Monday, July 29, 2024

India holds Kargil Vijay Diwas every year on July 26 to remember the brave soldiers who died in the 1999 Kargil Conflict. On the 25th anniversary in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, Ladakh, to pay tribute to the martyrs.

Historical Background

India and Pakistan fought a fierce war called the Kargil War from May 8, 1999, to July 26, 1999. The war was a turning point in India’s military history, and it ended with the successful finishing of Operation Vijay. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in charge of India then, and Nawaz Sharif was in charge of Pakistan.

Cause of the Conflict

In late 1998 and early 1999, Pakistani troops sneaked into India by pretending to be mujahideen. They took over key positions along the Line of Control (LoC), taking advantage of the fact that Indian forces found it hard to keep up high posts in the winter.

Significance of Kargil Vijay Diwas

Kargil Vijay Diwas has been celebrated every year on July 26 since 1999. It is a time to remember and honor the bravery of Indian troops. The holiday boosts national pride and remembers the final sacrifice made by the armed forces.

Post-War Initiatives

After the war, K. Subramanyam led the Kargil Review Committee, which looked into what led to the conflict and suggested ways to stop it from happening again. One important suggestion was to lower the average age of soldiers in the Armed Forces so that they are better prepared for battle and more effective.

About Operation Vijay

Operation Vijay was India’s military operation in 1999 to reclaim the Kargil district from Pakistani soldiers and militants. The conflict was significant for being India’s first high-altitude warfare since WWII. The operation lasted approximately 60 days, from May to July 1999. Approximately 527 Indian soldiers were killed, and over 1,300 were wounded. The operation led to the establishment of the Kargil War Memorial. It also prompted India to improve its military capabilities, particularly in high-altitude warfare and surveillance.

India’s 500th Community Radio Station in Aizawl

Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, recently launched India’s 500th community radio station, ‘Apna Radio 90.0 FM’, in Aizawl. At the same time, he announced the winners of the 10th National Community Radio Awards. This event shows that the government is serious about using media to get more people involved in their communities.

Significance of Community Radio

Community radio gives people in the area a chance to be heard and allows people at the local level to communicate. It encourages participation in politics, artistic expression, and social change, which makes it an important part of the media landscape. The launch of Apna Radio is in line with the government’s Act East strategy, which aims to improve community welfare and connectivity, especially in India’s North East. It shows a dedication to making local problems and stories heard.

Awards Overview

The National Community Radio Awards recognize outstanding contributions by stations across various categories, highlighting innovation, cultural promotion, and sustainability.

Award Categories

Thematic Award: Celebrating specific impactful themes.
Most Innovative Community Engagement Award: Creativity in audience participation.
Promoting Local Culture Award: Highlighting local traditions and culture.
Sustainability Model Award: Encouraging sustainable practices in radio operation.

Award Winners

Thematic Award:

1st: Radio Mayur, Bihar (Tech Sakhi)
2nd: Radio Kochi, Kerala (Nirangal)
3rd: Hello Doon, Uttarakhand (Meri Baat)

Most Innovative Community Engagement Award

1st: Yerlawani Sangli, Maharashtra (Kahani Sunandachi)
2nd: Vaylaga Vanoli, Tamil Nadu (Let’s Build a New Norm)
3rd: Salaam Namaste, Uttar Pradesh (Maid Didi)

Promoting Local Culture Award:

1st: Radio Brahmaputra, Assam (Igarekun)
2nd: Radio Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu (En Makkaludan Oru Payanam)
3rd: Radio Active, Bihar (Ang Pradesh ki Adbut Dharohar)

Sustainability Model Award

1st: Radio Benziger, Kerala
2nd: Radio Namaskar, Odisha
3rd: Radio Antarwani, Karnataka

Assam’s Charaideo Moidams Added to UNESCO World Heritage List

The Charaideo Moidams in Assam, which are royal burial grounds from the Ahom dynasty, were recently named UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This gives this nationally important area, which is about 30 km from Sivasagar in eastern Assam, international recognition.

What are Moidams?

Moidams are tumuli, which are earth mounds built over the graves of Ahom kings. The moidams of the Ahom royal family are in Charaideo, but you can find other buildings like them all over eastern Assam. Each moidam usually has a vault with rooms inside, a hemispherical mound on top, and a tower called the chow chali that is surrounded by an eight-sided wall. The Ahoms, who were related to the Tai people, chose burial over burning, which is different from Hindu customs. Their unique burial rituals, which were based on old Egyptian practices, meant that these moidams often held more than just the dead. They also held things for the afterlife, servants, animals, and even wives.

