At a time when there’s a drought of good news in the country, a report from Jharkhand that the construction of an airport has been halted to ensure the jumbo corridor isn’t affected is welcome
At the time of a drought of good news in the country, there comes one to celebrate. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has halted the construction of an airport at the site of an abandoned World War-II airstrip near Jharkhand’s Dhalbhumgarh town. The reason? It would disrupt an elephant corridor used by 200 pachyderms.
The airport near Dhalbhumgarh was to be the first of 400-of-its-kind, which the Airport Authority of India proposes to build throughout the country. Its halting represents one of the rare occasions when a concern for animals has won out against a grandiose plan for so-called development. The disruption of the corridor would have forced the elephants to look elsewhere for passage, including urban and semi-urban areas, thus taking them to new places and creating new dangers of elephant-human conflict.
The resultant casualties would have had an adverse impact on Jharkhand’s elephants, whose numbers have been declining. From 772 in 2002, the figure came down to 624 in 2007. It increased to 688 in 2012 only to come down to 679 in 2017, according to the elephant census titled, ‘Synchronised elephant population estimation India 2017’, released on August 12 (World Elephant Day), that year.
The causes, related to conditions created by continuing human encroachment upon and activity in elephant habitats, include habitat loss, electrocution by contact with sagging and/or low-hanging high voltage transmission wires, running over by trains, conflicts with humans besides poaching, poisoning and old-age related medical problems. According to a report in May, 2017, 32 elephants had been killed by electrocution and 22 in train accidents in Jharkhand until then.
One hopes that the decision to stop the construction of the airport will not be reversed under pressure and will prove to the precursor of many similar decisions concerning all animals. Elephants, doubtless, need particular attention. They have been listed in Schedule One of the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972, which gives them the highest level of protection. Project Elephant was launched in 1992 to protect the Asian elephant (the category to which Indian elephants belong), its habitat and corridors and address the human-elephant conflict. The elephant was declared India’s National Heritage Animal on October 22, 2010.
Yet serious challenges remain. Almost all the factors adversely affecting elephants in Jharkhand apply to the species throughout India. The most important of these is habitat loss, caused principally by continuing human encroachment. This is clear from the Elephant Task Force’s report, Gajah: Securing the Future for Elephants in India, submitted on August 31, 2010. Dwelling on how various elements contribute to habitat loss and the latter’s impact, it states, “Large developmental and infrastructural projects when not planned or located with adequate care are fragmenting habitat[s], while other local pressures degrade them.” It further states, “The physical presence of the roads and railway lines in the habitat creates new habitat edges, alters the hydrological dynamics and creates a barrier to the movement of elephants and other animals, leads to habitat fragmentation and loss, apart from death due to train and vehicular hits.”
It adds, “Rail and an increase in road traffic operates in a synergetic way across several landscapes and causes not only an overall loss and isolation of wildlife habitat but also splits up the landscape in a literal sense. Various developmental activities also come up on either side of the highways and railroads, thereby further fragmenting the habitat and increasing biotic pressures.”
With shrinking habitats, elephants searching for food raid cultivated areas, devouring and destroying crops. Attempts to turn them away constitute an important cause of human-elephant conflict, which is taking a growing number of lives. Replying to a question, Babul Supriyo, Union Minister of State for MoEFFC, told the Lok Sabha on June 28, 2019, that 2,398 people had died since 2014. According to other official statistics, a total of 1,465 people were killed between the years 2013-14 and 2016-17. In turn, people kill 40 to 50 elephants every year, apart from those slain by poachers for the ivory of the tusks.
Habitat loss also forces elephants to move into other areas. They are now seen in States like Manipur, Mizoram, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, where they had not been present earlier. Other factors have also contributed. A major drought in Tamil Nadu had caused herds of elephants to cross over to Andhra Pradesh where they had no presence for over two centuries. The result is an extension of the area witnessing human-elephant conflict.
The impact of habitat loss is compounded by that of elephant corridors, which account for much of the rail and road accidents. According to the report, Gajah: Securing the Future for Elephants in India, train accidents had killed as many as 150 of these behemoths since 1987. According to a Ministry statement in the Rajya Sabha, 49 elephants were killed in railway accidents between 2016 and 2018.
The Elephant Task Force’s report has recommended several measures to protect habitats and prevent elephants from being killed in road and rail accidents. These include the announcement of principles of forest area, railway track and highway management, the grant of mining licences and rules governing the drawing and maintenance of power cables through forest areas.
Besides these, attention has to be paid to nurturing elephant reserves as the basic management unit for their conservation in the country. At present, there are 32 of these across India, covering over 69,000 sq km. The problem is that more than over 40 per cent of these is not under Protected Area or Government forest. Hence, the main emphasis has to be on managing land use patterns in the areas outside the preserves to reduce human-elephant conflict. Also, the havoc bush fires continue to play in Australia reminds us of the need to be ready to cope with such calamities which have been taking a severe toll in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and may occur in other parts of India thanks to climate change.
All this will require huge expenditure and effort. The Government must not balk from either. Besides, it needs to reach out to organisations like Wildlife SOS, TREE Foundation and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, which have been doing outstanding work in rescuing and nurturing elephants.
(Writer: Hiranmay Karlekar; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Accessible India intended to take measures to secure the right to an accessible environment for people with disabilities. But it failed
The enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 has ensured the domestic transition of the social model adopted under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted in 2006 and ratified by the Government in 2007. The principles stated to be implemented for empowerment of persons with disabilities (PWD) are respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy, including the freedom to make one’s own choices and independence of persons. The Act lays stress on non-discrimination, full and effective participation and inclusion in society, respect for difference and acceptance of disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity, equality of opportunity, accessibility, equality between men and women, respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities. The principle reflects a paradigm shift in thinking about disability from a social welfare concern to a human rights issue. However, the rights-based vision of the Act has not been translated into reality as yet. This is because of the lack of the Government’s efforts to ensure that measures are taken for which it has been made responsible under the Act. Accessible India has been one of the most visible campaigns of the Narendra Modi Government which intends to take measures securing the right to an accessible environment for PWDs in the country. Launched before the enactment of the 2016 Act, it seeks to ensure a Built Environment Accessibility, Transportation System Accessibility and Information and Communication Eco-System Accessibility in India, the three of its basic components. It is a matter of great misfortune that India’s biggest campaign has failed miserably in its effort. The failure can be basically attributed to the ingenuity shown in its vision, as ambiguous and over-ambitious targets were made without any measure of accountability. The campaign thus serves more in rhetoric than in action.
