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Wednesday, April 03, 2019

Sociological Bulletin: Table of Contents
First Published February 13, 2019; pp. 7–24

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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 25–43
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 44–59
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First Published February 7, 2019; pp. 60–75
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 76–93

Review Article

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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 94–104

Book Reviews

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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 105–107
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 107–109
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 109–112
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 112–114
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 114–115
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 115–117
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 118–120
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First Published March 27, 2019; pp. 120–122

Vikram Patel wins global health award


Vikram Patel, a psychiatrist and professor of global health at Harvard Medical School, has won the prestigious John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Health Award.
Mr. Patel has led research generating knowledge on the burden and determinants of mental health problems in low and middle-income countries and pioneered approaches which utilise community resources for the prevention and treatment of mental health problems in India with global impact, a press release said.
Laureates receive a $100,000 cash honorarium and will be formally presented with their awards on October 24, 2019 at the annual Canada Gairdner Awards Gala in Toronto.
Source: The Hindu, 3/04/2019

The many and different faces of terror


It is premature to read the Islamic State’s defeat as the start of a more peaceful phase

Terrorism is a well-recognised form of asymmetric warfare, and has been around for centuries. Some terror strikes tend to resonate more than others, for reasons that are inexplicable. The Munich Olympics massacre in 1972, the 9/11 terror attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001, and the November 26, 2008 terror attack on multiple targets in Mumbai are, for instance, more deeply etched in the memories of people than many other terror events. It is important, however, not to take an episodic view of terrorism, since history is relevant to a proper understanding of the threat posed by terrorism.
Since the 1980s
Radical Islamist extremism has been the dominant terror narrative, post the 1980s. This was possibly an off-shoot of the decade-long Afghan war (1979-1989), which let loose an avalanche of ‘mercenaries’ who had honed their skills during the Afghan Jihad, and employed violence indiscriminately. Over time, terrorist outfits seemed to gain greater transnational reach, and were no longer fettered to geographical locations. New organisations, such as al-Qaeda and its acolytes, as also the Islamic State (IS), gained pre-eminence among a growing multitude of terror groups. Regional variants such as Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, the Pakistan-sponsored Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in South Asia, and the Boko Haram in Africa were no less deadly.
More recently, especially in the West, a new narrative has been unfolding. Sporting different labels, extreme right-wing elements are proving to be no less violent and dangerous than jihadi terrorist groups. They appear, at present, less organised than many outfits, and the violence they perpetrate seems more random. Their targets, which included, for instance, a Jewish synagogue (in the U.S.), political personalities such as President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain, members of immigrant communities and minority groups (in Europe) are, nevertheless, carefully chosen. Many do appear to be lone wolves such as the Norwegian Anders Breivik (2011) and the Australian man responsible for the March 15, 2019 Christchurch massacre, in which 50 people were killed. Non-denominational terror, loosely described as right-wing terror, has in the process become as threatening as jihadi terror. Clearly, the topographical anatomy of terrorism does not change, even if motivations differ.
The evolution of terrorism in the 21st century, and the constantly shifting tactics of terror groups, does make terrorism look like an ‘existential threat’. This would, however, be too far fetched. What does need to be recognised is that the terror threat is rapidly transcending from what we see happening, to what we can imagine might happen.
New breed of terrorists
Take, for instance, the year 2016 in India. Pakistani terror outfits randomly carried out daring attacks on the Pathankot Air Force base, an Army brigade headquarters in Uri, and an Army base in Nagrota. In February this year, the JeM carried out its most audacious attack to date, targeting a Central Reserve Police Force convoy, in which 40 personnel were killed, the highest casualty figure for security forces personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. The use of a suicide bomber, driving a vehicle containing a few hundred kilograms of explosives to strike a high-profile target, represents a new pinnacle in terrorist violence. It is representative of the newer breed of terrorists, as also the transmutation in the nature of terror.
