📰 State of conflict: on the Bhima-Koregaon violence
Who provoked the Maharashtra violence and how it got out of hand must be determined
•The speed with which tension spread from Bhima-Koregaon, a village on the outskirts of Pune, on Monday to bring cities across Maharashtra to a shutdown by Wednesday, is a pointer to multiple failings. It appears that the police had failed to anticipate the potential for trouble breaking out in Bhima-Koregaon and then ensure that normal life continued in the days after. Every year on January 1, a large number of Dalits visit a memorial in Bhima-Koregaon to mark an 1818 battle in which the East India Company, with Mahar soldiers prominent in its ranks, had defeated the Peshwa. From being a battle lauded in colonial times only to be forgotten by the British, over the years Bhima-Koregaon came to be marked as a site of Dalit valour and repudiation of caste stereotypes. With a visit by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in 1927, it got invested with political and spiritual meaning beyond the specifics of the original battle and in a forward-looking politics. This year being the 200th anniversary, the commemoration was always going to be larger and more high-profile. The police should, therefore, have increased security. But there were also indications of tensions brewing after a vandalisation attempt in late December near the samadhi of a Mahar who it is said had performed the last rites of Sambhaji, Shivaji’s son. This is not far from Bhima-Koregaon and the administration was aware of the incident and its potential for causing trouble. The pent-up anger, which resulted in widespread incidents of arson and vandalism, ended with the bandh that brought Mumbai and other places to a halt.
•The judicial inquiry promised by the Devendra Fadnavis government must determine who provoked the violence, how it spread, and to what extent right-wing Hindu groups were responsible for fomenting it. Law and order may have been restored in Maharashtra, but there is a political failing framed by the caste tensions that have bubbled over in the State. These are the result of many factors ranging from contested histories, at a more abstract level, to economic insecurities about jobs and livelihood, on the ground. The tensions of this past week have come against the backdrop of neo-reservation movements, such as by the Marathas in Maharashtra over the past couple of years. This and demands by Marathas to dilute the provisions of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act may be borne of economic and social anxieties — but they, in turn, have created understandable anxieties among Dalits about being left adrift to wage the political battle for their protection on their own. This time the Dalit assertion appears to have resulted in a degree of consolidation as well. The country’s politics must bridge differences by addressing anxieties holistically — instead of nurturing new polarised constituencies by widening these fault lines.
📰 Governor hails T.N.’s role in Quit India movement
Cautions students against seven deadly sins that can destroy a nation
•Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Thursday said the people of Tamil Nadu had played a significant role in the Quit India movement.
•Mr. Purohit was delivering the inaugural address at a seminar organised by the University of Madras’ Department of History. The opening of ‘The 75th Anniversary of the Quit India Movement: Remembering the Role of Tamil Nadu’ was attended by State Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbazhagan and university Vice-Chancellor P. Duraisamy.
•“The Gandhian leader Kamarajar, simple and non-violent in approach, exhorted the freedom-loving people of Tamil Nadu to fight whole-heartedly against the British,” said the Governor. He said that several leaders from the State were imprisoned; Kamaraj’s mentor S. Satyamurti died as a result of torture during imprisonment.
•“The students who were their followers then came to the forefront. Presidency College, Pachaiyappa’s College, Loyola College and Madras Christian College led the strikes and demonstrations. Annamalai University had to be closed. Queen Mary’s College was the first women’s college to organise a protest in the southern region,” said the Governor.
•The Governor briefly went off script, moving away from a prepared text to advise students on the seven deadly sins according to Mahatma Gandhi. He was referring to an October 22, 1925 article in Young India which talked of the seven deadly sins that can destroy a nation.
•“Today also, they are relevant. Particularly students - again I repeat, please note it down,” prefaced the Governor, who runs The Hitavada, a newspaper started by Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
•Mr. Purohit went on to read the seven deadly sins; he lingered on some. “Pleasure (without conscience) has got no meaning....smoking, going to clubs....that should not happen. Politics without principle: principle is greater than politics,” he said and added that most of the politicians were corrupt nowadays.