Ambiguous and over-ambitious targets: The campaign under Built Environment Accessibility targetted 50 most important buildings in Tier-1 cities and 25 most important Government buildings in Tier-2 cities, to be made fully accessible within a period of six months by July 2016. The revised guidelines have extended the deadline to March 2020. The numbers and time period were too ambitious for the reach of the Department of Persons with Disability. The deadlines were missed and extended consecutively and targets under it are yet not achieved even as three years have passed since the campaign was launched. Moreover, there was no study done on the number of Government websites or the quantum of public documents, which makes it impossible to assess the Government on the targets it envisaged as they were mostly made in percentage terms i.e. to make 50 per cent of all Government websites and public documents accessible by March 2018 . Such ambiguous targets make it easier to extend the deadline as it becomes impossible to measure the true progress of the work done.
Lack of accountability framework: The department has only released partial information in terms of the total number of buildings and websites that were made accessible but greater details about these buildings have not been provided. This information is not only necessary for awareness but also necessary for accountability purposes. No verification study has been conducted or is currently under process by technically qualified Government or non-government agencies to assess the progress made in built environment or Information and communications technology in terms of accessibility. With respect to public buildings under the State Government, the department issues utilisation funds under the campaign. Data can be easily found on the huge amount of funds disbursed under the scheme. However, no accountability is ensued on the State Government as no post-verification study is done to check the proper use of funds. No training or workshop has been conducted to train engineers in the task of retrofitting. Untrained professionals are unable to understand the reports provided to them post accessibility audits.
Social audit: The campaign did include a component of “social audit” to ensure implementation in the form of a website, a mobile-based application where one could report inaccessible buildings and action could be taken on it. However, the objective completely failed because of sluggish implementation of this measure as both the website and the application have been unmanned and thereby lying defunct since 2016.
The failure of the campaign to properly formulate its target and include accountability in its practice has reduced it to a utopian status without any real ground-level impact. This failure is for the lack of technical experts on the subject of accessibility involved in the formulation process. There is a sincere need for the Department for Persons with Disability to diverge from this erring process and hire a permanent officer trained in universal design and accessibility so that proper measures can be taken to address the issues of PWDs.
(Writer: Arman Ali; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The feedback from corporate India and research institutes is that 65-75 per cent of the 15 million youth who enter the workforce each year are not job-ready or suitably employable
The amount of change in the world economy in the last 20 years and the rate at which it has occurred is staggering. It is inevitable that everyone will have to deal with a significant degree of professional change. This shift could be seismic, to the degree that the very nature of a trade or profession is transformed forever.
The great economist and Nobel laureate WA Lewis argues that an economy consists of two sectors: Capitalist (urban and industrial) and a subsistence sector (rural and agricultural). Wages in the capitalist sector are higher than in the subsistence sector, hence there is a tendency for labour to move from the latter to the former. However, in India, the growing population has led to an endless supply of cheap labour and this has also brought down wages in the capitalist sector. Moreover, the capitalist sector is not growing fast enough to provide jobs for this large population. With a small fraction of its workforce having formal vocational training, skilling in India has become increasingly difficult.
The imperative for skilling young people is well-recognised and has been flagged as a national priority for almost a decade, with significant initiatives being launched by the Government. The sad part is that only 10 per cent of the total workforce in the country receives some kind of skill training. The feedback from corporate India and research institutes alike is that 65-75per cent of the 15 million Indian youth who enter the workforce each year are not job-ready or suitably employable.
Technology is advancing faster than we can adapt, upending the job market and delivering unimaginable shocks to both our values and our patterns of thinking. Repetition-based jobs are declining the world over and will soon disappear. Most children entering school today will do jobs that don’t exist yet. Many of the children now being educated in the old system will find the norms, institutions and patterns of working and civic life they were trained for scrambled when they enter the adult world. The tools of most jobs are in a state of extreme flux. For example, spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and other boardroom documents have all been changed by the cloud and sharing and group editing are the new norm.
We are increasingly moving towards a world where evergreen skills like communication, empathy and the ability to “play well” with others are more valuable in the job market. They are essential to prepare our youth for the future. Empathy is foundational to social and relational intelligence. Empathy is the invisible giant. It is naturally hardwired into our brain and when harnessed, plays a crucial role in innovation, changemaking and solving systemic problems. Communication skills are essential to support both effective teamwork and creative linkages across disciplines and specialisations
Emotional and social “soft skills” such as possessing insights into other points of view, being supportive of one’s colleagues, problem-solving and critical thinking should be nurtured and developed as the key to future success for students and society in general. These soft skills need to be combined with other competencies such as English, digital literacy, arithmetic, financial literacy and basic life skills — together defined as “core employability skills” or “future skills.” We need to challenge the perception that these skills should only be taught to those going into business. Instead they should be seen as a set of transferable skills for all and are universally applicable, domain-agnostic and transferable. They hold the key to creating an impact at scale and with speed.
There is a huge gap between what is being taught to students and what they need to pursue as a successful career. To close this gap, we need to create a curriculum that would teach the skills that are most relevant for students entering a 21st century workforce. Thus we will need to give teaching and curriculum design a greater priority.
Technology empowers but will render millions of jobs obsolete, as smart machines take over repetitive tasks that employed previous generations. Many of the world’s schools and universities are modeled on the old, hierarchical elitism of the colonial times. Students are considered as empty vessels that simply need to be filled up with knowledge and skills readying them for their niche in a static labour market. The result is that educational institutions are disempowering students through their teaching methods and also failing to prepare them to capture the benefits of empowerment. A better way would be to treat students as creative, entrepreneurial problem-solvers and give them the skills, resources and power to generate and drive change both while learning and after they graduate.
The new emphasis on skill training should focus one “life cycle” approach which looks at all aspects of skilling, from the aspirations of people before training to counselling and following up with beneficiaries during their employment. Adopting this approach will ensure that the kind of skills imparted to trainees are marketable and linked to jobs.
