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ukraine-s-only-nobel-peace-laureate-oleksandra-matviichuk-talks-about-russia-ukraine-conflict

Sat Mar 02 16:10:43 IST 2024

We agreed to meet in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the Botanical Gardens near the main red-coloured building of the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. This Gandhi statue was the only one in the world to have been installed in 2020, celebrating the Mahatma’s 150th birth anniversary which fell on October 2, 2019, in spite of the pandemic. Reaching the statue, we both pay our homage. Here I stand with Ukraine’s human rights champion Oleksandra Matviichuk, as the organisation she leads, the Centre for Civil Liberties (CCL), was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, some months after Russia attacked Ukraine. With Gandhi as our sole witness, we discuss human rights in Ukraine in the small corner of the botanical garden called the ‘Oasis of Peace’.

Having known Oleksandra for more than a decade, I was always impressed by her gentle, graceful manner yet steely resolve and unwavering commitment, which got stronger with all that she had gone through. She reflects how she, as a schoolchild, was enchanted with the ideas of Gandhi and admired such personalities as Vaclav Havel and Nelson Mandela. During the past decade, a whole generation of young human rights defenders has emerged in Ukraine, inspired by their predecessors.

The predecessors fought under harsher conditions: incarceration in gulags, Stalinist and post-Stalinist totalitarian repression. They often had to give up everything―jobs, wealth, family and, ultimately, their lives. Oleksandra fondly recalls her mentor, Yevhen Sverstyuk, the great dissident, who, like most dissidents and political prisoners in the former USSR, was a staunch admirer of Gandhi. I could see the influence of Sverstyuk: his wisdom, balance and decency, matched with iron will and strength of mind that bore all torture. During her higher studies, Oleksandra was drawn to dissident circles and the human rights organisation for writers PEN-Ukraine. Soon after the completion of her studies, she joined the newly formed CCL in 2007.

The war changed her regular work mode to urgent and acute. A lawyer with a human rights background and a heart full of empathy, she said, “During these turbulent times, you really see the best qualities emerge in each person. Facing the horrors of death and destruction, people reflect on what is it to be human. Your priorities change, your perception of the world, too. I do not think war made us worse and coarse. It made us steadfast and brave. It enlightened us to know our place in the world.”

But, the war in Ukraine is not only important for Ukrainians, its impact is felt on the whole world, on other human rights defenders as well. Shouldn’t there be solidarity among the human rights defenders? “It is a test for the world. Human rights is the same for the whole world. What Russia wants to prove as a permanent member of the UN Security Council is that freedom is a fake value. It is not worth fighting for it,” said Oleksandra. “But if the world does not deter Russia’s aggression, conflicts will increase. Use of force to achieve anything a leader of any country wants will become easy. There will be nuclear proliferation, and we will see more ecocide, destroying of natural environment and human habitat, like the one we had near Kherson, the Kakhovka dam. So many humans and animals perished. Values nurtured by the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity will be eroded.”

To bring back faith in humanity and justice, the aggressor should be punished. Oleksandra started a global initiative: T4P, Tribunal for Putin. Trustees of this initiative are the CCL, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union. Convinced that the evil currently being perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine is a result of the failure to condemn the evil done in the past, the initiative includes 24 organisations from all over Ukraine. They document and collect evidences that display features of crimes defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The focus is on the restoration of justice by holding the perpetrator liable.

Many of my western friends were skeptical about this. Their skepticism was grounded on the long time it takes, the cumbersome procedures and the problem of establishing the crime under particular articles of war crimes and crimes against humanity of The Hague and the Geneva Conventions. It looks unrealistic. Oleksandra gently remarked, “Yes, unrealistic, and perhaps, even fantastic, if we go by the 19th century standards. But civilisation is moving forward. Today we have the international legal framework. Remember: Nuremberg did happen, so did the tribunals with regard to former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Cambodia and the like. My colleagues in the All-Ukrainian Network of Human Rights organisations have collected thousands of cases, enormous amount of data, testimonies of people, video and other documentation of war crimes and crimes against humanity. If the perpetrators are held and tried, a new hope is infused in humans. How to allow the perpetrators to get away with all this impunity?”

As of February 18, 2024, the total number of cases of documented war crimes in Ukraine were close to 64,460. I asked her about the period these data were collected. She cautioned, “The data are increasing day by day. People saw the massacres in Bucha and Irpin near Kyiv. There are so many Buchas all over the occupied territories. Think of the almost 19,000 children stolen and sent to Russia, and these are confirmed cases. And the thousands of adults forcibly deported to Russia, today almost 7,000 by the humblest estimates. We are fighting hard to get them back. With the prisoners of war there are periodic exchanges. But for the civilians the work is harder. They are not covered by international conventions. But, the world cannot afford to be indifferent. Perhaps, India can use its authority to get our civilians and children back from Russia.”

The human rights record was far from being perfect in this part of the world. No one could imagine that the methods used in the 1920s and 1930s will come back now. The situation is terrible now, with the Ukrainian government registering more than 1.2 lakh criminal cases related to the war within its own judicial system.

There is a debate within Ukraine about the ratification of the Rome Statute. Signed by Ukraine on January 20, 2000, its ratification was hindered by an opinion of the constitutional court of Ukraine in 2001 that the statute was inconsistent with the constitution of Ukraine. An amendment to Article 124 of the constitution of Ukraine in 2019 enabled Ukraine to recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the principles of the Rome Statute. In 2014 and 2015, Ukraine made declarations about ad hoc recognition of the ICC jurisdiction, authorising it to prosecute and punish crimes against participants of the Revolution of Dignity and international crimes committed during Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Today, ratification of the Rome Statute is Ukraine’s international obligation contained in Article 8 of the EU-Ukraine Association agreement. Although some politicians in Ukraine are reluctant on this issue, the CCL and the human rights community actively propose ratification. As a full-fledged member, Ukraine will not only have obligations, as now, but can then decide on procedural, budgetary and other ICC issues, elect judges, propose amendments to the Rome Statute.

Our conversation slowly turned and touched upon Russia, which, too, signed the Rome Statute in 2000, but did not ratify. I was curious to know what does she think of the handful of Russians who sympathise with Ukraine. Does she have any dialogue? Surprisingly, she was positive about them, and said, “We have no hatred towards those Russians. We just do not want our country to be a mirror of Russia. Russia should become democratic. That is a long way off, considering the system they have and the oppressed people in various units of the federation, especially non-ethnic Russians, the Buryat, Kalmyk, Bashkir, Karakalpak, Mari, Karelian, Mansi, Nanai and hundreds of other nationalities. For ages, they faced the cynical policy of total assimilation. They should be empowered. But that is the internal work of Russians.”

Discussing the problem of Russian opposition, Oleksandra said, “With Alexei Navalny, Putin’s political rival in the coming elections, dying in jail on February 16, there is another addition to the long list of opposition leaders and opinion makers such as Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya and Sergei Magnitsky who were targeted and removed. Russia’s appalling human rights situation is known to all, politicians and world leaders frequently comment, but anyhow, they try to ‘keep the door open’ to negotiate with the Kremlin.”

I added that there still are human rights defenders in Russia and Belarus. Suffice it to recall, the CCL shared the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize with the Russian organisation Memorial and Ales Bialiatski, the human rights activist from Belarus. The bitter truth is that among the almost 1,500 political prisoners held in Belarus, Bialiatski was held for a long time without trial after participating in protests in 2021. He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in March 2023. According to Viasna, an organisation founded by Bialiatski in 1996, the conditions in prison can be described as torture, because the accused are held for several months in a 19th century building, in its poorly lit cells with no fresh air, no sunlight, minimal food and little or no health care.

Memorial was set up in 1989, headed by the world famous physicist Andrei Sakharov, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. The group had the best database of Stalinist crimes and the Soviet period oppression and contributed significantly to the memory and history of Russia’s recent past. But its successes were short-lived. After years of intimidation, seizure of archives (in 2008), incessant persecution and legal obstacles, the highly reputed organisation was shut down by a Russian court in December 2021. Alexander Cherkasov, the present chair of the Memorial, is in exile in Paris.

Is that the reason why no one speaks of defending rights in Russia? I remembered, recently, Nepalese authorities complained that 15,000 of their nationals were recruited by Russia as soldiers to fight in Ukraine. The issue came to light after some of them, who were held as prisoners of war by Ukraine, gave testimony about how they were promised money and were recruited. A few days ago, the world came to know about the death of one Indian on the war front and the presence of nearly 100 more, recruited by India-based agents under false promises of work. On February 25, soldiers of African origin in the Russian army were seen in the occupied parts of the Kherson region. I asked Oleksandra if she had any remedy to these issues. She said, “From the very beginning, in 2014 in Crimea, then after February 24, 2022, Russia systematically sends its own indigenous peoples, living in Buryatia, Yakutia, Tatarstan, Dagestan to die in the war in Ukraine. Russia also illegally recruits nationals of other countries, using their difficult socioeconomic situation. These people are used as cannon fodder in Ukraine, behind them are the better trained and armed servicemen of the Russian regular army. We have to document, act and protest. That is the only way for us, the civil society. I am very sorry about the plight and the loss of lives of any foreign citizen, including of India and Nepal.”

We both sigh deeply, thinking of the future. To my question on the post-war reconstruction, Oleksandra reflected, “I know reconstruction means money and resources. A lot of money also brings a lot of problems, problems of management and use of resources. First of all, the focus of reconstruction should be people. We should have a people-centred reconstruction. We have had enough of the haphazard and chaotic transition and developments of the 1990s, giving rise to many problems related to the unequal distribution of wealth in our society. The human rights framework should be maintained. Only then we can have full victory. We should have some kind of a manifesto of the civil society.”

The war is in a critical stage. Ukraine faces many challenges, including those of arms and ammunition and support―both financial and moral. What is the way out? I asked. Her response was short and straight: “If you build your decisions based only on geopolitics and economic benefit, you will ultimately lose. Many countries closed their eyes on the problems of armed intervention and frozen conflicts created by Russia, such as Chechnya, the Transnistria in Moldova, the annexation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia which are parts of Georgia, then occupation of Crimea and the proxy war in Donbas. They conducted business as usual with Russia. This nurtured and armed Putin’s regime. And the world is facing its consequences. Leaders of the world look for electoral benefits, but they should think of the long-term interests of their own people and their responsibility before the world.”

Before I could ask her about February 24, 2022, which many in the world think as the day Russian aggression started, she rightly added, “And we have to recall, the war did not start two years ago. It started in February 2014 with the occupation of Crimea using “polite green men without insignia” and the launching of proxy warlords with active help of the Russian army in Donbas. So we are entering the 11th year, after completing a decade of war.”

Turning towards the Gandhi statue, Oleksandra said, “You know, I think of Gandhi as an amazing personality. The Mahatma’s ideas are forever with us! What would Gandhi have said or done today had he been alive? Definitely, he would stand with Ukraine.”

After attending the Republic Day reception hosted by the Indian embassy in Kyiv on January 26 this year, Oleksandra wrote on X: “Recalling the well-known words of Mahatma Gandhi, which have inspired me since childhood: ‘Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.’ I would like to add that India and Ukraine, though geographically distant, are close in common democratic values and the aspiration to build a strong and secure world for our children. Otherwise, they will have to do it themselves.”

As we walked back the streets of Kyiv, these words of Oleksandra rang in my ears. I also recalled a few lines from her Nobel acceptance speech, titled “Time to take responsibility”: “We must stop pretending deferred military threats are ‘political compromises’. The democratic world has grown accustomed to making concessions to dictatorships. And that is why the willingness of the Ukrainian people to resist Russian imperialism is so important. We will not leave people in the occupied territories to be killed and tortured. People’s lives cannot be a ‘political compromise’. Fighting for peace does not mean yielding to pressure of the aggressor, it means protecting people from its cruelty…. You don’t have to be Ukrainians to support Ukraine. It is enough just to be humans.”

oleksandra-matviichuk-human-rights-lawyer-centre-for-civil-liberties-ukraine

Sat Mar 02 13:22:08 IST 2024

Oleksandra Matviichuk, 40, heads the Centre for Civil Liberties, a human rights organisation in Ukraine. She also coordinates the work of a number of initiatives, such as the group Euromaidan SOS, Prisoner’s Voice, Kyiv Human Rights School, Human Rights Agenda, OZON public monitoring and T4P―Tribunal for Putin.

Established in 2007, the CCL aims at protecting human rights and establishing democracy in Ukraine and the 57 member countries of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It formulates legislative changes, exercises public oversight over law enforcement agencies and judiciary, conducts educational activities for young people and implements international solidarity programmes.

Oleksandra has experience in creating horizontal structures for massive involvement of people in human rights activities against attacks on rights and freedoms, as well as a multi-year practice of documenting violations during armed conflicts. The Euromaidan SOS initiative group was created in response to the brutal dispersal of a peaceful student rally in Kyiv on November 30, 2013. Since 2014, the initiative monitors political persecution in occupied Crimea, documents war crimes and crimes against humanity in the hybrid war in the Donbas.

She is the author of a number of alternative reports to various UN bodies, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the OSCE and the International Criminal Court. After the beginning of full blown aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Oleksandra, together with other partners, created the T4P initiative in order to document international crimes under the ICC Statute in Ukraine. One of the latest initiatives is #MakeRussiaPay, a petition which calls for frozen Russian funds of $300 billion be given to Ukraine for war efforts and to rebuild the country.

In 2016, she received the Democracy Defender Award for ‘Exclusive Contribution to Promoting Democracy and Human Rights’ from missions to the OSCE. A year later, she became the first woman to participate in Stanford University’s Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Programme. She was awarded the Right Livelihood Award and was recognised as one of the 25 influential women in the world by the Financial Times in 2022. The same year, the CCL, chaired by Oleksandra, won the Nobel Peace Prize, the first in the history of independent Ukraine.

―Courtesy: Centre for Civil Liberties & Mridula Ghosh

agents-lure-indians-with-phony-letters-and-fake-citizenship-offers-to-join-the-russian-army

Sat Mar 02 13:05:16 IST 2024

A firm helmed by a former chief secretary of Telangana has been named in the documents that facilitated a Hyderabadi youth’s journey to Russia to fight in the Ukraine war. Mohammed Afsan, a resident of Red Hills, is said to be in Donetsk region of Ukraine, which is controlled by Russia.

Afsan, 30, was working in a clothing store in Hyderabad till September, supporting his wife and two children. He received an ‘invitation letter’ in Russian sent by an agent for processing his visa. THE WEEK accessed the letter addressed to the Russian embassy in Delhi, which mentioned that Afsan was employed with a semi-conductor company located in Hyderabad’s IT corridor. The company has a former chief secretary and several well-known local entrepreneurs on its board of directors. Although the company’s address was correct, the contact number furnished was that of a top corporate hospital in Hyderabad. The letter said the purpose of Afsan’s trip to Russia was to “provide IT services”. His family told THE WEEK that neither did he work for the said company nor was he an IT professional.

Similar is the case of Mohammed Sufiyan, another youth from Telangana who is serving in the Russian army on the frontline. The 23-year-old, who is from Narayankhed town, took up a small job in Dubai after the pandemic. An agent promised him better opportunities in Russia. Sufiyan, too, received an ‘invitation letter’, which identified him as an employee of a Hyderabad-based company and invited him to provide IT services. But the company mentioned in the letter specialises in manufacturing stationery items. And Sufiyan has not even cleared high school, let alone computer engineering.

Both Sufiyan and Afsan got their visas, allegedly based on these letters, and flew to Russia in late 2023. Both letters were issued by Moscow-based Credo Technologies LLC.

In the past, online investigators have linked a company named Credo with Russia’s top private military contractor, the Wagner group. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the controversial boss of Wagner, was killed in a plane crash last year after rebelling against Russian President Vladimir Putin. It has been speculated that Credo was one of the companies that was being run by either Prigozhin’s mother or daughter to help him consolidate his diversified business empire. But the original logo of Credo LLC did not match with the one printed on the invitation letters. The address in the letters was different from the original company address in Moscow. The phone numbers and e-mail addresses were also invalid. The letter had the signature of the CEO, Zaripov Andrey Nagimovich. According to Russian news websites, Nagimovich left Credo in 2018; he is now with National Platform.

“We do not know much about these invitation letters. The agents handed it to us and asked us to submit those and we did. Now we know that those were fake as we were told to delete all messages once we landed in Russia,” said a youth who travelled to Russia on a similar letter. He and others like him were not taken to the offices of Credo or other companies that issued such invitation letters. Evidently, a network of middlemen and agents is producing these fake letters to funnel the youth to the warfront in Russia.

“We are only concerned with the people once they land in Russia. Many are arriving daily through different means, including on tourist visas, and it is difficult to ascertain how they arrived,” said Ramesh, a native of Tamil Nadu who works as a translator with the ministry of defence in Moscow. He is closely involved in briefing the young recruits. According to him, nearly 100 recruits from India might be employed in different roles in the Russian military.

“When agents inform us about people arriving from India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, we meet and talk to them. We explain policies and ground realities, informing them about the war situation. About 10 per cent to 15 per cent of them return, while the rest stay back. Contrary to popular belief, there are no special helper jobs. A job in the army means being capable of doing anything required,” said Ramesh. He clarified that none of the Indians were working for Wagner.

Some of the youth, including the two from Telangana, signed the contract letters with the Russian defence ministry and underwent mandatory training. Only when they realised that they might have to serve on the frontlines, did they try to leave. Most of them landed in Russia, lured by the offer of earning up to Rs2 lakh per month, with all rations free. They were also excited about the possibility of obtaining Russian citizenship within a few months of serving with the army. Their families now want them back, especially after one of them, Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya from Gujarat, died in a drone attack launched by Ukraine.

The ministry of external affairs acknowledged that a few Indian nationals had signed up for support jobs with the Russian army. An MEA spokesperson said the government was in touch with Russian authorities for their early discharge.

“Hemil and my brother went to Russia in the same batch,” said Syed Salman, Sufiyan’s elder brother. “He died in front of Sufiyan’s eyes. He was digging a trench. Sufiyan called me the other day and started crying. He said he could be next. My mother is handicapped and my father is a driver. We are from a very poor family.”

Afsan’s elder brother, Imran, too, has not stopped worrying after being told that his brother might have been injured on the Ukraine-Russia border. He has not spoken to his brother for more than a month. The family’s woes are compounded by the fact that Afsan had taken a loan of 03 lakh to pay the agents and also for his travel expenses. “He has not been able to send any money, but that is not the concern right now,” said Imran. “It is his life that matters to us.”

security-forces-are-planning-an-intense-crackdown-on-narco-terrorism-in-jammu-and-kashmir

Sat Feb 24 12:52:40 IST 2024

The abrogation of Article 370 and the subsequent crackdown by security forces might have weakened militancy in Kashmir, but there is a fresh threat brewing: narco-terrorism. Security forces have found that proceeds from the sale of narcotics, mostly originating in Pakistan, are being used to fund terror. This is because the conventional channels that were used to fund terror have been disrupted in the past few years.

Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police R.R. Swain said links to narco-terrorism spanned from Kashmir to Jammu, Punjab and Delhi. “The handlers have been traced to Paris, Canada and Turkey,” he said. “We will reach out to handlers in other parts of the world through the Interpol.”

Apparently, narcotics sale can yield huge profits, which help fund terror. “One kilogram of heroin originating in Afghanistan, coming via Pakistan, costs approximately Rs5 lakh and fetches nearly Rs5 crore in the international market,” said an officer investigating the narco-terror network. He added that a portion of the drugs coming from across the Line of Control is sold in Kashmir, and the rest is taken to other parts of India.

According to Union home ministry data, 72.07kg of heroin was seized in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015. This went up to more than 200kg in 2019. A senior police officer in Kashmir said that after the serious crackdown against hawala operators in recent years, Pakistani agencies were using narcotics to fund terrorism in the valley.

The connection between narcotics and terror funding surfaced during the Covid-19 pandemic. On June 11, 2020, Jammu and Kashmir Police intercepted an SUV owned by an Abdul Momin Peer at Kairo Bridge near Handwara, and seized Rs20 lakh in cash and two kilos of heroin. Subsequent arrests of Syed Iftikhar, Islam-ul-Haq, Saleem Andrabi and Muneer Ahmad Banday led to the seizure of Rs1.15 crore in cash and 21kg of heroin, valued at Rs100 crore. They were from different parts of Handwara.

Further investigation found that money from the drugs sale was funnelled to groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and others. G.V. Sundeep Chakravarthy, then a senior superintendent of police, described Iftikhar as a drug smuggler with a criminal history. “The drugs came from across the LoC and were distributed not only in Jammu and Kashmir, but also in markets beyond,” he said.

As other states were involved, the Union home ministry handed over the investigation to the National Investigation Agency, which filed a fresh FIR under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Seven more members of the module―six from different parts of Kashmir and one Romesh Kumar from Jammu―were apprehended. Working on Kumar’s revelations, the NIA recovered Rs91 lakh, made from the sale of narcotics, from a pit in a field in Guruwal. Afaq Ahmad Wani, a Baramulla Central Cooperative Bank manager, was apprehended on July 16, 2020.

On December 5, the NIA filed a charge-sheet against the accused in the special NIA court in Jammu. “The investigation revealed the accused’s involvement in cross-border smuggling and distribution of heroin in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country, procuring narcotics from their contacts in Pakistan,” read the charge-sheet. “Accused Iftikhar and Peer had made multiple visits to Pakistan between 2016 and 2017, meeting operatives associated with the LeT and the Hizbul Mujahideen.” Peer, Iftikhar and Wani, who were all government employees, were dismissed for their ‘anti-national activities’.

Two weeks later, a similar group was discovered in Baramulla. The police arrested two men, from whom they seized 13.5kg of heroin worth about Rs65 crore. They used to traffic drugs and supply arms to terrorists, and had a connection to handlers in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

To curb the menace, the Jammu and Kashmir’s State Investigation Agency (SIA), along with other security agencies, intensified their efforts and found several more leads. On November 2, 2021, the arrest of one Adil Shah in Kupwara uncovered a nine-member narco-terror group operating near the LoC. Seven were apprehended; two were operating from PoK. The case was transferred to the NIA, which filed a charge-sheet in a special NIA court in Baramulla on April 30, 2022. The charge-sheet said that the nine accused were part of a well-organised plan to procure arms, ammunition, and narcotics from across the LoC and to distribute these to militants in Kashmir. The gang was collaborating with operatives in Pakistan and was using the money from drugs sales to raise funds in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India, to further militant activity.

A fortnight after this gang was busted, the police intercepted a cash consignment from a drug trafficker on its way to Kashmir from Punjab. They found Rs43 lakh in the vehicle, and also established a connection between drug traffickers in Punjab and Jaish-e-Mohammad. The SIA filed a charge-sheet on July 28, 2022, at the NIA court in Jammu, naming Jaish-e-Mohammad commander Ashiq Nengroo, alias Ashiq Molvi, among others.

Eight days later, the police intercepted a truck going from Srinagar to Punjab, seizing 52kg of heroin. Assistant Director General of Police Mukesh Singh said good intelligence led to the arrests. “The SHO of Jhagar police station, Devinder Singh, got an input about an attempt to smuggle a big consignment of heroin,” he said. “He set up a check post and started checking vehicles from Srinagar to Jammu.” He said a truck with a Haryana registration tried to evade the checkpoint but was chased down. “The driver fled but the co-driver was arrested,” he said.

Mukesh Singh claimed the consistent ‘1999’ markings on the heroin consignments suggested potential links to Pakistan. Earlier such consignments, believed to be from Pakistan, have had the same marking, he said.

A few months later, in an operation led by SSP Mohita Sharma, 30kg of cocaine worth Rs300 crore was found in a car in Ramban. Two people were arrested, and the investigation led the police to the involvement of international drug traffickers. “It was the first such case in Jammu and Kashmir where all backward and forward linkages were established,” said Sharma. “The cash that changed hands was recovered.” She said the extradition process would be started against those involved and red corner notices would be issued.

Notably, the operations in 2022 also unveiled a disturbing reality―the involvement of women in the narco-terror network. The SIA found that Rubeena Nazir, a young woman in Sopore, was leading a drug-smuggling group of 19 individuals, six of them from PoK. Investigation revealed that the smuggled drugs not only fuelled criminal activities, but also financed separatist plans. The SIA uncovered a link between the group’s PoK-based members and Ishfaq Mir, a prisoner in Srinagar’s Central Jail. Mir, a resident of Sopore, communicated with the network’s handlers in PoK using covertly acquired phones.

“Rubeena played a pivotal role,” said police sources. “She oversaw drug and weapon movements, managed finances, and provided support to families of separatists facing legal issues. Acting as a leader, she effectively supervised all aspects of the group.”

Sources said that, currently, there are 14 women in Jammu and Kashmir involved in drug trafficking. One of them, from Jammu’s Shastri Nagar, was in frequent contact with handlers in Pakistan through WhatsApp. Another woman, Jano Bibi, known as ‘Bhabhi’, apparently has direct ties to drug lords and received instructions from Pakistan.

More shocking news was to follow. On December 5, 2022, 17 people, including five policemen and a political activist, were apprehended in Kupwara and Baramulla for their involvement in narco-terrorism. Investigation identified Shakir Ali Khan, a handler based in Pakistan, as the primary narcotics supplier. His son, Tahmeed, admitted to routinely transporting narcotics to Kupwara for distribution. Shakir had crossed the LoC in the early 1990s, initially joining militant ranks and later collaborating with the Hizbul Mujahideen in Keran near the LoC. Owing to mounting pressure from security forces, Shakir had returned to PoK.

Crucially, earlier in the year, the Army had intercepted an attempt to smuggle drugs from PoK to Poonch on May 30. The police arrested three men with 30kg drugs and 20kg explosives. Later, the SIA apprehended a handler of the network in Delhi. “His arrest unveiled the entire network,” said SSP Shobit Saxena. “He was connected to Mohammad Liaquat, a local store owner in Poonch working for handlers in Saudi Arabia.”

All accused in the case, except those abroad, have been arrested and charge-sheeted. “We discovered that drug smugglers of Punjab are trying to operate in Jammu and Kashmir because of the lure of money,” said Saxena. “Gopi Mahal, alias Amarjeet Singh, an accused in one of the cases, is absconding. We have also found a Punjab connection in three other cases.” The home and foreign ministries have sought the deportation of six individuals―three each in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Alarmed by the involvement of handlers across the LoC in fostering addiction and narco-terrorism in Kashmir, police in Baramulla had, on July 16, 2023, apprehended 318 drug peddlers and seized a substantial haul. The operation revealed the role of handlers from across the LoC in fostering addiction in Kashmir. “Our goal is a drug-free Baramulla,” said SSP Amod Ashok Nagpure. On September 9, the SIA said it had arrested one Muhammad Sharief Chechi from Uri. A source said he was an aide of former minister Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh, who was arrested in 2022 in a hawala case. The source added that, after the involvement of the former minister was unearthed, several investigators were pursuing multiple leads crisscrossing terror financing modules, narcotics syndicates and separatist networks.

Given the dangers posed, there is likely to be an intense crackdown on narco-terror this year. On January 17, DGP Swain warned that individuals involved in the menace would be treated like terrorists. “We will be doing a massive mapping,” he said, “and categorising the narco-dealers like we have classified terrorists in the A, B and C categories. We will soon be able to frame a list of narcotics dealers―A, B and C.”

petitioners-welcome-supreme-court-s-ruling-against-electoral-bonds-but-say-it-will-not-make-political-funding-transparent

Mon Feb 26 15:00:34 IST 2024

In 2017, shortly after the budget speech in Parliament, in which then finance minister Arun Jaitley spelt out the government’s intent to introduce the Electoral Bonds Scheme, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Common Cause, two civil society organisations, mounted a joint legal fight against the scheme. Around the same time, Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), a Navy veteran who now describes himself as a transparency campaigner, began his dogged pursuit against the scheme through the Right to Information Act.

It took seven years for these activists to find success, with the Supreme Court, on February 15, declaring the scheme unconstitutional and invalid. “The court has upheld the right to information of the common man about funding of political parties,” said ADR head Maj Gen Anil Verma (retd). “The scheme had grave anomalies which the Election Commission, the Reserve Bank of India, government departments and civil society organisations had pointed out, but the government had rammed it through Parliament in the form of a Money Bill to escape scrutiny by the Rajya Sabha.”

The petitioners had argued that wide-ranging amendments in the Finance Act, 2017; Finance Act, 2016; the Representation of the People Act, 1951; the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934; the Income Tax Act, 1961; and the Companies Act, 2013, were brought in as part of a Money Bill. The apex court has not yet resolved the matter about the government’s money bill route.

Vipul Mudgal, who heads Common Cause, said Jaitley’s speech had the initial effect of making people believe that political funding would actually be made transparent and the system would be made free of black money. “However, it was clear immediately afterwards, especially after the many laws that were amended, and the changes that were brought in illegally as part of a Money Bill, that the purpose of the scheme was something totally different,” he said.

ADR and Common Cause had filed a petition in the Supreme Court on September 4, 2017, challenging the Finance Act, 2017, which they said was illegally enacted as a Money Bill. It was through the amendment in the Finance Act in 2017 that the Electoral Bonds Scheme was introduced in 2018. The petition also challenged the act removing the earlier cap of 7.5 per cent of the donor company’s average three-year net profit for political donations. Other petitioners like the CPI(M) and the Congress’s Jaya Thakur joined in much later.

On March 5, 2019, ADR and Common Cause filed the first application for stay against the sale or purchase of electoral bonds for the Lok Sabha elections that year. It was argued that political parties would receive huge corporate funding during the elections and this would play a critical role in the polls. The court, in its interim order dated April 12, 2019, directed all political parties to submit details of donations received via electoral bonds to the Election Commission in a sealed cover on or before May 30, 2019. It had refused to put the scheme on hold though.

Verma recalled that the matter was listed on the court’s website on several occasions since the 2019 interim order, but no date of hearing was provided. Finally, the hearing was scheduled for March 2023, when the initial arguments took place. On October 16, 2023, a bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, referred the petitions against the scheme to a five-judge Constitution bench. The hearing by the bench began on October 31. It was reserved for judgment on November 2.

The main issues raised by the petitioners included the anonymity of electoral funding and what they argued as the legitimisation of high-level corruption by removing funding limits by corporate donors and by making it possible for funding by foreign interests and lobbyists.

Batra, meanwhile, gathered significant information through RTI about the discussions within the establishment with regard to the bonds, the reservations expressed by the Election Commission, the RBI, State Bank of India and other departments, and crucial statistics with regard to the bonds sold and purchased, the amounts involved and the patterns therein. These documents and statistics enabled petitioners to strengthen their arguments before the court.

Delhi-based Batra, too, was taken in by Jaitley’s speech, but he soon realised that the “measure would not bring transparency in political funding,” he said. “The identity of the donors was to be kept anonymous. How can transparency and opacity go together?” So, he took the RTI route. “It was clear from all these letters that the EC and the RBI and even government departments themselves had raised many red flags regarding the scheme,” said Batra. “But the government appeared to have already made up its mind. For example, there are documents that show that the RBI was approached for its views on the eve of the budget speech, more like an afterthought.”

