An informal meet between Modi and Premier Xi is giving them an opportunity for a face-to-face discussion on various issues to reboot Sino-Indian ties.

The proposed ‘informal’ over-the-table talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping later this week, months before the much-awaited Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit where the two leaders were otherwise expected to come face-to-face, marks a departure from the routine in Sino-Indian relations and signals the turning of a new chapter in the bilateral relationship. Barring a few meetings on the sidelines of various multilateral fora, this full-fledged meeting or summit holds the promise of great opportunity for the two leaders to address mounting discontent on both sides ever since the prolonged Doklam stand-off. There is no better way of allaying apprehensions and handling a fragile relationship better than doing it in person.

Nevertheless, behind such diplomatic maneuvers are many behind-the-scene developments that led to breaking the deadlock. It is the cumulative work of both External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi both of whom who did a stellar job in laying the groundwork for the visit to fructify. It also needs to be said that increasingly complex global developments have led the two countries to pull back from the brink of continuing animosity and play up the advantages of cooperation. Having understood the consequences of a trade deficit with the US, both Beijing and New Delhi have a vested interest in drawing closer to each other. An expansionist and ambitious China under Xi wants to fulfill the Middle Kingdom’s eternal aspiration of being a Great Power and thus emerge as a countervailing force to the US; to that end, it certainly does not want India in America’s arms. India too has its concerns, most crucial among them being its war against terrorism, for which Chinese support is vital.

However, it will be erroneous for New Delhi to fall for Beijing’s sweet-talk. At the diplomatic level, commitments to settle border disputes, resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and an enhanced role for India in the Belt and Road initiative all sound promising. But for Modi and Xi to emerge from the summit with a win-win situation, Beijing needs to crack down hard on its all-weather ally Pakistan and the terror directed against India emanating from its territory. On this front, in a bid to maintain cordial relations with Islamabad, China has incurred New Delhi’s displeasure for failing to act. Beijing’s track record says it all: China has taken it upon itself to shield Pakistan and its terror factories. Time and again it failed to endorse India’s bid to impose a ban on the activities of Masood Azhar and has also consistently been stalling India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. This at a time when the China has itself been a victim of terrorism in the Muslim-dominated northwestern province of Xinjiang. As a longstanding victim of jihadi terrorism, India must iterate that Beijing’s support for its counter-terrorism measures is non-negotiable. Depending on how that goes, New Delhi too can show flexibility on China’s long-pending demand to ink the Treaty for Good Neighborly and Friendly Cooperation between the two countries. There can be no better cure to resolve disagreements and cement ties than bilateral talks. But our optimism must be tempered by sober, rational assessments of the pros and cons of dealing with an adversary whom we don’t want as an enemy right now.

Writer: Pioneer

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Since the formation of Uttarakhand, declaring Gairsain as the capital as always been in question. Swagata Sinha Roy and DK Budakoti speculate that this demand is linked with the public and political ethos of the state.

The ongoing agitation in the State of Uttarakhand for a permanent capital in the small hill town of Gairsain in the interiors of Chamoli district, is once again making news. The issue of permanent capital at Gairsain was proposed by regional political outfits and social activists much before the formation of the State in November 9, 2000.

However, Dehradun was made the temporary capital as a permanent one was not mentioned when the Bill for the State formation was passed in the Parliament.

The history of the state formation has its roots in the identity of local people and the issue of development. Now, despite almost 18 years of State formation, the issue of development, employment and migration have not been addressed; in fact, they have only been aggravated over the years.

The issue of migration has been a long on-going matter with the academia and in the development NGOs sector. Today, the Government recognises the seriousness of the issue and Government website mentions that, “Migration from rural areas in Uttarakhand is a serious problem with a comparison between 2001 and 2011 Census data showing a very slow decadal growth of population in most of the mountain districts of the State.

An absolute decline in the population of Almora and Pauri Garhwal districts between 2001 and 2011 points towards a massive out flux of people from many hill regions of the State. The pace of out-migration is such that many of the villages are left with a population in double digits.

Data also points towards a high rate of decadal increase in population in districts like Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital and Haridwar while this is negative in Pauri and Almora districts and abnormally low decadal increase in Tehri, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh districts.”

This shows that the Government of Uttarakhand is apprised of the situation and has formed the Uttarakhand Rural Development and Migration Commission. The official website also mentions the mandate of the Commission that, “the Uttarakhand Government has constituted the Rural Development and Migration Commission in August 2017, to examine all aspects of the problem, evolve a vision for the focused development of the rural areas of the State; advice the Government on multi-sectoral development at the grassroots levels which would aggregate at the district and state levels and also submit recommendations to the Government on various other related matters.”

Today, local political and social activists and general populace of the hills feel that the formation of the State has not been fruitful as expected and one of the reasons is

having Dehradun as a temporary capital of the State. Although when the BJP and Congress were in Opposition, they paid lip service to make Gairsain the permanent capital of the State.

Gairsain as a permanent capital  is not an emotional issue but a rational one, as the premise is based on the paradigm that a capital in the interiors will usher in development in the hills.

A capital in the interior hill area will make the political leadership and bureaucracy sensitive to the hardship faced by the people, thereby improve basic amenities, viz. water, electricity, health and education.

With the shifting of political centre and the official machinery, the related infrastructure will be planned in the area leading to development through, what is called in development and economic theory, as the ‘trickling down effect’.

