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  • Pension Reforms

    One Rank One Pension (OROP) Policy

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    The Supreme Court has said that the Centre’s hyperbole on the One Rank One Pension (OROP) policy presented a much “rosier picture” than what is actually given to the pensioners of the armed forces.

    What is OROP Policy?

    • OROP means the same pension, for the same rank, for the same length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement.
    • The concept was provoked by the then decision by Indira Gandhi-led government, in 1973, two years after the historic victory in the 1971 Bangladesh war.

    How did the issue escalate?

    • The Rank pay was a scheme implemented by the Rajiv Gandhi-led govt in 1986, in the wake of the 4th Central Pay Commission.
    • It reduced the basic pay of seven armed officers’ ranks of 2nd Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain, Majors, Lt. Colonel, Colonels, Brigadiers, and their equivalent by fixed amounts designated as rank pay.

    How was it reviewed?

    • In 2008, Manmohan Singh led Government in the wake of the Sixth Central Pay Commission (6CPC), which discarded the concept of rank-pay.
    • Instead, it introduced Grade pay, and Pay bands, which instead of addressing the rank, pay, and pension asymmetries caused by ‘rank pay’ dispensation, reinforced existing asymmetries.

    Issues with this pension policy

    • The causes that inform the OROP protest movement are not pension alone, as armed forces veterans have often tried to make clear, and the parliamentary committee recorded.
    • The issues, veterans emphasize, are of justice, equity, honor, and national security.
    • The failure to address the issue of pay-pension equity, and the underlying issue of honor, is not only an important cause for the OROP protest movement but its escalation.

    Present status

    • PM Modi-led government has accepted the OROP.
    • It has already released Rs. 5500 crores to serve the purpose, but still, there are some grievances from the veterans’ side.
    • It refined Pensions for all pensioners retiring in the same rank as the average of the minimum and maximum pensions in 2013.
    • The veterans noted governments’ proposal as one rank many pensions since the review of 5 years would lead to differences in pension between senior and a junior.

     

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  • Renewable Energy – Wind, Tidal, Geothermal, etc.

    Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    Telangana CM in harsh words has criticized the Prime Minister over Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

    Why such a gesture by Telangana CM?

    • Telangana has been particularly vocal about the “increasing burden” forced upon states by the Centre on account of the clean energy cess imposed on coal and the RPOs (Renewable Purchase Obligation).

    What are RPOs?

    • Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) is a policy instrument to catalyze the development of renewable energy.
    • It is a market-based mechanism that will help the states meet their regulatory requirements (such as RPOs) by overcoming the geographical constraints on existing renewable potential in different states.
    • Under RPO, power distribution companies purchase a certain percentage of their requirements from renewable energy sources.

    REC Mechanism

    • REC mechanism is a market-based instrument to promote renewable energy and facilitate compliance of renewable purchase obligations (RPO).
    • It is aimed at addressing the mismatch between availability of RE resources in state and the requirement of the obligated entities to meet the RPO.
    • 1 REC is treated as equivalent to 1 MWh.

    How many types of RECs are there?

    There are two categories of RECs, viz., solar RECs and non-solar RECs.

    1. Solar RECs are issued to eligible entities for the generation of electricity based on solar as a renewable energy source.
    2. Non-solar RECs are issued to eligible entities for the generation of electricity based on renewable energy sources other than solar.

    Issues highlighted by Telangana

    • Mandatory purchase: The CM has raised the issue of mandatory purchase of renewables reducing the Plant Load Factor (PLF) for existing thermal power projects.
    • Only solar RPO: The CM questioned the mandate to procure a certain percentage of power from solar energy noting that Telangana had hydropower projects producing over 2,500 MW of power from rivers.
    • Not all states have ample renewables: States have thus far not been able to meet RPO targets, with over a dozen states and UTs achieving less than 60% of RPOs.
    • Penalty for non-compliance: There is a (small) penalty for not meeting RPO obligations. The Centre has proposed to increase penalties on states for non-compliance with RPOs in the draft electricity amendment bill.

    Clarification from the centre

    • States were free to hold their own bids and buy green energy from any developer instead of procuring power based on bids by the SECI.
    • They can choose to have their own bids.

     

     

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  • Food Safety Standards – FSSAI, food fortification, etc.

    What are Eat Right Campuses?

    Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    Four police stations of New Delhi district have been certified as ‘Eat Right Campus’ by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

    Eat Right Campus

    • Eat Right India is a flagship mission of FSSAI, which aims at ensuring that the citizens of the country get safe and nutritious food.
    • The ‘Eat Right Campus’ initiative led by FSSAI aims to promote safe, healthy and sustainable food in campuses such as schools, universities, colleges, workplaces, hospitals, tea estates etc. across the country.
    • The objective is to improve the health of people and the planet and promote social and economic development of the nation.
    • The initiative is not mandatory to adopt.

    Evaluation Criteria

    • Benchmarks have been created on four different parameters based on which campuses are evaluated and certified as ‘Eat Right Campus’.
    • These parameters include
    1. Food safety measures, steps to ensure the provision of healthy, Environmentally sustainable food, and Building awareness to make the right food choices.
    2. These practices include mandatory steps such as licensing and registration of food service providers in the campus and compliance to food safety and hygiene standards as per Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.

    Benefits of Eat Right Campus

    • It can provide immense benefits to the campus and the individuals on the campus not only in terms of health but also economics.
    • Safe, healthy, and sustainable food on the campus would reduce the incidence of food-borne illnesses, deficiency diseases, and non-communicable diseases among the people on the campus.
    • This means less absenteeism and loss of working hours and greater wellbeing, motivation, and productivity of people.
    • This would also reduce the burden of healthcare costs for the workplace, institution, hospital, jail, or tea estate.

    Back2Basics: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

    • The FSSAI is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
    • It has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India.
    • It is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
    • It is headed by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

     

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    In news: Tarapur Massacre of 1932

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Bihar CM has announced that February 15 would be celebrated as “Shahid Diwas” in memory of the 34 freedom fighters who were killed by police in Tarapur town of Bihar’s Munger district 90 years ago.

    Why such move?

    • The Tarapur massacre was the biggest carried out by the British police after the one in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in 1919.
    • The freedom fighters had never got their due, the CM said.
    • PM Modi too had referred to the Tarapur massacre in his Mann ki Baat radio address of January 2021.

    Tarapur Massacre: Course of events

    • On February 15, 1932, a group of young freedom fighters planned to hoist an Indian national flag at Thana Bhavan in Tarapur.
    • Police were aware of the plan, and several officers were present at the spot. Around 2 pm, even as the police carried out a brutal lathicharge, Gopal Singh succeeded in raising the flag at Thana Bhavan.
    • A 4,000-strong crowd pelted the police with stones, injuring an officer of the civil administration.
    • The police responded by opening indiscriminate fire on the crowd.
    • After about 75 rounds were fired, 34 bodies were found at the spot, even though there were claims of an even larger number of deaths.

    Trigger for protest

    • The hanging of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru in Lahore on March 23, 1931, sent a wave of grief and anger around the country.
    • Following the collapse of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, the Mahatma was arrested in early 1932.
    • The Congress was declared an illegal organization, and Nehru, Patel, and Rajendra Prasad were also thrown in jail.
    • In Munger, freedom fighters Srikrishna Singh, Nemdhari Singh, Nirapad Mukherjee, Pandit Dasrath Jha, Basukinath Rai, Dinanath Sahay, and Jaymangal Shastri were arrested.
    • A call given by the Congress leader Sardar Shardul Singh Kavishwar to raise the tricolour over government buildings resonated in Tarapur.

     

    Back2Basics:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/explained-jallianwala-bagh-massacre/

     

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  • Caste census

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    Context

    Last month, the Supreme Court upheld the 27% quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the All-India Quota seats for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and reiterated that reservations for backward classes were not an exception but an extension of the principle of equality under Article 15(1) of the Constitution.

    Multiple dimensions of reservation

    • The judgment highlighted how open competitive exams give the illusion of providing equal opportunity in ignorance of the widespread inequalities in educational facilities, the freedom to pursue such education, and societal prejudices.
    • Psychological and social effects: The Court pointed out how such disparities are not limited to the issue of access to good education or financial constraints alone, but also to the psychological and social effects of inherited cultural capital (communication skills, books, accent, academic accomplishments, social networks, etc.), which ensures the unconscious training of upper-caste children for high-grade performance.
    • The Constituent Assembly held a similar philosophy while introducing constitutional provisions which enable the government to make special provisions for the uplift of the “lower castes”.

