• What are the permissible uses of this database?
• What punishment happens if a police officer uses this database in violation of extant law?
• All these issues need clarity, and the government must provide it through rules.

IMPROVE INVESTIGATION:

• For a civilized and advanced society to be developed and maintained, a civilized and sophisticated police force is quite essential.
• Therefore, emphasis should be made in this on capacity building, including experts in forensics at the police station level itself.

PROTECTION FOR JUVENILES:

• Though the Act does not explicitly bar taking measurements of juveniles, the provisions of the (Special Act) Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 regarding the destruction of records of conviction under the Act shall apply.
• However, it is desirable to include a provision for juveniles in the Act to
• provide clarity and eliminate any uncertainties

PREVENT POLITICAL WITCH-HUNT:

• The law should not become a tool for political “witch-hunt”.
• DNA profiling also should be used purely for serious crimes and for counter-terrorism purposes only.

REASONABLE PERIOD OF DATA STORAGE:

• The storage time for adult measurements could have been conveniently lowered by ten years, as the likelihood of any person committing a crime after the age of 80 is negligible.
• According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB Crime )’s in India–2020 figures, the number of arrested people above the age of 60 is less than 1.5 per cent.

JUDICIAL DETERMINATION:

• The Act has been challenged in Delhi High Court, and an early judicial pronouncement can address many of the contentious issues.

DATA PROTECTION LAW:

• Early enactment of a comprehensive data protection law is required.

THE CONCLUSION: No society, including ours, is flawless. Our social consciousness is riddled with deeply entrenched biases and preconceptions. Our police force is a product of its social environment, and as a result, it is far from ideal. That does not preclude us from providing it with the necessary powers and instruments. There is an undeniable necessity to strike a balance between respecting an individual’s privacy while also providing law enforcement with the tools they require to keep us safe.

QUESTIONS:

1. Critically examine the provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022.
2. 2.” For a civilized and advanced society to be developed and maintained, a civilized and sophisticated police force is quite essential”. Examine the statement in the light of issues surrounding the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022.
3. Can we say that right to privacy should be subjected to the right to safety? Argue.

THE CONTEXT: In December 2021, six students at Udupi Women’s PU College, Karnataka, staged a protest for weeks after college authorities refused to let them sit in classrooms wearing hijabs. After approaching the district commissioner, and education department officials, the girls have petitioned the Karnataka High Court (HC) seeking relief. But the HC ruled against them. This whole saga of events has thrown up very pertinent questions on the right to education, the right to religion, and the courts’ role in adjudicating such cases. In this article, we examine these issues in detail.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE HIJAB?

Hijab, niqab, and burka are different kinds of coverings worn by Muslim women worldwide. Some women wear a headscarf to cover their head and hair, while others wear a burka or niqab, which also covers up their face. Headscarves are seen as a sign of modesty by people who wear them and a symbol of religious faith, but not everyone agrees with them and in some countries, like France and Denmark, there’s a ban on wearing garments that cover the face in public. The word hijab describes the act of covering up generally but is often used to describe the headscarves worn by Muslim women. These scarves come in many styles and colours. The type most commonly worn in the West covers the head and neck but leaves the face clear.

NOTE: The description given above is only for a general understanding of the students and in no manner is an authoritative exposition.

A TIMELINE OF THE ROW OVER WEARING THE HIJAB

28 DECEMBER 2021:

• Girl students started protesting against the refusal of college authorities to allow them to sit in the classrooms wearing hijab.
• The college authorities claimed that it had prescribed a uniform and no other religious attire is permissible to be worn along with the uniform.

3 JANUARY 2022:

• Hindu students of the Government First Grade College in Koppa, Chikmagalur, which also has a uniform and a dress code, staged a sit-in protest sporting saffron scarves.
• Their demand was also to allow them to wear saffron scarves if Muslim girl students were allowed to wear hijabs.

6 JANUARY 2022:

• Similar scenes were witnessed in Pompei college of Mangalore.
• The Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister B.C. Nagesh had said the state was mulling a uniform dress code.

31 JANUARY 2022:

• The issue flared up after Udupi Women’s PU college students approached the HC seeking interim relief to attend classes wearing hijab.
• Meanwhile, the Karnataka government asked all government colleges and schools to maintain the status quo until the government committee came up with a recommendation on the dress code.