The documents from SBI showed that bonds worth Rs16,518 crore were sold from March 2018 to January 2024 in 30 phases, and 94.64 per cent of these were of the highest Rs1 crore denomination.

Verma, however, does not expect anything spectacular to come out from the disclosures that the court has asked the EC to make about donors and the amounts involved. “The expectation of the common man is that big names would figure in the list. That would be unlikely,” he said. “I don’t think the big corporates would have bought the bonds directly.”

It is also felt that the verdict will not really impact the parties in the coming Lok Sabha polls since the money donated so far through the bonds has already been invested or spent by them. However, Batra said that the government could have opened a window of 30 days for sale of electoral bonds starting from February-end. “At least that will not happen now,” he said. “Also, the court wants the bonds that have not been encashed to be refunded. But as per the rules, the bonds have a shelf life of 15 days, and the last phase of sale of bonds was in January, so that time limit is already over.”

Verma said that old methods of electoral funding still exist, and donations by undeclared donors far outweigh that by declared donors. “Cash seizures during elections have gone up many times, which shows that the use of black money in elections is far from over,” he said. “Also, what is declared by the parties as their expenditure on elections is just a fraction of what is actually spent in our elections.”

Electoral bonds are history. But much more needs to be done to make political funding transparent.

indian-jurist-fali-s-nariman-guest-column

Fri Feb 23 11:10:30 IST 2024

Eminent jurist Fali S. Nariman breathed his last on February 21, 2024. In his last article in a news publication, Nariman explains the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Electoral Bonds Scheme. He shared his views with THE WEEK on February 15, the day the court gave its verdict.

Law is not often associated with literature. And neither is the appreciation or criticism of the verdict of a court. However, at times they need to be!

Like in the case of the unanimous judgment of February 15 of a Constitution bench of five judges of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice of India Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on the constitutional validity of the Electoral Bonds Scheme. I have had the benefit of going through the concurring judgments of the court, one by the chief justice on behalf of himself and three of his colleagues and the other by Justice Khanna. Without being too laudatory, permit me to say something in the language of Shakespeare.

“A Daniel come to judgment! Yea, a Daniel.

O wise young judge, how I do honour thee!”

Electoral bonds are monetary instruments that individuals, citizens and corporate groups can buy from a bank and donate to a political party of its choice―which the political party is then free to redeem for money. And, in the aggregate, this is big money. The electoral bonds case was initiated in 2017 by a public spirited organisation, the Association for Democratic Reforms, and it was followed by several other petitioners, including individuals and political parties. But the case had little to do with politics. What was challenged was the legitimacy and constitutionality of the amendments made for the Electoral Bonds Scheme by the Finance Act of 2017 (along with the Finance Act of 2016).

The two judgments of the court when first dealing with the challenge to the non-disclosure of information on electoral financing held that information about funding to a political party was essential for a voter to exercise his freedom to vote in a lawful and effective manner. The court concluded that the Electoral Bonds Scheme as framed does not fulfil the test of “the least restrictive means” since the scheme “is not the only means for curbing black money in electoral finance. There are other alternatives which substantially fulfil the purpose and impact the right to information minimally when compared to the impact of electoral bonds on the right to information.”

In a leading judgment delivered in 2017 (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v Union of India), a bench of nine judges of the Supreme Court held that the Constitution guaranteed the right to privacy as essential protection for the exercise and development of freedoms protected by the Constitution from direct or indirect influence by both state and non-state actors and that in the context of exercising electoral franchise, “the lack of privacy of political affiliation” would be catastrophic. That informational privacy to political affiliation is absolutely necessary to protect the freedom of political affiliation and also necessary to protect the exercise of electoral franchise.

The finding of the court is that it is “unable to see how the disclosure of information about contributors to the political party to which the contribution is made would infringe political expression” (this is in the context of the secrecy involved in the making of political contributions).

The court held that the Union of India has been unable to establish that the measures employed in the Electoral Bonds Scheme are the “least restrictive means” to balance the right to informational privacy to political contributions and the right to information about political contributions―the Electoral Bonds Scheme has, therefore, been struck down as unconstitutional and invalid.

The second ground on which the court struck down the scheme is what is now known as “manifest arbitrariness”―an essential facet of Article 14 of the Constitution. This, in my view, is a very important part of the judgment and is one aspect of provisions of a statute being challenged on the ground of violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.

The court held that the removal of contribution restrictions (as to how much an individual or corporation can contribute) is “manifestly arbitrary” and, therefore, violates Article 14 of the Constitution. Since the Electoral Bonds Scheme envisaged limitless financial contributions and consequential quid pro quo arrangements with the parties who make such contributions (it was conceded on behalf of the Union of India that corporate donations are made to receive favours through such quid pro quo arrangements), this would violate the principle of free and fair elections.

The court also noted that in 1985, Parliament had prescribed the condition that only companies which had been in existence for more than three years could contribute and prevented loss-making companies and shell companies from making financial contributions to political parties, but this was taken away by the amendment introduced in 2017: “there being no justification for removing the cap on contributions”. After the amendment of 2017, companies, similar to individuals, could make unlimited contributions and such contributions could be made by both profit-making as well as loss-making companies to political parties. The court held that it offended the doctrine of “manifest arbitrariness”.

Thus the court held that the Electoral Bonds Scheme comprehensively contained several provisions which were not only violative of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution (the Article which guarantees the freedom of speech and expression and also a free press), but also permitted unlimited corporate contributions to political parties, violating Article 14 of the Constitution.

In the wholly concurring judgment of Justice Khanna, he observed that the figures of party-wise donations received through the bonds show highly disproportionate party-wise donations in favour of the party in power at the Centre for a continuous period (2018-19 to 2022-23). And he concluded, “It is clear from the available data that majority of contribution through bonds has gone to political parties which are ruling parties in the Centre and the states.” He also held that the Electoral Bonds Scheme fails to meet the balancing prong of the proportionality test―the balancing prong being the voter’s right to know versus the anonymity in political party funding.

The principal judgment of the chief justice and the concurring judgment of Justice Khanna establish that since parliamentary democracy enables citizens to express their will through their elected representatives, “the integrity of the electoral process is a necessary concomitant to the maintenance of the democratic form of government”.

―As told to Soni Mishra.

The writer is an eminent jurist.

a-series-of-violent-crimes-has-the-opposition-gunning-for-the-government-in-maharashtra

Fri Feb 16 15:31:28 IST 2024

ON FEBRUARY 8, social worker Mauris Noronha shot dead former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar during a Facebook Live session. The murder, and the viral video of the crime, sent shockwaves across Maharashtra.

The opposition alleged that law and order in the state had collapsed. It flayed the state government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and demanded the resignation of Devendra Fadnavis, Shinde’s deputy and home minister. Fadnavis said Noronha had shot Ghosalkar, and then killed himself, because of personal rivalry. Noronha apparently believed that Ghosalkar was behind a rape case filed against him, and that he was trying to sabotage his political plans. “The opposition can demand anything,” said Fadnavis. “Even if a car runs over a dog tomorrow, they would ask the home minister to resign.”

Another violent incident had stunned the state just a few days before the Ghosalkar killing. BJP legislator Ganpat Gaikwad was arrested for allegedly firing at Mahesh Gaikwad, a former corporator of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, at a police station in Thane district. The firing allegedly happened in the chamber of the police inspector at Ulhasnagar. Mahesh is in hospital fighting for his life.

Ganpat told journalists that he felt no remorse. “The chief minister has the state under goonda raj (mob rule),” he said. A three-time legislator whose own record is dubious, Gaikwad is a known rival of Shinde’s Sena in Thane district.

Political leaders courting criminals is an old phenomenon. In fact, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had first come to power in Maharashtra in 1995 after a sustained campaign against former chief minister Sharad Pawar’s alleged criminalisation of politics in the 1990s. So, what has changed in the past three decades?

Earlier, political leaders used to court history-sheeters away from the public eye. Now, they flaunt such connections. An example: Parth Pawar, son of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, met Pune gangster Gajanan Marne in full view of the media in January. Marne is fighting cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and kidnapping. In 2021, after he was released from Taloja Jail in Navi Mumbai, he made news by going to his Pune home in a procession of 300 vehicles. The police booked Marne and supporters for assembling unlawfully and blocking the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

In 2022, Marne was arrested for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and extortion of a share trader. He was charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), which made it difficult for him to obtain bail. When he was finally released from Yerwada Jail in April 2023, he again had a cavalcade of supporters accompanying him to Pune.

But, why did Parth Pawar feel the need to meet Marne?

Parth was meeting party workers in Kothrud assembly constituency in Pune, where Marne lives. Marne’s wife, Jayashree, is a former Maharashtra Navnirman Sena corporator who joined the NCP two years ago. Parth said he had gone to meet her.

Parth has been struggling to make an impact in politics. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he was defeated by Shrirang Barne of the Shiv Sena. NCP leader and Parth’s grand uncle Sharad Pawar was against Parth contesting the polls, but Ajit Pawar wanted his son to win the polls on an NCP ticket.

After the defeat, Parth has been struggling―both in politics and in the party. His cousin Rohit Pawar, on the other hand, made a grand debut in 2019 by winning the assembly polls from Karjat Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district. Rohit is the grandson of Sharad Pawar’s elder brother Appa Saheb Pawar. Apparently, Sharad Pawar wanted Parth, too, to first find a place in the assembly before entering national politics.

When the Maha Vikas Aghadi was in power, Parth had written to home minister Anil Deshmukh that the case involving the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput be handed over to the CBI―a demand that went against the coalition’s public stance. Parth had also praised the launch of the Ram Mandir construction in 2020―a move that Sharad Pawar described as “immature”.

With the Ajit Pawar-led NCP having become part of the BJP-led ruling coalition in Maharashtra, Parth’s political ambitions have once again come alive. He was in Pune district as part of his plan to actively help his father. The Marnes are known for their social work, and have considerable influence among poor and lower middle-class youth in Pune city. Marne himself is seen as a Robin Hood-like figure who can help political parties win votes.

Parth’s move, however, has not impressed his father. “Parth has done wrong,” said Ajit. “He should not have met Marne.”

The recent killing of BJP corporator Balu More, aka Mahendra More, in Jalgaon is also being described as a political murder. The police, however, attribute the crime to an old rivalry.

The deteriorating law and order demands the imposition of president’s rule in the state, say the opposition. After the Ghosalkar killing, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray held a news conference blaming Fadnavis for the state of affairs. “Maharashtra che gruha mantri manorugna aahet [Maharashtra’s home minister is a mental patient],” said Thackeray. The unusually harsh words had Fadnavis retorting that it was Uddhav, and not him, who needed urgent medical intervention. “Get well soon, Uddhav ji,” said Fadnavis.

The state of affairs in Maharashtra, however, has many people worried. “Lack of will in the police force to take stern action results from the bonhomie between criminal elements and the political leadership,” said an IPS officer. “I pity junior officers like sub inspectors. Why would they take action [against a criminal] if they feel that some day they would be elected and they would have to offer protection to him? Sometimes I feel that the situation in Bihar is better.”

imran-khan-s-refusal-to-work-with-other-parties-puts-pakistani-political-system-under-more-pressure

Fri Feb 16 15:28:34 IST 2024

THE RESULTS OF the parliamentary polls came as a surprise to many people as former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the most seats, despite the party losing its iconic election symbol ‘cricket bat’ and its candidates contesting as ‘independents’. While the PTI-backed independents won 92 of 265 seats to which direct elections were held, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 79 and 54 seats, respectively. Imran has ruled out any alliance with the major parties and has directed his supporters to join hands with the Majlis-e-Wahdat-Muslimeen (MWM) to try and form governments at the centre and in Punjab. He has also indicated an alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The PTI said that its mandate was stolen after the PML-N and the PPP announced a plan to form a coalition government under former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto announced on February 13 that his party would support the PML-N candidate for prime minister, but would not join the cabinet. The PPP, however, is eyeing several constitutional positions like the president, the speaker of the National Assembly and the chairman of the senate (upper house).

Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, said the results showed that Imran and the PTI were more popular among the masses than their competitors. “This is despite the fact that Imran is in prison and has been convicted in a few cases,” he said. “Several top PTI leaders are either imprisoned or under ground. Even if the PTI is unable to come to power at the national level, Imran holds the key to the current political crisis in the country.”

Although the PML-N and the PPP performed marginally better this time compared with the 2018 elections, they won fewer seats than the PTI-supported candidates. “Each one of the three parties―the PTI, the PML-N and the PPP―may be able to form provincial governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh provinces, respectively. But none of them is in a position to form the federal government without joining hands with one of the two remaining parties. That is what is causing political stalemate,” said Mehboob.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal, who won the National Assembly seat from Narowal in Punjab, defended his party’s performance. “Punjab was stolen from us in 2018 and now we have regained it. Despite the political cost we had to pay by taking unpopular decisions to save Pakistan from bankruptcy, we regained Punjab. And we would form a coalition government in Islamabad. The PTI is virtually reduced to one province now,” he said. When asked about the PTI’s allegation that its mandate was stolen, Iqbal said the PTI was good in perception management. “But it remains a one-province party like it was in 2013.”

Meanwhile, the PPP’s decision to stay out of the government could turn out to be a problem. PPP leader Nadeem Afzal Chan said he did not consider the elections free and fair. “We faced a tough time in Punjab, Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The PTI also had a difficult time.” He said the PPP had the option of going with either the PTI or the PML-N to form a government. “The PTI is not ready to talk to any party. So we just had one choice left to save the system and parliament: to go with the PML-N.” Chan said the PPP voters would not have wanted the party to support the PML-N, but it had to be done to save democracy. He criticised Imran’s decision to not engage in dialogue with other parties. “They are giving space to non-democratic forces by doing this. If Imran doesn’t take parliament seriously, then it shrinks the space for politicians. The onus will be on Imran if this system is derailed. PTI members want reconciliation, but it seems Imran does not,” said Chan.

Senior journalist Azaz Syed, however, said that the PTI would be a part of the parliament. “Sometimes it will lead protests. It will lobby as well. When prices of essential goods and petroleum products increase, it will oppose strongly. This way, the PTI will build a narrative for the next elections,” said Syed. “It will also be waiting for the honeymoon period between the establishment and the PML-N to end and then use it to its own advantage.”

Senior anchor Shahzad Iqbal, quoting PTI insiders, said that Imran was ready to sit in the opposition. The party believes that after its surprising performance, the establishment and the judiciary may take a step back. Imran feels that there is also the possibility that the new coalition might not last long, giving the PTI yet another chance at an election. “Had the PTI formed a coalition government, it would have been easier to get relief in the cases against Imran and other party members. However, the party feels differently. The PTI thinks that it can fight it out in the opposition and still stay relevant,” said Shahzad.

Imran also knows that with the PPP choosing to stay out of the cabinet, the alliance with the PML-N is fraught with uncertainty. Journalist Fahd Husain said the arrangement would mean that the PML-N would have to shoulder the burden of difficult decision-making, while the PPP remains sheltered from the fallout of such decisions. “It would make the PML-N completely dependent on the PPP without the latter taking any responsibility.”

Another advantage for Imran is the fact that the PTI has been able to retain its dominance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to journalist Arifa Noor, in case of a nationwide crackdown, the party would have a refuge in the province. The PTI will also be able to assert itself more politically, as several decisions will be made at the provincial level under the conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund. “With a strong opposition in parliament and a weak government with little legitimacy, it will be very difficult for anyone to ignore PTI’s role,” said Noor. “The difficult economic decisions that have to be made will create problems for the PML-N government.”

ucc-must-not-be-a-rushed-affair-for-political-benefits

Sat Feb 10 15:15:00 IST 2024

The discussions around UCC is a critical time for Muslim women to demand legislative reforms. While the whole country debates UCC, Muslim women must get legislative protections around issues of polygamy, child marriage, halala/muta/misyar, equal inheritance rights, equity in custody/guardianship rights and right to legally adopt.

For the Muslim community, the first set of reforms, so to say, began in 1937 in the form of the Shariat Application Act. It was followed by another quick codified law in 1939—The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act. For the next 50 years, no reforms happened. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 removed Muslim women from the legal provisions for maintenance and brought in a law that allowed Muslim men to run away from the responsibility of paying post-divorce maintenance. The fight for a law against triple divorce (2019) was also a long drawn one, with many religious groups opposing any disruption in the practice that had rendered scores of Muslim women homeless and destitute.

It is high time Muslim women got a gender just law protecting their rights within the family in the form of a comprehensively codified Muslim family law. The community, which began earlier than the others on the road to reforms, has lagged behind so much that, in 2023, Muslim women are deprived of protection within the family. They have suffered the most at the hands of discriminatory practices imposed on them in the name of Islam.

Codify the MPL based on our draft

Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan has been demanding a codified Muslim family law since 2007, and has even prepared a draft of the same. This process enabled BMMA to bring the issue of law reform out of the closet into an open debate and also rendered the Muslim clerics exposed with their blatant sexism and misogyny.

The need of the hour is legal protection to Muslim women on issues of polygamy, child marriage, inheritance rights, adoption and custody of children. A community which has been deprived of a codified law (a privilege enjoyed by all others), would be more happy if its own law is codified and made gender just.

Include Muslim community in the laws against polygamy and child marriage

In the past four years, BMMA has also been demanding reforms by including the Muslim community into the fold of existing laws on polygamy and child marriage. All non-religious laws related to family issues are, without exception, applicable to all citizens. But within and outside the Muslim community and also within the judiciary, there is an understanding, or rather a misunderstanding, that these laws are not applicable to the Muslim community. As a result, Muslim women are deprived of their right to legal protection through the laws of the land. If not a fully codified family law, at least allow the laws against polygamy and child marriage to be made applicable to the Muslim community. BMMA has been demanding that Muslim community must come under the ambit of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and 494 IPC.

Uniform Civil Code

BMMA understands that the government’s push for UCC as a means to achieve gender justice, portraying the Muslim community as the main hurdle to it, serves no one. Many groups like the Sikhs and tribals and political parties have also shown their apprehension. It also means that the government must have deeper consultations with all religious and ethnic groups, going beyond the submissions to the Law Commission. UCC must not be a polarising issue, especially when its intent, as stated by the government, is national integration. The government must also not make UCC another stick to beat the Muslim community. Whatever the final look of the UCC would be, it must reflect the needs of each community. The process of arriving at a code must be inclusive and collaborative.

Muslim women will not benefit from any uniform law if it does not provide them with legal protection against discriminatory practices. For example, if the code does not prohibit halala, muta, misyar practices, then it does not help them. There are many practices of the Muslim community that are empowering, like the mehr, express consent of bride and out-of-court arbitration structures, which must be retained for the benefit of women.

After assimilating the suggestions from the Law Commission, if a UCC is truly what all communities want, then the draft must be shared with all and open for further changes and amendments. If the government is truly concerned about gender justice, then the UCC must be inclusive of all voices of women across caste, community and ethnicity. And it must not be a rushed affair for political benefits.

The author is co-founder, Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan.

what-goans-have-to-say-about-goa-ucc

Sat Feb 10 15:13:30 IST 2024

Even as Uttarakhand is in the process of becoming the first state to enact the Uniform Civil Code, Goa remains the only state where a version of the UCC is in place. This means that people belonging to all religions in Goa are subject to the same laws on matters like marriage, divorce and succession. The UCC in Goa follows the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867. The Goa, Daman and Diu Administration Act of 1962, which was passed after Goa became part of India as a Union Territory in 1961, gave it the permission to retain the Portuguese-era civil code. According to a large majority of Goans who have lived under the umbrella of the UCC for generations, it is "forward looking, non-discriminatory and promotes equality”. Carlos Alvares, former attorney general of India, said under the UCC, every child was considered to be equal before the law, irrespective of caste, creed, sex and religion. “Even a married girl who has taken dowry, is entitled to come back and take a share [of the property]. Only that the share will be reduced to the extent of the dowry taken.

The Goan code treats marriage as a civil contract between the spouses and not as an institution. “It is a communion of assets--a communion of two persons and their properties and assets. This means the moment a person marries, each spouse is a co-owner in the assets of the other. This is not so in other personal laws that are in effect across India at the moment,” said Alvares. “In case of divorce, too, separation of properties can take place only after the separation of persons. You cannot be living as a couple and still saying I want to separate my properties. You need to seek divorce.”

Alvares, however, said that many couples opted for a prenuptial contract agreeing that the marriage would be governed by an absolute separation of assets. It means that the husband keeps his property and the wife hers. And there are only certain specific grounds on which a person can take divorce. "It is not that I don't like you and, therefore, I want a divorce. And upon divorce there is a total separation of persons and properties.”

Astrid Fernandes (name changed), a Goan resident who works as a graphic designer, said the existing law had its own flaws as well as benefits. "We have seen so many fractured families and properties lying abandoned. In our family of five children, everyone has a share. But nobody wants to repair our house because everyone has a share in it. Only one among us lives in the house and that person needs to take permission from all others for any repairs. Our house is literally collapsing, but what to do," she said.

In terms of gender, the UCC does not discriminate. "It is empowering. You cannot just throw your spouse out. She is an equal partner with an equal say in everything. Women and girls are given rights and that also accords them respect. We have all accepted it and are comfortable with it here. Once a daughter gets married, she gets both the properties--parental and marital," said Astrid.

uniform-civil-code-bill-passed-in-uttarakhand-assembly

Fri Feb 09 15:49:47 IST 2024

When discussions on the Uniform Civil Code started at the Constituent Assembly, it ignited an emotionally charged beginning. The assembly saw some of its most heated arguments on November 23, 1948, the day it debated and approved the placing of the UCC under the Directive Principles of the Constitution.

The Directive Principles were being discussed that day, and Article 35, which dealt with the UCC, was pushed back to the end of the list so that it could be discussed at length. The debate saw impassioned arguments being made both for and against having the UCC. The members who were against the UCC―many of them from the Muslim community―argued that personal laws were distinct from other categories of law because they were part of the tradition, culture, customs and religion of different communities. It would interfere with the freedom to practise religion, and would, instead of promoting harmony, sow the seeds of disunity.

A member pointed out that he and some others in the assembly had received pamphlets from both Muslim and Hindu groups who felt that any interference with their personal laws was “most tyrannous”. It was asked whether it was possible in a country as vast and diverse as India to have a common set of family laws for all. There was also discussion on whether the term UCC covered the wider ambit of civil laws in the country and not strictly the personal laws.

Those who defended the UCC spoke about the need to dissociate laws from religious practices, saying the idea of personal law being a part of religion was perpetuated by the British. They said gender discrimination was common in these laws. And it was emphasised that a common civil law would help the cause of unity. Wrapping up the debate, B.R. Ambedkar, who headed the drafting committee of the Constitution, pointed out that the only province the civil law had not been able to invade so far was marriage and succession. “It is this little corner which we have not been able to invade so far.”

In the end, Article 35 was adopted, and it became Article 44 in the final form of the Constitution. It read: “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India.”

The UCC continues to be a contentious issue 75 years later, and the current debate is taking place against the backdrop of the process to enact the law for the first time. The BJP-ruled Uttarakhand is all set to become the first state since independence to enact it. (Goa has a version of the civil code that follows the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867.) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami tabled the UCC bill in the assembly on February 6 during a special session of the house. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public declaration of support for the UCC is an assertion of the political intent of the ruling dispensation to put in place a common set of family laws for all citizens.

The term Uniform Civil Code is understood to mean a common set of civil laws for all citizens. What is not common at present, and what is sought to be made common are family laws governing marriage, divorce, maintenance, adoption, succession and inheritance. The founding fathers of the Constitution had more than an inkling of the difficulty of the task, hence the decision to not place UCC under the Fundamental Rights section of the Constitution. They chose to keep it under the Directive Principles, which do not make it mandatory for the state to bring in the UCC, but endeavour to secure it for its citizens.

The prime minister has said that India cannot run with a system of separate laws for separate communities. He gave the allegory of a family, and asked how that household could function well if the family members were governed by different laws. “Tell me, if in one house, there is one law for one family member and another one for another family member, can that house function?” he asked.

But a counter-question is posed by experts who refer to the diversity in law-making in the country that has been given legal protection by the Constitution itself. Parliament and state assemblies are empowered to make laws. There are subjects on which only Parliament can legislate or subjects on which only the states can make laws, and there is a concurrent list of subjects on which both Parliament and states can frame laws. Then, there are areas under the fifth and sixth schedules of the Constitution (covering tribal areas in several states) where laws enacted by Parliament and the state assemblies can be stopped from being applied and customary laws have been given legal protection under the Constitution.

“Uniformity is not homogeneity. The Constitution respects the plurality of the country. It also acknowledges and protects the diversity of law-making in the country,” said M.P. Raju, Supreme Court advocate and an expert on the subject.

Besides the need for all citizens to be governed by the same set of laws, the government says it is necessary for maintaining unity. But such an exercise could end up creating fissures and encouraging disaffection among different communities, according to its critics. This concern was emphasised by the 21st Law Commission in its consultation paper on the UCC, which came out on August 31, 2018.

The view that the UCC means a common set of family laws getting enacted and abolishing the diverse laws is deeply concerning and even a fearsome idea for most communities. And there have been strong reactions, from the Muslims, who are the largest minority, to the tribal groups in different parts of the country who fear that their unique customary laws are endangered. In its response to the Law Commission, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has said, “Majoritarian morality must not supersede personal law, religious freedom and minority rights in the name of a code which remains an enigma.”

The Muslims, in particular, are viewing the UCC effort an attempt to evoke communally polarising sentiments ahead of the election season. “Why is the government insisting on the UCC? For the last 75 years, no government has been able to bring in the UCC for a reason. Nobody could even come up with a draft of the UCC,” said Saleem Engineer, vice president, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.

The difficulty of reconciling the differences that exist between the personal laws has to be taken into account. For example, in Hindu law, marriage is a holy union; for Christians, it is a sacrament; for Muslims, it is a contract; and for Parsis the registration of the marriage is the central element of the wedding ceremony. The Catholic church does not permit divorce for valid sacramental marriages, while the Parsis have a jury system to decide on divorce. But the jury sits only twice a year, and this has been challenged before the Supreme Court. Again, the personal laws of Muslims, Christians and Parsis do not allow adoption, but for different reasons that emerge from their religious beliefs. The norms for inheritance and succession are also different for the different communities.

The response to the UCC debate by the Parsi community―one of the most prosperous communities in the country, but also one of the smallest numerically―provides an insight into the difficulty of the task of framing a common code of laws for all communities. The Bombay Parsi Panchayat had formed a committee of community leaders and prominent Parsi lawyers to frame a response to the Law Commission’s invite for suggestions. A formal meeting of the committee was held, and a sizeable section, in fact, spoke in favour of total exemption of Parsis from the UCC.

“We are worried about protecting our traditions, our unique religious practice, culture and ethnic identity. We are an extremely small community. The concerns are especially with regard to two subjects―adoption and inheritance,” said Kersi K. Deboo, vice chairman, National Commission for Minorities. The reason why adoption is not allowed in Parsis is because conversion is not permitted; that is, a child belonging to another community cannot become a member of the community. There is a strong emphasis on maintaining the purity of Parsi blood. While adoption is not allowed, under the ‘Palak’ system, a widow of a childless Parsi can adopt a child on the fourth day of her husband’s death only for the purpose of performing religious ceremonies. With regard to inheritance, when a male Parsi dies, his parents also receive a share in the property, along with his widow and children.

According to a senior official at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, after a vigorous discussion, the CBCI informed the Law Commission that the UCC was not required at this stage, and that efforts should instead be made to remove errors and discrepancies in various personal laws, especially with regard to gender discrimination, without destroying them. The bishops were also worried about the norms governing marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption under the UCC.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, too, has rejected the proposal for the UCC, saying it threatens the identity of minorities. “Sikh identity and dignity and the Sikh code of conduct cannot be defined by worldly laws. It is derived from Gurbani, from the thoughts and teachings that are part of the Guru Granth Sahib,” said SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami. As of now, the only personal law that is exclusively Sikh is the Anand Karaj Act for registering Sikh marriages. With regard to other family laws, Sikhs are governed by Hindu laws.

Experts feel that there is a lot of traditional common sense in customary laws that could be sacrificed for the sake of UCC. For example, among the Garo and Khasi tribes of Meghalaya, the youngest daughter inherits the property. The reason for this is that elderly parents can rely upon their youngest daughter for care in their sunset years. Meanwhile, it is also being asked if a common set of laws will see the removal of coparcenary (joint heir) system of inheritance for Hindus, which is viewed as being discriminatory towards women, or the abolition of the Hindu Undivided Family norm.

With regard to the claim that one of the aims of bringing in the UCC is to provide gender justice, it is argued that reforms in individual laws could be carried out, as has happened in the past, rather than try and have an omnibus set of laws for the entire country. “The command of the Constitution is that if there are anti-women family laws, they are unconstitutional and will have to be removed or amended. That has been happening, through legislations and through judgments of the constitutional courts,” said Raju.

The previous Law Commission, too, had suggested a range of amendments to the existing family laws to deal with bias against women and also recommended codification of certain aspects of personal laws to limit ambiguity in interpretation and application of the laws.

The little corner, which Ambedkar said could not be invaded by common civil law, continues to be a tough terrain to conquer.

parliamentary-committee-on-law-and-justice-chairman-sushil-kumar-modi-interview

Fri Feb 09 15:44:07 IST 2024

Interview/ Sushil Kumar Modi, chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice

SUSHIL KUMAR MODI, the BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, says he is confident about the feasibility of bringing in the Uniform Civil Code. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Modi says there is misinformation about the UCC, and no logically thinking person can oppose it. As regards the focus on the Muslim society in the debate, he says not enough initiative has come from within the community to reform its personal laws. He, however, feels that the tribal communities should be kept out of the ambit of the UCC. Excerpts from the interview:

Q/ There is a huge debate going on about the UCC.

A/ The issue was debated in the Constituent Assembly, and it was decided that it should be included in the Directive Principles. The expectation was that the state would bring in the UCC in the near future. Even when the Hindu Code Bill was introduced, which was the biggest set of reforms in family laws for the biggest community in the country, there was opposition from within the society. There will be opposition to social reforms because the tendency is to maintain the status quo. Ambedkar had introduced the bill, but was not able to pass it in the face of strong opposition, and he resigned. The Hindu Mahasabha had opposed it. Before the Hindu Code Bill, polygamy was allowed among Hindus. The legislation made that unlawful. And it provided women with property rights. The changes could be brought about only after a struggle.

There is an argument that the reforms should be initiated within the community. In Muslim society, efforts towards reforms have been inadequate. I am talking about the Muslim community since it is the biggest among the minority communities. Christians and other communities are much smaller.

Q/ There are voices from minority communities that the UCC will impinge upon their freedom to practise religion.

