Bangladesh has transported more than 1,600 Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island in the first phase of a controversial planned relocation of 1,00,000 people.
Can you see, what the so-called champions of tolerance and human rights doing to the refugees in their own country!
Bhashan Char Island
Bhasan Char also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya, Bangladesh.
Located 34 kilometres (21 miles) from the mainland, its name in Bengali means “floating island.”
The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006 spanning 40 square kilometres.
It is underwater from June to September annually because of the monsoon, and it has no flood fences.
In June 2015, the Bangladeshi government suggested resettling Rohingya refugees on the island under its Ashrayan Project.
The proposal was characterized by the UN Refugee Agency as “logistically challenging”.
Extraditing to another hell
Bhashan Char is a flood-prone island that emerged from the sea 20 years ago.
The refugees had been coerced into going to this flood-prone island which is also vulnerable to frequent cyclones.
This compact island is too small to occupy and nurture the Rohingya population and there is chronic overcrowding in camps.
Dr. B R Ambedkar, in his lecture “Castes in India” in 1916 –
“One of the most intrinsic characteristics of the caste system is endogamy, which prohibits marriage outside of caste and the maintenance of caste in India is premised on the enforcement of strict endogamy.“
Discourse on interfaith marriages in India at present involves diverse narratives ranging from opposition and resistance to acceptance.
Forced religious conversions for interfaith marriages cases are widely seen in news these days. And many states are attempting to ban religious conversion for the sole purpose of marriage. The state of Uttar Pradesh has seen its first arrest under the new ordinance so passed.
What is Inter-faith Marriage?
Interfaith marriage, sometimes called a “mixed marriage”, is marriage between spouses professing different religions.
For individuals who choose interfaith marriage, love is their sole motivation and relationship is generally viewed in terms of individual compatibility.
Interfaith Marriages in India
The right to marry is a part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
It is a universal right and it is available to everyone irrespective of their gender.
A forced marriage is illegal and is invalidated in different personal laws on marriage in India, with the right to marry recognized under various religious laws.
Provisions for such marriages
The Special Marriage Act, 1954 (SMA) was enacted to facilitate the marriage of couples professing different faiths, and preferring a civil wedding.
However, some practical problems arise in registering such marriages.
The law’s features on prior public notice being given and objections for the safety and privacy of those intending to marry across religions.
To overcome this, many settle for marriage under the personal law of one of them, with the other opting for religious conversion.
Core Issue: Religious Conversions
Religious conversion is one of the most heated issues under interfaith marriage. There are various reasons for which people do convert their religion like:
Voluntary Conversions i.e. conversions by free choice or because of change of beliefs
Forceful Conversions i.e. conversions by coercion, undue influence or inducement
Marital Conversions i.e. conversions due to marriage
Conversion for convenience
The larger Constitutional issue
(A) Article 21
Many high courts across India have ruled that- an individual’s right to marry a person of his or her choice is a fundamental right that cannot be denied on the basis of caste or religion by anybody.
In the Hadiya Case (2016), the Supreme Court had ruled that the right to marry a person of one’s choice is integral to Article 21 (right to life and liberty) of the Constitution.
(B) Article 25
Article 25 talks about the term “propagate” which means to promote or transmit or merely freedom of expression.
The question of whether ‘right to convert’ comes under the ambit of ‘right to propagate any religion’ holds fundamental importance to determine the constitutionality of anti-conversion laws.
There is no expressed provision for ‘conversion’ in the Indian Constitution but there are proponents whose contention is in the favour that right to conversion is implicit under Article 25 which emerges from freedom of conscience.
(C) Rights of women
Any individual has the absolute right to choose a life partner and this cannot be affected by matters of faith.
Again, the perception of such marriages is considered okay for males but not for females.
This indicates gendered responses of the society towards such marriages.
Furore over interfaith marriage
Religious conversion has emerged as the practical way to cohabit as a couple, in a country where neither the inter-faith, inter-caste nor the live-in couples can earn societal approval.
As per some Personal laws, in order to get married conversion of religion to get equalized is the only way.
There are cases of being allegedly lured and honey-trapped by men and those girls now seeking their help to free themselves.
Interfaith marriages these days are believed to be a forced conversion of the women spouses.
Fundamentalists’ claims that men of a particular religion are trained on the intricacies of religious doctrine to allure other religion women for marriage in an attempt to finish off her religion.
States narrative against interfaith marriages
Uttar Pradesh is the latest state to implement a law against forceful inter-faith conversions for marriage, amid similar steps by other states. Its proposed law defines punishment and fine for three different cases.
