No firsts among equals

India’s Constitution gives great respect to each citizen. Its values must be safeguarded

The forefathers of our Constitution dreamt that India would be a country which would ensure its citizens many fundamental rights, including human rights. The Constitution of India was in fact drafted under the influence of a universal declaration known as the International Bill of Human Rights. Equality truly was a golden dream that we saw as a country, and gifted to ourselves to cherish over the years to come.

But I question myself now about whether we act in absolute accordance with the ideology of equality; one needs to bear in mind that when you talk of “equality” between two unequal entities, the approach and treatment have to be different from the one we adopt for two equals. To ensure that we, as a society, are loyal to our constitutional values, we need to imbibe respect for the viewpoints of others, which could be about their beliefs, religion, customs, conventions, dietary habits, language and clothing. Equal treatment, not only to all individuals, but also to all religions, is the express command of our Constitution.

At times, we see prejudices operating against particular groups of people; these may be Muslims, Christians or Dalits, facing biases only because their beliefs, religious books, customs, conventions, etc., are not like ours. The makers of the Constitution might not have even thought that there would be a day in this country when a group of people would do or undo anything to impose their own ideology, their beliefs, their viewpoint on another group: Torture, boycott and other contemptible kinds of conduct, all of which have become routine news today, are a matter of shame, and absolutely not in accordance with the ideology and values of the makers of our Constitution.

We also hear many grievances about discriminatory treatment being voiced by some powerful groups, referring to oppressed, suppressed, marginalised people. This is not what our freedom fighters and the fathers of our Constitution foresaw. The process of building the nation can be termed complete only when, without any exception, we all respect our constitutional values to an extent that this becomes our religion — I firmly believe that in public life, you should have only one religion, and that is to remain wedded to our constitutional values, our constitutional commands, ensuring respect for the fundamental rights of every fellow countryman, and acting in strict compliance with constitutional duties.

But because we could not fully imbue this ideology into every citizen for a long time, the situation has worsened to the extent that a person working honestly with a constitutional mandate can become a victim of persons with vested interests. Such honest people have to pay a price by facing numerous challenges, like threats to one’s person, property and family members. It is time to wake up and re-think our situation in the light of our constitutional values and the ideals of public life.

Let me humbly state that I have been imparting legal education for the last 32 years. A person who joins legal education is thoroughly taught legal principles, impartiality in the administration of justice, the concept of rights, duties, powers, etc. But the majority of our youth doesn’t join the legal stream. And there are currently no means by which these young citizens can be taught these concepts or ideology, knowing which is a must for public life.

Students across our diverse fields need to be enlightened on the commands of the Constitution that cover secularism, liberty, freedom and equality; these should be so deeply imbibed by all that every person understands the role of each functionary connected with the law and the administration of justice. But unfortunately, that does not happen.

I had a goal as a teacher of the law to at least mould my students to act in accordance with constitutional mandates, principles of equity, rights and justice. I also thought of adding colour to their lives by ensuring that they learn to respect diversity, in views, beliefs, customs, food habits, etc. Though my efforts are just drops in an ocean, my conscience is satisfied that as a teacher, I have contributed towards shaping society through my students and preparing young citizens to fulfill the dreams our forefathers had while writing the Constitution.

After my retirement, to further my goal, I started working exclusively for legal education: It is different that I had to resign under particular circumstances. Be that as it may, I have continued my march by starting my own academy. I want to reciprocate the encouragement and affection society has showered on me, at least, to the fraternity already in the legal field or younger people in the process of joining the same.

I believe in a positive ideology and therefore, I am sure that the day will come when the dreams seen by the founders of our Constitution will translate into reality.

Source: Indian Express, 6-03-2017

The geopolitics of environmental issues

Environmental degradation and natural-resource insecurity are undermining our ability to tackle some of the biggest global issues we face

Environmental insecurity is a major, though underestimated, contributor to global instability

Much of the world seems to be on edge. The West’s relationship with Russia, the future of Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), the Syrian civil war and refugees, rising right-wing populism, the impact of automation, and the UK’s impending departure from the European Union: All these topics—and more—have roiled public debate worldwide. But one issue— one might say the most significant of them all—is being ignored or pushed aside: the environment.

