With Article 370 being revoked, the writing on the wall is clear: The Government is discarding old guard in the State and building a new leadership at the grassroot level
Think Kashmir without the families of Raja Hari Singh, Sheikh Abdullah, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in today’s context and delete Jawaharlal Nehru and MA Jinnah’s personal love for the place; surely, the political landscape of the State would have been completely different. It is axiomatic that Jammu & Kashmir became independent as soon as it was released from its allegiance to the British crown under the Indian Independence Act. The Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir became the repository of all power under this Act, which created the two dominions of India and Pakistan. He was free to decide whether he would accede to any one of the two dominions.
Meanwhile, Jinnah visualised Kashmir as part of Pakistan and dreamt of bracing its climate and Mughal Gardens as the Governor-General of Pakistan. He thought it was almost in his pocket: Whether it came to him willingly or was taken by force was immaterial. The British had promised it to him: It was a majority Muslim area and it had no approach to India except through Pakistan. Being sure of his ground, Jinnah first made an approach to the Maharaja for accession of the State to Pakistan in a very persuasive and friendly manner. In fact, he lured the then Prime Minister of Kashmir, Ram Chandra Kak, to bring Kashmir to Pakistan. But the Maharaja remained firm on the ground that either the State would enjoy independent status or it would emerge with the Indian dominion.
As far as India was concerned, it was indifferent on the subject, though it would have been happy if Kashmir had acceded to India. Mahatma Gandhi visited Kashmir before August 15, 1947, to persuade the Maharaja to accede to India but he remained non-committal. If the Maharaja had decided to accede to India or to Pakistan before August 15, 1947, much of the trouble and bitterness may well have been avoided. But he was toying with the idea of independence and was relying on his Dogra forces to achieve this end. However, he was completely averse to the idea of acceding to Pakistan as it would have involved the complete destruction of the Hindu population of the State and seizure of all that they had, including abduction of women. Meanwhile, Sheikh Abdullah along with his deputy, Bakshi, took over the leadership of the National Conference (NC) as it was the only political party of the State. NC leaders were favorable to the State’s accession to India. The Maharaja felt that there was no option for him but to accede to India. However, India continued maintaining an indifferent approach towards Kashmir. Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel preferred the situation where Kashmir accession must come voluntarily to India. Being a liberal democrat, Pandit Nehru was keen on the Maharaja handing over the power to Sheikh Abdullah than about accession. In his view, once the State administration had gone to popular hands, the question of accession could be appropriately discussed with the popular Government.
The biggest hurdle to resolving the Kashmir issue has been the business of “plebiscite”, which Pakistan as well as other India-baiters, including the so-called liberals, has often raised. The origin of that apprehension can be traced to the letter of October 27, 1947, which Lord Mountbatten wrote to Maharaja Hari Singh after the latter had signed his acceptance on the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947. That letter of Mountbatten was personal and it was in reply to the Maharaja’s letter of October 26, stating that “’a grave emergency” had arisen in his State and acknowledging that the Indian dominion “cannot send the help asked for” without his State acceding to India. Accordingly, on October 26, the Maharaja attached the Instrument of Accession for acceptance. In his letter, Mountbatten wrote, “…my Government has decided to accept the accession of Kashmir State to the dominion of India. In consistence with their policy that in the case of any State, where the issue of accession has been the subject of dispute, the question of accession should be decided in accordance with the wishes of the people of the State. It is my Government’s wish that as soon as law and order have been restored in Kashmir and its soil cleared of the invader, the question of the State’s accession should be settled by a reference to the people.” This statement of Mountbatten was to evoke an almost violent reaction from MC Mahajan, who was the then Prime minister of Kashmir and later became the Chief Justice of India.
In his Accession of Kashmir to India (The Inside Story), the learned judge wrote: “The Indian Independence Act did not envisage conditional accession. It could not envisage such a situation as it would be outside the Parliament’s policy. It wanted to keep no Indian State in a state of suspense. It conferred on the rulers of the Indian States absolute power in their discretion to accede to either of the two dominions. The dominion’s Governor General had the power to accept the accession or reject the offer, but he had no power to keep the question open or attach conditions to it.” What is also not in dispute is the Himalayan bungle created by Nehru’s Government of the time. On January 27, 1948, India and Pakistan submitted a draft proposal to the president of the United Nations Security Council on the appropriate methods of solving the Kashmir dispute. According to the Security Council verbatim reports cited by Justice Anand, the Indian representative on the floor of the Security Council made it appear that the final status of Kashmir was to be determined by plebiscite although the legal nature of Kashmir’s accession was the foundation of India’s case.
Years later, the problem in Kashmir is often represented primarily as a matter between India and Pakistan and framed around the issues of the legitimacy of Kashmir’s accession to India during independence. But this is not the problem today as circumstances since the accession have changed such that insurgency is now largely fuelled by an increasingly hardliner Pakistan state. The ethnic and religious diversity in Jammu & Kashmir, which is divided into three regions, has contributed to the complexity of the Kashmir problem.
The current violence cycle of the insurgency was started in late 1980s — it began as an ethnic issue. However, over the years, insurgency has been carefully and deliberately cultivated into a religious one. This created an environment of intolerance, intimidation and ultimately, violence throughout the Valley that only exasperated other existing tensions: A situation that led to the exodus of the Kashmiri Hindu pandits from the region. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi securing a majority in the second term and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the helm of affairs, the Central Government will now take on the Kashmir issue much more assertively than it did in its first term.
One of the key shifts in the new Government’s approach to Kashmir is that while prior to May 2019, the focus was on dealing with the separatists with an iron hand, the focus now is to make the Kashmiri separatist and dynast leaders irrelevant altogether. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has pushed for a muscular policy in dealing with the present crisis in the Valley with fair success but India was missing a bold Home Minister in Modi 1.0 to translate Doval’s initiative at the legislative platform. Shah has bridged this gap with Modi 2.0 leading to appropriate legislation in the Parliament to address the Kashmir issue, seeking permanent solution from an Indian perspective.
