đŸ’„Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (July Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Subject: International Relations

  • The Afghan Endgame and the US

    As the May 1 deadline for pulling out all American troops from Afghanistan nears, US President Joe Biden faces some difficult decisions.

    Key tasks for the US before they exit

    • The U.S. could abide by the promise made in the U.S.-Taliban agreement signed in February 2020 to withdraw the last of the around 2,500 American Marines stationed in Afghanistan.
    • However, Mr Biden has said it would be tough given the levels of violence there.
    • The US could negotiate with the Taliban for an extension of the agreement, offering other incentives like the release of more prisoners and the delisting of sanctioned Taliban terrorists.
    • The other option is to scrap the 2020 agreement and back the Ashraf Ghani government to continue towards a negotiated settlement, even as US troops remain in Afghanistan to stabilize the security situation.

    What is the US likely to do?

    • The US exit plan is still underway and that no decision on the length of stay or troop numbers have been made to this point, cleared the US Secy of Defence.
    • No U.S. troops have been targeted by Taliban militants in the past year, but violence against Afghan civilians, particularly women, journalists, students and activists has gone up manifold despite the peace agreement.
    • More than 3,000 civilians were killed in 2020.
    • The US has shown some impatience with the Ghani government as well, believing that it is dragging its feet on intra-Afghan negotiations that began last year in Doha but have stalled for the moment.

    Plans for Ashraf Ghani

    • A US plan proposes that Mr Ghani step up negotiations with the Taliban for “power-sharing”, discuss principles of future governance and step aside eventually for a “more inclusive” or interim government. The
    • The tone of the letter seems to make it clear that the US is not in favour of completely scrapping the 2020 agreement.
    • Therefore, it is most likely to pursue the option of negotiating for an extension of the agreement, according to experts, as it builds other dialogue platforms.

    Try this question from our AWE Initiative:

    What is President Ghani’s plan?

    • Ghani has proposed his own peace plan.
    • It would involve a full ceasefire, inviting the Taliban to participate in early elections in Afghanistan, and then for Mr Ghani to hand over power to the elected government.
    • He also said no regional talks could be successful if they did not include India, which is a development partner and a stakeholder.

    Where does India stand?

    • India’s position has been to back an “Afghan-owned, Afghan-led, Afghan-controlled” peace process, backing the elected government in Kabul, and it has not yet held talks with the Taliban directly.
    • As a result, its option remains to stand with the Ghani government and support the constitution that guarantees a democratic process and rights of women and minorities, over any plans the Taliban might have if they come to power.
    • At the same time, India has not foreclosed on the option of talking to the Taliban if it does join the government in Afghanistan.
    • India too has made it clear that it seeks to be an integral part of the process, as the outcomes will have a deep impact on India’s security matrix as well.

  • Teesta Water Sharing Deal

    PM while on his tour of Bangladesh assured his best to ink the long-awaited deal over the Teesta and other common rivers. On at least two occasions—2011 and 2017—Bangladesh and India came close to signing a deal on the Teesta.

    Teesta River

    • Teesta River is a 315 km long river that rises in the eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Bangladesh and enters the Bay of Bengal.
    • It is a tributary of the Brahmaputra (known as Jamuna in Bangladesh), flowing through India and Bangladesh.
    • It originates in the Himalayas near Chunthang, Sikkim and flows to the south through West Bengal before entering Bangladesh.
    • Originally, it continued southward to empty directly into the Padma River but around 1787 the river changed its course to flow eastward to join the Jamuna river.
    • The Teesta Barrage dam helps to provide irrigation for the plains between the upper Padma and the Jamuna.

    What is the dispute about?

    • The point of contention between India and Bangladesh is mainly the lean season flow in the Teesta draining into Bangladesh.
    • The river covers nearly the entire floodplains of Sikkim while draining 2,800 sq km of Bangladesh, governing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
    • For West Bengal, Teesta is equally important, considered the lifeline of half-a-dozen districts in North Bengal.
    • Bangladesh has sought an “equitable” distribution of Teesta waters from India, on the lines of the Ganga Water Treaty of 1996, but to no avail.
    • The failure to ink a deal had its fallout on the country’s politics, putting the ruling party of PM Sheikh Hasina in a spot.

