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GS Paper: GS2

  • Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal Project

    Opposing the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal project and staking claim to Yamuna’s waters, Punjab CM warned about the repercussions. Here is a look at the decades-old issue and why it has come up again now.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched? (CSP 2017)

    Dam/Lake River

    (a) Govind Sagar: Satluj

    (b) Kolleru Lake: Krishna

    (c) Ukai Reservoir: Tapi

    (d) Wular Lake: Jhelum

    What is the SYL canal issue?

    • At the time of reorganization of Punjab in 1966, the issue of sharing of river waters between both the states emerged.
    • Punjab refused to share waters of Ravi and Beas with Haryana stating it was against the riparian principle.
    • Before the reorganization, in 1955, out of 15.85 MAF of Ravi and Beas, the Centre had allocated 8 MAF to Rajasthan, 7.20 MAF to undivided Punjab, 0.65MAF to Jammu and Kashmir.
    • Out of 7.20 MAF allocated, Punjab did not want to share any water with Haryana.
    • In March 1976, when the Punjab Reorganization Act was implemented, the Centre notified fresh allocations, providing 3.5 MAF To Haryana.

    Inception of the canal project

    • Later, in 1981, the water flowing down Beas and Ravi was revised and pegged at 17.17 MAF, out of which 4.22 MAF was allocated to Punjab, 3.5 MAF to Haryana, and 8.6 MAF to Rajasthan.
    • Finally, to provide this allocated share of water to southern parts of Haryana, a canal linking the Sutlej with the Yamuna, cutting across the state, was planned.
    • Finally, the construction of 214-km SYL was started in April 1982, 122 km of which was to run through Punjab and the rest through Haryana.
    • Haryana has completed its side of the canal, but work in Punjab has been hanging fire for over three decades.

    Why has the SYL canal come up again now?

    • The issue is back on centre stage after the Supreme Court directed the CMs of Punjab and Haryana to negotiate and settle the SYL canal issue.
    • The apex court asked for a meeting at the highest political level to be mediated by the Centre so that the states reach a consensus over the completion of the SYL canal.
    • The meeting remained inconclusive with the Centre expressing the view that the construction of the SYL canal should be completed. But Punjab CM refused categorically.

    Punjab’s resentment with the project

    • The dispute is based on the bloody history around the SYL canal. The trouble-torn days of terrorism in Punjab started in the early 1980s when work on the SYL started.
    • Punjab feels it utilized its precious groundwater resources to grow the crop for the entire country and should not be forced to share its waters as it faces desertification.
    • It is feared that once the construction of the canal restarts, the youth may start feeling that the state has been discriminated against.
    • The Punjab CM fears Pakistan and secessionist organisations could exploit this and foment trouble in the state.

    Water crisis in Punjab

    • Punjab is facing severe water crisis due to over-exploitation of its underground aquifers for the wheat/paddy monocycle.
    • According to the Central Underground Water Authority’s report, its underground water is over-exploited to meet the agriculture requirements in about 79 per cent area of the state.
    • Out of 138 blocks, 109 are “over-exploited”, two are “critical” five are “semi-critical” and only 22 blocks are in “safe” category.

    Punjab expects a new tribunal

    • The state wants a tribunal seeking a fresh time-bound assessment of the water availability.
    • The state has been saying that till date there has been no adjudication or scientific assessment of Punjab river waters.

  • Namath Basai Programme

    Namath Basai, the State government’s unique programme of teaching tribal children in their mother tongue, has become a runaway hit in Kerala’s tribal districts.

    Try this MCQ:

    Q. The Namath Basai Programme recently seen in news is related to:

    Tribal Education/ Women SHGs/ Forest Produce/ Tribal Health

    Namath Basai Programme

    • The NBP is implemented by the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK).
    • It has succeeded in retaining hundreds of tribal children in their online classes by making them feel at home with the language of instruction.
    • The SSK has distributed some 50 laptops exclusively for Namath Basai. Pre-recorded classes are offered through a YouTube channel.

  • Right to possession to women and issues

    The Supreme Court in its latest judgement clarified that women’s right to their parents’ property is their birthright and clarified the air of confusion surrounding the issue due to previous judgements.