It is also important to ensure that specific skills are not scaled across multiple areas in the same region as this saturates the market with limited opportunities for those who are trained. If everyone is trained in becoming a blacksmith, there will be too many blacksmiths and not enough jobs. Imparting locally-relevant skill sets like repairing bicycles, two-wheelers, solar lamps or mobiles, running a poultry unit, and the like, make families self-sustaining. To this end, governments should boost investment in lifelong learning to retrain, retool and reskill. For example, governments could provide training grants throughout people’s working lives, conditional on stronger private sector involvement in training and skills development. Governments should also reinforce the supply of skills by strengthening incentives for educational institutions to harness the power of digital technology and new business models.
While we continue our efforts to provide training in more advanced skills, it is also necessary to strengthen the ecosystems for basic subsistence skills in smaller communities. We can design new-generation skills for para-veterinarians, health workers, solar engineers, water drillers and testers, hand pump mechanics, artisans, designers, masons, accountants, technicians and computer programmers who support their fellow-villagers in building and sustaining collective livelihood projects and increasing their economic and social resilience. There is an important role for organisations supporting small producers to hone their skills, understand the marketplace dynamic, and to adapt their products for urban markets. They can encourage and promote environment-friendly products and processes, help in branding, packaging solution and also support primary producers in transitioning their subsistence livelihoods to reach sustainable levels. Education will have to be made available in more flexible and innovative forms to enable lifelong learning and deepening of skills and re-skilling as old occupations disappear and new ones evolve. It should also not be restricted to jobs that might be on offer, but encourage innovation and creation of jobs.
Graduates will need cultural competencies to effectively practice their skills in a multicultural world. Since the world is going to be dominated by digital forms of communication, everyone will need to have some proficiency in analysing and interpreting a world flooded with data. Higher levels of numeracy will be needed across many more occupations. Boundaries between educational institutions and the outside world would also need to be far more porous. Students will need opportunities to experience work environments as part of their learning system.
We require a more coordinated and collective impact approach from the various stakeholders if we want to enlarge the network of training programmes and ensure that training is closely aligned with specific demands of the industry. It would require developing a clear common agenda around the entire ecosystem of workforce training. It requires intervention at four levels: Quality trainers, market-aligned curriculum, assessment of learning outcomes, and effective matchmaking between youth and jobs
Individuals will have to cultivate a proper mindset to embrace changes and take a proactive approach to navigating the shock waves that may follow such powerful changes. Adaptability can quickly and confidently assimilate this type of upheaval and use it as a competitive advantage.
(Writer: Moin Qazi; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Irrespective of the disappointing outcome of the Madrid summit, as a responsible nation, India cannot be making a half-hearted approach to address the issue of climate change
Even as the thunderous reverberations of the 16-year-old environmental activist, Greta Thunberg, at the UN, just three months ago, are yet to die down, to our utter surprise, the Madrid climate talks under the aegis of COP25 ended in a failure. This is not the first time that such discordance among member nations has been witnessed. The present talks failed despite the fact that while inaugurating this conference, UN Secretary General António Guterres had issued a very stern warning. “I call on anyone who is still lobbying their Governments for a slow transition or even no transition, to end those activities now. The world is watching,” he emphasised. Today, the world community appears to be focussed more on the protection of their own domestic agenda rather than paying heed to the impending disaster.
The first decade after the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit of 1992 saw a rare building up of consensus on almost all issues. Perhaps it was the decade after the Cold War and the first Gulf War when the world community saw immense merit in consensus-building. The same was also manifest during the signing of the WTO Agreement at Marrakesh, Morocco, in 1994. But in the very next decade, one saw the appearance of discordant notes, particularly as former US President George W Bush virtually refused to follow the Kyoto Protocol even as America was the largest polluter in the world. This trend was further aggravated when President Donald Trump followed the same route as charted earlier by Bush.
Unfortunately, despite the bleak scenario, the voice of a number of smaller and less polluting nations, prominently Tuvalu, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan among others, who are already facing the brunt of the climate change, seems to have been lost. On the other hand, high polluting nations such as China, India and the European Union could not account for their efforts at reducing global warming. They were unable to quantify in specific terms the targets achieved as was laid down under the Paris Agreement. But the prime reason for the failure of the Madrid Summit, which was participated by 197 countries across the world, was a lack of consensus on development of a market mechanism to limit carbon emissions.
The concept of trading in carbon markets as a response to climate change was an important outcome of the Kyoto Protocol. The primary purpose of the Protocol was to make the developed countries pay for their emissions while at the same time, monetarily reward those nations with good record in this regard. The underlying philosophy was that since the developing countries could start with cleaner technologies, they would be rewarded by those who were stuck with old and polluting technologies. In a way, this translated into wealthier countries purchasing the extent of reduction in carbon levels achieved by the developing countries.
In this manner, the developed and wealthier nations would not only be able to sell their technology to the developing countries but could also gather carbon credits to meet the requirements of Kyoto Protocol without any reduction in their emission levels. The failure of the Madrid summit, to achieve any results in this direction, may have also disappointed those who encouraged carbon trading mechanism like the oil major Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the Spanish utility Iberdrola SA.
Such a market mechanism was also considered important by heavy industrialised countries, who are economically dependent on oil and gas production. In the normal course, large-scale de-carbonisation would take much longer than as prescribed under the Paris targets. Besides, it would also ensure that the rich and already developed countries could continue to pollute on the strength of carbon credit purchased by them, while the options of developing and relatively poor countries would be curtailed. It can, thus, be inferred that the summit spent more time in ensuring that the interests of the developed countries are well protected through the carbon trading mechanism.
In fact, the scheme of carbon credits is some kind of a smokescreen which enables the developed and richer countries to exploit those still developing. Those already developed, thus, escape the limits while the less industrialised and less polluting are loaded with the burden of further reductions. This may ultimately impact and retard their progress in the long-run.
In this context, let us take the example of the GFL gas project in Gujarat. GFL is one of the largest producers of carbon offset credits in the world, selling them to many of the biggest polluters in the EU. Europe’s polluters have had a cheap way to offset their climate responsibilities without actually greening even a small patch of the land. EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard admitted that such projects have a “total lack of environmental integrity.”