    The hydrological linkages between India and Bangladesh are a product of geography and a matter of shared history. Discuss this statement in line with the Teesta water sharing dispute.

    The deal

    • Following a half-hearted deal in 1983, when a nearly equal division of water was proposed, the countries hit a roadblock. The transient agreement could not be implemented.
    • Talks resumed after the Awami League returned to power in 2008 and the former Indian PM Manmohan Singh visited Dhaka in 2011.
    • In 2015, PM Modi’s visit to Dhaka generated more ebullient lines: deliberations were underway involving all the stakeholders to conclude the agreement as soon as possible.

    Issues from the Indian side

    • It remains an unfinished project and one of the key stakeholders — West Bengal CM is yet to endorse the deal.
    • Her objection is connected to “global warming. Many of the glaciers on the Teesta basin have retreated.
    • The importance of the flow and the seasonal variation of this river is felt during the lean season (from October to April/May) as the average flow is about 500 million cubic metres (MCM) per month.
    • The CM opposed an arrangement in 2011, by which India would get 42.5% and Bangladesh 37.5% of the water during the lean season, and the plan was shelved.

    Why does it matter?

    • India witnessed a surge in the insurgency in the northeast during the rule of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) from 2001 to 2005.
    • Bangladesh allegedly sheltered insurgents engaged in anti-India activities, and nearly all the Home Ministry-level talks ended without agreement, and India had to increase the security budget for the northeast.
    • In a couple of years of assuming office in 2008, the Awami League targeted insurgent camps and handed over the rebels to India.
    • As India’s security establishment heaved a sigh of relief, the relationship improved on multiple fronts.

  • Enhancing the Indo-Bangladesh cooperation

    The article highlights the areas of cooperations and issues between the India and Bangladesh as it celebrates the golden jubilee of its independence from Pakistan.

    New era of cooperation

    • In the last decade, India-Bangladesh relations have warmed up, entering a new era of cooperation.
    • These ties have moved beyond historical and cultural ties to become more assimilated in the areas of trade, connectivity, energy, and defence.
    • Bangladesh and India have achieved the rare feat of solving their border issues peacefully by ratifying the historic Land Boundary Agreement in 2015.
    • The Bangladesh government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has uprooted anti-India insurgency elements from its borders.

    Bilateral trade and tourism

    • Bangladesh today is India’s biggest trading partner in South Asia with exports to Bangladesh in FY 2018-19 at $9.21 billion and imports at $1.04 billion.
    • India has offered duty free access to multiple Bangladeshi products.
    • While India has given duty-free access to a number of Bangladeshi goods, its physical enormity precludes circumstances that could have Bangladesh enhance the quantum of exports.
    • Trade could be more balanced if non-tariff barriers from the Indian side could be removed.
    • Bangladeshis make up a large portion of tourists in India with one in every five tourists being a Bangladeshi.
    • Bangladesh accounts for more than 35% of India’s international medical patients and contributes more than 50% of India’s revenue from medical tourism.

    Cooperation on development

    • India extended three lines of credit to Bangladesh in recent years amounting to $8 billion for the construction of roads, railways, bridges, and ports.
    • However, in eight years until 2019, only 51% of the first $800 million line of credit has been utilised.
    • Barely any amount from the next two lines of credit worth $6.5 billion has been mobilised.
    • This has been mostly due to red-tapism from India’s end, and slow project implementation on Bangladesh’s end.

    Connectivity

    • Connectivity between the two countries has greatly improved.
    • A direct bus service between Kolkata and Agartala runs a route distance of 500 km, as compared to the 1,650 km if it ran through the Chicken’s Neck to remain within India.
    • There are three passenger and freight railway services running between the two countries, with two more routes on their way to be restored.
    • The inauguration of the Chilahati-Haldibari railway link has been a significant move in enhancing connectivity between the countries.
    • Recently, a 1.9 kilometre long bridge, the Maitri Setu, was inaugurated connecting Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
    • Bangladesh allows the shipment of goods from its various ports.
    • This allows landlocked Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura to access open water routes through the Chattogram and Mongla ports.