Conversion is done though “misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means” would face a jail term of one to 5 years, and a minimum fine of Rs 15,000.
Conversion of a minor, a woman from the SC or ST would have to face a jail term from three to 10 years, with a minimum fine of Rs 25,000.
If such conversion is found at the mass level, then those guilty would face a jail term from three to 10 years, with a minimum fine of Rs 50,000.
It proposes among other things that a marriage will be declared “shunya” (null and void) if the “sole intention” of the same is to “change a girl’s religion”.
Such legislations are archaic because,
In the K.S. Puttuswamy or ‘privacy’ judgment, the Supreme Court had already clarified that any interference by the State in an adult’s right to love and marry has a “chilling effect” on freedoms.
The choice of a life partner, whether by marriage or outside it, is part of an individual’s “personhood and identity”, the apex court has held.
In the Lata Singh case, the top court recognised the country is going through a “crucial transformational period”.
It said the “Constitution will remain strong only if we accept the plurality and diversity of our culture”.
Arguements by the States
It is accused that interfaith marriages often induce “undue influence”, “allurement” and “coercion” for religious conversions.
Often, negotiations and accommodation post-marriage involve the issue of identity and its expression in the family.
The recent murder of 20-year-old college girl by her stalker is a case in point. She was shot in the head from point-blank range. Matters came to head after she had filed a molestation complaint against the stalker month’s back, who was pressuring her to convert and marry him.
It translates as violence against women’s autonomy.
Societal Response and Threats
The couple faces societal norms against their alliances that are sometimes labelled as immoral, unholy or acts based on lust.
It brings up the aspect of women as symbols of honour and ‘honour killings’ as one of the societal responses to interfaith marriages.
Response to such alliances may also go to the extent of killings and ex-communication of individuals (by Khap Panchayats) who attempt to cross their community’s boundaries.
Interfaith marriages also pose an ideological dilemma to different religious groups.
On the one hand, different religions promote the philosophy of acceptance and concern for fellow human beings, and on the other hand, there is rigidity in the process of marriage.
Arguments in favour of such marriages
Interfaith marriages have the potential to build a strong base for community-level changes towards greater sensitivity and acceptance among different faiths/religions.
These marriages reflect the ‘genuine extent of heterogeneity’ in society, promote pluralism and diminish ‘ideological monopoly’ of different religions.
A sole matter of individual rights
Ironically, interfaith marriages themselves are fairly common in India.
The freedom of decision of his/ her marriage shall lie with the person only. The need is to accept the fact.
Prohibition deprives a woman of her agency and, in effect, controls female sexuality.
There are many high profile examples in fields such as the arts, sports, journalism, and business as well as politics.
Conclusion
Marriage is an extremely personal affair. The right to marry a person of one’s choice or to choose one’s partner is an aspect of constitutional liberty as well as privacy.
The issue of conversion can be resolved by actually agreeing to not convert.
Marriage done solely for the purpose of conversion and conversion by misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, inducement, allurement should be discouraged.
In short, we should be focusing on dismantling the barriers of religion, caste and other divisions rather than bring up more barriers in these endeavours as is the attempt now.
Farmers’ protests have erupted once again in north India, their main worry is about a possible withdrawal of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and a dismantling of the public procurement of grains.
Why farmers in Punjab and Haryana are protesting
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are heavily dependent on public procurement and assured price through MSP.
Nearly 88% of the paddy production and 70% of the wheat production in Punjab and Haryana (in 2017-18 and 2018-19) has been absorbed through public procurement [Food Grains Bulletin and Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, Government of India].
In contrast, in the other major paddy States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, only 44% of the rice production is procured by public agencies.
In the major wheat States of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, only 23% of the production is procured by public agencies.
Government needs to continue procurement
If farmers of Punjab and Haryana need the procurement system, the government needs it even more.
This is because of its obligations under the PDS and the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
Support under the NFSA is a legal and rights-based entitlement.
There are nearly 80 crore NFSA beneficiaries and an additional eight crore migrants who need to be supported under the PDS.
In the last three years, nearly 40% of the total paddy production in the country and 32% of wheat production has been procured by public agencies to supply the PDS.
Thus, the government has little option but to continue its procurement from these States in the foreseeable future.
Way forward
Therefore, it is imperative that the government reaches out to the farmer groups and assures them of the indispensability of MSP-procurement system.
The government needs to start this initiative immediately to allay their legitimate concerns.
Two of the major limitations in the laws that need to be addressed immediately:
1) The absence of a regulatory mechanism to ensure fair play by private players vis-à-vis farmers.