    Importance of justifiable data

    • The politicisation of issue: Political parties often promise reservation for communities on being brought to power without any credible data collection exercises to justify the decision.
    • It can be said that the faith of our citizens cannot be restored until credible exercises of data collection are undertaken regarding caste.
    • Lack of data on OBC: Even though data concerning the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have been included in the Census, there is no similar data on OBCs.
    • Proper assessment: In the Indra Sawhney case, the Supreme Court held that the States must conclude the “backwardness” of a particular class of people only after proper assessment and objective evaluation. 
    • It held that such a conclusion must be subject to periodic review by a permanent body of experts.
    • The National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993, provides under Section 11 that the Central government may every 10 years revise lists with a view to exclude those classes which have ceased to be backward and include new backward classes.
    • This exercise has not been done to date.
    •  Impartial data and subsequent research might save the bona fide attempts of the uplift of the most backward classes from the shadow of caste and class politics and be informative to people on both sides of the spectrum – for and against reservation.
    • Calls for caste data in Census: Last year, many calls were made for the inclusion of caste data (including that of the OBCs) in the 2021 Census, and the matter reached the Supreme Court.
    • However, the government took the stand that the 2011 SECC was “flawed” and is “not usable”.

    Conclusion

    Caste data will enable independent research not only into the question of who does and does not need affirmative action but also into the effectiveness of this measure.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Myanmar

    India must prioritise stability in Myanmar

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Context

    One year ago, the military in Myanmar attempted to grab power from the elected civilian government in a dramatic coup. Meanwhile, the deposed civilian lawmakers who were elected in free-and-fair elections in November 2020 put together their own government known as the National Unity Government (NUG).

    The current situation in Myanmar

    • The coup faced popular resistance from the first day, with mass protests bringing the country to a halt.
    • According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, as of January 28, 1,499 civilians have been killed in Myanmar since the coup.
    • Dozens of civilian militias, called People’s Defence Forces (PDF), now armed with more sophisticated weapons, mushroomed in nearly every region and state.
    • Today, the military is having to fight on multiple fronts, as even powerful ethnic armed groups in the north, northwest, and east have joined forces with the PDFs.

    India’s approach towards situation in Myanmar

    • Balanced approach: Since the coup, India has taken a balanced diplomatic approach on Myanmar, calling for restraint, restoration of democracy, and release of political prisoners, but also maintaining its lines of communication with the military.
    • Avoiding sanctions: India has also firmly stayed away from imposing sanctions on the junta.

    Why does India need to recalibrate its approach?

    • The last 12 months have made it clear that the military is incapable of providing the kind of political, economic, and social stability that India needs in Myanmar to advance its interests, including development projects.
    • Public faith in the military as a state institution is at its lowest.
    • Northeastern border issue: For New Delhi, India’s Northeastern border with Myanmar remains on top of the bilateral agenda.
    • However, even on this, the military has damaged whatever semblance of stability was left.
    • Sagaing region, which borders three Northeast Indian states, has seen the highest number of clashes so far.
    • Chin state, bordering Mizoram and Manipur, has seen dramatic military offensives in civilian areas, which have forced thousands to flee into India.
    • The Myanmar military has roped in Manipuri insurgents as mercenaries to attack anti-junta forces, in exchange for safe haven.

    Way forward

    • New Delhi must reconsider its partnerships in Myanmar and invest in those entities that can not only provide a stable political environment overall but also effectively secure its security interests along the border.
    • The NUG enjoys much more mass popularity than the military, which means it is in a position to restore calm.
    • China has strong links with ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar, but not with the new PDFs.
    • So, if India really wants to offset Chinese influence in Myanmar, it needs to take this opportunity to forge new friendships.

    Conclusion

    It is time India rapidly expanded its links with these entities, instead of playing by the old rules.

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  • J&K – The issues around the state

    Setting right the focal point of Jammu and Kashmir tribal politics

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters,Government Scheme/Policies

    Context

    The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission has recently shared its interim report. One of the salient features of the report is the proposed reservation of nine seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST).

    Reservation for STs in Legislative Assembly

    •  It is for the first time that seats have been reserved for the ST community in the Legislative Assembly of J&K.
    • The commission has also proposed reserving seven seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs).
    • In the erstwhile Legislative Assembly, there were also seven seats reserved for SCs, but there was no such reservation for STs.
    • This denial of constitutionally guaranteed reservation under Article 332 post-1991 when four communities (the Gujjars, Bakerwals, Gaddis and Sippis) were granted ST status is a pointer to the harsh reality that discrimination has largely been deliberate.

    Issue of reservation for STs in J&K

    • No role of Article 370: Nothing in Article 370 has prevented the provision of political reservation to STs or extension of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 to J&K.
    • The presence of Article 370 has often been given as a reason for the absence of reservation for the tribals in J&K though this is untrue.
    • Reservation for SCs: SCs in J&K had reservations even before the dilution of Article 370, and it was provided under the J&K Constitution. 
    • This lack of political will stemmed from an unwillingness to share power with groups ethnically and culturally different from both Dogras and the Kashmiris, the two predominant power groups in J&K.