    Issues

    • Despite the remarkable progress, the unresolved Teesta water sharing issue looms large.
    • While smuggling needs to be dealt with firmly, it is not acceptable for Bangladeshis that rather than apprehending people trying to make an illegal entry into India, the BSF has been shooting them.
    • Indian government’s proposal to implement the National Register of Citizens across the whole of India reflects poorly on India-Bangladesh relations.

    Way forward

    • India-Bangladesh relations have been gaining positive momentum over the last decade.
    • As the larger country, the onus is on India to be generous enough to let the water flow and ensure that people are not killed on the border for cattle.

    Consider the question “As Bangladesh celebrates the golden jubilee of its independence, it is also time for celebrating the enduring Indo-Bangladesh ties despite hiccups that have sometimes disturbed the waters. In light of this, examine the areas of cooperation and issues between the two countries.“

    Conclusion

    To make the recent gains irreversible, both countries need to continue working on the three Cs — cooperation, collaboration, and consolidation

    Source:

    https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/remove-the-wedges-in-india-bangladesh-ties/article34163863.ece

    https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-bangladesh-relations-narendra-modi-visit-7245361/

  • Traffic jam in the Suez Canal

    A massive cargo ship has turned sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal, blocking traffic in a crucial East-West waterway for global shipping.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Between India and East Asia, the navigation time and distance can be greatly reduced by which of the following?

    1. Deepening the Malacca straits between Malaysia and Indonesia.
    2. Opening a new canal across the Kra isthmus between the Gulf of Siam and Andaman sea.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Suez Canal

    • The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez; and dividing Africa and Asia.
    • Constructed by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and 1869, it officially opened on 17 November 1869.
    • The canal was earlier controlled by British and French interests in its initial years but was nationalized in 1956 by Egypt’s then leader Gamal Abdel Nasser.
    • It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez.
    • Its length is 193.30 km including its northern and southern access channels.

    Its significance

    • The Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, natural gas and cargo being shipping from East to West.
    • It provides a major shortcut for ships moving between Europe and Asia, who before its construction had to sail around Africa to complete the same journey.
    • Around 10 % of the world’s trade flows through the waterway and it remains one of Egypt’s top foreign currency earners.
    • As per a report, the canal is a major source of income for Egypt’s economy, with the African country earning $5.61 billion in revenues from it last year.

  • Recalibrating India-Taiwan ties

    25 years of friendship

    • India and Taiwan are celebrating 25 years of their partnership.
    • Mutual efforts between Delhi and Taipei have enabled a range of bilateral agreements covering agriculture, investment, customs cooperation, civil aviation, industrial cooperation and other areas.
    • This growing relationship indicates that the time has come to recalibrate India-Taiwan relations.

    Recalibrating relationship

    1) Creating political framework

    • Both partners have increasingly deepened mutual respect underpinned by openness, with democracy and diversity as the key principles for collective growth.
    • To make this relationship more meaningful, both sides can create a group of empowered persons or a task force to chart out a road map in a given time frame.

    2) Cooperation in healthcare

    • Taiwan’s handling of the pandemic and its support to many other countries underlines the need to deepen healthcare cooperation.
    • India and Taiwan already collaborate in the area of traditional medicine.
    • The time is ripe to expand cooperation in the field of healthcare.

    3) Bio-friendly technologies

    • Stubble burning and an associated decline in air quality has become a challenge for Indian government.
    • Taiwan could be a valuable partner in dealing with this challenge through its bio-friendly technologies.
    • Such technologies convert agricultural waste into value-added and environmentally beneficial renewable energy or biochemicals.
    • This will be a win-win situation as it will help in dealing with air pollution and also enhance farmers’ income.
    • Further, New Delhi and Taipei can also undertake joint research and development initiatives in the field of organic farming.

    4) Cultural exchange

    • India and Taiwan need to deepen people-to-people connect.
    • Cultural exchange is the cornerstone of any civilisational exchange.
    • However, Taiwanese tourists in India are a very small number.
    • The Buddhist pilgrimage tour needs better connectivity and visibility, in addition to showcasing incredible India’s diversity. .
    • With the Taiwan Tourism Bureau partnering with Mumbai Metro, Taiwan is trying to raise awareness about the country and increase the inflow of Indian tourists.