The Importance of Charaideo

Charaideo, whose name comes from Tai Ahom words that mean “shining town on a hill,” was the first capital of the Ahom kingdom, which was set up by King Sukaphaa in 1253 AD. It stayed an important power center and is still a place with a lot of historical and cultural value.

Tourism and Preservation

The moidams are popular with tourists today, but many of them are in bad shape. The Archaeological Survey of India only protects 30 of the over 150 moidams. People know that the Charaideo Moidams are important as a whole, especially since they are different from other similar grave sites in terms of size and number of people buried there. Assam’s culture will always be linked to the Ahom kingdom, which ruled for a long time from 1228 to 1826 AD. People praise them for how well they run their government and how strong their military is, especially when fighting off foreign attacks. Celebrating people like Lachit Borphukan at events shows how important they are to modern Indian culture, especially as nationalism grows.

Greater likelihood of major conflicts

A worrying aspect of some extremely costly and threatening conflicts in recent times has been that they seem to be getting prolonged.

worrying aspect of some extremely costly and threatening conflicts in recent times has been that they seem to be getting prolonged. The added risk is that the more prolonged they are, there are increased chances of escalation and a wider conflict which would be even more threatening for world peace. In the case of the Gaza conflict, at least several efforts for achieving ceasefire and peace have been made (all such efforts have also included the release of Israeli hostages) and for a considerable stretch of time there were reports on an almost daily basis regarding the progress (or otherwise) of these efforts.

Qatar and Egypt in particular have been involved in these efforts but they have been seeking the cooperation of others too, particularly the USA, in their efforts. The USA also claimed to have taken the initiative for peace at times. Then, even more significantly, there have been UN resolutions calling for a ceasefire. Despite this nothing has been achieved and the extreme distress of the people of Gaza is nowhere near ending despite increasing worldwide concern. On the contrary, other fronts of this conflict, which have existed from the beginning, appear to show a worsening situation. In this context, there was much concern recently regarding the increased chance of a bigger conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah on the Lebanon front.

In addition there have been several reports regarding the increasing violence and aggression in the West Bank region also. While in Gaza at least peacemaking efforts have been seen somewhat frequently, even though without raising much hope, in the Russia-Ukraine conflict the visibility of any serious efforts is even less. Of course, a significant peace effort was made at a very early stage of the war which had raised hope of ending this war within two months or so. But this effort was sabotaged by powerful forces. After this, no serious and sincere effort involving both sides has been seen. This is extremely sad and worrying due to the high risks of escalation and widening of this particular war. As it is, it is proving to be the most costly on-going war in terms of loss of human lives. However, the even bigger danger is that this war has the highest chances of leading to a direct confrontation between USA/Nato and Russia.

These two sides have about 11,000 nuclear weapons with them. Any possibility of a direct confrontation is widely seen to be a very serious threat not just to world peace but even to world survival. Keeping in view all these factors, the prolonging of the Palestinian and Ukraine conflicts is deeply worrying. At the same time, several other serious conflicts, like the civil war in Sudan, which are relatively much easier to resolve, have also dragged on for a long time inflicting high costs, particularly in terms of displacement of people. An overview of all the conflicts in the world also reveals that early solutions are getting more elusive. The Global Peace Index (GPI) which ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness, covering 99.7 per cent of the world’s population, can provide an overview of the existing situation.

Produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), the GPI has been frequently mentioned as the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. Its 18th edition in 2024 has presented important data which show the rising incidence and costs of conflicts and wars. One of the most significant findings of the report is that many of the conditions that precede major conflicts are greater now than they have been since the end of the Second World War. This is in line with several warnings voiced by leading commentators regarding the possibilities of the Ukraine war or the Gaza conflict escalating into much wider wars.

In addition, the number of conflicts is also increasing in various parts of the world. As the GPI tells us, there are currently 56 active conflicts, the most since the end of World War II, with fewer conflicts being resolved, either militarily or through peace agreements. This is deeply worrying, as this means that wars now tend to drag on for longer periods and the capacity of the international community or the United Nations to end them soon has decreased. This also means that the distress suffered by people due to conflicts and wars has increased. The GPI tells us further that the number of conflicts that ended in a decisive victory fell from 49 per cent in the 1970s to nine per cent in the 2010s, while conflicts that ended through peace agreements fell from 23 per cent to four per cent over the same period. If only four per cent of the conflicts are now ending with peace agreements, this is surely bad news for the forces of peace.

