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GS Paper: GS2

  • Electoral reform is welcome, but shouldn’t be selective

    Context

    The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill that seeks to link the electoral rolls with the Aadhaar database has been passed by both the Houses of the parliament.

    Three electoral reforms

    • A wide range of electoral reform proposals has been pending with the government, several of them for over two decades.
    • The three reforms — common electoral rolls for Vidhan Sabha and panchayat elections, extending the qualifying date for registration of young new voters, and linking of Aadhaar with electoral rolls — taken up by the Union Cabinet on December 15 are, therefore, significant.

    [1] Common electoral rolls

    • For years, the ECI has been advocating a common electoral roll for all elections.
    • Currently, separate electoral rolls are maintained for elections to the Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and local government bodies (panchayats or municipal).
    • Role of ECI and SECs: There are two types of election management bodies in the country — the ECI that conducts the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections and SECs that conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
    • The process for making electoral rolls is laid down in the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
    • The SECs have the option of either adopting the electoral rolls created by the ECI or preparing such rolls on their own.
    • Most prefer to use the rolls prepared by the ECI.
    • Some states, however, develop their rolls independently.
    • These are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
    • Considering that a voter for all three tiers of elected bodies is the same, why is it that she finds her name missing from one of the rolls, mostly the panchayat rolls?
    • This is particularly surprising when the officials responsible for making both these rolls are the same.
    • A common electoral roll is thus a logical solution. 

    Benefits of common electoral rolls

    • Tackling stuffing voters: A common experience has been the stuffing of bogus voters in the panchayat/municipal rolls.
    • Corrupt practices are proportionately higher in PRI polls.
    • Avoid the involvement of teachers in the non-teaching work: The process of making electoral rolls is usually done by the schoolteachers.
    • Their involvement in non-teaching work takes its toll.
    • Cost-saving: A common electoral roll will obviate the need for deploying them repeatedly, besides saving enormous costs.

    Suggestions for preparation of common electoral rolls

    • Issue joint instructions: The ECI and SECs can issue joint instructions for preparing the common rolls. The roll-making machinery stays the same.
    • Pilot studies may be conducted in random constituencies to identify the discrepancies between two sets of rolls and their reasons.

    What are the constitutional and legal changes required?

    • Amendment in Article 243K and 243ZA: The SECs derive their powers to supervise local body elections from Articles 243K and 243ZA of the Constitution.
    • Changes in State laws: All state governments would have to change their electoral laws to adopt ECI electoral rolls for local elections.

    [2] Eligibility date of new voters

    • According to Section 14(b) of the Representation of People Act of 1950, only those who have turned 18 on or before January 1 of the year are to be registered.
    • This implies that all those who turn 18 between January 2 and December 31 of a year must wait till the next year.
    • This technicality results in the exclusion of a large section of 18-year-olds.

    Suggestion by ECI on eligibility date

    • The ECI had sent a letter to the Law Ministry on November 4, 2013, which recommended the issuing of a voter card to an individual ideally on their 18th birthday, or updating voter rolls every month or quarter.
    • A committee of the Ministry of Law and Justice under Sushil Kumar Modi has proposed quarterly cut-off dates for voter registration — January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1.

    [3] Aadhar linking

    • The proposal to link electoral rolls with Aadhaar was first mooted by the ECI in 2015 but work on it had to be stopped when the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar cannot be used except voluntarily for beneficiary-oriented schemes.
    • Benefits of linking: The linking will help in identifying duplicate voters, something that ECI has been desperately attempting for years using various “de-duplication” software with limited success.

    Consider the question “What are the concerns with linking of Aadhar and electoral rolls? Suggest the way forward.”

    Conclusion

    Any progress in addressing the vexed issue of electoral reform — even in a piecemeal manner — is welcome. The time has, however, come for the government to consider the 40-plus pending proposals, instead of selectively going for some reforms.

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  • In electoral reform bill’s passing, a missed opportunity

    Context

    The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed in the Lok Sabha recently. It seeks to link electoral rolls with the Aadhaar ecosystem.