Thus, the whole agitation and campaign is based on the premise that a capital in the interiors will usher in development of the ‘State Capital Region’  (SCR) and subsequently the development of the State at large, particularly the hill regions.

(The writers are freelance commentators)

Writer: Swagata Sinha Roy and DK Budakoti

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Apart from so many political union and varied society in India that were corrupting the head of the nation, Prime Minister Modi has come up clean to assault all political storms and ensure the success of his vision.

I don’t have any love for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But as an Indian who is committed to safeguarding and promoting the values of the Indian Constitution, I am keen to support the positive initiatives of the Prime Minister.

In a society, which is highly divisive, politically hot and diverse in different aspects, it is nothing but natural to villainise the head of the nation. Modi is known to have weathered these political storms and has come out clean to ensure the successful staging of his visionary schemes and policies.

Somewhere he might have slipped inadvertently but that is common to any human being. however, in the overall perspective, it is clear that Modi is standing tall in promoting the welfare of India and its citizens. According to the Prime Minister’s official website, he had travelled to nearly 70 countries and  has spend around Rs 250 crore in the last four and half years.

What did he bring in from these foreign visits? He made sure that India becomes a nation to be watched seriously by the entire world.

He showcased the strengths of India, pursued the international countries to lend support to counter the terrorists operating in foreign soils against India, brought in a huge capital, technology and innovative ideas to transform the country.

Indeed India is transforming at a rapid speed and the world is watching keenly. Modi’s foreign visits have reformed and transformed the Indian economy and society in a massive way. It needs guts of steel to counter the mammoth Chinese strength in the Asian continent and wider will to play on the front foot with the world as the stage. In both ways, the Modi Government has achieved quite remarkably.

Pakistan was sending terrorists across the border and playing cricket and simultaneously distributing sweets on Holi and Diwali. Modi made sure that multi-tricked Pakistan is exposed. He smartly succeeded in bringing out the evil designs of Pakistan. The United States has held the funds for terrorists operating against India. It has also blocked the funds for Pakistan.

A famous pro Indian Republican Larry Pressler  in his book Neighbours in Arms: An American Senator’s Quest for Disarmament in a Nuclear Subcontinent  gives a clear picture of the US’s actions against these terrorist networks operating from Pakistan. He thanks US President Donald Trump for openly branding Pakistan as a terrorist state and creating existential trouble for terrorist groups like the Hizbul Mujahideen, Haqqani Network, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba etc.

The Modi Government has successfully catalysed people like Larry Pressler and networks like pro-India lobbies to put a fullstop to the troubles coming across the borders.

For many years, India has been talking about self-sufficiency in defence productions. But Modi Government is making sure that the talk is turned into action. Dreams floated in the air for ages are now turning into reality.

Defence manufacturing is taking the right shape and India may achieve export status in the next 10 years. This was possible through right persuasion and collaboration of foreign companies to start manufacturing defence hubs in India.

The recent Defence Expo 2018 held at Thiruvidanthai near Chennai saw a record number of foreign companies showing interests in starting defence manufacturing in India. By 2025, India is expected to produce military goods and services worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore.

World renowed defence equipment manufacturing companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing of the United States, Saab (Sweden), Airbus, Dassault Aviation (France), Rosoboronexport, United Shipbuilding Corporation (Russia), BAE Systems (United Kingdom), Sibat (Israel), Wartsila (Finland) and Rohde and Schwarz (Germany) are among the 154 foreign participating companies.

With Japan, India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to send three lakh youths to get on-job training in the next three years. This is a major breakthrough to providing employment opportunities for job starved Indian population. The excess capital and human resources of Japan and India will lead to the prosperity of both nations.

In all ways, Narendra Modi’s charisma is working to the advantage of India. He has brought in huge foreign capital. It has doubled to over $60 billion in the last four years.

The Prime Minister has increased the clout of India widely around the world. From the President of United States to the Queen of England to the Prime Minister of tiny island Fiji, every head of the State around the world salutes India under the leadership of  Narendra Modi.

Now, the entire nation must rally behind the Government to ensure prosperity, peace and progress for all, leaving the petty politics behind. No internal problem should block our external progress.

(The author is Dean at Nehru Memorial College, Trichy)

Writer: A Prabaharan

Courtesy: The Pioneer

US and Russian ties have reached treacherous lows. However, if Trump wishes to make things better with Russia, Nikki Haley needs to go.

The fiery US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, seems to have crossed swords with her boss in the White House. US President Donald Trump is said to have taken to shouting at the television whenever he sees her making statements.

Last weekend, the spat flew spectacularly into the open when Trump undercut Haley over her claims that the White House was about to impose new sanctions on Russia. Trump’s blood pressure reportedly surged with rage at her apparent uppityness to make up policy on the hoof.

Next day, the Trump Administration pointedly announced it was holding off on new sanctions against Moscow. Haley was embarrassingly left hanging out to dry. A senior Trump aide told the US media that the UN Ambassador had gotten ‘confused’. Haley then hit back at the slight, saying she “doesn’t get confused”.

There seems little doubt that the former South Carolina Governor, who was once such a rising star in Team Trump, has now fallen out of favour with the President.

Such rapid reversal in fortune is par for the course for those who work for Trump. Rex Tillerson, HR McMaster, and many other senior members of his Administration have all been ditched by the President at a moment’s notice, usually via his Twitter feed. Haley would likewise be advised to watch her back. Any day, she might find herself out of a job.