    What was said in the judgement

    • The judgement highlighted the patriarchal practices of the Mitakshra School of Hindu law — the guiding force of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.
    • It settled the confusion created by two of its own antagonistic judgments.
    • In Prakash vs Phulawati (2016), it had ruled that the amendments to the Hindu Succession Act (2005) applied only to women whose parents were alive on September 9, 2005, the date of the notification of the act.
    • In Danamma @ Suman Surpur vs Amar (2018) cases, it inferred that coparcenary rights were birthrights.
    • The Supreme Court has now set forth the idea that coparcenary rights are birthrights free from limitations imposed by the dates of any legal notifications.

    Issues that need to be addressed

    1) Stree dhan issue

    • Section 14 (1) of the Hindu Succession Act 1956 provides that women can acquire property as a full owner, and it can be carried over or retained post marriage as stree dhan.
    • There are cases where the movable property may have been given to a daughter by her father as an intentionally undeclared and informal settlement between his descendants.
    • At the same time, it is quite true that stree dhan over time gave way to the unethical and illegal practices of dowry.
    • But the issue of stree dhan needs to be explained further in the light of this judgment.
    • The ruling might impact dowry transactions that continue despite stringent anti-dowry laws.

    2) Issues in claiming the right to property

    • In the rural context, where most of the property is in the form of agricultural land claiming the property may not be easy.
    • With patriarchy, it is doubtful if male heirs will share property-related documents, information.

    3) Challenge of societal change

    • On occasion, the law and courts may turn out to be progressive.
    • However, we can not expect society to readily accede to progressive reforms.
    • The challenge for economically dependent women in far-flung rural areas who are denied literacy, dignity and, sometimes, even a name and identity, in securing their rights is immense.
    • In parts of Bihar, there are areas where women are still addressed by their village names or more commonly as someone’s wife.

    Conclusion

    Women are asserting their rights, both in conjugal and property matters. However, there are significant cultural, religious, educational barriers and caste and class inequalities that require a massive overhauling of social attitudes to overcome.

    Back2Basics: Mitakshra School of Hindu law

    • In the Mitakshara School, the allocation of parental property is based on the rule of possession by birth.
    • Moreover, a man can leave his property in his will.
    • The joint family property goes to the group known as coparceners.
    • Ther are the people who belong to the next three generations.
    • Hence, the joint family property by partition can be, at any time, converted into a separate property.
    • Therefore in Mitakshara School, sons have an exclusive right by birth in the joint family property.

    Coparcener

    • Coparcenary is a term often used in matters related to the Hindu succession law, and coparcener is a term used for a person assumes a legal right in his ancestral property by birth.

     

     

  • Issues with the graded autonomy

    The article analyses the issues the graded with the graded autonomy to the Higher Education Institutes.

    Background

    • NEP 2020 provided for phasing out of the system of affiliated colleges and the grant of greater autonomy in academic, administrative and financial matters to premium colleges.

    Concerns with the autonomy

    • The move has raised concerns about the politico-bureaucratic interference in the internal functioning of universities.
    • It has also raised concerns about the substantial burden on universities which have to regulate admissions, set curricula and conduct examinations for a large number of undergraduate colleges.
    • Concerns have long existed about over-centralisation, due to constraints imposed on the potential for premium affiliated colleges to innovate and evolve.
    • These apprehensions about the autonomy came to be used by successive governments to build a case for the model of graded autonomy.

    The push towards graded autonomy

    • Successive governments have pushed through measures that have largely allowed for greater penetration of private capital in higher education.
    • Recommendations of recent education commissions have promoted the unequal structure of funding for higher education.
    • Under this, hierarchy in higher education was created: Central government-funded universities, provincial Central government-funded universities, regional universities and colleges funded by State governments, etc.
    • The National Knowledge Commission (2005) stated that good undergraduate colleges are constrained by their affiliated status… the problem is particularly acute for undergraduate colleges which are subjected to the ‘convoy problem’ as they are forced to move at the speed of the slowest.
    • In turn, the dominant policy discourse vocally propagates “graded autonomy” for better performing Higher Educational Institutions.
    • Under which academic excellence can be supported through a grant of special funds and allowing greater power to such institutions.
    • This basis has been gradually enforced with the UGC in 2018 granting public-funded universities the right to apply for autonomy based on whether they are ranked among top 500 of reputed world rankings or have National Assessment and Accreditation (NAAC) scores above 3.26.