On the domestic front, the first part of the policy involves scaling up military action against terrorists in Kashmir. The second part of this policy involves the relentless pursuit of individuals and outfits, who claim to be self-styled representatives of the Kashmiri Muslims and support radicalism — directly or indirectly. No one will be spared, no matter how much influential. The National Investigation Agency has already seized assets worth Rs 1,400 crore and has launched an investigation in 21 cases. The Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Enforcement Directorate are working overtime in the State, identifying, tracking and shutting down all means to fund terrorist activities. A massive crackdown on the Jamaat-e-Islami has begun. The outfit has a strong influence in south Kashmir and is largely held responsible for turning the four districts in the region into a hub for terrorism. This crackdown is going to get stronger in the days to come until the outfit is made completely redundant. Similarly, tougher action is being taken against separatists, not just cosmetic ones. Many leaders have been shifted to prisons outside Srinagar so that the Valley does not come under their influence.
The writing on the wall is clear: Narendra Modi and Shah are discarding the old guard in the State and building a new leadership from the grassroot. The abrogation of Article 370 and 35A shall facilitate larger integration of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of the country. As India is marching ahead towards becoming a $5 trillion economy, policy-makers must not exclude Jammu & Kashmir State from the fruits of development just to please a few feudal families threatening the State of India of false repercussions. Jammu & Kashmir has been a victim of protecting the rights of a few political families rather than the people and then one of the tallest Indian leader Syama Prasad Mukherjee has correctly predicted in 1952 that the Indian State must abandon Prince and Czars of Kashmir to let it freely integrate with the Union of India to blossom in a prosperous integrated society. The historic decision to abrogate Article 370 and re-organisation of the State by the Modi Government shall facilitate faster development of the State with the nation.
(The writer is a regular columnist with The Pioneer and Editor-in-chief of Opinion Express)
Writer: Prashant Tewari
Courtesy: The Pioneer
Politically expedient, may be, but the effect Article 370 repeal will have on Kashmiris’ cultural identity could be devastating
Righting historical wrongs may sometimes be a desirable political objective but may not necessarily be prudent. In many cases, if settled issues are meddled with or, to put it colloquially, sleeping dogs are disturbed from slumber, consequences can be serious. Jammu and Kashmir seems headed in that unfortunate direction following Monday’s dramatic announcements revoking Article 370 and 35A along with the bifurcation of the erstwhile State, now reconstituted as two Union Territories, one with and the other without an elected Assembly. The insertion of Article 370 in the Constitution, granting Special Status to Jammu and Kashmir following its merger with India in the aftermath of the Partition in 1947, was in itself a flawed decision prompted by Jawaharlal Nehru’s soft corner for his ancestral homeland. For many years J&K stayed cut off completely from the rest of India, so much so that Indian nationals required a permit to cross the Tawi river. This resulted in Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s forced entry, arrest by Sheikh Abdullah’s police and controversial death in custody. Other draconian provisions of the Article included the ban on non-State subjects from acquiring property and even daughters inheriting parental property if they married non-subjects of the State. In fact, many other progressive Central legislations, too, were not operational as every Indian law had to be ratified by the State Assembly. The existence of a separate State flag, a separate Constitution and the executive head of the State being designated Wazir-e-Azam (Prime Minister), were sore points with a vast majority of Indians resenting the “special favours” doled out by the Centre, including subsidised rations to the State’s residents. But the Centre, too, did little to bridge the alienation in India’s only Muslim-majority State. Most elections in the decades after the merger were widely perceived as rigged, in which electoral participation was abysmally low and Chief Ministers without a popular support base were regularly imposed and toppled at will. Gradually, New Delhi whittled down the State’s pre-1953 autonomy, giving fillip to separatist sentiment long before full-fledged Pakistan-sponsored terrorism erupted in 1989 following the abduction of Rubaiya, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Matters reached a point of no return after the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley, who had to live in abject misery elsewhere — refugees in their own land. With Pakistan routinely upping the ante by promoting both cross-border terrorism and supporting home-grown religious militancy, India’s patience was running thin.
Having said that, it must be emphasised that not all Kashmiris had turned hostile to India. The democratic political process was running effectively despite periodic hiccups and even voters’ participation in the three-tier electoral system was rising at every passing polls. The mainstream leaders of all parts of the State averred their faith in the Indian system, including its secular, democratic Constitution whose values are in sharp contrast to those extolled by pro-Pakistani separatists. The abrogation of Article 370 may have been a long-standing commitment of the ruling BJP but the effect it will have on Kashmiris’ perceived cultural identity could be devastating. Separatists are certain to hype up their slogan of the Indian Army being an “army of occupation” which has “colonised” the State. Few voices from the Valley are likely to back New Delhi’s move although residents of Ladakh seeking separation from the Valley for a long time are likely to welcome the bifurcation move. Apart from hard-core ultra-nationalists, many others in the rest of India may view the timing of the measure as political muscle-flexing in the face of severe reverses facing the economy. It will be alleged that the knee-jerk moves were propelled by the Union Government’s attempt to induce public amnesia to counter its pathetic failure to handle the economic downturn and the drastic loss of employment opportunities. The country is anticipated to face a bout of international criticism too for curbing democratic freedoms in the erstwhile State. The likely negative fallout of these measures on communal harmony in the country cannot be overlooked. Kashmir may have been Nehru’s blunder as the BJP claims. But undoing it 70 years later is not a sign of maturity, especially as it may spark widespread discontent and even greater alienation in the picturesque Kashmir Valley. No poet hereafter may write poignant lines such as:
Agar bar-ruyi zamin ast, u hamin ast, hamin ast, u hamin ast
(If there be a heaven on Earth, it is this, it is this, it is this)
Writer & Courtesy: The Pioneer
With a massive security build-up and unprecedented fear psychosis, civil engagement in the Valley is under threat
Before we address the cloud of apprehension over Kashmir, courtesy the unprecedented security cover, the bigger question is whether the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is being pragmatic or wise enough to push a tunnel vision project pursuant to its party agenda at this point over other issues that perhaps need more intense an intervention. While everybody understands how Prime Minister Narendra Modi feels about the Valley, having been a party in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir in the past, and is keen to de-radicalise it internally and be seen as an architect of its political destiny, the ho and hum around that effort is certainly not convincing enough. If anything else, it is ending up drawing attention in the wrong places and strengthening policy stereotypes than breakthroughs. Nobody is discounting the security threat that looms large over the Amarnath yatra or that a post-Balakot Pakistan won’t let up. But the yatra itself has never been called off in the worst years of militancy. Nor an emergency situation created whereby 11,000 tourists, including foreigners, are being evacuated from a State that depends a lot on the tourist economy. That, too, with war-like hyper drills of rationing goods. Isn’t crippling services and everyday life more provocative than reassuring? This, compounded by speculation and a massive security build-up, only leads to an atmosphere of fear and doubt, particularly when it comes so soon after Governor Satyapal Malik’s advocacy of grassroots governance through panchayats or talks with Hurriyat leaders. Unless this blow-hot-blow-cold approach is some sort of mind game. Either way, with a civil society that has long drifted away, the fog of alienation and insecurity is not good for either side and undercuts any gains made. Also, wittingly or unwittingly, it has drawn the international gaze, too, to what is clearly a created chaos or a confrontational context for justifying any intended action. Ostensibly, there has been a seizure of Pakistani-origin weapons and intelligence input of an attack. And despite the aggressive stance of Home Minister Amit Shah on Article 370 in Parliament, the fact is he is well within rights to maintain law and order and curtail threat perception in conflict-riddled areas. But will brute force or naming individual people as terrorists under the new UAPA (Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Amendment) Bill really reset the contours of Kashmir’s eco-system? The clampdowns on school teachers from across the state and others suspected of “militancy-related” activities have already diminished the scope of civil engagement.