A/ There is misinformation about the UCC. It will, of course, not have any impact on the rituals, like how marriages are solemnised. It will cover family laws. For example, whether polygamy should be banned for all, or, for divorce, can there be a common set of norms and procedures. Because, at present, there are differences with regard to laws governing divorce matters between religions, on maintenance and on norms guiding adoption and inheritance. I don’t think that if these laws are reformed and are made gender just, any logically thinking person can oppose it. If births and deaths are registered, why should there be a problem in registering a marriage? One can conduct a marriage in line with traditional rituals and customs and then get it registered as per law.

Q/ How do you view the opposition to the UCC from tribal communities, especially in the northeast?

A/ This is my personal view. The tribals in the northeastern states have been provided legal sanctity for their traditional laws under the sixth schedule of the Constitution. In these areas, there is vast diversity in customs and rituals and laws between the tribes. Some of them have a matriarchal system in place. In some areas, after marriage, it is the groom who shifts to the wife’s home. I personally feel that the tribal communities should be kept outside the ambit of the UCC and I will try to convince the party leadership about this.

national-commission-for-minorities-chairperson-iqbal-singh-lalpura-interview

Sat Feb 10 15:17:17 IST 2024

Interview/ Iqbal Singh Lalpura, chairperson, National Commission for Minorities

IQBAL SINGH LALPURA, chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, believes that the Uniform Civil Code will help make family laws more gender just and will also reduce litigation. In an interview with THE WEEK, he says that the fear about customs and rituals of various communities getting affected is misplaced. His opinion is that the UCC is not a new concept, but was placed in the Constitution under Article 44, and the constitutional courts have urged the government several times to enact the law.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q/ Can a diverse country like India have a UCC?

A/ I do not see any problem. Several countries have a common civil code for their citizens. I believe the UCC will be a good thing for the country. The leaders who drafted the Constitution also believed that it was desirable and that is the reason why it was included under Article 44. It will be beneficial for our country.

Q/ In what ways will the UCC be beneficial for the country?

A/ Uniformity in family laws is needed. I will cite an example. Suppose a Hindu man marries a second time without completing the divorce formalities simply by converting into Islam. Such a situation was dealt with in a case heard by Justice Kuldip Singh in the Supreme Court. This was the Sarla Mudgal vs Union of India case in which the court in its judgment in 1995 urged the government to have a fresh look at Article 44 of the Constitution and secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens. There have been other judgments, too, which have called for bringing in the UCC.

When it comes to solemnising marriage, everyone will continue to have the same freedom as before to follow their customs and rituals. That is not going to be affected. And when there will be uniform laws for divorce, adoption and inheritance, it will be helpful for society.

Q/ An important point made in defence of the UCC is that it will make the laws more gender equal.

A/ Naturally, that will be the main benefit of the UCC. It will help remove any injustice that exists in the framework of family laws with regard to women. Their interests and their rights will be protected.

Q/ Will it be practical to bring all communities within a common legal framework?

A/ Goa already has a common civil code. It is working well. The most important thing that has to be understood in this regard is that the UCC is not going to affect the normal life of a person. But it will certainly help in reducing litigation that happens as a result of family matters.

jharkhand-political-crisis-hemant-soren-land-scam-case

Fri Feb 09 15:37:45 IST 2024

HEMANT SOREN LOOKED every bit the son of the soil in a white kurta-pyjama and red ‘gamcha’ around his neck―a departure from the ‘smart casual’ western attire that he usually sports―as he arrived at the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha on February 5 to take part in the vote of confidence for the Champai Soren government. The proceedings were necessitated by Hemant’s resignation as chief minister just before his dramatic arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on the night of January 31 in connection with the alleged irregularities in a land purchase in Ranchi.

Still in ED custody, Hemant was at the centre of the discussion on the floor of the house. He made an emotive speech, playing up his tribal identity and dubbing the ED action as political vendetta by the ‘anti-tribal’ BJP. “If they feel that by putting me behind the bars they will succeed in their aim of finishing an adivasi leader or finishing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, they are mistaken,” he declared. “This is Jharkhand, which has fought for its rights and will not back down.” Champai Soren won the trust vote with 47 MLAs backing him.

Hemant, 48, wanted to project himself as a political martyr, and his speech reflected his concerns about an aggressive BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and the state election. His arrest poses an existential threat to his party, which was founded by his father, Shibu Soren. And the turn of events brings into focus yet again the wobbliness of Jharkhand politics.

Hemant was thrust into the thick of political action when his elder brother Durga Soren died in 2009. Durga, who had a rustic appeal like his father, was senior Soren’s original choice as his political successor. Hemant had an urban image and his partymen were sceptical about his political capability in his initial years. He but came into his own as an opposition leader during the tenure of Raghubar Das, who headed the first full-term government in the state.

Hemant’s vociferous espousal of tribal issues, especially his campaign against the Das regime’s attempts to amend laws to allow leasing of tribal land for non-agricultural purposes, strengthened his credentials. The people’s ire against the BJP installing Das, a non-tribal, as chief minister also helped Hemant come to power in 2019. The JMM has 30 members in the 81-seat assembly and is in an alliance with the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Left.

“The BJP has misused central investigating agencies to target opposition leaders,” said Rajesh Thakur, president, Jharkhand Congress. “It has destabilised governments in many states and it tried the same in Jharkhand. But we will not let them succeed.”

In its 24 years of existence, Jharkhand has had 12 chief ministers. President’s rule has been imposed three times. The first chief minister Babulal Marandi’s term was cut short when he resigned in 2003. Arjun Munda, who succeeded Marandi, had three incomplete terms in 2003, 2005 and 2010. Shibu Soren had three terms―in 2005, 2008 and 2009. It was in Jharkhand that for the first time an independent MLA―Madhu Koda in 2006―became chief minister.

The state’s leaders have also had a history of finding themselves on the wrong side of the law. Hemant is the third chief minister, after his father and Koda, to get arrested. The ED’s claim is that Hemant illegally acquired 12 adjacent land parcels of 8.5 acres in Ranchi. His defence is that the land comes under the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act and hence cannot be transferred. It is also claimed that the land was restored to its original owner on January 29.

“The government has fallen because of serious allegations of corruption against Hemant Soren,” said Rabindra Nath Mahato, leader of opposition in the assembly. “He is an adivasi leader. He is not a leader of adivasis. He should not form a connection between his wrongdoings and the entire adivasi community.”

With Hemant behind the bars, his party faces the threat of disintegration. Many senior leaders have left the JMM over the years, as the party became synonymous with the Soren family and Hemant gained prominence. Shibu Soren, 80, had an emotional connect with the people because of the movement he led for a separate Jharkhand state. That sentiment, however, has waned and he is much less politically active. It is felt that with Hemant in jail, the BJP and the Congress would look to make inroads into the JMM and its electoral turf.

The JMM hopes there will be public sympathy for Hemant, but it will be a challenge to mobilise partymen to capitalise on such sentiment because of the lack of control on the party. Also, the divide in the Soren family could get more pronounced in the changed circumstances. Durga’s wife Sita vehemently opposed Hemant’s plans to name his wife Kalpana as chief minister.

“Our focus is firmly on preparing for the Lok Sabha elections and then the assembly polls,” said JMM leader Vinod Pandey. “These developments will only damage the image of the BJP. The people are angry with the BJP, and the impact of the developments will be felt not only in Jharkhand but in tribal seats in other states, too.”

But the developments are worrying for the ruling alliance. The Lok Sabha polls are round the corner and the assembly elections are due at the end of the year. The JMM is the mainstay of the INDIA alliance in the state, and with the party staring at an uncertain future, the bloc’s electoral plans in the state are in disarray.

Scheduled tribes make around 26 per cent of Jharkhand’s population. The JMM has been seeing an erosion in its tribal support base while the BJP has been expanding its voter base, looking beyond upper castes by tying up with smaller parties like All Jharkhand Students Union. The BJP is expected to project Babulal Marandi, its state president, as its face in the assembly election in an effort to reach out to the tribal population.

west-asia-crisis-could-lead-to-global-political-and-economic-chaos

Sat Feb 03 15:02:03 IST 2024

For the most part, West Asia constantly presents an image of a volatile place. Even so, recent developments in the region have created shock and awe for resident and non-resident stakeholders alike, causing serious foreboding for global peace and order.

Hamas, the armed Palestinian group ruling Gaza, which is a part of occupied Palestine, unleashed a brutal attack on October 7, 2023 on an unprepared Israel, leaving 1,200 dead and thousands injured. Several hundred Israelis were taken hostage by Hamas, which enjoys Iranian support.

Israel’s disproportionate and relentless retaliation against Hamas has killed thousands of civilians, including women and children, in Gaza. The attacks have also led to a blockade in the delivery of food, medicine and other essential supplies. Armed non-state entities in the region with pro-Iranian labels, such as the Houthis in Yemen and the Hezbollah in Lebanon, along with Shia militias in Iraq, have joined Hamas in fighting Israel. Sea-based support offered by the Houthis has led to naval engagements in the Red Sea, disrupting shipments to and from Israel. The Jewish nation finds political, economic, diplomatic and military backing from the US and its allies.

Despite suffering heavy losses, the political will of the two sides to continue the fight remains unabated. Hamas has shown remarkable fighting spirit― possibly the result of long-term planning―and it has not yet faced any serious backlash from the people of Gaza.

The October 7 attacks have caused a serious dent in Israel’s image of invincibility, deepened its insecurities and heightened the search for a new paradigm for security that preempts any future threat from Hamas. Continued detention of Israeli hostages by Hamas has created political pressure on the Benjamin Netanyahu-led unity government. Efforts led by Egypt and Qatar for the release of the hostages have so far given only limited results. The enormous loss of Palestinian lives from Israel’s air and ground offensive and its refusal to allow humanitarian relief to the beleaguered Gazans have led to diplomatic setbacks for the country, including at the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.

The US-brokered Abraham accords that were to create a new Arab-Israeli equation now stays frozen at the take-off stage itself. Conversely, the Palestine question received global attention and sympathy with increased support for the two-state solution. Also, anti-semitism began to appear sporadically in several western capitals. The Israeli economy is suffering with its military reservists taken away for fighting and also with the exit of Palestinian workers. Tourism, too, has taken a hit. The Israeli GDP is expected to witness a steep fall.

Iran’s recent missile strikes on Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan and Idlib in northwest Syria, on alleged Israeli spy spots, signal Tehran’s new forward policy that is offensive-defensive in nature, not to speak of its recent naval deployment in the Red Sea. This might be a message to Hamas, the Houthis and the Hezbollah as much as to Israel that Iran is no longer a mere moral supporter, materials supplier and strategy adviser against Israel, that attacks against Iranian interests in the region would be replied to in kind and that Iran now is an active up front participant in the “axis of resistance” against Israel.

Interestingly, there is a subtext of cross-sectarian cooperation in the line-up against Israel. Hamas, an offspring of the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, received armed support from the Houthis, the Hezbollah and the Iraqi militias―all Shiite and proxies of the Shia power centre, Iran. Thus, now exists a militant Shiite arc from the eastern Mediterranean up to the Persian Gulf, championing the Palestinian cause and ready to confront Israel. Pan-Arab and pan-Islamic platforms, on the other hand, were content to just express outrage at Israel’s relentless bombing of Gaza. It is also worth noting that at the ICJ, hardly any Arab or Islamic country gave active support to South Africa’s case against Israel.

Iraq, meanwhile, has asked the US to withdraw its forces from its territory, following American retaliatory action against Iraqi Shiite militias who targeted US bases in Iraq and Syria for supporting Israel. In the event of American withdrawal, the Islamic State is likely to rear its ugly head again, drawing in Iran. It is likely to impact the fragile sectarian peace in Iraq and also affect the sensitive equations between the countries in the region.

Moreover, a geopolitical angle is seen behind the October 7 attacks. It was clear that a massive retaliation by Israel would have attendant consequences that include a halt by key Arab countries to the diplomatic engagement with Israel, coupled with a hold on the Abraham accords that aim to end the Israeli isolation in the Arab world.

Attacks attributed to Israel on Syria and Lebanon that killed Iranian, Hamas and Hezbollah leaders; Iran’s stepped-up activism; incremental support to Hamas from Russia, China and Turkey; Iraqi demand for withdrawal of US troops from its territory; Islamic State taking no active stance at this stage but waiting for the waters to be muddied further; the total absence of common ground between Israel and Hamas for a negotiated outcome and Shia non-state actors fighting Israel independent of their state patrons point to an explosive cocktail.

Facing multiple dilemmas and challenges, countries in the region do not want an escalation. One cannot, however, rule out the law of unintended consequences and black swan developments, which can lead to unforeseen outcomes. Non-state actors are calling the shots without green signal from their principals. Iran, for instance, said it had no prior knowledge of the October 7 attacks.

Iran also denied any association with the drone attack on January 28 in northeastern Jordan that killed three US soldiers. A pro-Iranian Shiite outfit has claimed responsibility. The key players would do well to remember that it was a just a bullet fired by the Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip at Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, which led to the events that precipitated World War I in 1914. The war incidentally shaped the present political geography of West Asia, thanks to an Anglo-French agreement in 1916 and the Balfour Declaration in 1917.

The author was India’s ambassador to Iraq and Jordan. He also served at the West Asia desk of the ministry of external affairs.

iranian-ambassador-to-india-iraj-elahi-interview

Sat Feb 03 15:00:24 IST 2024

Interview/ Iraj Elahi, Iranian ambassador to India

Iran is once again in the eye of a geopolitical storm after having decided to articulate a clear anti-US, anti-Israel position in the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Iraj Elahi, Iran’s ambassador to India, says Israel has consistently shown disregard for international law and a reluctance to accept solutions. He says Iran and India have the potential to enhance stability in West Asia through their collaborative efforts. Excerpts:

Conflicts have broken out all across West Asia and the possibility of a serious escalation is real. How does Iran see it?

The atrocities committed by the Zionist regime against innocent Palestinians are the fundamental cause of tension and instability in the region. So far, Iran has prioritised mobilising the international community to halt these atrocities in the occupied Palestinian territories and to bring an end to the ongoing genocide swiftly. We maintain that all nations should utilise every available measure, be it legal or political, to deter further violence by the Zionists. In line with this belief, Iran has exerted its utmost efforts to foster peace and stability in the region.

What is the Iranian position on the significance of the Palestinian question for permanent peace and stability in the region?

The Israeli regime has consistently shown disregard for international law and a reluctance to accept solutions such as the two-state proposal. We firmly believe that the only viable solution is to conduct a referendum, allowing the Palestinian people to determine their own destiny. Achieving peace and stability in West Asia is impossible without addressing the Palestinian issue. Any initiative that overlooks an inclusive and fair solution is not only destined to fail, but will also exacerbate the existing situation.

The recent bombings by Iran in Pakistan and Pakistan’s retaliation saw a clear violation of transnational boundaries and sovereignty.

The frequency of terrorist incidents in Iran has increased significantly in the recent months. Faced with no other option, Iran has had to resort to urgent preemptive measures. Nevertheless, Iran and Pakistan have consistently demonstrated exemplary cooperation in combating terrorist networks along their shared border. It is certain that we will soon reaffirm and restore our deep and enduring friendship.

India and Iran have shared warm ties, except for a brief period in recent years. Thankfully, the relationship is seemingly back on track.

I think evidence does not support this claim. The relations never ceased to develop, although unilateral sanctions by the United States impeded the full realisation of their potential. Notably, Iran successfully joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) when India hosted its annual summit. Furthermore, India played a pivotal role in facilitating Iran’s accession to the BRICS group. Both nations stand as key proponents of multilateralism, consistently offering mutual support within international institutions such as the United Nations.

India has begun avoiding the Red Sea stretch and is plying its ships around the Cape of Good Hope. What kind of expectations does Iran have from India on this issue?

According to statistics, the Yemen army tries to prevent ships serving the interests of the supporters of the Zionists, aiming to compel an end to the Gaza genocide. Iran and India, as primary pillars of maritime security in the Indian Ocean, have the potential to significantly enhance the region’s stability through collaborative efforts.

icj-verdict-in-the-gaza-crisis-raises-hope-says-former-diplomat-venu-rajamony

Sat Feb 03 14:58:50 IST 2024

On January 26, 2024, a 17-judge bench of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) indicated provisional measures in the case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, lighting a beacon of hope for an end to the war in Gaza.

The interim orders refrained from calling for an immediate ceasefire, much to the dismay of the people of Gaza and their supporters. However, it recognised that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza is at serious risk of deteriorating further and there is a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to the rights of the people of Gaza.

The ICJ in its provisional measures ordered Israel to:

1. Take all measures within its power to prevent the commission in Gaza of all acts tantamount to genocide, in particular: (a) killing (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm
(c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction, and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births.

2. Ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts described above.

3. Take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide.

4. Take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

5. Take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations.

6. Submit a report within one month detailing its compliance with the measures.

The main parties to the conflict were quick to react to the orders. President Mahmoud Abbas declared the ICJ’s decision a “historic victory” and a “landmark moment in the struggle for Palestinian freedom”. He urged the international community to pressure Israel to comply with the orders, highlighting the urgency of ending the “occupation and apartheid”. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa hailed the decision as “a decisive victory for international law and human rights”, affirming his country’s commitment to standing up for the oppressed. Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor stressed the “moral imperative” of holding Israel accountable, calling the measures a “significant step towards securing justice for the Palestinian people”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, called the decision “scandalous and detached from reality”, accusing the court of “blatant anti-semitism”. He vowed to “reject and defy” the orders, claiming they “undermine Israel’s right to self-defence”. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen echoed Netanyahu’s sentiments, calling the ruling “a dangerous precedent” and a “blatant attempt to delegitimise Israel”.

The ICJ, which represents all major regions and legal jurisdictions of the world, has been a strong supporter of victims of human rights violations. The court’s orders in this case follow precedents it set in the case filed in 2019 by the Gambia on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) against Myanmar over the Rohingya issue and the Kulbhushan Jhadav case filed by India in 2017 against Pakistan. In both these cases, the ICJ issued quick provisional measures to protect the victims. It is to the ICJ’s credit that it has emerged as a judicial body which can dispense quick justice in support of innocents.

The fact that countries continue to approach the ICJ over such matters and the accused countries appear before the court and defend themselves strengthens international law. It reflects the faith most nations have in the world court and the respect with which they view its decisions. However, international law remains weak when it comes to providing long-term and lasting solutions. Unfortunately, the ICJ’s orders in this case will not lead to an end to the war. Israel has already rejected the provisional measures. Moreover, the ICJ takes two or three years to deliver a final verdict.

Proving legal intent for genocide is difficult in international law. It would not suffice to merely point out the ongoing suffering and human cost. South Africa would need to convince the ICJ that Israel’s actions fall within the definition of genocide contained in the ‘Genocide Convention’―that they have been committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. The final verdict may not be in favour of the Palestinians.

The ICJ’s orders are binding as per international law, but the court does not have any enforcement machinery. The only institution which can take a country to task for disobeying the court’s orders is the UN Security Council. Sadly, the UNSC is dominated by its five permanent members who do not hesitate to use their veto power. Israel has been able to get away with impunity and has ignored similar verdicts in the past and repeated UN General Assembly resolutions because of the support of the United States.

The need of the hour is an immediate end to the killings and the horrendous devastation and destruction in Gaza. For this to happen, domestic and international opinion must force the Israeli government to change its current policy. It must be seen that Israel’s actions are counter-productive and will only lead to continued conflict, terrorism, regional instability and an embittered Palestinian population. The importance of the provisional measures indicated by the ICJ rests in the fact that it places on public record the court’s orders and views on the situation in Gaza. Hopefully, this independent and collective judicial opinion of the majority judges of the world court will result in mobilising international opinion, and in particular, the people in Israel and the US to convince the Israeli government to end hostilities and commence an immediate search for political solutions. The ICJ’s provisional measures provide a spark of hope. Translating it into lasting peace and a brighter future for Israelis and Palestinians alike will require continued and concerted efforts by the international community, a genuine commitment from Israel, and an unwavering resolve on the part of the Palestinians.

The author is professor of diplomatic practice, O.P. Jindal Global University. He was India’s ambassador to the Netherlands from 2017 to 2020, with responsibility for the ICJ.

will-nitish-kumar-s-exit-dent-india-bloc-plans-to-fight-the-bjp-in-lok-sabha-polls

Sat Feb 03 12:24:45 IST 2024

ON JUNE 23, 2023, when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hosted the first formal meeting of the apex leadership of opposition parties in Patna, the state capital was flooded with posters. One such poster put up near the venue of the meeting―Nitish’s official residence at 1 Anne Marg―declared, “Aagaaz Hua Hai, Badlav Hoga (A beginning has been made. It will usher in change).” The message was that the anti-BJP bloc would be an agent of change in the Lok Sabha elections.

Several months down the line, Nitish has, in the Congress’s description of his sensational U-turn, changed his colours yet again. At the June 2023 meet, Nitish was the anchor of the group of disparate parties. It is learnt that ever since he had broken away from the National Democratic Alliance in August 2022, he had been waiting to hear from the Congress leadership about going ahead with his plan of reaching out to other opposition parties, including the Congress’s rival parties. In April 2023, the process finally began, and Nitish travelled across the country to bring regional leaders on board to stage a joint fight against the BJP. He also put on the table the Nitish formula for 2024, which was to ensure that only one opposition candidate was fielded against the BJP in as many seats as possible.

Months later, it is this role that he had donned that makes his return to the NDA fold all the more astonishing and deals a big blow to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance ahead of the general elections.

For maximum effect, Nitish’s exit happened right when former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was about to enter Bihar as part of his ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, and the party planned to hold a rally to showcase opposition unity with representation from the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal at the event.

Bihar was among the states where the INDIA bloc had a pre-existing alliance. It had a formidable support base in the state, with the RJD and the JD(U) together accounting for a sizeable vote bank comprising the other backward castes, the most backward castes, dalits and minorities. It was felt that the Mahagathbandhan could succeed in bringing down the tally of the BJP in Bihar. The BJP had won 17 seats in an alliance with the JD(U), which had won 16 seats, in Bihar in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The immediate impact of Nitish’s exit on the INDIA alliance will be felt in Bihar, where it will now enter the Lok Sabha elections with a weakened support base, relying mainly on the RJD’s Muslim and Yadav vote bank. The BJP, along with Nitish and other NDA allies such as Upendra Kushwaha, Jitan Ram Manjhi and the Paswans, would now be looking to yet again sweep the state. The NDA had won 39 of 40 seats in 2019.

Nationally, Nitish’s exit comes as a huge problem of optics for the INDIA alliance. It is bound to be perceived as a situation where the person who attempted to bring the opposition together has lost confidence in the efficacy of the endeavour.

Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh, however, said that Nitish would be remembered for besmirching the image of Bihar politics. “The Congress and the INDIA alliance will take on the NDA aggressively in the state based on our strong commitment to social justice,” he said. “Nitish Kumar will end up as the biggest loser.”

The development questions the role of the Congress in ensuring that the INDIA alliance shapes up into a formidable opponent to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Nitish and his party have criticised the Congress’s failure to act on INDIA bloc matters such as the administrative structure of the alliance, the different roles to be given to the leaders of the constituent parties, and seat sharing.

It is another matter that Nitish is learnt to have felt sidelined in the INDIA bloc over the past several months. He had expected to be made the convener of the alliance, but his party now claims that the Congress dragged its feet on the matter and even conspired to get West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to propose Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the face of the alliance at its Delhi meeting in December. Banerjee had suggested that putting forth a dalit name for the prime minister’s post would give it a moral advantage over the BJP. Nitish and the JD(U) saw it as a message to him.

“The Congress wanted to capture the important positions in the alliance,” said JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi. “When it was decided in the [September 2023] Mumbai meeting that the alliance will have no prime ministerial candidate, why was the name of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge then proposed as the face of the alliance? The Congress put the alliance on the backburner during the assembly elections. It delayed seat sharing and there was no movement on getting a plan in place to counter the BJP.”

Having a seat-sharing arrangement that goes beyond the existing alliances has been a spot of bother for the Congress. Such an arrangement would have included tie-ups in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi. The less-than-friendly reception from the ruling Trinamool to the Congress’s yatra in West Bengal and Mamata’s declaration of going it alone in the Lok Sabha polls places in jeopardy the chances of putting up a joint fight against the BJP in the state. Punjab, too, is expected to see INDIA allies on both sides of the electoral divide. While Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s unilateral announcement on the day Nitish quit the alliance of keeping aside 11 seats for the Congress in Uttar Pradesh had the effect of providing some reassurance about the allies sticking together, it also put focus on the reduced bargaining power of the Congress. Talks have taken place with regard to sharing seats in Maharashtra and Delhi, but nothing is finalised yet.

Moreover, it is felt that a major factor in Nitish’s decision to go back to the NDA is the perceived impact of the Ram Mandir inauguration as an electoral issue. Majority of the MPs in the JD(U) camp gave the feedback to the party leadership that aligning with the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in the backdrop of the Ram Mandir opening would yield better results. This puts tremendous pressure on the opposition parties to come up with a narrative that is strong enough to counter the BJP’s Ram Mandir-centred hindutva campaign.

The developments in Bihar also bring into renewed discussion the opposition’s strategy to use the social justice plank as a counter to the BJP’s hindutva campaign. Nitish, under whose leadership a caste census was carried out in Bihar, is now in the NDA camp. Also, the BJP has tried to counter the questions with regard to caste census at the national level by according the Bharat Ratna to former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, who had implemented reservation for the backward castes in the state.

However, Rahul, through his speech at his yatra rally in Purnia, Bihar, made it clear that the demand for a nationwide caste census will be among the foremost talking points for his party and the INDIA alliance in the Lok Sabha elections. “We (Congress and RJD) put pressure on Nitish Kumar to conduct caste census in Bihar,” he said. “Nitish Kumar has made a U-turn because Modi and the BJP want to put a lid on the issue of caste census. The BJP gave Nitish Kumar an escape route from his social justice pledge.”

It will be an uphill task though for the INDIA bloc to recover from the Nitish jolt.

lok-sabha-mp-and-dmk-deputy-general-secretary-kanimozhi-karunanidhi-interview

Sat Feb 03 12:21:33 IST 2024

Interview/ Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Lok Sabha MP and deputy general secretary, DMK

Q/ What are your thoughts on Nitish Kumar quitting the INDIA bloc?

A/ It is very unfortunate because he was the leader who initiated the whole thing. We all expected that he would be the driving force in bringing us together. His exit from the alliance raises a lot of questions. But then we don’t know what were the circumstances behind his exit. Despite all these shortcomings, his idea of bringing us together has proved successful and we all are still together.

Q/ When the INDIA bloc’s first meeting happened in Patna, DMK chief M.K. Stalin had proposed a new formula for seat sharing. Do you think Nitish’s exit will make it difficult to implement?

A/ Yes, we proposed a formula. But I think we should have a common candidate among all the parties in the INDIA alliance. We should work towards it. The differences can be ironed out. I am sure that there is nothing that we cannot work out. It will be good if we can work out a formula and give space to parties that are regionally strong in the states.

Q/ Now that Nitish has gone, how do you think you can keep the flock together? There have been talks about Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee expressing displeasure and then there is the pressure from Central agencies against AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.

A/ Yes, there is a lot of pressure. There are challenges, of course. But one thing everyone realises is that they are all experienced leaders. Nothing is going to change by moving out; things might change if we all stay together.

samajwadi-party-mp-javed-ali-khan-interview

Sat Feb 03 12:18:57 IST 2024

Interview/ Javed Ali Khan, Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP and member of INDIA coordination committee

Q/ There is a perception that the INDIA alliance is dragging its feet over seat sharing.

A/ Has the NDA finalised its seat sharing? There are no reports about NDA constituents having finalised their seat sharing arrangement. It is not right to say that the INDIA parties are delaying seat sharing. Talks are on and soon a clear picture will emerge. The Samajwadi Party has released its first list of candidates, and seat adjustment with allies is on course.

Q/ Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav declared that 11 seats are being kept aside for the Congress. But the Congress says the talks are still on.

A/ If you look at the tweet of Akhilesh Yadav, it does not say that the figure of 11 seats is full and final. If the Congress is able to present a winning candidate for any more seats, that can be discussed.

Q/ What is the impact of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s exit from the alliance, considering he was its chief architect?

A/ It is true that Nitish Kumar was among the leaders who put together the alliance. The manner in which he has done this U-turn has hurt his credibility. He will end up as the biggest loser. INDIA alliance is intact and strong. The BJP faces the INDIA challenge not just in Bihar but in other states, too. If the BJP was so confident of winning Bihar, why did it get Nitish Kumar on board after having declared that all doors are closed for him? So INDIA is a challenge for the BJP, and it is not limited to Bihar. And, in Bihar, the INDIA alliance led by the RJD will give the BJP a tough fight.

Q/ Will this hit the social justice plank of the INDIA alliance?

A/ All INDIA partners are committed to social justice. The Congress, which had different views on caste census in the past, is now at the forefront of demanding a nationwide caste census. Nitish Kumar and the NDA have a lot of answering to do about where they stand on the issue of caste census. Nitish Kumar has joined hands with the BJP, which is opposed to caste census.

Q/ How will your alliance counter the BJP’s narrative on Ram Temple?

A/ If the Ram Temple issue was so potent, why did the BJP eat its own words and bring back Nitish Kumar into the NDA fold? This shows that the BJP realises that the inauguration of the Ram Temple cannot be used by them as an election issue beyond a point.

Q/ Will the SP take part in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra?

A/ It is a programme of the Congress party. It would have been better if a joint programme of all INDIA parties were planned. However, it is a good yatra and we wish it well. As far as joining the yatra is concerned, there is still some time before it enters Uttar Pradesh, and a decision will be taken as regards our leaders taking part in it.

union-minister-of-earth-sciences-kiren-rijiju-interview

Sat Feb 03 14:47:20 IST 2024

Interview/ Kiren Rijiju, Union minister of earth sciences

The Ram Temple in Ayodhya is being marked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet as a reclamation of India’s rightful civilisational authority. Union Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju told THE WEEK in an exclusive interview that the construction of the temple was the perfect example of establishing the country’s civilisational heritage by following all the principles enshrined in the Constitution. He added that Hindu awakening was extremely important for India’s global embrace. Excerpts:

Q \ How do you view the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya?

A \ Lord Shri Ram is a symbol of India’s heritage and civilisation. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself says, [the temple] marks a new chapter in India’s history. It represents India’s civilisational history, which in many ways is a fulfilment of the expectations of the entire nation. The construction of the Ram Temple reclaims India’s rightful civilisational authority and inspires India’s growing position in world affairs.

Q \ The opposition alleges that it creates a divide between Hindus and other religious communities.

A \ The allegation is political in nature. Indians rejected it by joining the pran pratishthan whether in India or abroad. Every Indian feels that this is not an event for Hindus alone and that they are all part of it. It is a positive development coming after more than thousand years of occupation by foreign powers.

Q \ Do you see India becoming a Hindu state without changing the Constitution?

A \ India is a democracy, governed and guided by its Constitution. The construction of the Ram Temple is a perfect example of establishing the country’s civilisational heritage by following all the principles of the Constitution. Hindu awakening is extremely important for India’s global embrace. Hinduism or hindutva never tends to dominate other people. It is based on the principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, which means the whole world is one family.

