Even high growth is insufficient to remove ‘the widened income and wealth inequalities and rising social unrest' in the country
An international agency UN Conference Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has predicted highly uneven growth despite possibility of a bounce-back but global output trends of 2016-19 would resume not before 2030. The UNCTAD notes that growth has been the slowest in the 2011-20 decade, since the post 2007-08 financial crisis
An important UNCTAD recommendation is to revive the public sector as a critical instrument of long-term development. The report underlines the pandemic-driven need for public sector intervention — a call India must heed amid its move for fast-paced privatisation. It suggests that expansionary fiscal measures that most governments are doing may end up “only as fire-fighting tools”.
The UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2021 expects India to grow at 7.5 per cent in 2021 and 6.5 per cent in 2022, but “insufficient to regain the pre-COVID-19 income level”.
It warns policymakers to trudge carefully particularly on deregulation. The developing economies, which as per it include India also, have been hit while “new heavier debt burden reduces their own room for fiscal policy”.
India’s growth despite being next to China’s “is poised to slow down” because of the inherent fragility in coping with the pandemic and restoring employment and incomes. Even high growth is insufficient to remove “the widened income and wealth inequalities and rising social unrests”.
The UNCTAD warns of rising corruption and rent-seeking saying, “Within advanced economies, the ‘rentier’ class has experienced an explosion in wealth, while low-earners struggle”.
In 2022, UNCTAD expects global growth to slow to 3.6 per cent, leaving world income still 3.7 per cent below where its pre-pandemic trend would have put it.
Indian efforts of a four-year Rs 96,000 crore reprieve for spectrum dues to telecom companies; Rs 25,938 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for automobile sector, Rs 120 crore for drone industry, Rs 10683 crore for textiles and others announced for 13 sectors during the last one year is expected to raise minimum production to around Rs 37.5 lakh crore over five years and create additional jobs of about one crore.
Rising prices in India is a constant concern for the RBI. The WPI inflation in August has touched 11.39 per cent against 11.16 per cent in July. It means that retail inflation is galloping. It affects the purchasing power of the people and has affected overall growth, wage and supply conditions. The RBI is under pressure to increase its lowest interest rates. This is also affecting yields of depositors and hits the overall economy.
Tax levying in India is also irrational. Taxing the deposits appears retrograde, GST on self-managed housing societies has come under scanner of the Madras High Court, and the retrospective tax on corporates has caused serious loss of foreign investment and maligned the country. The policy of taxing commodities and fuel is leading to an overall distress.
With over 40 to 45 percent indirect taxes, tolls, cesses, fees, user charges and continuous hike of all other levies, it is necessary to review why the country should have income-tax at all or why it cannot be at par with corporate income tax of 15 per cent. Taxes on individuals repress growth and international institutions also feel that tax burdens should reduce. The governments would have larger revenue returns with higher turnovers.
The UNCTAD is concerned of the decades of declining wage share and wants wages to rise for a better balance between wages and profits. Despite a decade of massive monetary injections from public sector, economic stability remains missing.
National Crime Research Bureau finds crimes rising during the pandemic — digital crimes and cyber monetary frauds, including internet banking by 11.8 per cent; social disorders rise 21-fold; other IPC crimes four-fold; 12.4 per cent rise in offences against public tranquility, and 78.1 per cent in environment crimes.
The UNCTAD also wants globally reforms to the international economic architecture, promised after the 2008-09 crisis but abandoned “in the face of ‘rentier’ class”, are now implemented for definite growth worldwide. India needs to take the cue for correcting the policies and paths for taking the country ahead.
(The writer is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal.)
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Whether Norway should stop pumping has become an issue in national politics
You can see why Saudi Arabia wants to go on pumping as much oil as it can. Oil exports account for 87 per cent of the Saudi Government budget and 42 per cent of GDP. The Saudi population, now 35 million, is growing by two-thirds of a million a year, and the country already imports 80 per cent of its food. They’d be starving in a few years if they stopped pumping. Norway, however, is in a much more interesting place. It’s the world’s seventh largest exporter of oil and gas, and those exports account for 42 per cent of the country’s GDP. Per capita income is higher than in the United States, partly thanks to the fossil fuel industry. So, the five million Norwegians do have a major stake in their fossil fuel industry. Indeed, 7 per cent of the population actually works in it. Yet Norwegian attitudes towards carbon dioxide emissions are seriously conflicted, and the question of whether the country should stop pumping has even become an issue in national politics.The Conservative Party, which lost the latest election after eight years in power, never had a big problem with living off the proceeds of fossil fuel exports. When asked in an election debate last week for the party’s preferred date to end production, one Conservative candidate said: “In about 300 years’ time.” The Labour Party, which won the most seats and must now build a left-wing coalition Government, was also careful not to alienate potential supporters who worry about their jobs. Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre promised not to include any party in the new coalition that demands a halt to all exploration or production — but that leaves some room for maneouvre. Both Labour’s traditional coalition partners, the Socialist Left and the Centre Party, take a more robust approach to the question of curbing Norway’s fossil fuel exports. "Our demand is to stop looking for oil and gas, and stop handing out new permits to companies," said Lars Haltbrekken, climate and energy spokesman for the Socialist Left party.