What is left to crack down considering even the Hurriyat is now a spent force? A muscular squeeze on terror financing has ensured a weakening of Pakistani conduits, even charities. Yet worryingly, the last few years have seen local youth supporting terrorism and even participating in it. South Kashmir is still caught in the vortex of violence. And if the heavily supervised Lok Sabha election in sensitive areas and low percentages are anything to go by, then democratic participation is a long call. In this supercharged atmosphere, the fears of abrogation of Article 35 A or Article 370 are now being attributed as the sole intention, further leading to a sense of detachment and anger. In these days of information superhighways and the wayward traffic of dialogue in them, radio silence does no good. A build-up, clearly meant to induce a fear psychosis, automatically fuels the expectation of retributive approach. Kashmir is not alien to security presence and a stronger-arm approach can do little to dent its status. If anything it only entrenches rigidities. Some are wondering if this is part of a great plan consistent with the BJP’s aim of hoisting the tricolour in every panchayat this Independence Day, an attempt at galvanising its workers who ensured success at the local body polls. But that inroad has to be made through negotiation, reconciliation and a semblance of trust. Any ramrod approach now may even tear this delicate fabric. Besides, with all the intermediary filters and interlocutors out of place, it might be very difficult for the government to engage with people who may come out on the streets en masse for a bloody showdown.
Writer & Courtesy: The Pioneer
Although Nigeria presidency has claimed that Boko Haram’s 10-year-old insurgency has been ‘defeated’, the brazen way the group’s terrorists attacked and looted a village in Jakana town of Konduga local government area last week, it seems the Islamist group poses a growing threat to peaceful life in Nigeria
Boko Haram, Nigeria’s deadliest Islamist group, completed a decade of ghastly terror activities in July. As Boko Haram’s terror campaign has left 30,000 people dead and another two million internally displaced, the most populous country of the African continent has miserably failed to stop the marauding monster.
The Islamist group, based in Nigeria’s North-East, was founded in Maiduguri in 2002 by Mohammed Yusuf, a popular Islamic cleric from the country’s Borno State. An offshoot of the Salafi Movement, Boko Haram’s overarching goal is to set up a fundamentalist Islamic regime in Nigeria, with Sharia criminal courts. Boko Haram followers, known as Yusuffiya (after the name of its founder), are mainly composed of northern Islamic students, scholars and unemployed professionals. It was officially known as the “Association of the Sunnis for the propagation of Islam and for the Jehad”, but it is popularly known as Boko Haram meaning, “Western education is abomination or forbidden”.
In its formative years, Yusuf criticised the northerners, specially the Muslims, for supporting what he widely regarded as the non-Islamic and illegitimate Government. The group started radicalisation amid widespread clashes between the Muslims and the Christians in the country. What drew many towards Yusuf’s fold was harsher tactics adopted by the Nigerian military towards suspected militants in the North-East. In 2009, when Yusuf was murdered in police custody, the movement turned into a full-scale armed struggle against the Government in the region. After Yusuf’s death, Abubakar Shekau took up the reins of the main faction and vowed to fight the Nigerian Government. The other faction is led by Yusuf’s son Abu Musab al-Barnawi. Boko Haram had in 2015 declared its allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), rechristening itself as the Islamic State of West Africa Province.
While rediscovering the roots of Boko Haram, one can easily conclude that the centre of its struggle lies in poverty, corruption, and a very strong sense of localism and religion.
Booming commercial capital “Lagos” can’t offer a solution to the resource-rich nation afflicted with great economic inequality across the nation. In the north of Nigeria, more than 70 per cent of the people live in poverty as compared to 27 per cent in the south and nearly 34 per cent in the Niger Delta. As per Goldman report, Nigeria is a very big and diverse country which has a particular source of wealth that has benefited some areas more than others. The north has been left behind and is more impoverished.
In April 2019, Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote, while speaking at the Kaduna Investment Summit (KadInvest 4.0) in Kaduna (north-western Nigeria), expressed concern over the underdevelopment of Northern Nigeria, especially north-west and North-East part of the country. To him, Northern Nigeria will continue to remain poor unless Nigeria’s provincial Governments collaborate with the private sector to create investments and bridge development gaps in the region. 19 northern States which account for over 54 per cent of Nigeria’s population and 70 per cent of its landmass collectively generated only 21 per cent of the total sub-national Internally Generated Revenue in 2017. Therefore it is required that the regional Governments along with the central Government must create conducive environment to attract massive capital inflow to that part of the country so as to generate employment and charter a route for faster development.
Historical trend indicates that the north region had enjoyed the fruits of Islamic civilisation for centuries. But by 19th century, the Sultanates of the region succumbed to jehad by Shehu Usuman Dan Fodio. Eventually, he created a unified caliphate that became the biggest pre-colonial state in Africa. And it consisted of swaths of what is today known as Northern Nigeria, Niger and Southern Cameroon. The irony is that though the regime imposed a strict interpretation of Islam, it is open for a culture of poetry and scholarship.
The current jehad launched by the followers of Yusuf is an example of a sort of religious rebellion in Northern Nigeria. At the same time, Nigeria is roughly divided into Muslim-dominated North and Christian-dominated South. Even for decades, both the major groups have made an informal arrangement of abiding by a system of rotational presidency. But political friction between the two remains at the centre of this conflict in the North-East. Further, Nigeria’s entrenched political corruption and vivid socio-economic inequality have also contributed to the rise of this malaise in the region. Thus, Boko Haram is not a cause, but it is an impact of long-festering extremist impulses that reflects in the socio-economic realities of this neglected States of the North-East.