India being a Hindu majority nation is based on the Hindu philosophy, which is non-discriminatory and non-expansionist. It is all-embracing since it is built on inclusivity. For example, I am not a Hindu by definition. I am a Buddhist, but it is because of this very inclusive nature that everybody feels comfortable under the present system we have in India.

Q \ Will the Ram Temple become the seat of Hinduism?

A \ Symbolically, the Ram Temple is not confined to one location or one belief system. Hindus don’t convert other people so the religion is not a threat to anyone. Rather, it joins everyone.

Q \ As a Buddhist, how did you mark the occasion?

A \ I was with people in my constituency in Arunachal Pradesh. The best part of the event was that people from all religious groups―Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, the tribals and those who believe in the indigenous faith―were part of the grand celebration. This is what made the event unique. The consecration ceremony has once again brought the country together.

Q \ How do you see Hinduism percolating down to governance and policy-making if the BJP retains power?

A \ Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s philosophy of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ in his governance model is already known to all. The world is accepting his ideas and thought process which is in the interest of the global community. It is not a parochial approach. Whatever the prime minister does is for the good of India as well as for humanity. That is why there is no need to examine whether there will be a change because the same leader will continue with the same thought and style of functioning. Today, India occupies a central position in the comity of nations. Whether it is the leaders of the western countries or the global south, everybody has accepted that Modi’s approach is the right way forward.

Swami Vivekananda said that the 21st century would be India’s century and we are witnessing it happening. It is in this light that the consecration of the Ram Temple has been accepted by all communities, demonstrating that the time has come for India to lead the world.

Q \ The Ram Lalla idol combines the religious sentiments of south India and north India. Was there a considered thought behind it?

A \ Lord Ram belongs to all. However, an interesting fact is that all the ancient temples, grand structures and other symbols of Hinduism are located in south India. During the thousand years of foreign invasion, all important and precious structures were demolished in north India. But the invaders could not reach south India, which proved to be a blessing as all beautiful temples and symbols are standing tall there.

Q \ What about the frenzy and acts of jingoism among your cadres over the issue of the Ram Temple?

A \ The happiness and the excitement for the temple is there everywhere, not only within the BJP. I have interacted with political leaders of different parties and everybody is equally excited, except Rahul Gandhi and some communist leaders who deliberately try to portray it as a political event. Even many leaders from the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress and other political parties have spoken in a unified tone and supported the consecration. The only problem is that they cannot speak openly. If any leader of the Congress says he is proud of the Ram Temple, he will be punished by the family-run party.

modi-has-sought-to-combine-parliament-and-ram-mandir

Sat Jan 27 12:18:30 IST 2024

The black stone idol of five-year-old Ram, with its benign smile and innocence, has given millions of Hindus an enduring image of their beloved god. The consecration of the idol at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 was a defining moment in the history of India.

The political leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has combined the spiritual with the temporal, and Ram’s vision with the nation’s future. Held in the presence of invited elite as well as Hindu saints and temple construction workers, the consecration of the idol was seen as a celebration of India’s religious and cultural identity, with Modi saying that Ram’s homecoming was a break from 1,000 years of slavery, a reference to Mughal and British rule.

With helicopters showering petals on the audience, the scene was similar to Republic Day parades where the country’s military might is displayed along with symbols of its economic and social prowess.

While the prime minister focused on Ayodhya, BJP ministers and senior leaders fanned across the country to participate in events that presented the consecration as a national festival. If Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech on the eve of India’s independence gave vision to a fledgling nation, Modi’s Ram Mandir address offered a different vision. “This temple is not just a mere shrine; it is the manifestation of Bharat’s vision, philosophy and insight,” he said. “It is a temple of national consciousness in the form of Lord Ram. Ram is the faith of Bharat; Ram is the foundation of Bharat. Ram is the thought of Bharat; Ram is the constitution of Bharat. Ram is the consciousness of Bharat.”

With the consecration ceremony, not only has Modi established the Hindu identity of the country, he has done so without tinkering with the Constitution. Notably, he is known to have prostrated at only two places―Parliament and the Ram Mandir. In politics, he has sought to combine them.

With the consecration, he has cemented his legacy as a strong leader who delivers and is not shy of wearing his religion on his sleeve. India’s political history can be seen through the journeys of it prime ministers, and Modi has carved a distinct identity for himself. “Prime Minister Modi is leading a project of civilisational resurrection,” said BJP MP Rakesh Sinha. “Earlier, the Ram Temple was seen as polemics between Hindus and Muslims, but this was a cultural leap forward. He addressed the civilisational continuity of India and defined Ram, who is inclusive and transcends time and geographical limits.”

In Hindu tradition, Ram is not seen as a giver god to whom people go with their aspirations; instead, he sought betterment of society and idealism. Modi’s definition of Ram centres on imagining India’s culture through spiritual beliefs. He went where no other prime minister has gone before without fear of reprisal from the political class and diverse communities.

“In this regard, Prime Minister Modi’s action is unapologetic,” said Sinha. “That is where Nehru and Modi differ.” In 1951, he said, Nehru wrote to chief ministers that the western world intensely disliked what communal organisations were doing on the issue of the Somnath Temple. “Modi, however, goes by the likes and the dislikes of the Indian people,” he said. “Both are unapologetic in their approaches.”

But unlike the Somnath Temple restoration, where the issue was confined to the Hindu cultural and political elite, the Ram Mandir movement was taken forward by common people. Sinha, also an RSS ideologue, compared Modi to past rulers like Vikramaditya and Ahilya Bai Holkar who had worked for religious causes. “He is a raja of India. Though raja is not a term used in democracy, it is an appropriate term for those who work selflessly and consciously for the welfare of people. We are a spiritual democracy,” said Sinha.

The Congress apparently did not agree. It refused to participate in the ceremony that Rahul Gandhi described as a “Narendra Modi event and political function”. The Congress leader is currently on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra focused on social justice promises.

The mass celebrations anchored by the BJP and the RSS, across the country and in temples abroad, have left opposition parties searching for an appropriate response. Their challenge is to find a way to counter the BJP’s messaging ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May.

With the election campaign set to begin soon, the BJP leadership would go after the Congress for refusing to participate in the event. To minimise the damage, INDIA bloc leaders might visit Ayodhya soon. Interestingly, the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, where 98 per cent of the population is Hindu, joined in the celebrations and declared a full-day holiday on January 22. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu even promised to build an imposing Ram idol in Shimla.

While the BJP is likely to reap the electoral benefits of the Ram Mandir in the Hindi heartland, Modi had also visited temples in the south to strengthen the Hindu sentiment. How this translates into votes in a traditionally BJP-averse region, except Karnataka, remains to be seen.

Moreover, in an answer to the opposition’s focus on social justice, the Modi government announced a Bharat Ratna for former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, who is often hailed as a messiah of OBC politics and social justice.

And as for any potential anti-incumbency effect against local MPs, the BJP hopes that the temple would override it. “We will win the elections,” said BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal. “People will support us. The temple is not an election issue for us. It was a matter of civilisation. We will go to people with the work the government has done.”

Reacting to charges that the BJP politicised the temple ceremony, he said, “The opposition may continue to call it political, but people have answered them as they celebrated it. If political parties do not have a connect with the people, how will they survive?”

The 2024 elections will show what indeed connects with the people.

is-lakshadweep-india-s-answer-to-the-maldives

Fri Jan 19 16:15:27 IST 2024

In 2019, a genetic study on the population of the Lakshadweep islands was published in the peer-reviewed Scientific Reports. The findings indicated that the inhabitants of this 36-island archipelago share close genetic ties with people in the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India. Moreover, the researchers discovered a notable ‘founder effect’ in both paternal and maternal lineages of the islanders, which means that the population had limited genetic mixing. This suggested that they are their own people, and have for hundreds of years inhabited the islands and formed a bond with their land.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep―and the ensuing controversy triggered by derogatory remarks by some Maldivian officials―a widespread campaign urged Indians to ditch the Maldives and head to Lakshadweep.

The initial enthusiasm, however, faded as the people got a reality check; there are few places to stay on the archipelago and the ecosystem is not built for a massive influx of tourists.

The islanders were measured in their response to the massive attention and the big talk of development. In fact, many of them are now gearing up for legal battles to counter any efforts that would ride roughshod over their rights in the name of tourism and development.

An island of woes

Najmudheen C.T., 47, a mukhtar (local law practitioner) hailing from Kalpeni―287km from Kochi, and home to rare flora and fauna―said he could not bring his infant’s body back to the island when he died of a medical complication at a private hospital in Kochi in 2018. The boy had an infection and was airlifted to the mainland. “This is not my fate alone. It is the fate of every ordinary person in Lakshadweep,” he added. “For every serious medical case, we still have to go to Kochi in an air ambulance. The air ambulances―operated by the port department, not the health department―do not fly after 6pm. With only three or four helicopters for the entire population (around 68,000), the opportunity to fly is determined more by a patient’s influence than their medical condition.”

The move to Kochi becomes necessary because Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kavaratti, the only major hospital on the islands, is understaffed and ill-equipped to handle complicated cases.

Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal Padippura told THE WEEK that though he was happy that there was a lot of attention on Lakshadweep, there was a lot the administration had to do. “Connectivity is the biggest part,” he said. “If you look for air connectivity, we have only one flight a day. Both tourists and islanders have to depend on the same flight.”

Agatti―an inhabited island 459km from Kochi where fishing, coir and copra are the main industries―has the only airstrip of the archipelago. While Maldives receives direct flights from 40 capitals, Alliance Air operates a solitary 72-seater aircraft between Kochi and Agatti every day. Post Modi’s visit, when THE WEEK last checked, no seats were available till the end of March.

Fuel, said Najmudheen, was also a problem in most of the islands. “Only four islands―Kavaratti, Minicoy, Kalpeni and Andrott―have fuel pumps; everywhere else, fuel is brought in barrels and is sold at exorbitant rates,” he said. “We pay more than Rs250 for a litre of petrol here. You need to be influential to get fuel also! We need to show our RC book to get it.”

Ship connectivity to the mainland is another nightmare. “Though we have five ships, two will be under maintenance at any point of time,” said Faizal. “So, how do we connect with tourists?” The ships take three to five days to make a round trip.

In the Maldives, there are reportedly 59,924 tourist beds. Faizal said this number was close to 100 for Lakshadweep. “So, we are not in a position to accept the demand we have now,” he said. And even if someone wanted to come and build hotels and resorts, he added, the administration would have to take the people of Lakshadweep into confidence. And that hurdle is linked to land acquisition and compensation, and related legal fights.

Happy, not happy!

During his recent visit, Modi laid the foundation stone for a series of development projects worth Rs1,156 crore, including a submarine optical fibre cable connecting Kochi and Lakshadweep, the renovation of the primary health care facility at Kalpeni and the construction of model anganwadi centres. The prime minister announced these projects in the presence of both the Administrator Praful Khoda Patel and MP Faizal, who are not on the same page about development plans.

One of the contentious issues they are divided on is the use of ‘pandaram land’ to execute the development plans. The administration is apparently, contrary to convention, trying to acquire pandaram land from the islanders without compensating them for the land value.

Misbah A., a former member of the Union home ministry’s advisory committee for the archipelago, said the islanders were not against development and tourism. “But what is the problem in making us stakeholders and partners in these developments?” he asked, adding that the administration’s recent moves were directed at grabbing land from the islanders. “In Lakshadweep, 100 per cent of the land is owned by islanders, except for those that the government has acquired by paying compensation,” he said. Pandaram land, he said, was created when the islands were under attack from Portuguese colonisers. The Arakkal [Cannanore] kingdom―to which the islands belonged―appropriated uninhabited land on the periphery of the islands to protect local residents. Later, under British rule, islanders were allowed to occupy pandaram land as cultivating tenants.

“On this land, people were not only allowed to farm, but also to build houses,” said Misbah. And many did, given the rise in population over the years. Pandaram land on uninhabited islands have been farmed seasonally for more than a century now. “Approximately 49.5 per cent of the total land holdings of islanders [in Minicoy, Kalpeni, Andrott, Kavaratti and Agatti, and the attached uninhabited islands] are pandaram land,” said lawyer P. Deepak, who is currently representing the islanders in the Kerala High Court.

In 1965, the Union government had introduced the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands Land Revenue and Tenancy Regulation, 1965. “Section 83 of this regulation empowered the administrator to confer occupancy rights to the occupants of the pandaram land,” said Misbah. “All those who occupied pandaram land before this regulation were considered legal occupiers. But now, the current administrator is taking steps to take over land without giving us any compensation.”

A lot of the land, however, was not regularised according to the 1965 regulation, perhaps because of red tape. But administrators in Lakshadweep, traditionally, have given compensation while acquiring pandaram land, said Deepak. That is, until the current administrator showed up. Praful Khoda Patel is the first non-bureaucrat administrator in Lakshadweep’s history. Since assuming control in 2020, he has made a series of controversial decisions, sparking mass protests in the islands in 2021. These decisions―including the introduction of an Act that allowed the administration to detain a person for up to one year without trial, the banning of cow slaughter on the archipelago, and the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, which apparently grants arbitrary powers to the administrator to acquire land―are awaiting the Union home ministry’s approval. With the recent moves to acquire pandaram land, Patel’s administration is adopting a confrontational stand against the islanders.

“In June 2023, a Kerala High Court single bench made an observation (in a civil case) that said that the administration possesses the proprietary right to pandaram land,” said Deepak. “The court outlined that those lacking occupancy rights were not entitled to the land’s value but only to the value of improvements (crops or buildings they might have grown or built on the land).

“The administration started using this as a basis to initiate steps for land takeover. Though not explicitly citing the judgment, they began identifying all pandaram landholders. The collector issued orders, declaring that, for reasons such as high-end tourism or other developmental activities, the administration was assuming control of the land.”

B. Abdul Jaleel, a former sub-divisional officer from Agatti, said that in 1971, H.S. Dubey, then deputy secretary to the Government of India, wrote a letter to the Lakshadweep administrator regarding the acquisition of land for government purposes. THE WEEK accessed the letter, which said: “As regards pandaram land in the occupation of ex-cowleders (pandaram landholders) whose cowles have expired, but have been conferred with occupancy rights under Section 83 of the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands Land Revenue and Tenancy Regulation, 1965, their rights as occupants would have to be recognized, and they would have to be paid compensation for the acquisition of their land under the Land Acquisition Act.”

However, in the wake of the Kerala High Court’s observation and an amendment to the 1965 regulation in October 2023―which removed a clause favouring pandaram land holders that a 2020 amendment had put in―the administration instructed deputy collectors to assess the value of ‘improvements’ on these properties for the “sanctioning of compensation”. “They have been explicitly telling the people that they are entitled only to a modest sum allocated for the number of coconut trees and other improvements, not for the value of the land,” said Deepak. “This prompted islanders to start filing writ petitions. We have filed nearly 200 petitions so far. Now we are progressing with cases, bringing together all those affected from one specific area under a single writ.”

The islanders have secured a stay from dispossession and are preparing for a protracted legal battle. Activists like Misbah alleged that the administrator was deliberately taking steps to harass the islanders.

“For instance, there was a proposal to establish a military and civil airport in the northern part of Minicoy, and we were ready for that,” he said. “But now the administrator has asked to move the location to south pandaram land―a measure that would displace and affect more people.”

An official from the administration, who did not want to be named, told THE WEEK that an airport in south pandaram land would have a more significant social impact. “In contrast to the northern strip of Minicoy [which is largely barren], south pandaram is broader, rich in flora, and houses a historic lighthouse [established in 1885]. I do not believe an airport will be built there.”

THE WEEK tried to contact the secretary and director of port shipping and aviation in Lakshadweep, but they are yet to respond to specific questions.

Faizal said he had expected Modi to speak on the land acquisition issue when he visited Lakshadweep. “This is an issue that has to be settled by speaking to the people. Their rights have to be protected,” he said.

Interestingly, former BJP Lakshadweep president, C. Abdul Khader Haji, said the administrator had assured him that the value of land will be compensated when the government takes over pandaram land. His family also holds pandaram land. THE WEEK contacted the administrator’s office for an interview, but he is yet to give an appointment.

“When the administrator is taking a stand that this land does not belong to people, things go in a different direction,” said Faizal. “Unless and until this is sorted, how will the investors come to Lakshadweep to invest in tourism?”

lakshadweep-nationalist-congress-party-mp-mohammed-faizal-padippura-interview

Fri Jan 19 15:58:14 IST 2024

Interview/ Mohammed Faizal Padippura, MP, Nationalist Congress Party, Lakshadweep

It seems the administration plans to bring high-end tourism by taking over pandaram land in Lakshadweep.

Uninhabited islands like Bangaram and Thinnakara are at the focal [point] for tourism [development]. All these tourism-focused islands are pandaram land. In all these islands, [the administration] has issued a notice [saying that the government owns the land]. The people have gone to court and [obtained a] stay. Under these circumstances, how is a private entrepreneur expected to come and invest here? We were expecting the prime minister to [talk about this] in his speech. But he was silent on that. No one is against tourism development here. We all consented to form a consortium [for tourism development]. [The islanders are] ready to share the profit and the loss of [tourism projects]. We want a PPP model of tourism. But now the entire thing is going in a different angle. Now, the administrator says that this land does not belong to the people.

Pandaram land is not just on uninhabited islands. The administration has plans to build a new airport on south pandaram land of inhabited Minicoy.

This will be an issue everywhere. Lakshadweep has been in existence for centuries. All these long years, people were living here. All those who have ruled us―Arakkal dynasty or Britishers―have tried to exploit us. They tried to grab our land. [But a] lot of pandaram land has also been acquired by the government of India [with] compensation paid. The home ministry has made a lot of clearances on that.

Can you cite some examples?

Almost all the buildings and offices in Kavaratti stand on pandaram land. In all these, there was absolutely no dispute till Mr [Praful Khoda] Patel (the administrator) reached here. He comes and says that this is government land. How will the people accept this? Only if we solve this dispute can we compete with Maldives.

Regarding the new airport in Minicoy, there has been a change in the construction plan. Initially, the airport was proposed for the northern strip of the island, but now, it has been moved to the southern strip.

The only area where local people have some vegetation is the south pandaram area. The northern strip has no vegetation; it is barren land and not much of the people’s land is included in that area. But now, the plan for the airport has deliberately been shifted. In south pandaram, when these surveys were being done, the land owners were not informed.

So, the administrator does not discuss these matters with you, the MP of Lakshadweep?

No. Nothing is discussed.

In the Union budget for 2023-24, Lakshadweep was allocated Rs1,394.75 crore.

Rs1,300 crore to Rs1,600 crore is the annual outlay we are getting. Nearly 50 per cent of that amount [now goes] unutilised and is being surrendered back to the government of India.

Why is that happening?

To have some projects, to have some buildings constructed, this [pandaram] is the land he is taking. But for that, he is not paying any compensation. He treats this land as [if] it belongs to the government.

Since this administrator assumed office, he has announced numerous mega projects.

We have been hearing that from 2021 onwards. But he is not at all aware of the environment and ecological aspects of Lakshadweep. Unless you know the environment that is suitable for a project, you cannot implement it here. For instance, if you [want to build] three-lane roads, the islands will be left with only roads, no houses. People should not be affected. No demolition should happen. You may allot Rs2,000 crore for roads, Rs4,000 crore for an airport, Rs4,000 crore for Sagar Mala (Central government project). These are all things that [will remain] on paper only.

For the projects announced, consultancy companies are coming and doing a lot of work.

And then these projects may not be considered. A lot of money has been paid for consultancy. But on the ground, nothing has happened in these three years.

So these consultancies are being paid from the Rs1,300 crore that is being allocated?

Obviously.

bharat-jodo-nyay-yatra-rahul-gandhi-congress-goals-and-challenges

Fri Jan 19 15:54:50 IST 2024

Sunita, dressed in a gorgeous Manipuri silk phanek, was part of a group of women outside the Khongjom war memorial in Thoubal, around 45 minutes out of Imphal. With a toothy, paan-stained smile, the 47-year-old said she had come to present a traditional Manipuri scarf to Rahul Gandhi. The Congress leader was running late as his flight from Delhi got delayed because of fog. Eventually, he did arrive, and began his east-to-west Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from the war memorial on January 14. Sunita, a Meitei who came from Imphal, was happy Rahul was back in Manipur. She recalled his visit last June, when the state was torn by ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and the Kukis.

“We truly love and respect Rahul Gandhi for coming to Manipur and sharing our pain. At least he has tried to provide a healing touch,” she said. “Life is not the same anymore. There is an atmosphere of fear and mistrust. We are not even celebrating our festivals the way we used to.”

Above the Imphal valley, in the hilly district of Senapati, 60-year-old Eben Haokip walked from her village to the market square to listen to Rahul. The vegetable seller did not understand what he said, but had faith he meant well and had come with a message of peace. Among the cheers for Rahul were also slogans demanding a separate administration for the region where Kukis live.

Rahul’s yatra, a sequel to the Bharat Jodo Yatra, started with him holding meetings with both Meitei and Kuki representatives, assuring them that the Manipur issue would be taken up in Delhi.

“Manipur was chosen because it would be a reflection of our concern for what has happened in the state in the past eight months,” said Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications.

In his yatra 2.0, Rahul will cover more than 6,000km, by bus and on foot, and will end it on March 20 in Mumbai. Speaking at the launch of the yatra, he said what Manipur had gone through in recent times was symbolic of the divisive policies of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He also spoke of the pain of losing near and dear ones, and reminded people that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not visited Manipur since the violence broke out.

The effort was to project the Modi regime as an unfeeling government and the Congress and its leader as capable of empathising with the people. With this, Rahul set the tone of the yatra, which after Manipur would head to Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Assam.

The party wants to focus on “social, political and economic injustice” that it claims people have suffered in the past ten years of the BJP rule. Part of the mix would be topics such as unemployment, price rise, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, and the alleged takeover of institutions that safeguard democratic processes and people’s constitutional rights. Rahul said the Congress would, through the yatra, put on the table an alternative vision to the “divisive, unjust and authoritarian” policies of the Modi government.

The big challenge for the party, though, is to present a vision that effectively counters the BJP’s shrill hindutva narrative that has been boosted by the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya.

Rather than the image-redeeming exercise that the earlier cross-country journey was, the sequel is bound to be dominated by poll talk as it comes close to the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress, however, insists it is not an electoral yatra, but a political and an ideological one. “The yatra is about the injustice that common people are facing in different ways,” said Kanhaiya Kumar, AICC in-charge of the National Students’ Union of India. “Please do not connect it with elections. We are a political party, so it is natural that we will carry out political activities. But politics is not just about elections.”

However, manifesto consultations will be part of the yatra―the Congress wants to know from different sections of society about what to put in the manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. The first such consultation is expected to be held in Guwahati on January 23; another one is planned for Ranchi around February 6.

Also, as the yatra gets into states such as West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, the focus will be on the Congress’s dynamics with its INDIA allies, especially regarding the sharing of seats. Already, seat-sharing talks have lost the Congress Milind Deora, one of the members of team Rahul, who moved to the Shiv Sena (Shinde). The reason for the exit is believed to have been the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) holding a rally in Mumbai South, a constituency Deora covets. Uddhav’s man Arvind Sawant is the sitting MP there. The Congress leadership in both the state and at the Centre could not help Deora much as he has lost twice from the seat.

The Congress will feel the impact of the resignation in Mumbai; there is a strong Deora faction in the Mumbai Congress. Also, Deora, like his father Murli, has been a fundraiser for the Congress because of his excellent relations with industry barons.

The Janata Dal (United), a partner in the INDIA bloc, had already said that it would have been better for the Congress to plan joint alliance programmes rather than launch the yatra so close to the elections.

Moreover, the yatra has come in for some introspection within the Congress―it is felt that it is not proving to be as impactful as the first one. To begin with, there is no novelty factor of Rahul on a yatra. Also, the initial analysis is that him sitting in a customised bus, taking the elevator to the roof and addressing people from there, and on occasion getting down and walking with them, does not have the same impact as him walking non-stop with people joining in.

However, at his first news conference during the yatra, Rahul did say that he expected to walk more as the yatra entered populous states such as Assam and West Bengal.

“It was a completely different experience in the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” said a young Congress leader who walked with Rahul in Maharashtra. “The sentiment, the level of enthusiasm was something else. Here, the connection with people is more limited. You are in the bus most of the time.”

―With inputs from Dnyanesh Jathar

how-andhra-polls-will-be-centred-on-ntr-and-ysr-clans

Sat Jan 13 12:48:30 IST 2024

FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS of his uncle―Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy―Raja Reddy is also getting married at 24, next month. Before starting the preparations for the wedding, his mother, Y.S. Sharmila, went to the family’s farmhouse in Idupulapaya, near Kadapa, to pray at YSR ghat―her father, former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was buried there. The YSR Telangana Party president flew from Hyderabad in a special aircraft owned by BJP Rajya Sabha member C.M. Ramesh, who is known to be close to Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu. Sharmila paid respects to her father, a staunch Congressman, and then took the same flight to Vijayawada to invite her brother and YSR Congress president Jagan to the wedding.

This is a brief summary of how politics and families are intertwined in Andhra Pradesh, where party lines have blurred and the power dynamics of two clans―YSR and N.T. Rama Rao―have taken over ahead of assembly elections, due in May.

With Sharmila now merging her party with the Congress, all the important political outfits in the state are under the control of the two families. The TDP and the YSR Congress, the major regional parties, are headed by NTR’s son-in-law Naidu and YSR’s son Jagan, respectively. The two national parties, too, are tied to the families. The BJP’s state president is NTR’s daughter Daggubati Purandeswari and the Congress’s new hope is Sharmila.

Sharmila had parted ways with Jagan in 2021; she was unhappy that she did not get a bigger role in the YSR Congress and that the party did not have a presence in Telangana. Her party, however, failed to take off despite her attempts to emulate her father’s padyatra. Sources close to her said that with party funds drying up fast and no known political faces joining her, she had been thinking of an honourable exit. That is when the Congress entered the picture.

The YSR family and the Congress have had a love-hate relationship. When Rajasekhara Reddy, as opposition leader in 2003, wanted to embark on a padyatra, the Congress high command was reluctant to let him do so. However, the party also chose him to be chief minister twice. After he died in a helicopter crash in 2009, Jagan was denied permission to tour the state―he left and launched his YSR Congress in 2011. He was later jailed on corruption charges by agencies under the Congress government at the Centre, which was widely seen as a vengeful act.

But now, the Congress has accepted a YSR scion with open arms. “We were received well by the top leaders of the Congress, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and they assured us of all the support,” said P. Ram Reddy, a close political associate of Sharmila who was in Delhi during the merger.

All this while, Sharmila had never ventured into Andhra Pradesh; she wanted to avoid a face-off with her brother. But that is all set to change―the Congress has deployed her in Andhra Pradesh, which includes the Rayalaseema region where her family has its roots. The upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be a litmus test for Sharmila; the Congress has not had an Andhra MLA or MP in a decade.

But, before that, she also has to address rumblings within the party. Before she was formally inducted into the Congress, more than two dozen leaders from Andhra Pradesh were called to Delhi and asked of their opinion on Sharmila joining the party. While most responded positively, a couple of leaders vocally opposed it. “A lot of people do not like her, but they will not open up,” said dalit leader and two-time MP G.V. Harsha Kumar. An aspirant for the post of state Congress president, he declared he would resign if Sharmila was given that role. “She is a failed leader who is being forced on us,” he said. “How can she come here when she has already failed in Telangana? I have told the high command that this is a wrong step.”

Kumar has called for a dalit unity meeting in February, where he plans to appeal to the community to vote against the Congress if Sharmila is made state president.

The key tasks for Sharmila now are attracting leaders and cultivating a vote bank of Congress and YSR loyalists who have moved to the YSR Congress. The latter might not be easy, but the groundwork for the former has already started. Jagan, who has 151 legislators, is likely to deny tickets to several sitting MLAs for various reasons, including anti-incumbency. This has not gone down well with some leaders like Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, who has already joined the Sharmila camp. The Congress is hoping that more such disgruntled leaders jump ship.

But, are people ready to forget the pangs of bifurcation and forgive the Congress for including YSR’s name in an FIR in a corruption case? “The Congress has already accepted some of its mistakes, and people are ready to trust the party again,” said Ramakrishna Reddy. “The Congress promised special category status to Andhra Pradesh; it is the BJP that failed to grant this status as a ruling party. Even the YSR Congress and the TDP failed to get it. It is only the Congress at the Centre that can develop Andhra Pradesh, and Sharmila in the state can get the glorious rule of YSR back.”

The ruling YSR Congress, which is closely watching the developments, has accused Chandrababu Naidu of masterminding a conspiracy against it through Sharmila. The party pointed out that when Sharmila launched her party, it was pro-TDP media that gave her a lot of coverage. On Christmas, Sharmila wished Naidu’s son, Nara Lokesh, who reciprocated. Then there are questions surrounding Naidu’s interaction with Karnataka Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar at the Bengaluru airport. Similarly, a lot is being made out of Anil Kumar, Sharmila’s husband, meeting with BTech Ravi, a TDP leader and staunch opponent of Jagan, at another airport.

“The entire world knows who is behind this,” said Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, political adviser to the state government. “Chandrababu Naidu is managing the Congress and the BJP through his men sent over to the party. His target is to bring down Jagan in some way or the other as he cannot face him in the public sphere. Sharmila joining the Congress is part of Naidu’s scheming plans.”

The BJP, on its part, has said that there is no chance of a Congress resurgence, but it is wary of Naidu’s alleged role in the efforts to revive the party. “The Congress is on the ventilator, whether in Andhra Pradesh or the country. Even Sharmila cannot make a big difference to the party,” said Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, BJP state vice president. “Naidu will keep all doors open, whether aligning with the Congress or the BJP. He is an opportunistic politician and there is no discussion within the party to join hands with him. When he tried to align with us in the Telangana elections, we did not budge.”

If the Congress does indeed find its feet again, who will be the biggest loser? Will it be the YSR Congress, whose core voter base has the Congress DNA, or will it be the TDP or Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena, who could lose anti-incumbency votes to the Congress?

“What is happening with the Congress in Andhra Pradesh is completely its internal matter,” said Varun Kumar, official spokesperson of the TDP youth wing. “No voter who will vote based on anti-incumbency will vote for a party that is just trying to restart its journey. Also, whatever the Congress can pull off as a percentage of votes will be deducted from its once traditional vote bank that is now with the YSR Congress.”

He added that Sharmila joining the Congress would mean that Jagan’s family members do not trust him, and that the TDP, with a traditional vote bank of around 40 per cent, along with its alliance partner Jana Sena Party, would win in the upcoming polls.

Hyderabad-based political analyst Telakapalli Ravi analysed the developments from a national perspective. “All this while, the BJP was controlling Andhra Pradesh through regional parties,” he said. “Now, the Gandhi family wants to take control of Andhra Pradesh through Sharmila.”

