📰 Lip service to labour rights
The exodus of migrant labour from Gujarat highlights the indifference of States to their well being and rights
•Gujarat is one of the top States in India that receive migrant workers, largely temporary and seasonal, on a large scale. In Gujarat, they work in unskilled or semi-skilled jobs in a wide range of activities such as in agriculture, brick kilns and construction work, salt pans and domestic work, petty services and trades (food and street vending) as well as in textiles and garments, embroidery and diamond cutting and polishing, small engineering and electronics and also small and big factories.
Scant data
•These workers are from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and even from as far as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Karnataka. Employers send contractors to distant unexplored places to gather labour at the lowest possible wage rate. For example, a new township in Gujarat being promoted by a large industrialist is to be built with workers from Assam. Surprisingly, the Gujarat government has no data on/estimates of migrant workers coming to Gujarat. Informally, the figures are estimated to be between 40 lakh to one crore.
•Segmenting the labour market and creating a separate labour market for migrant workers — who are easy to exploit — has been a common strategy of employers across India. The pathetic conditions migrant workers face have been widely documented. They earn low wages, work very long hours without any overtime benefits, and are almost without any leave or social protection. Lakhs of unskilled and migrant workers live on worksites in makeshift huts (usually made of tin sheets) or on roads, slums and in illegal settlements not served by municipalities. They are neither able to save much to improve their conditions back in their home States nor save enough to live comfortably in Gujarat. They go back home only once or twice to celebrate festivals. Semi-skilled workers with some education and skills (such as those in diamond cutting and polishing units, power looms and factories) get slightly higher wages and earn some leave. However, these workers are also exploited in multiple ways and are mostly unprotected. Factory owners, employers and traders are only too happy with such a situation as they earn huge profits from wage labour exploitation.
Embers of resentment
•Local workers resent the presence of migrant workers who they feel take away their jobs in factories and other places on account of being cheap labour. The recent attacks on migrant labour after an incident in Gujarat late last month, involving the sexual assault of a 14-month-old girl, allegedly by a migrant labourer from Bihar, appears to be have been a consequence of this resentment. Many migrant workers have now rushed out to their home States out of fear despite several local people having been taken into custody on the charge of inciting violence against migrant workers. There have been reports of an estimated 60,000 to more than a lakh workers leaving the State. Those who have stayed back now live under constant fear.
•The exodus is cause for concern as it is bound to impact Gujarat’s growth and create resentment among factory owners and other employers, especially at a time when the general election is drawing close.
•Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has blamed the Opposition for inciting locals to push out migrants while the latter have accused him of not stopping the migration. Some have even demanded his resignation. The anger on both the sides is essentially more out of fear that losing cheap labour will be at the cost of Gujarat’s prosperity than out of genuine concern for the welfare of migrant workers. The signals from the top leadership of the Chief Minister’s party are “to bring the situation back to normal”. This would also avert a crisis in the migrants’ home States which would have to cope with an army of the unemployed.
•All this shows the utter indifference of States to the well being of migrant workers and their rights. The Gujarat government wants normalcy to return so that migrant workers can toil for the prosperity of Gujarat, while the Bihar government, which is at its wit’s end trying to manage the sudden inflow of returning migrants, wants migration to Gujarat to continue as before. It is not surprising that Uttar Pradesh has lauded the Gujarat government “for handling the situation well”.
Only on paper
•Under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act and other labour laws (for unorganised workers), migrant workers in Gujarat are legally entitled to all their basic labour rights. These include minimum wages, regular wage payment, regular working hours and overtime payment, and decent working and living conditions which include taking care of the health and education of their children.
•Under the same Act, the governments of the States from where migrant workforce originate are expected to issue licences to contractors who take workers away, register such workers and also monitor their working and living conditions in other States. But most State governments remain indifferent to these laws. Gujarat has taken a few steps but these are far from adequate. In the political sphere, there has been hardly any mention about protecting the legal rights of migrant workers in India. The political impulse has been to maintain status quo — the continuation of the situation where migrant workers are exploited.