In fact, Alexander Thurston in a seminal work, written in 2017 (Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement, Princeton University Press), highlighted that “Boko Haram represents an ugly paradox: its ideas have limited appeal, but significant staying power. The group can be crushed militarily, yet State violence fuels its narrative of victimhood”.
Since, 2002, the radical movement spread more terror, and established almost an institutionalised structure through which it has been continuously fighting the Nigerian state. Further it has become a serious risk for bordering nations around Nigeria. Over the years, it has fuelled instability across the Lake Chad Basin. Besides displacing millions, Boko Haram has pushed these vulnerable people into starvation, and jeopardised some of the basic human rights such as education and most importantly, the health care. And, this mess has fast led to the stalling of global aid activities and cutting of federal Government services to many of the areas wherein the group is active. Due to the presence and macabre style of operation of these Islamists, gradually many of the international investors backed away, indicating more trouble for the North, despite Abuja’s constant military intervention against the group.
The Nigerian security forces have made considerable gains against the insurgent group, with the help of neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Chad and Niger. These nations along with the Nigerian security forces have formed a multi-national force, as authorised by the African Union in 2015, to stamp out the rebels of Boko Haram. The coalition forces have been able to help the Nigerian military to retake much of the areas controlled by rebels and reduced violence to what was seen before 2014. Back in 2013, the US Administration had designated Boko Haram as a terror organisation, but at times Washington has suspended military assistance out of concern over Nigeria’s alleged human rights abuses and counterterrorism strategy. But following the abduction of Chibok girls and uproar over the issue worldwide, the UK, France and the US pledged additional assistance, including intelligence for Nigeria. By early 2018, US President Donald Trump sealed a deal worth $600 million to sell a dozen Super Tucano aircraft to Nigeria to support its massive counterterrorism efforts. When it comes to the UN, its Security Council imposed economic sanctions and an armed embargo over Boko Haram way back in 2014. Critics say that this move of the top global body is simply symbolic as the financial transactions and movements of the insurgents are extremely difficult to track at any time. However, these efforts on the part of the international community and concerned developed nations, along with constant support from the African Union, may help Abuja to contain the expansion of the Islamists, if not rooting it out altogether.
Today, the problem at the heart of Boko Haram insurgency is that it is fast becoming a full-scale security challenge for the central government in North-East of Nigeria. The communities in the States of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe are still at loggerheads despite attenuation in violence propelled by Boko Haram in recent days. Nigerians in general, and those in North-East in particular, must be cognizant of this entrapment and end this internecine war. It is simply deepening the crisis, pushing the impoverished region to the brink of a permanent boiling point.
(The writer is an expert on international affairs)
Writer: Makhan Saikia
Courtesy: The Pioneer
AI or Artificial Intelligence is suddenly the global trend. It took almost six decades for AI to become a revolution but it seems it is here to stay. What will then be left of HI or Human Intelligence? A big question that needs to be pondered over. Let us also consider if AI will actually bring the “Robocalypse” as coined by someone too apprehensive of the growing trend of robotisation along with corporatisation and mathematicisation that is becoming an obsession world over. There are two distinct schools of thought on the subject. One school opines that AI will make HI redundant and will replace humans in a big way or rather completely in the long run. The other school, however, the conservative one, believes that the AI is being overhyped and humans will remain in charge. But between these over-enthusiasts and conservatives, there is a reasonable band of opinion which is closer to the truth. AI can only do certain things and not all. Yes the computational ability of AI is much more than the human mind. For that matter even a 500 rupee pocket calculator is much more sophisticated than human mind as far as calculations are concerned. But are human beings only for calculations? Coming to deep learning, it has a much wider band of functions and has the ability to recognise patterns and provide solutions. It is being argued that they can be much better than human beings in making decisions based on interpretation of those patterns. Similarly, they can be much better at taking decisions because they can store, manipulate, infer and disseminate astronomically large quantum of data which is an impossibility for humans. Now comes the crucial question. Do humans take decisions only on be basis of data? Human decisions are a combination of information, emotion and values or else it would have been impossible for the Pandavas to kill Bhishma in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. And for some who may be sceptical about the Mahabharata, there is this story from the Silicon Valley. It was at the Bay Area Leadership Conference at San Francisco on June 15 that this columnist had an opportunity to interact with John Thomson, the Chairman of Microsoft, which is on the forefront of the current AI revolution. In his deliberations John had talked about the qualities that made him recommend Satya Nadella as CEO of Microsoft. But those qualities were not technical or computational skills. They were empathy, sensitivity and the emotional ability. On asking whether those qualities could be engineered in AI, John very candidly replied in the negative. Human nature is beyond the scope of even the most advanced of the algorithms to replicate. In the Indian philosophical thought the supreme quality of humans is the blend of Intelligence Quotient, Emotional Quotient and Morality Quotient. The one word in which this quality can be summed up in Hindi is viveka. Human sensitivities are developed through a long chain of evolution that is a result of a complex interaction of the Biological, the Psychological and the Sociology factors. Interestingly, none of these can be inculcated into the machine through AI. Deep learning, contrary to the popular assumption then, is not all that deep.
Pathak is a professor of management, writer, and an acclaimed public speaker. He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com
Writer: Pramod Pathak
Courtesy: The Pioneer
With an eye on Assembly polls, the AAP govt offers free electricity but will it be enough to get Kejriwal another term?