    NEP 2020: Centralisation and autonomy

    • NEP 2020  is a combination of enhanced centralising features and specific features of autonomy.
    • Deeper centralisation is indicative in the constitution of the government nominated umbrella institution, Higher Education Council of India (HECI); Board of Governors, the National Education Commission etc.

    Concerns

    • The model of graded autonomy will encourage hierarchy that exists between different colleges within a public-funded university, and between different universities across the country.
    • While the best colleges gain the autonomy to bring in their own rules and regulations, affiliated colleges with lower rankings and less than 3,000 students face the threat of mergers and even closure.
    • A shrinking of the number of public-funded colleges will only further push out marginalised sections.
    • Autonomy could lead to more inaccessibility as the independent rules and regulations of autonomous colleges and universities shall curtail transparent admission procedures.
    • Graded autonomy can be expected to trigger a massive spurt in expensive self-financed courses as premium colleges, which will lead to exclusion.

    Conclusion “Examine the issues with the autonomy of Higher Education Institutes in the NEP 2020.”

    Conclusion

    More than deliverance, autonomy represents the via media for greater privatisation and enhanced hierarchization in higher education.

    Sources: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/privatisation-via-graded-autonomy/article32396753.ece

  • Domicile-based job quota in MP

    The Madhya Pradesh government’s recent decision to reserve all government jobs for “children of the state” raises constitutional questions relating to the fundamental right to equality.

    Try this PYQ:

    One of the implications of equality in society is the absence of- (CSP 2018)

    (a) Privileges

    (b) Restraints

    (c) Competition

    (d) Ideology

    Constitutional provision for Equal Treatment

    • Article 16 of the Constitution guarantees equal treatment under the law in matters of public employment. It prohibits the state from discriminating on grounds of place of birth or residence.
    • Article 16(2) states that “no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office under the State”.
    • The provision is supplemented by the other clauses in the Constitution that guarantee equality.
    • However, Article 16(3) of the Constitution provides an exception by saying that Parliament may make a law “prescribing” a requirement of residence for jobs in a particular state.
    • This power vests solely in the Parliament, not state legislatures.

    Why does the Constitution prohibit reservation based on domicile?

    • When the Constitution came into force, India turned itself into one nation from a geographical unit of individual principalities and the idea of the universality of Indian citizenship took root.
    • India has single citizenship, and it gives citizens the liberty to move around freely in any part of the country.
    • Hence the requirement of a place of birth or residence cannot be qualifications for granting public employment in any state.

    But are reservations not granted on other grounds such as caste?

    • Equality enshrined in the Constitution is not mathematical equality and does not mean all citizens will be treated alike without any distinction.
    • To this effect, the Constitution underlines two distinct aspects which together form the essence of equality law:
    1. Non-discrimination among equals, and
    2. Affirmative action to equalize the unequal

    Supreme Court rulings on quota for locals

    • The Supreme Court has ruled against reservation based on place of birth or residence.
    • In 1984, ruling in Dr Pradeep Jain v Union of India, the issue of legislation for “sons of the soil” was discussed.
    • The court expressed an opinion that such policies would be unconstitutional but did not expressly rule on it as the case was on different aspects of the right to equality.
    • In a subsequent ruling in Sunanda Reddy v State of Andhra Pradesh (1995), the Supreme Court affirmed the observation in 1984 ruling to strike down a state government policy that gave 5% extra weightage to candidates.
    • In 2002, the Supreme Court invalidated appointment of government teachers in Rajasthan in which the state selection board gave preference to “applicants belonging to the district or the rural areas of the district concerned”.
    • In 2019, the Allahabad HC struck down a recruitment notification by the UP PSC which prescribed preference for women who are “original residents” of the UP alone.

    What about securing jobs for locals in the private sector?

    • Such a law will be difficult to implement even if allowed.
    • Private employers do not go on an annual recruitment drive to fill vacancies identified in advance but hire as and when required.
    • The state can recommend a preference to locals but ensuring that it is followed would be difficult.
    • In 2017, Karnataka mulled similar legislation but it was dropped after the state’s Advocate General raised questions on its legality.
    • In 2019, the state government once again issued a notification asking private employers to “prefer” Kannadigas for blue-collar jobs.