Nobody wants to shut all oil and gas production down now - that would be far too great a shock to the economy - but just under half the population would be willing to stop exploration now. This is not a view you will encounter very often in Kuwait, Russia or Alberta, but Norway is a very conscientious place where people worry a lot about climate change. Its grid runs almost entirely on hydroelectric power, and 70 per cent of new car purchases this year were all-electric. It helps, too, that Norway has a very strong safety net. It is one of the most generous welfare states in Europe, and its sovereign wealth fund of $1.4 trillion (saved up from past oil revenues) is the biggest in the world. But it’s no crime to be prudent, and that safety net creates the possibility that Norway could pioneer where other fossil-fuel producing countries will eventually have to follow. There is an imaginable compromise that could bridge the gap between Labour and its prospective partners Most of the country’s oil and gas still comes from older offshore fields in the North Sea, but most of the untapped and unexplored reserves are in the Barents Sea, above the Arctic Circle. Drilling up there is a red line for environmentalists, but the outgoing Conservative government refused to stop handing out licenses for it. Labour has made no such commitment, and withholding those licences would be a modest but meaningful step in the right direction: no dramatic costs right now, but an implicit commitment to a longer-term decline in production.
(Gwynne Dyer’s new book is ‘The Shortest History of War’. The views expressed are personal.)
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The Government must realise the importance of community radios and sustain them by providing financial support and professional facilities
The role of Community Radio Stations (CRS) in disseminating critical information during the period of the Covid-19 pandemicis hardly known. Over 322 Community Radios in India, managed by educational institutions called Campus Radios, NGOs-managed radios and Krishi Vigyan Kendra-managed radios, took up the challenge of connecting with their communities by giving relevant information, creating awareness, confidence and motivation amongst the masses to face the grave situation.
Although most of the Community Radios were struggling for survival due to step-motherly treatment in terms of allocation of funds through projects, non-availability of advertisement from the Bureau of Outreach & Communication, and advertisements from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, these Community Radio Stations were not found wanting in discharging their social responsibility in the hour of national crisis.
The Community Radio Association of India (CRA), the recognized body of Community Radio Stations in the country, undertook a survey and based upon the information and data received from 150 community radio stations, it was observed that the most important need of the vulnerable sections of the population was for credible information about the pandemic in local languages and dialects and how they could protect themselves against it.
In the initial days of the pandemic, the CRS answered the following questions: What is Covid-19 and what are its symptoms/signs of spread?What precautions need to be taken?Why lockdown and curfews have become necessary? What are people expected to do to stop the spread?How many cases have been reported in each region?”
The community radio teams across the country collated the answers from advisories issued by the district administrations and state governments from time to time. The radio reporters conducted Interviews with the doctors and experts and broadcast them prominently. The information based on “Dos and Dont’s” were shared with the public. Data supplied by the Departments of Information & Public Relations, Health, District and State Disaster Management and police was disseminated on a regular basis. The broadcast time of the community radio sranged from 12 to 24 hours daily.
Initially, only 50 per cent of the broadcast content was related to Covid-19,but as the situation worsened and the lockdown was enforced, the content was exclusively pandemic-related. When the crisis was at its peak, the stations broadcast special awareness programmers, appeals of the authorities to stay at home and observe the guidelines issued by the government to fight the virus. Almost all the community radios faced several challenges. Curfew was strictlyen forced so manpower crunch was felt because the movements of many community radio reporters were restricted. In many places they were not issued curfew passes to reach the irrespective studios and the radio operations were managed by one or two community reporters who worked in long shifts.
Many radio reporters worked from home by sending their reports through mail and Whatsapp. The recorded voice clips of local MALs, community leaders, celebrities, district magistrates, superintendents of police, doctors and experts requesting the community members to stay at home and observe social distancing were recorded through telephone and send through mail and Whatsapp to the studios which were then broadcast on the radio.
Jingles were made in studios or downloaded from common sources with an appeal by celebrities through songs and popular messages to createawareness about the danger of virus and its prevention. Some community radios innovated new methods of virtual broadcasting where the community reporters sent their inputs from home and nobody was present in the studio, but the radio broadcast was on throughout.
The community radios acted as a bridge between the district administration and the community members. All relevant information and messages were passed on through community radio reporters. The community radios received lot of feedback through live programmers, telephony and messages from the public which was duly shared with the administration and the solution of the problems were communicated to the public. The concerns for persons with disabilities, elderly citizens and economically poor were raised as well.
The community radios also regularly broadcast programmers on health awareness, community participation, motivation, positivity, parenting, nutrition, fitness, talent connect, Junior RJ connect, homemakers connect, culinary-based programmers,idea sharing of how to engage kids, creative practices, yoga for everyday, inspirational stories and information to seek help and support from each other in this crucial hour. Some community radios connected with the underprivileged sections by providing information on the steps taken by the government and local NGOs to provide them financial help, food and for health services with 'Free-Doc-Tele Consulting', where doctors were available to help people by providing consultation on any kind of health ailment and issues relating to mental health.