They may look jaded slogans but when it comes to governance in Delhi, it is the classic bijli, sadak and paani (power, roads and water) issues which have worked in local elections. Particularly, the city’s power supply has been the most crucial swing factor for the continuity of regimes. Power reforms were the reason the Congress, then led by Sheila Dikshit, got mass acceptability between 1998 and 2013. Her focus was on improving the quality of power supply through privatisation of the electricity distribution sector. And when that frayed at the edges, the mess was a fertile ground for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to emerge as a champion of people’s right to a good life. The party questioned the privatisation model, alleging financial irregularities by distribution companies (discoms) and suggesting a collusion between the Congress government and the discoms to keep tariffs artificially high at public expense. In fact, power reforms have found mention as a key plank and a promise of an affordable living index in all its manifestos. Not only that, AAP has consistently detailed its rationale for the tariff, revenue and distribution to justify its claims and ensured execution to gain popular vote. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal intends keeping it that way and as he seeks another mandate; he has not changed Delhi’s power tariff, calling it among the lowest in the country, and even announced free electricity for those who consume less than 200 units a month and a 50 per cent subsidy for those who consume till 400 units. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) also reduced fixed charges for most domestic connections by up to 84 per cent. The subsidy has, of course, been criticised many times about its broad-based nature that allows many of the privileged to claim benefits but that was revised last year to benefit the low consumption end. And Kejriwal has sweetened his latest announcement saying he has equalised free power for the poor with that of the city’s political elite. Some observers also point out that in the absence of a tariff hike, how is it possible to manage discoms with subsidy payments that will cost about Rs 1,700 to 2,000 crore additional expense. Despite these naysayers Kejriwal has admittedly scored on power infrastructure, improving the revenues and funds for power companies, eliminating red tape and ensuring almost zero power cuts. But this toggling between populism, vision and institutional viability can prove costly if exuberant enthusiasm is not curbed by rational discretion.
The AAP regime has consistently built social capital that has strengthened its electoral traction. Its improvement of the public school infrastructure, teaching standards and student performance has revolutionised the way we look at Delhi’s government schools. The “Happiness Curriculum” and the construction of new classrooms in government schools have received accolades globally. The doorstep delivery of services, the primary healthcare centres offering free consultations, the mohalla clinics, some regularisation of unauthorised colonies have all worked for the “common man’s” agenda. This despite AAP’s consistent run-in with the Centre on allocation of full statehood powers and constant delays on infrastructure projects pending clearance. But AAP is desperate for consolidation of its votebase, which has slipped to a dismal 18 per cent in the May Lok Sabha polls from about 33 per cent previously. It has even slid to third position in five Lok Sabha seats behind the Congress this time. The BJP’s vote percentage is at 56 per cent and following victories in the municipal corporation, it is hoping for a short-term cascading impact on the Delhi Assembly polls. But worryingly for AAP, the BJP, in its bid to end a power drought in Delhi, is intensively promoting a Mission 2020 campaign to ensure that the underprivileged pockets, slum clusters and the Muslim community are provided with the benefits of the Modi government schemes. It is this aggression in AAP territory that needs a far stronger counter-script from Kejriwal than just power reforms.
Writer & Courtesy: The Pioneer
From an asthmatic sickly boy, the journey to becoming a Guinness world record holder in mountaineering was riddled with hurdles but Satyarup Siddhanta refused to give up, says Sakshi Sharma
A journey from being an asthmatic kid, who could barely run 100 metres, to being the youngest Guinness world record holder for climbing the seven summits and seven volcanic summits, Satyarup Siddhanta has fought against all the odds and made India proud by inspiring young talent.
But Satyarup knows how to crawl out from the depths. While climbing the Everest, which he considers his most challenging expedition, he fell into a deep crevice after a snowbridge broke enroute to camp. He was stuck in the middle and it was so deep that he could not see its bottom. But he was lucky enough to be alive and tell the tale.
He says, “On my death bed, I won’t remember how much bank balance I have or what contract I won or lost.” Rather, he wants to feel content that he touched lives. But to battle the odds, tough conditions and extreme weather needs a special kind of motivation. He says, “Every step that I put on the high altitude, fills me up with gratitude. It’s like a miracle, as I never thought I could climb any mountain. The joy in surpassing my own limits, breaking the barriers and shattering the self limiting belief makes me feel unstoppable.” He realised human potential is unfathomable and the discovery of this strength served as the greatest motivation for him.
Adventurous since childhood, Satyarup says, “I never dreamt of mountaineering, but I was always adventurous in my thought process. I used to read a lot of novels and imagine that I am the central character. People often saw me on the treetop or climbing on the parapets or the boundary walls.”
Sharing about his initial years, he says, “Because my college was in the Himalayas, I had intense asthma attacks because of the high altitude.” The turning point came when he had an asthma attack and had forgotten the inhaler in his room. He says, “I was rolling on the ground to breathe and get some oxygen. I tried everything possible to regularise my breath but nothing worked. After 10 minutes, it automatically became normal.” This incident changed Satyarup’s life. He became contemplative and saw the incident through a broader perspective. He realised how dependent he was on his inhaler and wanted to get rid of that helplessness for which he started training his body by eating food that he was allergic to.
It was when he joined a job at Bengaluru in 2005 that the seeds of mountaineering were sowed. His boss showed him his trekking pictures at Parvathamalai hill which gave him an insight into the world he was not aware of. He says, “For a moment I was shocked because I always used to think that treks were possible only in foreign countries because the adventure novels that I read were mostly set abroad. I asked my boss if I could also do this, and he counter questioned, ‘if I can why can’t you?’” This excited him to the core but he knew that it would not be easy for him on account of his asthma. But, he decided to chase his dreams and went on a trek to Parvathamalai hills. He says, “When I reached the top, I not only had the joy of climbing the hill but also of the fact that I didn’t use the inhaler during the whole journey. I felt liberated. That moment instilled confidence in me and I realised that I could achieve all my dreams if I am dedicated.”
Since then there has been no looking back. Satyarup decided to fight with his problems and fulfill his wildest imagination. He says, “Every weekend, people saw me on the Western Ghats trekking, diving and skydiving. I never thought that I would become a mountaineer.” Things took a 360 degree turn in 2010 when he went for the Everest base camp trek in Nepal. He says, “The highest mountain stood there casting a spell on me. I did not know what mountaineering was, I just knew it is yet another mountain, a little high but I could definitely do it. So, I promised Everest that I am going to come back.” But, he soon realised that mountaineering was not like normal trekking and was a different game altogether. But he clung on to his dream and started preparing for it.
He then went to Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and came to know about the concept of seven summits. (The 7 summits represent the highest point on each of the seven continents). Satyarup says, “I was blown away by the idea and started dreaming about it. But, soon realised that I didn’t have money for climbing even one and here I am thinking about seven mountains.”
Talking about the challenges of his journey he says, “ I went to Mt Denali, the highest mountain of North America in Alaska, unsupported and unguided because of its heavy cost.” But the good part was that he completed the journey and this boosted his confidence for Everest. But financial constraints held him back, so he collected funds from his college, friends, parents and crowdfunding. But in 2015, there was an earthquake in Nepal which killed more than 10,000 people and all expeditions were closed. Talking about the tough time he says, “I lost my four friends, I was shattered. Our dreams were crushed but I did not lose hope. I held together all the broken pieces of my dreams and started rebuilding it.”