    How do some states then have laws that reserve jobs for locals?

    • Exercising the powers it has under Article 16(3), Parliament enacted the Public Employment (Requirement as to Residence) Act.
    • The act aimed at abolishing all existing residence requirements in the states and enacting exceptions only in the case of the special instances of Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh.
    • Constitutionally, some states also have special protections under Article 371. AP under Section 371(d) has powers to have “direct recruitment of local cadre” in specified areas.
    • Some states have gone around the mandate of Article 16(2) by using language. States that conduct official business in their regional languages prescribe knowledge of the language as a criterion.
    • This ensures that local citizens are preferred for jobs. For example, states including Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu require a language test.

  • Setting up of National Recruitment Agency

    The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) for conducting a Common Eligibility Test (CET) for various government jobs.

    Try this question:

    Q.Discuss the role and function of the newly setup National Recruitment Agency.

    National Recruitment Agency

    • NRA will be a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, headed by a Chairman of the rank of the Secretary to the Government of India.
    • It will have representatives of the Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance/Department of Financial Services, the SSC, RRB and IBPS.
    • It is envisioned that the NRA would be a specialist body bringing the state-of-the-art technology and best practices to the field of Central Government recruitment.
    • The NRA will conduct the Common Eligibility Test (CET) for recruitment to non-gazetted posts in government and public sector banks.
    • This test aims to replace multiple examinations conducted by different recruiting agencies for selection to government jobs advertised each year, with a single online test.

    Salient features of NRA

    • The Common Eligibility Test will be held twice a year.
    • There will be different CETs for graduate level, 12th Pass level and 10th pass level to facilitate recruitment to vacancies at various levels.
    • The CET will be conducted in 12 major Indian languages. This is a major change, as hitherto examinations for recruitment to Central Government jobs were held only in English and Hindi.
    • To begin with, CET will cover recruitments made by three agencies: viz. Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Board and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection.  This will be expanded in a phased manner.
    • CET will be held in 1,000 centres across India to bid remove the currently prevalent urban bias. There will be an examination centre in every district of the country.  There will be a special thrust on creating examination infrastructure in the 117 aspirational districts.
    • CET will be a first level test to shortlist candidates and the score will be valid for three years.
    • There shall be no restriction on the number of attempts to be taken by a candidate to appear in the CET subject to the upper age limit.
    • Age relaxation for SC/ST and OBC candidates as per existing rules will apply.

    Advantages for students

    • Removes the hassle of appearing in multiple examinations.
    • Single examination fee would reduce the financial burden that multiple exams imposed.
    • Since exams will be held in every district, it would substantially save travel and lodging cost for the candidates. Examination in their own district would encourage more and more women candidates also to apply for government jobs.
    • Applicants are required to register on a single Registration portal.
    • No need to worry about clashing of examination dates.

    Advantages for Institutions

    • Removes the hassle of conducting preliminary / screening test of candidates.
    • Drastically reduces the recruitment cycle.
    • Brings standardization in the examination pattern.
    • Reduces costs for different recruiting agencies. Rs 600 crore savings expected.

  • [pib] Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2020

    The Vice-President has released the Atal ranking ‘ARIIA 2020’.

    Note the indicators on which the ARIIA ranking is based.  Also try this PYQ:

    Q. Which one of the following is not a sub-index of the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Index’? (CSP 2019)

    (a) Maintenance of law and order

    (b) Paying taxes

    (c) Registering property

    (d) Dealing with construction permits

    Highlights of the ARIIA 2020

    • The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has topped the ARIIA 2020 under the ‘Best Centrally Funded Institution’ category.
    • Last year too, the institute emerged as the top innovative institution in the country.
    • IIT Bombay and Delhi have secured the second and third spots, respectively.

    About ARIIA

    • ARIIA is an initiative of erstwhile Ministry of HRD, implemented by AICTE and Ministry’s Innovation Cell.
    • It systematically ranks all major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development” amongst students and faculties.
    • ARIIA 2020 will have six categories which also includes special category for women only higher educational institutions to encourage women and bringing gender parity in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.
    • The other five categories are 1) Centrally Funded Institutions 2) State-funded universities 3) State-funded autonomous institutions 4) Private/Deemed Universities and 5) Private Institutions.