Globally, spectacular jihadi attacks may be fewer, but attacks are on the increase. In January this year, Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, with links to the IS, killed 20 people attending a church service in Sulu province. In the U.K., on New Year’s Eve (2018-19), three people were stabbed at a Manchester train station by an IS supporter. In March this year, explosives were found at transport hubs in and around London, and also at the University of Glasgow, leading to a major terror scare in the U.K. Also in March, the Netherlands witnessed a terror attack in Utrecht, when a jihadi suspect indiscriminately shot at commuters in a city tram.
Meanwhile, terrorists are further honing their skills, and are able to strike at targets at will. Cross-pollination of concepts and ideas among terror groups, and in many cases even pooling of resources, has made this possible. A decade of violence in Iraq and Syria has produced a reservoir of battle-hardened fighters, who are bolstering the capabilities of disparate terror groups in different parts of the world. As in the 1980s, we are seeing a majority of those who took part in the violence in Syria and Iraq currently adding to the cadres of existing terror groups in Asia, Europe and Africa.
It would, hence, be premature to celebrate the decline of terrorism, based on the so-called demise of the IS. The territory controlled by the IS Caliphate may have shrunk dramatically compared to 2014, but its obituary cannot be written just yet. The IS remains a fount of support and inspiration for several hundreds of fighters across Asia, Africa and Europe. Many IS networks are still operating clandestinely. Many of their dispersed supporters are ready to revive their activities once the pressure relaxes. There are unconfirmed reports already that the IS has directed several of its recruits to return to their country of origin and strengthen the nucleus of IS groups there. The estimate is that anything up to 20% of those who were part of the IS bandwagon in Syria and Iraq have returned to their homelands. As the IS declines in Syria and Iraq, other IS entities such as the Islamic State of Khorasan (which includes parts of India) will be the beneficiaries.
Caliphate as an idea
The Caliphate is an idea which is still relevant. The Internet remains its main vehicle for radicalising Muslim youth. What is most likely is that the IS will make a shift to guerrilla warfare tactics. It is likely to strengthen its ‘Emni’ (intelligence and security branch) to carry out reconnaissance before launching attacks. The lone wolf syndrome will be pursued with renewed vigour. Already, there are some indications of this. In December 2018, a lone IS gunman killed five people in Strasbourg (France); in January 2019, a suicide bomber at a restaurant in Manbij (Syria) killed 19, including four Americans. More such attacks could occur.
Al-Qaeda, the other leading jihadi outfit, is separately engaged in enlarging its global network. Violence by al-Qaeda affiliates might have been overshadowed by the IS more recently, but al-Qaeda affiliates in Africa, such as the Boko Haram, have not been far behind. Al-Qaeda affiliates in East and South Africa, the Sahel and Yemen are the largest and most feared terrorist groups in their regions. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is said to be exploiting alleged incidents of violence against Muslims in the subcontinent to strengthen itself.
Al-Qaeda affiliate LeT (based in Pakistan) represents the main terror threat to India, along with the JeM. The rest of Pakistan’s network of terror reads like an alphabetic soup, viz. HUJI (Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami), the (Harkat-ul-Mujahideen) and HM (Hizbul Mujahideen). Pakistan is also reportedly training outfits to carry out underwater operations.
Developments in technology, information and doctrine will in all likelihood alter the character of 21st century terrorism. In the Pulwama attack, the suicide bomber is reported to have used a ‘virtual SIM’ to contact his JeM handlers in Pakistan. It is difficult at this point to determine which of the disruptive technologies will turn out to be the most dangerous.
Guided by controllers
The concept of ‘enabled terror’ or ‘remote control terror’, viz, violence conceived and guided by controllers thousands of miles away, is no longer mere fiction. Internet-enabled terrorism, and resort to remote plotting, will grow as the 21st century advances. Counter-terrorism experts will need to lay stress on multi-domain operations and information technologies, and undertake ‘terror gaming’ to wrestle with an uncertain future that is already upon us.
M.K. Narayanan is a former National Security Adviser and a former Governor of West Bengal
Source: The Hindu, 3/04/2019

Challenge of managing solid waste in our cities requires community engagement

Vellore, with a population of five lakh, has been a trailblazer in decentralised management of solid waste and sending no waste to landfills. It has earned the remarkable distinction of getting its residents to separate wet waste from dry waste.