•The Gujarat government passed a rule in the 1990s making it mandatory for industries and employers in Gujarat to give 85% of jobs to local people. This rule was never really implemented in reality, but watered down by the State government in its subsequent industrial policies, as new and large investors coming to the State did not like any such restrictions. Now there is a move in the State to introduce a law for industries and investors in Gujarat which reserves 80% of labour jobs for State domiciles and at least 25% for local workers. But those behind the idea are perhaps fully aware of the futility of such a move. As long as there are huge surpluses from the labour of migrant workers, employers will have no incentive in hiring local workers. The objective of such a move is to perhaps contain the anger of local workers — at least till the 2019 election.
A way out
•In the end, the real solution to this issue would be to enforce all relevant labour laws for migrant workers so that segmentation of the labour market becomes weak, and workers (local and migrant) get a fair and equal deal in the labour market. This will also weaken unfair competition between local and migrant labour and enable migrant workers either to settle down in the place of destination or to go back home and make a good living there. But are State and Central governments genuinely interested in improving the conditions of workers in the economy?
📰 Time to hew a new antiquities law
Cultural vigilantism threatens to cast a long shadow on the production of knowledge of the past
•The construct around a civilisational history frequently emerges from untouched archaeological sites. Consequently, the premium has long been on archaeologists guiding a nation on what constitutes its history, memory and culture. This ingrained notion has foundationally resulted in the framing of India’s laws based on a singular view of what constitutes an antique. To hang onto this view in today’s age is destructive as can be seen from the fate of antique collecting across India. The prevalent assumption that is constantly alluded to is that every object held by an institution or a collector must have been surreptitiously removed from a shrine or a sacred site.
•But a civilisational history cannot be constructed purely by an archaeological agency. While it is an important component, other groups such as littérateurs, historians, anthropologists and curators also contribute valuable insights into our material culture. However, the framing of our laws has not happened in conjunction with any of these disciplines. This was because at the time of law framing, the agenda was to preserve India’s material culture which was then under threat much like material heritage of several source countries across the world was. What was thus valid for India at the time of Independence no longer fits in with the requirements, reality and needs of a confident modern-day state that seeks to understand its past.
Need for reform
•The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 has consequently long outlived the purpose for which it was drafted. While a promised amendment has been floated on the website of the Union Ministry of Culture, its status is still largely unknown. The laws that consequently govern the ownership of historical objects, their purchase and sale have, with increasing frequency, been a disincentive for the average collector. Cultural vigilantism and the presumption of guilt without trial, public shaming and the resultant media trial have led to a state of affairs that is dangerous — casting a long shadow on the production of knowledge of our past.
•Registering antiquities with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has long been a cumbersome and difficult procedure for most collectors, with the state simply not equipped to handle the needs of a growing populace of collectors.
•Compounding this is the rule that every object over a 100 years is an antique. To ascribe importance by virtue of religious sentiment, age or provenance (seldom proven) to every significant and insignificant work of art will sound the death knell for scholarship or our understanding of what constitutes a beautiful work of art or even a significant national treasure worthy of appreciation. To promote a view that once sacred objects today only belong to temples and thus deny the process of regeneration of these living cultural sites is a myopic view stemming from a lack of understanding of the role and purpose of these objects, the temple economy that maintained them, and also the constant process of renewal that occurred within historic sites.
Questions for the state
•With every passing year, the number of objects that shift from 99th year to a 100 year status will soon result in the transfer of vast numbers of objects to a status of national antiquity. Is the state geared to handle and maintain this vast emerging enterprise? This is where the role of private connoisseurship, individual collectors, trusts and foundations come into play. Their proactive agency has safeguarded the heft of ancient Indian art from being channelled abroad or, worse, being destroyed. It is well within the rights of every citizen to acquire and collect objects of their past that they feel imparts a sense of memory, history and an understanding of our culture. What should definitely govern this acquisition is a legal process of buying. However, vigilante movements claim temple robbery provenance without a shred of proof, emerging as a bullying tactic and becoming the dominant narrative on artefact ownership. These movements neither follow the rule of law nor do they respect the ASI’s time-honoured process of registration of such artefacts.