2) The lack of transparency in trade area transactions.
Conclusion
The severe trust deficit that resulted from the way the Farm Bills have been rushed through needs to be addressed by adopting a conciliatory approach towards farmers and the States.
The order delivered by the Allahabad High Court underlines the most cherished values of our Constitution. The order examines the scope of individual choice and personal liberty on the touchstone of constitutional values.
Background
The Allahabad High Court declared last month that religious conversions, even when made solely for the purposes of marriage, constituted a valid exercise of a person’s liberties.
The petitioners had approached the High Court seeking orders to quash a First Information Report (FIR) that was lodged against them.
The petitioners claimed that they were both adults competent to contract a marriage, and had, in fact, wedded in August 2019, as per Muslim rites and ceremonies, only after the girl had converted to Islam.
The State argued that petitioner’s partnership had no sanctity in the law, because a conversion with a singular aim of getting married was illegitimate.
In making this argument, the government relied on a pair of judgments of the Allahabad High Court, in particular on the judgment in Noor Jahan v. State of U.P. (2014).
There, the High Court had held that a conversion by an individual to Islam was valid only when it was predicated on a “change of heart” and on an “honest conviction” in the tenets of the newly adopted religion.
Additionally, the High Court had ruled that the burden to prove the validity of a conversion was on the party professing the act.
Major takeaways from the High Court order
The Allahabad High Courtruled that the freedom to live with a person of one’s choice is intrinsic to the fundamental right to life and personal liberty.
It order recognises that a person’s freedom is not conditional on the caste, creed or religion that her partner might claim to profess.
And also that every person had an equal dominion over their own senses of conscience.
The High Court’s order makes it clear that it is neither the province of the state nor any other individual to interfere with a person’s choice of partner or faith.
By invoking the Supreme Court’s judgment in Puttaswamy, the High Court held that an individual’s ability to control vital aspects of her life inheres in her right to privacy.
Term privacy includes the preservation of decisional autonomy, on matters, among other things, of “personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home, and sexual orientation”.
It Court that the judgment in Noor Jahan was incorrectly delivered.
Marriage, the High Court said, is a matter of choice, and every adult woman has a fundamental right to choose her own partner.
Freedom of conscience under Article 25
Article 25 of the Constitution expressly protects the choices that individuals make.
In addition to the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion, it guarantees to every person the freedom of conscience.
The idea of protecting one’s freedom of conscience goes beyond mere considerations of religious faith.
Conclusion
When we fail to acknowledge and respect the most intimate and personal choices that people make — choices of faith and belief, choices of partners — we undermine the most basic principles of dignity. Our Constitution’s endurance depends on our ability to respect these decisions, to grant to every person an equal freedom of conscience.
The article weighs in the policy options with the Indian policymakers to revive the India economy. This leads to the trilemma of managing the exchange rate, controlling the inflation and maintaining the capital account open all at the same time.
A brief overview of 1991 economic reforms
The crisis in 1991 was centred on the balance-of-payments.
Allowing the Indian rupee to fall from an artificially high level was a key part of the solution.
Since the reforms, the Indian rupee has steadily depreciated, roughly according to a market-determined equilibrium.
Extraordinarily high tariff barriers were reduced, allowing for welfare gains from greater international trade.
Reforms of the domestic economy that increased market orientation was, in some sense, opportunistically combined with these externally-oriented measures.
What should be India’s foreign economic policy
In terms of connections to the rest of the world, however, it is less clear what the right policy mix should be.
We can think of three types of international flows: labour, goods and services, and capital.
1) Internation flow of Indian labour
India has benefited from being able to send workers with a variety of skills to different types of economies: construction workers and nurses in the Persian Gulf, software engineers in the US, and so on.
Direct benefits came from large remittances back to India.
The pandemic and US immigration policy, have had some major impacts on this international connectivity, but new vaccines and a change in the US president are likely to reverse these shocks.
In any case, there is not much that Indian policymakers can do or need to do on this front.
2) Trade in Goods and Service
India has been able to grow its exports, both in a variety of agricultural and manufactured commodities and in services, from software services to tourism.
It has been reasonably competitive in a range of goods and services.
It was only in the last few years, even before the pandemic, have Indian exports struggled to register growth.
Whereas the export powerhouses of East Asia consistently ran surpluses on the current account of the balance of payments, India has mostly run deficits, albeit manageable ones.
3) Capital Flow: Area where policymakers have option
Current account deficits have to be covered somehow, though various forms of foreign capital.
