Sunday, November 17, 2024
Home Blog Page 6926

Will this issue be the next OROP for BJP?

Guest Author
-
0
Will this issue be the next OROP for BJP?

The erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh used to share the third place with West Bengal, in terms of number of MPs per state in the Lok Sabha. However, when compared to the extent of influence in National media or in actual representation in the Central cabinet, it had always lagged behind. Even during the times of UPA-1 and 2, it had seldom been assigned any of the important ministries. Yet, none of the local politicians from AP ever quibbled with the Centre.

However, things are bound to change in the next few months courtesy two mistakes. Both these arise from the uncertainty created by UPA-2 during the bifurcation of the state.

Hyderabad is to AP what Mumbai is to Maharashtra or Delhi is to India. The city has high income levels, higher exposure to the world, but, what matters most is that it has the highest concentration of industries in the state. So much that out of the total revenues of the united state, nearly half comes out of the Hyderabad district alone. The revenue surplus of Telangana (including Hyderabad) calculates to around Rs. 4000 crore, while the revenue deficit of the remaining AP stood at a staggering Rs. 7000 crore.

This fiscal imbalance was never understood properly by the representatives in Delhi and so, they initially thought they could win over the people of AP by bridging this gap with funds in the form of grants or loans. This did not appease the masses of AP as they understood that they couldn’t survive on the basis of funds. If there are no industries in the state, where would the jobs come from? Sadly, the UPA government lacked this basic understanding until the day the bill came up in Parliament.

After “consultations” with the opposition and under pressure from his own party men, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on the floor of the House gave the following assurances:

1. To help aid the state’s finances, Special Category Status will be extended to the successor state of AP

2. Tax incentives would be provided to promote industrialization and boost economic growth

3. Special development package for the backward regions of the successor state of AP, and so on.

Of all these assurances, the most contentious ones were those of the issue of special category and tax incentives. However, none of these assurances have been incorporated in the AP Reorganization Act.

The “Report of the working group on state’s financial resources for the 12th five year plan2” by the Planning Commission, gives an idea of the basic difference between an ordinary and a special category state.

“For the general category states, assistance was 30 percent grant and 70 percent loan. For the special category states, 90 percent of assistance was given as grant and 10 percent as loan.”

A special category status is generally given to a state which satisfies certain criteria like having a hilly terrain, strategic location, etc. It also contains a provision of providing the status if the state’s finances are of non-viable nature. The successor state of AP, though of poor financial situation, does not come under any of these criteria. That is the reason why arguments for special category for Odisha or Bihar were struck down.

Also, in its summary the report says, “the special category states had been given unduly high shares and this has had high opportunity cost while it has also resulted in considerable debt for special category states even while their economies had made little progress.” So, it had been established that grants are not the only means of achieving economic growth.

However, the case of AP is different from the rest. For instance, when it was bifurcated, it was left with neither a capital nor any major industry. So, grants and loans from the Centre to raise infrastructure and building a capital would certainly help recover the lost sheen and start something from the scratch.  The second major issue is the proposed tax benefits to industries which set up their units in AP. This has so far been a nonstarter.

In the General elections of 2014, the people of AP voted for the BJP-TDP coalition and taught the UPA a lesson. The ruling Congress party had not won a single MLA seat in the state. 13 months later, the situation has changed. The people of AP are frustrated with the sluggish pace of the Centre in implementing the promises it made during the election. Rallies are being held in several parts and strikes are organized to force the elected representatives to understand that they are not impressed with them. The argument that Planning Commission had been rechristened and so, the entire issue had to be studied in a different perspective does not seem to hold much merit.

Meanwhile it is ironic to note that the Congress party is starting to blame the Government for not implementing what they had promised a year ago. This is in line with the Congress stand vis-a-vis OROP, a demand which they themselves sat on for decades, and are now trying to blame BJP for. Had they incorporated the assurances made to Andhra Pradesh, into the bill in the first place, there would not have been a problem at all. Their logic appears simple – Make a mistake and blame others for not cleaning it up.

At the end of the day, it is for the NDA government to decide whether it wants to follow the steps of its predecessor or remain loyal to its citizens. If it continues to drag this issue till the next election, people might not have the patience to wait till then. Already, dissatisfied students and disillusioned youth are starting to look at other options. Their last hope is that the Prime Minister, who is supposed to arrive in AP for the inauguration of the work for building capital on October 22, would bring good news with him. Will they get their rightful share?

written by Naga Sai Viswanath B
Engineer, and a Civil Services Aspirant

How media reacted when AAP put up Kejriwal’s name during Independence Day

OpIndia Staff
-
0
How media reacted when AAP put up Kejriwal’s name during Independence Day

Narendra Modi was called narcissist by the media when he wore a gifted suit showing his own name, but what happened when Kejriwal displayed his own name in the stadium where Independence Day celebrations were going on?

This is what they felt like saying and publishing, but did not.