    5) Deepening economic ties

    • India’s huge market provides Taiwan with investment opportunities.
    • The signing of a bilateral trade agreement in 2018 was an important milestone.
    • Taiwan’s reputation as the world leader in semiconductor and electronics complements India’s leadership in ITES (Information Technology-Enabled Services).
    • This convergence of interests will help create new opportunities.
    • Despite the huge potential, Taiwan investments have been paltry in India.
    • Taiwanese firms find the regulatory and labour regime daunting.

    Consider the question “Though mutual efforts between Delhi and Taipei have enabled a range of bilateral agreements, the time has come to recalibrate India-Taiwan relations” In light of this, discuss the ways in which the two countries can deepen bilateral relations and increase cooperation.

    Conclusion

    The two countries have much to cooperate and build the relationship on. What is needed is the political will to recalibrate the relationship.

  • Sanctions on China over Uighurs: Cause & Effect

    In a coordinated move, many countries imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses against Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang province.

    The Uighurs

    • Xinjiang has a large number of Uighurs, Muslims of Turkic descent.
    • Over the past few decades, more and more Han Chinese has settled in Xinjiang, which saw violent clashes between them and the Uighurs.

    The sanctions have come after a meeting between the US and Chinese officials in Alaska last week, in what Washington described as “tough and direct talks”.

    This was a “Tu-Tu, Mai-Mai” conservation if you had seen the news!

    Sanctions on China

    • The European Union, the US, Britain, and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese Officials.
    • Australia and New Zealand issued a joint statement welcoming the Western action, adding they were concerned about reports of abuses from Xinjiang.
    • China on the other hand has consistently denied all reports of atrocities against Uighurs, maintaining it is only “deradicalising” elements of its population in the interests of security.

    Retaliation by China

    • Those sanctioned by China include five Members of the European Parliament and the Political and Security Committee, the EU’s main foreign policy decision-making body, among others.
    • China also summoned the EU ambassador and the UK ambassador to lodge “solemn protests”.

    Why these sanctions are crucial?

    • This is the first time the EU has imposed sanctions on China since an arms embargo after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. That is still in place.
    • Although the EU sanctions are not very damaging, they show a hardening of stance against its largest trading partner.
    • Also significant is that the Western powers moved together, in what is being seen as a result of the US push to deal with China along with its allies.

    Nations that claim to be defenders of the faith or self-proclaimed Caliphates are silent on the persecution of Uighurs! They perceived the abrogation of Art. 370 as a doomsday event! This is height of hypocrisy!

    Reasons behind: Crackdown on Uighurs

    • China is accused of putting over a million people in internment camps to “de-Muslimise” them and make them integrate better in the Communist country.
    • Allegations are that these people have been forced to leave behind their occupations, properties and families, to stay at the camps.
    • Survivors, human rights organisations, and governments of other countries have alleged physical, psychological and sexual torture.
    • People can be sent to the camps for showing any signs of “extremism” — sporting beards, fasting during Ramzan, dressing differently from the majority, sending Eid greetings, praying “too often” etc.

    The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture because it seeks to turn other ideas – uncertainty, progress, change – into crimes.

  • Indus Water Panel holds meeting

    After a gap of more than two and a half years, the Indian and Pakistani delegations began the 116th Meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission.

    Indus Waters Treaty, 1960

    • The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank signed in Karachi in 1960.
    • According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three “eastern” rivers of India — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India
    • The control over the water flowing in three “western” rivers of India — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum was given to Pakistan
    • The treaty allowed India to use western rivers water for limited irrigation use and unrestricted use for power generation, domestic, industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc. while laying down precise regulations for India to build projects
    • India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through the run of the river (RoR) projects on the Western Rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted.

    Based on equitable water-sharing

    • Back in time, partitioning the Indus rivers system was inevitable after the Partition of India in 1947.
    • The sharing formula devised after prolonged negotiations sliced the Indus system into two halves.
    • Equitable it may have seemed, but the fact remained that India conceded 80.52 per cent of the aggregate water flows in the Indus system to Pakistan.
    • It also gave Rs 83 crore in pounds sterling to Pakistan to help build replacement canals from the western rivers. Such generosity is unusual of an upper riparian.
    • India conceded its upper riparian position on the western rivers for the complete rights on the eastern rivers. Water was critical for India’s development plans.