Whereas economic theory and economic policymakers mostly agree on the benefits of international trade in goods and services there is less of a consensus on the benefits of international capital flows.
Capital flows can raise fears of instability if they are reversed, or make exports less competitive if they push up the value of the rupee.
The country is a relatively attractive destination for foreign capital, both FDI and portfolio investment.
But, these flows can make Indian exports less competitive if the rupee appreciates too much, requiring domestic demand to do more of the work of absorbing increased output.
Lesson from Japan
Right now, India is trying to build its manufacturing capacity by raising tariffs, in an old-style push for import substitution.
It is also providing direct incentives, such as the new scheme rewarding increases in production.
Arguably, this did work in Japan in the 1960s, but it is not clear if India is well-off enough to sustain that domestic strategy.
In addition, the lack of competitive discipline exporting can hinder the achievement of acceptable quality levels.
Way forward
Capital controls to some extent can help mitigate the risk in this situation.
The Reserve Bank of India do more to keep the rupee at competitive levels, by accumulating foreign exchange reserves.
Consider the question “In terms of links with the rest of the global economy, it is less clear what the right policy mix should be. Do you agree with the view that focus on simultaneously managing the exchange rate and domestic inflation while maintaining an open capital account would help in the revival of India’s economic growth
Conclusion
Lurking under the surface of these issues is the trilemma of being unable to simultaneously manage the exchange rate and domestic inflation while maintaining an open capital account, although foreign exchange reserves provide a way of softening the trade-offs. These are not new challenges, but they will need to be a focus for India’s policymakers as they seek renewed economic growth.
December 3 is marked by the UN as International Day of Persons with Disabilities in a bid to promote a more inclusive and accessible world for the differently-abled and to raise awareness for their rights.
About 2.2% of India’s population lives with some kind of physical or mental disability, as per the National Statistics Office report on disability released last year.
How are the disabled identified?
Until the 2011 census, there were questions on seven kinds of disabilities in the questionnaire.
This list of disabilities was expanded to 21 when the Rights of People with Disabilities was introduced in 2016.
Accordingly, the 2019 report included questions to identify people with temporary loss of ability as well as neurological and blood disorders in addition.
The earlier definition included mental retardation and permanent inability to move, speak, hear and see.
Significantly, the revised definition recognizes deformities and injuries of acid attack victims as disabilities, entitling them to various relief measures.
Who are disabled and in what way?
Rural men had the highest prevalence of disability in India, according to the NSO report.
A higher proportion of men were disabled in India compared with women, and disability was more prevalent in rural areas than in urban areas.
Inability to move without assistance was the most common disability. More men experienced locomotor disability than women.
These numbers were self-reported. In other words, the respondents were asked if they experienced any difficulty in performing tasks like moving, talking, etc.
Are these measures in line with those from other surveys?
The 2011 census estimated that the number of people with disabilities in India is close to 2.68 crore (or 2.2% of the population) — that is more than the entire population of Australia.
This number was based on the older definition of disability, yet the proportion of disabled people in the population is not different from the 2019 NSO report, which used the expanded definition of disability.
Other metrics for evaluating disability have provided different estimates.
A group of doctors from AIIMS found that alternate questionnaires like the Rapid Assessment of Disability have resulted in a prevalence ranging from 1.6%-43.3%.
How can the range be so wide?
The proportion of population facing disability becomes bigger as one move from a narrow definition to a broader one.
For instance, if one defines disability as the difficulty in accessing public services for all kinds of reasons, even social or economic, then the proportion goes up.
Why is it important to map disabled people?
Like other disadvantaged groups, the disabled in India are entitled to some benefits, ranging from reservation in educational institutes to concessions on railway tickets.
To claim these benefits, they have to furnish certificates as proof of disability.
At the macro level, data on the prevalence and type of disability is useful while making allocations for welfare schemes.
The Supreme Court has held that lottery, gambling and betting are taxable under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.Consider the following items:
Cereal grains hulled
Chicken eggs cooked
Fish processed and canned
Newspapers containing advertising material
Which of the above items is/are exempt under GST (Goods and Services Tax)?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
What did the court say?
A three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan said the levy of GST on lotteries does not amount to “hostile discrimination”.
The court held that lottery, betting and gambling are “actionable claims” and come within the definition of ‘goods’ under Section 2(52) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
Lottery, betting and gambling are well known concepts and have been in practice in this country since before Independence and were regulated and taxed by different legislations.
Parliament to decide
The court said that the Parliament had an absolute power to go for an “inclusive definition” of the term ‘goods’ to include actionable claims like lottery, gambling and betting.
