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EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
DELHI THE HINDU
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 201910EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CMYK
A ND-NDE
EDITORIAL
Arjun Subramaniam
Kulbhushan Jadhav, the former Indian Navy offi��cer, whowas allegedly abducted by
Pakistani intelligence from Iranand sentenced to death on chargesof espionage and terrorism by afarcical military court in Pakistan,has been given a glimmer of hopeby the ruling of the InternationalCourt of Justice (ICJ). Respondingto a petition by India that soughtan annulment of his death sentence because Pakistan had violated numerous international treaties and extracted irregularconfessions under coercion, theICJ, on July 17, 2019, ruled with adecisive vote (151) that Mr. Jadhavcannot be executed by Pakistan,and that he must be given adequate consular access and a fairtrial. The ruling also urged Pakistan to review his conviction. Thisconstitutes a major diplomatic andlegal victory for India, with Pakistan accusing India of ‘ambushing’it at The Hague.
Focussed strategyGiven its rather lukewarm recordin the past of securing the releaseof Indian detainees in Pakistanthrough bilateral negotiations, In
dia’s strategy in this case has beento exploit increasing internationalacceptance that Pakistan was anemerging ‘rogue’ state. Layingstress on Pakistan’s scant regardfor Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations — itdeals with the arrest, detentionand trial of a foreign citizen — India’s counsel, Harish Salve, highlighted two compelling arguments. First was the arrestprocess, which was not accompanied by an immediate notifi��cationto Indian consular offi��cials in Islamabad. There was a delay of overthree weeks before India was informed, and it was during this period, according to reliable sourcesfrom within Pakistan, that Mr. Jadhav was subjected to all means ofcoercion and forced to sign a ‘confession taken under custody’ without adequate legal representation.Second was the twoway denial ofaccess and communication by anymeans between Mr. Jadhav andconsular offi��cials and a failure toinform him of the rights he enjoyed under the convention.
The legitimacy of militarycourts has always been controversial within the international legalsystem that emerged in the postWorld War II era as a fasttrack system of delivering skewed justice byauthoritarian regimes and militarydictatorships. Purportedly set upin Pakistan in 2015 as a counterterrorist and anticorruption initiative, Mr. Jadhav’s sentencing inApril 2017 was based on confes
sions taken in captivity and is partof several arbitrary sentencings byPakistan’s Military Court.
Violation of rightsThe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) recognises the right to an eff��ectivedefence against criminal charges,and to a fair and impartial trial, inwhich the accused is representedby a lawyer of his choice. By denying consular access, Pakistan hasstood in gross violation of both theVienna Convention and theICCPR. Had due process been followed, and then had Mr. Jadhavbeen charged with espionage, India may not have had the necessary room to take the matter to theICJ.
By attempting to circumventthe ‘due diligence’ process, Pakistan has exposed serious chinks inits legal environment and jeopardised its standing in the comity ofnations. The Jadhav case has alsorevealed Pakistan’s desperation inits search for ‘proxies’ as drivers ofthe internal unrest in Balochistan.Reliable sources within India’s in
telligence agencies hint at the possibility of Mr. Jadhav having beenabducted by armed groups operating on the border between Iranand Balochistan. Pakistan isknown to have used proxy Sunnigroups such as the Jaish alAdlagainst Iran, and Iranian offi��cialshave often spoken to their Indiancounterparts about Pakistan’ssponsorship of terrorist activitiesalong the IranPakistan border. Atestimony to the growing menaceof this group is its recent designation as a front of Jundullah —which is a ‘Specially DesignatedGlobal Terrorist’.
India has shown both intent andresilience in attempting to securethe release of Mr. Jadhav despitethe many hiccups along the way.Following a synergised approachsteered by the National SecurityAdviser and the External Aff��airsMinister, India fought the kidnapping of Mr. Jadhav, an Indian national who was legitimately residing in Iran after retirement fromthe Indian Navy. Realising, in 2017,following his death sentence thatthe overall deteriorating relationsbetween India and Pakistan hadclosed the door on any bilateralway of securing his release, Indiarightly chose to go the ‘international way’ by fi��elding a formidable legal team led by the jurist,Harish Salve. Sparing no eff��orts onthe human aspects of the case too,India managed to get Mr. Jadhav tomeet his mother and wife after thedeath sentence was pronounced.
The fi��rst success achieved by theIndian legal team was on May 9,2017 when the ICJ sent an urgentmessage to the Prime Minister ofPakistan, urging him to stay the execution till India’s case was heardfully and the ICJ arrived at a verdict. Moving slowly but surelythrough the legal battle for overtwo years, India, has been demonstrating signifi��cant synergy between various stakeholders in thecase.