What has gone wrong? This question should be discussed very widely and seriously by all those who are committed to world peace. The latest GPI tells us that conflicts are also becoming more internationalised, with as many as 92 countries now engaged in conflicts beyond their borders, the most since the inception of the GPI in 2008, complicating negotiation processes for a lasting peace and prolonging conflicts.

Trying to explain this worrying phenomenon, the GPI argues that the “internationalisation of conflict is driven by increased great power competition and the rise of middle level powers, who are becoming more active in their regions.” Further, GPI 2024 tells us that although the measures of militarisation had been improving for the first 16 years of the GPI, the trend has now reversed and in 2024, militarisation deteriorated in 108 countries. The combination of these factors, GPI argues, means that the likelihood of another major conflict is higher than at any time since the inception of the GPI.

This should be a wake-up call as this finding is based on a lot of data and information. While the GPI indicates disturbing trends at several levels, its findings relating to increased possibilities of a bigger conflict and the decreasing possibilities of peace agreements contributing to the end of conflicts are the most worrying. Clearly there is much greater urgency for strengthening all forces of peace. The peace movements all over the world should be stronger and there should be much greater continuity of many-sided activities with the aim of strengthening peace.

BHARAT DOGRA

Source: The Statesman, 24/07/24

Caste heat: Editorial on how SC/STs and OBCs face higher levels of work-time heat exposure

Climate change is warming the planet at an alarming pace but not everyone, research has found out, is feeling the heat equally. A study that combined data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey and weather reports found that people belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes face much higher levels of work-time heat exposure than others. Between 2019 and 2022, in at least 65 districts across India, 75% of SC and ST workers spent 75% of their working hours outdoors. This is because marginalised communities continue to dominate occupations that rely on outdoor physical labour, such as agriculture, construction, mining or municipal work. These, in turn, come with an enhanced risk of exposure to extreme heat and related illnesses, including heat stroke that is life-threatening. Significantly, the ‘thermal injustice’ is not limited to the outdoors: several National Family Health Surveys have shown that marginalised caste groups have lower access to fans, coolers and air conditioners at home. The situation is worse for women. They not only face extreme heat outside but also bear an excess burden of household air pollution on account of cooking with polluting fuels. A 2015 study also found that more women walk to work than men, especially in the mornings, leaving them vulnerable to smog and air pollution. Yet another survey revealed that Dalit and Adivasi communities have fewer adaptation resources to combat the damage from events related to climate change since they continue to be deprived of socio-economic and political rights and face systemic discrimination.

India has a National Action Plan on Climate Change; states have individual climate action policies as well. But the vulnerabilities of caste-oppressed communities seldom form a part of these plans. There is thus a case for policy mediation to be sensitised to the intersections between caste and climate. For instance, data on heat and pollution deaths and ailments could be parsed by caste and gender to monitor the efficacy of policy changes. Affirmative action must also target the chokehold that caste has over labour, the choice of professions, as well as education and employment. Dismantling ancient prejudices will take time. What can begin immediately though are interventions such as making breaks during peak hours of heat mandatory. Regular health check-ups of workers along with simple infrastructural modifications — the construction of shaded resting spots and public water dispensers — can be effective ways of making the respite from heat more democratic.

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Quote of the Day July 23, 2024

“No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.”
William Blake (1757-1827), British Poet and Artist

“अपने डैनों के ही बल उड़ने वाला कोई भी परिंदा बहुत ऊंचा नहीं उड़ता।”
विलियम ब्लेक (१७५७-१८२७), अंग्रेज़ कवि व कलाकार

90 Students Receive K.C. Mahindra Scholarship For Post Graduate Studies Abroad This Year At A Total Value Of INR 337 Lakh

The K.C. Mahindra Education Trust (KCMET) awarded a total of INR 337 lakh in scholarships to 90 exceptional students under the K.C. Mahindra Scholarship for Post Graduate Studies Abroad. Established by the late K.C. Mahindra in 1953, this scholarship was the first to be set up by the Trust and is an interest-free loan which is granted to students demonstrating outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements.

The top three fellows will receive INR 10 lakh each. The recipients are Raj Patel who will be pursuing Finance at Princeton University; Asmita Sood who will be pursuing Biomedical Data Science at Stanford University and Savalee Tikle who will be pursuing Architecture at Harvard University. 55 fellows will be receiving INR 5 lakh each and 32 fellows will be receiving INR 1 lakh each to support their education abroad. For the first time in the Trust’s history, every student who appeared for the interview will receive a scholarship, underscoring the exceptional quality and talent of this year’s cohort.

