Monday, August 19, 2019
The Idea of India’ is failing
he middle class that led India’s nation-building project has now embraced a nationalism that has no place for diversity
The “Idea of India” has always been grander in promise than in fulfilment. At Independence, the dream was that the people of a country of so much diversity — in language, religion, and tradition — would enjoy constitutionally guaranteed rights and through democratic means, build a just society. A cornerstone of this dream was respect for diversity that was written into the Constitution. It has been a mixed record, with as many failures as achievements. The events of the past two weeks, however, signal to us that the “Idea of India” is in danger of collapsing. We may soon have to accept the “New India” which places no value on pluralism, fraternity and autonomy.
Everything about why and how the constitutional arrangements of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have been so radically changed violates the “Idea of India”.
A worrisome move
The processes used to modify the “Holy Book” that is the Constitution are as important as the content of the amendments. Yet, as many lawyers and constitutional experts have already pointed out, the manner in which the Narendra Modi government has withdrawn the rights J&K enjoyed under Article 370 can only be described as abusing the spirit of the Constitution. Now that the Government has tasted success, it should be confident about using the same kind of skulduggery to aggressively alter the Constitution to further its agenda. Only the courts stand in the way and there the Government of India must be feeling that its own actions will pass muster.
We also have the disappearance of J&K as a State. It is hard to think of anything more insulting to a people than to inform them one morning that their State has been turned into two Union Territories, effectively ruled from New Delhi. This is real “tukde tukde” work.
Since the early 1950s, States have been periodically divided and new ones created. Consultation of some form or the other has always been an integral part of the process. Nothing like the sudden disappearance of the State of J&K has happened before. In a supposedly federal system, the Centre has been able to ram through the necessary legislative changes while keeping 8 million people cut off from the rest of the world and without allowing them to express their views. In the past five years, we have undoubtedly had the most centralised government since the time of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Should we or shouldn’t we be worried about what more is in store for us? Was it short-sightedness or fear that made all the regional parties — the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam being the only major exception — endorse the break up of J&K into two Union Territories?
Spirit behind special rights
There are legitimate reasons why in our diverse society, the Constitution has ordained special rights, for instance, for Dalits and Adivasis; for Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim (under Article 371); and so too for J&K until now under Article 370. A uniformity of rights across the nation and all classes does not necessarily make for a cohesive society. In fact, the opposite is the case in a country of vast diversity. Special rights for specific communities and regions enable them to feel a “oneness” in a large country that has so many kinds of differences. Here, the guarantees promised to J&K were especially important because of the circumstances surrounding the State’s accession to India.
The autonomy offered by Article 370 has been contentious for two reasons. One, it was enjoyed by a State that remained divided between India and Pakistan. Two, the constitutional provision applied to India’s only Muslim majority State. These two features should have made it all the more important to preserve the guarantees contained in Article 370. However, for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Jan Sangh/Bharatiya Janata Party, for whom uniformity has always come first, abolition of Article 370 has been a core demand.
Contentious Article 370 always was, but it was never adhered to in any measure. In this, there have been no saints in either New Delhi or Srinagar. If one systematically emptied the promise of autonomy right from the 1950s onwards with a series of presidential notifications, the other used it as a bargaining chip to feather its nest. Though emptied of content, Article 370 has retained an important symbolic value for the people of J&K as recognition of its unique character.
It has been argued that whatever the merits of the Modi government’s actions, the “Kashmir situation” of the old was no longer sustainable. But we must remember that the iron glove of this government has only made matters worse since 2014: every year since then has seen an increase in violence — of incidents of terrorism, security personnel killed and innocents murdered. When the lockdown in J&K is finally lifted, New Delhi will find that it will be dealing with a sullen population that feels its land has been occupied. We must fear a surge in violence for months and perhaps years, with or without a spurt in terrorism from across the border.
Dismissing pluralism
The middle and upper classes in the rest of India have welcomed the decisions of early August. This is not surprising. The long-running violence in J&K first made them weary, and then indifferent. So they now endorse “firm” actions that will put Kashmiris in their place. We talk about Kashmir not being integrated with the rest of India, when, truth be told, the rest of India has never integrated itself with Kashmir. Before the violence, Kashmir was only a place of natural beauty that was worth a brief holiday or one where film stars pranced on hillsides. We never saw Kashmiris as fellow citizens with the same dreams as all of us. We only saw them as residents of a State that Pakistan coveted, a people whose allegiance to the nation we thought was suspect and a State that was the cause of so much armed conflict and terrorism.
The same middle class that seeded the freedom movement, which gave the ideas for a modern Constitution and then led the nation-building project around “The Idea of India”, has now embraced an aggressive nationalism that dismisses the pluralism of India. We now do not seem to care one bit about what the people of Kashmir feel. We have been the least concerned the past fortnight about the lockdown they have been placed under. We openly talk about the possibility of buying up land in Kashmir. Lawmakers speak without being reprimanded about men from the rest of the country marrying “fair” Kashmiri women. And we look forward to effecting a demographic transformation in the Valley. How far we have travelled from when India drew up its Constitution.
There have been three days in the Republic’s history on which “The Idea of India” has been shaken to its roots. The first was June 25, 1975 when an Emergency was declared and many of our Fundamental Rights were suspended. The people’s vote rescued India at the time. The next was December 6, 1992 when the Babri Masjid was destroyed. We managed to limp away, though with neither atonement nor punishment. Now we have August 5, 2019, when the Constitution was subverted in spirit if not in letter, when federalism was shoved aside and the rights of the people of a member of the Union were stamped on.
It is difficult to see “The Idea of India” recovering from this latest body blow.