Ever since she was appointed as Envoy to the UN, 46-year-old Haley has gained an unenviable reputation of being something of firebrand. She has delighted the hawkish wing on Capitol Hill with her belligerent tirades against Iran, North Korea and Russia. For a while too, Trump seemed to think she was doing ‘a great job’.

But lately, her bravura performances at the UN Security Council have apparently rankled Trump for displaying a little too much self-importance and ambition. The word is that the President — a person with excessive egotism — views Haley as being a little too big for her boots, who harbours secret plans to one day occupy the White House.

The New York Times this week reported on growing jealousies and insecurities between the President and his UN Ambassador. Trump is wary that Haley’s grandstanding at the UN is more about advancing her political reputation among the Republican Party with a view to launch a run for the presidency in 2020.

There is even talk of Haley teaming up with the current US Vice President Mike Pence for the presidential ticket. Trump has his eye on being re-elected, and not too pleased with the conjecture about Haley striving to become the first female President.

Apart from grubby political jealousies and infighting could there be anything more significant in the dimming star of Nikki Haley?

Trump’s abrupt intervention to scotch the latest round of sanctions against Russia may indicate a pragmatic realisation that relations between Washington and Moscow are sliding much too dangerously. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently warned of dire deterioration in bilateral relations to the worst years of the old Cold War.

Russia’s Envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia— Haley’s counterpart — has also deplored that the way things are unraveling, a war between the US and Russia cannot be ruled out. The worst flashpoint seems to be in Syria where Russian troops are based, especially after Trump ordered a barrage of the country with over 100 missiles last weekend.

That barrage was on the back of a dubious chemical weapons incident which the President blamed on the Syrian Government forces and their Russian ally. Syria and Russia have dismissed the claims, saying the incident was a premeditated provocation carried out by Western-backed militants and their media associates in the so-called White Helmets.

Moscow has reportedly expressed grave concerns to the Trump Administration that the situation in Syria is at risk of escalating into a full-blown war between the US and Russia. It seems senior officials within the Trump Administration are also acutely aware of the risk. US Secretary of Defence James Mattis reportedly cautioned Trump to limit the air strikes and to avoid Syrian and Russian casualties.

Perhaps too, Trump has been given pause for thought over the initial allegations of Syrian and Russian complicity in the chemical weapon incident in Douma on April 7.

A growing number of Western journalists and politicians are questioning the authenticity of claims of an atrocity, and are openly saying that it was a “false flag” aimed at provoking the US, British and French military strikes. This is exactly what Russia had been warning of in the lead up to the strikes on April 14.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is reportedly still willing to give Trump a chance to try to normalise relations between Washington and Moscow.

That could be why Trump is increasingly exasperated by Nikki Haley. Her bellicose diatribes at the UN have plunged US-Russian relations into a bottomless pit.

While Trump has expressed, at times, a desire to improve relations with Putin, Haley has sounded the diametric opposite with her relentless hostility towards Russia. Evidently, Haley cannot think beyond a prism of Russophobia, which is not a constructive position for White House policy. She, after all, is supposed to be an Envoy for the President, not his policymaker.

Only days after being collared by Trump over Russian sanctions, Haley this week showed a marked change in tone at the UN concerning Russia. As 21st Century Wire reported, Haley appeared to be backtracking from her previous intransigent stance for blaming Russia over the Skripal poisoning affair in England.

No longer is Haley categorically claiming a Russian state assassination plot. She is now leaving open the possibility that Russia may have lost control of its nerve agents which got into wrong hands. It’s still a load of codswallop, but as 21st Century Wire points out, Haley is “hedging” her position and weakening her accusations against Russia.

Now, the question is: Has President Trump concluded that Nikki Haley is a liability, not an asset? Her Russophobia and political ambition seem to have overtaken her judgrment, and are precluding any chance of a normal relation between the US and Russia. In short, she is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Relations between the US and Russia have sunk to treacherous levels. Trump seems to have enough savvy to know that the downward dynamic has to stop before rock-bottom catastrophe hits.

Admittedly, US presidents are only figureheads when up against the deep State and long-term strategic planning. So, Trump may not be able to divert the underlying dangerous direction of relations that Washington seems hellbent on towards Russia. But if Trump stands to have any go at all at alleviating tensions with Russia, one thing is sure: Nikki Haley has to go.

Writer: Finian Cunningham

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Hindu voters will play a significant role in upcoming poll in Bangladesh. The whole credit will goes to the Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, if she will be able to restore the lost confidence of the minority, which is quite uncertain.
The most interesting part of the upcoming Parliamentary poll in Bangladesh, which will be keenly watched, is whether the minorities, especially the Hindus, will be able to muster enough courage to turn up at the voting centres to cast their votes or whether they will succumb to the coercive tactics of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-Jamaat-e-Islami combine  and refrain from voting. And if they indeed go to vote, it will be interesting to see which party they finally vote for.

Hindu votes have suddenly become extremely crucial for this poll. Having suffered the most at the hands of the BNP-Jamaat combine for en bloc voting for the Awami League, the Hindus are uncertain about their future and are mortally terrified of becoming the targets of attack for voting the Awami League to power once again. Desperate and deliberate attempts are being made this time round by the Islamist alliance to disturb the safe and secure traditional Hindu vote-bank of the ruling party.