The Trust received a total of 2354 applications this year. Of these, 90 applicants attended the interviews over two days. The distinguished selection panel included Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group; Ranjan Pant, Board Member at Mahindra & Mahindra; Rucha Nanavati, Chief Information Officer at Mahindra Group; Bharat Doshi, Trustee of K.C Mahindra Education Trust; Ulhas Yargop, Trustee of K.C Mahindra Education Trust; and Dr. Indu Shahani, President and Chancellor of ATLAS SkillTech University.

The shortlisted candidates included 29 IIT graduates, with the rest coming from premier educational institutes such as SRCC, LSR, Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture & Environmental Studies, NITs, BITS Pilani and National Law Schools. The candidates have secured admission to the highest-ranking universities and colleges overseas. This includes 13 candidates each at Harvard and Stanford; 8 at Carnegie Mellon; 6 each at Oxford and University of Pennsylvania; 5 each at Columbia and MIT; 3 each at Yale, University of Chicago, John Hopkins and Cambridge; 2 each at Princeton, Georgia Tech and University of California, Berkeley amongst others.

Speaking about the scholarship, Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group said, “It’s an enriching experience to engage with some of the brightest young minds in India through the KCMET Post Graduate Studies Abroad Scholarship, something I eagerly look forward to every year. My heartiest congratulations to all the students!”

Source: indiaeducationdiary.in

Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals function

The Assam government told its Border police on July 5, 2023, not to send cases of non-Muslims who came to India illegally before 2014 to Foreigners Tribunals (FTs). This comes after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019, which gives non-Muslims who are fleeing oppression in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan a way to become citizens.

Origins of Foreigners Tribunals

The Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964, which was made possible by the Foreigners Act of 1946, set up Foreigners Tribunals in Assam. They are meant to be like courts and let local governments send people they think are foreigners to them to be judged. In other states, cases like this are only dealt with under the Foreigners Act. But Assam has its method. At the moment, only 100 of the 300 FTs that the Ministry of Home Affairs has approved are working.

Role of the Border Police

The Assam Police Border Organization was created in 1962 and became a separate organization in 1974. It works with the Border Security Force to stop illegal immigration, find strangers, and watch over the border between India and Bangladesh. Members check people’s identities and send people they think might be a threat to FTs. They also deal with cases involving “D” voters, or people who aren’t sure they are who they say they are, and requests from people who were taken off the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Functioning of Foreigners Tribunals

FTs have the power of a civil court to call people to court, make sure they show up and look at proof. They have to send notices within 10 days of a referral and give people 20 days to respond and turn in proof. Cases must be decided by tribunals within 60 days. If you can’t prove your identity, you could be sent to a transit camp until you can be deported.

Criticism of Foreigners Tribunal Orders

Recent Supreme Court decisions have brought up problems with the FT system. For example, on July 11, the court overturned a mistaken statement that a deceased person was a foreigner, calling it a “grave miscarriage of justice.” Concerns have also been made about how citizenship checks are done at random and how some FT operations take advantage of people. For example, notices have been said to not be served properly, which violates the right to a fair trial.

About Citizenship (Amendment) Act

The Citizenship Act of 1955 was changed by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which was passed in India in December 2019. It gives religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who came to India before December 2014 a way to become Indian citizens. Some people say it goes against the secular ideals of the Indian Constitution. There were protests all over India because of the Act, which started conversations about national identity and religious oppression. Its application is still controversial, and there are legal challenges in the Supreme Court.

National Flag Day on July 22

The Constituent Assembly of India officially accepted the National Flag on July 22, 1947. This was a big step in India’s journey to become free from colonial rule. This adoption was a sign of the hopes and togetherness of the country during hard times.

Constituent Assembly Meeting

The Constituent Assembly met in New Delhi at 10:00 AM, with Dr. Rajendra Prasad in charge. Since its start on December 9, 1946, the Assembly has met many times to talk about a wide range of important issues. A move about the flag, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, was the main item on the agenda.

Nehru’s Resolution for the Flag

Nehru wanted the National Flag to have a white band with an Ashoka Chakra in navy blue in the middle of the white band. The flag should be a horizontal triangle with deep golden, white, and dark green colors. The goal of this design was to capture India’s spirit and past while also being aesthetically pleasing. At a ratio of 2:3, the measurements were made uniformly. In his speech, Nehru talked about his pride and memories, relating the flag to the deaths of freedom fighters. He knew that the country would face problems in the future, but he still saw this as a victory over the empire. Nehru stressed that the flag wasn’t just a sign of Indian nationalism; it was also a word of freedom to people all over the world who were being ruled over.