•“Not just the Quit India Movement, the contribution of Tamil Nadu to the freedom movement is significant. In fact, we were among the pioneers,” said Minister Anbalagan. He said that Tamil Nadu had produced several individuals who opposed the British much before most well-known resistance movements began. “Before the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, we had the 1806 Vellore Mutiny. Before the formation of the Indian National Congress, we had the Chennai Swadeshi Sangam,” he said.
📰 Pakistan releases Jadhav video, India terms it propaganda
Pakistan has put out another coerced statement, says MEA
•Accusing Pakistan of violating the human rights of Kulbhushan Jadhav again, India on Thursday dismissed as “propaganda” another video statement given by Mr. Jadhav that was released by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
•“Pakistan is simply continuing its practice of putting out coerced statements on video. It is time for them to realise that such propagandistic exercises simply carry no credibility,” a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) read.
•In the video, which was screened for journalists in Islamabad, Mr. Jadhav, who has been convicted of terror charges by a Pakistani military court and sentenced to death, said he had been “taken care of” by Pakistani authorities and that he remained a commissioned officer of the Indian Navy and had been working for the external intelligence agency R&AW.
•Mr. Jadhav also alleged that his mother and wife, who had met him on December 25, had been intimidated by the Indian diplomat accompanying them.
•“They’ve been threatened. The Indian diplomat or the Indian person that had come along with my mother was shouting at her the moment she stepped out. He was yelling at her. Has she been brought under threat here?!” Mr. Jadhav, who wore a blazer and shirt for the video, was seen saying.
Indian account
•Mr. Jadhav’s statement ran counter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s account of the meeting, where she said that Mr. Jadhav’s mother and wife had been harassed by Pakistani officials, forced to remove jewellery and change clothes in order to meet him, and had been forcibly separated from the Indian diplomat accompanying them, the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad J.P. Singh. Asked about the specific allegations on tape, government sources said Mr. Jadhav was being used by Pakistani officials in an attempt to “change the narrative and shift the focus” from India’s objections to the treatment of his family.
•“The family was scared because of the very intrusive and humiliating security check and because of the [Pakistani] media’s heckling,” a source told The Hindu.
Kidnapped from Iran
•Since his arrest in March 2016, the government has consistently held that Mr. Jadhav was a former naval officer who had sought “premature retirement” and was conducting a business in Iran when he was kidnapped by Pakistani operatives. The government made more than a dozen requests for consular access to Pakistani authorities, failing which, it approached the International Court of Justice at the Hague. After the Jadhav family meeting last week, the MEA had also expressed concerns about Mr. Jadhav’s health, as he was only allowed to meet the family across a glass partition.
Absurd, says govt.
•“The absurdity of a captive under duress certifying his own welfare while mouthing allegations of his captors clearly merits no comment. Pakistan is best advised to fulfil its international obligations, whether it pertains to consular relations or UNSC resolutions 1267 and 1373 on terrorism and to desist from continuing violations of human rights of an Indian national,” the MEA statement added.
•The International Court of Justice will adjudicate on whether Pakistan has violated the Geneva convention on the treatment of prisoners. Mr. Jadhav’s appeal against his sentence is pending before Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa.
📰 Why no exclusive human rights courts yet: Supreme Court asks States
The Court issued notices to all States ordering them to respond about this lapse in two weeks.
•The Supreme Court on Thursday asked States why exclusive human rightscourts had not been set up yet. During a hearing, the Court highlighted how the human rights law of 1993 makes States responsible for setting up exclusive human rights courts with special public prosecutors in every district. “But till now not a single State has done it,” Chief Justice Dipak Misra remarked.
•While staying an order passed by the Calcutta High Court against a probe into the trafficking of children lodged in orphanages, the apex court has included all the States as parties in the litigation. It also issued notices ordering them to respond about this 25-year-old lapse within the next two weeks.
•Noting the rampant problem of orphanages trafficking children under their care, the Court decided to step in to protect the dignity of the child.