As the battleground promises to hot up in coming days, one thing is for sure―the intra-family feuds and equations have made the battle for Andhra Pradesh just a bit more convoluted and intense than usual.

how-seat-sharing-is-proving-to-india-bloc-s-first-big-test

Sat Jan 13 12:32:03 IST 2024

At noon on January 8, when a team of senior Congress leaders met AAP representatives in Delhi, it was in for a surprise. The Congress negotiators―whom party president Mallikarjun Kharge had deputed to discuss seat-sharing with INDIA members―were there to talk about seats in Delhi. The AAP, however, wanted to expand the discussion to other states, even those where the Congress has traditionally been in a direct contest with the BJP.

This included Punjab, where the AAP is in power, and also Gujarat, Haryana and Goa, where the AAP claims it has worked hard to build an organisation and has also fought elections. It is learnt to have told the Congress team that it would want to contest four of the seven seats in Delhi, seven in Punjab, three in Haryana and one each in Gujarat and Goa.

The tussle with the AAP was not the only one. There has been no formal discussion between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress for seat sharing in West Bengal. Instead, there have been heated exchanges between the two parties, which are bitter rivals in state politics. Congress’s leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has rejected the Trinamool’s initial offer of two seats to the Congress, and has criticised the Mamata Banerjee government over the recent attacks on Enforcement Directorate officials. He even suggested that the state be put under president’s rule. The Trinamool, in turn, called Chowdhury a BJP agent and said it could defeat the BJP on its own in Bengal.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party is learnt to have indicated to its INDIA alliance partners, the Congress and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, that it wants to contest 65 of the 80 seats in the state. The Congress has held a preliminary meeting with the Samajwadi Party; a formal meeting of the Uttar Pradesh allies will be held later. Sources said the Samajwadi Party has conveyed its openness to discussing the Congress’s expectations in the state, while also indicating that around ten seats should be a reasonable number.

“We had a meeting that was cordial and the sentiment was of collaboration and cooperation,” said senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav. “We will carry forward our discussions very soon with the same sentiment.”

Congress leaders from the state have apparently conveyed to the party leadership that it can bargain for around 20 seats as the Samajwadi Party needs the Congress’s support to ensure the Muslim vote stays with it. They have pointed out to the central leaders that the Yadav vote bank is not watertight and had supported the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. A sizeable section of state Congress leaders is also of the view that efforts should be made to bring the Bahujan Samaj Party on board, as that would bring in dalit votes to the INDIA alliance even beyond the state. However, the Samajwadi Party wants no association with the BSP. All this makes for difficult discussions among the opposition parties in what is politically the most crucial state.

For the INDIA bloc, these were always seen as the more difficult states in terms of reaching a consensus. However, even in states where there are alliances already in place, splitting the seats is proving to be a tricky exercise.

A day before the meeting on Delhi, the Congress negotiators―including veteran leaders Mukul Wasnik, Salman Khurshid and former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel―had held discussions with the Bihar allies. The talks, though, were foregrounded by a terse message from the Janata Dal (United) about contesting all 16 seats it had won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This would leave the rest of the allies, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, with 24. The Bihar allies have offered the Congress four or five seats, with two to three being kept aside for the left parties.

Talks with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi partners have also not been without hurdles. The Congress wants more seats because it considers itself the largest constituent after the splits in the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), however, has said that it has always fought on 20 or more seats, and pointed out that the Congress had won only one seat in the previous Lok Sabha elections. Initial discussions are learnt to have zeroed in on around 18 to 20 seats each for the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT), around eight for the NCP and one or two seats
for Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi.

Not only has the beginning of seat-sharing talks been marred by acrimony, it has also pointed to the inherent difficulty in bringing together close to 30 parties on a shared stage. More importantly, the partners have been critical of the Congress for taking too long to get the discussions going. In the December 19 meeting, some parties had said that they wanted the seat adjustments to be finalised by the end of the year. Congress leaders, however, said that the effort would be to finalise the arrangement by the end of January. They added that the party will hold discussions on a state-wise basis with a focus on winnability and not the number of seats. The party, following its national alliance committee’s meetings with the state units, has reached the conclusion that it can work on alliances in nine states. In the remaining states, it would be either a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP or there will be a regional party that is not a part of the INDIA bloc, such as in Odisha or Andhra Pradesh. The Congress estimates that it will contest 250-plus seats, a substantial fall from the 421 seats it had contested in 2019.

“We are cognisant of the need to accomplish the task of seat sharing speedily and we are giving it topmost priority,” said Wasnik, the convener of the Congress’ national alliance committee. “Depending on the availability of other parties, we will hold discussions. The discussions need to be held on a state-wise basis because every state has its own unique circumstances and a different set of political parties.”

The Congress is learnt to have decided to negotiate for around 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 10 in Bihar, nine in Jharkhand, six in West Bengal, around 20 in Maharashtra and four in Delhi. In Punjab, the Congress would not give up any of the eight seats it had won in 2019.

“The seat-sharing discussions between the AAP and the Congress have begun,” said Gopal Rai, AAP’s Delhi convener. “We have maintained the alliance should be in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Goa and Gujarat. The discussion has been positive.”

In West Bengal, too, leaders in both parties insist a tie-up is on the cards despite the war of words, and some give and take is expected to happen. “We are in touch with the Trinamool,” said a senior Congress leader involved in the discussions. “We are hopeful of working out an arrangement with them. Of course, we cannot be given only two seats in the state. We are hopeful that our share will go up to five or six seats.”

For now, it seems all the members of the INDIA bloc have reached the table, but are undecided on where to sit.

jdu-special-adviser-and-chief-spokesperson-k-c-tyagi-interview

Sat Jan 13 12:26:44 IST 2024

Interview/ K.C. Tyagi, special adviser and chief spokesperson, JD(U)

Q/ The Congress has initiated seat-sharing discussions with allies. How do you look at that?

A/ It is a positive step, though the discussions have begun late. We are lagging behind the BJP. They are conducting booth meetings and giving out Ram temple prasad. We have not held a single joint public meeting.

Q/ The INDIA alliance was formed on the premise that the opposition would put up one candidate per seat in around 400 seats. Can it be achieved?

A/ That is our main agenda and we are working in that direction. We will have alliances in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Q/ The alliance looks like a divided house, given the bitter exchanges on seat sharing.

A/ It is sad that [Congress leader] Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is talking about the need to impose president’s rule in West Bengal when the opposition has been taking up the misuse of Article 356. At a time when alliances are being stitched, he should not have said such a thing. How can he forget that [West Bengal Chief Minister] Mamata Banerjee is our ally?

Also, seat sharing talks are not easy. Even within a party, there are differences when deciding on candidates. And here, we have to discuss seats with other parties.

Q/ The sentiment of compromise is missing. Even the JD(U) is firm on contesting all 16 seats it holds in Bihar.

A/ The JD(U) is not being rigid. It was already decided by the INDIA parties that the seats that a party already holds would not come up for discussion. Otherwise, we will end up in a chaotic situation.

Q/ Mamata Banerjee had in the last INDIA meeting suggested that Mallikarjun Kharge should be the prime minister face of the alliance.

A/ I admire Mallikarjun Kharge for rejecting the idea immediately. It is quite surprising that Mamata Banerjee made the suggestion when it had been decided in the INDIA meeting in Mumbai that the alliance will not have a prime minister face.

Q/ Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is believed to be upset at his perceived sidelining in the alliance.

A/ The manipulations that have taken place have definitely hurt us. Nitish Kumar ji has on several occasions said that he is not interested in becoming the prime minister candidate. We cannot stop workers from saying that he should be prime minister. This happens in other parties, too.

Q/ Is there a plan to make Nitish Kumar the convener of the alliance?

A/ Nitish Kumar is the founder of the alliance. He is in fact the founder-convener of the alliance; he convened the first INDIA meeting in Patna. He achieved an impossible task by getting so many leaders together. So, the post of convener is not such a big thing for us. It should have happened long ago. Now, what is left to convene? The Election Commission will convene the election.

Q/ How do you view the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra?

A/ Now was not the right time to take out a yatra. Elections will be announced in March, and the yatra will go on till March. We should have had an INDIA alliance yatra and not a Congress yatra. Also, he is the tallest leader in the Congress. He should have been here to coordinate seat-sharing discussions and joint programmes.

Q/ The yatra will pass through Bihar.

A/ If we are invited and if it does not clash with any programme of our party, we will join the yatra. We are not against it.

drone-strikes-on-commercial-ships-will-disrupt-the-worlds-supply-chains

Fri Dec 29 16:50:18 IST 2023

TWO DRONE STRIKES on December 23―one on MV Chem Pluto, about 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval (Gujarat), and another on MT Sai Baba, in the Red Sea―were the latest of 15 attacks on commercial shipping allegedly by the Houthi rebels of Yemen since October 2017. At a time when the world started thinking that piracy off the Somalia coast and in the Gulf of Aden had reduced significantly and the safety outlook for commercial shipping was improving, these attacks have worrisome portents.

There are, however, major differences between the piracy threat and the recent drone attacks. Piracy off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, which started in 2008, was a result of feuds of warlords and misgovernance in Somalia leaving large sections of its people impoverished. These people had no option but to resort to alternative ways of earning a livelihood that included small-time thefts from ships at anchorage, armed robbery and piracy at the higher end. The ransoms paid out by shipowners kept the trade going. Concerted efforts by maritime forces at sea and better governance on land ensured the gradual reduction of piracy to a trickle and the piracy high-risk zone was shrunk considerably.

The Houthi attacks are in a different league. While they are also a result of misgovernance or internal feuds between opposing parties on land, the Houthi movement has more specific objectives against specific entities. The Houthis are a Shia group that has been on a warpath for many years with the ruling dispensation in Yemen. The Houthi movement started in 1992 and has continued with varying levels of violence. They are against Saudi Arabian and US support to the Yemen government and aligned ideologically with the Hezbollah. The Houthis have reportedly assisted Hamas in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

MV Chem Pluto is a Liberian flagged, Dutch-operated, Japanese-owned chemical tanker with an Israeli connect. MT Sai Baba is a Gabon-owned and flagged crude oil tanker. Both ships have a majority Indian crew. About 10 per cent of seafarers are Indians, who are the third largest group after Filipinos and Indonesians. Ship management companies often prefer to keep crew of one nationality together for administrative and cultural convenience.

The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed and is deemed to be the nationality of the vessel. The flag state has the authority and responsibility to enforce regulations over vessels registered under its flag, including those relating to inspection, certification, and issuance of safety and pollution prevention documents. Laws of the flag state are applicable if the ship is involved in arbitration or litigation. On the other hand, a ‘flag of convenience’ describes the practice of registering a merchant ship in a state other than that of the ship’s owners and flying that state’s civil ensign on the ship. Ship owners often prefer flags of convenience to reduce operating costs or to avoid stringent regulatory norms.

Why is this important? An attack on a merchant vessel is deemed to be an attack on the flag state. Much depends on the credibility and capability of the flag state to respond to or retaliate against such attacks. Flags of convenience and weak flag states have no wherewithal to shape any deterrent response. In the recent attacks, Gabon and Liberia have very little international heft to take any significant action, leave alone considering reprisal. What if the attacked vessels were American or Chinese or Indian flagged vessels? The complexion of the response would change dramatically. And the attackers know that. Hence, the preferred choice of vessels to be attacked would be those from weak flag states or those carrying flags of convenience.

The violence initiated by the Houthis, too, is at a different level. Pirates had sticks, stones, ladders, a few grenades, small arms and at best, a rocket launcher. These were enough for hijack and ransom, but did not cause great damage to ships. Missile attacks and bomb payloads dropped from drones are another story. It requires organisation, funds, skill, training, intelligence and support to operate a drone force. It can function well as a state activity or a state-sponsored non-state activity, depending on the sophistication. A rag-tag rebel outfit in country boats is unlikely to carry out this form of warfare. A state hand behind the Houthi attacks cannot be ruled out and this is of concern.

The details of the attacked ships, and indeed any other commercial ship, will indicate the international nature of the trade. A ship is typically owned by one entity, operated by another, carries a mixed crew of three or four nationalities, flies a flag of another state or a flag of convenience, calls at several ports around the world and carries cargo to and from several countries. Disruption of international sea trade, therefore, has international ramifications. More than 90 per cent of international trade, by volume, travels by sea. This is of significant value and hence the maritime insurance industry thrives on this trade. Any disruption, especially because of conflict or violence, is likely to raise insurance premiums, which directly affects supply chains and cost of living around the world.

Should India be concerned? Of course. First, one in every ten seafarer is an Indian and, therefore, in terms of crew, India faces one-tenth the global threat. Our people must be secure, wherever they are. Second, India’s economy depends heavily on the oil and commodity trade routing from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Any attack on these shipping lanes will affect our economic security. Third, a bigger attack may cause an ecological catastrophe if there is a large-scale oil or chemical spill. The attack on a tanker 200 nautical miles from our coast should serve as a warning. Fourth, India will be caught in political crossfire, being a friend to all and enemy to none. India has good relations with the US, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran, and will find it difficult to take sides. However, terrorism in any form must be condemned.

Commercial ships are defenceless and hence soft targets for attack by non-state entities and militant organisations. The sea areas in which these attacks have taken place are choke points of busy maritime highways. The Indian Navy’s anti-piracy operations in those sea areas have revealed that it is difficult to anticipate an attack. There are ships and boats of all kinds and it is impossible to investigate every vessel. Drones can be operated from any platform, small or big, at sea or over land; and would be even more difficult to detect and neutralise. Higher lethality of ordnance dispensed from drones can trigger greater human and ecological casualties.

There is little doubt that international trade will operate warily, affecting supply chains. Insurance costs for goods transported over the sea will rise. International maritime forces will have to cooperate to stabilise the situation at sea, assure seafarers as well as businesses and deal decisively with emerging threats at sea. Piracy prompted commercial ships to employ armed guards. Drone attacks will further prompt shipping companies to consider investing in anti-drone systems. These do not bode well for peace and stability at sea.

It is important that the solution to discontent between states and rebels be found on land through mature debate and negotiations. While an immediate and swift international response by maritime forces at sea is imperative and will happen, any mitigation measure at sea will, at best, be a temporary fix.

―The author is a former commander-in-chief of the Eastern naval Command.

security-forces-need-to-win-the-confidence-of-tribals-in-the-pir-panjal-region-to-stymie-the-rise-of-terror-in-kashmir

Fri Dec 29 16:45:30 IST 2023

THE GUJJARS and Bakerwals of Kashmir’s Pir Panjal region are at the centre of attention yet again. On December 21, the People’s Anti-Fascist Front, allegedly a proxy of Jaish-e-Mohammad, attacked two Army vehicles, killing four soldiers and injuring three.

In the aftermath, security forces apprehended eight men from Topa Pir, one of the villages where the Gujjars and Bakerwals live. Though five of them were released after protests by villagers, three―Safeer Ahmed, 37, Muhammed Showkat, 26, and Shabir Ahmed, 30―were found dead the following day. A video showing the men being tortured, allegedly by soldiers, led to widespread outcry throughout the Pir Panjal region, which spans the districts of Rajouri and Poonch. The National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party condemned the alleged custodial killings, demanding justice for the deceased. The government was quick to impose restrictions, cut the internet and announce compensation and job offers for the families of the men. The Army initiated an inquiry into the incident and three officers, including a brigadier, were transferred. Army Chief General Manoj Pande met senior commanders and soldiers and asked them to conduct operations professionally.

The death of the three men has shaken their families. Safeer’s brother Noor Ahmed, a Border Security Force head constable posted in Rajasthan, said, “His neck was broken and they also gave him electric shock. His death has shattered our lives. Who will take care of his four children and widow now?”

He said compensation would not bring his brother back. “We want justice; those who did it should be punished.”

Showkat’s uncle, Muhammad Sadiq, said the Army reached their village at 9.30am on December 22. “They took my nephew and another young man from our village,” he said. “Later, at noon, they took another, Shabir Ahmed.”

He said they got the bodies only at 2am the next day, thanks to the intervention of the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police. “If they had shot them, it would have been less painful,” he said. “We buried the bodies the next morning, and only the villagers could attend the funeral because of the restrictions.”

This was the second time civilians faced the blowback of an attack on security forces in Pir Panjal. On April 26, Mukhtar Hussain Shah, a farmer from Poonch’s Nar village, allegedly died by suicide days after he was taken for questioning in relation to an attack on security forces. His family and neighbours blocked the Jammu-Poonch highway, seeking a fair inquiry into the incident. Before his death, Shah alleged in a video that he and his family had been harassed. “I am not under pressure from the Army or the police or any villager,” he said in the video while holding a small bag in his hands that apparently contained a bottle of insecticide. An inquiry led by the additional deputy commissioner of Poonch concluded that Shah died after consuming poison. However, his family has contested these findings.

Such incidents have caused disaffection among the locals. On May 9, a villager, Anil Kumar, was shot in the leg by the Army for roaming suspiciously near the Line of Control. On December 16, two villagers were shot dead and another injured, leading to stone-throwing at an Army camp on the Jammu-Poonch highway. The Army blamed terrorists; villagers suspected the camp’s sentry.

After the abrogation of Article 370, Pir Panjal has become a new theatre of high-intensity terror attacks. The attacks on civilians have also contributed to tension in the region. On January 1, Dhangri village in Rajouri faced its first terror attack since the late 1990s. This year alone, 20 security forces personnel and 28 terrorists have been killed in encounters in the region.

Mistrust is in the air. The security forces believe that such high-precision attacks are not possible without local support. The Bakerwals, who move with their herds during summers, traverse the Pir Panjal range from Rajouri and Poonch to Shopian and Kulgam in south Kashmir. The rugged terrain, snaking rivers and dense forests of Pir Panjal offer cover to terrorists, aiding infiltration from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir into districts like Rajouri, Poonch and Pulwama. Experts said that such challenges could only be countered by better intelligence, for which the security forces need the help of the locals.

As per the 2011 census, the Gujjars and Bakerwals make up 15 lakh of the 1.25 crore population of Jammu and Kashmir. Activist-lawyer Guftar Chowdhry, however, said the census was carried out in April-May, when a large number of them were on the move with their herds. “We are patriotic people and will never help anyone plot against the country,” he said. “The government should not take any step like conferring ST status to non-tribals like the Paharis and some upper-caste groups. Such a move will harm our prospects in jobs and admissions.”

Observers fear that adopting a tough stance, particularly against the Gujjars and Bakerwals, could prove counterproductive in addressing the escalating security challenge in the region. This could further alienate these communities, especially as they are already miffed at the proposed expansion of the scheduled tribe status.

Ravinder Raina, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president, said the death of the three men would be investigated and responsibility fixed. “Gujjars and Bakerwals are my brothers and nobody will be spared if found involved,” he said. “This is a tragedy for all of us.”

the-national-conference-could-leave-the-gupkar-alliance-to-safeguard-its-own-interests

Fri Dec 29 16:43:07 IST 2023

AFTER THE SUPREME COURT upheld the abrogation of Article 370 on December 11 and ordered elections to be held in Jammu and Kashmir before September 30, 2024, the Gupkar alliance―made up of the National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Awami National Conference―seems to be on shaky ground.

While NC vice president Omar Abdullah said he was going “off-grid”, his father and party president Farooq Abdullah, in a fit of frustration, said Jammu and Kashmir should “go to hell”. The sense of dejection was clear.

In the 2020 district development council elections―the first after the abrogation―the Gupkar alliance had won 110 of 278 seats across 20 districts. Within the alliance, the NC got 67 seats, the most, including 25 in Jammu, followed by the PDP (27), the People’s Conference (eight), the CPI(M) (five) and the J&K Peoples Movement (three). Two of those parties are no longer in the alliance. The BJP was the single-largest party (75), dominating in Jammu and winning three in Kashmir.

Since those elections, the BJP has made significant changes in Jammu and Kashmir through delimitation and constitutional amendments, bolstering the political influence of Hindu-majority Jammu. Before the delimitation, Jammu held 37 seats in the 87-member assembly; Kashmir had 46 and Ladakh, four. Now, Jammu holds 43 in the 90-member assembly; Kashmir has 47 and Ladakh is a separate Union territory.

These developments, which the Supreme Court backed, have made the opposition’s job harder, but observers said that a united front was still the best bet for the Gupkar alliance. Staying together would benefit them not only in Kashmir, but also in the Muslim-majority areas in the Jammu division, for instance in the Chenab Valley.

The NC seems to disagree. The party apparently feels that leaving the alliance could serve it better in the Lok Sabha elections and the assembly polls to follow. The party’s confidence stems from the fact that it has remained largely unscathed by the shakeup that the abrogation caused. On the contrary, the PDP, its main rival, has suffered serious setbacks. Many of its leaders, some of whom joined the party in the 1990s, have moved on. A lot of its supporters were miffed by the handling of the agitation sparked by the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in 2016.

Critics also cite the PDP’s alliance with the BJP in 2015 as the reason for the revocation of Article 370. On November 26, Omar, who was Union minister of state for external affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, brought this up at a rally in Bandipora. “If the PDP had accepted our support to keep the BJP away from the corridors of power, the decision of 2019 could have been averted,” he said. “The unfortunate tie-up cost the entire region its unique constitutional position, pushing its people to the wall.”

The feeling in the NC is that persisting with the Gupkar alliance could inadvertently aid the survival of the PDP and damage its own prospects. There were similar sentiments during the DDC polls, too. “There was this perception that a collaboration would favour the PDP, especially during its lowest phase,” a senior NC official told THE WEEK. At the time, though, the circumstances were dire enough for the party’s top leadership to decide on a unified front, he said. “Despite the alliance, numerous workers from both parties refused to support each other’s candidates,” he added.

As for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the NC reportedly does not want to allocate any seats to members of the INDIA alliance in the Kashmir valley. During the alliance’s last meeting, Omar proposed that the seats already held by the INDIA alliance members should not come up for discussion, and talk of seat sharing be limited to seats held by the BJP and others. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NC had won all three seats in Kashmir; the BJP clinched the remaining three―two in Jammu and one in Ladakh.

The PDP, on the other hand, has hinted that it wants to team up, but has not explicitly endorsed a pre-poll alliance. Said Sartaj Madni, senior PDP leader and head of the party’s parliamentary board: “I strongly believe in uniting for a greater cause.” He reiterated the significance of the Gupkar alliance and credited PDP president Mehbooba Mufti for orchestrating its formation. “Mehbooba stands firmly with the alliance,” he said. “We are committed to safeguarding its unity. We seek unity among all residents of Jammu and Kashmir for a shared goal.”

However, some of the PDP’s hardcore supporters are even prepared to go it alone. “We cannot erase the impression from people’s minds about our alliance with the BJP,” said party state secretary Bashir Ahmed Mir. “But there are many things that the PDP did to improve people’s lives, and that will not be forgotten.” He said the party’s cadre was intact, but acknowledged the lack of good candidates.

Sources said the PDP was working on a revival plan, drawing on its support base in south Kashmir. Also, observers said that Mehbooba has confronted the BJP and its Kashmir policies better than other leaders, which has boosted supporters’ morale.

Apart from the PDP, the Congress and the CPI(M) have also advocated for a united stand in Jammu and Kashmir. Smaller parties such as the National Panthers Party and Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan are also in.

The BJP, on the other hand, might not be wildly popular in the valley, but a few smaller parties in the region are open to cooperating with it. Their support could be crucial for the BJP to upset the regional applecart.

A lot, however, depends on what the Abdullahs do.

mumbai-police-sketch-artist-nitin-mahadev-yadav

Sat Dec 30 12:32:50 IST 2023

A moustachioed man in khaki might spring to mind when one thinks of the police, but there is a quieter, more under-appreciated force working behind the scenes to uphold justice. A force made up of ‘specialists’ who are at times undervalued, underpaid and seen as outsiders to the system. Be it evidence collection, crime scene photography or convict counselling, these men and women work tirelessly, often while holding another job, to do their bit to ensure a safer society. THE WEEK profiles five such unsung heroes:

The pencil of justice

On August 22, 2013, five men, including a minor, raped a 22-year-old photojournalist at the abandoned Shakti Mills in Mumbai. Her male colleague, who was with her, promptly reached the N.M. Joshi Marg police station at around 8pm to report the crime. The police began work; around 2:30am that night, they visited a modest home in Kurla to find Nitin Mahadev Yadav, an art teacher known for his exceptional sketching skills. Without a moment of hesitation, the 48-year-old joined the case. In half an hour, he was in a room with the male colleague of the photojournalist, and within three hours, he had sketched two of the suspects.

Extracting details from a traumatised mind is a challenge, but it helped that the witness was a photographer, who was used to observing people. Within 72 hours of the case being registered, the police nabbed all five suspects (another artist, Mohammad Siddique Sheikh, had sketched the other three). The Maharashtra Police later felicitated Yadav for his accurate sketches.

Over the past three decades, Yadav has sketched more than 5,000 suspects, that too without any fee; he considers it a service to the nation. He reckons his sketches have helped crack at least 450 cases. “As a schoolteacher, I have taught many good children, and as a sketch artist, I have assisted in apprehending many spoilt ones,” he says.

As the son of a mill worker living in a slum, Yadav had seen several gang fights as a child. He wanted to be a policeman, but life took him down a different path. “While in class seven, I started sketching and painting to earn some money,” he says. “I made banners, rickshaw number plates, signboards and portraits. After completing school, I went to the JJ School of Art, where I got a diploma in art teaching. [Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader] Raj Thackeray was my college mate.”

When he was in class 10, Yadav was helping the local police station in Kurla by drawing maps and painting nameplates. However, when a murder took place within the jurisdiction of the station and the police had no leads, Yadav stepped in. “I asked to speak with the only witness in the case―a waiter,” he recounts. “It took me around two hours to complete the sketch, and within 48 hours, the suspect was apprehended in Karnataka.”

Since then, Yadav has become an invaluable asset to the police force, getting as many as 20 cases a month from regions across the state.

Usually, suspect descriptions include details such as complexion, height and approximate age. Yadav, however, goes deeper, including aspects like hair length, moustache/beard style, birthmarks, teeth alignment, physical deformities, and even the clothes. He says that, to sketch with accuracy, an artist requires keen observation, knowledge of psychology and interrogative skills, too. On two occasions, he claims to have found through his questioning that the witnesses themselves were the criminals.

All this, of course, makes him quite unpopular with the bad guys. He recalls the murder of lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was shot dead by a group of men. “Based on the description provided by a watchman, I sketched the suspects, and within 48 hours, they were apprehended,” he says. “Following that incident, I started receiving threat calls from a gangster named Bharat Nepali. I told him that even if he were to shoot me, I would find satisfaction in knowing that I helped catch hundreds of criminals like him.”

Yadav was once an orchestra singer, but was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2008. But even while undergoing treatment, he continued his police work.

He lives in Kurla with his wife and two children, leading what he says is a modest and fulfilling life. He continues to teach art and also earns through commissioned art projects. As for his work for the police, the only reward, he says, is the satisfaction he gets from making the world a safer place.

A CHANGE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE

“The accuracy of sketches police personnel create solely through software is significantly lower compared with the manual approach. Creating facial sketches requires a unique blend of skills, including psychological understanding. Perhaps police forces should consider making officers who can draw train with experienced artists to build a formidable army of sketch artists.”

indian-forensic-investigator-rukmani-krishnamurthy

Sat Dec 30 12:31:57 IST 2023

If anyone dare suggest that your seventies are meant to be a time to relax, Rukmani Krishnamurthy would burst out laughing. At 74, the sari-clad forensic investigator, with a red bindi and silver hair, is busy learning new skills to lead a team of experts that helps the police and the public alike.

Born as the sixth child to a PWD official-homemaker couple in Nagpur, Krishnamurthy is India’s first female forensic scientist. “My parents were very open-minded; they always said I should do something for society without any expectation,” she says. That support is what fuelled her decision to take up a job at the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratories. “After completing my MSc in analytical chemistry, I had three options: to take up a lecturer post in a government institute, to take up a clerk job at the RBI, or to take up the appointment as a scientist at FSL,” she says. “I had the option to stay in Nagpur with either option one or two, but I chose to go to Mumbai.”

On her very first day in office, one of her seniors quipped: “What would a lady do in FSL?” It was the opening shot in a battle she would fight for years. And fight she did.

After handling one of her earliest cases―in which a man poured kerosene on his wife and lit her―she lost sleep for two weeks. “But then my boss said, ‘If you’re going to be fainthearted, you can’t work here because every day you will handle murders, rapes, and burnings,’” she says.

Krishnamurthy took that advice to heart. In the coming years, she worked and helped solve several high-profile cases, including the Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders in the late 1970s, the Mumbai blasts of 1993 and a case of a train fire in 1976 that eventually led to the ban on flammable material like kerosene and petrol on public transport.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Mumbai was plagued by gang wars. Asked if she had faced any threats from the underworld, Krishnamurthy chuckles and says, “No, we never got a direct threat. Most of them [underworld dons] didn’t even know that forensic science existed. They probably thought the police were handling everything.”

In the early 2000s, as director of the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratories, Maharashtra, she established six world-class laboratories in the state, offering services such as DNA analysis, cyber forensics, speech identification, lie detection, narco-analysis, and brain signature profiling. During this phase, she also realised that many individuals and corporates would rather approach forensic labs directly than go through the police. “So, I visited several countries, including the FBI facilities in the US, to learn about the work being done by authentic forensics labs,” she says. “Finally, after retiring from government service, I established Helik Advisory, which is now a recognised centre by the National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar. We follow the same standard operating procedures used in government forensic labs. Over the years, we have handled numerous high-profile economic, digital, and other types of crimes referred to us by the police.”

Krishnamurthy is particularly enthusiastic about how her team’s work is benefiting ordinary people. She recounts a recent case where they resolved a misunderstanding between a husband and wife using one of their tests. “The husband, a scientist working in a dye company, had a pink stain on his shirt,” she says. “This bothered his pregnant wife, causing her stress and high blood pressure. We suggested that this could be resolved with a polygraph test. He brought his wife to us, and we explained the test to her. During the test, we asked him all the questions that were troubling her. His innocence was proven, and the very next day her blood pressure returned to normal.”

Krishnamurthy’s life is littered with such nuggets, some of which might be seen on the big screen soon; actor-producer Harman Baweja has already bought the rights to her story.

A CHANGE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE

“There is currently no mechanism in place to assess whether a person is a genuine forensic expert or not. Therefore, the need of the hour is the establishment of a forensics council, where practising forensic experts can register, and their qualifications, testing capabilities and laboratory setup can be monitored.”

indian-prison-counsellor-jiji-mary

Sat Dec 30 12:30:53 IST 2023

From that tender age when memories first begin to take shape, Jiji Mary, 35, had a deep connection with the story of Veronica, the woman who, moved by seeing Jesus carrying the cross, gave him her veil to wipe his forehead. Little did Jiji know that, when she grew up, she would become a Veronica-like figure, empathetically listening to and changing the perspectives of many convicted humans.

Rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners into society are crucial but often overlooked aspects of the Indian criminal justice system. On September 15, 2017, the Supreme Court directed all state governments to appoint counsellors to assist prisoners, particularly first-time offenders. A major reason for the order was the increasing number of unnatural deaths and suicides in jails. However, according to prison statistics in 2021, twelve states/Union territories had no sanctioned posts for correctional officers. The ones that did were not much better off. The Kerala government, for instance, employs a few social workers, such as Jiji, on low-paying contracts to provide counselling and even perform primary psychiatric evaluations in prisons.