At the summit, not much time was spent on determining the targets to be achieved by each country so as to keep the emissions of greenhouse gases within the overall objective of the global warming being limited to the extent of 1.5 degrees between 2018 and 2100. For this to become a reality by 2050, we should be a net-zero emitter. So far only about 20 countries, including the UK, France, New Zealand, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, figure in the list of those who are expected to meet this target. India, China and the US still have a long way to go.
In India, with a perceived difficulty in cutting emissions in order to meet the targets, an ambitious plan for harnessing solar energy has been formulated. We are lucky that sunlight is available in abundance but the challenge lies in the procurement of solar Photo Voltaic (PV) cells, which is one of the major constraining factors in our efforts to realise the full potential. According to a report submitted by the parliamentary standing committee, in order to achieve the target of 100 GW of solar electricity capacity by 2022, India should have had an installed capacity of 32,000 MW by 2017-18. But as of January 31, 2018, the country only had a capacity of 18,455 MW in just four years — this is over 20,000 MW a year and appears difficult to achieve.
Irrespective of the disappointing outcome of the Madrid summit, as a responsible nation with high prestige in the international arena, India does not have the luxury of a half-hearted approach towards this vital area. The phenomenon of global warming has to be seen as a global warning.
(Writer: kk paul; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Maybe leaders do not like being lectured by a teenager but the world cannot afford failure
Another year of UN-sponsored climate talks and another year of stagnation where nothing was achieved. Yes, 2019 will go down as the year when a Swedish schoolgirl stood up to global leaders and told them to feel some shame but the latter, rather leaders of the world’s most important countries when it comes to climate change, have brushed her away. There have been record wildfires in Australia and the US, heatwaves in Europe, droughts in South America and rapidly shrinking ice levels at the Poles. It was believed that compromises and contingency plans would have been put into place at Madrid but after days of smashing heads together, nothing was achieved. The Paris deal of 2015 offered a framework for a new carbon market under the UN, but the details had not been worked out. Under it, those who have no choice but to pollute a bit would be free to trade carbon credits with developed countries. With no agreement reached, events like “Extinction Rebellion” in London, which brought the city to a standstill, are meaningless.
Partially, this is due to the Right-wing, nationalist turn the world has taken politically. Strongmen from our own Narendra Modi to Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and now possibly Boris Johnson are not ready to compromise on their nations and liabilities. After all, fighting climate change is an expensive business and nobody wants to foot the bill. It has become a game of passing the responsibility on and telling the other guy what to do. For some Westerners, it is about countries like India and even those in the African continent which are forced to put off their dreams of development “for the sake of the planet.” None of the countries will utter a peep to their own people, whose vast consumption outweighs that of many Indians. It is true that there has been a dramatic rise in global carbon levels over the past few years, thanks to China, but was it wrong on its part to haul hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty? India’s moral imperative is first and foremost to end hunger and starvation and ensure that no child is left behind. Unfortunately, this will have an environmental cost, one that this country will pay dearly due to rising sea levels. Yet, India will have to make some compromises if it is to reduce the extent of climate-induced suffering. There has been a pivot towards huge investments in renewable energy and exploring new technologies but this needs the developed world to be less hypocritical.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Greta Thunberg has not only lived by her belief but battled the most brutal trolling to become an icon
US President Donald Trump is a sore loser as he is yet to rightfully win the “Person of the Year” from Time magazine — he was named one in 2016 rather pejoratively. He is yet to get a positive cultural and intellectual endorsement for the title. So he reacted to climate activist Greta Thunberg winning the honour with a “Chill, Greta, Chill” tweet and suggesting anger management lessons, conveniently forgetting his wrongdoing as a climate denier. The young, Swedish icon has been crowned for being selfless in the selfish world of politics and leaving a legacy for her generation and beyond. She has led by example, showing how it is possible to adopt a sustainable and resourceful life, save the earth and still have fun as a teenager. She just doesn’t look back in anger but answers everybody who has a question for her. To win the title of the world’s most influential person, out of a list of 301 nominees — 223 individuals and 78 organisations — and one where even Trump and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi almost appeared non-contenders, is quite an accomplishment. For it’s just not about “popularity” or “positivity” but about the kind of “influence” she has had the world over. Coming right in the nick of the time when global leaders failed to do their bit in tackling the climate crisis, Thunberg became its de facto face. There have been several treaties on global warming in the past. Yet every year, the IPCC report testified to their failure and a resetting of goals. It was this abject failure by governments that prompted Thunberg to jolt the powers that be out of their myopia, which meant that they never looked beyond their own timelines. Nobody lived green philosophies till she countered politicians with a thunderous, “You come to us young people for hope. How dare you?” She even lived down the brutal hitbacks, being trolled as “elite pawn” and a “communist actress.” Her voyage across the Atlantic, sailing from one nation to the other in a solar-powered boat, will remain the most watched visual of the year.
Thunberg has given the much-needed inspiration to young activists in the developing world, too. Her clarity has cut through the obfuscation and helplessness of rhetoric. Be it the eight-year-old Licypriya Kangujam from India’s Manipur, who has been demanding action from the Modi Government in the current session of Parliament, or Kenya’s Kaluki Paul Mutuku, who is actively involved in conservation since college, Thunberg is inspiration for young female activists, who have been questioning establishments and demanding action.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Anti-intellectual trends and sectarian politics unfolding in nations ruled by elected Governments no less can push the world into a bottomless pit of cultural and civilisational decadence
Democracies across the globe are fighting a battle of survival today. India, one of the largest democracies in the world, is facing an existential threat from internal forces motivated by vested interests and narrow political gains. The ongoing attack on democracy and the resulting authoritarian regulations on people’s right to choose a Government of their choice, freedom of expression, Constitutional validity and suppression of liberal voice will take the country back to the primitive times. Signs of such a trend are already looming large on the horizon with secularism and pluralistic worldview coming under constant attack. An annual report by Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem), published in 2018, titled, “Democracy Facing Global Challenges” said that “autocratisation is now manifesting in a number of countries, including Brazil, India, Russia, Turkey and the US. Autocratisation affects one-third of the world’s population, or some 2.5 billion people. This represents a massive reduction in the global protection of rights and freedoms.”