That was the case at this year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland. Beyond a mention of the Paris climate agreement by Chinese President Xi Jinping, topics like climate change and sustainable development didn’t even make it to the main stage. Instead, they were relegated to side meetings that rarely seemed to intersect with current political and economic events.

Allowing environmental issues to fall by the wayside at this time of geopolitical and social instability is a mistake, and not just because this happens to be a critical moment in the fight to manage climate change. Environmental degradation and natural-resource insecurity are undermining our ability to tackle some of the biggest global issues we face.

Environmental insecurity is a major, though often underestimated, contributor to global instability. The UN High Commission on Refugees reports that natural disasters have displaced more than 26 million people per year since 2008—almost a third of the total number of forcibly displaced people in this time period.

Even the current refugee crisis has an environmental element. In the years leading up to the war, Syria experienced its most extreme drought in recorded history. That drought, together with unsustainable agricultural practices and poor resource management, contributed to the internal displacement of 1.5 million Syrians and catalysed political unrest ahead of the 2011 uprising.

The link between environmental and agricultural pressures extends far beyond Syria. Over-reliance on specific geographies for agriculture means that food production can exacerbate environmental problems, or even create new ones. This can pit global consumer interests against local citizen interests, as it has along the Mississippi river, where fertilizer run-off from one of the world’s breadbaskets is contributing to concerns about water quality.

The connection goes both ways, with environmental conditions also shaping agricultural production—and, in turn, the prices of agricultural commodities, which represent about 10% of traded goods worldwide. For example, rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns are already driving up the price of coffee. With the global land area suitable for growing coffee set to contract by up to half by 2050, price pressures will only intensify.

A sudden shift towards trade protectionism could drive up agricultural commodity prices further. Such an increase would affect farm-level household income, favouring some farmers while harming others. End consumers, particularly the poor and vulnerable, would also suffer.

Another reason why the environment should be at the centre of economic debates is its role as the world’s single largest employer. Almost a billion people, just under 20% of the world’s labour force, are formally employed in agriculture. Another billion or so are engaged in subsistence farming, and therefore don’t register in formal wage statistics.

Any initiatives to support economic development must support this population’s transition towards higher-productivity activities. This is particularly important at a time when increasingly sophisticated and integrated technology threatens to leapfrog an entire generation of workers in some countries. Efforts to benefit this huge population must focus not only on training and education, but also on new models that allow countries to capitalize on their natural capital—the landscapes, watersheds and seascapes—without depleting it.

Just as natural-resource insecurity can cause displacement and vulnerability, effective natural-resource management can support conflict resolution and sustainable economic development. On this front, efforts to achieve environmental remediation, to boost the resilience of rural communities, to advance sustainable agricultural production, and to support community-based environmental stewardship have all shown promising results.

Consider the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), an organization focused on creating community conservancies to enable sustainable and equitable land-use in Kenya. The NRT has helped pastoralist communities establish effective governance mechanisms for the environment on which they depend, reducing conflict over grazing rights, especially in times of drought.

For many communities, members’ relationship with the landscape in which they live is an integral part of their identity. With effective governance and planning, open dialogue, resource-sharing frameworks and sufficient investment, including in skills training, these communities can translate this relationship into effective environmental stewardship—and build healthier and more secure societies.

The crises engulfing the modern world are complex. But one thing is clear: The environment is connected to all of them. Solutions will mean little without a healthy world in which to implement them.

Source: Mintepaper, 6-03-2017

When social media defines our existence

Social media is an integral part of today’s world. It comes with problems, but the benefits are far too many

As I sat on that dainty white couch of my living room, “be strong”, I whispered to my WiFi signal. From dawn to dusk, Monday to Sunday, do you happen to invest heaps of time on social media? If you just nodded, you are no different from the millions of other teenagers who spent over 27 hours and 36 minutes of a week on it. Since the dawn of the 21st century, all global citizens have become members of this miraculous world where without making eye contact with someone, we can talk, where without even stepping out, we can be the most ‘social’ person alive, and where we can get the feeling of being friends with the entire world without even meeting a person!