OpIndia.com takes a journey into their minds and hearts (as they often do to others) and brings to you their feelings that they couldn’t express due to a fascist government:

(click on the pictures to see them in the original size, if some text is not clearly visible)

Independent and unbiased journalist Rajdeep Sardesai could decipher the message.
Independent and unbiased journalist Rajdeep Sardesai could decipher the message.
As always, unbiased Ravish Kumar got literary and philosophical and remember Shakespeare's "What's in a name?" quote
As always, totally unbiased NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar got literary and philosophical and remembered Shakespeare’s “What’s in a name?” quote, which appeared the most relevant to the situation in his opinion.
Extremely unbiased website popularly known as Troll.in could find the merits like no one else did
Extremely unbiased website popularly known as Troll.in could find the merits in the move like no one else did
Firstpost had an opinion, as always.
Firstpost had an opinion, as always.
BuzzFeed too joined in. There were no kittens though.
BuzzFeed too joined in. There were no kittens though.
Times of India did what it is best known for
Times of India did what it is best known for
Stung by criticism, AAP decided to strike back by means best suited to it style.
Stung by criticism, AAP decided to strike back by means best suited to its style.

Three women, three incidents, one message – sexist attacks are not exclusive to any group

Rahul Raj
-
0
Three women, three incidents, one message – sexist attacks are not exclusive to any group

The past couple of months, seen from the eyes of an Indian woman, would be quite intriguing. Three different stories of three different women have pushed us back to the same old question – is our society deeply sexist and even misogynist on occasions?

While the question is old, and so is the answer, often in affirmative, what sticks out this time is that even those who are loudest to cry “sexism” and “misogyny” are no different from those whom they are accusing.

The first story revolves around a woman celebrity who was bullied for her political opinions; the second story is about a Godwoman who decided to wear skimpy clothes; and the third is about an ordinary girl who chose to live some moments of intimate privacy in a hotel room.

What remained common, but most disturbing, in all these stories was the character assassination of the women, complimented by vulgar attacks on all these women – some by moral police, some by trolls, and some by people who, under the masks of intellect, ridiculed trolls and moral police for attacking women while doing the same in other case.

A few weeks back, Shruti Seth was bullied by Twitterati after she intentionally tried to attack PM Modi’s ‘selfie with daughter’ campaign by linking unrelated events as Yoga day and water-logging in Mumbai. The initial criticism of this needless attack on PM’s campaign soon turned into massive mud-slinging and absurd vulgar attacks. As stated by her, she was attacked for her ‘Muslim’ husband, her 11 month-old-daughter, and her non-existent, dwindling, no-good career as an actor. Besides this, she was also tagged and assaulted with jokes loaded with sexual innuendos.

Such attacks are not new or exclusive to fan base of any particular party or political ideology. With the advent of social media, every political camp has created many lowly trolls who exploit his/her influential capabilities to launch such vulgar attacks. For example, this tweet by an AAP troll created lots of filth in the past:


The story of Shruti Seth is more appealing because she had some valid concerns, and still she was incongruently attacked on the lines of religion, sex and choices. A respite in this whole episode was that she got good support, not only from the media, but also from the social media. People stood for her, spoke for her and fought for her.

The next story didn’t attract such support. On the surface, it may appear that a fraud background would have been the primary reason for the lack of agitation against attacks on Radhe Maa, but the undercurrents would deny this simplistic reason.

Had the fundamental frameworks of equality, dignity and liberty remained same for Sukhvinder Kaur (Radhe Maa) and Shruti Seth, social media, media and Op-ed writers would have raised similar protests, not mild discussions, against the attacks on Sukhvinder Kaur for her costumes and sexuality.

Social Media was full of Radhe Maal jokes, but unlike the case of Shruti Seth, none of the newspapers covered this female objectification in a patriarchal society. Hardly any “intellectual” defended her rights to choose her clothes or proximity with some political camp (they said Shruti Seth is free to back a party she supports). In fact, she was made a tool into the ongoing political battle.


Sukhvinder Kaur (Radhe Maa) may be a fraud, but the selective moral pedestal taken by intelligentsia raises doubts on their arguments. She was attacked only after pictures of her wearing skimpy clothes were shared on social media. It was plain and simple voyeurism, not any activism or rationalism.

The third and the most unfortunate story is about the girl who neither intended to participate in political or social discourses nor tried to cheat anyone. The girl who was detained, humiliated and questioned by Mumbai police during a hotel raid initiated against complaints of “public indecency” was a victim of cumulative social nonsense.

While the world is liberating individuals from social shackles, we are stuck in moral policing and outdated laws that can be easily manipulated. Forget Tier-2 or Tier-3 cities, even the hotels and societies in cities like Delhi and Mumbai are clung around moral sermons. Sadly, instead of finding solutions, people are busy pointing fingers at each other, taking moral high grounds.

I may not have the exact solutions, but I would also not deny solutions are not possible. Sail back to the 90’s when girls were not allowed to wear jeans or drive bikes, when girls consuming cigarettes or alcohol were seen with disdain, and when wives spent all their lives waiting for approvals of their husbands. We have certainly evolved. However, we need to evolve faster than the current rate, and for that we need to grow awareness.

The horrific gang-rape incidence in Delhi pushed people to avoid making rape jokes. People, at least the sane ones, have stopped using words like rape and gang-rape in normal public discussions in casual manners.

These three incidents have showed that in the process of getting even with our political or ideological opponents, we indulge in sexist and misogynistic behavior. Similar to the “eye for eye logic”, we can at least pledge to refrain from “sexual verbal attacks for sexual verbal attacks” and help ourselves into evolving better.