Democratic discussions and debates have been greatly undermined in recent times, attacks on minority groups have seen a rise and religion has almost taken the centre-stage in all political discourses. Anti-democratic symptoms, such as attacks on certain sections of society based on their food habits, curtailing of freedom of individuals and organisation and interference with Government institutions for political gains, are challenging Indian democracy. In his book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, Steven Pinker said that “a good democratic Government allows people to pursue their lives in safety, protected from the violence of anarchy and in freedom, protected from the violence of tyranny. For that reason alone, democracy is a major contributor to human flourishing.”
Currently, there are 103 democracies in the world with nearly 56 per cent of the global populations residing in them. But recent developments in the global political landscape are giving rise to authoritarianism. The rise of an alternative form of democracy, like theodicy in the Muslim world and authoritarian capitalism in China, is the primary reason for the declining popularity of democracy. Stephen Pinker, however, says that “democracies themselves are blacklisting into authoritarianism with populist victories in Poland and Hungary and the power grabs by Recep Erdogan in Turkey and Vladimir Putin in Russia.” It is true that democracies across the globe have come under a major threat as elected leaders at times refuse to vacate the office and, thus, cripple the democratic functions of the Government as mandated by the people. Similar trends are also being witnessed in the US and the UK. A Government, which functions without heeding to the needs of the very people that elected it, tends to become authoritarian sooner or later. The trends indicating a gradual but deliberate attempt to strangle and replace democracy are not only seen in India but across the globe.
The Varieties of Democracy report further adds that “aspects of democracy that make elections truly meaningful are on the decline. Media autonomy, freedom of expression and alternative sources of information and the rule of law have undergone the greatest decline among democracy metrics in recent years. This trend affects both autocracies and democracies.”
Besides, the dramatic rise in protectionist trends, deglobalisation, hyper-nationalism and divisive politics will only worsen the current state of affairs. This is more evident during election campaigns, where propaganda is skillfully employed to spread misinformation and instill fear in the minds of the people about possible threats to their religious, cultural and ethnic identities from external forces.
Elections are, thus, won and public opinion is held captive in manners never thought possible before. This not only has a regressive impact on civilisations that evolved and matured over thousands of years, but also threatens the ideals of unity, harmony and mutual tolerance. Samuel Huntington, noted American political scientist, in his article titled, “Clash of Civilisations” says that the “Great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilisations. The clash of civilisations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilisations will be the battle lines of the future.”
Authoritarian regimes have always resorted to extreme measures to silence public opinion, eliminate adversary groups and create an environment of fear. Democracy was an exception that allowed and promoted free speech, dissent and peaceful protests. However, democracy today is crackling under excessive pressure from politicians, Governments and individuals with vested interests. In the words of Stephen Pinker, such trends were first witnessed in “the first decade of the 21st century with the rise of populist movements that blatantly repudiate the ideals of enlightenment — liberty, progress, Constitutional Government and fraternity. Today, they are tribalist rather than cosmopolitan, authoritarian rather than democratic, contemptuous of experts rather than respectful of knowledge and nostalgic for an idyllic past rather than hopeful for a better future.”
What can save democracy from a premature death? Democracy, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, is “A Government of the people, by the people and for the people.” Its very foundation, therefore, rests on its people, their belief and the desire to be ruled by a leader who is capable of ensuring their safety and overall well-being. Huntington, in his book, The Third Wave: Democratisation in the Late Twentieth Century, talks about three waves of democratisations, the challenges each of them faced and the democratic transitions that took place cross the globe. However, today, we need a fourth wave that would not necessitate any democratic transitions but protect the existing democracies. But this would require what Immanuel Kant calls “enlightenment” or dare to know (sapere aude).
Enlightenment, as Kant describes it, is man’s emergence from his self-imposed nonage. Nonage is the inability to use one’s own understanding without another’s guidance. “This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in the lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one’s own mind without another’s guidance.”
Enlightenment or the age of reason, which began in the 14th century and ended in the 17th century, marked a new chapter in European history that was previously plagued by ignorance, blind faith and supremacy of the Church. It was, perhaps, the enlightened wisdom that laid the foundation of modern Europe with a different worldview guided by reason and logic. A revisit of the same would usher in a new era of positive change, characterised by greater reliance on reason, logic and human intelligence.
The enlightenment values are relevant even today, particularly as the world remains highly susceptible to religious fundamentalism, strong ideological adherence to divisive politics and increasing anti-democratic trends. Further, the anti-intellectual trends and sectarian politics unfolding today in countries ruled by democratic Governments could potentially push the world into a bottomless pit of cultural and civilisational decadence.
However, active participation of people, unbiased reporting by the media and a fair judicial system can play a crucial role in upholding the sanctity and ensuring the long life of democracy. New ideologies, innovative thinking and above all, criticism, should be welcomed in the best interest of the common good and the well-being of the nation and its people. Like 14th century Europe, which experienced a revival in its thinking, political and intellectual views, enlightenment could trigger a new wave of thinking and an awakening in us to guard our Constitutional rights and a democratic life.
(Writer: Nithin Augustine; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The best tribute to Gujral, who appreciated the need for India to blend development efforts with environmental protection, will be to revisit the findings of the GREEN India 2047 project
It was last week that some events and television programmes were organised to mark the 100th birth anniversary of IK Gujral, who served as the 12th Prime Minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998. Those who have voiced their tributes and eulogies for this humane and gentlemanly leader have highlighted not only Gujral’s vision in the field of international affairs but also his qualities as a steadfast friend to those who got to know him. Gujral was not only an intellectual who knew a great deal about subjects that political leaders generally do not read about, but he was also a person who expressed his opinions without fear or favour. It is not well-known that Gujral saheb was a person who held environmental issues close to his heart and fully appreciated the need for this country to blend development efforts with environmental protection.
It was in 1995 that The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) launched a major project called GREEN India 2047 in preparation for the celebration of 50 years of India’s independence in 1997. This project, which was the effort of almost three dozen researchers working for almost two years, estimated and documented the damage that Indian society had imposed on the country’s natural resources and its environmental quality. It further projected what could happen with business as usual 50 years into the future, that is when India reaches 100 years of independence in 2047. A brief presentation on this project was made before Gujral early in August 1997 at Vigyan Bhavan, during which he also assembled a number of members of his Council of Ministers. At the end of the presentation, which provided startling facts and figures, Gujral saheb stated that this presentation “should jolt us into action.”