The court accepted the government’s stand that the Parliament has the competence to levy GST on lotteries under Article 246A (inserted after GST Act) of the Constitution.
The power to make laws as conferred by Article 246A fully empowers the Parliament to make laws with respect to GST and expansive definition of goods given in Section 2(52).
NASA has confirmed that the Near-Earth Object called 2020 SO is the rocket booster that helped lift the space agency’s Surveyor spacecraft toward the Moon in 1966.
Try this PYQ:
Consider the following phenomena:
Size of the sun at dusk
Colour of the sun at dawn
Moon being visible at dawn
Twinkle of stars in the sky
Polestar being visible in the sky
Which of the above are optical illusions?
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 3, 4 and 5
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) 2, 3 and 5
What is Surveyor-2?
The Surveyor-2 spacecraft was supposed to make a soft landing on the Moon’s surface in September 1966, during which time one of the three thrusters failed to ignite.
As a result of this the spacecraft started spinning and crashed on the surface.
The aim of the mission was to reconnoiter the lunar surface ahead of the Apollo missions that led to the first lunar landing in 1969.
While the spacecraft crashed into the Moon’s surface, the rocket booster disappeared into an unknown orbit around the Sun.
How was the object determined to be the rocket booster?
Astronomers track asteroids using telescope to determine if there are potentially hazardous asteroids that pose a threat to the planet.
Therefore, it is also important for them to be able to distinguish between natural and artificial objects that orbit around the Sun.
The rocket booster has come “somewhat close” to the Earth in the past few decades.
One approach to the Earth in late 1966 was so close that the object was thought to have originated from Earth.
In September, the NASA-funded telescope detected it.
A massive radio telescope at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory — one of the world’s largest — collapsed on after sustaining severe damage, following 57 years of astronomical discoveries.
Try this PYQ:
Which of the following is/are cited by the scientists as evidence/evidence for the continued expansion of the universe?
Detection of microwaves in space
Observation of redshirt phenomenon in space
Movement of asteroids in space
Occurrence of supernova explosions in space
Codes:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4
(d) None of the above can be cited as evidence.
Arecibo Telescope
The Arecibo Observatory, also known as the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC), was an observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico owned by the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
It was the world’s largest single-aperture telescope for 53 years, surpassed in July 2016 by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) in China.
The second-largest single-dish radio telescope in the world, it had withstood many hurricanes and earthquakes since it was first built in 1963.
Its contributions
Being the most powerful radar, scientists employed Arecibo to observe planets, asteroids and the ionosphere.
It made several discoveries over the decades, including finding prebiotic molecules in distant galaxies, the first exoplanets, and the first millisecond pulsar.
In 1967, Arecibo was able to discover that the planet Mercury rotates in 59 days and not 88 days as had been originally thought.
In the following decades, it also served as a hub in the search for extraterrestrial life, and would look for radio signals from alien civilizations.
In 1993, scientists Russell Hulse and Joseph Taylor were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on the observatory in monitoring a binary pulsar.
It provided a strict test of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and the first evidence for the existence of gravitational waves.
A powerful new telescope ASKAP, in Australia has mapped vast areas of the universe in record-breaking time, revealing a million new galaxies and opening the way to new discoveries.
Note all important telescopes in news and their features. Some of them are – Thirty Meter Telescope, Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, Spitzer, Chandra etc.
What is ASKAP?
ASKAP is a telescope designed over a decade ago and located about 800 km north of Perth.
It became fully operational in February 2019 and is currently conducting pilot surveys of the sky before it can begin large-scale projects from 2021 onward.
ASKAP surveys are designed to map the structure and evolution of the Universe, which it does by observing galaxies and the hydrogen gas that they contain.
One of its most important features is its wide field of view, because of which it has been able to take panoramic pictures of the sky in great detail.
The telescope uses novel technology developed by CSIRO- the Australian space agency, which is a kind of a “radio camera” to achieve high survey speeds and consists of 36 dish antennas, which are each 12m in diameter.
The survey team has been able to observe over 83 per cent of the sky visible from ASKAP’s site in Western Australia.
Significance of the results
The present Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS) taken by the ASKAP telescope is like a “Google map” of the Universe.
Mapping the Universe on such a scale enables astronomers to study the formation of stars and how galaxies and their supermassive black holes evolve and interact with each other.
Significantly, the images the telescope has taken are on average deeper and have better spatial resolution compared to those taken during other surveys of the sky.
The aim of the RACS survey is to generate images that will aid future surveys undertaken using the telescope.