Many community radios shared Self-Corona Test Assessments through their blogs to tell people not to get confused and mistake seasonal illness for Covid-19 and undergo virus testing.
A pledge document was floated, digitally, where people of all ages put the irpromises to stay at home for a healthy future of all and sharing how are they were utilising their time in isolation. The responses received from different community radios indicated that they had become an authentic source of information and means of providing entertainment to the community at large during the crucial time of self-isolation.
The community reporters through their vigilant approach also busted fake news being circulated by vested interests in their communities. They would first verify the suspicious news with officials and broadcast the correct version. During the migration of workers from cities to villages, community radios, especially those operating from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, performed aconstructive role by broadcasting information that proved to them on their way.
The community radio stations are keeping the morale of peer stations high by sharing information through Whatsapp and other IT platforms and other audio content in various languages. The CRS produced creative content in the form of jingles, poems and folk songs in different languages and dialects and shared it, giving diversity to their content. Unfortunately, the contribution of community radios has not been suitably recognized and appreciated. The reporters of community radios were not invited to participate when the Prime Minister interacted with the radio jockeys of commercial radios. The Department of Community Outreach, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has not released any advertisement campaign for Community Radio Stations in the last two years. The outstanding dues of the previous four to five years have not been cleared till date. The various ministries totally ignored the CRS while formulating their communication plans for Covid-19 management and other health-related campaigns.
Considering the role played by community radios across India, they should be recognized at par with other modes of media and should be provided the same status other media organizations and media persons enjoy. The community radios throughout the country are prepared to contribute during the third wave of the pandemic. We do hope that the Government and other concerned authorities would realize the important contribution of the Community Radio Stations in this national crisis and would help in sustaining the community radios by providing them financial support and professional facilities for performing better in the times to come.
(The writer is the President, Community Radio Association of India. The views expressed are personal.)
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
As COVID-19 takes first wicket in the IPL's second spell, organisers sweat more than fans
Fresh disappointment for the IPL fans could be around the corner as Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler T Natarajan tested COVID positive just ahead of Wednesday’s match. The second leg of the tournament, which resumed last Sunday after a break of nearly five months due to the petrifying second wave in India, got another COVID fright. However, the rest of the contingent — including Natarajan’s six close contacts — tested negative and hence the match went on as scheduled at the Dubai International Stadium. This has been a tough year for Natarajan, currently in self-isolation and asymptomatic, as he was ruled out of the first half of IPL 2021 due to a knee injury which he had sustained during the tour of Australia. Sunrisers Hyderabad has so far lost six of the seven games in this season and now with the “yorker specialist” gone for another 10 days or so, the team, and of course the owners, would be miffed. SRH is already short of captain Jonny Bairstow who had pulled out of the league after the BCCI cancelled the fifth Test of the India-England LV series after a few staff members of the Indian contingent tested COVID positive. Three England players, including Bairstow, had withdrawn from the league as revenge, perhaps.
However, it is worth questioning why the organisers did not consider postponing or cancelling Wednesday’s match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals when the crucial fifth Test at Manchester was called off due to “COVID fears”; or were the IPL franchises too eager to move the players to UAE for the tournament? India has not won a Test series in England since 2007 and, if this Test is forfeited, the series which India was leading will be levelled at 2-2. Organising a tournament as grand as the IPL involves high stakes and a lot of money; hence, it is in the best interests of the franchises to keep the league going. The “bio-bubble measures” have been unable to contain the virus and the fans can only hope that no new cases surface during the remaining matches. Another question is whether this seemingly minor sloppiness in the IPL would become a bigger concern for the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to start next month in the UAE itself? The cricket authorities need to take a call: Is their priority players and public health or the lure of lucre?
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
To rid UP of economic woes, the Govt must revisit and redraw its strategy
The recent report on Uttar Pradesh’s economy released by the State Planning Institute does not paint a rosy picture, particularly when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set the target to take the State to $1 tn economy in the next five years. At present, the State’s nominal GDP for 2020-21 is Rs 17.05 lakh crore ($240 bn). There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted UP’s economy as its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) shrunk by 5.9 per cent in 2020-2021 but the worrying sign is that the economy grew at less than five per cent during Yogi’s tenure. The revised data released for 2018-19 (revised provisional), 2019-20 (revised quick) and 2020-21 (revised advance) also indicate that the economy grew at a slower rate than expected. The revised estimates of UP’s income show a systemic decline in the health of its economy. The GSDP growth in 2017-18 was 4.9 per cent. In 2018-19 and 2019-20, it remained at about 4.3 per cent only. As per these estimates, the rate of economy’s growth was less than five per cent during 2017-20 and (- 5.9 per cent) in 2020-21. The advance estimates for 2020-21 (released in March) had shown a contraction of about 6.4 per cent in the GSDP. The UP Government can take solace that the Indian economy too contracted by 7.3 per cent in the 2020-21 fiscal, as per the GDP statistics released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on May 31.