2 FEBRUARY 2022:

• Kundapur Government PU college shut its gates to students wearing hijab after Hindu students wore saffron scarves.
• Videos of the girl students pleading with the principal to let them attend classes went viral.

3 FEBRUARY 2022:

• The protests spread to another college in Kundapur. Bhandarkar’s Arts and Science College forced the college management to shut the gates on students sporting hijab as well as saffron scarves.

5 FEBRUARY 2022:

• In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 133(2) of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, the govt ordered that:
• Students of all government schools to wear the uniform fixed by the state.
• Students of private schools may wear uniforms prescribed by the management committees of the school.
• In colleges that fall under the Karnataka Board of Pre-University Education, the dress code prescribed by the College Development Committee, or the administrative supervisory committee must be followed.
• If the administration does not fix a dress code, clothes that do not threaten equality, unity, and public order must be worn.

14 MARCH 2022:

• The court upheld the legality of the Karnataka Government’s February 5 order prescribing wearing of uniforms in schools and pre-university colleges under provisions of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983.

AT PRESENT:

• The verdict has been appealed to the SC by the original petitioners and others although the SC has not begun hearing it yet.

DECODING THE RIGHT TO WEAR A HIJAB

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS:

• Hijab (headscarf) is a Fundamental Right guaranteed under Articles 14 and 25 of the Constitution of India and is an essential practice of Islam.
• Shariah mandates women to wear the headscarf and therefore, the action of the college in banning the headscarf within the premise of the college is repugnant to the protection of religious freedom as provided under Article 25 (1).

UNREASONABLE RESTRICTIONS:

• The Constitution of India guarantees the Freedom of Conscience and the right to profess, practice, and propagate religion while reserving the state’s right to interfere with the religious matter only if it involves an issue relating to public order, morality, and health.
• In this light, it is contended that banning the hijab can only be done by invoking an interest of public order or the morals of the society. However, that is not the case here.

IMPACT ON MENTAL HEALTH AND FUTURE PROSPECTS:

• The manner in which the respondent college has ousted the petitioner not only creates a stigma amongst her batch mates but among the children of the entire college, which in turn will affect the mental health as well as future prospects of the petitioner.

DENIAL OF RIGHT TO EDUCATION:

• The college has curtailed the right to education of the petitioner on the sole ground of religion is smacked with malfides, discriminatory, and politically motivated.
• By doing so the state government has failed in its duty to realise the right to human development by denying the petitioner her education.

ESSENTIAL RELIGIOUS PRACTICE:

• The plea refers to verses from the Holy Quran and states that taking away the practice of wearing the hijab from women who profess the Islamic faith, results in a fundamental change in the character of the Islamic religion.
• For this reason, the practice of wearing the hijab constitutes as an essential and integral part of Islam.
• In the case of Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Sri. Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri. Shirur Mutt (1954 SCR 1005), where the Supreme Court has held that Freedom of Religion in our Constitution is not confined to religious beliefs only; it extends to religious practices also.

CHOICE OF DRESS:

• It is argued that the right of women to have the choice of dress based on religious injunctions is a fundamental right protected under Article 25 (1) when such prescription of dress is an essential part of the religion.

HIJAB AND THE WORLD

• Canada: After a long battle, the Canadian government decided not to pursue a ban on wearing the hijab during immigration ceremonies.
• France: French mayors have banned full-body swimsuits known as “burkinis” from beaches, citing public order concerns.
• United States: Women in hijab represent the United States in government, business, and sports.
• Iran: Women are required to wear hijab, although what constitutes “proper hijab” is widely debated.
• Turkey: Hijab may be part of a police officer’s uniform, although it is not required.

WHAT WAS THE ARGUMENT OF THE STATE OF KARNATAKA?

LEGISLATIVE BACKING:

• As per Section 7 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, students of all educational institutions shall behave as one family, without restricting themselves to one class of persons, jointly maintaining and upholding public order.
• Under Section 133 of the Act, the government reserves the right to issue appropriate directions to schools and colleges to ensure the maintenance of public order.