We wrote in our last column, ‘Small town, cleaner future’ (IE, February 27) about how small towns in India are showing the way in keeping wet waste separate from dry waste. This is the most critical first step for sound solid waste management. We also looked to see if some bigger towns are getting their act together in managing their solid waste. Admittedly, it is more difficult to organise community action in large towns. But wards are a good place to start, and we are happy to report some encouraging news from Tamil Nadu.
Vellore city in Tamil Nadu, with a population of five lakh, has been a trailblazer in decentralised management of solid waste and sending no waste to landfills. More recently, it has earned the remarkable distinction of getting all its residents to separate their wet waste from dry waste, which makes the task of solid waste management so much easier for the municipal corporation.Vellore generates 160 tonnes of solid waste per day, excluding waste from bulk generators. It all began with a PIL in the National Green Tribunal in 2015 seeking closure of the eight-acre dumpsite on a tank bund in Saduperi, a few kilometres away from Vellore. The site had been used for dumping mixed waste since 1991.
Vellore Municipal Corporation (VMC) responded to the challenge by building 42 sheds for micro composting centres (MCCs) across its 60 wards. Each MCC (with a capacity ranging from 1.5 to 5 tonnes) was provided enclosed sheds containing numerous open-brickwork tanks (5 ft deep, 5-6 ft wide and 7-10 ft long) for composting wet waste: The tanks are filled in rotation, over a starter bed of dry leaves, with one-foot layers of hand-sorted wet waste plus a layer of cow dung-slurry as a compost starter, and allowed to mature for 30-60 days.
Last month, one of us led a group of 10, driving from Bengaluru to Vellore to see for ourselves how the VMC was implementing its decentralised waste management system. At a particular MCC, we were pleased to see fully segregated wet waste being hand-picked to remove coconut shells and other hard-to-compost items, on the one hand, and clean dry waste carefully sorted into different bins for sale, on the other.
Municipal commissioner at that time, Janaki Raveendran, with support from all elected local representatives, proactively and completely stopped sending any waste to the dumpsite. They started doorstep collection of mixed waste in Vellore, using primary collection vehicles and municipal workers to transport the waste to the MCCs: These are run by self-help groups who are provided with covered space for sorting, and are paid Rs 250 per day. They can collectively keep the sale proceeds of both the compost and dry waste, and VMC pays for electricity and water. There is no secondary transport, no transfer stations for the garbage and no black spots in the city, not to speak of the significant savings made on transport cost.