Mountaineering involves challenges in all aspects, be it physical, mental or financial. A mountaineer should be strong enough to combat these in order to turn their dream into a reality. Satyarup says, “You have to be mentally very strong because it’s not easy to see someone falling from the cliff in front of your eyes but then you have to walk ahead without feeling anything. This needs a lot of guts.” One needs to be patient in order to handle the uncertainties. Talking about the financial challenges, he says, “I had to leave my job because there was no policy for such long leaves in my office. So, I had to choose between Everest and my job and I chose the former because I had no idea whether I would come back from the climb or not. I thought there was no point bothering about the job? The Everest climb cost `20-25 lakh and Antarctica `76 lakh.” He has run up a loan of 45 lakh for which he works at two jobs — morning and evening — to pay his EMIs. Therefore, he is trying to get the government’s support. He feels that India is not mature enough about mountaineering. He says, “There are consistent efforts to encourage sports which has shown results as we have been breaking records. My request is to extend this to mountaineering as well.” He hopes that the government understands his situation and reverts with a positive response.
“It will be a failure on part of our country if the potential and passion of mountaineers is held back because of financial constraints. I could have used this money to buy a house or a car and lead a settled life but I wanted to make my country proud. Nobody asked me to, but I felt an urge to be instrumental,” adds he. He repeatedly urges the government to support mountaineers who silently bring glory to the country but are suffering terribly.
Writer: Sakshi Sharma
Courtesy: The Pioneer
While the Modi Government lauded the daring, determination and raw courage shown by our soldiers in Kargil, it failed to walk the talk on several issues pertaining to them
It was ironic that speaking to serving and retired armed forces personnel at the grand finale of the 20th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised on the need for modernisation and jointness, the two pivotal issues on which he has done little. Appointing a Chief of Defence Staff (it was approved by the Cabinet in 2003), ordering the integration of the Armed Forces Head Quarters with the Ministry of Defence and increasing defence capital outlays — at present barely sufficient for committed liabilities — will transform the ad hoc defence and national security system into an effective military mechanism. This is precisely what the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) report, From Surprise to Reckoning, had recommended in 1999. Modi’s script-writers must read the KRC and its sequel, the Group of Ministers (GoM) reports.
The catastrophic intelligence failure that permitted massive Pakistani intrusions led to monumental confusion. Troops hurriedly brought in from the Valley had to be re-oriented from counter-insurgency to conventional war-fighting. Loss of two fighters and one helicopter chastened the Indian Air Force (IAF). Strategic constraint of not crossing the Line of Control (LoC) proved avoidably costly. The jointness was absent in the Army-waged Op Vijay, IAF Operation Safedsagar and Navy Operation Talwar. Acute shortages of high-altitude clothing, equipment and ammunition forced the then Army Chief, Gen VP Malik, into saying, “We will fight with what we have.” Kargil became a test-bed for uphill infantry assaults, never witnessed before or after in any war. The re-capture of jagged peaks took 83 days and cost 527 lives with nearly 1,400 brave men wounded. Brave infantry commanders, junior leaders and soldiers, with the help of IAF, turned around the situation in Kargil from ‘defeat’ into ‘victory’, much like Field Marshal William Slim’s second Burma campaign in World War II.
The theme for this year’s Kargil Vijay Divas was ‘Remember (sacrifices), Rejoice (victory) and Renew (resolve to protect tricolour)’. Missing was the fourth ‘R’: Review lessons of Kargil. I commanded my triple Victoria Cross, winning Gorkha battalion in Kargil after the 1971 war. My World War II vintage Brigade Commander made me walk from Batalik to Dras — the extent of the incursions — so that I write a threat appraisal paper. I did not visualise like many before and after, and at different headquarters of command, that Pakistan could do what it did. KRC called it irrational and said it could have been avoided with Siachenisation of Kargil, which it did not recommend. Operation Badr (also called Koh-i-Paima) by the Kargil clique of four Pakistani Generals, while tactically brilliant, had blistering strategic consequences.
KRC reported that Kargil was complete and was a total surprise for the Government, the Army and the intelligence services. The uncorrected intelligence deficit led to attacks on Parliament in 2001 and Mumbai in 2008. Twenty years on, Pulwama happened. On February 14, for the first time in Jammu & Kashmir, a local suicide bomber rammed a Maruti packed with 60 kg of RDX smuggled from Pakistan into a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy, killing 40 troopers. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is still investigating the case.
KRC has a full chapter on defence budget and modernisation, lamenting the decline in defence outlay from 3.85 per cent in 1987-88 to 2.09 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1999-2000. It stressed that infantry modernisation be given the highest priority. Sadly, this process started only last year with Infantry combating CIS “with what it has.” The KRC noted: “Many grave deficiencies exist in India’s security management system” and recommended a thorough review of the national security environment and national security system in its entirety.
It also added that the Government, Parliament and public opinion should determine the security shield required to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Never in the country’s history has a review of the national security environment been done — neither a White Paper on defence nor a strategic defence and security review. Instead, piecemeal defence reforms have been attempted by the likes of Krishna Rao and Arun Singh Committees and Naresh Chandra Task Force, among others. The Army has tinkered with the reforms to enhance tooth to tail ratio.
Gen Bipin Rawat had cut Army by 50,000 soldiers to muster Rs 500 crore, which the Government never added to the Army’s capital outlay. Similarly, it was overlooked by the Shekatkar Committee. Now, the Army is on the threshold of implementing operational and structural reforms without an overall review of national security, environment and the system.
Despite the Government making national security its flagship programme, defence outlay this year was 1.5 per cent of the GDP, the lowest since 1962. The modernisation account allocation was even insufficient for the payment of old programmes. Still, the service Chiefs have painted a rosy picture. Both the Army and Air Force Chiefs are retiring shortly and vying for either CDS or governorship/ambassadorship. Gen Dalbir Singh, the architect of the Uri surgical strikes, was belatedly rewarded with ambassadorship to the Seychelles. Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa deservedly is eyeing his dividend from Balakot, which decisively swung the Modi Government’s vote tally to 303 seats.