These figures clearly signal that the UP Government will have to mobilise additional resources to push the economy. The worrisome fact is that sectors like manufacturing registered negative rates of growth over the last four years. Its share in GSDP is also declining and is less than 15 per cent. For a State yearning for industrialisation, it is not a good sign. On the contrary, the performance of the agricultural sector has been quite good. Even during the pandemic fiscal, this sector has shown a positive growth of 2.7 per cent. Services or the tertiary sector has done well except in 2020-21 when it contracted by 7.9 per cent. The data show that UP’s GSDP (at current prices) is estimated to have reached Rs 15,82,682 crore in 2018-19, Rs 17,25,860 crore in 2019-20, and Rs 17,39,114 crore in 2020-21. The State Government had recently claimed that the GSDP has increased from Rs 17,91,263 crore to Rs 19,40,527 crore (revised estimate) on March 31, 2021. These facts should be a sobering reminder to the UP Government that much needs to be done to put the State on the fast trajectory of growth. If it really wants to become a $1 tn economy, it has to come up with a clear road map. The poor GSDP does not instil confidence that the State will be able to achieve the target within the stipulated timeline. It would be better if the Government goes back to the drawing board and revises its strategy.
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
The law will certainly take its course but it beats logic and experience to see a righteous person like Sonu Sood be charged with tax evasion
The current situation reminds me of George Washington’s statement: “Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light.”
I have known Sonu for over 30 years. Back then he was nobody, not even a struggling actor; just a friend with whom we had a good time. We shared laughter and food, hanging out all day long. We rode our bikes and roamed around as most
students do. What made our relationship special was his nature; he valued friendship and cared for everyone he came in contact with.
Coming from a typical middle class family, he didn’t have much money as the rest of us who were broke most of the time. We were not sure about our future. None of us even thought about it; just took life as it came. Sonu got into local modelling projects during college and, by the end of it, he developed an interest in cinema and acting. We had a gala time during his early modelling days, watching movies in Nagpur. All these times, I observed that Sonu is the perfect example of a ‘giver’. A ‘giver’ who tends to provide support to others, no strings attached. I always thought Sonu would fit into an NGO or do social work. Many a time, he paid the fees of poor kids. He could always connect with people.
He could strike a conversation with anyone, anywhere. Chai ki dukaans were our favourite hangouts. Sonu always got special treatment there. He was friends with every chaiwala in town, treating them with compassion. He never had airs about him or the snobbery that accompanies people when they become famous. I remember during the release of ‘Ek Vivaah… Aisa Bhi’, Sooraj Barjatya, Kaushik Gosh, Sonu Sood and I were sitting at a dining table at the airport. He was helping the waiter bring stuff and shaking hands with all the staff there. Sonu was not a big star at the time though, but he never changed.
On my show, he told me how he built his team. Not just a team, but a team of ‘givers’. All those associated with him started helping him. His driver, cook, everybody started acting in some capacity to form his staff during the pandemic. For instance, his driver volunteered to coordinate efforts to provide help to those who needed medical care. Sonu’s charm brought out the best in everyone around him. He would call the doctor to fix an appointment, and the person would get treatment. No mean achievement this, considering at the time no one would entertain patients due to Corona scare.
Why am I thinking about all this now? Well, something happened that just does not match the character of Sonu I know or knew. I read about the income tax raids on his premises and the allegations that Sonu and his aides evaded taxes. Also, that there is the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) violation while raising funds from abroad. Interestingly, a person close to Sonu told me that the I-T officers who raided his premises were apologetic and even praised his humanitarian work.
I know one can become biased when one has an emotional attachment with someone. But I share the sentiment that all expatriates in the US have about this incident. The NRIs here donated tonnes of money through MILAP platform during COVID-19 and have always been high on nationalistic flavour. Sonu, the on-screen villain, has been one of our cherished heroes. We all have 100 per cent confidence that the money we trusted him with was spent in right earnest.
Sonu is a person who doesn’t care much about what people would think about him. I remember once we went to a fashion show in Delhi. We somehow managed to get to the front row and while we talked to the stars there, he held his broken helmet in his hand. Why would such a person need money, I ask?
To me, personally, he would be the last person to do something like tax evasion, and bring a bad name to himself and let us down. I am not even recounting his good work in the pandemic or earlier. I am sure law will take its course and the truth would come out sooner than later, but it gives me sleepless nights thinking why Sonu, of all the people, had to face this? Where did he go wrong? What did he do wrong? I have no idea; I get filtered news here in the US. We need to make sure that we Indians don’t get into crab mentality and pull each other down at the slightest hint of others doing better.
I hear the raids lasted three days and unearthed tax evasion of Rs 20 crore. Three days is a long time and Sonu is not a business tycoon or a gangster. I am sure that many times that amount he would willingly spend on needy people: sending them home, feeding them and getting them treated. Why, I ask, would Sonu do it? I don’t have an answer. Perhaps Sonu himself rightly summed it up: “You don’t have to always tell your side of the story. Time will.” I am sure it will and my friend would be exonerated honourably. An honour he so well deserves!
(The writer, an NRI and host of the ‘Jay Ho’ talk show, has long been friends with actor Sonu Sood. The views expressed are personal.)
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Speculation is rife in Congress over the induction of CPI leader and former JNU President Kanhaiya Kumar into the party. Another leader who is expected to join is Jignesh Mevani, MLA in Gujarat, as Congress leaders indicate that this is not the first time that Left leaders will be joining the party.