Naga Peace Treaty – Result of a broad-based approach, reveals interlocutor

Guest Author
-
0
Naga Peace Treaty – Result of a broad-based approach, reveals interlocutor

Twenty years after they first met Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao in Paris and agreed to talk with Government of India, Issac Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, leaders of the NSCN faction named after them, have arrived at a framework pact that is likely to end Asia’s longest running insurgency very soon.

Although neither the government nor the NSCN(IM) has revealed the roadmap that will finalise the details of the accord, at least three aspects of the 20-year long journey of the latest phase of Naga peace process stand out: One, the NSCN(IM), has given up its original demand of sovereignty; two, it has reconciled to the fact that redrawing the map of north-east to integrate all Naga-dominated and Naga-inhabited areas spread across three states of the region—Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam—besides of course Nagaland, is off the table and; three, the civil society’s desire for lasting peace has forced even as organised and powerful insurgent group as the NSCN-IM to agree to a pact on terms that it may have rejected outright even a decade ago.

According to RN Ravi, the centre’s interlocutor for the Naga talks, the negotiations in the last one year since he took over in August 2014, have been as broad-based as they can be. ““This was not a factional approach. I took care to consult a broad spectrum of Naga civil society and those in the Imphal Valley besides talking to the collective leadership of the NSCN-IM. Therefore, this agreement should not be seen as a pact merely between the NSCN-IM and the Government of India but between the Naga people and the Centre,” Ravi told this writer earlier this week.

Representatives of civil society and NGOs confirmed the approach. Organisations like the Naga Ho Ho, the Naga Mothers Association (NMA), the Naga Students Federation (NSF), the Eastern Naga Students Federation (ENSF), Eastern Naga Peoples Organisation (ENPO), the Gaon Burrah Federation (GBF), Federation for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) and the United Naga Council (UNC), Manipur, among others, held extensive discussions with Ravi over the past 10 months. They are still meeting him in batches of 10 to 20 this week as a follow up to the 3 August signing of the agreement.

Moreover, the Centre’s interlocutor took care to meet and brief Manipur Chief Minister O. Ibobi Singh more than a dozen times to keep him abreast of the progress and contours of the talks, giving lie to Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s charge that Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states were not kept in the picture.

Over the next two-three months, the nuts and bolts of the accord will be put in place even as a delegation of civil society representatives travels to Myanmar to try and get the Khaplang faction of the NSCN to join the peace process. If all goes well, by the end of 2015, the Naga insurgency, which began in the early 1950s, will be a thing of the past.

– @nitingokhale

National Security Analyst. Media Trainer. Author

When Congress states opposed GST in 2013, and why BJP states are now ok with it

Gaurav
-
0
When Congress states opposed GST in 2013, and why BJP states are now ok with it

Besides being filled with habitual liars, Indian MSM is also full of incompetent journalists. We had mentioned earlier how Indian TV Anchors are Jack of All Trades, how a journalist can be an expert on topic A and then on topic Z effortlessly. And this phenomenon has been highlighted in how Indian Media has responded to the new GST law which is being introduced.

The GST Act has not been even drafted as of now, only a bill to give powers to draft the bill is in the Rajya Sabha, yet you see various bogeys being raised by some journalists. We had already clarified on most of the technical issues of the proposed GST act here.

Now, to defend Congress’s stalling of this crucial bill, Indian MSM has started a new narrative: “But BJP states (including then Gujarat CM Modi) had opposed GST for many years during UPA rule, why this U Turn now? Wasn’t GST important then?”

Either half-knowledge or an intention to deliberately misguide the public can be behind this hilarious reasoning because the facts simply do not support this. So is there any truth in this claim that Modi and BJP had made a U Turn? Not really.

It is a fact that many states, including BJP ruled states had opposed the GST bill under UPA rule. But were only BJP states opposing GST? Lies. Even as late as December 2013, just 4 months before end of UPA’s 10 year rule, it was reported that the Congress-led ruling UDF government in Kerala has lent support to the Gujarat government’s apprehensions on GST. The Finance Minister of Kerala raised questions on numerous concepts under GST on which there was no consensus nor clarity. He was “openly critical of the Centre’s inability to give any “definite information” about the service tax currently received from each state or any projection about future revenues expected”

In October 2013 also, a report in The Hindu quoted the Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister (who also served as GST Empowered Committee Chairman) as saying this:

Most of the states…majority of the states have opposed bringing petroleum products and liquor in GST framework. They want to keep (the two items) out of GST,

Does the phrase “Most of the states” mean “only BJP states?”. Even when, at that point in time, Congress was ruling a considerable number of states, unlike now?

Again in July 2013 it was reported that 3 non-BJP states had opposed a provision in the GST Bill. Which were these 3 states? Non-BJP ruled Tamil Nadu. Non-BJP ruled Orissa. And Congress ruled Maharashtra! So if this GST bill was opposed only on political grounds, why did Congress’s own state Maharashtra oppose it then?

Even in May 2013, the then Chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on GST Sushil Kumar Modi revealed that “Even Congress ruled states like Haryana and Maharashtra are opposed to it (GST) fearing loss of revenue,”

So it is clear that even in the last one year of UPA, at least 5 Non-BJP states had voiced their opposition to the UPA’s GST bill, and out of these, 3 states were Congress ruled states. So why is Indian MSM crying hoarse that only BJP had opposed GST? Isn’t it clear that BJP and non-BJP states i.e. most states in India were opposed to UPA’s GST bill?