POWER OF SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE:

• Development Committees of all schools and colleges have been created to make proper use of government grants, improve basic infrastructure and facilities, and maintain the quality of education.
• Schools and colleges are directed to operate as per the decisions of the development committees.

ADVERSE EFFECTS ON EQUALITY:

• The Department of Education, Karnataka, came to know that in some institutions, students are following practices as per their religion, which is adversely affecting equality in such schools and colleges.

JUDICIAL ORDERS:

• The Apex Court in Asha Renjan & Ors v State of Bihar 2017 accepted the balance test when competing rights are involved and has taken the view that individual interest must yield to the larger public interest.
• Thus, conflict over competing rights can be resolved not by negating individual rights but by upholding larger rights to remain, to hold such relationships between institutions and students.
• In Fathima Hussain Sayed v Bharat Education Society & Ors a similar issue pertaining to dress codes arose in Karthik English School, Mumbai. After investigating the issue, the Bombay High Court held that the petitioner’s (school Principal’s) restriction on wearing a headscarf or covering one’s head is not violative of Article 25 of the Constitution.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE HIGH COURT VERDICT

The court upheld the legality of the Karnataka Government’s February 5 order prescribing wearing of uniforms in schools and pre-university colleges under provisions of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983. The court ruled that prescription of school uniforms does not violate either the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) (a) or the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution. The restriction against wearing of hijab in educational institutions is only a reasonable restriction constitutionally permissible, which the students cannot object to. Wearing the hijab (headscarf) by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practices in the Islamic faith and it is not protected under the right to freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India. The bench, in its interim order passed on February 10, restrained all students regardless of their religion or faith from wearing saffron shawls (bhagwa), scarfs, hijab, religious flags, or the like in classrooms until further orders on the petitions.

A CRITIQUE OF THE HC JUDGMENT

ESSENTIAL RELIGIOUS PRACTICE: 

• The court finds that the petitioners have failed to prove that wearing the hijab is essential to Islam – i.e., that it is mandatory, non-optional, and that Islam would lose its identity if women did not wear the hijab.
• Neither the court nor external commentators, are particularly well-placed to conduct this analysis.

FRAMING THE WRONG QUESTION:

• It effectively denies to Muslim women the ability to frame their argument as one of religious choice and requires, instead, for them to argue in the language of religious compulsion.

THE TEST OF PROPORTIONALITY:

• Proportionality requires, among other things, that the state adopt the least restrictive method in order to achieve its goals. Thus, where something less than a ban would suffice, a ban is disproportionate.

IGNORING PRECEDENT:

• It is pertinent to note that the petitioners had placed heavy reliance on a Madras High Court judgment (M Ajmal Khan vs Election Commission).
• The Madras High Court had observed, “… thus, seen from the reported material that there is almost unanimity amongst Muslim scholars that purdah is not essential but covering of head by scarf is obligatory”.
• However, quite shockingly, there is absolutely no discussion of the said Madras High Court judgment in the hijab verdict.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION:

• Reasonable accommodation requires the court to ask whether, in a setting where a certain default exists, a particular claim for departing from that default, founded in constitutional rights, can be reasonably accommodated by the state (or private party), without the activity in question losing its character.
• In the case of the hijab, the claim for reasonable accommodation is straightforward: that the wearing of the hijab (especially hijab that is the same colour as the uniform and is simply draped, like a shawl, over the head) can be reasonably accommodated alongside the uniform, without damaging or in other ways vitiating the overall public goal of education.

FAILURE TO RECOGNISE INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION:

• Facially neutral criteria of uniform dress code flies in the face of established discrimination law jurisprudence in the country, especially that of indirect discrimination which the Supreme Court of India has recognised.
• The court has failed to recognise that facially neutral criteria are capable of having a disproportionate impact on a particular community or group of individuals.

UNIFORM AS THE GOAL: 

• The court has been weighed down by the role of uniform instead of seeing education as an end goal.
• The court’s crucial error is that it sanctifies the uniform instead of sanctifying education.
• Instead of looking at the uniform as instrumental to achieving the goal of an inclusive and egalitarian right, it treats the uniform (and its associated values of sameness, homogeneity, etc) as the goal itself.