    What has changed now?

    • The dilution of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, and the subsequent Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 changed political dynamics in the region.
    • As far as tribals are concerned, it promised them political reservation under Article 332 and led to the extension of the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
    •  Essentially, it has changed the nature of tribal politics in J&K as well, which had largely centered around these two major objectives.

    Way forward

    • Economic and social empowerment: The focus of tribal politics has to shift toward the economic and social empowerment of tribal communities.
    • Implementation of the Forest Rights Act has to be a major issue as it has the potential to significantly empower these communities.
    • The political mobilization of STs began many years ago, and the interim report has thrown up new challenges before STs than merely empowering them.
    • Awareness: It will not change after reservation unless there is an awareness and conscious attempt by the leadership to prioritize tribal interests over party politics.
    • Political relevance: The tendency to limit tribal politics to Rajouri and Poonch (which the interim report has also done) is the extension of past practice though the reality is that more than 68% of the ST population lives outside these districts.
    • Political relevance is a major challenge that tribal politics in J&K faces.
    • Community leaders, especially tribal youth, need to understand the significance of the tribal vote.
    • Tribal politics also have to address the political, social, and economic empowerment of marginal tribes such as the Bakerwals, Gaddis and Sippis.
    • Women empowerment: Women have to play a major role in tribal politics, and their participation and leadership have to be made feasible and suitably promoted.
    • They have proven their leadership in the District Development Council (DDC) elections, and it needs to be strengthened further.

    Conclusion

    The focus of tribal politics has to shift toward the economic and social empowerment of tribal communities, with a special focus on the effective implementation of welfare schemes and policies for STs in J&K.

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  • Police Reforms – SC directives, NPC, other committees reports

    Anti-Mob lynching Bills passed by States go unimplemented

    | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Communalism, Secularism, Regionalism

    Bills passed against mob lynching in some states have not been implemented since lynching is not defined as a crime under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

    Why are the bills pending?

    • Most bills have been reserved by the Governor for consideration of the President.
    • The President has to go with the advice given by the Council of Ministers, in the case of such legislations, represented by the MHA.
    • The Union Home Ministry examines the State legislations on three grounds-
    1. Repugnancy with Central laws
    2. Deviation from national or central policy and
    3. Legal and constitutional validity

    What is Mob Lynching?

    • Lynching is a premeditated extrajudicial killing by a group.
    • It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate a group.
    • Recent incident can be recalled from Pakistan where a Sri Lankan national was set ablaze over blasphemy charges.

    Dealing with lynching in India

    • In 2017, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) collected data on mob lynching, hate crimes and cow vigilantism but it was not published and discontinued.
    • This is because, there is “no separate” definition for lynching under the IPC.
    • However, lynching incidents could be dealt with under Sections 300 and 302 of the IPC, pertaining to murder.
    • In 2018, the Supreme Court asked Parliament to make lynching a separate offense.
    • Since then, the government is working to overhaul the IPC framed in 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to consider mob-lynching.

    Why anti-lynching law is necessary?

    • Fills the void: It fills a void in our criminal jurisprudence.
    • Lawlessness: The Indian Penal Code has provisions for unlawful assembly, rioting, and murder but nothing that takes cognizance of a group of people coming together to kill (a lynch mob).
    • Rise in Lynching incidents: There has been a rise in lynching incidents in recent years.

    Reason for the rise in lynchings

    • Impunity: The lynch mobs are confident of getting away with it. So far, the state has done little to shake that confidence.
    • Communalism: In the case of cow-linked lynchings, a lot depends on whether the incumbent in power considers it compatible with its political interests to crack down on such attacks.
    • Fake news: Another factor that gave rise to lynchings is the spread of fake news through social media platforms which incite a sudden wave of antagonism.
    • Alienation: With modernity, there is a growth of individualism and erosion of associational life. The sense of fraternity has been fading away due to this.
    • Unemployment: High Unemployment rates leave millions of youth unengaged.

    Effect of lynching

    (1) State

    • Violation of FR: It is against the values upheld in the constitution of India. Every individual have certain fundamental rights any violence would be a curtailment of this right.
    • Law and order crisis: Lynchings have led to degrading regard to law and order.