Jiji has a master’s in social work with a specialisation in medicine and psychiatry. Her work includes rehabilitating sex workers, providing support to drug users and conducting screening programmes in collaboration with the Kerala State AIDS Control Society.

“It was during a Kudumbashree (a statewide women’s self-help group) project [in 2017] that I first had the opportunity to work in a jail setting―at Hosdurg sub-jail,” she says. “Several inmates lacked support from family in securing bail, and, in some cases, the families refused to accept them back even if they were granted bail. In such situations, we assumed the role of mediators and caretakers.”

In 2020, Jiji moved to Thiruvananthapuram to pursue a law degree; once there, she saw a notification inviting counsellors for all the central prisons in the state. “I attended the interview and got the first rank, but because of Covid and a few other issues, the process was delayed,” she says. “Finally, by 2022, I began working there (Poojappura jail) on a daily basis.”

Jiji became the first regular counsellor to work at the central prison―which houses hardened criminals, mostly men―with a specific focus on the mental health of the convicts.

Working inside a central prison requires courage and conviction, especially for a woman counsellor. Curious eyes would scan her from head to toe every day. “I felt uncomfortable dealing with this during the initial days,” says Jiji. “But it stopped bothering me. Certainly, for some of the prisoners, the curiosity stems from the fact that they have been living without any contact with women. However, for many others, it is almost a relief to see someone who is not a police officer entering jail. Some of them have even said that they attend counselling sessions just to see a genuine smile.”

Jiji does, however, say that one has to expect threats, too. Many inmates, for instance, show no remorse for their actions, even after spending years in jail. “In some cases, when I identified the need for medication, I referred them to psychiatrists,” she says.

Since the start of 2022, Jiji has counselled more than 350 convicted criminals in Poojappura jail. “There is the risk of transference, where individuals in therapy redirect their feelings towards someone else, including their therapist,” she says. “To mitigate this risk, I made sure that my personal details were not shared with any of them.”

She wound up her stint at Poojappura jail when she got her law degree, but she continues to hold free group therapy sessions at various jails. “Having knowledge of the law is highly beneficial when working in this field,” she says. “I want to establish a centre to support those who have been released from jail, especially those who are mentally unstable or have been rejected by their families.”

A CHANGE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE

“The inclusion of counsellors in all correctional facilities, including sub-jails, is imperative due to the mental distress inmates often face. While legal aid clinics are accessible, the presence of counsellors helps spread awareness about these resources and fosters a peaceful environment. Appointing counsellors is highly advantageous in decreasing suicide rates.”

crime-scene-photographer-a-nicholas

Sat Dec 30 12:29:55 IST 2023

A. Nicholas has come across more than a lakh corpses. Yet, the 69-year-old from Bengaluru is ready with his camera when the police call at any hour of the day. In the past 32 years, his crime scene photos have been used to reconstruct the sequence of events, assist in identifying suspects, and provide visual evidence during trials.

“I have gained extensive experience, and police officers trust that I will maintain confidentiality by not disclosing any information or images obtained from crime scenes or mortuaries,” he says. “Throughout the years, I have safeguarded numerous official secrets.”

Nicholas begins his day at 5:30am. He goes for a swim or works out before heading to church for daily mass. After breakfast, he bikes to his compact photo studio in Kalasipalya, one of the busiest areas in Bengaluru. Of course, this routine can at any moment be derailed by a policeman’s phone call.

Once at a crime scene, Nicholas has about 20 minutes to do his job. As changing lenses is time-consuming, he relies on a versatile Nikon 18-135mm lens that allows him to capture wide-angle as well as close-up shots. He carries an additional lens to mortuaries as he gets more time there.

On days without active cases, he typically winds up his studio work by 9pm. However, the phone is always by his side.

As part of this job, Nicholas is required to appear in court and give testimony in numerous cases, many of them being murder-related. Although this takes up a lot of time, he does it in the pursuit of justice for the victims, even if he has no personal connection to them.

One of his most challenging assignments, he says, was the fire in the Bangalore-Nanded Express near Puttaparthi on December 28, 2013, which took 26 lives. “For three days, I worked amid the charred bodies of those victims,” he says.

Though such scenes would make most people nauseous, Nicholas says he is mostly unaffected, except when it comes to bodies of children. “When I come across the lifeless body of an adult who has been murdered or hanged, I can convince myself that complex circumstances or decisions led to their demise,” he explains. “However, children, who are pure and innocent, do not die because of any mistakes they have made. Therefore, documenting their bodies is incredibly difficult for me.”

Nicholas’s first encounter with a murder scene took place when he was 22. “It was a woman who ran a dairy products shop,” he says. At the time, he was a clerk at Benny Mills Limited. He had wanted to join the armed forces, and had come close to being inducted into the Army’s signals corps. However, his father died while working at the mill, and his mother asked him to take up a job there and stay with her. He is the youngest of nine siblings. Nicholas joined the mill in 1972 and worked there for 15 years. It was during this time that his passion for photography began; he would cover weddings, and it was at one such assignment that he met his future wife.

He set up his own studio in 1991, which was when he got a call from the local police for an assignment. He got Rs200 and found his calling. So much so that, on several occasions, Nicholas has gone beyond his mandate to personally identify bodies and find family members of those the police had labelled ‘unidentified’. He recalls an instance of a close friend asking him to help locate his missing father, who was suffering from a mental illness. Through their own efforts, they discovered the body in one of the mortuaries.

Such is Nicholas’s sense of duty that even though his children are successful IT professionals, he feels compelled to continue this line of work. Like the others mentioned above, Nicholas, too, is driven by the pursuit of justice. “While I may receive a modest payment of around Rs500 from the deceased’s family or police officers in some cases, I do not demand money,” he says. “If the relatives of the deceased are financially disadvantaged, I do not accept any payment. Moreover, I provide my services free of charge for unclaimed or unidentified bodies, as I view it as a contribution to society.”

A CHANGE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE

“Compared with when I first entered this field in the 1990s, there has been a noticeable increase in suicide cases. This trend speaks volumes about the state of our society and the decline in our family values. It is crucial for us to contemplate the situation affecting our families. Genuine and concerted efforts need to be made to address these issues seriously.”

criminologist-rochin-ramesh-chandra

Sat Dec 30 12:33:33 IST 2023

Rochin Ramesh Chandra, 32, has a Tamil father, a Bengali mother, was schooled in Udaipur till class eight and completed his education in Chennai.

This mix proved troublesome. As an aspiring cricketer, he wanted to pursue a career with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, but the lack of a domicile status made it complicated. He then explored a stint with the Rajasthan Cricket Association, only to face an entirely different set of challenges and discrimination.

It was this experience that pushed Chandra to think about the intricacies of justice and injustice, privilege and marginalisation that exist in society. Putting aside bat and ball, he ventured into the world of criminology, and is now one of the strongest proponents for policy changes that promote evidence-based policing and proactive crime prevention.

In 2016, while pursuing his MPhil in criminology from the Rashtriya Raksha University in Gujarat, Chandra began working with the Rajasthan Prisons Department as a training faculty at the jail training institute in Ajmer. Subsequently, he offered his services to the Jail Staff Training School in Ahmedabad.

It was during this period that he realised how averse to change the system was. “The researchers and analysts embedded within the department are often perceived as ‘outsiders’,” he says. “This perception stems from underestimating the true benefits of crime analysis and jail-specific data analysis.”

Chandra wants criminology researchers to go beyond their traditional roles within classrooms. Instead, he says, they should engage with the executive and legislative branches of government. To help this process, he launched his think tank, the Centre for Criminology and Public Policy, in 2018.

In 2020, he was appointed ‘police pracademic (practising academic)’ for a joint project called Policing Research Partnerships, initiated by the Bureau of Police Research and Development and his think tank. Under this project, Chandra conducted a comprehensive national study focused on identifying the factors contributing to convictions in POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases.

For criminologists to engage effectively with the police, says Chandra, they need to go for on-field investigations and surveys in crime-prone neighbourhoods. “In a drug-infested area of a northern Indian state, we conducted an undercover investigation to uncover the recruitment, grooming and coercion of boys and girls as young as 10 into the local drug trade by criminal gangs,” he says. “Many of these children come from troubled backgrounds and are enticed into the drug trade with promises of money or are offered incentives like free food and phones. Understanding the challenges faced by disadvantaged neighbourhoods is crucial in explaining the distressing recruitment of vulnerable children into drug-related activities.” He also found that children face immense pressure to conform to hypermasculine ideals, including displaying physical and verbal aggression.

Chandra says that even seemingly insignificant details can provide valuable insights into the minds of criminals. “For example, in collaboration with the Udaipur police, we conducted a study on bike thefts, chain snatching and break-ins in the city,” he says.

Interestingly, Chandra’s team discovered a direct link between bike thefts and romantic pursuits. “Students from impoverished rural areas who migrate to cities like Udaipur for education often face challenges related to social status and peer relationships,” he says. “As a result, they feel constant pressure to present themselves well, wear fashionable clothes, own an expensive phone, and have a bike. We found that many bike thefts occurred because young men wanted to impress women by taking them on rides. The stolen bikes were often abandoned after being used for joyrides.”

This sort of collaboration―Chandra’s team and Udaipur police―is what he wants to see more of. “The perspective of the policemen is rooted in the view that they are the ones with firsthand experience through field operations, and that researchers do not have the same,” he says. “It is evident that their field activities are crucial, but there is a need for structured guidance to steer their investigations and interventions.”

A CHANGE I WOULD LIKE TO SEE

“Criminology researchers face challenges fitting into the traditional hierarchy of police departments. However, integrating practising criminologists between policymakers/legislators and police departments would be beneficial in developing effective crime prevention interventions. Reactive policing needs to be replaced by proactive policing, which involves continuous engagement by the police department to understand the root causes of crime in specific high-prevalence areas.”

the-recent-en-masse-suspension-of-mp-s-could-result-in-some-of-them-missing-the-budget-session

Sat Dec 23 15:07:31 IST 2023

IT WAS AMID near empty opposition benches that the Lok Sabha on December 19 took up for debate the three crucial bills relating to revamp of the criminal jurisprudence in the country. This was in the aftermath of an unprecedented number of opposition MPs getting suspended en masse. It brought out the seemingly unbridgeable gap between the government and the opposition.

The winter session has seen the making of an undesirable record―143 MPs from the INDIA alliance have been suspended so far, many of them for the rest of the session. On December 14, a day after the security breach in Parliament, 13 Lok Sabha MPs and a Rajya Sabha MP were suspended for protesting. The opposition wanted a statement from either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach. On December 18, 33 Lok Sabha MPs and 45 Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended, again for their protests over the security scare. This was a record for suspensions in one day. On December 19, 49 more Lok Sabha MPs were suspended and the following day, two more members from the lower house were asked to sit out. Majority of the INDIA alliance MPs are now outside Parliament.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the opposition’s demand was well within the ambit of the democratic process. “We did not raise a wrong issue,” he said. “The issue is about how those people entered the house. The home minister, the prime minister should have come to the house and made a statement on the issue. But, they did not agree. The intent of this government is to finish democracy.”

The opposition’s charge is that the prime minister and the home minister are making statements outside the house on the same issues on which they have demanded a statement in Parliament. The opposition sees this as a breach of privilege of the house. The parties point out that it took the prime minister four days to address the nation on the issue and he did so outside Parliament.

The opposition cites the example of former Union home minister L.K. Advani, who made a statement in Parliament on December 18, 2001, on the terrorist attack which had taken place five days earlier.

The government’s counter is that the opposition insulted the chair and denigrated the dignity of Parliament through the manner in which they held protests in the house. As per Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, there was consensus that carrying placards in the house and protests in the well would result in immediate suspension of the offending MPs.

The government insists that the security of Parliament is a sensitive issue and that due process was being followed in probing the breach. It stresses that security falls under the purview of the Lok Sabha Secretariat and that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has informed the house that a high-level committee is investigating the matter.

Past instances of en masse suspensions are being recalled now. On March 15, 1989, the opposition wanted the Thakkar Commission report on the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi to be tabled. The government refused, ruckus followed and 63 opposition MPs were suspended, but only for three days.

Suspension of MPs till the end of the session is not new and has been taking place at regular intervals. But opposition parties say the growing tendency to suspend MPs beyond the ambit of a session is worrisome. The latest suspensions include cases which will be taken up by the privileges committee. The privileges committee could take up to three months to submit its report. This could result in a situation where the MPs remain suspended for three months, thereby missing the budget session.

The Supreme Court has frowned upon indefinite suspension of MPs. When hearing the petition of Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha against his suspension, the apex court had observed in October that long-time suspension of an MP from the house is unconstitutional as it deprives the electors of their representative. It had said that indefinite suspension was concerning as Parliament must have voices from across the spectrum. The Supreme Court had also termed indefinite suspension unconstitutional in the case of 12 BJP MLAs in Maharashtra being suspended for one year last January. It had also said that fear of suspension would prevent members from participating in debates and that suspension would affect votes in the house.

Former additional solicitor general Bishwajit Bhattacharyya believes that the en masse suspension of MPs is clearly disproportionate and against the rights of parliamentarians to demand answers from the government. He says that the development is indeed worrisome, setting a wrong precedent and it may well be the other way round in the future. He feels that the chair should have asked the home minister to make a statement on the security breach.

“The suspension of such a large number of MPs raises a serious question about how parliamentary democracy is being run in the country,” he said. “In my view, the matter should be taken up not just politically but also in terms of the constitutional issues involved.”

assembly-polls-loss-has-triggered-a-generational-shift-in-the-congress-in-the-hindi-heartland

Sat Dec 23 15:02:26 IST 2023

A fortnight after the results of the assembly elections came out, the Congress has begun the process of fixing accountability for the losses. The decisions reflect a desire to put in place a generational change.

In Madhya Pradesh, especially, the high command pushed out the old to usher in the new. It is learnt that former party president Rahul Gandhi rang up state leader Jitu Patwari on the morning of December 16 to tell him that he was made the new state Congress president. The decision was made public later in the day. Party veteran Kamal Nath's continuation as the state unit's chief had become untenable as the poll results were a clear rejection of his leadership. The party won just 66 seats of 230. Apparently, Nath was reluctant to give way despite the clear message from the high command.

Patwari, 50, is an OBC leader and close to Rahul. He is known for his aggressive style of politics. The party has also appointed young leader Umang Singhar, a tribal face, as the leader of the opposition.

The imprint of the central leadership was clear in the changes made in Madhya Pradesh―both Patwari and Singhar do not belong to any faction in the state. It is also learnt that the views of Nath and senior leader Digvijaya Singh were not taken into account while choosing the new leadership.

“The challenge before us is to perform well in the Lok Sabha elections,” said Patwari. “We will go into the election together as a team. The growing participation of youth is a natural process and a demand of time.”

In Chhattisgarh, where the Congress was expected to retain power, but was reduced to 35 seats in the 90-member assembly, the changes were not so drastic. What has pulled the high command back from bringing about a new deal is the limited bench strength that the party had in the state after the electoral defeat of many of its senior leaders. It has had to fall back on senior leader Charan Das Mahant to lead the party in the assembly, while retaining its tribal face, Deepak Baij, 42, as the chief of the state unit.

Mahant, 68, a well-known OBC leader, is a study in contrast to former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. If Baghel was known for his aggressive style, Mahant, who was speaker in the last assembly, is mild-mannered. “We will fight the people's fight from the house to the streets,” he said. “We will take up the issues of the common man, farmers, youth, the people of Chhattisgarh. The opposition in the state will not be weak.”

An immediate reading of Mahant's appointment is the sidelining of Baghel. However, Congress leaders say the party still considers him an asset. Baghel and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot have been made members of the Congress's national alliance committee that will help shape the party's strategy for the Lok Sabha elections.

While the party has been able to take its decisions in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with relative swiftness, in Rajasthan, it has not been that easy. Apparently, the central leadership wants to use the occasion to bring about change and appoint a leader who does not owe allegiance to Gehlot as the leader of the opposition. However, the general view within the party is that the election result in the state was quite respectable as it managed to retain the vote share and won 69 of 200 seats. Also, it is said that many leaders are not keen on the post of the PCC chief because the responsibility of the results in the Lok Sabha elections would be on that person.

“The performance of the Congress in Rajasthan was better than in the other states,” said Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, AICC in-charge for the state. “We will now begin working for the Lok Sabha elections. Where is the need for a change when our performance is good and our vote percentage has actually gone up?”

Three-time chief minister Gehlot, 72, has never been the leader of the opposition. He continues to have a hold over the state unit despite the strong challenge from Sachin Pilot. The party high command was miffed with Gehlot because he created the perception that he was on his own in the state. His inclusion in the Congress's alliance committee for the Lok Sabha elections is an indication that the central leadership wants to distance him from Rajasthan politics. And, changes in the state, when announced in coming weeks, will make the high command's intent clear.

JITU PATWARI
Madhya Pradesh PCC chief

Known for his aggressive style of politics, the OBC leader has risen through the ranks. His challenge would be to get the dispirited state unit together for the Lok Sabha elections.

UMANG SINGHAR
Madhya Pradesh CLP leader

The tribal leader with a family legacy of politics has worked at various levels in the party, from Youth Congress to national-level responsibilities.

CHARAN DAS MAHANT

Chhattisgarh CLP leader

The senior OBC leader has held leadership positions in the state. He was speaker in the last assembly and was a minister in the Manmohan Singh government.

DEEPAK BAIJ
Chhattisgarh PCC chief

Retained his post on account of the sentiment that he did not have much time to prepare for the elections. His tribal credentials also worked for him.

tamil-nadu-it-minister-palanivel-thiaga-rajan-interview

Fri Dec 15 19:39:59 IST 2023

Exclusive Interview/ Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, information technology minister, Tamil Nadu

On a sunny day after Cyclone Michaung wreaked havoc in Chennai, calm prevailed on the swanky Greenways Road. The gates of Ezhil, the official residence of Information Technology Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, opened wide to let us in. The path took us past a tennis court―built in memory of his father, P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan―to his busy office.

Clad in his signature white shirt, paired with grey trousers, and with a dot of vermillion on his forehead, the minister walked to the door to welcome us.

He might be from a political dynasty―his father was close to DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi and his grandfather P.T. Rajan was chief minister of the Madras presidency―but he has combined it with his academic heft and modernity to carve a space for himself in today’s politics.

He is one of the strong opposition voices against the BJP and his work as Tamil Nadu finance minister earned him a national profile. Now in his new role as IT minister, PTR plans to make Tamil Nadu the leader in the field, overtaking Karnataka and Telangana.

He talked about the recent state elections and the INDIA bloc as he walked us to the dining table, where a delicious south Indian fare awaited. He also talked about the north-south debate, delimitation, international investment and upcoming schemes in his first, exclusive interview as IT minister. Edited excerpts:

Q/ How do you see the Congress’s loss in the Hindi heartland affecting the INDIA bloc?

A/ In my view, people were unhappy with the [governments] and they expressed [it]. I do not know enough of the ground situation in Madhya Pradesh to say what was the variable. But it was unprecedented that so many Union ministers and MPs were asked to [contest]. So, maybe the BJP knew something that we did not know. They needed to have senior people with skin in the game. Can you think of any other example where sitting Union ministers and MPs were asked to run for an MLA position?

My hypothesis is that, in the end, no government is ever defeated by an opposition. Most elections are seen as referendums on the government rather than any great hope in the opposition because in most parts of this country... there are few new entrants.

Q/ Do you think these results will affect the Congress’s relationship with regional parties in the INDIA bloc?

A/ The INDIA bloc is more a philosophical alliance than a nationwide electoral math optimisation [process]. The fact that we (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) are aligned with the TMC (Trinamool Congress) or with the SP (Samajwadi Party) does not change our electoral prospects in Tamil Nadu in any way. The INDIA bloc is a statement that we are for secularism, social justice, inclusion, the rule of law and strong institutions, and we are against authoritarianism. I think the [2024 Lok Sabha] election comes down to whether the INDIA bloc results in optimisation in the Hindi-speaking states plus Gujarat.

Q/ Do you see a north versus south fight in the 2024 election?

A/ I do not want to make it north versus south. I will make it something slightly different. States that are net donors and are relatively well-off in education and development tend to have non-BJP governments. And those states that are really poor, underdeveloped and under-educated tend to [have] BJP governments. I do not know what drives these outcomes; I am just remarking on the outcome.

Some of this has not even got to do with the richness of the state. [For instance,] Gujarat is considered a developed state, but only 50 per cent of the girls there are finishing high school. In the multidimensional poverty index of the Union government, the poverty rate there is three or four times higher than in Tamil Nadu.

Q/ When delimitation comes, the representation from the south, be it Kerala or Tamil Nadu, will go down. What is your take on that?

A/ We are in an unusual situation in the sense that no other country of our size has the problems that we have. As the administration is centralised, we have a huge disparity at various levels. I do not see any simple solution, but I see one clear thread running through this, which is that devolution of power resolves a lot of these problems. Devolution of power from the Centre to the states, from the states to the districts and the local bodies as in Kerala, for example, will give you a hundred benefits. In a normal design, we should leave Delhi with foreign affairs, defence, the banking system, currency stability, inter-state commerce and international trade. These should be the only subjects that the Centre should deal with. If that is the only thing, we need not be worried if a state has 39 or 25 MPs.

Q/ In a manufacturing state such as Tamil Nadu, do you see any interference from Delhi in the process of bringing investment to the state?

A/ I would say continuously, [regarding] petty things. It is a bit strange. For example, if a minister of a state government has to travel overseas, he has to get permission from Delhi and clearance from the external affairs ministry. Not just clearance; compared with other places, foreign investment, for instance, is being directed only to Gujarat or other BJP states. It is a kind of preferential model or kind of hierarchical model of where to provide and what level of incentive [to give].

At a political level, I see unnecessary interference and short-sightedness. We ought to be getting so much more investment in creating factories, jobs and service organisations. We ought to be sending more people to work in other parts of the world.

But the Union government does not actively encourage us. They should be giving us incentives, promoting and supporting us. Not only are they not doing that, [but] they are playing petty politics in these kinds of international relations and promotions. It is just so short-sighted. It is sad actually.

Q/ Is there resistance from the Union government in terms of getting investment?

A/ The government of India retards our ability to attract investment and create jobs. This is disheartening and unnerving. It seems like politics has overtaken real outcomes. This is a loss to the whole country.

Q/ Do you think the opposition-ruled states are threatened by Central agencies? The Enforcement Directorate recently arrested one of your ministers.

A/ A lot of Central agencies have been weaponised and politicised. And they are very selective [when it comes to] BJP and non-BJP states. So I think that intelligent people do not need to have that debate.

But I am not saying that the ED-level people are interfering with growth. I think these are two slightly different things; one is politics and the [other is] politics of vindictiveness.

Q/ When you were finance minister, you talked about free bus rides and a Rs1,000 dole for women. Do these schemes really empower women and are these sustainable?

A/ There are all kinds of freebies, from good to inefficient to unimplementable. The free breakfast we now give in elementary schools is one of the best schemes I have ever seen in my life. It is like rupee for rupee. The cost at which we are doing it.

Lumping them (freebies) all together is too simplistic and very often done for political reasons. As far as bus rides are concerned... we have now done a study through the planning commission [that] shows that, on average, women save Rs880 a month, and the bulk of them spend that money on getting better nutrition for their children.

When you [ask] if this is sustainable, I will only point to my track record. After I came to the finance ministry, I brought the annual revenue deficit of the state down from Rs62,000 crore to Rs30,500 crore. In two years, we had so many new schemes, including free bus rides. So, if you know what you are doing, you can actually achieve your policy initiatives with sustainable models of financing.

Q/ What is your take on Udhayanidhi Stalin’s comment on “eradicating” sanatan dharma?

A/ My view is that the notion that any human being should be limited to doing only what their forefathers or their ancestors did is antithetical to the notion of democracy. It is the upper class who taught us that you do not have to do what your father did. Relatively well-to-do upper-caste landlords like us went on to do other things. Well-educated Brahmins left priesthood and went on to be judges, collectors, auditors, lawyers, engineers, inventors and whatnot. So the world, overall, has become a fluid labour market. So this notion that you should be restricted based on your caste or your birth is antithetical to the notion of democracy. We live in a kind of high-strung world where everything gets blown out of proportion easily. I have been a victim of that myself in the early days in my ministry.

Q/ Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai said that you have been “muted”. Do you agree with that?

A/ From the beginning, I was not talking for the sake of talking. You have to remember how vast my portfolio was. I was minister of finance and human resources. So I talked a lot because I was presenting the government’s view, its policy. Now I am not in that position. So it is only fair that the minister in that portfolio has both the right and the duty to do that. I am the IT minister. If there is anything related to IT, I would like to speak on it.

Q/ There were plans for an IT park in Hosur. What is its status now?

A/ I think the vision for Hosur is much broader than just an IT park. We have announced something called high-tech city. It was envisioned as mini-Gurugram: a few hundred acres of infrastructure―commercial, residential, societal, hotels, malls, hospitals, schools. We are planning high-tech cities not just in Hosur, but also in north Chennai, near Madhavaram, and in Coimbatore. We have identified some pieces of land and we are in the middle of getting them alienated. I have already started talking to private developers. This kind of high-tech city is likely to be a 15- to 20-year project. It will give huge returns, but will require patient capital.

Q/ You recently visited Hyderabad and studied K.T. Rama Rao’s IT policy. Do you think Tamil Nadu will have to adopt some of those plans? Where is Tamil Nadu in the IT sector?

A/ I would say Tamil Nadu is already doing much better than most people think. I am taking no credit for it. As many as 10,000 IT jobs are being created a month in the state. And it is not just call centre work; I have [inaugurated] two AI company offices in the past six weeks. So, a lot of good things are happening.

Q/ Tamil Nadu was once a leader in IT. Now it is behind Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

A/ That is something slightly different. The top four IT destinations in the country are Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai. Less than 25 per cent of the workforce in Bengaluru is Kannadiga. If you go to Hyderabad, it is probably slightly better. You go to Pune, 50 per cent are locals. If you come to Chennai, probably 80 per cent are locals. This is profound, because it is a huge plus in some ways. Working close to home has turned out to be a major incentive after Covid. People want to be located just one bus or train ride away from home, or one car journey away from their native place, in case something goes wrong. Having 80 per cent of the engineering workforce close to home is a big [advantage]. We have so many second-tier cities, low attrition rate, relatively low cost and stable workforce, and a natural labour pool. These are huge advantages.

terrorists-in-twilight-zone

Fri Dec 15 19:29:35 IST 2023

On October 6, 2003, US deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage huddled with Pervez Musharraf at the presidential palace on the highly guarded Constitution Avenue in Islamabad. As he was heaping praise on Musharraf and Pakistan’s military brass for their efforts to dismantle the terror infrastructure in the country, a few kilometres away a car was stopped by a few armed men. Within seconds, the passenger’s body was riddled with bullets, and he fell in a pool of blood. The assailants fled, without leaving any trace.

The victim was Azam Tariq, head of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, who was on his way to Islamabad from Jhang. And he was just one of the dozens of extremists eliminated by unknown killers in Pakistan in a few months.

Those were not ordinary times. Stung by the 9/11 terror attacks, the US had forced Islamabad to take action against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, and masked men battering targets beyond recognition had become the new normal on Pakistani streets. Riaz Basra, founder of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was killed in May 2002 in Mailsi in Punjab. Asif Ramzi, a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi operative wanted in 87 cases, was killed in December 2002. He was said to have links to the kidnappers of American journalist Daniel Pearl, who was later killed by suspected Al Qaeda operatives.

Many theories emerged on the killings―the war on terror, internecine clashes, harbouring hordes of extremists becoming untenable for the Pak spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence―but the perpetrators were never caught. Terrorism, however, bounced back. On the run, many militants joined hands with terror groups sitting across in Jammu and Kashmir where outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen used their skills to multiply their cadre.

Now, two decades later, another spate of killings of extremists by unknown assailants brings the focus back on Pakistan. This time the targets were men “wanted” by India. Some of them were ideologues in their 70s―like Paramjit Singh Panjwar of the Khalistan Commando Force, who was gunned down on May 6―and some commanders running cross-border camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or those who were active in the 1990s and early 2000s when terrorism was at its peak in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Abu Qasim Kashmiri of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed by unknown assailants on September 8, 2023 and Shahid Latif of the Jaish-e-Mohammed was killed on October 11, 2023 in a commando-style operation. Latif was the handler of the 2016 Pathankot airbase attack, while Kashmiri was close to Hafiz Saeed, co-founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the mastermind of 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Terror networks seldom protect their own, as they work on the principle of deniability. Hanzla Adnan of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, who was the mastermind of Udhampur terror attack in 2015 and considered close to Saeed, was rendered unfit for future operations after his voice samples and connections in Pakistan leaked to Indian agencies and the Interpol put him on its wanted list. He was killed by unidentified gunmen in Karachi on December 3.

Ashok K. Behuria, security expert at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Delhi, said the killings in Pakistan 20 years ago were different from those happening now as Islamabad was then trying to show the Americans that it did not support terror. “The ISI did not want to be seen providing state support to extremists,” said Behuria. The situation is different now. While the killings made some headlines at that time, this time the Pak vernacular media is more or less ignoring it. “This may mean that Pakistan does not think too much of it,” said Behuria. “It will be difficult to say if those being killed lost their utility for the ISI, but these killings are certainly not their primary worry.”

While these killings are definitely a relief for India, it is too early to put the guard down. “The recent fatalities in terrorist groups, whether it is the Lashkar-e-Taiba or the pro-Khalistani terrorist groups, indicate that many have fallen to disuse for the ISI after the terror graph has gone down,” said Tilak Devasher, member of the National Security Advisory Board. “But many of them are medium level commanders or footsoldiers. The big ones are still in safe havens in Pakistan. The Pakistan-sponsored terror is pretty much alive and trying to revive its cross-border networks in Jammu and Kashmir.”

At the moment, the primary worry for the Pakistani security establishment is the “opportunistic partnership” between the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch rebels. There is a growing suspicion that the TTP is getting covert support of the Balochs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other northwestern tribal areas, especially after Pakistan started fencing its border with Afghanistan. The ingress of TTP terrorists to Baloch areas is particularly worrisome for the Pakistani army because the country’s defence budget has not been rising in tandem with its growing need for new technologies and weapons owing to a troubled economy.

“On the other hand, the Indian defence budget has grown and its technological prowess and superiority overshadows Pakistan’s capabilities,” said Behuria. “If this trend persists, then Pakistan is likely to face newer challenges and problems.”

This, however, might be a temporary situation. “It is already on the mend,” said Behuria. “Friendly countries are helping it recover financially, the political dispensation has changed and Pakistani forces know how to sow seeds of discord within the TTP and Balochs.” Also the TTP, a conglomerate of various outfits, is no longer united. Indian security agencies believe that Pakistan’s attention will soon turn back to Kashmir and it will start training and funding terror activities there.