    What are the concerns with linking of Aadhar with electoral roll?

    [1] Aadhar is not proof of citizenship

    • Aadhaar is not meant to be a citizenship proof but only a digital identity for all residents.
    • Residence of 182 days can make even a non-citizen eligible for an Aadhaar ID.

    [2] Aadhar is not address proof

    • According to public statements by several government functionaries, Aadhaar was only meant to be identity proof but not address proof.
    • Electoral roll is based on Aadhar: In contrast, the RER clearly stipulates address to be a key index for electoral rolls.
    • Different enrollment process: Moreover, the enrolment processes for voters’ lists and Aadhaar are completely different.
    • Whereas Aadhaar enrolment is based on production of existing documents and the “introducer system”, voter enrolments involve physical verification and “house visits” by a registration officer or representative.

    [3] No audit report on the efficacy of Aadhaar deduplication or on the authenticity of the Aadhaar database

    • Even the Supreme Court accepted the Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) claims on the integrity of the Aadhaar database at face value without any scrutiny.
    • Risk of exclusion error: Using Aadhaar to clean the electoral rolls involved the risk of disenfranchisement, especially of the marginalised communities.
    • It is to be noted that there is ample publicly documented evidence of large-scale exclusion in PDS and welfare disbursal due to Aadhaar.

    [4] Conflict of interest

    • UIDAI is under government control: Maintenance of the voters’ lists is a primary responsibility of the ECI, which is an independent constitutional body, whereas Aadhaar is a government instrument and UIDAI is under government control.
    • Since the ECI has no control on either enrolment or deduplication in Aadhaar, it appears inappropriate — and a potential conflict of interest — to use Aadhaar for electoral rolls.
    • In particular, since Aadhaar is directly used for disbursal of welfare and direct benefit transfers, linking it with voter ID may provide a direct method for the government to influence and manipulate voters.

    [5] Risk of profiling and targeting of voters

    • Aadhaar is a ubiquitous ID that is used in a variety of applications.
    • Linking it with the voter ID will open up avenues for profiling and targeting of voters.
    • No audit for purpose limitation: This is of particular concern because neither the UIDAI nor the ECI have publicly audited architectures for purpose limitation and protection against insider attacks.
    • While profiling using public data is not illegal according to current laws, both the electorate and Parliament need to clearly understand the risks of such profiling.
    • It is far easier to win elections through digital analysis of electoral rolls than through attacking the electronic voting process, especially when election results are available at booth-level granularity
    • Both privacy and integrity of the electoral rolls are of paramount importance in the digital age, and the clear tension between the two makes the problem challenging.

    Way forward

    • Use of cryptography: The RER of 1960 clearly opted for transparency as a means to the integrity of the electoral rolls, thereby ensuring that all additions and deletions can be publicly audited.
    • However, with the possibility of digital processing of electoral data, the risks associated with such complete transparency have increased manifold.
    • Yet, there are several modern techniques from cryptography and computer science that may help mitigate the risks by enabling both privacy and public auditability.

    Consider the question “The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 enable the linking of electoral rolls with the Aadhaar ecosystem. What are the objectives of such linking and concerns raised against it?”

    Conclusion

    An electoral reforms bill at the onset of 2022 needed to explore and address these issues head-on.

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  • Impact of Reorganisation Act on Ladakh’s autonomy

    Context

    The article deal with the impact of the passage of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019 on Ladakh’s autonomy or participatory democracy.

    What has changed?

    • Hill Councils: The Autonomous Hill Development Councils of Leh and Kargil read along with the framework of J&K’s special status and its bicameral legislative system gave Ladakh autonomy and participatory democracy.
    • The Hill Councils had the powers over land in Ladakh while the majority of the bigger concerns regarding land remained protected under Article 370 and J&K’s robust land protection laws.
    • Power to recruit the officers: Gazetted officers were recruited through the State Public Service Commission.
    • The District Service Selection Board made recruitments at the district level.
    • But today, there is no Public Service Commission in Ladakh and the Hill Councils’ power to make recruitments at the district level has also been affected by the Lieutenant Governor (LG)’s presence.
    • No law to protect the jobs: Technically, there also exists no law in Ladakh now that protects the land or even the jobs.
    • Loss of representation: the Reorganisation Act has taken away the six seats of the Members of Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council and wakened the functioning of the Hill Councils.
    • The only elected representation from Ladakh outside of Ladakh is a lone MP.