    (2) Economy

    • Reputation damage: Many International agencies warned India against mob lynching incidents. This impacts both foreign and domestic investment thereby adversely affecting sovereign ratings.
    • Impact on migration patterns: It directly hampers internal migration which in turn affects economy.
    • Damage of public property: Large resources deployed to tackle such menaces induces extra burden on state-exchequer.

    (3) Society

    • Fear of radicalization: Radical and extremist organizations such as ISIS etc could take leverage of the atmosphere created by such incidents.
    • Communal disharmony: This impact solidarity of society and idea of Unity in diversity. This create an atmosphere of majority v/s minority.
    • Intolerance: It could aggravate caste, class and communal hatred. Such acts shows loss of tolerance in society and people are being swayed by emotions, prejudices etc.

    Way forward

    • States should be more vigilant and proactive in flagging rumors using social media and other platforms.
    • Some states are doing it, others need to emulate these examples.
    • The more proactive the administration is in this regard, the stronger a deterrent it will be.
    • There is also a need for a special court for the trial of mob violence.

     

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  • Women empowerment issues – Jobs,Reservation and education

    What is Public Order?

    | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Communalism, Secularism, Regionalism

    The Karnataka High Court is hearing a challenge to the constitutionality of the state government’s ban on students wearing a hijab in educational institutions. The judges heard an argument on whether the state can justify the ban on the ground that it violates ‘public order’.

    What is Public Order?

    • Public order is one of the three grounds on which the state can restrict freedom of religion.
    • It is also one of the grounds to restrict free speech and other fundamental rights.
    • Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees to all people’s right to freedom and conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health.

    Who can check it?

    • Public order is normally equated with public peace and safety.
    • What affects public order is contextual and is determined by the state.
    • According to List 2 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the power to legislate on aspects of public order rests with the states.

    How does it relate to the hijab ban?

    • According to the government order issued under the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, “public order” is one of the reasons for not allowing students to wear a headscarf in educational institutions along with “unity” and “integrity”.
    • The petitioners have asked the state to show how the mere wearing of a hijab by students could constitute a public order issue.
    • Another argument made is that the government cannot delegate the power to college committees the function of determining whether the hijab was detrimental to public order.
    • The government order states that while individual college committees are free to determine the uniform, in the absence of such rules the government order banning the headscarf would apply.
    • Only the government can make an assessment of public order.

    How has the state responded?

    • The government order makes no mention of “public order” and that the petitioners reading of the order could be an error in translation.
    • The order, in Kannada, uses the words “sarvajanika suvyavasthe”.
    • Incidentally, the official Kannada translation of the Constitution uses “sarvajanika suvyavasthe” for “public order” in all nine instances.

    How has public order been interpreted by courts?

    • Courts have broadly interpreted it to mean something that affects the community at large and not a few individuals.
    • In Ram Manohar Lohia vs State of Bihar (1965), the Supreme Court held that in the case of ‘public order’, the community or the public at large have to be affected by a particular action.
    • One has to imagine three concentric circles:
    1. the largest representing ‘law and order’
    2. the next representing ‘public order’ and
    3. the smallest representing ‘security of State’

    Arguments against the K’taka Order

    • In the Karnataka case, the petitioners have argued:
    1. Public order is not every breach of law and order.
    2. Public order is an aggravated form of disturbance that is much higher than a law and order issue.

    Conclusion

    • Thus it is evident that wordplay is given more cognisance over the interpretation of constitution.

     

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  • Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

    Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

    IOCR | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Important International Institutions

    India has hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying it was “hijacked by vested interests” over its remark on Karnataka Hijab Row.

    What is OIC?

    • The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
    • The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
    • OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.

    India and OIC

    • At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
    • In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
    • Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.

    Recent developments

    • In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honor”.
    • This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
    • Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down its demand to rescind the invitation.

    What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?

    • It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
    • Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
    • To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
    • Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticized India.

    How has India been responding?

    • India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
    • The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
    • It has maintained its “consistent and well known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi.
    • This time, India went a step ahead and said the grouping continues to allow itself to be used by a certain country “which has a record on religious tolerance, radicalism, and persecution of minorities”.

    OIC members and India

    • Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
    • The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbors, Bangladesh and Maldives.
    • Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.

    Way ahead

    • India now sees the duality of the OIC as untenable, since many of these countries have good bilateral ties and convey to India to ignore OIC statements.
    • But these countries sign off on the joint statements which are largely drafted by Pakistan.
    • India feels it important to challenge the double-speak since Pakistan’s campaign and currency on the Kashmir issue has hardly any takers in the international community.

     

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