•The present situation also gives rise to an interesting question. If, as is being presumed, every object in a private collection is the result of temple desecration and robbery, then what of objects that have been registered under similar norms across all our public institutions? Is the government of India ready to repatriate the several idols in its various collections or give up the Aurel Stein collection of Central Asian antiquities at the National Museum, New Delhi, to the Buddhist communities of China? To hold public institutions to one standard and private collectors to another is just one of the several anomalies of the current narrative. Why is there a blanket assumption that every public institution holds treasures that were not pilfered or acquired through the same channels that are available to private collectors? An urgent amendment to existing laws is a need of the hour to save our material culture from being examined purely from the prism of religious sentiment and to foster the creation of secular spaces where everyone can enjoy and appreciate our past.
📰 Amritsar disaster: avoidable tragedy
Responsibility must be fixed for the Amritsar disaster. Political spats won’t help
•The ghastly Dasara disaster at Amritsar that has left 59 people dead is a harsh reminder, if any were needed, that government departments have not yet taken official protocols for safety at mass gatherings seriously. In the aftermath of the entirely preventable carnage, in which spectators crowding a railway track to watch burning of effigies were mowed down by a train, there is a frantic effort to pin responsibility on agencies and individuals, and, deplorably, to exploit public anger for political ends. What happened at Joda Phatak in Amritsar points to the basic failure of the district administration and the police, which should have ensured law and order. If the organisers of the event had obtained a no-objection certificate from the police, as reports suggest, what role did the law enforcement machinery play in crowd control? On the other hand, the Municipal Corporation in Amritsar has tried to distance itself, claiming that its permission was not sought, although almost everyone in the city knew it was taking place. The magisterial inquiry ordered by the Punjabgovernment should examine the actions of the revenue authorities and the police in organising the event, and whether rules were ignored to favour the organisers who claimed proximity to some politicians.
•Major religious festivals in India are often overshadowed by deadly incidents such as stampedes and fires, ranging from the terrible toll of 249 deaths at the Chamunda Devi temple stampede in Jodhpur in 2008, to the railway station stampede during the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad five years later in which 36 people died. The National Disaster Management Authority has responded to these horrors by creating a guide for State governments and local bodies, laying down a clear protocol to be followed for mass gatherings and festivals. Whether this was followed by the Amritsar authorities in the planning of the Dasara celebrations is one of the questions that must be addressed. There should be a transformation of the way such events are organised, with a lead agency in each State and district empowered to issue instructions, and in turn be accountable for public safety. More broadly, there is a serious deficit of common spaces in cities, towns and villages to conduct spectacular events safely. This is incongruous in a populous country with a tradition of festivals and cultural gatherings. The Punjab government, wiser after the fact, says it will draw up guidelines for the future. At Amritsar, trespass on the track was the prime reason for the accident. A campaign to educate the public that railway tracks cannot be treated as commons, and vigorous enforcement, will reduce the probability of such incidents. The Railways must identify hazard spots for train movement in heavily built-up areas and prevent trespass by barricading them. A culture of safety can take root if governments imbibe it first.
📰 U.S. to pull out of Russia missile pact
Trump accuses Moscow of violating Cold War-era INF treaty by deploying Novator missile
•U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that the U.S. would pull out of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, a crucial Cold War-era treaty banning the development, testing and possession of short and medium range ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range of 500-5,000 km. The treaty, signed in 1987, was central to ending the arms race between the two superpowers, and protected America’s NATO allies in Europe from Soviet missile attacks.