    Conclusion

    Steps need to be taken to address the issues related to the lack of representation in Ladakh in the wake of the passage of the Reorganisation Act of 2019.

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  • India is keeping an eye on Central Asia

    Context

    The government is inviting the leaders of the five Central Asian countries — Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — as guests for Republic Day on January 26.

    Significance of Central Asian region for India

    • Return of Taliban in Afghanistan: The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has made Central Asia a region where great contestations for influence are unfolding.
    • There is a growing awareness that for leveraging influence in Kabul and harvesting that influence in the form of material gains, a firm footing in Central Asia is a prerequisite.
    • Economic dimension: Given the vast untapped mineral wealth of the region encompassing the five Central Asian countries and Afghanistan — estimated to be worth a few trillion dollars — there is a significant economic dimension to the unfolding saga.
    • Geopolitical angle: Washington hopes to create in Central Asia a vector of its Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China and Russia. At the same time, governments in Moscow and Beijing are circling the wagons.

    Suggestions for India

    • India needs to work on an intricate network of relationships with the regional states while remaining mindful of the “big picture”.
    • Delhi’s non-aligned mindset needs to be turned into a strategic asset to navigate its long-term interests.
    • India’s membership of the BRICS and SCO will help.
    • Cooperation of  Russia and China: The deepening of the traditional Indo-Russian mutual understanding has injected dynamism into Delhi’s regional strategy on the whole.
    •  It is bound to have a calming effect on India’s tensions with China.
    • Delhi cannot have an effective Central Asia strategy without the cooperation of these two big powers.
    • Regional connectivity: India can use the card of regional connectivity to stimulate partnerships.
    • The time may have come to reopen the files on the TAPI and IPI gas pipeline projects. Both involve Pakistan.
    • Normalisation of India-Russia ties: Russia is well-placed to act as guarantor and help build both these pipelines, while China too will see advantages in the normalisation of India-Pakistan ties.

    New geoeconomic partnership

    • Recently concluded third meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue in Delhi served a purpose to sensitise the Central Asian interlocutors that it attaches primacy to geoeconomics.
    • But India will have a challenge on its hands to flesh out the “4Cs” concept that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar presented at the event — commerce, capacity enhancement, connectivity, and contact being the four pillars of a new geoeconomic partnership.
    • The key areas are transit and transport, logistics network, regional and international transport corridors, free trade agreements, manufacturing industry and job creation.
    • They ought to be front-loaded into India’s Central Asian strategy.
    • Certainly, the EAEU integration processes must be speeded up.

    Consider the question “With changing geopolitical scenario, India’s stake in Central Asia has drastically increased. In the context of this, examine India’s outreach efforts toward the region and the challenges it faces in it.”

    Conclusion

    A host of new possibilities open up if India’s initiative on Central Asia runs on a parallel track with an improvement in relations with China.

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  • Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission

    The J&K Delimitation Commission has proposed to increase six seats for the Jammu division and one for the Kashmir division evoking sharp reactions from the regional parties.

    What is Delimitation and why is it needed?

    • Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
    • This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
    • The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
    • Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in a change in the number of seats in a state.

    Delimitation in J&K

    • Assembly seats in J&K were delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995.
    • Prior to August 5, 2019, carving out of J&K’s Assembly seats was carried out under the J&K Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • Until then, the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India.
    • However, the delimitation of the state’s Assembly was governed by the J&K Constitution and J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • There was no census in the state in 1991 and hence no Delimitation Commission was set up by the state until 2001 census.

    Why is it in the news again?