    Major Indicators for consideration

    • Budget & Funding Support.
    • Infrastructure & Facilities.
    • Awareness, Promotions & support for Idea Generation & Innovation.
    • Promotion & Support for Entrepreneurship Development.
    • Innovative Learning Methods & Courses.
    • Intellectual Property Generation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization.
    • Innovation in Governance of the Institution.

  • PCPNDT Act and rule changes during pandemic

    The article deals with the issues of suspension of some requirements under PCPNDT Act. It also discusses the role judiciary played in 25-years jurisprudence around the Act.

    Context

    • Last week, the Supreme Court deferred a pronouncement on the legality of the Centre’s now-lapsed controversial notification relating to the rules of the law banning sex-selective abortions.
    • The apex court similarly erred on the side of caution in June, choosing not to stay the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s gazette notification.

    What were the changes

    • One of the rules requires a five-yearly renewal of registration of genetic laboratories, ultrasound clinics and imaging centres, subject to the fulfilment of eligibility criteria.
    • Another mandate to submit monthly records on the conduct of pregnancy-related procedures to the designated authority.
    • State governments and Union Territories are required to furnish quarterly reports to the Centre on the implementation of the law.
    • The Union Health Ministry had maintained that various procedural deadlines were relaxed in the wake of the public health crisis and that such flexibility would in no way jeopardise the larger objectives of the law.

    Issues with the suspension

    • Activists saw no rationale behind the suspension of rules, since the operation of diagnostic laboratories had been declared essential services.
    • They were understandably apprehensive that the freeze would result in large-scale violations.
    • It is one thing to offer relaxation for delays in the completion of formalities via an administrative order, but altogether another to declare a freeze via a gazette notification, they argued.

    Court judgements on PCPNDT Act

    • The 25-year jurisprudence around the PCPNDT legislation does not justify a casual approach on the enforcement of its various provisions.
    • The Court last year ruled that the non-maintenance of medical records as per Section 23 of the PCPNDT Act could serve as a conduit in the grave offence of foeticide.
    • In its 2016 judgment, the Supreme Court authorised the seizure of illegal equipment from clinics and the suspension of their registration as well as speedy disposal of relevant cases by the States.

    Consider the question “How far has the PCPNDT Act been successful in dealing with the menace of sex-selective abortion? What are the shortcomings in the Act?”

    Conclusion

    Crucially, the alarming decline witnessed in recent decades in India’s sex ratio at birth calls for uncompromising adherence to public policy, more than is evident from evolving case law.

  • Resurrecting the right to know

    This article analyses the importance of peoples’ right to know and instrumental role judiciary played in harmonising it with the Official Secrets Act 1923.

    Context

    • A High Level Committee (HLC) chaired by a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court was constituted by the Home Ministry through a gazette notification.
    • Its mandate was, among others, to recommend measures to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord and define “Assamese People”.
    • The HLC finalised its report by mid-February 2020 and submitted it to the Assam Chief Minister and through him to the Central government.
    • With the Central government apparently “sitting idle” over the report, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), which was represented in the HLC, released the report.

    The right to know

    • The right to know was recognised nearly 50 years ago and is the foundational basis or the direct emanation for the right to information.
    • In State of U.P. v. Raj Narain (1975), the Supreme Court carved out a class of documents that demand protection even though their contents may not be damaging to the national interest.
    • Court held that “the people of this country are entitled to know the particulars of every public transaction in all its bearing”.
    • This view was endorsed in S.P. Gupta v. President of India (1981) and a few other decisions.
    • In Yashwant Sinha v. Central Bureau of Investigation (2019), the Supreme Court referred to the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in New York Times v. United States (1971) wherein court declined to recognise the right of the government to restrain publication of the Pentagon Papers.
    • Our Supreme Court held that a review petition based on three documents published by The Hindu was maintainable since the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 had not been violated.
    • The SC held that there is no provision by which Parliament had vested power in the government either to restrain the publication of documents marked as secret or from placing such documents before a court.
    • Section 8(2) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 provides that a citizen can get a certified copy of a document even if the matter pertains to security or relationship with a foreign nation if a case is made out.
    • Therefore, it is clear that the right to know can be curtailed only in limited circumstances and if there is an overriding public interest.