•“The dignity of the child need to be protected. A child cannot be bartered away at the whim and fancy of the persons in charge of an orphanage,” a Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice Misra observed in its order.
•The apex court said a person found guilty of trafficking children, apart from the punishment, is also liable for violation of human rights.
•“The future of the country depends on our children. States have a great role to play... It is necessary to have a comprehensive view regarding the running of orphanages, mode and method of adoptions, care given to children in these institutions, treatment meted out to the children,” the Supreme Court observed.
•The apex court stayed an order passed by the Calcutta High Court against an investigation launched by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), represented by Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and advocate Anindita Pujari. The NCPCR had appealed against the Calcutta High Court’s decision to stop the probe.
•The Supreme Court also stayed proceedings before the High Court.
•The Bench posted the case for hearing on January 22, 2018.
📰 Notice to govt. on law for working women
Plea pointed out lack of implementation
•The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the government to respond on a petition questioning the lack of implementation of the various provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013.
•The 2013 statutory law had replaced the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the historic Vishaka case judgment, which stemmed from the brutal gang rape of a social worker in a village of Rajasthan.
•The Supreme Court verdict authored in 1997 by then Chief Justice J.S. Verma was inspired by international conventions and the spirit of gender equality enshrined in the Constitution to declare that “gender equality includes protection from sexual harassment and right to work with dignity, which is a universally recognised basic human right.”
•It took another six years for Parliament to enact the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, Redressal) Act, 2013 and its Rules.
Apathy of authorities
•Now, five years after the Act came into existence, NGO Initiatives for Inclusion Foundation and its trustees Pallavi Pareek and Esha Shekhar have brought to light the sheer lack of initiative on the part of government authorities to monitor the implementation and enforce the law.
•A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra issued notice to the Centre and State governments. They have to reply within the next four weeks.
•The petition, represented by advocates Sanjay Parikh and Anitha Shenoy, pointed out that the government at the State level has not even bothered to appoint district officers or local committees under the 2013 Act. There are no appointments of nodal officers or internal complaints committees in certain offices. There has been no move to ensure the reporting and collection of annual compliance reports from workplaces. Hence, the law meant to protect working women has hit a roadblock.
•“Equality in employment can be seriously impaired when women are subjected to gender-specific violence, such as sexual harassment in the workplace,” the petitioners quoted the Supreme Court judgment in Vishaka case.
📰 Civil wrong, criminal act: on the triple talaq Bill
The triple talaq Bill smacks of political opportunism
•The triple talaq Bill — the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill — has come to the Rajya Sabha for consideration after a smooth sailing in the Lok Sabha on December 28. This is an ill-thought-out, hastily conceived legislation, exposing the dubious intentions of the BJP.
What the court said
•Let us first consider what the Supreme Court decided. Three separate judgments were rendered. Justice R.F. Nariman and Justice U.U. Lalit held thattalaq-e-biddat (triple talaq) as a practice was arbitrary and declared it to be unconstitutional and consequently void. Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice Abdul Nazeer held that being a 1,400-year-old practice, this had become an integral part of the faith of Muslims and could not be struck down as being violative of fundamental rights. They, however, stated that since such a practice is otherwise abhorrent and considered illegal in various Muslim countries around the world and, taking note of the stand of the Muslim Personal Law Board deprecating the practice, it should be discontinued.
•Consequently, they granted an injunction against the practice of triple talaq for a period of six months from the date of judgment, enabling Parliament to legislate on the subject. If such legislation were to be initiated, the injunction would continue till the legislation bore fruition. Justice Kurian Joseph held, disagreeing with Justice Nariman and Justice Lalit, that provisions of Muslim personal law cannot be struck down as arbitrary and unconstitutional. He held, however, that this particular practice, being sinful and not sanctified by the Koran, was consequently not part of personal law, disagreeing with Justice Khehar and Justice Nazeer to this extent. In essence, therefore, three of the five judges of the Court held this practice to be void, albeit for different reasons. The government chose to take notice of that part of the judgment of Justice Khehar and Justice Nazeer on which they were in a minority and initiated this legislation.