That Pakistan-sponsored terrorists have been able to build transnational syndicates stretching from Canada to Nepal is proof of its ability to continue its anti-India campaign. Almost all terrorists wanted by Indian security agencies have a Pak origin or connection.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force who was killed by unidentified gunmen in Canada on June 18, was a key link to the Pak-sponsored pro-Khalistan network that orchestrated the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. In April 2012, Nijjar was in Pakistan, as per intelligence records, and he was groomed by the ISI to train terror operatives of the KTF in Canada to carry out operations in Punjab. He was subsequently linked to several acts of terror, including assassinations.

Lakhbir Singh Rode, head of the banned International Sikh Youth Federation and Khalistan Liberation Force, had a free run in Pakistan till he died of a heart attack on December 4. He lived in a safe house there and assisted Canada-based gangsters in terrorist acts, including the rocket-propelled grenade attack in Mohali in 2022. Jasbir Rode, his brother who lives in Punjab, told THE WEEK that his family in Canada informed him about Lakhbir’s death in Pakistan. The National Investigation Agency also has collected evidence of Lakhbir getting help from cross-border smugglers to drop weapons and drugs using drones in Punjab.

Yashovardhan Azad, former special director of the Intelligence Bureau, said whether it was Nijjar’s killing or the poisoning of LeT commander Sajid Mir, an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, in Pakistan, the reasons were at best speculations. He said the internecine wars of terror-criminal networks were a rising threat for many countries. “Pro-Khalistani terrorists cannot tear the social fabric of Punjab as there is no sentiment for Khalistan in Punjab,” he said. “But these extremists can surely be a security concern for the host countries.”

The face of terror is changing―from ideologues to criminals running transnational syndicates. Azad said there was a need for the criminal justice system to evolve to keep pace with such threats. The US, for instance, has the PATRIOT Act that enables its law enforcement agencies to use certain tools to improve counter-terror efforts. It allows federal agents to take measures like surveillance and imposing tough penalties on those who commit and support terrorist operations.

“The ability to implement [rules] also matters,” said Azad. “Even if we have similar laws, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to execute it. The criminal justice system is still overburdened with long pendency of cases in courts.”

The US also has a federal witness protection programme and a provision for plea bargain. Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley pleaded guilty and admitted to conducting surveillance for the LeT in planning the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. “In light of Headley’s past cooperation and expected future cooperation”, the attorney general authorised the US attorney in Chicago not to seek the death penalty for him in 2010. As a result, Indian agencies could not get Headley extradited.

From 9/11 to 26/11 and beyond, a lot has changed, but clearly there is a lot more to improve in the joint war against terrorism, which has neither boundaries nor laws.

the-future-looks-bleak-for-kcr-and-his-party-as-the-congress-and-the-bjp-could-poach-his-mla-s

Fri Dec 15 19:15:21 IST 2023

MUCH AGAINST THE spirit of democracy, former Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) did not personally hand over his resignation letter to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan. On December 3, when it became clear that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) was losing, KCR simply walked out of Pragathi Bhavan, his opulent official residence and camp office in the heart of Hyderabad, and asked one of his senior officers to submit the resignation letter on his behalf to the governor.

According to eyewitnesses, he asked his nephew and Rajya Sabha MP J. Santosh Kumar for a vehicle. He stepped into the car, leaving behind the security detail and government cars, and drove away with a handful of his associates. What would usually be a 20-car convoy, mostly consisting of Land Cruisers, was reduced to two modest private cars. As the sun set in the west, KCR retired to the east of Hyderabad, into his new life in his farmhouse. For the first time in four decades of his political career, KCR lost an election, trounced by a relatively unknown BJP leader in Kamareddy, the second constituency he contested. He was also edged out of the chief minister’s post by a much-younger rival, A. Revanth Reddy.

Those who met KCR at his farmhouse described his state as being “disturbed”, “dull” and “in disbelief”. The question of how people could overthrow someone who won for them a separate Telangana state and gave them more than a dozen welfare schemes seemed to trouble him. To lift his spirits, his close aides allowed a stream of visitors from his native village, Chintamadaka, which he had adopted as chief minister. The following day, he greeted more visitors with folded hands, knowing well that he had been relegated to just another legislator.

That night, a team of doctors from a private hospital rushed to the farmhouse after receiving an emergency call. As per the doctors’ diagnosis, KCR had a fall in his farmhouse, suffered a hip fracture, and was struggling to walk. The injured BRS is now struggling in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections scheduled in a few months. The doctors prescribed six to eight weeks of rest for KCR. But does the BRS have that much time to get back on its feet?

“There are two main challenges ahead for KCR. He has to strengthen the party structure and prepare for the Lok Sabha elections, which will be a litmus test for him,” said S.K. Zakeer, a senior journalist based in Hyderabad. “The foundation of the party is not just weak, it is literally invisible. From the beginning, KCR never concentrated on building a strong party structure from the grassroots. Before he came to power in 2014, the Telangana sentiment worked as a card, and he and his party triumphed in multiple elections without any proper cadre base. After he came to power, he made MLAs the whole and sole representatives of the party without having any active committees or strong local leaders in place. Many of these MLAs came from other parties and have no emotional bond with the BRS. If they leave, the party will fall deeper into crisis.” In the assembly elections, the BRS fell to 39 seats in the 119-member house.

Currently, Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats, of which the BRS has nine, the Congress three, the BJP four, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen one. “The Parliament elections will be fought between the Congress and the BJP―with the Congress riding the assembly victory wave and the BJP riding the Modi wave. It is very difficult for the BRS to convince voters at this stage and win seats,” said Zakeer. Compared with the 2018 assembly elections, vote shares of the Congress and the BJP have gone up phenomenally this time.

For 69-year-old KCR, highs and lows in politics are not unfamiliar. However, he does not take kindly to electoral losses. In the 2009 assembly elections held in united Andhra Pradesh, the BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won only 10 seats, having contested under the banner of a grand alliance along with the Telugu Desam Party. In the Lok Sabha elections held simultaneously, KCR won from Mahabubnagar with a slender margin of 20,000 votes. Disappointed with the results, he secluded himself and refused to engage in party activities. A few months later, however, he bounced back with his fast-unto-death protest, which ultimately led to the creation of a separate state.

For a party that wanted to emerge as an effective alternative to the BJP and the Congress at the national level, the road ahead appears difficult for the BRS. KCR’s game-plan was to try and win almost all the Lok Sabha seats in Telangana and a few seats in Maharashtra to increase the tally to at least 20 seats and become a formidable player on the national stage in 2024. It now looks like a distant dream. “When you (BRS) lost your own ground in Telangana, you won’t be making any big headlines during the Parliament elections. Had the BRS won the assembly elections, it would have been different,” said K. Nageshwar, former MLC and political analyst based in Hyderabad. “The political space for anti-BJP and anti-Congress groups is shrinking. The Aam Aadmi Party moved towards the INDIA bloc and the YSR Congress is with the BJP. Who will ally with the BRS since they lost the elections?”

Questions are also being raised about the very existence of the BRS. Between 2014 and 2023, the party encouraged defections. Around 38 MLAs from the Congress, the TDP and the YSRCP joined the BRS in those ten years. The result was that the TDP was wiped out in Telangana, whereas the Congress was at its weakest for years, having lost top leaders. Since opposition MLAs moving towards the ruling party has been normalised during the BRS rule, there is concern that the Congress could repeat the act. The Congress has 64 MLAs, just four more than the half-way mark, which makes it almost inevitable for the party to strengthen itself. Congress MLA and senior leader Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy said if the party wanted so, then the entire bloc of BRS MLAs except KCR and his family members would switch over. Recently, when KCR was in the hospital, BRS MLAs met at the party office and elected him as their legislature party leader.

The immediate job for KCR is to try and keep his flock together. “Revanth Reddy had tried to poach our MLAs while he was in the opposition. Since he is in power now, he may try that again,” said D. Shravan Kumar, senior BRS leader. “The BJP has tasted blood as its voting percentage has improved, and it may want to become stronger. But KCR is very strong and has not given up. We are confident that there will be no such environment where we will see our MLAs moving over to other parties.”

the-peace-pact-between-the-manipur-government-and-a-separatist-unlf-faction-serves-the-interests-of-both-parties-in-the-short-term

Sat Dec 09 16:35:05 IST 2023

As his cavalcade raced to Imphal’s Bir Tikendrajit International Airport on the morning of November 27, Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh would have been in an upbeat mood.

Unlike in the past few months, when he often rushed to Delhi to defend his government’s efforts to stop the spiralling ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kukis, this time would be different, the 62-year-old would have thought.

There were two important tasks at hand.

The next day, he, along with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, would unveil the crest of INS Imphal―India’s latest stealth-guided missile destroyer and an example of India’s increasing capability to make cutting-edge warships at home.

On the destroyer’s crest would be emblazoned the Kangla fort and the ‘Kangla-Sa’, or the mythical dragon-lion, which is also the state emblem. This would be the first time a warship was to be named after a city in the northeast.

The more critical event, however, would be the signing of a pact between the Centre, the state and the secessionist United National Liberation Front (Pambei) on November 29. Ever since he became chief minister in March 2017, Biren had been trying to get valley-based Meitei insurgent outfits to come to the negotiating table.

After the Basque nationalists’ Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) ceased operations five years ago in Spain, the Naga and Manipur underground movements would rank among the world’s longest-running insurgencies.

While many insurgent groups from Assam and Nagaland are involved in ongoing peace talks with the government, the major Meitei outfits had remained unyielding in their resolve to carry on with the armed struggle and to negotiate only if the issue of Manipur’s “sovereignty and independence” was taken up. In that sense, a pact with the UNLF, albeit a faction, is a significant event.

The volatile state has seen the birth of more than 42 insurgency outfits, mostly organised along ethnic lines; the state has over 33 ethnic communities. The Meiteis, about 15-lakh strong, make up about 58 per cent of the population. Meiteis are also the dominant community in the UNLF, as well as in the People’s Liberation Army, People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, Kangleipak Communist Party and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup.

The UNLF, among the biggest and most well-equipped outfits, has two factions. It is the Pambei faction, led by Khundongbam Lanjingba, that signed the peace agreement; the one led by Rajkumar Achou Singh ‘Koireng’―the stronger faction in terms of hardcore cadres and weapons―called the pact a “betrayal”.

Though there is no consensus on the cadre strength of the UNLF, most observers tracking insurgency in the northeast said that while the UNLF (Pambei) would have about 600 trained and armed cadres, the Koireng faction would have fewer. But, the latter are said to be more devoted to their cause. Many are believed to be in jungle camps in Myanmar.

“The attempt of the Indian government to sign the ‘peace talks agreement’ with the breakaway group of UNLF can only be described as ignorance of the dynamics of our national liberation struggle,” read a Koireng faction statement on December 2.

So, what prompted the Biren Singh government to hurry to close a deal with the UNLF? Like other BJP governments in the northeast, his, too, wants to make curbing insurgency and restoration of peace the USP of its rule. The recent Meitei-Kuki clashes shattered that aim. It was important to reverse that.

“A pact at this juncture will bring the narrative of the state government being successful at peace restoration to the forefront again,” said Kumar Sanjay Singh, a northeast observer and a history professor at Delhi University. “More so with parliamentary elections slated for next year. A positive spin had to be given.”

Moreover, there was a need to assuage the perceived ‘hurt’ within the majority Meitei community, which is the BJP’s main support base. There was a strong feeling among Meiteis that Delhi was favouring the Kukis during the violence. The Meiteis had openly accused the Assam Rifles of siding with the Kukis.

As for the UNLF(P), there were several reasons to ink a pact now. First, the reverberations of Myanmar’s Spring Revolution were being strongly felt among Manipur’s insurgent groups. Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram share a 1,643km porous border with Myanmar.

After the General Min Aung Hlaing-led military junta coup on February 1, 2021, the militias of the various pro-democracy groups had raised the banner of armed rebellion, with considerable success, against Myanmar’s military.

In particular, the recent success of ‘Operation 1027’ by the Three Brotherhood Alliance―Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army―has dented the efficacy and sustainability of the junta. Reports say the rebels have more territories under their control now than the ruling military.

“In all probability, UNLF(P) would not have entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government if there was no Spring Revolution in Myanmar,” said Rajeev Bhattacharyya, journalist and author of the recently released book ULFA: The Mirage of Dawn.

Bhattacharyya covertly visited Myanmar this year to study and gather information on the resistance movement against the junta-appointed State Administration Council. “During my assignment in Myanmar, I met and interviewed several resistance leaders and fighters from different communities who pointed fingers at some insurgent outfits from Manipur that were collaborating with the military in Myanmar against the opposition,” he said. “The [anti-military] operations [in Myanmar] have spread to... zones near the India-Myanmar border, where the military had establishments. The operation has also begun to target some of the junta’s allies that include groups from Manipur.”

Also, with the UNLF’s core area being a landlocked one, operational requirements mandated that they have safe camps in Myanmar. But the Meitei-Kuki clashes had restricted access to these safe camps. On December 4, a gunfight in a Kuki-dominated locality in Tengnoupal district killed 13 men believed to be members of the Meitei-dominated PLA. The site of the gunfight is about 30km from the Myanmar border.

“With no easy access to these safe havens in Myanmar, there was an operational requirement for some sort of a ceasefire with the government,” said Sanjay Singh. “The danger of the safe havens being cut off would be effectively suspended or neutralised by opening a chapter of negotiations.”

In concrete terms, the beginning of peace talks and a ceasefire only means cessation of hostilities till the duration of the negotiations.

Another factor that led to the pact is that politics has been slowly evolving in Manipur. A core UNLF demand has been that of a plebiscite, but of late, even civil society organisations have been talking openly of perhaps revisiting Manipur’s merger with the Indian Union and whether mainstream political parties have addressed Manipur’s interests. In that sense, the beginning of negotiations may be seen as a new avenue to carry out political discussions.

Also, the Meitei-Kuki clashes have shattered the social fabric of the multi-ethnic society in Manipur. This instilled some sort of ethnic identity consciousness among the Meitei insurgents. With more than 2,000 trained cadres of 24 Kuki insurgent outfits―which inked ‘suspension of operations’ pacts with the government―being allowed to reside in designated camps along with their weapons, a sense of vulnerability had crept into the Meiteis. It was felt that some Meitei outfits should also sign such pacts and be allowed to stay in designated camps along with their weapons if only to fight the Kukis.

“The possibility of more outfits inking ceasefire agreements with the government cannot be ruled out,” said Bhattacharyya.

However, the hurried pact could also be a cause for worry. Pacts with northeast’s insurgent organisations have a difficult history. While factions of the Naga underground and United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) are engaged in negotiations with the government, final resolutions have been elusive thus far.

The November 29 pact is also starkly reminiscent of the ‘framework agreement’ signed between the government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) leadership on August 3, 2015. Though it was inked amid much fanfare with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in attendance, a final resolution to the Naga issue is as distant as ever.

While the long-term implications of the UNLF(P) deal are in the realm of unpredictability, in the short term, it does serve the interests of both the Biren Singh government and the UNLF faction.

manipur-chief-minister-n-biren-singh-interview

Sat Dec 09 16:30:15 IST 2023

Interview/ N. Biren Singh/chief minister, Manipur

Q/ For how long have you been trying to get the United National Liberation Front to negotiate?

A/ We have been trying to bring all insurgent groups into the mainstream for quite a long time. In May 2017, the Manipur cabinet increased the monthly stipend of surrendered militants from Rs4,000 to Rs8,000. The one-time financial grant was increased from Rs2.5 lakh to Rs4 lakh. This would be kept as fixed deposit for three years.

On February 2018, we announced that a new comprehensive surrender policy would be launched the same year. The new policy was finalised with the Union government.

In February 2022, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced during his visit to Manipur that the Centre was ready to hold talks with insurgent groups in the state. The credit for bringing the UNLF to the table goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His people-centric approach and his commitment to bringing peace to the northeast have secured the confidence of insurgent groups. What has also been instrumental is Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meticulous effort to bring the UNLF to the negotiation table.

Q/ Are you hopeful of more valley-based outfits following suit?

A/ With the UNLF opting for the route of peace, the ensuing progress, development and stability will definitely foster trust and confidence among other valley-based outfits to follow suit.

Q/ Is it a ceasefire and suspension of operations pact or a surrender? What are the implications?

A/ The details of the peace agreement shall remain confidential as of now. However, the implications are far-reaching. This is a huge step towards maintaining stability and peace in the region.

Q/ What made the UNLF a potent outfit?

A/ It is the oldest Meitei insurgent group in Manipur. It was formed in 1964 while its military wing was established in 1990 to launch an armed struggle against the Indian Union. Let us just say that the UNLF has had its fair share of violent attacks against the Central and paramilitary forces over the years.

Q/ Did the UNLF have a role in the current ethnic violence in Manipur?

A/ Prior to the recent unrest in the state, all the valley-based insurgent groups had been gradually flushed out from Manipur; their presence was significantly reduced. However, there were reports of some outfits becoming active again following the unrest.

Q/ There are reports of thousands of weapons missing from police armouries in Manipur. What is being done to recover them?

A/ More than 1,500 arms have been recovered so far. We are recovering more with concerted efforts by both the Central and state forces.

Q/ Has your government been able to bridge the ethnic divide in the state police?

A/ The Manipur Police is a well-trained and disciplined force that does not function on ethnic lines. There is no need for the state government to bridge any divide in the state police because no such divisions exist.

Q/ How many cadres have surrendered? Are there still some remnants within the country or outside?

A/ Since peace talks are an ongoing activity, details of the cadres and weapons surrendered will be disclosed to the public [later].

Q/ Is the ceasefire with both the Pambei and Koireng factions? Can you also confirm the news that Pambei is in Thailand?

A/ The peace agreement is with the UNLF and it will be a continuous activity.

Q/ Does the UNLF have any foreign bases or is it completely homegrown?

A/ Disclosing such details may not be appropriate as peace talks are under way.

Q/ Were there any negotiations held with UNLF leaders on foreign soil?

A/ Yes, we have talked with them on foreign soil and, as I said earlier, the details cannot be disclosed.

Q/ Compared with the longest-running insurgencies, like that of the Nagas, how significant is the UNLF pact in the backdrop of the broad canvas of northeast insurgency?

A/ The Naga insurgency received more media attention because it had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Centre since the late 1990s. All these years, valley-based insurgent groups in Manipur, such as the UNLF, were adamant that they would not hold any talks with the Indian government. The insurgent groups, their ideologies and their functioning are as complex as the northeast itself. It may not be easy to study them in the simplified terms of ‘northeast insurgency’.

Q/ Do you see this deal having a positive impact on India’s Act East policy?

A/ Yes. This [takes us a] step closer towards fulfilling the prime minister’s vision of unlocking the northeast’s many hidden potentials with the Act East policy.

Q/ After having steadfastly refused to negotiate for several decades now, what do you think made the UNLF come to the table now?

A/ Under the prime minister’s esteemed leadership, there has been unparalleled growth and development. His dedication to fostering peace in the northeast, addressing issues with dignity, has resonated with the masses, winning their hearts and minds. The pervasive positivity emanating from the BJP government has even reached insurgent groups dissatisfied with the actions of past administrations.

the-government-is-now-taking-a-close-look-at-the-drdo-s-utility-and-track-record

Sat Nov 18 15:20:09 IST 2023

What is the link between New Delhi and Arlington county in the US? There are two, in fact.

One, they are polar opposites in terms of longitudinal position. New Delhi is located at 77 degrees East, while Arlington county is at 77 degrees West. Two, in 1958, Delhi and Arlington county became home to two organisations with similar mandates―the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in India, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in the US. Later, ARPA became DARPA after ‘defence’ was prefixed to its name.

DARPA and the DRDO functioned under differing conditions. By 1958, the Soviets had surprised the Americans by launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and the world’s first and second satellites (Sputnik 1 and 2). The US was compelled to accelerate military research and development. The new agency, said US president Dwight Eisenhower, would “prevent technological surprise” and “guarantee that never again would the US military be caught with its technological trousers down”.

And DARPA delivered. It developed many groundbreaking systems, including stealth technology for aircraft and military platforms, and precision weapons of game-changing proportions. It also gave the civilian world the internet, automated voice recognition and language translation, and the global positioning system.

The DRDO’s founding objectives were humbler. In 1958, India was a young nation that needed to be self-reliant in critical defence technologies and systems. The DRDO was seen as the answer.

Has it achieved the objective after 65 years? Not quite. While DARPA has become synonymous with excellence in developing new technologies, the DRDO has had, to put it mildly, a chequered journey. The government is now taking a hard look at its utility and track record.

The last time the government took a critical look at the performance of a major defence organisation was in 2017, when the Prime Minister’s Office asked India’s ordnance factories to furnish a report on their achievements from 2013 onwards. (Narendra Modi had become prime minister in 2014.) The directive led to a chain of developments that ultimately resulted in the overhaul of the factories.

The PMO’s attention is now on the DRDO―a behemoth comprising 52 laboratories and subsidiary units. “A recently formed committee is taking a very close look at the DRDO,” senior defence ministry official A. Bharat Bhushan Babu told THE WEEK. “It has a sweeping mandate―from organisational changes to enhancing the R&D work to handholding startups in the critical technology domain to collaborating with academia.”

Heading the committee is K. VijayRaghavan, former principal scientific adviser to the government. The committee has representatives of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, the defence ministry, the Indian Space Research Organisation, private industries, think tanks and academia. Apparently, the committee’s mandate includes submitting recommendations for sweeping organisational reforms in the DRDO.

The report regarding ordnance factories had led to the restructuring of the Ordnance Factory Board, the oldest and largest conglomerate in India’s defence industry with 41 factories and more than a lakh employees. The OFB was ranked 60 in the list of the top 100 defence conglomerates, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In October 2021, months after the report was submitted, the OFB was restructured into seven public-sector corporate entities. The objective was to improve efficiency and accountability, deepen specialisation in the product range, and enhance quality, cost-efficiency and competitiveness.

Defence minister Manohar Parikkar had, in May 2017, put the performance of many public-sector organisations in the military domain under the scanner. “Natural habits die very hard―habits that have been followed for 50 years,” he said. “You find comfort in the cocoon. You don’t want to dig out.”

Parrikar said public-sector defence companies were not accountable for their performance. “Government only asks for one kind of accountability―there should be no wastage of money. Cost of opportunity is never calculated,” he said.

Many audit reports in the past decade have pointed out deficiencies in project management by DRDO labs. In a report tabled in Parliament in December 2022, the Comptroller and Auditor General pointed out the DRDO’s history of failures that included even “mission-mode” projects―high-priority projects that have “high outcome certainty, as they depend on technologies that are already available, proven and readily accessible”.

According to the CAG, there were projects that the DRDO declared as success even though they did not achieve key objectives. “In 119 of 178 projects,” said the CAG report, “the original time schedules could not be adhered to. In 49 cases, the additional time was in fact more than 100 per cent of the original timeframe. Overall, delays ranged from 16 to 500 per cent, and extensions for completion of projects were taken multiple times.”

Reforming the DRDO would be a more complex task than restructuring ordnance factories. The DRDO’s 52 labs and units employ about 30,000 people, including around 5,000 scientists. Headed by a chairman and the secretary of the department of defence research and development, the DRDO is divided into eight technology clusters, each headed by a director-general.

The DRDO’s failures over the decades have contributed significantly to India becoming the world’s biggest weapons importer. According to SIPRI’s latest report, India continued to be the top weapons importer with 11 per cent share of global arms imports in 2018-22.

The DRDO has indeed tried to adapt to changing times. Several labs have been closed down and work reallocated. For example, from 2018 onwards, work allocated to the Delhi-based Laser Science and Technology Centre was gradually divided between the Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences in Hyderabad and the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) in Chandigarh. Later, TBRL was replaced by the Dehradun-based Instruments Research and Development Establishment.

Similarly, the DRDO has constituted a team of 50 scientists to focus on cutting-edge research in niche areas such as hypersonics, quantum technologies, big data analysis, algorithmic warfare, electromagnetic and directed energy weapons, robotics, lasers, and loiter munitions. “The 50 scientists are all under 35, and they have been handpicked to research and develop futuristic weapon systems, platforms and equipment for the armed forces,” said a source in the defence ministry. “An apex committee of seniors―experienced scientists and academicians―guides these young, brilliant minds who have been divided among five DRDO labs, each specialising in vital military implications in five key ‘cutting-edge’ areas.” The five labs―located in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata―specialise in artificial intelligence, smart materials, and quantum, cognitive and asymmetric technologies, respectively.

But just to keep pace with the dizzying pace of developments in military technology remains a challenge for the DRDO. It is now up to the nine-member committee to look into whether it needs to go the OFB way―a complete overhaul to suit the country’s changing defence needs.

maharashtra-caste-reservation-marathas-obc-quota-dhangar-community

Sat Nov 18 15:14:59 IST 2023

ON NOVEMBER 8, as the weekly meeting of the Maharashtra cabinet was nearing its end, a war of words broke out between two senior ministers―the Nationalist Congress Party’s Chhagan Bhujbal and the Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena faction’s Shambhuraj Desai.

Bhujbal has been opposed to the Maratha community being given reservation from the OBC quota. Bhujbal is among the tallest OBC leaders in the state and had called an all-party meeting of OBC leaders at his residence on November 7.

Desai, who belongs to Maratha nobility, objected to Bhujbal’s actions and statements. As they continued to spar, Chief Minister Shinde intervened and asked them not to make any statements that would go against the government’s stand on the issue. But, the exchange between Bhujbal and Desai made it clear there was no unanimity within the Shinde government over the issue.

The OBCs have been restless in the wake of two hunger strikes by Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who wants reservation for all Marathas as Kunbi OBC subcaste.

Bhujbal was in Jalna district recently and has called for a massive OBC rally at Ambad on November 17. Ambad is not far from Antarwali Sarati, the village where Patil held his fasts.

In Jalna, Bhujbal said that the attacks on the houses of NCP MLAs Prakash Solanke and Sandip Kshirsagar, allegedly by pro-reservation protestors, were pre-planned. Solanke is an Ajit Pawar loyalist while Kshirsagar, an OBC leader, is a Sharad Pawar loyalist.

In a leaked telephone conversation, Bhujbal is said to have described the Maratha reservation demand as a “do or die” situation, where the OBC community must raise its voice; he said that he would take the lead on this.

Ever since he was in the Shiv Sena back in the early 1990s, Bhujbal has been a strong votary of OBC reservation. One of the reasons he broke away from the Shiv Sena was the late Bal Thackeray’s opposition to the Mandal Commission report and its implementation. Bhujbal has always seen reservation as a legitimate tool to uplift the OBCs. In 1992, he joined Sharad Pawar, who was then in the Congress, and subsequently followed him to the NCP. Though the party is dominated by Maratha elites, Bhujbal continued to be the voice of the OBCs and earned Pawar Sr’s respect for doing so.

His stand that Marathas should not be given reservation from the OBC quota is not new and it is driven by the fear that it would further shrink the reservations for existing OBCs.

On the other hand, Patil and many Maratha leaders are now firm that they must get reservation as Kunbis. Already, in Konkan and Vidarbha, a large number of Marathas call themselves Kunbis and hence are entitled for benefits of OBC reservations. After Patil’s first fast, the government pacified him by appointing a committee headed by Justice Sandip Shinde to examine whether Marathas in the Marathwada region, to which Patil belongs, could be given Kunbi caste certificates based on evidence in Nizam Shahi-era documents. The committee found that around 15,000 Maratha families were registered as Kunbis in the documents and the government has sped up the process of giving certificates to these families.

However, Patil’s demand was for Kunbi status for the Maratha community statewide. So he launched his second fast. A rattled Shinde immediately held an all-party meeting which supported the call for Maratha reservation. And this, in turn, was the trigger for the unrest of the OBCs led by Bhujbal.

Prakash Shendge, former legislator and prominent OBC leader, told THE WEEK that the OBCs were not opposed to the Marathas being given reservation; the Kunbi issue was the bone of contention. “There are already almost 400 subcastes among the OBCs and what will happen if a community like the Marathas, which constitute more than 30 per cent of the population, enters the same category,” he said. “Also, the Marathas are not socially backward. They were the ruling elite. Till a few decades ago, our people had to remove footwear while walking in front of Maratha households.” He added that the Marathas have benefited from the reservation for economically weaker sections that was announced by the Centre a few years ago. “The current problem should be solved in the same manner,” he said. “The economic condition of Marathas should be the criteria for reservation.”

Shendge said that the apex body of OBCs in the state has announced two big rallies. The Ambad rally would be followed by one at Hingoli on November 26. “OBC leaders from all parties like Congress leader Nana Patole, senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal and [state] BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule will address these rallies,” he said.

Another reservation demand that is likely to come up is from the Dhangar community (shepherds) which wants to be designated as a scheduled tribe. Dhangars are listed as OBCs in Maharashtra and as STs elsewhere in India. But, the adivasis in Maharashtra are firmly opposed to the Dhangars’ demand.

The Maharashtra government wants to satisfy the Marathas, but fears a massive electoral backlash from the OBCs. The BJP, especially, is greatly concerned as OBCs in the state have traditionally stood by it while Marathas have voted for the Congress and the NCP.

A senior Maharashtra government bureaucrat, who requested anonymity, said that the government was bending over backwards to appease Patil. “The judges who went to meet him on behalf of the government were addressing him as ‘Sir’,” he said. “The chief minister must remain firm and not bow to unnecessary demands when they go against constitutional provisions and Supreme Court orders.”

The question is whether Shinde has it in him to remain firm.

why-bjp-is-focused-on-finding-a-winning-mix-of-populism-and-pragmatism

Sat Nov 18 12:29:41 IST 2023

The current round of assembly polls in five states has the BJP and the Congress engaged in a direct, gladiatorial contest of differing approaches. They have no allies in the battle for the three Hindi heartland states (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh), and both the parties are part of larger, triangular contests in Telangana and Mizoram. The five states together have 83 Lok Sabha seats, of which the BJP had won 65 in 2019―around 21 per cent of its overall tally.

With the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls due in around 100 days, the BJP has been ditching conventions, reinventing strategy and setting changes in motion. The party has turned the current round of elections into an extension of the Lok Sabha polls next year, and centred its messaging around Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bid for a third term. “In my third term, I will make the country’s economy the world’s third,” Modi said in a rally in Madhya Pradesh.

In poll-bound states, the BJP is banking on the credibility of such “Modi guarantees”, and has relegated its regional satraps to the background. The Congress, meanwhile, is betting on its old warhorses―Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh, Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan and Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh. The party’s victory in the three states in 2018 was Rahul Gandhi’s best moment as Congress leader. But the BJP still managed to improve its Lok Sabha tally in the 2019 elections, riding high on the Balakot airstrikes and Modi’s charisma.