At that stage, the media, too, reported on the stark facts and the disturbing trends which had been in evidence during the first 50 years of India’s independence. One particular editorial in a leading newspaper carried the title as “Filthy at Fifty.” Much of the media coverage, which undoubtedly supported efforts to inform the Indian public, was clearly the result of the attention provided by the then Prime Minister to the analysis and realities presented to him.
Today it would be useful to revisit some of the findings of the GREEN India 2047 project, perhaps as a salute to Gujral’s appreciation of the fact that India cannot develop without due attention to its natural resources and ecosystems, which not only support human life but a range of biodiversity that this country is blessed with. The truth is that in a range of vital resources, there has been rapid degradation as a result of so-called development. Some important facts need reflection even as 1997 is now 22 years behind us. Even today, almost two-third of India’s population lives in rural areas and while several leaders have highlighted the growth of India’s population as one factor which imposes a larger and larger footprint on the country’s natural resources, we have really not come to grips with what would constitute a sustainable level of population growth and consumption. India’s population, which was 336 million in 1947, was estimated as 953 million in 1997. And today, we are 1.3 billion mindlessly pursuing Western consumption patterns, which impose a heavy burden on the country’s natural resources.
In this respect, the provision of infrastructure and wherewithal for universal literacy and education have been lacking. So, too, the provision of adequate healthcare facilities in several parts of the country, which would have promoted different fertility decisions. At the same time, the consumerist culture, which Gandhiji was totally against, has not only afflicted the growing urban population but has also percolated to our rural areas.
Besides, as it happens, historically, industrial development has been centered around chemicals and fertilisers, paper, cement, power generation and aluminium, which are resource-intensive and polluting.
If we look at specific elements of natural resources, water, as is universally accepted, would be heavily stressed in several parts of the country because of the impacts of climate change. It is now clear that with increased warming of temperatures, we would not only see persistent and more serious droughts but also the effects of extreme precipitation events in different parts of the country. In several cases even those areas, which are drought-prone during most of the year, would see heavy precipitation events in some seasons. These would lead to recurrent floods with loss of lives and property.
During Gujral’s intervention, after the presentation that was made before him, he stated, “Thus, we have come to a stage when there are two lifestyles. The elite in the country can drink water out of a bottle; the common man can drink municipal water; and the worst, the slum dwellers can drink untreated river water. This is the picture that is emerging. Therefore, when we look at the coming 50 years — we are now at the golden jubilee of our independence — we must ask: Is this the lifestyle we are thinking of? Is this the life that we are offering to our people? Is this the future of our children? And when I say children, I do not mean children only of the elite. The child living in the slum, the child who is walking and sleeping on the street, what future are we offering him?”
Sadly, many of the projections that were made in this project and presented to the then Prime Minister have only become more threatening. Whether it is the air quality, chemical and toxic pollution of our groundwater, dumping of waste in our rivers, thinning of forests and the huge mountains of solid waste being generated not only by our cities but by our rural areas as well, the outlook for 2047 looks grim and frightening.
While we have widespread opportunities, the inertia in our system is pushing us in the direction of business as usual. There is, therefore, a dire need for Indian society to shift gears and move towards a path of sustainable development. That would not only be a fitting tribute to Gujral but a reassurance for our children living a secure existence devoid of the growing risks from human-induced climate change and the catastrophic destruction of our natural resources.
(Writer: RK Pachauri; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
By exposing the BJP, the NCP leader is warning it against topple moves and at the same time reassuring Cong, Sena
They say one can never trust Sharad Pawar, the politician, no matter how large-hearted and generous a host he is on home ground at Baramati. Call him a pragmatist, negotiator, bargainer or flipper, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief is on the high table of all politicians. He may have broken away from the Congress over ideology but knows his mantras are no good without a practical module to execute them. That explains his opportunistic alliances to have a shot at power, aligning with the Congress even though he rebelled against it or even supporting the polar opposite of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). So when he crafted a series of interviews, detailing how he was offered a deal on Maharashtra by Prime Minister Narendra Modi no less, it seemed contrary to his level-headed neutrality. In fact, it seemed too much of an aberrant behaviour. For exposing the BJP, currently being battered over its constitutional misadventure in that State, is one thing, implicating Modi quite the other. That too spilling the beans on a private conversation where the tradeoff was clearly spelt out — cooperating with the BJP at the State level in return for a Central Ministry for Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule. He has also demanded reopening the Sohrabuddin encounter case and judge Loya’s death, both of which can put Home Minister Amit Shah in a spot. Going by past vindictiveness of the Modi-Shah duo, why would Pawar risk burning his bridges with the BJP leadership that he had bailed out before? On the face of it, it could be read as his game of one-upmanship, one where he was avenging the BJP’s games of poaching on his turf and engineering defections in the NCP before the Assembly polls. Then there was the slew of corruption cases stacked up against his kin. Pushing 80, probably the Maratha warrior thought that he had to fight his last political battle zealously and morally. And he did, winning the bypolls in Satara, the seat of Chhatrapati Shivaji, where he campaigned under the rains and ensured the defeat of his rebel and Shivaji’s descendant Udayanraje Bhonsle. The verdict meant a re-anointment of Pawar as a true keeper of the Marathi legacy, one that drew him to Shiv Sena’s local-centric and cultural vision. In fact, Pawar was careful enough to clarify that Sena was always upfront about Hindutva, too, but did not bring that to governance and administration, carefully separating it from the BJP’s impassioned politics of nationalism. He even reiterated that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi Government was committed to the Common Minimum Programme. The Sena daily, Saamna, became his spokesman noting how Modi called the NCP as a “Naturally Corrupt Party” and Amit Shah questioned Pawar’s contribution to Maharashtra before the State polls. Its editorial asked, “If all that was true, then what kind of benefit was the BJP anticipating from NCP’s experience?”