•This legislation has three essential features: (1) that triple talaq or any form of instantaneous and irrevocable divorce pronounced by a Muslim is void; (2) that a Muslim husband pronouncing triple talaq is criminally culpable; (3) that the offence is non-cognisable and non-bailable. That the government is not applying its mind is clear from the fact that it seeks to declare void a practice that has already been declared void by the Supreme Court. Had this legislation not been initiated, the practice would still be void. Therefore, the legislation to this extent does no more than restate an existing statement of law. This is inexplicable. The sole intent of the legislation, therefore, is to criminalise the act of triple talaq.
Areas of concern
•Criminalisation of this act does not emanate from any part of any of the three judgments rendered by the Supreme Court. This is why in proposing this legislation the government has exposed its dubious intent of targeting Muslim men, who are now liable to be prosecuted for breaching a civil contract, a Muslim marriage being a contract of a civil nature.
•The other aspect, which is of concern, is that there is no provision in this legislation which states that the wife alone can file a complaint alleging that an offence of triple talaq has been committed. A third person can file such a complaint on the basis of which the husband alleged to have pronounced triple talaq can be arrested forthwith. Being non-bailable, only a court is entitled to grant bail. This has several implications: (1) the wife who may not wish to complain, her marriage being intact, has to suffer the consequences of her husband being sent to jail. That affects her husband’s capacity to provide for the family; (2) the complaint may be based on a lie, yet the husband may land in jail; and (3) it is not understood why the husband needs to go to jail when the marriage is subsisting and valid.
•Further, the concept of subsistence allowance and the right of a woman to custody of her minor children in the event of pronouncement of talaq by her husband are both alien to a marriage which is subsisting and intact. Subsistence allowance or maintenance and child custody are issues which become relevant if there is a proceeding for divorce and the husband chooses not to maintain the family. That cannot be the case here.
•The government claims that this legislation has nothing to do with religion and seeks to serve the cause of gender justice. If that is the case, why does this government not shed any tears for our Hindu sisters who are frequently thrown out of the house and have to run from pillar to post to seek their remedies in court? Such proceedings take years while our Hindu sisters languish without support. The same logic applies to our sisters belonging to all other religions who are frequently abandoned by their husbands. Service to the cause of gender justice must not be selective.
•This seems to be yet another act of political opportunism by the government to seek electoral benefits. Yet another ‘jumla’. It is time for us to expose the machinations of this government, which seeks to tear asunder families, whose marriages are intact and whose husbands may land in jail despite that.
📰 Lok Sabha passes bill to hike salaries of judges
The hike is in line with the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.
•The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to hike the salaries of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The Bill proposes to hike the salary of the Chief Justice of India to ₹ 2.80 lakh a month, and that of judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Justices of High Courts to ₹ 2.5 lakh a month. Judges of High Courts will draw a salary of ₹ 2.25 lakh a month once this Bill becomes law.
•The Rajya Sabha has to pass the Bill by Friday, the last day of this session, failing which it will spill on to the budget session.
Separation of powers
•The salary hike, in line with the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission for officers of all-India services, will come into force with effect from January 1, 2016.
•The discussion on the Bill saw members express concern over what they saw as threats to separation of powers, calls for hiked salaries for MPs, and even for reservation in the judiciary.
All-India Judicial Service
•Replying to the debate, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad expressed his support for the idea of an All-India Judicial Service on the lines of the Indian Administrative Service for drawing the best legal minds to the judiciary. He said reservation could become a reality if such a service comes up.
•He expressed concern over the Supreme Court setting aside the National Judicial Appointments Commission on the plea that the presence of the Law Minister would mean a judge appointed through the process may not be fair when hearing a case against the government. Mr. Prasad said some of the finest judges were appointed in times when the Law Minister was part of the process of appointment.
•Making a strong pitch for separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary, Mr. Prasad said this was part of the basic structure of the Constitution none could violate, adding that only those who were accountable could legislate.
•“Governance and accountability go together,” he said.