THE HIJAB AND WOMEN’S AGENCY

• To view the hijab as a contest between men and women, oppression and freedom, patriarchy and liberation is to reduce hijab-wearing women to their immediate identities of victims of patriarchy, denying them their agency and, therefore, viewing the world through a narrow dichotomy.
• We must acknowledge that feminine agency negotiates a matrix of power — whether it is caste, class, or community. The recent attack on the hijab cannot be seen in isolation but as part of the larger global politics starting from 9/11 when symbolic representations of Muslim identity in public were complicated by certain countries in Europe legislating to ban the hijab in state-run institutions, including schools.
• The representation of Islamic norms as incompatible with modern secularism led not just to a ban of the hijab but also the burkini. But symbols of the Christian religion continued to be worn publicly without being challenged. Similarly, In India, where the hijab is being attacked for disrupting the ‘uniform style of clothes’, no other religious symbols displayed on the body are being questioned.

THE WAY FORWARD

ROLE OF THE SC: The SC should hear the matter at the earliest and provide for an authoritative pronouncement.

ROLE OF THE GOVTS: The role of the union and state governments is very important here as they are the agencies responsible for implementing governance as per the Constitution. They should not support any act against the Constitution and particularly that which serves the agenda of fundamentalist forces.

A SENSITIVE APPROACH: The Karnataka government and college administration should have handled the issue in a more conciliatory and sensitive way so as to ensure the continuation of the education of these girls rather than confronting them in this way.

ROLE OF SECULAR AND DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT: The secular and democratic movements and political parties are seen to be stuck on symbolic issues. Instead, they need to have a broader development agenda for marginalised minorities.

RECONCILIATION OF RELIGION AND EDUCATION: The hijab controversy had become a site of contest between religion and education, community, and the system. “Muslim girls are increasingly opting for higher education. But with these developments, there may be a setback with girls withdrawing from modern secular education. This must be addressed.

THE CONCLUSION: In its 1994 judgment in the S.R Bommai case 1994, the Supreme Court observed that “religious freedom is the hallmark of pluralism and inclusiveness. It is meant to advance social harmony and diversity”. This must be the spirit in which the whole issue should be understood, debated, and logically concluded.

Questions:

1. Critically examine the judgment of the Karnataka High Court with respect to the ban on hijab in educational institutions.
2. Facially neutral criteria of uniform dress code flies in the face of established discrimination law jurisprudence in the country, especially that of indirect discrimination which the Supreme Court of India has recognised. Comment

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

THE FUNCTION OF THE COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

1. Prepare an overall comprehensive development plan for the college regarding academic, administrative, and infrastructural growth, and enable the college to foster excellence in curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities.
2. Decide about the overall teaching programmes or annual calendar of the college.
3. Recommend to the management about introducing new academic courses and the creation of additional teaching and administrative posts.
4. Take a review of the self-financing courses in the college, if any, and make recommendations for their improvement.
5. Make specific recommendations to the management to encourage and strengthen research culture, consultancy, and extension activities in the college.
6. Make specific recommendations to the management to foster academic collaborations to strengthen teaching and research.
7. Make specific recommendations to the management to encourage the use of information and communication technology in the teaching and learning process.
8. Make specific recommendations regarding the improvement in teaching and suitable training programmes for the employees of the college.
9. Prepare the annual financial estimates (budget) and financial statements of the college or institution and recommend the same to the management for approval.
10. Formulate proposals of new expenditure not provided for in the annual financial estimates (budget).
11. Make recommendations regarding the students’ and employees’ welfare activities in the college or institution.
12. Discuss the reports of the internal quality assurance committee and make suitable recommendations.
13. Frame suitable admissions procedures for different programmes by following the statutory norms.
14. Plan major annual events in the college, such as annual day, sports events, cultural events, etc.
15. Recommend to the administration appropriate steps to be taken regarding the discipline, safety, and security issues of the college or institution.
16. Consider and make appropriate recommendations on inspection reports, local inquiry reports, audit reports, reports of national assessment and accreditation council, etc.
17. Recommend the distribution of different prizes, medals, and awards to the students.
18. Prepare the annual report on the work done by the committee for the year ending on the 30th of June and submit the same to the management of such college and the university.