We are all living examples of Stephen Hawking’s statement — “We are all connected by the internet like neurons in a giant brain”. But it is worth spending some time to ponder whether social media is a boon or bane. The answer has two sides, depending upon your vantage point. In simpler words, one could call social media a ‘perilous helper’ to mankind. It is indeed undeniable that in such a fast-paced world, where people are so short on time, the importance of social media happens to grow with every passing day. Today, we can get thousands of results on almost anything and everything in this world in a ‘puff of electrons’. Widening your horizon of knowledge and knowing what you never knew has become effortless. Getting information is just like ‘name it and get it’.

Even communication has become so facile that only a few keystrokes is what it takes. One can connect over oceans for free. Despite being miles apart, social media has made it possible for humans to feel as if they are just footsteps away. It is like being a part of a person’s world even though the distance keeps you apart. It has also provided humans with a very burly platform to express their views and standpoints. Awareness and opinions spread like an epidemic. Any social cause can very easily receive global voice and the support of millions. Social media has also paved the way for businesses to gain unprecedented exposure. It is through social media that entrepreneurs, professionals, and organisations seek recognition at a very economical price.

Bill Gates is absolutely right when he stated that “If your business is not on the internet, your business is out of business”. If one has any sort of interest in furthering a business, she simply cannot ignore social media. In fact, even social media wouldn’t want to ignore you! Yet, not all consequences of this technology are good ones. It has allowed us to hide behind screens and limit our social interaction face-to-face. It is a downcast truth that social media has started taking over our lives. Have you ever noticed how glued people are to different platforms, which in this context could be called a ‘virtual time black hole’?

Social media is gradually emerging as the ‘mother ship’ of us. What we eat, where we go or who we meet, social media ‘knows everything’. In the same vein, as a result of the anonymity provided by social media, cases of cyberbullying have been on the rise.

Once upon a time, ironically not very long ago, there existed a saccharine and blithe world where people would gain happiness by playing outside and meeting new people instead of equating their smiles and contentment to the number of likes on their posts or the number of followers one has. Social media has dug its claws deep into the evolving cyberworld, and it is indeed an unforgivable crime to not take advantage of its great power and influence.

Source: DNA, 6-03-2017

Expanding the Idea of India

A new set of Fundamental Duties can go a long way towards instilling a reinvigorated sense of civic responsibility among citizens.

The Constitution of India, the longest written Constitution of the world, has envisaged a holistic approach towards civic life in a democratic polity. Certain rights have been guaranteed within the Constitution as Fundamental Rights. Since human conduct cannot be confined to the realm of Fundamental Rights, the Constitution has envisaged certain duties, which are correlated to the rights, and those duties have been described as Fundamental Duties.

The framers of the Constitution did not deem it appropriate to incorporate those duties in the text of the Constitution when it was originally promulgated. However, the post-Constitution civic life, for around a quarter century, did not portray a rosy picture, and therefore, it was thought fit to have a framework of duties in the Constitution itself. It may sound paradoxical that the preparatory work for the introduction of Fundamental Duties by the Swaran Singh Committee was done when the Fundamental Rights were under suspension during the Emergency.

> The full text of Justice Kurian Joseph speech

The Fundamental Duties 

The following ten Fundamental Duties were introduced by the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 — Article 51-A: It shall be the duty of every citizen of India: To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem; to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so; to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures; to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform; to safeguard public property and to abjure violence; to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity, so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement. Subsequently, another duty was added by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2002: for a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education of the child or ward between the age of six and fourteen.

Since then, the scope of Fundamental Rights under Part III of the Constitution has seen significant expansion through judicial pronouncements; the right to free legal services to the poor, right to speedy trial and right to live in a clean and healthy environment are just a few examples. As a result, an imbalance has been created between the current set of Fundamental Rights and Duties. Here is an attempt to examine if a few additional Fundamental Duties in the Constitution of this country could help in balancing out the rights of its citizens and further make them more responsible towards the country’s development.