    • After the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the newly-created UT would be as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
    • On March 6, 2020, the government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was tasked with winding up delimitation in J&K in a year.
    • As per the J&K Reorganization Bill, the number of Assembly seats in J&K would increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to benefit the Jammu region.

    Factors considered during Delimitation

    • The number of districts had increased from 12 to 20 and tehsils from 52 to 207 since the last delimitation.
    • The population density ranged from 29 persons a square km in Kishtwar to 3,436 persons a square km in Srinagar.
    • The remoteness of the place, inaccessibility etc are also considered during the exercise.

    What’s new?

    Ans. Reserved constituencies for SC/STs

    • For the first time, in Jammu and Kashmir, nine seats are proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Tribes out of 90 seats on the basis of population.
    • Seven seats are proposed for Scheduled Castes.

    Concerns raised over Delimitation

    • Jammu vs. Kashmir: Concerns had been expressed over how the delimitation process may end up favoring the Jammu region over Kashmir in terms of the seats.
    • Under-representation of Ladakh: Arguments have been made on how Ladakh has been underrepresented, with demands for statehood/sixth schedule.
    • Non-proportionate reservations: It is argued that seats for STs should’ve been divided in both Jammu province & Kashmir province, as the ST population is almost equal.

    Do not forget to answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.With reference to the Delimitation Commission, consider the following statements:

    1. The orders of the Delimitation Commission cannot be challenged in a Court of Law.
    2. When the orders of the Delimitation Commission are laid before the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, they cannot affect any modifications in the orders.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”lg8gq2hy2d” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here:[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Govt. disagrees with India’s rank in World Press Freedom Index

    The Centre has shown its disagreement with the conclusions drawn by Reporters Without Borders about press freedom in India for various reasons.

    World Press Freedom Index

    • The PFI is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002.
    • It is based upon the organization’s own assessment of the countries’ press freedom records in the previous year.
    • It intends to reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organizations, and netizens have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom.
    • It is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general.

    India’s ranking

    • India is ranked at 142 out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index 2021.
    • In the South Asian neighborhood, Nepal is at 106, Sri Lanka at 127, Myanmar (before the coup) at 140, Pakistan at 145 and Bangladesh at 152.
    • China is ranked 177, and is only above North Korea at 179 and Turkmenistan at 178.

    What the report said about India

    • Targeting women: It has been highlighted that the “campaigns are particularly violent when the targets are women”.
    • Criminal prosecutions: Often used to gag journalists critical of the authorities.
    • Draconian laws: It termed various Indian laws such as – laws on ‘sedition,’ ‘state secrets’ and ‘national security’, draconian.
    • Curb on freedom of expression: The report has also highlighted the throttling of freedom of expression on social media.
    • Censorship on social media: It specifically mentioned that in India the “arbitrary nature of Twitter’s algorithms also resulted in brutal censorship”

    Reservations held by India

    • India along with many nations has reportedly disgusted the outcomes of this report. It stated that media in India enjoy absolute freedom.
    • The government does not subscribe to its views and country rankings and does not agree to the conclusions drawn by this organization for various reasons:
    1. Non-transparent methodology
    2. Very low sample size
    3. Little or no weightage to fundamentals of democracy
    4. Adoption of a methodology that is questionable and non-transparent
    5. Lack of clear definition of press freedom, among others

    Why is the report biased?

    • The report is a subjective measure computed through the prism of western liberals.
    • It tends to default to a homogenous view of mass media which then facilitates comparison between countries.
    • There are no questions about media ownership or about their economic concentration in private hands.

     

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  • Phrase ‘Anti-national’ not defined in statutes: MHA

    The phrase ‘anti-national’ has not been defined in statutes, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has informed the Parliament.

    Defining Anti-national Activities

    (1) Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act  

    • The UAPA is aimed at the prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
    • Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India.

    (2) Sedition Law

    • Section 124A IPC deals with attempts to bring into hatred or contempt or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India.
    • This law was enacted by the British colonial government in 1870 with the sole object of suppressing all voices of Indians critical of the government.