Now that we know which states were opposed to UPA’s GST bill, it is important to know the reasons for opposition. We had reported on this in December 2014 itself, but since MSM is repeating a lie a thousand times, we may have to repeat the truth at least a few times. Till the last discussion of GST under UPA in November 2013, the states had some major demands:

1. Keeping Petroleum out of GST ambit
2. Keeping Alcohol out of GST ambit
3. Keeping Entry Tax out of GST ambit
4. Some sort of guarantee from Centre for potential revenue loss

The rationale behind these demands is quite understandable. GST wipes out most state-level indirect taxes, thus taking out one the major source of revenues for states. It is like a parent tells a child to stop earning from today, and instead promises him a sum of pocket-money. To have at least some financial independence in their hands, States asked for items like petroleum and alcohol (which have huge sales) to be kept out of GST, and also a guarantee from the Centre to offset their losses.

As explained by Congress Spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi in her tweet, Chidambaram the then Finance Minister never considered the states demands. He even openly rejected the 1% additional levy (which was mooted as a compensation to producer states). This obstinate stand of the UPA was the reason why although it had 10 years, it could never build consensus on GST.

How did the new NDA Government achieve consensus in less than 10 months, when UPA couldnt do it in 10 years? They agreed to the demands of the states. Out of the above 4 demands, 3 were accepted, and a bonus benefit was passed on to the state:

1. Petroleum was kept out of GST
2. Alcohol was kept out of GST
3. A proposal was sent to law ministry to work out a “Constitutional Guarantee” to compensate states
4. And the Bonus: The power to states of levying additional 1% tax levy, for maximum 2 years, to help augment state revenues

This is why BJP states, which were opposing the old GST bill, along with non-BJP states, are now agreeing to the NDA’s GST bill, because their concerns have been addressed. But Indian MSM who have become Congress spokespersons are desperate to spread the lie that this is change in stand is only politicking.

Wanted: a Smart Government

Gaurav
-
0
Wanted: a Smart Government

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in an unenviable position. The people who voted him in expect him to make drastic and substantial changes to India’s trajectory and the people who did not vote him are waiting to pounce on every single morsel that falls during his tenure. By now, the honeymoon period for his Government is well and truly over, and the gloves are off. Patience is wearing thin, even among the people who voted for him.

There have been many positives in the term of this Government. Jan Dhan Yojana, an ambitious scheme which can revolutionise banking in India and also eliminate corruption in Government schemes, has kicked off. Coal Auctions have been conducted in a very transparent manner. FDI is increasing, thanks to push from Make In India. Arguably Independent India’s biggest tax reform, GST, has been put on the fast track. Considerable efforts have been put to develop India’s relations with other countries. All these are big measures and the Government has been smart and diligent in achieving these. But there are some areas where the Government has floundered. Although small, these issues have somehow become the defining characteristic as fas perception is concerned.

Choosing the right battles

It is said, one must choose one’s battles wisely. The Government sadly has chosen some battles which they should not have. Censor Board, FTII, War on Porn are all examples. In all three cases, there is definitely some Government action needed. Censor Board should move to becoming a Certification board, as its official name suggests. FTII is riddled with overstaying students, unending courses and general malaise. Child Porn and Revenge Porn are serious issues which need to be tackled. But are all of these burning issues? Censor Board and FTII can be revamped in a slow and steady manner. The matter of Porn is still in discussion at the Supreme Court level. Was there a need for the Government to go overboard on all three issues?

Knowing when and how to fight

Further the Government response to all these issues has been ranging from obstinate to plain stupid. The Censor Board members themselves objected to Nihalani’s moral policing. But he is still the chief. FTII students, Governing Council members and general people from Bollywood objected to Gajendra Chauhan. He is still there. The Supreme Court never asked the Government to ban porn of any kind. It only asked a response. What did we do? We banned it (and then tried to “unban” some part of it by passing the baton on to ISPs). Were these intelligent responses? No.

A UPA Government would have acted differently. If it needed to take over or revamp some institutions, it would do it slowly and quietly, by appointing an acceptable figure as the chief (unlike Chauhan), and carrying on their work systematically. On issues like Porn ban, UPA has already set the tone during its term. Ministers like Sachin Pilot had gone on record saying they would ban porn IF directed by the Supreme Court, thereby very smartly shifting the blame on the Supreme Court, whenever that happens. The current Government’s responses though have been far from ideal.

Controlling the narrative

What compounds the above problems is the Government’s non-existent control on the narrative. That media will go after you is a given. How you effectively counter the media is upto you. The Government has sorely failed here. While some of the above actions were indefensible, at least better attempts could have been made to salvage at least some part of the lost goodwill. Issues plaguing Censor Board and FTII could have been aggressively highlighted. In some places, a step back could have been taken, forcing the opposition to also slow down. None of this has happened.