Additional duties 

Duty to vote: Article 326 of the Constitution read with Section 62 of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 confers the right to vote. However, quite often the question arises as to whether that right also implies an obligation. The voter turnout during the last general election amounted only to about 67 per cent. This voter apathy should be taken seriously and an attempt should be made to make voting a citizenship obligation.

The state can take several steps to ensure that this duty to vote is made operational and effective. One method through which this may be achieved is by developing a system of incentives for voters and conversely disadvantages for those who abstain from performing their duty to vote. A very large section of people can be motivated to vote this way.

Duty to pay taxes: The tax gap (the revenue that a government is expected to receive as against the revenue it actually collects) continues to increase every year. The greatest indicator of this is the fact that the size of India’s shadow economy as a share of the GDP reached 24.3 per cent in the year 2012. Research has found that tax evasion is a direct result of lack of trust among the people, in general, and the government, in particular. Citizens must believe that their taxes are bound to be used for public good. The incorporation of the right to pay taxes as part of Fundamental Duties in the Constitution will shift the onus onto the taxpayer to pay taxes rather than the tax department to collect them.

Duty to help accident victims: Every 60 minutes, 16 persons die in traffic accidents in India. According to the Law Commission of India, at least 50 per cent of fatalities can be prevented if road accident victims receive medical attention within the critical first hour after the accident. The Karnataka government’s decision to frame a ‘Good Samaritan law’ is a step in the right direction. With the increase in the number of accidents, it has become pertinent for India to recognise this duty as one owed by its citizens towards each other.

Duty to keep the premises clean: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat Mission has received tremendous support from people from all walks of life. The most effective mechanism to tackle uncleanliness is to sensitise people about this duty. Therefore, it is imperative that a Fundamental Duty to this effect be added to the Constitution.

For a better society

Duty to prevent civil wrongs: It is not enough that a citizen refrains from committing wrong; he has a duty to see that fellow citizens do not indulge in the commission of wrongs.

Duty to raise voice against injustice: Today people seem to have stopped reacting to atrocities; they neither report crimes nor volunteer to testify in a court. The duties of a victim or a witness can be classified into two main categories, viz. duty to report a crime and duty to testify in court. The state must also on its part work to ensure that the fight to bring the offender to book does not become a Kafkaesque nightmare for the victim or witness.

Duty to protect whistle-blowers: With the coming into force of the Right to Information Act, 2005, every citizen has become a “potential whistle-blower”. While the state has a great deal of responsibility in providing for their protection through appropriate legislative instruments, the responsibility to protect torchbearers of transparency vests on each one of us.

Duty to support bona fide civil society movements: Citizens have a moral duty to organise themselves or support citizen groups so that the gaps in governance left by the executive can be filled and the rights guaranteed by the Constitution are made available to every citizen. Therefore, it is proposed that there must be an addition to Part IV-A of the Constitution to that effect.

Reinvigorating civic responsibility: In the modern context, it has become increasingly important to instil a reinvigorated sense of civic responsibility among Indian citizens. This can be achieved by adding new duties to the existing list of Fundamental Duties while also laying emphasis on the performance of the existing ones. The significance of Fundamental Duties is not diminished by the fact that there is no punishment prescribed for not following them. Fundamental Duties constitute the conscience of our Constitution; they should be treated as constitutional values that must be propagated by all citizens.

It appears our polity is not even aware of such a noble part of our Constitution. This should be included in the curriculum of high school students at least.

Justice Kurian Joseph is a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. This article is adapted from a speech he delivered.

Source: The Hindu, 15-07-2016

> The full text of Justice Kurian Joseph speech

Indiscriminate discrimination

The tools of prejudice, once unleashed, do not differentiate one community from another

U.S. President Donald Trump, in his address to Congress, may have denouncedthe killing of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas, but it is hard to ignore that his own polarising presidential campaign has directly led to the current intolerant climate in the U.S.