C. Rammanohar Reddy is Editor of ‘The India Forum’
Source: The Hindu, 19/08/2019
Child rights body, IIT Kanpur develop kit to spread sexual-abuse awareness
The kit is a set of cards, posters, short animation clips and games, which can be used by teachers or an NGO to conduct an interactive workshop for children about sexual-abuse awareness, according to the minutes of the 38th statutory meeting of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
The apex child rights body in collaboration with the IIT Kanpur has developed a kit to spread awareness about sexual abuse among children by using interactive means to teach them about personal safety, respecting their body and overcoming guilt.
The kit is a set of cards, posters, short animation clips and games, which can be used by teachers or an NGO to conduct an interactive workshop for children about sexual-abuse awareness, according to the minutes of the 38th statutory meeting of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
Noting that an unaware child may easily fall trap to sexual abuse without realising that he or she is wronged, the commission said the kit would help in spreading awareness as any kind of physical or psychological abuse could scar a child’s life forever.
“Through the workshop, children learn about personal safety, respecting their body and overcoming guilt,” it said. “It also gets children to talk about this issue with their peers and understand that they need to speak up, which many kids don’t.” The kit also features game cards as an intervention to assess the learning acquired by children.
It can be used in classrooms for kids aged between 8-12 and in a group of 30-35 students in one session. It has manuals, reading and video material for the teacher or workshop facilitator to read and understand how to conduct the workshop.
The workshop kit has been vetted by the psychologists at Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, and a revised version will be developed based on their feedback.
Source: Hindustan Times, 17/08/2019
On Humility, Charity, Truth
The Qur’an says three basic qualities have to be in the heart of the seeker: khushu, humility; karamat, charity, that is sharing, to experience the joy of giving; and, thirdly, sijd, truthfulness, which means authenticity. That is, recognising that which you are. These are the three pillars of Sufism. Humility means a man who has understood all the ways of the ego. And, by this understanding, the ego has disappeared. You have to be liquid, you have to melt; you cannot remain frozen in your ego. Charity is when you give and you feel obliged that the other has taken it; when you give with no idea that you are obliging anybody in any way; when you give because you have too much. It is not that the other needs. Charity is when you give out of your abundance. The flower has blossomed and the words spread the fragrance to the winds — what else can the flower do? The lamp has been lit and it shares its light, it spreads its light. The cloud is full of water and it showers — what else can it do? The third is truthfulness. It does not mean saying the truth, it means being the truth. Sijd means to be truthful, to be true. It is not only a question of policy. Whatsoever happens, whatsoever the result, not thinking of the result but just to be true, to risk all for truth — that’s what sijd is. It is to risk everything for truth — because if truth is saved, all is saved, and if truth is lost, all is lost.
Source: Economic Times, 19/08/2019
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Biodiversity in the time of deluge
As it weathers repeated floods, Kerala needs to take steps to protect its fragile ecology
In mid-August 2018, Kerala experienced severe floods and is still struggling to deal with their devastating impact. It is a matter of deep concern that, a year later, the State is facing a similar situation. This only shows that there is a considerable human-induced natural imbalance in the State, making it vulnerable to the vagaries of climate change.
Such floods impact the poorest strata of the society the most, causing a loss of lives, livelihood options and assets. They also place an enormous burden on the government in terms of reconstruction budgets. In this context, a broader assessment of floods from a ‘sustainable development’ perspective, by limiting economic growth options to within the carrying capacity of the ecosystem, is the need of the hour.
True, the root cause of such floods, not only in Kerala but elsewhere, is the high precipitation levels. However, one cannot discount the role of anthropogenic factors like unscientific development and over-exploitation of nature in aggravating the damages.
Impact of climate change
In recent decades, the global climate has been changing in an unpredictable manner. As per an IPCC report, the Global Green House Gases emissions grew by 70% between 1970 and 2004. Global warming has had critical effects on the hydrological cycle and water is the primary medium through which the climate change impacts trickle down to the people.
The changing precipitation alters the hydrological systems, resulting in floods and droughts in different regions. With the certainty that climate change is already impacting most countries, there is no option but to take adequate precautions through dam management and timely public alerts.
In the case of Kerala, a structural transformation and changing patterns of land use are affecting its environment. Agriculture is becoming insignificant (11.3% of State GDP) and services (63.1%) and industry (25.6%) sectors dominate the State’s economy. Further, a high population density — as per the 2011 census, it was 860 persons per sq. km, much higher than the Indian average of 382 — the shift from a joint family system to a single-family one and a greater inflow of money, particularly from Gulf countries, has resulted in an increased construction of luxurious houses and resorts.
The government, on its part, has also been developing extensive infrastructure to support the booming services and industry sectors.
Speaking of construction, it is important to take the appropriate decision on the type and size of the structure, its location, materials it proposes to use, and permissible damages it will cause to the nature. One cannot just replicate the Gulf model of construction in Kerala’s fragile and ecologically sensitive landscapes. Land transactions suggest that people in the State have bought land from farmers over the decades not for cultivation, but for construction. If this trend continues, vast tracts of paddy fields and other low-lying places will get converted to plots or buildings. A loss in wetland area will naturally impact the State’s ability to handle floods.
People fail to account for the damage done to natural ecosystems while estimating losses suffered due to natural disasters. Floods also wash away top soil and substantial biodiversity of the area, resulting in a reduced river-water flow, death of earthworms and spread of viral and bacterial diseases among crops. There is, at present, a lack of clarity on how best these natural assets could be restored. However, the urgency to devise suitable corrective measures has never been greater.
The writer is a Chennai-based researcher working in the areas of environment and sustainable development
Source: The Hindu, 14/08/2019
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