Fed on BNP-Jamaat’s consistent anti-Awami League campaign, the mindset of Bangladeshi Hindus has undergone a significant change in recent years, with a large section singing the praise of not only BNP supremo  Khaleda Zia but also of Jamatis, some of who are accused of committing gross crimes against humanity. BNP leaders are confident that if the elections are held in a free and fair manner, results will be quite close. Moreover, if Hindus boycott voting or if they vote for the BNP (even an insignificant number), it will swing results in their favour  because Parliamentary polls in Bangladesh, they say, are decided by a thin margin of two to four per cent votes and if this percentage of Hindu voters stay away from voting, it will ensure a BNP victory. In the recent Comilla Mayoral election, the Awami League candidate lost because a sizable percentage of the towns’ Hindu voters boycotted the poll in protest against the persecution of Hindus in neighbouring Brahmanbaria.

The irony is that with BNP and Jamaat having contributed handsomely to Bangladesh’s dwindling Hindu population (from 30 per cent in 1971 to a 10 per cent at present), the Hindus have never been as insecure as they are now. It is to win over Hindu voters that many Islamist party leaders have made solemn pledges not to persecute the minorities, especially the Hindus, if they are elected. This, of course, is against their undeclared agenda of ridding the country of all minorities through forced and silent migration to India. This agenda is a reflection of the Pakistani mindset which always sought non-Muslims not having any say in the country’s election politics.

In 2001, there were 123 constituencies where the percentage of Hindu voters varied between 20 per cent and 60 per cent. Today, that figure has dwindled to 82 constituencies where Hindus are still a determining factor in the outcome of elections. This drastic drop is largely due to the pogrom that the BNP-Jamaat combine had jointly carried out against the Hindus after the 2001 Parliamentary poll as retribution for not voting in their favour.

Surprisingly, the Awami League is saying and doing nothing to counter this psychological onslaught and to reassure its Hindu voters that it will stand by them and defeat the BNP-Jamaat’s communal political game plan. Another sinister campaign doing the rounds presently is that Sheikh Hasina is no longer in need of Hindu votes because with fundamentalist Hefajat-e-Islam’s (it has a large following  among Muslims) support for Awami League already announced, the party will secure eight per cent more Muslim votes which will be more than enough to compensate the loss if Hindu voters decide to turn away from the ruling party.

As a result, both Khaleda Zia and Jamaat leaders are desperately trying to take full advantage of the insecure Hindu psyche. They are aggravating it by openly alleging that whenever the Awami League comes to power, there is a sudden spurt in attacks on minorities, as exemplified by the recent large-scale looting and destruction of Hindu properties and places of worship in Hindu populated areas of Brahmanbaria, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Jessore and Pabna. Even properties of Santhals and other tribal groups have been targeted.

The purpose of levelling such allegations against the Awami League is to create hatred and antipathy in the minds of Hindus towards the ruling party so that it no longer remains their first electoral choice. The BNP-Jamaat-strategy is that minorities, especially Hindus, must support the Islamists to buy peace and security for themselves. Many Hindus think that this is the safest bet to save themselves from the onsla-ught of Islamists. Interestingly, this mischievous propaganda is being carried out by those who are the actual persecutors of minorities and have gone unpunished even under Hasina’s rule.

“Confusion is being deliberately created in the minds of minorities so as to disturb the Awami League’s assured vote bank. Scores of my patients come running to me everyday to inquire whether they will be allowed to vote this time or will it be safe to vote for the ruling party at all,” said Hasina’s personal physician Pran Gopal Datta. “While I share their predicament, I try to assure them by saying not to lose heart. But it makes no impact. Minorities have been so badly traumatised that they have been telling both BNP-Jamaat and Awami League to leave them alone as they don’t want to fall prey to a fresh round of persecution. For them, the election at once evokes images of rape of their womenfolk and total destruction and encroachment of their properties.”

Unfortunately, the League is losing the goodwill of the minorities as its lower level leaders have allowed Jamaat infiltration by using Jamaat cadres in their internecine feuds to gain organisation control. But the Jamatis enjoying the ruling party’s protection, follow their own agenda of persecuting the minorities.

“This politics of opportunism is going to cost the Awami League dearly in this election. The extent of Jamaat infiltration into the Awami League can be gauged from the fact  that 169 Jamatis got elected to the village-level Union Parishad poll on Awami League ticket. This has tarnished the party’s image considerably for compromising with Islamists,” said a leading lawyer and one of the prosecutors of International War Crimes Tribunal Rana Dasgupta.

He added, “Sheikh Hasina’s Government is the only one which has done a great deal for the upliftment of Hindus and other minorities. Also, there is no state-sponsored persecution of minorities whenever the Awami League comes to power. That can’t be said about the BNP-Jamaat.”

After the death of Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta last year, the absence of a credible leader who can speak on behalf of all minorities has made the crisis of existence of minorities even more acute. As a result, there has been a mushrooming of Hindu leaders of various shades who have launched dubious Hindu parties like the Hindu Mohajot, with support from BNP-Jamaat. Their sole purpose is to split the League’s minority vote bank. This new breed of Hindu leaders is widely known as ‘Hindu Razakars’.

Pran Gopal Datta said that Hasina must meet some of the pressing demands of the Hindu community to get back its support and confidence like setting up a Minorities Commission and penalise bureaucrats who are subverting her attempts to restore vested properties to their rightful Hindu owners.        

(The writer is a veteran Kolkata-based journalist)

Writer: Manash Ghosh

Courtesy: The Pioneer

“There seems to be a European civil war” between rising authoritarianism and liberal democracy, warns the French President Emmanuel Macron.