The Congress is buoyed by these young leaders after the exit of some people who were perceived to be close to former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, starting with Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada who joined the BJP. The latest is Sushmita Dev who joined the TMC and was women wing President of the party. She has now been nominated to the Upper House of Parliament.
The Congress has a long list of Left student leaders who joined the party, including former JNUSU President Shakil Ahmed Khan who was in the SFI and joined the party in 1998. He is now a second-time Congress MLA from Bihar and AICC secretary. Shakil Ahmed Khan said, "when I joined Congress it was to fight communalism as the BJP government was in power and only the Congress could fight the BJP at the national level and the party has a legacy and commitment towards secularism." He hailed Rahul Gandhi for taking on the BJP despite all the odds.
Before him late DP Tripathi was in the Congress and was a close aide of Rajiv Gandhi though he later left for the NCP. B L Bairwa was another leader who joined from the JNUSU left wing student organization.
Syed Naseer Hussain who is a MP in the Upper House was JNUSU President in 1999-2000. Most recently Sandeep Singh joined the Congress and is working closely with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra while Mohit Pandey is also working in Uttar Pradesh and is likely to contest the UP assembly polls. Both Singh and Pandey have been presidents of Student Unions from left-wing student organizations but switched to the Congress for a better political future.
Congress leaders said on condition of anonymity that the party to has talent and they should be promoted rather than looking to other parties. A leader cited the examples of Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Randeep Surjewala, KC Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala and Ajay Maken who had come from student politics to the Congress. Many presents and former Chief Ministers are from the same background but are being ignored in the party, he said.
Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi while addressing the party's social media volunteers virtually on July 16 said that the party only needs courageous people and not those who are afraid of the BJP.
"Bahut sare log Congress ke bahar hai jo dar nahi rahein hain, unko andar lao. Jo hamare yahan dar rahein hain, unko bahar nikalo (There are many outside the party who are not scared. Bring them into the Congress. Remove those from the party who are scared)," he had said.
Sources said that talks with Kanhaiya Kumar and Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani from Gujarat are in the final stages but nothing has been finalised yet. The sources said the Congress wants to rope in these two leaders ahead of the assembly polls and particularly Mevani before the Gujarat polls for their oratory and crowd-pulling capabilities. Mevani is an independent MLA in Gujarat and had won the election with Congress's support.
While the Congress is in search of talent in the JNU, its principal rival BJP has at least two senior ministers in the Union Government from the same campus -- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Beijing wants everyone to believe that Tibet has been part of China since antiquity — but Tibetans cannot accept this because ‘China did not even exist then, contrary to what the new Emperors would like us to believe.
What is China is a question which has some relevance today, and the answer is important not only for the Communist Party of China (CPC), but the world at large too.
On September 1, Xinhua reported that a series of large exhibitions centered on the theme ‘Ethnic Unity — Casting a Firm Consciousness of the Chinese National Community' sponsored by the National Culture Palace, had officially been launched in Beijing.
It included several displays centred on a multi-ethnic China; the exhibitions were entitled: ‘Treasures of Nationalities'; ‘People of All Ethnic Groups – Hearts to the Party'; ‘National Ethnic Minorities' Gifts to the Party', and ‘Cultural Relics in the Collection of the Palace of Nationalities'.
Why suddenly this emphasis on China's ‘ethic unity' and this after 100 years of the CPC's existence? As always in China, the propaganda's stress is put on something which is missing (‘unity').
Already in August, President Xi Jinping addressed a Central Ethnic Work Conference pleading for solid ethnic work and ‘casting a firm sense of Chinese ethnic community'.
He mentioned 50,000 precious cultural relics, more than 200,000 ancient books, some 400,000 other books and more than 3,000 paintings and works of art, kept in the National Culture Palace "fully reflecting the connotation of national unity and progress, and letting history speak and letting culture speak."Whether these ‘relics' were forceful taken away from minorities' areas, is of course not mentioned.
Has it not been the habit of colonisers to loot their new colonies? Remember the Kohinoor?
Xi spoke of "the beautiful interaction and exchanges among the various ethnic groups in China."
According to the party's General Secretary, the intermingling of the different ‘nationalities' focused on "showing the sons and daughters of all ethnic groups to listen to the Party, feel the Party's grace, follow the Party, hand in hand, to build a great revival of the Chinese dream of the glorious course."
Why wait 100 years to remember that the ‘nationalities' exist?
It further raises another issue, is China a nation or only an amalgam of different nationalities recently assembled together, in which case why have the nationalities not been given their due place during the last century?
To give a concrete example, why are so few members of the ‘nationalities' members of the CPC's Central Committee and not a single one is in the Politburo or the Central Military Commission? Examples could be multiplied. Many see this as Han Chauvinism.
Today, Beijing would like us to believe that China a unified entity which since immemorial times included the Periphery of the Middle Kingdom; it is simply not true.
Already in 2015, in a ‘White Paper on Tibet', Beijing argued that "the only sensible alternative is for the Dalai Lama and his supporters to accept that Tibet has been part of China since antiquity".
Why should the Tibetans accept a lie?