•He also referred to the pendency of judges’ vacancies, adding that the government could fill the vacancies only when the collegium made recommendations.
•He said there were six vacancies in the Supreme Court and while the process was on to fill 129 vacancies in High Courts, there were 269 vacant posts of High Court judges for which no recommendations by the collegium had been received.
•“It is the responsibility of the judiciary to fill these,” Mr. Prasad said.
📰 On a high: the US Federal Reserve
A hawkish U.S. Fed is likely to be the biggest threat to the bull market in stocks
•Global stocks kicked off the new year by rallying to reach new lifetime highs. Major indices across the U.S., Europe, and Asia witnessed significant gains in the year’s first two trading days; the Indian bourses were slower to gain traction. The strong start suggests that stocks may be all set to carry on their momentum from 2017, which saw major indices offering solid double-digit returns to investors. A significant feature of the present bull market in stocks has been its broad-based participation, with both developed and emerging markets benefiting from it. The S&P Global Broad Market Index, for instance, rose by an impressive 22% during the year. Indian stocks are among the biggest winners of the rally. Macroeconomic tailwinds such as improving economic growth in the U.S., Europe and emerging markets, better corporate earnings, and tax reforms passed by the Trump administration could explain some of the euphoria. But the extreme broad-based nature of the rally adds to fears that it may be driven primarily by excess fund flow into stocks rather than a secular improvement in economic fundamentals. The weakening of the U.S. dollar during 2017, along with the strengthening of emerging market currencies like the Indian rupee, raises further suspicion that the global stock rally may be about nothing more than excess liquidity. Investors starved of yield have been happy to bid up stocks in countries like India and China.
•The major risk facing the present bull market, of course, is the prospect of a quicker end to the accommodative monetary policy adopted by the U.S. Federal Reserve. After all, the dovish monetary policy since the global financial crisis of 2008 has clearly played a major part in fuelling the second-longest bull run in U.S. market history. With the return of higher economic growth in the U.S., inflation is bound to spike up and force the next Fed chair to raise rates at a faster pace. Apart from deflating the rally in domestic U.S. stocks, this is also likely to improve the yield on American assets and cause capital to flow out of emerging markets. In addition, any repatriation of dollars by U.S. corporations, which are incentivised by the new corporate tax policy, is likely to exert pressure on non-dollar currencies. Meanwhile, the price of gold — a safe haven asset — rallied 14% last year, which is the metal’s best performance since 2010. This suggests that investors in at least some corners of the market believe the end may be near for loose monetary policy. The ‘taper tantrum’ of 2013 had served as a timely warning to emerging markets about the fickle and disruptive nature of global capital. While predicting market trends is a fool’s errand, it seems the end to this bull market might be sooner than later.
📰 Defence Ministry approves projects worth ₹2420 crore
•The Defence Ministry on Thursday gave final approval for the procurement of simulated training solutions for the Navy’s P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft and electronic warfare systems for the Army at a combined cost of ₹2419.32 crore.
Helpful in training
•“The P-8I training solution, along with 10 year comprehensive maintenance service, will be brought from Boeing for ₹1949.32 crore. This training solution accurately simulates P-8I aircraft and mission systems,” Defence Ministry said in a statement.
•This will help Indian Navy train and realistically rehearse for sophisticated missions involving P-8I aircraft, at a fraction of the cost of live aircraft training, the statement said.
•The deal was cleared in the past by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).
•The final approval has now been given by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
•The next step is to conclude the final contract with the vendor.
In operation
•The Navy currently operates eight P-8Is out of INS Rajali in Chennai inducted since 2013.
•Four more aircraft have been ordered last year under the optional clause and are scheduled to be delivered from 2020.
•The second proposal was for the procurement of Low Intensity Conflict Electronic Warfare System (LICEWS) for the Army.
•These will be procured from Bharat Electronics Limited for ₹470 crore.
•This system will equip the Army with upgraded communications infrastructure that will help the forces to efectively deal with the advanced communications systems being used by terrorist groups, the statement added.