However, revenge would be too easy an explanation when it comes to Pawar. He is not explosive but Machiavellian. And at the end of the day, everybody believes that Ajit Pawar’s palace coup was probably stage-managed to build some momentum in the Congress camp to shed inhibitions and join the government. Or given BJP MP Anant Hegde’s wild claim that the temporary swearing-in was done to access Rs 40,000 crore of funds and divert them, making Ajit a fall guy would seem perfect, assuming this hypothetical scenario did happen. Also, contrary to constant rebuttals of the bhakt brigade, it is rather odd that no denial has come from the BJP leadership on Pawar’s expose. Can this, therefore, mean that the deeper understanding of the old warhorses continues while a divergence of opinions is being highlighted on the surface? After all, it is only Pawar who needs to convey that he is indeed worthy of trust. Particularly for the Congress, whose advisers have time and again been warning their chief Sonia Gandhi that she needs to be wary about him and not go in for the Aghadi experiment at all. But Sonia did give in ultimately to the State legislators, who wanted to be relevant and shore up their bases. Are the interviews, therefore, Pawar’s attempt to clear the clouds over his integrity and appear righteous? This serves him both ways, he can still be considered as a strong anchor of the Opposition and by some public shaming, rein in the BJP from getting adventurous about toppling the Aghadi coalition. At least he will be the helmsman till his next masterstroke or chicanery, depending on which side of the prism you are looking at.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Tibetans should be left alone to decide their spiritual future but even if India does not interfere, it does have high stakes in the issue, particularly in connection with the Himalayan region
A few months ago, a board was placed outside a monastery in Tibet; it stated that Government officials and communist cadres were not allowed to enter the premises of the gompa as the Chinese State was atheistic. One can understand that the Communist Party of China (CPC), which religiously follows the precepts of its founding fathers, is not in favour of any spiritual practices. More recently, the CPC issued a notice banning retired Tibetan Government employees from taking part in any religious activities.
According to Human Rights Watch, the notice required “all Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) Government and retired Government employees — regardless of whether those retirees are party members — to submit a list by August 18 of any ‘retired personnel performing the kora’, the Tibetan practice of circumambulating a sacred site.” Though the People’s Republic of China is atheist by definition and does not believe in the return of a soul, it now wants to control the reincarnation of the Tibetan Lamas. Read the “management measures for the reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism” notified by the State Council on July 13, 2007, and you will understand.
Article 1 spoke of “protecting religious concord and social harmony and protecting the normal order of Tibetan Buddhism.” It asserted: “Reincarnating living Buddhas should respect the religious rituals and historically established systems of Tibetan Buddhism.” It insists on an old ritual rarely used, the Golden Urn, which can easily be manipulated. Further, “Reincarnating living Buddhas shall not be interfered with or be under the dominion of any foreign organisation or individual.” In other words, the Dalai Lama is not allowed to be reborn in India.
Is China an atheist or a religious State? The answer is: It depends on the interests of the party. When it is convenient, it follows the Marxist orthodoxy but when its interests differ, the CPC becomes an expert in religious practices, particularly in the “reincarnation” process. Already in 2015, Padma Choling, the then Chairman of the Standing Committee of the TAR People’s Congress and then the only “ethnic” Tibetan and a member of the CPC’s Central Committee, created a flutter when he declared: “It’s not up to the Dalai Lama to decide about his own reincarnation.” He objected to an announcement by the Lama that “his traditional religious role should cease with his death.” Choling affirmed that the Lama’s renouncement was against “the Tibetan Buddhism tradition as the soul of a senior Lama is [always] reincarnated in the body of a child on his death.”
Marx would have shuddered in his tomb had he heard Choling utter this blasphemy. But this does not disturb the Communist leaders “in the new era.” Today, they argue that one can be Marxist and capitalist at the same time. A recent development brought some clarity. On November 29, the Dalai Lama addressed the issue of his reincarnation at a three-day Tibetan Religious Conference, a gathering of 117 Tibetan Buddhist and Bon senior leaders, in Dharamsala. During the closing ceremony, the Tibetan spiritual leader told the Rinpoches that there was no hurry to talk about his reincarnation. He affirmed, “I am fine physically and mentally — is there any hurry to talk about my reincarnation?” He added that he will consult his advisors to decide on his reincarnation when he turns 90.
This is a welcome change from some contradictory statements he had made earlier, particularly those like he was not keen to “return”, that the system was “medieval” or that he would come back as a woman.
On the first day of the conference, the assembled Lamas passed an important three-point resolution to counter China. The first point mentioned was the Karmic bond between the Dalai Lamas and the Tibetan people, which is “unbreakable.” It added that all Tibetans “genuinely wish for the continuation of the institution and reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in the future.” The Lama was supplicated to “come back.”
The second point made it clear that “the authority of decision concerning the way and the manner in which the next reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama should appear solely rests with His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama himself. No Government or otherwise will have such authority.” It was the best way to counteract Beijing’s stance (and new religious “skills”).
The third point the monks’ gathering urged was that “the same unique Tibetan traditional method, which has been continuously used until now, will be followed.”
Though it says that this method conforms to “the basic philosophy and tenets of the Buddha dharma and originated in Tibet over 800 years ago,” no details were provided, leaving the door open to possible manipulation by China. Incidentally, it is regrettable that among the 117 senior monks, the feminine gender was not represented. This is probably one of the reasons why the Dalai Lama terms the system as “medieval.”
The Chinese are aware that the reincarnation system is not purely a religious affair; it has always had a political angle. One historical example is the strife between the ninth Panchen and the 13th Dalai Lama, which revolved around taxes to be paid by the Panchen Lama estate to the Dalai Lama’s Government. As a result of the dispute, the Panchen took refuge in China in 1923; he was well-looked after by the Kuomintang, who had an eye on Tibet. A Chinese scholar recently wrote that “the treatment of the ninth Panchen Lama was further enhanced in response to [China’s] needs on the border [with India]. In June 1931, the National Government appointed the ninth Panchen Lama as an Ambassador and set up an agency which was given a hefty monthly budget of 15,000 yuans.”
The Panchen Lama himself received 120,000 yuans monthly. It was not a salary, said the scholar, but “for his personal expenses and the living expenses of his followers and monks.”
The fact that the US Congress recently passed a Bill on the succession or reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders shows that it is still a highly political issue today. The Tibetans should be left alone to decide their spiritual future but even if India does not interfere, New Delhi does have high stakes in the issue, particularly in connection with the Himalayan region where Buddhism has so far played a stabilising role. The Dalai Lama is hopefully aware of this.