On the surface, this killing may seem like a case of mistaken identity. In a misguided stab at self-preservation, some NGOs have recommended to the Hindu community in the U.S. that they should appear more “assimilated” or highlight their identity. But doing so would be to ignore a crucial lesson from this tragedy: the tools of prejudice, once unleashed, can be indiscriminating in choosing their targets.

Historical persecution

The first Indian migrants to reach the U.S. understood this lesson well. Arriving in the beginning of the 20th century, they faced severe persecution and bigotry. For decades before their arrival, American society had been perfecting the mechanisms of oppression against various communities: the Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, African-Americans and Native Americans. Now these tools could be turned against the Indians.

The first wave of Indian migrants to the U.S. was a few thousand in number, consisting mostly of unskilled farmers from Punjab and former soldiers of the British empire. Making their way via Canada, these migrants first arrived in Washington where they found work in the lumber industry. Just months after their arrival, they became the target of resentment from white workers who were afraid of cheap Asian labour. On September 5, 1907, a mob of several hundred white people rounded up about 700 Indian workers and forced them to leave the town of Bellingham. Two months later, 500 Indian workers were similarly driven out of the town of Everett. Indian workers in Tacoma were attacked by another mob, although in this case they managed to fight back.

The total number of Indians in Washington could not have been more than 2,000, which was hardly an economic challenge to the state’s population of over one million at the time. Yet the xenophobic mob was quick to act and could do so with impunity because it was an established practice in the state for over two decades. It had begun in 1885, when 500 Chinese workers were similarly driven out of Tacoma.

Marginalisation of Indians was widespread. They were not allowed into local unions or churches. In many towns, local real estate agents refused to sell them property. Collectively referred to as Hindus — although most early migrants were Sikh — they were mocked by the media. Several local politicians and officials openly endorsed violence against them to keep “the East Indian on the move”. Immigrants from other parts of Asia had been facing such persecution for many years; Indians were just added victims.

By the turn of the decade, most Indians had been driven out of Washington. Along with new immigrants, they made their way to California, where the Indian population reached close to 3,000. However, here too, the forces of racism greeted them. A pre-existing ‘Japanese and Korean Exclusion League’ was quickly renamed as the ‘Asiatic Exclusion League’ and its members trained their guns on Indian immigrants. “Wholesale landings of large number of Hindoos” was widely decried.

Racial theories

At first, Indians proved to be a challenge to the half-baked racist ideologies prevalent at the time. South Asians were believed to be of “Aryan descent”, the same as Europeans. But this obstacle was quickly overcome. Racist propaganda admitted that the Americans were distant cousins of northwestern Indians. However, “our forefathers pressed to the West, in the everlasting march of conquest, progress and civilisation. The forefathers of Hindus went east and became enslaved, effeminate, caste-ridden and degraded,” one exclusionist leader wrote. Partly due to such propaganda, by 1917, immigration from India and other Asian countries was practically barred.

These absurd racial theories reached their crescendo over the struggle for naturalised citizenship. In 1922, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that “white persons” eligible for American citizenship had to be of the Caucasian race. The decision was aimed at excluding the Japanese. Indians, hoping to circumvent the ruling, made the case that “high-caste Hindu, of full Indian blood” were, in fact, Caucasian. In 1923, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind that intermarriages between Aryan invaders and “dark-skinned Dravidians” over the centuries had destroyed the purity of Aryan blood in India. Hence, Indians could not be considered as “free white persons” and given American citizenship. In 1926, the Indian central legislature banned Indian citizenship to American citizens in response. However, it was little more than a symbolic gesture.

Over the next decade, the U.S. government used the Supreme Court ruling to strip citizenship of many Indians who had been naturalised. The ruling was reversed only in 1946, allowing a hundred Indians to immigrate to the U.S. every year. But it was not until 1965, when American immigration laws were reformed, that the second wave of Indian migration to the U.S. could begin.