He urged the EU to renew its commitment to democracy, in a passionate speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “I don’t want to belong to a generation of sleepwalkers that has forgotten its own past”, he said, recalling how the EU arose after World War Two.

He is launching debates with voters, aimed at re-engaging them with the EU.

In his speech, he condemned what he called “a fascination with the illiberal” in Europe.

Last year Macron and his new liberal party, La République en Marche (LREM), triumphed in French elections with a strongly pro-EU platform.

His second-round rival in the presidential election was National Front (FN) leader Marine Le Pen, a nationalist and fierce critic of the EU.

Macron was also hitting back at the Eurosceptics who drove the vote for Brexit in the UK. As Brexit will leave a big hole in the EU budget he said there should no longer be budget rebates for some member states. He added that France was prepared to increase its contribution.

Macron proposed to create a European fund for communities that take in refugees in a bid to tackle one of the most politically toxic issues facing the EU.

“I propose creating a European programme that directly financially supports local communities that welcome and integrate refugees,” Macron said in a speech to the European Parliament outlining his vision for the bloc.

“France, Britain and the United States carried out airstrikes targeting chemical weapons sites in Syria to defend the “honour of the international community”, he added.

“Three countries have intervened, and let me be quite frank, quite honest — this is for the honour of the international community,” Macron said.  

Writer: Agencies

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Professor Dinesh Singh highlighted the ‘philosophy of ‘Mimansa’ which means that information without action is worthless and thus we have to improve the quality of education through different initiatives.

Professor Dinesh Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, Delhi University stressed on making India a knowledge economy, changing people’s ideology and developing alertness among citizens for the overall development of the nation.

Prof CB Sharma, the chief trustee of the Shanti Upendra Foundation for Development Initiatives (SUFDI), a trust created in 2010 for extending education to those who have been deprived of it. The attempt was also to improve the quality of education through different initiatives. The aim of the trust is to establish academic institutions, conduct research and also undertake extension activities. The trust is attempting to emerge as a think tank in the area of education besides advising governments on policy issues. The trust also awards Sushamajay Scholarship to girls who have lost their parents and are likely to discontinue their studies. Every year two to three girls from the Vidya Mandir Vidyalaya, Belwari (Meghalaya) are awarded scholarship which also includes hostel and other charges for continuing their studies. For this, an amount of Rs 1 lakh every year is donated by Aparna Sharma, daughter of Late Ajay Kumar and Sushma Sharma of Manjhaul, Dist Begusarai (Bihar) and grand-daughter of Upendra and Shanti Sharma.

The trust organises a memorial lecture every year in the memory of Shanti Sharma, wife of late Upendra Sharma, the founder of the trust. Various eminent educationist have delivered lectures on this occasion viz. Prof Naresh Dadhich, Vice Chancellor, Kota Open University; PA Sangma, Former Speaker, Lok Sabha; Prof Sanjeev Sharma, professor, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut; Dr Krishna Gopal, joint general secretary, Rashtriya Sevak Sangh.  This year, the 5th Shanti Sharma memorial lecture has been delivered by Professor Dinesh Singh, former Vice-Chancellor, Delhi University.

Professor Singh stated that the memorial lecture is organised in the memory of ‘a mother’ and India is mother to all of us so the lecture is dedicated to Shanti Sharma and “Bharat Maa”. He spoke on the topic India as a knowledge economy: need of the hour and mentioned that through this lecture perhaps there would be some change in our thinking and understanding.

He stressed on making India a knowledge economy which would result in the development of the country. The ideology of people needs to be changed for India to become a developed country. He emphasised that the India needs to be more alert and aware to get rid of lacunae in the system. He emphasised on philosophy of Mimansa which means that knowledge without action is meaningless and thus we have to evaluate ourselves. He reiterated that the knowledge system should be holistic and trans disciplinary and based on a hands-on application theory connected to the needs and challenges of India. There is a need to improve our system, especially the one related to education, for the benefit of our economy. Indians have to recognise the power given to us by the Supreme Being which can do wonders for the nation, if done with good intention. Indians have an ample sources of knowledge rooted in ancient India. Whether it is navigation, astronomy or astrology or science we can draw upon those to develop further. The proof of it lies in the fact that the Indian society and civilisation was regarded as the best during ancient times too. So much so, foreigners used to visit the Indian subcontinent to study in reputed Indian universities.

Writer: Dinesh Singh

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli won the Anti-India Campaign election which become equivalent to ultra-nationalism. This signals a significant calibration of bilateral ties. His term initiates India-china competition in the Himalayan State.

Prime Minister KP Oli arrived half an hour late for his last function organised by the BJP’s India Foundation, the party’ informal diplomatic outreach. A restless audience included Government Ministers, the thinking community, diplomats and the media. The contents of Oli’s longish speech, though quite spectacular, were lost in the routine delivery. There was no standing ovation.

Then closing his file and speech, Oli looked up, suddenly alight and energetic. Placing both his arms on the lectern and surveying the audience, he said: “There are rumours and rumours that my Government is a threat to democracy” and he briefly countered it. His critique apparently pointed to an Indian expert, who according to a Nepali journalist present, had written/spoken on television in Nepal that the Left alliance posed a threat to democracy. The second rumour was regarding Oli’s pro-China disposition. He said. “There will be no tilt towards China.” It was jolly good way to wake up the audience and end his visit to New Delhi.