     (3) NCRB Reports

    • In 2019, when the National Crime Records Bureau released the annual Crime in India report for year 2017, it included for the first time a new chapter on “Crime Committed by Anti National Elements.”
    • The chapter listed – “North East insurgents, Left Wing Extremists and Terrorists (including Jihadi terrorists)” as the three anti-national elements.

    Attempts for defining

    • There are criminal legislations and various judicial pronouncements deal with unlawful and subversive activities which are detrimental to the unity and integrity of the country.
    • In this regard, it is relevant to mention that the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 inserted in the Constitution Article 31D (during Emergency) which defined “anti-national activity”.
    • This Article 31D was, later, omitted by the 43rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1977.

    Supreme Court guidelines

    • In the ultimate analysis, the judgment in Kedar Nath (1962) read down Section 124A and held that without incitement to violence or rebellion there is no sedition.
    • It says that ‘only when the words written or spoken etc. which have the pernicious tendency or intention of creating public disorder the law steps in.

    Who maintains the data of such individuals?

    • The onus of maintenance of such data lies with the respective states.
    • ‘Public Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
    • Hence the data about the number of people arrested for indulging in anti-national activities are not maintained centrally.

     

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  • Why the Russia-West equation matters to India

    Context

    Thirty years ago this week, the Soviet Union collapsed — after seven decades of an expansive global role. Few countries have been as significant as Russia for modern India’s evolution.

    Impact of Russian geopolitics on India’s worldviews

    • Russia’s relations with the West have always had consequences for India’s international relations.
    • India’s fear of a unipolar world dominated by the US: After the collapse of the USSR in December 1991, the loss of the long-standing Soviet ally left Delhi in fears of a unipolar world dominated by the US.
    • These anxieties were accentuated by post-Soviet Russia’s quick embrace of the US and the West.
    • However, by the turn of the millennium, relations between Russia and the West had begun to sour.
    • That drew India once again closer to Russia.
    • Russia’s growing closeness to China: Moscow also roped in Beijing to build a new coalition — the RIC — to promote a multipolar world that would limit the dangers of American hyperpower.
    • Improvement in India-US relations: India’s fears of the unipolar moment turned out to be overblown and Delhi’s ties with Washington began to see rapid improvement since 2000.
    • The upswing in India’s ties with America, however, coincided with a steady downturn in the relations between Russia and the US.

    Tension between Russia and the West

    • The continuous escalation of tensions between Russia and the West culminated in the last few weeks in Ukraine — at the heart of Europe.
    • Moscow’s military mobilisation on the frontier with Ukraine — that was part of the Soviet Union until 1991 — raised alarm bells of a new war between the forces of Russia and the US-led European military alliance, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
    • Last week, Russia presented several proposals for a new European security architecture.
    • Moscow is calling for an end to NATO’s further eastward expansion.
    • Moscow also wants NATO to rescind its earlier promise to make Ukraine and Georgia — two former Soviet Republics — members of the military alliance.

    Major compromises between US and Russia

    • The resolution of US-Russian differences, however, involves some major compromises.
    • Russia aware of the over reliance on China: While Russia has demonstrated that its interests can’t be simply ignored by the West, it also recognises the costs of a prolonged confrontation with the US and Europe and the dangers of relying solely on China to secure its geopolitical interests.
    • Russia seeking accommodation with US and Europe: While Moscow is unlikely to abandon the partnership with China, there is no doubt that an accommodation with America and Europe is a high priority for Russia.
    • US to focus on China challenge: The US, which is now focused on the China challenge, appears interested in easing the conflict with Russia.
    • Despite its extraordinary military resources, Washington can’t afford to fight in both Asia (with China) and Europe (with Russia).