Tools of prejudice

The hostility that early Indian migrants to the U.S. faced was not due to their actions or the history of their country of origin. It was a mechanism already in place, actively oppressing other communities for decades. Given the circumstances, it was almost natural that the hostility would turn on Indians when they reached American soil. It is ironic that discrimination, when choosing its victims, can be highly indiscriminate. In early 20th century U.S., the same forces of oppression that targeted Indians were also persecuting other communities. It is this history that’s in a way, tragically, illuminating today.

Sandeep Bhardwaj

Sandeep Bhardwaj is with the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi

Source: The Hindu, 6-03-2017

Eternal Hide and Seek

K P RASTOGI





I've nursed a deep desire since childhood to see truth, face-toface. I knew that truth would remain elusive unless I learnt to recognise the true nature of my own self and the world around me. But bookish knowledge did not take me any closer to this goal. Knowledge derived with the help of the senses is not entirely dependable, for our senses can deceive us.Dejected, I turned towards `Gyan Marg', I read a lot. The result? I became an atheist. There is no God, there is no power that controls the universe, I told myself. Evolution is at the root of all that has evolved and that is evolving at present. All the mysteries of the universe are the result of evolution, including even consciousness and self-consciousness. God is not the creator of man; man is the creator of God.
Perhaps a purified, controlled mind can do what an unpurified mind cannot do. But had it been so, Buddha would not have kept silent when he was asked three times by a renowned saint, “Do you believe in God?“ Newton, too, knew that his knowledge was shallow, “I am picking up pebbles on the sea shore,“ he remarked.
Where the mind fails, can the heart succeed? `Prem Marg' could well help us achieve what `Gyan Marg' has failed to do. I followed this path for a while but remained unsatisfied. Sometimes, I ask myself, “Suppose I had more than five senses, say , 20 or 30 -how would the universe appear to me?“ What will happen to my idea of reality, to present-day science and mathematics, and to the arrogance of man?

More than half of under-5 kids in India are anaemic

Subodh Varma





In a stark and chilling reminder of the reali ties of life in India, the recently released fa mily health survey (NFHS 4) results show that over 58% of children below five years of age are anaemic, that is, they suffer from insufficient haemoglobin in the blood, leaving them exhausted, vulnerable to infections, and possibly affecting their brain development.The survey , which was carried out in 2015 16 and covered six lakh households, also showed that around 38% of children in the same age group were stunted, 21% were wasted and 36% underweight.
While all the internationally accepted markers of children's health have improved since the last such survey in 2005-06, the levels of undernourishment, caused mainly by poverty , are still high and the improvement too slow.
Based on the 2011 Census data, the total number of children under five in India in 2015 is projected at 12.4 crore. So, around 7.2 crore children are anaemic, nearly 5 crore are stunted, around 2.6 crore are wasted and 4.4 crore are underweight. These numbers are not too different from those in 2005-06. Since popula tion has increased, their share is down.
The World Health Organisation says high levels of these markers are clear indications of “poor socio-economic conditions“ and “suboptimal health andor nutritional conditions“.In short, lack of food, unhealthy living conditions and poor health delivery systems. The WHO defines wasting as low weight for height, stunting as low height for age, and underweight as low weight for age.
The survey also found that just over half of all pregnant women were anaemic. This would automatically translate into their newborn being weak. Overall, 53% of women and 23% of men in the 15-49 age group were anaemic.
There is wide variation among states. The data for UP has not been released in view of the ongoing polls, according to Balram Paswan, professor at Mumbai-based International Institute for Population Sciences which was the nodal agency for the survey done for the health ministry . But poorer states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have higher than national average rates on all markers.
More advanced states like those in the south, Haryana and Gujarat have slightly better numbers but are still at unacceptable levels. In Tamil Nadu, 51% children are anaemic while in Kerala it is over one-third. In many states, stunting has declined but the share of severely wasted children has increased. These are clear signs of an endemic crisis of hunger in the country that policy makers don't appear to be addressing.

Source: Times of India, 6-03-2017