(Writer: Claude Arpi; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The current socio-economic-political situation has great similarities with the 70s and the country could witness a movement, like the one led by Jai Prakash Narayan, in a few years if the situation doesn’t improve
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP returned to power in 2019 with a bigger majority than they got in 2014. Therefore, it can safely be said that Modi is currently the most popular leader in India. But history has some parallels in this. The late Indira Gandhi was considered one of the most popular and able leaders of independent India, yet her tenure was full of turmoil. The late Jai Prakash Narayan (JP) started a revolution against her which paved the way for Emergency. The current events in the country are similar to what happened with Indira in 1971-1977 and could well spark off a movement against the Government.
Economic context: During the 1971 elections, the Congress had given the slogan of “garibi hatao”. However, the social and economic conditions in the country did not improve much after 1971-72. The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain on India’s economy and this was followed by a war with Pakistan. After the war, the US Government stopped all aid to India and prices increased by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974. Industrial growth was low and unemployment was very high, particularly in rural areas.
The country is going through a similar situation now and the current unemployment rate is the highest ever seen in the last 45 years. Data published by the Government on the index of eight core industries reveals the sad state of the economy. Real estate is in negative growth and the auto industry, too, has reached a level where only structural reforms can save it. The telecom industry is also in the red and so is the aviation sector. The banking sector and the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) have suffered huge losses as their NPAs have been growing exponentially. A report from the National Statistical Office (NSO) shows that average consumer spending has declined for the first time in 40 years. So, there are many similarities with the economic conditions prevailing in the pre-Emergency era. Historically, the unemployed youth start questioning the Government and when there are no satisfactory answers, they launch a movement to protest against these debilitating problems. India would be witnessing this in a couple of years.
National political scenario: Indira enjoyed the same unmatched popularity in those days as Modi does now. The party became insignificant and elections were won or lost on the steam of the top leader. But those days saw the narrative that leaders opposing Indira were against the progress of the country, just as it is now during the Modi regime. Like Indira, Modi also has near-absolute control over the Government as well as a huge majority in Parliament and the BJP is not dependent on any supporting party.
Student agitations: Chimanbhai Patel became the Chief Minister of Gujarat in July 1973. In December 1973, students of LD College of Engineering, Ahmedabad went on a strike in protest against a 20 per cent hike in hostel food fees. A similar strike in January 1974 at Gujarat University resulted in clashes between the police and students. Ultimately the students, lawyers and professors formed a committee, later known as the Nav Nirman Yuvak Samiti, to voice their grievances. They demanded Patel’s resignation and as the agitations spread in the State, Indira asked him to resign, which he did. This movement is popularly known as the Nav Nirman Andolan which was later fought under the leadership of JP. Today, we are witnessing many student agitations that are mostly related to fee hikes in IITs, Ayurveda medical colleges in Uttarakhand and Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Students are also saying that such hikes are not acceptable as they lack clarity regarding their future due to the major job crisis in the country.
Naxalite of the 70s and today’s urban Naxalites: In the 70s, the “peasant movement”, which started in West Bengal, spread to several States and came to be referred broadly as the “Naxalite movement”. Later they broke off from the CPI (M) and formed a new party, Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist). It argued that democracy in India was a sham and decided to adopt a strategy of protracted guerrilla warfare in order to lead a revolution. The “Naxalite movement” used force to snatch land from rich landowners and give it to the poor and the landless. Its supporters advocated the use of violent means to achieve their political goals. In spite of the use of preventive detention and other strong measures adopted by the West Bengal Government run by the Congress, the Naxalite movement did not end. In later years, it spread to many parts of the country.
Today we hear about “urban Naxalites”. The 2018 arrests of some people in connection with a probe in the Bhima-Koregaon riots opened the debate on the concept of “urban Naxalism”. A 2004 Communist Party of India (Maoist) document, titled Urban Perspective, elaborates on this strategy with a key area of focus being on acquiring leadership from urban areas. The security establishment believes that saddled with an ageing leadership, Maoists have been looking at cities and towns for new leaders. It feels that this is in keeping with the tradition that most of their top leaders are well-educated people from universities.
JP’s total revolution: JP was a staunch Gandhian, freedom fighter and a veteran socialist, but was unhappy with where the country was headed during Indira’s regime. The people associated with the Nav Nirman Andolan movement of Gujarat asked JP to lead a peaceful agitation, which gathered support. Leaders of almost all political parties fought under his leadership. Millions of protesters, including students and the common man, inspired by JP left colleges and jobs to join the movement. JP travelled all over India to mobilise the masses against the Congress by capturing people’s sentiments through anti-corruption speeches.
Consequently, on June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court convicted Indira for election malpractices and declared her election null and void, which was upheld by the Supreme Court on June 24, 1975. On June 25, JP announced a nation-wide movement demanding Indira’s resignation and internal Emergency was imposed on June 25. Most of the top Opposition leaders like JP, Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani were arrested.
The Press was censored and all news articles had to be sent to the Government for approval before publishing.
Today, we are seeing the same kind of censorship. We have witnessed TV journalists losing their jobs for criticising the Government and most of them have been unable to find new ones. They are currently airing their views through social media. We have also seen a new sort of journalism where TV debate anchors are asking questions meant for the Government from the Opposition.
Newspapers are doing their jobs far better than TV as far as true journalism is concerned. In Srinagar recently, scribes protested against the lockdown and lack of internet in the Valley. The Government today keeps a close watch not only on newspaper and TV media but also on various social media platforms.
Igniting points: The Goods and Service Tax (GST) was implemented in July 2017 but it was not flawless. There are various issues and inherent problems with GST compliance and traders are not happy it. Thought it could never lead to a big movement in itself, it could become part of any big protest.
The air and water quality is not up to the mark even 70 years after Independence and these issues could be part of any movement.
Farmer suicides is an area which every political party talks about but seldom does any thing concrete to help. This could lead to a mass movement.
The problem with history is that it repeats itself. The current socio-economic-political situation has great similarities with the 70s and the country could witness a JP-like movement in a few years if the situation doesn’t improve soon.
Who the next JP will be, only time will tell. But the Government would do well to learn from the past and take corrective measures now to bring the country out of the current morass.
(Writer: Abhishek raja; Courtesy: The Pioneer)
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