    Consider the question “Analyse the importance of citizens’ right to know and how the judiciary harmonised the peoples right to know with the Official Secrets Act 1923? “

    Conclusion

    We must keep in mind observation made by the Supreme Court in S.P. Gupta: “If secrecy were to be observed in the functioning of government and the processes of government were to be kept hidden from public scrutiny, it would tend to promote and encourage oppression, corruption and misuse or abuse of authority, for it would all be shrouded in the veil of secrecy without any public accountability.”

    B2BASICS

    Official secrets act

    • OSA has its roots in the British colonial era and was originally known as The Indian Official Secrets Act (Act XIV), 1889.
    • The act was primarily mandated to gag the voice of a large number of newspapers that came up in several languages, and were opposing the Raj’s policies, building political consciousness and facing police crackdowns and prison terms.
    • The act was amended and made more stringent in the form of The Indian Official Secrets Act, 1904, during Lord Curzon’s tenure as Viceroy of India.
    • In 1923, a newer version was notified. The Indian Official Secrets Act (Act No XIX of 1923) was extended to all matters of secrecy and confidentiality in governance in the country.
    • It was further amended after India got independence in 1951 and 1967. The act in its present form deals with two aspects — spying or espionage and disclosure of other secret information of the government.
    • Secret information can be any official code, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information. Under the act both the person communicating the information, and the person receiving the information, can be punished.

  • Importance of close alignment with moderate Arab centre

    The article analyses the threat the Arab countries faces from the new geopolitical realignment and India’s role in it.

    Geopolitical realignment in the middle east

    • Agreement on the normalisation of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel was signed recently.
    • At the same time, there is an equally significant reorientation of the Subcontinent’s relationship with the region.
    • This is marked by Pakistan’s alignment with non-Arab powers.

    Deteriorating relation of Pakistan with Arab world

    • Pakistan has been angry with UAE’s invitation to India to address the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in early 2019.
    • Saudi Arabia’s reluctance to convene a meeting to condemn Indian actions in Kashmir last August has angered Pakistan.
    • While Pakistan appears to be dreaming of a new regional alliance with Turkey and Iran.
    • Pakistan is also betting that a rising China and an assertive Russia will both support this new geopolitical formation as part of their own efforts to oust America from the Middle East.

    Threat to the Arab world

    • Saudis and Emiratis see sharpening existential threats to their kingdoms from both Turkey and Iran.
    • Both Turkey and Iran now intervene with impunity in the internal affairs of the Arab world.
    • Two other states have joined this Great Game.
    • Malaysia’s Mahathir fancied himself as a leader of the Islamic world.
    • Arab Qatar, which is locked in a fraternal fight with the Saudis and the Emiratis, wants to carve out an outsized role for itself in the Middle East.

    India’s should follow five principles for Arab Sovereignty

    • 1) India must resist the temptation of telling the Arabs what is good for them.
    • India should support their efforts to reconcile with non-Arab neighbours, including Israel, Turkey and Iran.
    • 2) Oppose foreign interventions in the Arab world. In the past, those came from the West and Israel.
    • Today, most Arabs see the greatest threat to their security from Turkish and Iranian interventions.
    • 3) Extend support to Arab economic integration, intra-Arab political reconciliation and the strengthening of regional institutions.
    • 4) Recognise that India’s geopolitical interests are in close alignment with those in the moderate Arab Centre — including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman.
    • 5) India can’t be passive amidst the unfolding geopolitical realignment in West Asia.
    • Some members of the incipient alliance — Turkey, Malaysia and China — have been the most vocal in challenging India’s territorial sovereignty in Kashmir.

    Consider the question “Examine the importance of India’s relations with Arab countries. What are the threats the region faces to their sovereignty and how India can play an important role to ensure their sovereignty.”

    Conclusion

    Standing up for Arab sovereignty and opposing the forces of regional destabilisation must be at the very heart of India’s new engagement with the Middle East.