Hurting the BJP’s newly found voter base

A new entrant and a substantial one, to BJP’s voter base was the young Indian. Educated, below 35 years of age, looking for jobs and online. This section of the electorate, voted for Modi for his positivity. What they get instead is encroachment of some the areas they like. No one like their favourite movies being tampered with. Neither does anyone like the idea that legal porn is being banned under the poorly given excuse of “Child Porn”. The media reporting and the non-existent Government defence only add fuel to this fire. For this crowd, Jan Dhan Yojana, Coal Auctions of even GST do not make any real difference. So they see the Government from the narrow prism of what affects them. And this will hurt BJP electorally.

Signs of Change

But all may not be lost. There are some signs slowly emerging that show the Government is ready to reconsider some of their decisions. The Government has effectively U-Turned on the Land Bill, in the hope that other bills like GST may get safe passage. There has been a rethinking on the Porn ban, although even this rethinking is not very “smart”. It is not a crime to go back on your decision owing to general sentiment or to cut losses. But sticking on to a stand which doesn’t really politically benefit you is stupidity. Doing good for the FTII for example is a move which will reap almost no political dividend, but the current stance is only reducing the goodwill.

The Government become “Smart” and must understand: where it needs to enter the battlefield, how it should fight, when it should retreat, and most importantly how the battle is reported in the media. Only then it can manage to be in the good books, at least perception wise, of its voters.

The Naga Peace Accord: what left wing extremists groups of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar can learn

Guest Author
-
0
The Naga Peace Accord: what left wing extremists groups of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar can learn

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.” We saw this happen when the Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi signed a peace accord with the Naga insurgent outfit, the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah)or NSCN-(IM). The Modi government deserves all of the praise for sealing this accord with the most notorious of insurgent groups in the North East region. The implication of this accord, if Nagas stick to their commitment, will be a game changer for the region. Given that most developmental projects in this region were hampered by insurgency, a peaceful North East in tandem with government’s Act East Policy will rapidly inch towards toward higher growth trajectory.

Initially, NSCN’s demand was far more than what is realistic. Demand was for a sovereign “Greater Nagalim” with all Naga inhabited areas of Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and even some area of Myanmar. NSCN’s way to achieve its demands was insurgency.

The Naga insurgency is not a recent phenomenon. It was born with India’s Independence. In fact under the leadership of Angami Zapu Phizo, the Naga National Council(NNC) declared Nagaland an independent state on August 14, 1947, the same day Pakistan was formed. The insurgent group grew in popularity among the Naga people. Subsequently, Phizo formed an army to fight for a sovereign Naga state.

To address the problem of growing insurgency in the North East, Indin Govt passed Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. Since then, hundreds have lost their lives in armed conflicts. After enacting AFSPA, the government always kept a door open for peace talks with insurgent NNC. Shillong Accord of 1975 was an outcome of such initiative by the Government of India. The NNC agreed leave the path of armed insurgency and accept the supremacy of the Indian Constitution. However a faction of NNC led by Thuingaleng Muivah, was not happy with the idea of giving up the demand for a sovereign Naga State. He along with Isak Chishi Swu and S S Khaplang formed National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) in 1980. Internal conflict among the leaders of NSCN resulted in splitting of the outfit into (1) the NSCN-IM (Isak-Muivah), led by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah (2) NSCN-K led by S S Khaplang. If we look at the last two decades, we can see NSCN-IM being associated with almost all major insurgency incidents in the region.

Apart from the Indian Government, the Nagas are also in conflict with other ethnic groups. Conflict with the Kukis for instance. The Kukis demand a Kuki majority district in Sadar Hills which is also inhabited by Nagas. Nagas claim that Kukis are later migrants to the Sadar Hills and hence it’s a part of “Greater Nagalim”. PM Modi while addressing at the event on August 3, 2015 said that the Naga problem “is a legacy of the British rule”. It indeed is. The British had settled Kukis in the Sadar Hills during mid-eighteenth century to counter the Nagas. The fire of hatred hasn’t died since then. There have been incidents of violent conflicts between the Kukis and the Nagas claiming many innocent lives.Naga Accord

The India Government had taken numerous steps to bring NSCN-IM to the table for a peace talk. Past Prime Ministers did their bit to restore peace to the North East region, but with little success. P V Narasimha Rao the then Prime Minister met Muivah in Paris in 1995. Three years later, PM AB Vajpayee met him in the same city. He left a lasting impression by acknowledging the unique history and culture of Naga people.

When Mr. Vajpayee visited Kohima in 2003, he was greeted with a warm welcome which none of the earlier PMs has received. He not only recognised their uniqueness but also praised their contribution to India. A shift in Government of India’s tone during NDA regime under Vajpayee won the hearts of the Naga people.

During that time, NSCN-IM gave up the demand for sovereign “Greater Nagalim”. Instead, in 2003, they settled for a special status within the constitution of India which will give them more socio-political space. Note that Nagaland already enjoys special status under Article 371-A, which ensures that “Acts of Parliament shall not apply to Nagaland unless so  decided by the Nagaland Legislature with regard to:- (i) religious or social practices of the Nagas; (ii) Naga Customary Law and procedure; (iii) administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga Customary Law; (iv) ownership and transfer of land and its resources.”. NSCN-IM wanted enlargement of the scope and special status. The terms of recent Naga Peace Accord has not been relieved yet. However, if the government agrees to the above, then Nagaland would get more powers then even Jammu and Kashmir.