The second major step of 100 per cent segregation came with the enthusiastic efforts of S Sivasubramanian who assumed charge as municipal commissioner of VMC on October 31, 2018. Having inherited a well-functioning system of decentralised waste management, the new commissioner was determined to achieve doorstep collection of waste, fully segregated at source, as he had done in his earlier posting in Tirunelveli. And, this has been achieved in Vellore in just four months. This should give food for thought to many of those who believe it can’t be done in India. It is being done — in the South, but there is no reason why the North cannot follow suit.
There was also an awareness campaign, which involved the municipal commissioner of Vellore and other high officials leveraging social media by posting photos of themselves in their home kitchens with separate bins for wet and dry waste. All municipal staff and waste workers down to the lowest level, and all government employees, were urged to keep their home wastes unmixed before asking others to do so. Religious leaders of different communities were also approached and urged to convey to their followers the importance of keeping wet and dry wastes unmixed and to avoid from January 2019 the use of one-time-use plastics which have been banned by the Tamil Nadu government. Groups like the Lions and Rotary were roped in to spread the good word. Schools were required to get pledges signed by all students and their parents. With the cooperation of teachers, they have reached out to 1,28,000 homes.
Such campaigns to engage with the community are successful only when the doorstep collection teams cooperate and strictly refuse taking mixed waste. After accepting the segregated waste, they should visibly transport the wet and dry waste — separately — to gain the trust of those who have complied, by not mixing the wastes at source. The pending grievances of waste collectors with respect to promotions, filling vacancies, provident fund issues and minor repairs of primary collection vehicles, etc. were resolved to ensure their buy-in for the campaign. This shows leadership in making change happen.
Micro-planning of collection vehicle routes manned by municipal staff, and tracking their punctuality and performance, is also key to citizen cooperation. The benefit of such intense focus is that once initial success is achieved for the project, it is relatively easy to maintain the system. Prolonged deadlines for compliance, one area at a time, do not work.
At a morning muster, sanitary officers give each waste collector a notebook containing a message from the municipal commissioner, which they have to show to each household on their beat. They also need to collect a signed pledge to not mix their wastes and not use banned plastic: This is also to promote bonding with the households. After two warnings, mixed waste is temporarily accepted on payment of a fee of Rs 10. Thereafter, mixed waste pickup is strictly refused, with the full backing of the superior officers of the doorstep collectors. A follow-up visit is made the same evening to the defaulter household to find out where their uncollected waste went.
The Tamil Nadu government has provided an enabling environment through proactive engagement of the Department of Municipal Administration. The courts have also provided strong support for decentralised waste management. Under the leadership of G Prakash, commissioner of municipal administration in Tamil Nadu, 700 plus MCCs and several on-site composting centres have come up, all receiving well-segregated waste. As in Vellore, so in 19 other cities, no waste goes to a dumpsite. Statewide, wet waste is collected six days a week and dry waste only on Wednesdays. Municipalities have framed by-laws to comply with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. Thus, user charges starting from Rs 20 per month are added every six months to property tax, with collection rates of 80-100 per cent. Bulk generators managing their own waste are charged for collection of dry waste and for the waste they indirectly generate at local markets, eateries, etc. As a result of the plastic ban, the volume of total solid waste has come down from 160 to 131 tonnes a day.
This model can work equally well in every ward of a metro city. The collective challenge of managing solid waste in our metros requires, above all, the engagement of the community.
This article first appeared in the print edition on April 3, 2019 under the title ‘How a city cleans up’. Ahluwalia is chairperson of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). Patel is member, Supreme Court committee on solid waste management.
Source: Indian Express, 3/04/2019

Of Oneness and Infinity


Yama, Lord of Death, while talking to Nachiketa about truth in the Katha Upanishad, explains, “Truth, Atman or Self is too subtle to be attained through mere intellectual debates. The Self in subtler than subtle, greater than the greatest, and it dwells in the heart of each human being. It is only the Self which is active and also inactive. The Self is the basis of all forms of existence. This means that whatever exists in the universe springs from it. Who is better able to know God than the Self, as He resides in Self ?” Yama describes the Atman as the Lord of a chariot and the body as the chariot. One’s wisdom represents the driver and mind, the reins. He said the man whose wisdom fails to distinguish between good and pleasant and is carried away by his senses, loses control and moves on the road to perdition. The Atman of this eternal body represents the Paramatman, or the Almighty. The head, which is the governing organ of a body, the root of all thoughts and actions, represents Brahma the Creator. The two arms, which execute all actions of this body, represent Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Fingers represent various devtas, and they are responsible for various tasks of nature. Like a body with its own immune system, this universal structure has immunity of its own, making it self-rectifiable. Although all the organs of a body are different from each other, responsible for different tasks, they are useless in individuality. The interdependence of infinite elements of the universe makes this structure and the Lord, infinite.

Source: Economic Times, 3/04/2019