The Chinese publication mentioned: "The wheels of history roll forward and the tides of the times are irresistible. Tibet's path of development is one imposed by history and chosen by the people. Experience proves to us that only by upholding unity and opposing separatism, only by upholding progress and opposing retrogression, only by upholding stability and opposing turmoil, can the future of Tibet be assured. Any person or force that attempts to resist the tide will simply be cast aside by history and by the people."
Any serious student of history is aware that tides come and go; where is the mighty British Empire today?But for the sake of argument, let us accept the Chinese contention, then one should ask: what is China?
A few years ago, Professor Ge Jianxiong, Director of the Institute of Chinese Historical Geography at Fudan University in Shanghai stated in an article in The China Review: "It would be a defiance of history to claim that Tibet has always been a part of China since the Tang Dynasty (7th to 10th century)."
Jianxiong went further and questioned the notion of China: "When discussing the peaceful rise of China and the history of the great powers of the world, it is natural to think of ancient China. Can ancient China be considered a Great Power? If so, how big was it? This is a prerequisite for knowing the history and comparing development."
For the professor, there was no such thing as China, but dynasties who ruled over small or larger areas: "First of all, China (‘Zhongguo') only officially became the name of our country with the founding of the Republic of China in 1912. Before this, the idea of China (‘Zhongguo') was not clearly conceptualised."
Jianxiong said: "The concept of China has continued to expand. From referring specifically to the central plains of China, the concept has since grown to now refer generally to a whole nation. Even during the late Qing, China would sometimes be used as a name to refer to the Qing State, including all the territory within the boundaries of the Qing Empire, but other times it would only refer to the ‘18 Interior Provinces' and not include Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang. Therefore, if we want to understand the extent of ancient China's territory, we can only speak of how large was the actual territory controlled by a particular dynasty at a particular moment."
Jianxiong gave Tibet as an example: "If we ask: How big was 8th century China and if we speak about the borders of the Tang Dynasty, we cannot include the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. This was ruled by Tubo/Tufan [dynasty] and so does not count. Tubo/Tufan was sovereign, independent of the Tang Dynasty. At least it was not administered by the Tang Dynasty; there would have been no need to erect the Tang-Tubo/Tufan alliance tablet [Tibet-Tang Treaty of 821 [AD]. It would be a defiance of history if we claim that since the Tang Dynasty, Tibet has always been a part of China – the fact that the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau subsequently became a part of the Chinese dynasties does not substantiate such a claim."
Jianxiong continued: "Moreover, we must differentiate between territory that was actually under the administrative control of a dynasty, that which was a vassal state, and that which was within the reaches of our prestige."
Tibet has been part of China since antiquity— Tibetans cannot accept this contention, simply because China did not even exist then, contrary to what the new Emperors would like us to believe.
The present leadership in Beijing should do their homework and start studying the history of their ‘empire', before asking the Tibetans, the Uighurs or the Mongols to sign on a dotted line.
And sooner or later, the Communist Dynasty will also collapse, like all other dynasties before; then, the Middle Kingdom will probably shrink again behind the Great Wall.
So why all this noise about ‘ethnic unity' in the Middle Kingdom in the Chinese media?
(The writer is an author, journalist, historian, Tibetologist, and China expert. The views expressed are personal)
New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) With the recent takeover by Taliban in Afghanistan, the situation has become dynamic and recent reports indicate a surge in Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) activities, including a series of meetings of JeM top leaders with Taliban Leadership in both Pakistan (Quetta) and Afghanistan (Kandahar). JeM is reportedly pursuing Taliban for a responsible role in Afghanistan and simultaneously seeking help in its operations in Kashmir.
• It was expected that Pak would seek a return of the favour extended to Taliban, and shift the entire terror ecosystem including terror training camps to Afghanistan. Greylisting of Pakistan by the FATF has brought the establishment under consistent strain. A prolonged stay in the list is detrimental to its long term sustainability. On the other hand, the world has realized that keeping the hanging sword of FATF over Islamabad has been the only effective way to put pressure on Pakistan to keep jihadi/ terror groups under rein.
• Taliban under Pakistan's perpetual control is definitely not the vision their leaders would have for Afghanistan. This is another reason why Pakistan would like to keep its militant groups on Afghanistan's soil enabling it to arm-twist the nascent Taliban government should it decide to go against its interests. Islamabad has been a master in the art of creating and managing militant / jihadi groups and putting one against the other. It may be recalled that it had come out with the idea of good Taliban -bad Taliban in order to get rid of the elements who had challenged its authority. The presence of even more radical groups like IS Khurasan and AQ, which have amply demonstrated to be acting as other proxies for Pakistan, is also a reminder for Kabul to realize the limits of its functional autonomy. It is in this background that we need to see the surge in militant and infiltration activities in J&K.
• Pak Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has established a number of terrorist training camps in PoJK, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Terrorist cadres are mainly recruited from Pak provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, besides those from PoJK being coerced into joining terrorist groups, for jihad' in Kashmir. Indian air strike on Balakot JeM terror camp in retaliation of Pulwama attack in 2019 brought to the fore the open terror activities going on in Pakistan and the patronage of the establishment they enjoy.