Apart from that, there were two other issues to be address – rehabilitation of the fighting cadre of Nagas and pending criminal case against it leaders. There was a proposal to rehabilitate Naga fighting cadre in the Indian army, paramilitary forces or state police. Dropping criminal cases against Naga leaders will not be a bad deal. It will be interesting to see if the Modi, the government has agreed to this.

On the national level, this whole episode will encourage various Left Wing Extremist groups of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar et. al.  to leave the path of violence and join the mainstream.

by Naitik

Nitish Kumar – Caught in the DNA web

Ullas
-
0
Nitish Kumar – Caught in the DNA web

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi kickstarting the campaign in Muzzaffarpur for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, sparks were expected to fly. Campaigner Modi did not hold back his punches and launched a blistering offensive against Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar. In his political speech, he taunted Nitish Kumar’s “political DNA” of abandoning partners like George Fernandes, BJP and Jitan Ram Manjhi. Nitish Kumar has taken the bait, has extrapolated this to Bihar’s DNA and is now playing the “Bihari Asmita” card. By going this way, Nitish is employing the same tactics used by one CM Narendra Modi in Gujarat.

Here are the reasons why I believe Nitish will have a tough time defending the DNA barb:

  • It is common knowledge now that Nitish had gone begging to Sonia Gandhi to accept him as the CM candidate of the secular alliance. A man whose political emergence and survival was built on anti-Congress platform – going back to Congress for help is indeed an insult to the “JP Narayan DNA”
  • Nitish going back to seek support of his bete-noir and a convicted criminal Lalu Yadav to counter BJP’s emergence in Bihar is indeed due to some defect in Nitish’s “ethical DNA”
  • Ever since his election as CM of Bihar in 2005, Nitish has been seeking “special status” for Bihar. His current friend, Sonia Gandhi, did not grant him that wish. In spite of this snub, if one has to go begging to Congress, it is surely a chemical locha in Nitish’s “political DNA”. Nitish himself stated that UPA government’s decisions were a “betrayal with backward states like Bihar”. How will he justify it now?
  • Ignoring security apparatus during the last year’s election campaign, when Modi was in Patna – and multiple bombs exploded at Gandhi Maidan is another example of problem in Nitish’s “political DNA”. Politics can be very nauseating – but it was Nitish, who turned it into a bloodsport.
  • It is a norm to send a state’s tableau for the annual Republic Day parade. Nitish Kumar, who now claims to play-up his Bihari credentials, did not bother send a tableau for the Republic Day in 2014. This proves that Nitish’s claims are hollow and he does not put money where his mouth is. Another reason why Nitish is a bad ambassador of “Bihari DNA”.
  • If not sending a tableau was not enough, Nitish Kumar did not recommend any names for the Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awards from Bihar in 2014. Did he decide that Bihar does not have any achievers? Can anyone truly say that he represents the “Bihari DNA”?
  • When eight bombs went off at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodhgaya in 2013, Nitish Kumar had ignored intelligence inputs about the impending attack. His lack of interest in putting the security of the state on priority is a defect in his “administrative DNA”. In fact, in comedy of sorts, Lalu’s RJD had protested against Nitish for this lapse.
  • Nitish Kumar claims that law and order situation improved during his tenure as CM. There are some reports to support his claim. But, at the same time, naxals and the Indian Mujahideen gained ground in Bihar – and this was stated by the then Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. Are these outfits now part of Nitish’s brigade? This is akin to applying band-aid to a wound and cutting a leg at the same time. Again, something seriously wrong with his “administrative DNA”.
  • During Kejriwal’s first tenure as CM of Delhi, he started a tamasha called “janta darbar“. Nitish was quick to claim HE was the first to start the idea in Bihar – just to mock the failure of Kejriwal to successfully carry out this event. Well, ever since May 2014, Nitish has not had a single darbar. Are his darbars only political results dependent? And now Nitish-Kejriwal combo will campaign on “good administration” platform with – Lalu Yadav. LOL.
  • When Nitish Kumar started his Adhikar Yatra in 2012 to request funds from the Center, it was hailed as a game changer by cronies. Alas, this yatra became a platform for people to vent their frustrations against the state government. Why would Biharis shout against you if you were governing well, Mr Kumar? People of Bihar had decided back then that your “governance DNA” was faulty.
  • When Ishrat Jahan was declared a terrorist, Nitish called her “Bihar’s daughter”. So much for muslim appeasement that Nitish began to own terrorists. This would never have happened if his “secular DNA” was not flawed. All this when Nitish himself flagged off LK Advani’s rath yatra in 2011.
  • In order to further boost his secular credentials, Nitish made an all expense paid trip in 2012 to Pakistan too. When India has been trying to get the World to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state, here was Nitish going to Pakistan for personal agenda. What did he achieve by this visit? ZILCH. NULL. CIPHER. One can go ahead and question his “Indian DNA” too.

Nitish Kumar will resort to the usual victimhood game now. He will try to shore up support of Biharis, lying to them that PM Modi has insulted all of Bihar. He will surely get media space, as these are the same people who had once extolled him as the next Prime Minister. Amidst all this, Nitish will soon forget the agenda he set out for his campaign – Bihar’s development. Modi has, for now, successfully diverted Nitish’s mind away from development and hurt his ego. It is for Nitish to prove whether he can do a fine balancing act or trip to failure. Modi may well be saying to himself DND (Do Not Disturb) for now – Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Indian Meteorological Department – What to make of them?