    Implications for India

    • Role of ideological sentiment: While coping with the complex dynamic of Russia’s relations with the West has been an enduring element of independent India’s foreign policy, Delhi’s thinking on Russia has too often been coloured by ideological sentiment.
    • In Delhi, the tendency is to over-determine Russia’s contradictions with the West.
    • It is not Russia’s national destiny to forever confront the West.
    • Russia’s current problems with the West are not about ideological principles.
    • It is about the terms of an honourable accommodation.
    • Prior to the 1917 revolution, Russia was a leading part of the European great power system.
    • Delhi can’t influence the new effort to build a mutually acceptable security order in Europe, but it can welcome and support it.
    • Role of Asian geopolitics: That the pressure for this attempted reset in Russia’s relations with the West is coming from Asian geopolitics is of some significance.
    • A reconciliation between Russia and the West will make it a lot easier for India to manage its own security challenges.

    Conclusion

    Delhi knows that stabilising the Asian balance of power will be difficult without a measure of US-Russian cooperation in Europe. If Moscow — at odds with the West in the last two decades — deepens its current close alignment with Beijing, it will be a lot harder to prevent Chinese dominance over Asia.

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  • Raising marriage age won’t lead to women’s empowerment

    Context

    The announcement of a cabinet decision to raise the age at marriage for women from 18 to 21 years marks the fruition of a plan that was first revealed almost two years ago when a Task Force was set up for the purpose.

    Why the age of marriage of women matters

    • Age of marriage has bearing on maternal mortality rates, fertility levels, nutrition of mother and child, sex ratios, and, on a different register, education and employment opportunities for women.
    • It is also argued that other factors — such as poverty and health services — were far more effective as levers for improving women’s and children’s health and nutritional status.

    Issues with the decision

    [1] Role of poverty neglected

    •  If women who marry at higher ages seem to have better health and nutrition indicators, this is not caused by their marrying later than others — it is because women from better-off groups tend to marry at higher ages.
    • Conversely, the health indicators of poorer women do not change just because they marry at a higher age.
    • An illustration of this truth is found in the National Family Health Survey (IV) data, which show that levels of anaemia — which is the highest cause of maternal mortality in India and one of our worst statistics — show no change even at ages of marriage up to 25 years, once we control for other factors.
    • World Bank study finds no impact on women: Population control was at the heart of the 1978 amendment to the Sarda Act of 1929.
    • Moreover, reducing fertility rates globally by banning marriage before the age of 18 years is very much on the agenda of international agencies to this very day.
    • A major multi-country study undertaken by the World Bank in 2017 estimated that “savings” of no less than $5 trillion would accrue if marriage before the age of 18 was eliminated.
    • But such savings would be mostly due to reductions in fertility and consequent reductions in public health investments due to fewer births.
    • The same study saw no significant gains from raised age of marriage for women’s decision making, for lowering the levels of violence they face, or helping them find employment.
    • Restriction on the right of an adult woman: Globally, the age of 18 is widely regarded as the age of adulthood.
    • It is also viewed as an upper limit in terms of the physical and reproductive maturity of women, as well as the age of majority by child rights conventions to which India is a signatory.
    • Thus, the proposed move will restrict the rights of already adult women, an issue for legal experts to debate.
    • Law is meant to set minimum age not the right age: Equally important is the crucial slippage in the arguments made on behalf of the government from the minimum age at marriage to the right age at marriage.
    • The minimum age is obviously a floor, not a standard or desirable norm.
    • Laws are meant to set minimum levels, a threshold for triggering legal or penal action, because of the harm that may be done.

    Way forward: Address issues that drive empowerment

    • Going by the NFHS 4 data (2015-16), more than half — 56 per cent — of women in the age group 20-24 years marry before the age of 21 years.
    • The problem is that the real reasons that drive empowerment are not being addressed, at least not adequately.
    • Educational attainments have improved enormously in recent years.
    • But the shocking fact (evident in all major data sets) is that decline in early marriages has been accompanied by a fall in women’s employment rates, that persisted even during the 1990s boom.
    • Paradoxical outcomes: The proportion of women not in paid work increases at higher ages of marriage!
    • Complex paradoxes like these are the hallmark of our society.
    • They cannot be addressed by a legal fix, particularly one that will be very hard to implement.