Cut to 2023. The past one month has made the change in the BJP’s strategy visible, not just in poll-bound states but also in those that will go to the polls next year. In Jharkhand, the party has backtracked on its experiment of picking a non-adivasi, Raghubar Das, as chief minister. Das was recently shifted out of the state as Odisha governor, and adivasi leader Babulal Marandi was made the state party chief. In Haryana, where the Jat vote is moving away from the BJP, the party has appointed OBC leader and MP Nayab Singh Saini as state party chief, replacing Jat leader Om Prakash Dhankar. The BJP had earlier picked M.L. Khattar, a non-Jat, as chief minister.

In Karnataka, the party is banking on B.Y. Vijayendra, son of four-time chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa, to woo the powerful Lingayat community. His appointment as state party chief has prompted charges of dynasty politics, but the BJP insists that the decision is pragmatic and in line with current political needs.

The party’s pragmatism has also been visible in Madhya Pradesh, where it has set aside the convention of not giving tickets to those older than 75. The party has fielded several candidates who are above 75, including two 80-year-olds. In all, 14 candidates are older than 70.

The BJP has also asked its national leaders to contest from constituencies where the party is weak. “Experiments help us stay ahead,” explained a party leader. Unlike previous elections, where candidates were announced just three weeks in advance, the BJP declared 75 candidates three months before the polls.

The party has made identical promises in the heartland states and Telangana―free electricity, subsidised cooking gas, housing subsidy, allowances for women, better remuneration for crops and free rides to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The party’s promises for the Lok Sabha polls, too, are expected to be the same.

To counter the Congress’s guarantees that helped it win Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, the BJP is calling its manifesto promises as “Modi guarantees”. The party appears to have nuanced its messaging―from accusing other parties of promoting freebie culture, to talking about its own promised delivery of sops.

Explaining the rationale of using ‘Modi guarantee’ as the party’s slogan, BJP national spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said, “We have been able to fulfil the promises made [in manifestos]. In Uttar Pradesh, we have fulfilled 99 of 100 promises made. At the Centre, too, we have fulfilled promises. Prime Minister Modi will do everything to fulfil them.”

At rallies, BJP leaders point to the Congress’s unkept promises in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. “They made false promises without a roadmap to fulfil them. We are committed to fulfil the state and Central manifestos,” said Agarwal.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is relying on women voters. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been wooing them with promises of increasing the allowances under popular schemes such as Ladli Laxmi Yojana and Ladli Behna Yojana. Party leaders say women support the BJP, while male voters are vocal for change. The leaders say the BJP has made significant gains in the past few days. Modi’s rallies are expected to persuade the fence-sitters.

“The BJP will be elected with a big mandate,” said state party president V.D. Sharma. “The double-engine government is trusted by the people. Our cadres are there in the booths to help the party.”

In Rajasthan, where the BJP’s chances appear to be the brightest, the party has launched a broadside against Chief Minister Gehlot. Law-and-order issues and corruption allegations have been highlighted. Similarly, in Chhattisgarh, the BJP has kept up its attack on Baghel, and investigating agencies have been vigorously pursuing cases against those close to the chief minister.

The Congress has the advantage of projecting CM faces in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, but the BJP is banking on its well-established cadre strength―something the Congress does not have. If the BJP goes on to win all three states, as many of its leaders expect it to, it would be a major boost for Modi and the BJP. Also, its strategy to make Modi as the mascot in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls would make its subsequent campaign much easier, and provide a template for the ‘Modi guarantees’ to be announced in 2024.

But the 2024 battle would become much keener if the Congress repeats its 2018 victories, while gaining Telangana. The party would also improve its bargaining power in the INDIA alliance. A poor show, however, may expose the chinks in the alliance, which has already widened because of the Congress’s focus on going it alone in the assembly polls.

In Telangana, the country’s youngest state, the triangular contest between the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, the Congress and the BJP has become closer. Surveys indicate that the Congress is gaining ground against the BRS. For the BJP, which had launched a hectic campaign in the state since holding its national executive meeting in Hyderabad last year, challenges appear to be mounting. Though it had won only one seat in the 2018 assembly polls, it had managed to win four Lok Sabha seats in 2019. The BJP has since been increasing its vote share in the bypolls, but the Karnataka results have made the perception battle tougher for the party.

The BJP is also aiming at improving its performance in Mizoram, where the main battle is between the Mizo National Front (MNF), the Congress and the Zoram People’s Movement. The ruling MNF had earlier been part of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance, but the ethnic strife in Manipur has prompted the party to distance itself from the BJP.

In terms of streamlining strategies for the Lok Sabha polls, a lot is riding on the current round of assembly polls. “We hope that people will stand for a strong nation that has the economic power to lead the world,” said Agarwal. “At the national and state levels, there is a strong nationalist party that will deliver on the issues. We are expecting a huge mandate.”

mahua-moitra-finds-herself-in-a-legal-and-ethical-grey-zone-cash-for-query-scandal

Sat Nov 18 15:51:39 IST 2023

Mahua Moitra’s petite build can be highly misleading. She has a jumbo-sized persona which has loomed large over Parliament and beyond ever since she arrived on the scene as a Lok Sabha MP of the Trinamool Congress in 2019. She has gained a reputation for taking on the ruling establishment fearlessly, with her no-holds-barred speeches in Parliament, demanding accountability from the government. She is feisty, known to give it back as good as she gets. And she is unapologetic about her love for the good things in life or for letting her hair down, which may be incongruous with traditional notions.

The 49-year-old investment banker-turned-politician is in the middle of a serious crisis, facing perhaps the biggest political challenge of her life. In the eye of a storm over a “cash-for-query” scandal, the Krishnanagar MP is on the verge of being expelled from the Lok Sabha. More importantly, her credibility and trustworthiness as a political leader are at stake.

Events, unfavourable to Moitra, have unfolded at a furious pace. Allegations that she accepted cash and expensive gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions about the Adani group in the Lok Sabha, even sharing her parliamentary login credentials with him to post queries on her behalf on the Lok Sabha portal, first surfaced in the middle of October. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had on October 15 submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, based on purported evidence provided by Moitra’s ex-partner, Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, in which he had detailed the above accusations. The speaker asked the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha to probe the matter, and on November 9, after three sittings, the panel adopted its report which is learnt to have recommended Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha.

In what is said to be a 500-page report, the panel is learnt to have taken into account the affidavit filed by Hiranandani in which he has admitted to using Moitra’s parliamentary login to post questions on the Lok Sabha portal and that Moitra took expensive gifts from him. It also considered the evidence provided by the complainants, both oral and documentary, and the assessment of the matter by the ministry of home affairs and the ministry of information technology. According to sources, there were contradictions between Moitra’s defence and the evidence placed before the panel.

Moitra has fought back fiercely. She admitted to having shared her login credentials with Hiranandani, whom she described as a friend. She has also agreed that she accepted some gifts from him. But she has vehemently denied the charge of asking questions in exchange for bribe. She has claimed that Dehadrai, whom she described as a “jilted ex”, is motivated by personal vindictiveness. She has accused Dubey of exacting political vendetta since she has often taken him on and raised questions about his “fake degree”. And she has charged the Modi government of wanting her out of the Lok Sabha at all costs because of the uncomfortable questions that she has constantly posed before it.

“The question is whether the dignity and propriety of Parliament will remain. This is about respecting Parliament. And the ethics committee is more worried about that than I am,” Dubey said after appearing before the panel on October 26 in response to Moitra’s claims that the complaint was guided by politics of vendetta.

The report of the committee is set to be tabled before the Lok Sabha when it meets for the winter session on December 4, and the house, in all probability, will accept it, paving the way for Moitra’s disqualification. However, experts have raised questions about the panel’s probe against Moitra, and it is being said that she has the option of seeking a judicial review.

Experts agree that if the main issue before the panel was the allegation that Moitra accepted illegal gratification in exchange for asking or facilitating questions on the Adani group from a businessman who is a business rival, it is definitely a serious matter, but wonder if it ought not to have been referred to the Committee of Privileges instead. They also say that merely sharing parliamentary login and password does not amount to any misdemeanour since it is not prohibited by any rules or any law.

“The allegation is that she took money to allow a certain businessman to ask questions, prepare questions on her behalf and ask those questions to promote his own business. It involves the question whether the privilege of Moitra as an MP was used by the businessman to further his business interests. If that is the case, it can amount to breach of privilege, and should have been looked into by the Committee of Privileges. The Ethics Committee has no jurisdiction to deal with the case,” said former Lok Sabha secretary general P.D.T. Achary.

As the money trail has not yet been established, and only gifts have been admitted to by both Hiranandani and Moitra, experts say it is extremely difficult to prove a nexus between gifts and the alleged misuse of parliamentary privilege. It has also been asked why the panel did not ask Hiranandani to depose before it and also why Moitra was not allowed an opportunity to cross-examine him. “The entire case is built on Darshan Hiranandani’s affidavit. It was only natural that he should have been asked to appear before the panel. Also, not allowing Moitra a chance to cross-examine him amounts to denial of natural justice,” said Bishwajit Bhattacharyya, former additional solicitor general of India.

The fightback by Moitra is gutsy. But she finds herself in a legal and ethical grey zone, clawing out of which will be an uphill task.

trinamool-congress-mp-mahua-moitra-interview

Wed Nov 22 14:32:15 IST 2023

It is difficult to corner Mahua Moitra and confine her into neat little boxes of traditional norms. The only norm that the Lok Sabha MP has followed is to defy the powers that be. In doing so, she has ruffled feathers, and some would say that she has done so even within her own party. Faced with the toughest challenge of her political career so far, Moitra is fighting back fiercely. The same combativeness is well evident in her exclusive interview with THE WEEK where she says that she has nothing to hide and that the Ethics Committee acted like a kangaroo court. Edited excerpts:

You have been appointed in-charge of Krishnanagar district by your party. What is the significance of the assignment for you in the present circumstances?

It is important to me because I am an organisational person. The issue is just because I don't fit the traditional mould of a politician, and in this BJP world, they kind of paint you out as a Jezebel and they like to put you out there as a dilettante politician. But the truth is I am a grassroots politician and I have come up the hard way. I have toiled in the organisation, first became an MLA, then became an MP. I have been a district president before, and I am very glad to get that back.

There was a perception that the party did not back you in the matter as much as it would have been expected to.

No, that is not true at all. The BJP put this story out saying that, oh, Mamata Banerjee put her under the bus. There were all these stories that Mamata has done a deal with the BJP to save her nephew. But this is the usual right wing propaganda. They have written my obituary in the TMC 20 times over, right? Initially, because it was in the Ethics Committee, even I didn't talk about it for the first ten days. And then we found that the BJP wanted to run a media trial. My party didn't obviously want to be part of that media trial. And they thought 'let the Ethics Committee do something, and then we will react'. So, it was only when I realised, around October 26, that this was actually a media trial, and I am facing character assassination, that I fought back and came out myself. Mamata Banerjee is not going to comment on something frivolous. So when the Ethics Committee came out, and they did this entire kangaroo court, is when the party came out and said the right process was not followed.

Did Mamata speak to you on this issue?

I can't say that. The party has been with me right from day one. I can say that much.

The Ethics Committee has finalised its report which will come to the House, which is BJP dominated. If they expel you, what will be your first step?

There is no mention of any cash; the fake complaint talks about cash, the so-called corroborating affidavit makes no mention of cash. So, cash has gone out the window. And about these gifts, in the corroborating affidavit, there is a very vague paragraph 12 of what the so-called gifts are. This person who is the alleged bribe giver is an Indian citizen; he is equally culpable of bribing a public servant. So where is the list of gifts? Why is this person not called before the ethics committee to give a list of gifts? The only gifts on the table are the ones that I have spoken about, which is one birthday present and two lipsticks as a friend.

If you see the recommendations of the Ethics Committee, it's laughable. Number one is to expel, number two is to ask an agency to investigate. If you haven't found any evidence, how do you expel someone? The Ethics Committee can't expel, a Special Committee or a Privileges Committee can. So this is a kangaroo court. It is a BJP house. Let the expulsion happen and I will then let people know what I am going to do next.

If expulsion happens, will going to the court be an option? You have the option of filing a writ petition.

Yes, of course. And this expulsion people are talking about, the BJP would want to shut you up and lock you up and throw away the key, right? And they can't find a way to do it. So they are doing it in this disgusting manner by using these little weasels, such as (Nishikant) Dubey. Because he can't be acting as a postbox. Since when does an acrimonious ex go to an MP and use the MP as a postbox to get to the speaker? The first thing is that an Ethics Committee complaint should not be frivolous or vexatious, and should be made in good faith. How does someone who has got a history of acrimony with me, has threatened me, abused me, and harassed me get to go to an Ethics Committee via an MP? Tomorrow some other MP's ex-wife can come and say that while I was married to him, he took money for a Lok Sabha campaign. Where does this end?

So, there are options open, but remember, even the expulsion is only for the course of the 17th Lok Sabha.

You have been asked this before; this issue about sharing your login and password.

It is ridiculous. In this way, I use typist services. Please put it out there that you can't do that. In the committee report, they have written that he is not a foreign national, but he has relatives who are foreign nationals. My own sister is a British citizen. Half my family are British citizens. This is some ludicrous joke. I am covered under Article 105 of the Constitution as a parliamentarian. I can source information from anywhere, ask questions about anything, even if he were a competitor to Adani and he gave me questions about Adani, why not? How am I supposed to know about Adani's malpractices if not from competitors? What is wrong with that? If there are five bidders for Dhamra port who don't get the port, and Adani gets it without a tender, and I talk to five other ports, what is wrong with that? It's in public interest.

You have admitted that you shared your login to the portal with Hiranandani.

It is not a parliament login. It is only to the portal where you can only do questions and travel reimbursement. Every single MP has ten people even today doing it.

So, you are completely convinced that you did nothing wrong?

I did nothing wrong. Not at all. Can you give it to somebody in your office to type because I don't have a typist. What is illegal about it? If it is illegal, show me the rules. Show us the NIC rules that prohibit this.

You tweeted about an MP [Nishikant Dubey] who has now been summoned by the court in Delhi for asking for Rs 2 crore.

That is in 2014. Just two weeks ago in the Supreme Court, there was a case where his wife had bought land worth Rs 16 crore for Rs 3 crore. And the district magistrate filed a case against him in Deogarh. And he had gone to the Jharkhand High Court and got a stay. Last week, in the Supreme Court, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul granted leave in the matter and agreed to hear the case. He is just a criminal wheeler-dealer.

A point that has been raised is that the Hiranandani Group's business interests clash with those of the Adani Group. So, was it proper to allow Hiranandani to ask questions?

This is the biggest lie. Hiranandani did not ask any questions. I have asked 61 questions over the past five years. There are only nine questions relating to Adani. And each of those nine questions is in public interest. Six of those questions are about the foreign portfolio investors coming into Adani Group, which are in public interest. One is about Dhamra. What is Hiranandani going to do with it? Today, Adani owns everything. Darshan did not write any questions. I had someone in his office type out my questions.

What about Hiranandani's affidavit? You have said he did this under duress and it was dictated by the PMO.

The story breaks on the 15^th (of October). On the 16th, the Hiranandani Group puts out a disclaimer, saying we know nothing about this. Next day, they get to his father, Niranjan Hiranandani, put a gun to his head, said, 'we put the CBI against you, we put the ED against you, you need to give us something to fix Mahua Moitra ASAP'. They first give him a white paper thing, which he signs and they float it around. And then I raised the question about it. The next day, they made him fly down to Bombay for one day and sit with his father and do this. He flew back and they put a gun to his head, so that tomorrow morning, go to the Dubai office and sign this. It's a 12 paragraph affidavit. Darshan is an educated man with a master's degree, he is an engineer, he runs a huge company. Eleven paragraphs of that thing is singing songs to Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani. If he is Gautam Adani's competitor, why would he write 11 pages of how great Gautam Adani is? Does he say he's a competitor of Adani and wanted to get him? He says Mahua wanted to get famous, hence she was targeting Adani. Do you see the language there? Was he an idiot then that he was helping me? I am an opposition MP. How can I help him?

Where are his businesses? In Uttar Pradesh, in Gujarat, in Maharashtra, all BJP-owned states. In paragraph 12, if he is a bribe giver, he should be writing down. There are no details. On what basis have you hung me? I want to know. Some ex-boyfriend's ridiculous made up fairy tale and Nishikant Dubey being used as a post office? Where is the proof? Where is one rupee? The only reason you know that he gave me a Hermes scarf is because I said so. He has written 'support for renovation of bungalow'. What is support? You could have got me bamboo for the guy to climb up on the scaffolding. Travel expense can be a bus ticket. Is this how an affidavit is written? The BJP has dumbed us down. There is no logic left. There is no reason left. There is no legalese left.

Hiranandani was a friend of yours. Are you disappointed with how he has dealt with the issue?

He is still a friend. But I have realised that Narendra Modi's government wants to make me radioactive. They want to make me into a person whose friends will not mix with her. I'm not disappointed, but you realise what lengths this government will go to, put a gun to his father's head, and put a gun to his head and say, please frame Mahua Moitra. You realise the desperation?

Do you ever regret leaving your plum job and joining Indian politics?

No, not at all. When something like this happens, I realise how much people like us are still required, because it is only because of what I am, that I am still standing up straight. Any lesser being would have quit it by now. So now I realise I shouldn't have been wasting my time as managing director at JP Morgan, or as a senior banker at JP Morgan. This country needs people like us who, in spite of everything, can stand up straight. So this episode has told me all the more that I found my calling. Because history will judge us.

Some people are saying this could be the end of the road for Mahua Moitra, the politician.

Why don't we wait for another five months. Three weeks ago they said she will never show her face. At least 50 per cent of them are turning around and saying, 'thank you'. Let them expel me. They have already made me a Jhansi ki Rani. They will make me a Joan of Arc. I am not going to stop. They are the ones with something to hide. I have nothing to hide. The value of two lipsticks is not going to shut my mouth.

Your party is part of the INDIA bloc. What is your take on the future of the alliance?

Look, it depends on the people of India, but I think everybody can see and in this episode also, everybody can see that what the BJP is all about. I think the INDIA bloc is happening.

The matter also saw some intense discussion about your private life.

It is typical, misogynistic, patriarchal, woman shaming. It is the classic mould. That is what they did to Hillary (Clinton). I have come from Bengal, where we don't have this kind of misogyny. And in national politics, it is very prevalent, especially under a BJP regime. Disobedient women and Muslim men, the BJP can't stand them. So, shame them, slander them, character assassinate them. But I have thick skin. I don't care.

jyotiraditya-scindia-madhya-pradesh-bjp-politics-elections-2023

Fri Nov 10 18:48:22 IST 2023

I AM NEITHER a king nor a kingmaker,” Jyotiraditya Scindia said as he brushed aside the label―kingmaker―used to describe his influence heading into the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections on November 17. The Union civil aviation minister has to ensure the BJP’s victory in the Gwalior-Chambal region, part of the former princely state of Gwalior, and he is giving it his all.

Unlike many of his cabinet colleagues from the state, Scindia is not contesting; however, 18 of the 25 loyalists, who left the Congress with him in 2020, are in the fray. The Gwalior-Chambal region, with 34 seats, is a decisive factor in government formation. In 2013, the BJP won 20 seats here; in 2018, the Congress won 26. An emphatic win would cement Scindia’s influence within his new political family.

THE WEEK caught up with him at a rally in Pohari, more than 80km from Gwalior, on November 3. It was his seventh and last of the day, but he showed no signs of fatigue as he arrived in his Toyota Innova to a rousing welcome by party workers who showered flowers on him. As he took the stage, the power went off. Emergency lights came up and Scindia spoke from a semi-lit stage for 15 minutes before power was restored. He was campaigning for his loyalist Suresh Dhakad, a state minister. During the entire speech, Dhakad just stood there with folded hands.

Scindia’s connect with the audience―mostly daily wagers and farmers―was instant. They had gathered to hear their maharaj, who asked them to vote for the Shivraj-Scindia jodi, while also attacking the Congress for its corruption. “I will always fight for you,” he said. “I fight for your respect. I fight for your development. Always remember that Jyotiraditya Scindia will work for your prosperity and development.”

He then reminded them of the emotional link he has with the region. “Our family had set up a Shiva temple here 200 years ago,” he said. “We have been connected to you since.”

As he hard sold Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s women-centric schemes, he called up a woman, Parvati, from the audience, and told a story about how she got money from Chouhan’s Ladli Behna scheme after she was turned away by Congress chief minister Kamal Nath earlier. Being addressed by name in an audience of thousands left Parvati dazed and emotional. Such scenes are common at a Scindia rally.

The 52-year-old has changed his campaign style to become more emotionally connected to the voters. “The last drop of blood will go for your welfare.... I will fight your battle till my last breath,” he says in rally after rally.

Between November 2 and 6, Scindia addressed more than 30 rallies, a feat unmatched by other leaders. In fact, Scindia had started early. Since June 2022, he has addressed 72 community gatherings, held cadre meetings in 18 assembly seats and has met each of the 60,000 party workers in the Gwalior-Chambal area. He is now in his third phase of direct campaign and has projected the highways, elevated roads and an international airport, which cost Rs600 crore, as achievements in the region.

In the past three years, Scindia has integrated well with the BJP, but some of his supporters are yet to adapt to the regimented style of a cadre-based party. “The BJP has a different working style,” said a veteran Scindia supporter. “Earlier we used to sit on stage with maharaj, but now it is decided on the basis of party hierarchy.” When he joined the BJP, the party had conveyed to him that cadre discipline was important; Scindia has carefully followed the saffron party culture.

The BJP seems to be fully behind him, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During his visit to the Scindia School on its 125th anniversary in Gwalior on October 21, Modi called Scindia Gujarat’s son-in-law (his wife, Priyadarshini, is from the Baroda royal family) and spoke about his links with the family.

Several local leaders claimed he was the chief minister candidate and that Modi’s words were a pat on the back.

Scindia, however, dismisses the chief minister talk. “I do not respond to hypothetical questions,” he said when asked if he would accept the post were the party to offer it.

Given that his aunt Yashodhara Raje Scindia has bowed out of the election citing health concerns―she got Covid-19 four times during the pandemic―Scindia will be the only leader from the family available for a bigger role. Scindia’s aunt Maya Singh, a former state minister, is also contesting. She had announced her decision to quit active politics, but the party gave her the Gwalior East ticket as it is facing a tough challenge there.

“This election will boost the stature of maharaj,” said Pradhuman Singh Tomar, the state power minister, who is contesting from Gwalior. Campaigning in the area around the tomb of famous musician Tansen, Tomar is accompanied by both the BJP cadre and recent imports from the Congress. Word on the street is that every contest is a tough one as the mood is for change. With anti-incumbency and various pre-poll surveys hinting at a Congress win, these elections could define the political trajectory of the Scindia camp. “The BJP had won seven seats [from the region] in 2018,” said a Scindia loyalist. “The number went up to 16 after Scindia joined the BJP and byelections were conducted. So, the challenge is to get more than 16 of 34.”

The two most well-known entities from Gwalior are the Scindias and the music gharana. UNESCO recently gave it the tag ‘City of Music’ after Scindia followed up with the Centre and the United Nations.

In the Gwalior gharana, the musical tradition is passed from father to child, for instance, from Ustad Hafiz Khan to Amjad Ali Khan. Scindia’s son, Mahanaryaman, 27, is ready, too, but he will have to wait his chance. “My father (Madhavrao Scindia) had set a different convention,” said Scindia. “He had told me if I wanted to join politics, he would step away. Similarly, when my son wants to join politics, I would, too.”

madhya-pradesh-union-civil-aviation-minister-jyotiraditya-scindia-interview

Fri Nov 10 18:45:22 IST 2023

As the BJP is pitted against the Congress in a tough battle to retain power in Madhya Pradesh, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is a possible chief minister candidate, has a punishing schedule. Scindia, who quit the Congress three years ago, thrives on his connect with the people. He can call more than 15,000 people in the Gwalior-Chambal region―once part of the princely state of Gwalior―by their names.

THE WEEK travelled with him to his palace in Gwalior from Pohari. Scindia is slightly hoarse, the fallout of at least half a dozen rallies a day. He treats his overworked vocal cords with warm water. At 52, Scindia is fit. He has gone gluten free, keeps away from wheat and rice, and relies on millets these days. On the campaign trail he eats rolls packed from home and he also loves his tea. While in Delhi, he spends an hour every day at his home gym.

Scindia stopped his car a few times to greet supporters who had gathered along the route with garlands. It was nearly dark as we approached the majestic Jai Vilas Palace, and the royal residence was all lit up. Scindia spoke extensively on a range of issues, including the BJP’s prospects, the Congress’s problems, the chances of him becoming chief minister and his association with Prime Minister Modi. Excerpts:

Q/ Gwalior received the UNESCO tag of the ‘City of Music’. It is a big achievement.

A/ It has always been my dream to make sure that Gwalior, which has been the seat of the Gwalior gharana in the past 400 to 500 years, gets its due recognition. With that in mind, I pursued both the culture ministry and UNESCO. Gwalior has the world’s greatest musicians like Tansen. Not many people know that Baiju Bawra belonged to Gwalior. We also have the illustrious Gwalior gharana from Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan to Amjad Ali Khan, from Laxman Rao Pandit to his daughter Meeta Pandit. This recognition was very much awaited. I must thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the culture minister and UNESCO for making this dream a reality.

Q/ Will these elections witness a symphony between the BJP and the voters? There are many discordant notes.

A/ Election is a concept of making a melody out of a cacophony. The only way you can do that is with unity in feeling and in tempo, and also unity in both the notes and the amplitude of the octaves. What we have shown in the BJP is the ability to ensure that we have sustained development in Madhya Pradesh across all social justice indicators.

Madhya Pradesh was at the bottom in 2003, but because of the hard work of successive chief ministers Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, today the state is at the top of social, infrastructure and economic livelihood indicators. Our per capita income in 2003 was 011,172, which has now grown to Rs1.40 lakh, a 12-fold increase. Our irrigated area was 7.68 lakh hectares, which is now over 48 lakh hectares, an increase of seven times. I built this road (pointing to the highway outside) in 2010. It was a two-lane highway, it has four lanes now, going from Gwalior to Shivpuri, Guna, Dewas and Indore where Rs4,000 crore has been spent. The road network in the state in 2003 was only 44,000km which has grown to five lakh kilometres, a 12-fold increase. The number of doctors increased from 7,510 to 50,000. Power production has gone up from 5,000 megawatt to 29,000 megawatt. Schemes like the PM Awas Yojna, Ujjwala Yojna, Ladli Laxmi Yojna, Ladli Behna Yojna and the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi have empowered citizens across the state.

I am very confident that it will translate into a beautiful melody between the people of Madhya Pradesh and the BJP on November 17 (polling date) and the recital will hopefully be heard on December 3 (counting date).

Q/ Twenty years is a long time for voter fatigue to set in.

A/ Did you see any voter fatigue today (at his rally)? There is a difference between what you discuss in your newsrooms and the ground reality. When you talk about voter fatigue and anti-incumbency, that is what Madhya Pradesh experienced in 2003 when the Congress was routed. It got 37 seats out of 230, that was anti-incumbency, that was voter fatigue. Today, Madhya Pradesh is looking forward to the BJP retaining power because the public knows that they are safe with the BJP. They had 55 years of Congress rule and an 18-month rule in 2018 when corruption was rampant. The transfer industry was flourishing. Going back on promises and backstabbing were rampant. I am confident that the people of Madhya Pradesh do not want to see that phase again.

Q/ Isn’t the battle tough for the BJP in many seats?

A/ Elections mean struggle. If you think that you can sail through without any hard work, then it is not possible. Notwithstanding one’s stature, one has to work hard. Only then one will get blessed.

Q/ Many people left the BJP after the distribution of tickets.

A/ There is only one ticket [per constituency], but there are many claimants. It can be given to only one person. But if you still want to contest, then no one can stop you. You can contest as an independent. My best wishes to all such people. There is dissent only in three or four seats, but look at the Congress where people are tearing each other’s clothes, power of attorney is being given to [someone else] (referring to Kamal Nath’s statement on Digvijaya Singh), abusing each other, burning each other in effigies.

Q/ You are a strong contender for the chief minister’s post.

A/ I am not. The same question was asked in 2018 when Kamal Nath’s name and my name were floated. Then, too, I had said that I was not in the race. After the elections, his name was considered, and without wasting any time I said that he should be made the chief minister and that we would support him. It is the decision of the party whom they want to make the chief minister. I am not in politics, I am in jan sewa (public service). If you heard my speech, it was on development and growth. I am neither a king nor a kingmaker. I am an ordinary worker who wants to strengthen the party.

Q/ The prime minister called you the son-in-law of Gujarat.

A/ It is my good luck that I got the chance to work under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was an emotional moment when he attended a private function (Founder’s Day at Scindia School, Gwalior), and spoke about my family. My grandmother, my father and I, all of us have valued emotional connect. We think and act with our hearts. We cannot do politics or be diplomatic. We go by emotions. Wherever we connect emotionally, we are ready to even lay down our lives.

Q/ What if the post of chief minister is offered to you?

A/ I don’t answer hypothetical questions.

Q/ The BJP has brought in many central leaders and MPs to contest this time in Madhya Pradesh. Is it because of the tough nature of the contest ?

A/ Had you done your analysis, you would have realised that both the BJP and the Congress have their own strong seats. Our strategy is to strengthen our strong seats, and target the strong seats of the Congress and try to weaken them. The first list of candidates was for those Congress strongholds. The central leaders, including ministers and MPs, have been brought in for those seats. Our strategy is to keep our pocket boroughs strong and breach the Congress strongholds.

Q/ The BJP is talking about collective leadership. Don’t you think it confuses the voters about the chief minister face?

A/ What is the confusion? If you heard my speeches, how much time did I spend on Shivraj Singh Chouhan? Did you find any confusion in my speeches? There would have been confusion had I not taken his name. I devoted 70 per cent of my speech to him. There should be collective leadership as the BJP is a cadre-based party. Everyone has a role. In this collective leadership, the maximum contribution is by Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Q/ You have been in the BJP for three years now. You seem to be fully integrated, but what about your supporters?

A/ I have to learn from some people who have adapted so fast. BJP workers say these [Scindia supporters] are better BJP workers. I must also tell you that the BJP is not a new party for me. It was founded by my grandmother (Vijaya Raje Scindia), my father started his career with the Jana Sangh. Since my childhood, I have interacted with BJP leaders. I have been in Parliament for 20 years where I had close relations with BJP members.

Q/ What is your take on the guarantees offered by the Congress? People were swayed in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

A/ The party which did the 2G (spectrum) will do 5G (guarantees). They will repeat the scam they did in 2G. How will anyone believe them after they failed to fulfill guarantees like waiving off farmer loans, giving unemployment allowance or regularising teachers? What is left in their 5G, when we have already fulfilled those? They talked about 100 units of free electricity, we are already giving it. To their promise of paying Rs1,500 (monthly assistance to women), we are already giving Rs1,250 and would take it further to Rs3,000. They said they would give gas cylinders at Rs500, we are already giving it at Rs450. They are promising, but we have already delivered. People will decide between false guarantees and delivery.

Q/ How do you look at the 2024 Lok Sabha elections?

A/ In 2024, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the BJP will be elected with a massive majority.