Ullas
-
0
Indian Meteorological Department – What to make of them?

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), which forecasts weather patterns in India, has for long been a liability to the government, as well as to the citizens. For many of us, who still remember the old monopoly days of Doordarshan, where the last five minutes of the daily news was devoted to weather – it was a practical joke that whatever the forecast was – we could be sure of opposite to happen. However, the recent performance of the IMD has been chequered to say the least.

First, let me give the credit where it is due. IMD correctly forecast the cyclone “hudhud” in October 2014, which helped the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha administrations to take adequate precautions. Likewise, IMD also correctly forecast cyclonic storm “nilofer” in the western coast of India, also in October 2014. Also, periodic warnings given to the fishermen community have saved countless lives over the years. Also, IMD has been successfully forecasting the weather patterns for the annual Amarnath Yatras.

However, the credibility of IMD takes a serious hit, when it comes to the forecast of monsoons. We don’t need to emphasize enough that monsoons are critical to India for agriculture and farming. Hence, it becomes even more critical that IMD is held accountable. Let us consider this year – states of Odisha and West Bengal are now suffering flood like situation; where as parts of Karnataka and Maharasthra face drought like situation. Has the IMD been able to predict any of this? If not, what is the whole purpose of having the department. Marathwada region has seen innumerable number of farmer suicides over the years. Has the IMD made any recommendation to the government about declaring this area not suitable for agriculture – so that farmers can look for other avenues for their livelihood? There is no point in farmers waiting for rains, when there is little or no chance of any – if recent history is any indicator. IMD needs a serious dose of professionalism to be held accountable for their work.

In addition, IMD’s performance in the last few years has not been a smooth sail either. As a snapshot, let us take a look at IMD’s monsoon predictions in 2014:

Region

For the Period

Forecast %

Actual Monsoon

Forecast made on

24th Apr 2014

9th June 2014

12th Aug 2014
All India June – September

95 ± 5

93± 4

87 ± 4

88
Northwest India June – September

85 ± 8

76 ± 8

79
Central India June – September

94 ± 8

89 ± 8

90
Northeast India June – September

99 ± 8

93 ± 8

88
Southern Peninsula June – September

93 ± 8

87 ± 8

93

 

We can draw these inferences from the above table:

  • The first forecast made in April 2014 was not met. Hence, farmers were failed by the IMD, in terms of any preparations they could make for the monsoon season
  • This forecast (made in April 2014) was only made at the national level – hence, it is of little use for farmers
  • The second forecast made in June 2014 has also not been very accurate, when you compare with the actual monsoon
  • The third forecast made in Aug 2014 has been fairly accurate only in Northwest and Central India. Whereas, it again missed accuracy in Northeast and South India.I accept that they are within the MoE, but even in the third month of monsoon if the IMD cannot make fairly accurate forecast, it is a sign of mediocrity.
  • Which brings me to the critical point – margin of error (MoE). A MoE of 8% is scandalous for any forecast. It is time for IMD to improve its technology or its statistical models to reduce the MoE. (the IMD uses a term “model error” instead of MoE)

This is an area where the government needs to invest more with the latest technologies and equipments. If not, at least the private players must be encouraged to get into this field to bring innovation. It is encouraging to see the emergence of skymetweather.com as another serious player. However, having a small sample of few years must not convince us that they are better than IMD.

IMD’s performance on weather monitoring and forecasts aside, its ability to detect early warnings of earthquakes is a big let-down. We can all agree that globally there has been little success in accurately predicting the earthquakes. However, based on reports, IMD is incapable of accurately measuring the “scale and characteristics of an earthquake” after the event. This is the reason why we heard vague statements by IMD officials after the recent Nepal earthquake about “multiple aftershocks possible” – without giving the scale or magnitude of these aftershocks.

This brings us to the point of organizational mess in IMD. IMD, as an organization, is part of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. At the same time, a department in IMD, the “Environmental Meteorology Unit” is part of Ministry of Environment and Forests. IMD also gives crucial support in giving meteorological information to the civil aviation sector. To facilitate this task, they need to work with Ministry of Civil Aviation. There is another department providing service of “positional astronomy”. If you are wondering what this is, do not worry, you have company. Among other tasks, this department publishes “Rashtriya Panchang” in 14 languages in India. Now, why any government needs to be involved in the business of publishing panchangs is beyond me. We can appreciate working in a matrix structure, reporting to various ministries – but in government institutions, this usually means more bureaucracy and more problems.

PS: The skeptic me also doesn’t rule out political interference in 2014. With impending elections, IMD may have forced to predict normal monsoon. But this will remain a wild guess, till we have solid evidence to back it up.

Source: Most of the information in this report is available on- www.imd.gov.in

Here are your three enemies who don’t want you to watch porn online

Editorial Desk
-
0
Here are your three enemies who don’t want you to watch porn online

In the last 3 days, citizens of this country are facing issues accessing known websites hosting pornographic content. This obviously has led to a huge outrage as people see it as an attack on individual and private liberty. According to reports, the Department of Telecommunications has asked various ISPs to block 857 websites that host pornographic content.