• Further, in order to facilitate the infiltration of militants/jihadists into J&K, it has established many Launch Pads (LPs) in PoJK and Pakistan along LoC and International Border with India stretching from higher reaches in Kashmir to the south of Pir Panjal in Poonch and Rajouri and further down to Samba and Jammu area. About 250-300 militants are waiting for infiltration at various launching pads/detts across LoC. Pakistan Army facilitates infiltration of terrorists into the Indian Territory by providing inputs on infiltration routes as well as giving covering fire to the terrorists. While at present about 200 terrorists are active in J&K, around 90 of them are from Pakistan.
• Pakistan has also devised creative ways to take the Kashmiris to PoJK, brainwash them and provide militant training. It has started sponsoring a number of students for getting medical and engineering education in Pakistan and PoJK. However, once these students crossover through legal route, they are taken to training camps and imparted weapons and explosives training. In return, they join the terrorist ranks to wage jihad. J&K police have listed more than 50 such students who had gone to Pakistan to study but later on joined militant ranks. Many of these have been killed in encounters with security forces.
• The ISI is also aggressively smuggling arms & ammunition in J&K, including through drones/quad-copters near the IB/LoC. Recoveries of arms/ammunition near LoC and IB were made in Nowshera (June 4, August 28, September 18-19); Hiranagar (June 20); Samba (September 6 &7); and Akhnoor (September 21/22). A number of sorties of Pak drones were detected in the Jammu region in the recent past as well as along the IB in the Gurdaspur sector of Punjab. The weapons dropped include AK Rifles- 8, M4 Carbines-2, Norinco T97 NSR Rifle-1, Pistols-9, Grenades-14, and ammunition. The drones used in this exercise are sophisticated and expensive. Further the arms and explosives smuggled are also available only to state agencies. Thus it is clearly indicative of the involvement of ISI in pushing the weapons in pursuance of Islamabad's policy of sponsoring terrorism.
• Not only smuggling, but the terror groups operating under the command and control of ISI are devising newer ways of causing terror attacks. The first of its kind of attack using a drone/quad-copter (Jun. 27) by Pak-sponsored terrorist groups on an Indian Air Force facility at Jammu airport has added a new dimension to the security threat. In this attack, two pressure-activated IEDs of 2 kg each were dropped by GPS guided drones targeting a hangar with 7 parked helicopters. Inputs point to the involvement of LeT in the attack. Till now drones were being used to push arms/ammunitions across for terrorists in the valley.
• While a number of incidents have recently been reported which indicate a fresh impetus in the activities of Pak-based terror groups, including increased infiltration attempts, border crossing events, BAT actions etc, it is only an indication of the future plans Pakistan may have prepared for Kashmir. With Afghanistan under its tutelage, it feels emboldened to repeat the same in its jugular vein. Despite setbacks and straight humiliating defeats in the past, its obsession with Kashmir has not dwindled. From its strategy of 'bleeding through a thousand cuts' to the limited war under the nuclear umbrella', it once again appears willing to put at stake its inflated ego even at the risk of being declared a terrorist state.
• In this backdrop, it is heartening to realize that even Afghans are wary of the negative activities of Pakistan and people came on the streets of Kabul (September 6-7) to protest Pakistan's intrusive role in Afghanistan. Covert intrusive involvement in other territories has been an area of expertise for the ISI and their survival hinges on pursuing such activities. J&K could thus remain in their radar.
The question is how was the Taliban able to raise such a sophisticated force and who trained and armed its members?
After the unceremonious fall of Kabul there have been numerous reports of Taliban Special Forces Units patrolling the Afghan capital. They are always dressed in tactical outfits ready for deployment at a moment’s notice instead of the traditional ‘salwar’ suit. Carrying US-made M4 rifles, US-style night vision devices, body armour, tactical kneepads, and tactical radios, they are capable of achieving any objective with relative ease.
The question is how was the Taliban able to fund such a highly advanced group of soldiers? The Taliban are not just some rag-tag group of rebels. They are among some of the wealthiest and most powerful in the world. Their annual income is estimated to be around $1.5 billion. According to reports from the UN and NATO, the chief contributors are drug trafficking and opium production, kidnapping and ransom, tax collection, and donations.
According to the UN, the revenue generated from opium production in 2020 was estimated to be around $460 million. The US itself spent $8 billion to try and stop it but knowing the US's history with drugs, especially opium, their true motivation is highly suspect. According to a report by the CIA in 2008, the Taliban received $106 million in donations, mostly from the Gulf States.
The special forces have been specially trained for operations such as assault and house storming with complete tactical precision, which could be the primary reason for the ‘bloodless capture of Kabul.’
These units have the latest arms and defence equipment. It is evident that the Taliban got the state-of-art equipment for the battalion from the departing US Army. It is still an enigma as to who trained them.
The Badri 313 Battalion is currently an elite military unit of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The group takes its name from the Battle of Badr, which happened on March 13, 624 AD, when the Prophet Muhammad led a victorious battle with 313 men. Elite Taliban units have been reported as being “critical to the taking over of Afghanistan”.The Taliban also has another elite unit known as the Red Unit.