His read out speech contained one more gem. It was a veiled reference to the blockade — which is part of the great misunderstanding of 2015-16 — he warned that blocking movement of goods, services and people should have no place in today’s interconnected world and the interconnected neighbourhood. As someone who followed his public utterances, Oli has been messaging to India not to take Nepal for granted and treat it as an equal with respect and dignity and as an independent and sovereign country without messing in its internal affairs. That, according to him, will reduce the current trust deficit.

The courting of Oli by India who won a thumping mandate, is the clearest indication of an intended reset in relations. Oli had indicated that he will not discuss any ‘internal matters’ with India. That is why there was no talk on China, Constitutional issues and OBOR which Oli said is in Nepal’s national interest. The Indian stand is quite the opposite. The one-on-one talks between the two Prime Ministers did cover assurances by both sides to uphold each other’s legitimate national and security interests.

The question no one asked Oli and in Beijing Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying is why did China not invite Oli to preempt the India visit. After all, Beijing’s role in Nepal is anything but the stated policy of non-interference in internal affairs. China’s influence is ubiquitous: Its economic investment substantive and role in domestic politics widespread and weighty. Optically, it would have been a major political victory for China had Oli been invited first to Beijing than new Delhi.

In 2008, Maoist pro-China Prime Minister, Prachanda made his first foreign visit to Beijing to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics much to India’s dismay and breaking the India First tradition. On his return, Prachanda announced that his first ‘political’ visit would be to India and so it was. Prachanda’s time was consumed by  strategies for occupancy of Baluwatar (Prime Minister’s residence) and watching the shuffling of Marxist-Leninists and Maoist contenders for the job but Prachanda did not become Prime Minister again till his gentleman’s power-sharing agreement with Deuba in 2016. He deserted Deuba mid stream by joining the Left Alliance.

Inside the unified Marxist Leninist core group, a debate has started on the proposed merger with Maoists and the nomenclature of the party. Many young leaders are questioning the contemporary relevance of the dear departed Marx and Lenin and are in favour of renaming the party giving it a socialist, democratic and inclusive hue. But they fear the Maoists would block this. Such visionary ideas are unlikely to materialize anytime soon.

Oli spoke about the 80 per cent vote his Government secured in the Parliament and that soon he would have an unprecedented three fourths majority with both the Terai-based Federal Socialist Forum and the Rashtriya Janata Party joining the Government.

Besides numerical strength, the Government will then truly acquire a whole-of-Nepal complexion. It would also provide cushion in any future political realignments with Maoists acting as the swing party. The merger of the two Left parties is slated for April 22 but sharing the spoils of office with Prachanda in the new Communist Party of Nepal will not be easy. The Maoist argument is that if 60:40 was acceptable for seat sharing during elections, a 50:50 division ought to be reasonable in the share of leadership in the party central organization and its tiers down to the local level. It seems that eventually Oli may concede the 60:40 or 55:45 formula. On the larger question of a future Prachanda premiership there is little stated clarity, equally little doubt, that it is inevitable.

India has chosen to place most of its eggs in the Oli basket with few alternate options. This was evident from doubling economic assistance for Nepal by 73 per cent to nearly Rs 650 crore, second only to Bhutan. Oli’s aim is to use the political stability for making Nepal prosperous and happy and utilising both its powerful neighbours in focusing on development. Equidistant is the sine-qua non of his foreign policy.

Oli has sought Indian investment in hydropower, farming, infrastructure and tourism. India is already building 50,000 homes following the 2015 earthquake. Apparently, Modi bluntly told Oli that if China will build most of its hydropower projects, India will not buy the surplus power. The $2.5 billion Budhi Gandaki hydel project has become the bone of contention between India and China though Oli has promised  it to Beijing. Most high-value infrastructure projects have been bagged by China.

While the commissioning of the long-delayed Arun III hydropower project was postponed during the visit due to ecological difficulties on the Nepal side, new oil pipelines, railway lines including one to Kathmandu, inland waterways, accessing the sea, have been pledged by India.

Many projects, for which commitments were made years ago, never took off, Nepalese keep reminding India. Oli is supposed to have told Modi about the decades-old Pancheshwar and Mahakali projects and said that Delhi was required to build a 1.5 km road from Banbasa to Mahendranagar. Nepal has waited 22 years and added: “India is known to build 30 km of roads every day’’. India must improve quality and timely delivery of projects because  comparison is made with China.

Ironically Oli won the elections on an anti-India cry which became synonymous with ultra-nationalism. His term marks the start of the  India-China competition with a Nepali umpire.

(The writer is a retired Major General of the Indian Army and founder member of the Defence Planning Staff, currently the revamped Integrated Defence Staff)

Writer: Ashok K Mehta

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Congress accused the Modi Government of “destroying” the economy and said growth can be achieved only if the country is rescued from “incompetent economic managers”. The party also adopted a resolution on the economy at its Plenary session with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking to know the fate of the promised two crore jobs. Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram accused the Modi Government of squandering a golden opportunity to catapult India’s growth after economic gains during the previous UPA Government. Singh rued that at a time the world economy had grown from 2.8 per cent to 3.8 per cent from 2014 to 2018, the Indian economy had “decoupled itself ” from the world economy. He claimed India grew by 7.8 per cent under the UPA regime led by him. He lamented that only about 1.6 per cent of the country’s GDP was spent on defence expenditure, which, he said, could not meet the challenges that the security apparatus posed. He also alleged that there were many issues on the foreign policy front that had been poorly handled by the Modi Government. “The BJP Government has messed up the economy. When Modi ji was campaigning he made lots of tall promises. Those promises have not been fulfilled,” he said. Singh said the BJP claimed in 2014 that if it came to power it would provide 2 crore jobs. “But we have not seen even two lakh jobs,” he said. The “ill-thought and illconceived” demonetisation and “hastily put forward” legislation for GST had destroyed many jobs and created problems for the small and medium industry and the informal sector, both in terms of production and providing jobs, he said.