    Significance of the treaty

    • It is a treaty that is often cited as an example of the possibilities of peaceful coexistence that exist despite the troubled relationship.
    • Well-wishers of the treaty often dub it “uninterrupted and uninterruptible”.
    • The World Bank, which, as the third party, played a pivotal role in crafting the IWT, continues to take particular pride that the treaty functions.

    Need for a rethink

    • The role of India, as a responsible upper riparian abiding by the provisions of the treaty, has been remarkable.
    • However, of late, India is under pressure to rethink the extent to which it can remain committed to the provisions, as its overall political relations with Pakistan becomes intractable.

  • Applying lessons from India-Bangladesh ties to relations with Pakistan

    There is a sharp contrast between India’s relations with its neighbours two neighbours: Pakistan and Bangladesh. The article suggest drawing on the lessons from Indo-Bangladesh relations to mend Indo-Pak relations.

    Indo-Bangladesh relations

    • Prime Minister of India will travel to Dhaka this week to commemorate Bangladesh’s Declaration of Independence from Pakistan 50 years ago.
    • From being one of the world’s poorest countries in 1972, Bangladesh is now racing to be in the world’s top 25 economies by the end of this decade.
    • It is also a time for deeper reflection — on the inability of the region to come to a closure on the two Partitions of the subcontinent, the first in 1947 and the second in 1971.
    • Delhi and Dhaka have started finding ways to overcome the tragedy of the Partition to chart a new course of bilateral and regional cooperation.
    • Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has provided strong leadership in advancing ties with India over the last decade and more.
    • Recently the Indian government mobilised enough political support to get a boundary settlement agreement with Bangladesh approved by the Parliament.
    • India also backed an international tribunal’s award resolving the maritime territorial dispute with Bangladesh.
    • The steady improvement in bilateral relations over the last decade has reflected in growing trade volumes, expanding trans-border connectivity, mutual cooperation on terrorism, and widening regional cooperation.

    Applying lessons from Indo-Bangladesh relations to Indo-Pak relations

    • Positive changes in India’s relations with Pakistan have been elusive.
    • Hopes have been rekindled by the agreement late last month between the two military establishments to a ceasefire on the border and to address each other’s concerns.
    • Following are the lessons we can learn and apply productively to Indo-Pak relations

    1) Importance of political stability

    • First lesson is the importance of political stability and policy continuity that have helped Delhi and Dhaka deepen bilateral ties over the last decade.
    • In contrast, the political cycles in Delhi and Islamabad have rarely been in sync.
    • Pakistan’s mainstream civilian leaders have all supported engagement with India.
    • In fact, it is the military that is yet to make up its collective mind.

    2) Concerns for mutual security

    • Cooperation in countering terrorism built deep mutual trust between Dhaka and Delhi.
    • That trust helped deal with many complex issues facing the relationship.
    • In the case of Pakistan, its army has sought to use cross-border terrorism as a political lever to compel India to negotiate on Kashmir.
    • If sponsoring terror seemed a smart strategy in the past, it has now become the source of international political and economic pressure on Pakistan.

    3) Depoliticise national economic interests

    • Delhi and Dhaka have steadily moved forward on issues relating to trade, transit and connectivity by dealing with them on their own specific merits.
    • Pakistan, on the other hand, has made sensible bilateral commercial cooperation and regional economic integration hostages to the Kashmir question.
    • It is not clear if Pakistan is ready to separate the two and expand trade ties while talking to India on Kashmir.

    Consider the question “The steady improvement in bilateral relations with Bangladesh over the last decade can offer valuable lessons to be applied to India-Pakistan relations. In light of this, examine the factors that India and Pakistan need to focus on to achieve improvement in bilateral relations.”

    Conclusion

    Both India and Pakistan need to recognise the importance of pursuing the national well being through regional cooperation. That is exactly what Bangladesh has done in the last decade.

  • Mizoram’s bond with people fleeing Myanmar

    Mizoram CM has expressed his sympathies for the people fleeing areas bordering Mizoram. These areas are inhabited by Chin communities who are ethnically Mizo.

    Map reading: Note all NE states bordering Myanmar.

    Who are the Chin communities?