The Symbolism of the Flag

Nehru said that the flag was chosen because it was liked by many people and had historical importance, not because it had anything to do with a particular group. The colors showed the country’s rich history. The Ashoka Chakra was chosen to connect the current flag to India’s long past because it represents the ideals of India’s ancient civilization.

Assembly Support and Amendments

Two changes were suggested, but they were not made. Several assembly members, such as Sarojini Naidu and S. Radhakrishnan, said they liked the style of the flag. Some people were against adding the Swastika to the flag, but in the end, everyone agreed to go with the suggested design.

About the National Flag of India

There are three horizontal bands on the Indian National Flag. They are saffron, white, and green.
The golden color stands for bravery, the white color for peace and honesty, and the green color for faith and honor.
It was made by Pingali Venkayya and was approved on July 22, 1947.
The 24-spoke navy blue wheel that is the Ashoka Chakra stands for the endless wheel of law.
There are two equal parts on the flag, and it is made of khadi cloth. The Flag Code of India tells people how to fly the flag.

Reformed agenda

The Brahmo Samaj’s message of inclusivity could have been viewed as weak, or even treacherous, by the then Hindus who had started to drift towards the Hindu nationalist movement

At a time when identity and caste politics seem to have caused fissures in Indian society, a socio-religious movement like the Brahmo Samaj, with its respect for all religions, would have had much to offer.

Soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party returned to power in 2019, some of its supporters chose to attack Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, on social media. The Brahmos were alerted and a stout defence was put up online. But not much thought was given as to why supporters of Hindutva politics should come after a declining religious movement. A little soul-searching would probably have thrown up the answer: the followers of a militant brand of Hinduism had realised that the syncretic message of a reformist, monotheistic religion could dent the power of the aggressive version that they were projectin

Most people would recollect Raja Ram Mohan Roy from their school history textbooks as the social reformer who petitioned the British and brought about the abolition of sati. Roy was a man ahead of his time who delved deeply into the different religions of the world and created a syncretic form of worship that involved the Vedas whilst incorporating the monotheism of the Abrahamic faiths. It is a matter of speculation whether Roy, given his deep interest in and study of Islam, was in some way influenced by Akbar’s Din-i-ilahi, which also attempted to combine elements from different religions. But the similarity probably ends here. Whilst Akbar tried to impose Din-i-ilahi as a State religion, entry to the Brahmo Samaj was purely voluntary.

Brahmo religion khatre mein hain seems to make more sense than Hinduism being at risk. Since its inception, the Brahmo movement, despite its impact on Indian society, failed to garner mass support. It was perceived to be an elitist faith that did not involve paying obeisance to an idol. Over a period of time, there was a perception that the Hindu religion provided greater spiritual comfort and sustenance vis-à-vis the Brahmo religion, which is completely devoid of any kind of ritualism. This has been further exacerbated in recent times by temple runs by politicians and militant religious cries. It appears that the average Hindu has started to feel the need to display his religion on his sleeve. Brahmoism’s decline could also be laid at the doorstep of the urbanisation and the modernisation of Indian society that created a shift from traditional structures of worship. The rise of the Indian nationalist movement could have also turned the focus away from niche religions like the Brahmo Samaj, which had its genesis in Bengal but did spread to other parts of India because of its anti-caste message.

Like the Veerashaiva anti-caste movement spearheaded by Basava in Karnataka, the Brahmo Samaj focused on social reform whilst challenging traditional hierarchies in an attempt to develop an egalitarian approach to the way that one worshipped. The followers of Basava, the Lingayats, are a dominant force in Karnataka. But they seem to have largely aligned themselves with the political agenda of the right-wing. This is probably linked to a perceived threat to their identity as well as a desire to wield power and influence.

The partition of Bengal, which sharply polarised Hindus and Muslims, also resulted in the rise of communal politics. The emphasis on religious tolerance and inter-faith harmony, the hallmarks of the Brahmo movement, might have been delivered a body blow. The Brahmo Samaj’s message of inclusivity could have been viewed as weak, or even treacherous, by the then Hindus who had started to drift towards the Hindu nationalist movement. Perhaps Brahmos themselves started being influenced by identity politics.

The fate of socio-religious movements may have a lot to do with the torch-bearers who follow their founders. Schisms between them could well spell changes or even decline. The Brahmo Samaj is a case in point.

Melanie P. Kumar

Source: Telegraph, 23/07/24

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