•John Bolton, Mr Trump’s National Security Advisor, is in Moscow on a visit and is expected to convey the decision to the Russians. At issue is Russia’s alleged development and deployment of the Novator 9M729 missile, also known as the SSC-8, that could strike Europe at short notice, an allegation that Russia has repeatedly denied. “Russia has violated the agreement. They’ve been violating it for many years... so we’re going to terminate the agreement. We’re going to pull out,” Mr. Trump told reporters.
‘Obama didn’t negotiate’
•Accusations of Russia violating the treaty pre-date the Trump presidency, and go back to 2008. “I don’t know why President Obama didn’t negotiate or pull out. And we’re not going to let them violate a nuclear agreement and go out and do weapons and we’re not allowed to,” said Mr. Trump.
•The U.S. administration, under former President Barack Obama, raised the issue of Russia testing a ground-launched cruise missile with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014. The Russians denied the allegations and raised counter-allegations of the U.S. installing missile defence systems in Europe.
•While the two countries failed to find a resolution using the dispute resolution mechanism in the treaty, the U.S. continued to remain party to the treaty under pressure from its European allies. Mr. Bolton, known to be a hawk, has been the driving force behind the U.S.’s decision to withdraw from the INF, The New York Times had reported on Friday, prior to Mr. Trump announcing the withdrawal. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis had told NATO Ministers earlier in October that the U.S. would withdraw from the INF if Russia did not roll-back its Novator missiles.
•A withdrawal will allow the U.S. new weapon options in the Pacific in its efforts to counter China’s growing influence. There are also concerns that the treaty’s end could mark the beginning of a new arms race between the U.S. and Russia.
Russia’s warning
•The Russian government on Sunday warned the U.S. against such a withdrawal. “If the Americans continue to act as crudely and bluntly... and unilaterally withdraw from all sorts of agreement and mechanisms from the Iran deal to the International Postal treaty, then we’ll be reduced to taking action in response, including of a military nature. But we don’t want to go that far,” said Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
•Reactions across Europe were varied. The German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, called Mr Trump’s decision “regrettable” and the U.K. Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, said Britain would remain “absolutely resolute” in standing by the U.S. in its position against Russia.
📰 Years to go to stub out crop burning
‘State governments must come out with guidelines to make the biofuel sector economically viable’
•In May this year, the government announced a National Policy on Biofuels, which laid out the path towards increasing the country’s ethanol and biodiesel production. One of the stated benefits of biofuels was the impact this would have on the practice of burning crop waste in preparation for the next planting season.
•“By reducing crop burning and conversion of agricultural residues/wastes to biofuels, there will be further reduction in greenhouse gas emissions,” the government said at the time the policy was announced.
•However, this has not come to pass. Crop burning still remains a major problem across the country, and in particular, in the agrarian States of Haryana and Punjab.
•It will still take years before the process of using crop residue for biofuel and thus, eliminating the need for stubble burning, becomes economically viable for the farmers and biofuel companies alike, according to industry players.
‘Very large problem’
•“All in all, in India, the problem of crop residue burning is a very large problem,” Aditya Handa, MD and CEO, Abellon CleanEnergy, a biofuel producer, told The Hindu. There are varying estimates, but they range from 200 million tonnes to 240 million tonnes a year. And this is crop residue that is not usable for other purposes such as animal feed, etc.”
•Mr. Handa added that Punjab and Haryana together account for about 20 million tonnes, or about 10%, of the crop residue burnt in the country every year.
•“A lot of work is happening in the biofuel sector but from a private player perspective, it is still not economically viable to go and collect all the husk from a big geographical area because only a certain quantity can be fit on one truck,” said Shiva Vig, director of BioD Energy. “The logistical cost is very high if private players go to collect this husk. And the yield of converting this husk to ethanol is very low.”
•“Collecting and using husk is actually not that viable a solution until there is an incentive from the government, whether State or the Centre,” Mr. Vig added. “That is why it has not picked up over the last couple of years.”
•Sector experts say that while the government has introduced the macro-level policy on biofuels, there is a need for the State governments to come out with their own specific guidelines and then, for the companies to begin making the required changes.