    • The Chin Hills, or the Indo-Chin hill ranges as they are often called, are a mountainous region in north-western Myanmar.
    • At an elevation of 2100-3000 metres, this heavily- forested mountain region was the home of numerous tribes that fall under the Zo umbrella.
    • The Zo people include all the tribes that come under the Chin-Kuki-Mizo ethnic group spread across Myanmar, India and Bangladesh.
    • They include a host of tribes, sub-tribes and clans such as Chin, Kuki, Mizo, Zomi, Paitei, Hmar, Lushei, Ralte, Pawi, Lai, Mara, Gangte, Thadou etc.

    Their ethnic origin

    • Believed to have originated in China, the tribes migrated through Tibet to settle in Myanmar, and speak a group of the Tibeto-Burman languages.
    • But constant feuds among clans of different tribes and their kings (chieftains), drove many of the clans westwards, towards Mizoram and some parts of Manipur, in the 17th century.
    • Here the tribes set up new villages and colonies, but even with their new identities, they remain socially and emotionally tied with the Chin tribes of Myanmar.
    • When British rule extended towards the Northeast, Mizoram was denoted an “excluded area” and remained outside the administration of the British, governed only by the Scheduled District Act.

    Nature of the bond with Mizos

    • While they are separated by a 510-km India-Myanmar border, they consider themselves “one people’’ despite past conflicts: the Indo-Chin people.
    • Besides the shared ethnicity, what binds these two peoples together is a shared religion.
    • Mizoram is predominantly Christian, as are the Chin people of Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
    • Mizoram officials refer to the refugees’ status as a Christian minority people in seeking asylum for them, and also the fear of persecution by the junta.
    • Rih Dil in Chin state, Myanmar, is a cultural and spiritual lake for the Mizos, deeply revered in folklore, shaping pre-Christian belief of traditional Mizo views of life after death.

    How well are the two sides connected?

    India’s Look East, Act East policy and greater interactions on the border have strengthened an already strong connection between the people on either side of the border.

    • The Mizoram-Myanmar border is porous, with very little fencing, if any.
    • While the latest influx has been driven by the coup, Myanmar residents have been crossing this open border for decades.
    • It is understood that the actual number of refugees is much higher, with more arriving every day.
    • In the early 20th century, Mizos from Champhai district and elsewhere migrated to Myanmar, setting up villages in the Kalay-Kabaw valley.
    • Many are believed to have joined the Myanmar army for lucrative employment.
    • Many Mizo families also migrated to Myanmar in 1966 and 1986, when the Mizo National Front sought secession from India, to escape counter-insurgency operations from the Indian government.

    The Free Movement Regime

    • The Mizo social fabric spans across the border, which now separates families.
    • The two countries have an arrangement called the Free Movement Regime (FMR) that allows locals on either side to go up to 16 km on the other side and stay up to 14 days.
    • Thousands regularly cross over on either side for work and to meet relatives, often unofficially and for extended periods.
    • Marriages are often arranged across the border.

    Trade dependency on Myanmar

    • In border trade, Mizoram depends to a large extent on Myanmar for many essential commodities including beef, pork, good quality rice, fruits, and household utensils.
    • Mizoram sends across items scarce in Myanmar such as medicines or fertilisers.

    What is India’s policy on asylum seekers?

    • India is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and it does not currently have a national law on refugees.
    • In 2011, the Centre circulated to all states and UTs a Standard Operating Procedure to deal with foreign nationals who claimed to be refugees.
    • An illegal immigrant can be a foreign national who enters India on valid travel documents and stays beyond their validity or a foreign national who enters without valid travel documents.
    • Cases can be justified on grounds of well-founded fears of persecution on account of race, religion, sex, nationality, ethnic identity, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
    • They can be recommended by states or UTs to the Home Ministry for a long-term visa (LTV) after due security verification.

    Note: LTV-holders are allowed to take up private-sector employment and enrol in any academic institution.

    What is happening in Mizoram right now?

    • The Mizo Zirlai Pawl, the apex Mizo students body, on February 3 held a sit-in demonstration in Aizawl in solidarity with the people of Myanmar.
    • Several Mizo village council authorities have issued letters and statements affirming their willingness to accommodate Chin refugees.
    • The CM gave an assurance in the Assembly that the state government would be ready to provide assistance to civilians fleeing the Myanmar regime.