    Consider the question “How the age of marriage of women is connected with the issue of women empowerment? What are the concerns with increasing it to 21 years? Suggest the way forward.“

    Conclusion

    Instead of criminalising our youth, the government must take concrete steps to really empower women. If they are truly in charge of their own lives — through affordable education, meaningful and decent employment opportunities — they will be able to make better decisions about whether, when and whom to marry.

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  • India- Sri Lanka Fisherman Issue

    The Sri Lankan Navy has seized eight Indian fishing vessels and arrested 55 fishermen on the charge of poaching.

    What is the issue?

    • As in the past, fishermen from Rameswaram and nearby coasts continue to sail towards Talaimannar and Katchatheevu coasts, a region famous for rich maritime resources in Sri Lanka.
    • Indian boats have been fishing in the troubled waters for centuries and had a free run of the Bay of Bengal, the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar until 1974 and 1976.
    • Treaties were later signed between the two countries to demarcate the maritime boundary — the ‘International Maritime Boundary Line'(IMBL).

    Issues for Sri Lanka

    • Proliferation of Trawlers: The overuse of mechanized trawlers in Palk Bay is damaging the marine ecosystem in SL waters.
    • Breach of sovereignty: There were many favorable reasons too for Indian fishermen as their access to Sri Lankan waters was easier at the time of Sri Lankan civil war.
    • Porous borders: Maritime boundaries were never tightly guarded as a result, Indian trawlers continue to routinely enter Lankan waters for fishing.
    • End of Civil War: Everything changed in 2009 with the end of civil war. Arrests and attacks increased on Indian fishermen as they continued entering Lankan waters because of depletion of marine resources on the Indian side.

    Fishermen’s concern:

    (1) Depletion of fisheries

    • There is a depletion of fisheries on the Indian side, so Indian fishermen cross into Sri Lankan waters thus denying the livelihood of their counterparts.
    • They deliberately cross the territorial waters even at the risk of getting arrested or shot dead by the Sri Lankan Navy.
    • Sri Lankan fishermen across Palk Bay are concerned over similar depletion on their side (where there is a ban for trawlers) because of poaching by Indian fishermen.

     (2) Rights over Katchatheevu Island

    • Tamil fishermen have been entering Sri Lankan waters nearby Katchatheevu island, where they had been fishing for centuries.
    • In 1974, the island was ceded to Sri Lanka after an agreement was signed by Indira Gandhi between the two countries without consulting the Tamil Nadu government.
    • The agreement allows Indian fishermen “access to Katchatheevu for rest, for drying of nests and for the annual St Anthony’s festival” but it did not ensure the traditional fishing rights.

    (3) Hefty fines

    • After some respite in the last couple of years, Sri Lanka introduced tougher laws banning bottom-trawling and put heavy fines for trespassing foreign vessels.
    • SL has increased the fine on Indian vessels found fishing in Sri Lankan waters to a minimum of LKR 6 million (about ₹25 lakh) and a maximum of LKR 175 million (about ₹17.5 Crore).
    • Quiet often, the fishermen are shot dead by SL marines.

    Fishermen issue in TN politics

    • It has been often a sensitive political issue in Tamil Nadu in the past one decade.
    • In a defiant speech in 1991, late CM Jayalalitha had called on the people of Tamil Nadu to retrieve the Katchatheevu Island.

    Way forward

    • Leasing: Two courses of action exist: (1) get back the island of Katchatheevu on “lease in perpetuity” or (2) permit licensed Indian fishermen to fish within a designated area of Sri Lankan waters and vice versa.
    • Licensing: The second course of action would persuade Colombo to permit licensed Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters for five nautical miles from the IMBL.
    • Reconsidering old agreements: The 2003 proposal for licensed fishing can be revisited.
    • Looping in fishermen themselves: Arranging frequent meetings between fishing communities of both countries could be systematized so as to develop a friendlier atmosphere mid-seas during fishing.

    Conclusion

    • The underlying issues of the fisheries dispute need to be addressed so that bilateral relations do not reach a crisis point.
    • Immediate actions should be taken to begin the phase-out of trawling and identify other fishing practices.

     

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