These troops are ideologically aligned closely with al-Qaeda. Units termed “Army of Badr” first carried out suicide attacks and raids on positions associated with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its allies in 2011, reported the Long War Journal. The Badri 313 Battalion already took part in an attack on the Kabul compound of G4S - the British multinational private security company-- in November 2018.
The Taliban now reported that Badri 313 Battalion had secured the presidential palace and other important sites in the city. It was reportedly providing “security” at the Kabul Airport. On Twitter they were mocked for showing off their CIA training - their index fingers were typically not on the rifle triggers.
The unit was previously featured in promotional materials distributed by the Taliban, showing them to be equipped with modern military equipment. In July-August 2021, the Taliban released propaganda on Badri 313 Battalion in local languages, English and Arabic. Videos showed Badri 313 soldiers wearing US military night-vision gear, bulletproof jackets in camouflage clothing and modern American rifles and driving Humvees.
The Taliban now boasts of a large cache of 22 EMB-314 Super Tucano light-attack aircraft equipped with GBU-58 Paveway II laser-guided bombing systems. They have access to “attack helicopters and precision-guided munitions”. They have captured six MI-24 heavy attack helicopters apparently gifted to the Afghan Air Force by India in 2019. These formidable gunships are capable of fearsome, low-level attack in ground fire conditions. It is a cause for grave concern that 11 American MD-530F light-armed helicopters designed for rapid, low-level attack missions and for special operations are now in their hands in addition to 35 US Black Hawk helicopters, 76 Russian MI-17 utility helicopters, five Cessna Combat Caravan airplanes, and 12 Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. However, they do not have trained pilots and maintenance staff for the attack helicopters for which they may depend upon Pakistan and China.
The biggest aircraft the Taliban now have access to is the C-130 Hercules. They are capable of special operations even from unprepared runway and highly flexible for even Special Forces operations. If the Taliban can get them off the ground, imagine what this means for them.
Gilles Dorronsoro, a specialist on Afghanistan at Sorbonne University in Paris, said these commandos, was part of a larger trend. “We've seen a remarkable professionalisation of the Taliban since the middle of the 2000s,” he said.
(The writer is retired Senior Professor, International Trade and Member, Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi. The views expressed are personal.)
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
Blind privatisation, temporary or permanent, is not a solution
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman wants to monetise assets in 13 sectors including airports, railways, roads, shipping, sports stadia and gas pipelines. Monetisation means transfer of management and privatisation means transfer of ownership. We may define monetisation as ‘temporary privatisation’ but how it would finally roll out is to be seen.
The assets are currently valued at Rs 1.6 lakh crore worth roads, over 400 railways stations, 90 passenger trains and other assets worth Rs 1.52 lakh crore, 25 airports valued at Rs 20,782 crore, power transmission assets of Power Grid and others pegged at Rs 45000 crore and many more.
The government proposal comes with an irony. In the 1960s, many private corporates sent their sick units for ‘temporary management’ to the government sector for nursing them back to health as if public sector management ran ‘industrial hospitals’. The wheel has since come full circle and assets are being sent to the private sector with “ownership” in government hands.
The PSUs in those days had delivered but would the private sector do the same today?
It appears that the confusion induced by liberalization and globalization of parting with built-in infrastructure by sending it to the private sector is still being considered as the panacea for all economic and industrial ills. It must change. The political parties, including the Left and regional forces like Trinamool Congress and Telugu Desam Party, have failed to come up with alternate suggestions.
The so-called free economy enunciated by the Narasimha Rao government meant creation of assets in all sectors. But Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram and Montek Singh Ahluwalia changed it to handing over public assets to large private companies. The policy with minor changes was adopted by all subsequent governments. It is now 30 years of “poverty management” of the nation's assets. Even in the present context, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says he is not against National Monetisation Pipeline but asks why the sale should be confined to a selected few. Most other parties share the view.
The roads to be handed over are in good shape and the private sector would only start exploiting them for maximizing their profits by increasing tolls, fees and seek remission of lease fees showing managed losses.
The railways started commercialising its assets in the 1990s. Little has been achieved. Only two of its 90 trains were leased out. Again nothing new because some private parties in the past also used to run pilgrim or tourist specials for a fee.
The Metro in Delhi ran into losses worth Rs 1784 crore against a measly surplus of Rs 1084 crore in 2019. All other metros have huge losses, whether in Bengaluru, Kochi, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Noida. Are they awaiting privatization too?
There is a myth that Air India and BSNL were devastated by the bureaucrats. Can the nation forget how under UPA rule, the then civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, banned the national carrier from running in profitable sectors in order to help private airlines profit?
Similarly, the BSNL was turned sick by forcing it to lend national phone and internet infrastructure to create private sector giants. No one answers why VSNL was sold to its rival.
Why was the sick Ruchi Soya taken over? Its study may reveal how monetisation will unfold to help consumers.
The FM says that the properties leased out would be taken back. This is possible in a rent agreement without a murmur but long-term lease of 30 to 60 years could complicate things. Handing over the control of such assets to private is not considered a wise step. Blind privatisation, temporary or permanent, is not a solution.
(The writer is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal.)
(Courtesy: The Pioneer)
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