When the former prime minister spoke on foreign policy and defence, he was accorded a thunderous applause and a standing ovation by party leaders. Singh accused the BJP-led Government of having “mismanaged” the dispute in Jammu and Kashmir and said the Government’s talk of fighting two and a half wars was “yet another hollow promise”. On his part, Chidambaram said the crisis which the country faces can worsen in the last year of the Modi Government as the budget has provided no answers. “This budget is the handiwork of a government which is completely helpless, clueless and directionless. I am afraid, 12 months from today, whoever comes into the Government, will face a major crisis,” he said. The resolution moved by Chidambaram said that the tenure of the Narendra Modiled Government was replete with Governance and management misadventures and mistakes. “The most colossal failure has been its mismanagement of the economy,” said the resolution moved by Chidambaram. “The one party which can bring this country out of crisis is the Congress. Why do I say that? I say that not out of arrogance, not out of conceit, I say this because we have done it before and we can do it again beginning next year,” the former Union Minister said. “The Congress reiterates that the abysmal economic management of the Modi Government has resulted in lack of jobs for millions of India’s youth, stagnant real incomes for hundreds of millions of farmers, collapse of the manufacturing sector, destruction of micro, small and medium businesses, paralysis of India’s banking sector,” the resolution mentioned. “The economy is in the hands of ignorant and incompetent policy makers who have derailed economic growth through reckless and bizarre policies such as demonetisation and a hasty imposition of a flawed Goods and Services Tax regime,” it said. “They said we will abolish black money, we will put an end to corruption. We will stop fake currency. Have they put an end to black money? Every rally, every public meeting of the prime minister is financed by any money other than black money. Have they put an end to corruption, fake currency?” Chidambaram asked.

By Opinion Express News Services

Author Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj Ji says that the three significant truths to give equality to all people in Indian caste system, irrespective of their caste, color and religion are that the human must have integrity and reason, characteristic value and dignity and they should act towards one another in a spirit of equality and brotherhood. This means that a person must have humanity to bring equality to the entire system as a whole.

The Indian caste system is historically one of the main dimensions where people are socially differentiated through class, religion, region, tribe, gender and language. Although this or other forms of differentiation exist in all human societies, it becomes a problem when one or more of these dimensions overlap each other and become the sole basis of systematic ranking and unequal access to valued resources like wealth, income, power and prestige. The phrase “without any discrimination, based on race, colour, caste, creed, sex and religious belief” is now commonly used when such part of any Act, Article or rule that puts emphasis on justice and equality is to be suitably worded. Thus, the phrase has been used in a number of Articles and clauses or sub-clauses in the Indian Constitution and also in other statutory laws. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, also has used this phrase with addition of words like property, birth, national origin and distinction of any kind.

However, Article 2 of the Declaration, which has this phrase, does not include the word “caste” because caste system, as it is prevalent in India, is not prevalent in most other countries. But the aforesaid article uses the word “social origin” and also the word “birth” and these words should jointly imply the distinction made on the ground of caste that is nowadays based on birth and social origin.

There is no doubt that the use of this or similarly-worded phrases is the right thing done to meet the requirements of law and legislation that make it mandatory for and obligatory on the citizens of a country or the world not to discriminate on the basis of anyone of these. The simple reason for this is that the discrimination results in inequality, based on extraneous factors, and also in injustice and inhuman treatment of some people and deprivation of certain classes. But an important thing that seems to have been missed all along in this connection is that legal luminaries, social scientists and public have, perhaps, never applied any serious thought as to why distinctions based on race, colour, nationality, language, gender, etc are sought to be set aside when these distinctions really exist and qualify or disqualify a person or certain worldly roles.

Also, why is discrimination, based on any one of these, considered as an obstacle to justice or roadblock to equality? Never have the legal experts who prepare the draft of a legislation, or the legislators who vote for or against a Bill introduced in the legislature, thought as to what, after all, is the real identity and nature of a person, divested of these distinctions of race, colour, nationality, sex and even of belief or creed.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that “all human beings are endowed with reason and conscience” and it asks all “to act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood.” This forms the very basis of the Declaration and has been numbered as Article 1. The Preamble to the Declaration says that “the people of the United Nations have, in the Charter, reaffirmed their faith in the dignity and the worth of the human person.” These three important truths, namely  that the human has reason and conscience, that it has inherent worth and dignity and that the human beings should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood, together mean that the human person is a soul and a child of Supreme, for then only can human beings act towards one another as “brothers” and then only do they have inherent worth and dignity.

All human beings cannot be termed as “brothers” on the basis of their physical relationships nor is their worth and dignity based on any physical consideration because the moral dimension is related to the non-physical soul. The soul has inherent dignity not because of any gross possessions but because it is a child of the Supreme Almighty who is the most exalted and illumined One. The soul has worth also because it is the inheritor of HIS treasures. So, in a way, the Human Rights Declaration and all the laws that declare justice an obligatory act of all human beings have a spiritual basis.