Pellets from residue
•There are various ways in which crop residue can be used as fuel for energy. One option is to make pellets from the residue and use them to complement the coal burned in thermal power plants.
•Another option is to set up more ethanol and bio-CNG plants that can use the crop residue as fuel. However, the problem is in creating a chain from the field to the power plant.
•“The Ministry of Power has a regulation where it is mandatory for all coal-fired thermal plants to use a minimum percentage of crop-residue pellets,” Mr. Handa said.
•“But for States to now make guidelines and enforce this policy, and for companies to actually start buying the pellets, and for suppliers to come in and make the required investments, this takes a certain amount of time. In the next year or two years, we should see a positive traction in the industry.”
•The key problem, he explained, is that the harvest window is very short, about 20-30 days.
Quick solution
•In this time, farmers have to harvest their crop, and then clear the fields in preparation for the next crop. Burning has been the quickest solution.
•“The government has already started giving subsidies for farm equipment,” Mr. Handa said. “The way forward is in using such technologies, such as baling machines and other automated machines, to do the work.”
•With India’s ethanol consumption is set to rise in the coming years, crop residue can serve as a ready and environmentally-friendly source of raw material to bolster this trend.
•“India’s ethanol consumption will outgrow production for the fourth consecutive year due to an uptick in fuel ethanol purchases and steady demand from the industrial and potable sectors,” according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture.
•“As a result, consumption will grow from 2 billion litres in 2017 to 2.4 billion litres in 2018.”
•Industry estimates peg the total investment in the biofuel sector in India, across ethanol, biodiesel, and biogas, at about $1.5-2 billion. However, this is expected to rise tenfold by 2022 to $15 billion.
📰 China’s melting glacier draws tourists amid climate worries
Baishui has lost 60% of its mass and shrunk 250 m since 1982
•The loud crack rang out from the fog above the Baishui No. 1 Glacier as a stone shard careened down the ice, flying past Chen Yanjun as he operated a GPS device.
•More projectiles were tumbling down the hulk of ice that scientists say is one of the world’s fastest melting glaciers. “We should go,” said the 30-year-old geologist.
•Chen hiked away and onto a barren landscape once buried beneath the glacier.
•Millions of people each year are drawn to Baishui’s frosty beauty on the southeastern edge of the Third Pole — a region in Central Asia with the world’s third largest store of ice after Antarctica and Greenland that’s roughly the size of Texas and New Mexico combined.
•Third Pole glaciers are vital to billions of people from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Asia’s 10 largest rivers — including the Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, and Ganges — are fed by seasonal melting. “Depending on how it melts, a lot of the freshwater will be leaving the region for the ocean, which will have severe impacts on water and food security,” said Ashley Johnson, energy program manager at the National Bureau of Asian Research, an American think tank.
•The glacier has lost 60% of its mass and shrunk 250 m since 1982, according to a 2018 report in the Journal of Geophysical Research.
•Scientists found in 2015 that 82% of glaciers surveyed in China had retreated. They warned that the effects of glacier melting on water resources are gradually becoming “increasingly serious” for China.
•“China has always had a freshwater supply problem with 20% of the world’s population but only 7% of its freshwater,” said Jonna Nyman, an energy security lecturer at the University of Sheffield.
📰 Climate fund allots $1bn for poor nations
•Officials overseeing a U.N.-backed fund to help poor countries tackle climate change have approved more than $1 billion in new investments after a four-day meeting in Bahrain.
•The Green Climate Fund said on Sunday that the meeting approved 19 new projects, including a programme to protect freshwater resources in Bahrain. Environmentalists had argued the Gulf nation should pay for the project itself using money it made from its vast reserves of oil and gas.
•Officials also agreed to start seeking new money for the fund next year. President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold $2 billion of the $3 billion pledged by predecessor Barack Obama has contributed to a fund shortfall. The South Korea-based fund is considered a key vehicle for climate-related development programmes.