This is a silly thing from a government that recently launched ‘Digital India’ mission. We are not saying Digital India means an India where porn is the first thing people watch on the net, but this sends out a signal that the Indian establishment doesn’t understand how internet works. People can still access porn through proxy servers or through torrent downloads. But officially, the government has blocked porn. And this makes the government look silly.

So what led to this silliness?

Looking at the chain of events that led to this “porn ban”, we can tell you that there are three major enemies of your porn:

The first enemy is: The Moral Police:

You might conjure up images of a man wearing a saffron robe and holding a trishul who just can’t tolerate you having fun. Everyone remembers them slapping people randomly on Valentine’s Day. But they are still to attack an engineering college hostel per se and break computers having the “stuff” at D:\Course Materials\Economics\Third Semester\Macro\Data\mfhm.mpeg

The effective moral police in this particular case are some activists and lawyers like Vijay Panjwani and Kamlesh Vaswani who have filed a PIL in the Supreme Court asking for ban on pornographic websites. In the petition filed in April 2013, they had referred to the December 2012 Delhi gangrape incident that was still fresh in the memories of most Indians. The petition linked crimes against women with watching pornography, claiming that the rapists had watched porn before committing the crime.

The petition also spoke about “revenge porn” and an affidavit by a woman whose estranged husband has posted videos of the couple’s sexual acts on various websites, was submitted.

We are not going into the merits of the arguments, but this PIL led the court to issue notices to the government on what they were doing to tackle this “menace”.

The government expressed helplessness in banning porn in August last year saying, “There are around four crore websites and when we block one, a new one comes along.” To circumvent this problem, the court asked the PIL filers, on behalf of the government, to submit a list of sites which needed to be banned. This is when the list of 857 sites was generated and submitted to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court also appears to have asked government to act tough when the government had expressed helplessness (assuming the August 29 2014 tweet by Mr. Panjwani’s to be factual). In July 2015, the Supreme Court gave the Government 4 weeks to act on this problem. This stance was taken even while the Chief Justice had said that an adult can’t be stopped from watching porn in his room.

The moral police seems to have confused everyone over the issue.

The second enemy is: The Clueless Government:

However, the moral police alone can’t take away your freedom if the government values it. In this case, the government has been found lacking the will and competence to deal with the issue.

The first notice by the Supreme Court to the Government of India on this issue, was issued during the Manmohan Singh government. The then IT Minister, Kapil Sibal, who was targeted a lot by netizens for his 66A fiasco, played it safe and didn’t goof up here. In essence, he played the waiting game.

Sibal would have recalled the outrage that had erupted after UPA government had banned the toon porn website savitabhabhi.com. He couldn’t have afforded another outrage amidst all the hate he was getting for the IT law. Perhaps this is one thing the Narendra Modi government should have also learnt. Although the government can’t ignore court orders, it can definitely play the “safe game”.

It did play safe in August last year when the government claimed that it was virtually impossible to block porn on the internet. The Chief Justice’s comment on private liberty was another reason why the government could have stuck to the position of impossibility of blocking porn.

However, for reasons known best to this government, they went ahead and gave ISPs a list of 857 websites to be blocked. What changed in the meantime?

While there is no official reaction or communication yet, which is again tragic given that this government claims to be online savvy, some BJP members have tried to argue that it is about “child pornography” only. If so, this is terribly incompetent block as most of those websites did not host child pornography. Child pornography is banned virtually everywhere, and even companies like Google actively take actions against any such incident. The government is just being silly here. This is not how you tackle child pornography.

The third enemy, and the most powerful one, is: The Archaic Laws:

Enough has been written on how badly drafted and conceived is the Information Technology Act, 2000. While the section 66A received enough attention of the citizens and the judiciary, that’s not the only thing that is wrong with it.

There is 69A, which is draconian and gives power to the government to block any website without giving them a right to hearing before the block is implemented. And there is section 67, which criminalizes “publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form”. Thanks to these two sections of the IT law, the government has all the rights to block any pornographic website without any court order.

We had pointed out problem with these sections in an article earlier published on OpIndia.com. This case should bring back the focus on IT law, because 66A was not the only problem with it.

However, the tragic part is, even without the IT law, your favorite porn website can be blocked in India. If you remember, 66A was argued to be in contradiction with “reasonable restrictions” imposed by the constitution. However, the section 67 of the IT act appears totally in accordance with the existing “offline” laws.

If the IT law is gone, Section 292 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) can be used to block websites. This section criminalizes distribution, public exhibition, and circulation of pornographic material. And a porn website does exactly that.

In fact, Section 292.2.d of the IPC criminalizes an act that “makes known by any means whatsoever” about a person distributing or circulating a pornographic material. If this action is to be interpreted in the virtual world, an act of saying “RedTube is a pornographic website” itself can attract punishment!

We should thank our stars that those who drafted the IT law did not make the above interpretation, else most of us would have been in jails.

In September last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that one of his mission was to get rid of many archaic laws in this country. It is time to walk the talk.

1...6,9256,9266,927...6,963Page 6,926 of 6,963

Contact: [email protected]

About us

News and opinion website that brings you reports and narrative from a perspective often ignored or suppressed by the mainstream media of India.

Follow us

© OpIndia.com