Dhanoa, who commanded a MiG 21 squadron in Kargil, is euphoric. Once, he had compared fighting a two-front war to playing a T20 cricket match with seven players. Now the assertion is that an attack on an IAF installation like Pathankot in 2016 is a greater threat than two-front war and that 42 combat squadrons are required only in a two-front war. He also claimed that the IAF has all-weather capability, including during clouding for precision strikes. The IAF’s post-Balakot internal report leaked to the Press said: “Because of bad weather, the Crystal Maze-AGM 142, which video records the target strike, could not be used after Spice 2000 missiles…”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Kargil Day that he will ensure no harm comes to the pride and honour of the soldiers, conveniently forgetting that as the Home Minister, he let the Delhi Police rough up veterans protesting One Rank One Pension (OROP) and evict them from Jantar Mantar. On national security, the Modi Government has excelled in symbolism and rhetoric. While it lauded the daring, determination and raw courage of soldiers in Kargil, it is playing hide and seek on Non Functional Financial Upgrade (allowed to almost all central services), disability pension and full OROP (matter in court).
Modi, who has become the darling of most veterans, must walk the talk: Ban anyone saying “we will fight with what we have”; apply dil maange more, which he quoted from brave-heart Vikram Batra, to defence modernisation; order review of national security system in its entirely; and bestow genuine izzat auriqbal (honour and respect) as engraved on the gunners’ cap-badge and as Rajnath Singh has promised. Kargil has shown that India has become impervious even to crises to usher in reform.
(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
We must get out of the trap of labelling hate crime critics as anti-nationals and look at the bigger picture of Hindu thought
It is good that in the digital swamp of opinions, the epistolary tradition is back as a serious tool for getting heard and making a point above the chaos. Open letters have been a part of the political protest movement down the years, often to force a wider dialogue on a particular issue or compel the recipient to act on it if the establishment of the day has been intransigent or deliberately ignorant. That’s the reason why about 50 eminent personalities, including Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, Mani Ratnam, Ramchandra Guha, Soumitro Chatterjee and Shyam Benegal, decided to lend heft to what has been known for some time. But by collectively writing a letter to the Prime Minister as concerned citizens who do not want further polarisation of the society or labelling of free thinkers as enemies of the nation, a Constitutional right one may add, they have relied on National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) records to make their case. Highlighting that hate crimes are on the rise, they have pleaded that the lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities be stopped immediately. The decline in the percentage of convictions in such cases has worried them further as has the use of “Jai Shri Ram” as a provocative political slogan to justify majoritarian arrogance and display of power. Benegal, who has been a bard of independent India by documenting social change through his films, even clarified that the sacredness of Ram was dear to the Indic consciousness and was being defiled as much violence was being perpetrated by wrongfully invoking his name. But the trouble with the discourse that has been simplified into binaries of nationalists and traitors is rationality itself. So instead of taking it in the right spirit or even countering it with the argument that the Prime Minister has anyway expressed his discomfort in Parliament, a public forum, the pro-establishment brigade has predictably engaged in comparative one-upmanship. They have now questioned the dissenters as to why they never see atrocities against Hindus instead. Now this debate between Left-liberal domination of civil discourse through decades and the new-found assertion and inclusion of Rightist thought is not new. Yes, there should be all shades of opinion and interpretation in the plural matrix of India but does that behove we won’t look at their distortions, some of which indeed challenge the expansive aura of the Vedic civilisation?
It is true that the rallying cry of “Jai Shri Ram” has been long politicised and has been the reason for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) rise since the days of the Rathyatra and Ayodhya. Considering Ram temples were historically built as an assertion of Hindu identity in the Mughal and colonial era, what was once a holy chant became a popular slogan in the political space. But what many forget is that the original chant of “Jai Siya Ram” has been appropriated to suit man-made agenda and is not true to our civilisational DNA. One where Siya is Sita, the shakti or the energy of the super-consciousness we embody as Lord Ram, the sacred feminine to the divine male. “Jai Siya Ram” was always meant to be about inclusive fullness of forces, and not celebrating one over the other. Clearly, the newly-evolved “Jai Shri Ram” sounds more muscular in comparison, predicating its iconic value on a demonstrative appeal. This then is the real problem, the Hindu-ness of our civilisational thinking being challenged as “anti-national.” Simply because the blame-game is easier than deep introspection. If the ruling BJP indeed wants to rescue Hindu pride, the long-standing demand of its ideological chaperone, the RSS, it is best placed to do so now, when it has a mammoth majority. Does it really need to keep to the agitationist ways of the Opposition? Also, civilisationally, we have had ancient city-states that functioned in the spirit of democracy. So there should be space for dissent, not incarceration, the Opposition as competition, not criticism. The BJP leadership must realise that it certainly is the ruling party but does not rule the cultural ethos. Besides, greater Hinduism has survived despite its many offshoots. Politicians should remember that if they reject the larger definition, they will end up suffering the most.
Writer & Courtesy: The Pioneer
Be it mob lynching or bank fraud, there are threads of commonality between both. To rein in the problem, structural reforms as well as public and media support are the need of hour
Around March last year, a prominent businessman defrauded Indian banks of more than Rs 11,300 crore. Nirav Modi grabbed everyone’s attention due to the sheer magnitude of his fraud and the ease with which he managed to escape the clutches of the Indian Government and probe agencies. Fast forward a little more than a year and we found on June 18, 2019, that Tabrez Ansari, a 24-year-old Muslim boy, was attacked by a mob in the Seraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand on suspicion of theft. What binds these two crimes together? At first glimpse, the two crimes could not be more far apart. One involves the enduring image of a multi-millionaire in a Rs 9 lakh ostrich leather jacket and the other, the abhorrent image of a young man being beaten to death by a mob while begging for mercy. On closer inspection, however, there are threads of commonality that run through both crimes.
Anonymity: Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant. It is an established fact that humans are more likely to do the right thing when the likelihood of them being recognised for kindness is high. In an experiment to showcase this interesting aspect of human behaviour, people were asked to submit their donations to a worthy cause anonymously. In another scenario, a set of people were asked to write down on a public notice board their names and how much they would be donating for a particular cause.
It turned out that people were more likely to be “kind” if they are aware that their actions are being watched in a social setting. The corollary of this principle is true as well: People are more likely to commit crimes if they believe that there is no way to identify them. This is what typically works in case of mob lynching where large groups of people believe that they are protected by anonymity. In order to prevent such instances of mob violence from happening, the police must adopt and use technology for their benefit. For example, in instances where a video records an instance of mob violence, the police could use the footage to identify the offenders and instigators of such mob violence and establish a pattern from these crimes.