    Way ahead

    • With the swell of sympathy among Mizos for the fleeing Chin people and increasing pressure on the state government, it is unlikely that Mizoram will back down any time soon — unless the Centre devises a way out.

  • Iran deal could be rescued by the IAEA

    The article explains how IAEA could play an important role in finding a solution to the stalemate between the U.S. and Iran on JCPOA.

    Issue of Iran’s return to JCPOA

    • There is uncertainty between the U.S. and Iran on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as to whether Iranian compliance comes first or the lifting of sanctions by the U.S.
    • In this context, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is back on the stage to rescue the JCPOA.
    • The U.S. tried to pressurise Iran by proposing a resolution in the IAEA Board of Governors meeting criticising Iranian non-compliance with the JCPOA and its alleged IAEA safeguards violations.
    • This comes amidst rumours that Iran might withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

    Iran may follow Indian model on creating a deterrent

    • Foreign Policy recently noted that Iranian society increasingly see the weapon not just as an ultimate deterrent but as a panacea for Iran’s chronic security problems and challenges to its sovereignty by foreign powers.
    • If the stalemate continues on JCPOA, because of the U.S. pressure, public opinion may shift towards the Indian model of creating a deterrent and then seeking a special dispensation to avoid severe sanctions.
    • But the risks involved in such a policy will be grave, including the possibility of military action by Israel.

    Relation between IAEA and NPT

    • The IAEA is neither the Secretariat of the NPT nor is it empowered to request States to adhere to it.
    • . It does, however, have formal responsibility in the context of implementing Article III of the Treaty.
    • At the broadest level, the IAEA provides two service functions under the NPT.
    • 1) It facilitates and provides a channel for endeavours aimed at further development of the applications of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
    • 2) It administer international nuclear safeguards, in accordance with Article III of the Treaty, to verify fulfilment of the non-proliferation commitment assumed by non-nuclear-weapon States party to the Treaty.
    • The NPT assigns to the IAEA the responsibility for verifying, at the global level, through its safeguards system, that non-nuclear weapon States fulfil their obligations not to use their peaceful nuclear activities to develop any nuclear explosive devices of any kind.

    How IAEA could play role in JCPOA

    • Accordingly, the Iranian file could go back to the IAEA to start fresh negotiations to restrain Iran to remain within the permissible level of enrichment of uranium.
    • This may mean going back to the pre-six nation initiative, when the IAEA could not certify that Iran was not engaged in weapon activities.
    • With the experience of the JCPOA, any new arrangement has to ensure the following:
    • 1) Iran must have sanctions relief.
    • 2) The stockpile of enriched uranium should not exceed the limits established.
    • 3) There should be guarantees that Iran will not violate the safeguards agreement.
    • The test is whether these can be accomplished within the framework of the IAEA.

    Way forward

    • Since the IAEA is a technical body, its deliberations may be kept at the technical level.
    • At the same time, since it is open for the IAEA to report to the Security Council for necessary action, the IAEA will have the necessary clout to insist on the implementation of the NPT and its additional protocol.
    • A new avenue may open for Iran to continue its peaceful nuclear activities as permitted in the NPT.

    Consider the question “Examine the role played by IAEA under NPT. How this role can help IAEA in breaking the ice between Iran and the U.S. on JCPOA?” 

    Conclusion

    Thus, IAEA can play an important role in ending the statement JCPOA finds itself in and ensure compliance from Iran on JCPOA and lifting sanctions by the U.S.

    Back2Basics: Article III of NPT

    • This article provides for the application of safeguards to ensure that nuclear material in non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS) isn’t diverted to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
    •  NNWS must place all nuclear materials in all peaceful nuclear activities under IAEA safeguards.
    • Each nuclear weapon state (NWS) will not provide nuclear materials or equipment to a NNWS without an IAEA safeguards agreement.
    • The safeguards should comply with Article IV of the NPT, and should not hamper peaceful uses of nuclear technology or economic/technical development in general.
    • Safeguards agreements can be concluded on an individual or group basis.
    • After the entry into force of the NPT, state parties had 180 days to commence negotiation of a safeguards agreement. Currently, state parties must begin negotiations by the date they deposit their instruments of ratification or accession.