Furthermore, the law, whether it is international or national, asks us to discard all kinds of distinctions, based on race, colour, nationality, sex, social origin, property, language, birth and so on because these are based on the body of a person and not on the person. This implicitly and explicitly means that the real human person is a soul in a human body. It makes distinction between body and soul and wants us to keep in mind the soul and forget his or her physical particulars while treating another person. Now this aspect of the law has been forgotten in course of time and it has become a mere ritual or a formality to say that there should not be any discrimination, based on body. The present-day deterioration in moral values is because of this.

It should not be difficult to understand that there are certain laws that govern our mutual relationships or human behaviour in general. These are known as moral laws or ethical principles. Based on these, are certain norms, codes of conduct or rules and regulations to be followed in life in an organised society. If we follow these laws, the quality and quantity of happiness in our life is enhanced and if we violate these, then we have to face so many problems and disturbances. The observance of these moral norms is of great value if we wish to be happy and build a society free from friction.

It is not that science and technology or management skills have caused our present sufferings. On the other hand, it is fall in the standards of morality that has prevented even technology from adding value to our lives. Moreover, it is not that people do not know that moral values are necessary to build a happy and peaceful society. People wish to have moral qualities in their life but they do not have that spiritual knowledge that should enable them to follow successfully these values in their life. Thus the need of the hour is to create a mass awareness among people for values like tolerance, humility and mutual respect where there is peace, happiness and harmony.

Writer: Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj

Courtesy: The Pioneer

The blame for wrecking parliamentary proceedings goes to both, the Government and the Opposition. This wrecking may just lead to a loss in confidence of public representatives by the people.

No one should be surprised at the headlines in newspapers and prime-time television channels that the current Winter Session of Parliament is heading towards a washout. This is the 12th straight session wasted so far.  In fact, we have been seeing almost the same headlines at the close of every Parliament session in the past two decades. People are becoming disenchanted with the MPs for not doing their duties.

What are the functions and duties of an elected Member of Parliament? There are four important functions: Budget scrutiny, protecting the interests of the constituents, function as a watchdog over the Government and above all, making laws.

Are they performing their duties for which they have been elected? This belligerence is not pertaining to the Congress-led Opposition now as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too was doing the same thing when it was in the Opposition.

While the Government blames the Opposition, the latter blames the BJP for not reaching out to them. Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a rally in Karnataka on March 25 said, “In Parliament, a no-confidence motion against the Modi Government has been moved. For the past 10 days it has been stalled because the Government is afraid”.

Hence, the blame-game continues. While political parties used to keep up pretensions that they were willing to work, it was clear from day one that neither the Government nor the Opposition had any intention of allowing the Parliament to function during this session.

Significantly, this is the first time the Narendra Modi Government is facing a no-confidence motion brought separately by the Congress, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is threatening to bring another.

Both the presiding officers had been pleading with the members to allow the House to function but to no avail. The Chairman of Rajya Sabha M Venkaiah Naidu lamented, “ I am filled with sadness at the disorder, indiscipline and inappropriate conduct in the House”.

Naidu made several appeals to the members, asking them not to further erode the “quality of polity”. He finally succeeded in making the Rajya Sabha bid farewell to 60 retiring members last week. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had no such success.

The Upper House was only able to pass the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill 2017, while the Lok Sabha cleared the Finance Bill 2018 without any discussion, including a Rs 89 crore spending plan for the next fiscal year in less than half an hour.

The House passed the 21 amendments for taxation proposals in the Bill by a voice vote and also the appropriation Bill containing the budgetary plans for 99 Government departments and Ministries.The Opposition blocked the Government in both Houses on various issues. Mainly, the four regional parties from the south — AIADMK, TRS, YSR Congress and TDS — supported by the other opposition parties stalled the business.

Every day as soon as the House began its proceedings, 37 AIADMK members trooped into the well of the House, demanding setting up of the Cauvery Water Management Board as ordered by the Supreme Court. The TRS wanted its 12 per cent reservation for Muslims in the State to be notified under Ninth Schedule.

TDS, an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), after quitting the alliance last month, became more belligerent, demanding special status for Andhra Pradesh as promised at the time of the bifurcation of the State in 2014. Not to be outdone, the YSR Congress too is demanding the same and both parties have separately given a no-confidence motion against the Modi Government.

Politically, it is not unexpected in view of the upcoming Assembly election to Karnataka where both the Congress and the BJP are engaged in direct fight.

As for the AIADMK, it is competitive local politics which is playing out in Parliament. Same is the case with TDP and YSRC. The TRS is indeed playing to the tune of its home constituency. Losing one more Session does not auger well for the Government as well as the Opposition. There are many issues  which are important, like the agrarian crisis, the Nirav Modi-PNB scam, Iraq issue, Cambridge Analytica data sale, Ramnavami clashes in West Bengal and Bihar and so on.

Certainly, it is for the Government to ensure that business is transacted in both Houses and it must reach out to the Opposition. But the Opposition too has a responsibilities to debate, discuss and expose the Government.

Right now, the relationship between the Government and the Opposition has completely broken down. The Government should also note the growing north-south divide, with the southern States complaining of a stepmotherly treatment.

If this continues, the people of the country may no longer have trust in politicians, who they believe, are taking them for a ride.  They are already disenchanted with the political class with the increasing number of NOTA votes in the ballot paper indicating their anger. Parliament is a temple of democracy and if this breaks down, the democracy will also be shattered.

(The writer is a senior political commentator and syndicated columnist)

Writer: Kalyani Shankar

Courtesy: The Pioneer