In the case of economic crimes like the bank fraud committed by Nirav Modi and Co, the benefit of anonymity works differently. Each crime involves some moral compromise, especially so when the victim is visible and is affected directly by an action. In such instances, the perpetrator of a crime has more reason to not commit the crime because there is a higher moral cost or compromise.
However, in cases of economic crimes, the criminal act is often facilitated by anonymity of the victim rather than the perpetrator. For example, in the case of the bank scam, Nirav Modi did not individually ‘steal’ money from an individual but took it away from the banks — hence, he effectively stole money from all of us. In such cases, it is easier for criminals like Nirav Modi to live with the consequence of their actions. In order to prevent such crimes from happening in the future, it is important for banks and other institutions, who deal with such potential offences, to build necessary safeguards. These safeguards can be in the form of stricter audits or by publicising a particular firm’s repeated payment defaults.
Influence: Another common element between these two types of crimes is the important role ‘influence’ has in making such crimes possible. Influence comes in many forms — criminal intimidation or bribery or political pressure. In the case of Nirav Modi, for example, the scam was allegedly enabled by bribing certain bank officials. In the case of mob lynching or hate crimes, influence may not take such proactive forms. Instead, perpetrators of such crimes look at the environment around them and the messaging that they receive, which lend credence to their belief that their acts are not actually crimes or are somehow acceptable.
Such messages may take the form of TikTok videos that talk about mob violence openly without any prosecution or a former Union minister garlanding convicts of lynching. Whatever the form, both these crimes rely on influences that are available to them and use it to justify or enable their crimes. Some of these influences like bribery can be restricted by enforcing stricter laws like the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the Right to Information Act (which the present Government has, unsurprisingly, sought to weaken). Other influences, like the messaging that our leaders send, can be weakened much more easily. For example, by not garlanding individuals accused of crimes.
No fear: While all of the factors highlighted above enable such crimes to occur in our country with unenviable regularity, the absence of any fear of consequence for their crimes provides criminals like Nirav Modi and perpetrators of mob violence with an added incentive to act with impunity. A look at the performance of our agencies is indicative of this.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is deemed to be the elite investigative agency, is reported to have a strike rate of just 3.96 per cent while dealing with major crimes. This is an appalling strike rate. In the case of the police, too, the strike rate is not very encouraging. Moreover, poor statistics exclude the fact that a number of crimes are not even recorded as FIRs by the police in the first place. It is not rocket science to tackle this problem.
There is no denying the fact that with enough pressure from the public and a strong glare by the media, the instruments of the state are more likely to be better at their job. However, it is ridiculous to expect the media and the public to raise its arms in every case. Instead, what is needed are structural solutions. These can come in the form of police reforms (which the Supreme Court has mandated for each State to adopt) or by way of introducing stricter laws such as a stern legislation to tackle mob lynching. A great start, however, would be if the present Government shuns its “hugs and garlanding approach” and comes out strongly against such crimes, whether it is mob violence or a bank fraud.
(The author is president of Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee)
Writer: Ajoy Kumar
Courtesy: The Pioneer
The National Green Tribunal’s (NGT’s) clearance of the ambitious Yamuna flood plain natural water storage project has come as a gulp of survival. Coming at a time when the NITI Aayog is predicting Day Zero for 21 Indian cities, the clearance will go a long way in resolving Delhi’s water woes and perhaps lay the urban template for other riverine cities to build reserves for the future. The Arvind Kejriwal-led government seeks to promote rainwater harvesting by digging small ponds along the Yamuna flood plains, which in turn will become natural receptacles of accumulated rainfall and the overflowing river. This infusion of water, which would otherwise trickle out as runoff or waste, will now recharge the river bed and groundwater tables.
Sixty per cent of the water supplied by the Delhi Jal Board comes from the Yamuna, around 34 per cent from the Ganga and the rest from groundwater. So this project is expected to directly impact volumes. Significantly, this green nod exemplifies a remarkable bipartisan approach to a common concern as Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat speeded up processes. The conservation project will run along 22 km of the Yamuna flood plains, beginning at Palla, where the river enters Delhi, to the other end in Wazirabad. Of course, there is still another hurdle, of acquiring land from farmers, with the Delhi government planning to rent it at a rate of Rs 77,000 per acre. Question is whether the farmers, who have been growing seasonal crops here and living on it for years, will give up their rights for an annual rent? That needs practical workarounds. But at least a beginning has been made. A river’s flood plain must be excluded from human habitation and just allowed to be as it absorbs the most water that recharges aquifers. But as Delhi went through an infrastructural overhaul over the decades, the sustainability of the development process was compromised in the name of erecting modern monuments to the city’s pride, namely the Akshardham temple and Commonwealth Games Village that completely dried out the groundwater and blocked percolation. The bells have tolled way back then, its gong is being heard now.
A fact profile of Delhi, despite being situated on the banks of the Yamuna, reveals a glaring crisis. About 18 percent of its population does not have piped water. Yet, it has one of the highest percentages of households with piped water in India. The only way we can make good the deficit is by replicating rainwater harvesting models across the city, beginning with what history has gifted us, a series of baolis or wells that need recharging, besides lakes, pavilions and moats. The city has lost at least 200 natural water bodies due to encroachment and reclamation, illegal and even legal ones with the connivance of a multiplicity of local authorities and land developers. This is also the reason that a horribly silted up city today gets deluged by the slightest shower. Existing water bodies lie in utter neglect, filled with sewage, garbage and effluents, and are unfit for use. While the groundwater levels have kept falling with the city’s growth, the increasing number of bore-wells and tube-wells has been vacuumising the deeper aquifers as well, causing all kinds of slurry and trickling toxic sludge to be sucked in. India is the world’s largest user of groundwater, drawing one-fourth of the global reserves every year, and it is time the government clamps down on overdrawal with some kind of rationing permits. Also, though rainwater harvesting is compulsory on paper, there are no compliance checks or implementation. This has now got to be enforced on a war footing at the community level. The biggest problem is with builders who tout rainwater pits as a virtue to get sanctions for their housing societies but never install systems. Complementary water-saving measures need to be looked at too, like planting native tree species to strengthen the city’s catchment area, recycling water and ensuring compliance of zoning residential and commercial use norms. One also needs to create a water map to assess requirements across localities and rationing supplies accordingly.
Writer & Courtesy: The Pioneer
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