The fi��nal verdict will, hopefully,galvanise the Indian establishmentto step on the pedal and exertpressure on Pakistan to rescindthe death sentence and allow Mr.Jadhav consular access and legitimate legal platform to mount hisdefence. While it would be wishfulthinking to assume that Mr. Jadhavwould return to India soon, thereis a glimmer of hope on the horizon that the Indian strategic establishment would do well to exploit. Having deftly navigated thelegal and diplomatic channels andrestrained the Pakistan military bysecuring manoeuvring space following the ICJ verdict, a leadingpower such as India must demonstrate its intent and capacity to extract desirable outcomes out ofpotentially diffi��cult, or seeminglyimpossible situations. KulbhushanJadhav’s case is one such challenge.
Arjun Subramaniam is a strategic
commentator and Visiting Professor at
Ashoka University
Takeaways from the Kulbhushan Jadhav case rulingIndia’s more successful legal journey to the ICJ must now reshape New Delhi’s approach to potentially diffi��cult situations
AF
P
more letters online:
www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/
India’s singular objective as anonpermanent member of theUnited Nations Security Coun
cil (UNSC) in 202122 should be tohelp build a stable and secure external environment. In doing so,India will promote its own people’s prosperity, regional and global security and growth, and arulebased world order. It couldemerge a partner of choice for developing and developed countriesalike.
India’s representation in theUNSC has become rarer. It is to reenter the Council after a gap of 10years. The previous time, in 201112, followed a gap of 20 years. Intotal, India has been in the UNSCfor 14 years, representing roughlya fi��fth of the time the United Nations (UN) has existed. India mustleverage this latest opportunity toproject itself as a responsiblenation.
Changing state of worldIndia fi��nds itself in a troubled region between West and East Asia,a region bristling with insurgencies, terrorism, human and narcotics traffi��cking, and great powerrivalries. There has been cataclysmic dislocation in West Asia. TheGulf is in turmoil. Though the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant(Daesh) has been defeated, Iraqand Syria are not going to be thesame as before. Surviving and dispersed Daesh foot soldiers are likely preparing new adventures, many in their countries of origin. Theturbulence in West Asia is echoedin North and South Asia, a conse
quence of the nuclear and missiletests by the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea and Afghanistan’s slow but unmistakable unravelling from the support, sustenance and sanctuary provided inits contiguity to groups such as theHaqqani network, the Taliban,and alQaeda. Other problems inAsia include strategic mistrust ormisperception, unresolved borders and territorial disputes, theabsence of a panAsia security architecture, and competition overenergy and strategic minerals.
Alongside, the western world isconsumed by primordial, almosttribal instincts, turning its back onthe universal values it once espoused as western values. Punditsand political scientists, who hadspoken of the end of the nationstate and the end of history itself,are grappling with the rise of newnationalism.
The benign and supportive international system that followedthe Cold War has all but disappeared. At the beginning of thiscentury, the words ‘national interest’ had acquired almost a pejorative connotation. They are nowback in currency. Fear, populism,polarisation, and ultranationalism have become the basis of politics in many countries. No wonderthat fi��ve years ago, when HenryKissinger completed his latestwork, World Order, he found theworld to be in a greater state of disorder than at any time since theend of World War II.
Even so, the world is in a betterplace today than when the UN wasfi��rst established. The record onmaintaining international peaceand security, one of the primefunctions of the UNSC, has beenpositive, with or without the UN.The world has been distractedfrom its other shared goals, especially international social and economic cooperation. Although
coordination between 193 sovereign member nations will be diffi��cult, it is well worth trying. To thisend, the permanent members(P5) as also other UN membersmust consider it worth their whileto reform the Council.
A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, “World in 2050”, predicts that by 2050, China will be theworld’s number one economicpower, followed by India. In China’s case, this is subject to its success in avoiding the middleincome trap. And in India’s, to moreconsistent economic performancethan the experience of recentyears. That said, one of the challenges of the international systemtoday, and for India in the UNSC, isthat this profound impendingchange is largely unrecognised bythe great powers and other countries.
What should India aim to do?There is no need for India to fritteraway diplomatic goodwill in seeking an elusive permanent seat inthe UNSC — it will come India’sway more by invitation and less byselfcanvassing. India will have toincrease its fi��nancial contribution,as the apportionment of UN expenses for each of the P5 countries is signifi��cantly larger thanthat for India. Even Germany andJapan today contribute manytimes more than India. AlthoughIndia has been a leading provider
of peacekeepers, its assessed contribution to UN peacekeeping operations is minuscule.
At a time when there is a defi��citof international leadership on global issues, especially on security,migrant movement, poverty, andclimate change, India has an opportunity to promote wellbalanced, common solutions.
First, as a member of the UNSC,India must help guide the Councilaway from the perils of invokingthe principles of humanitarian interventionism or ‘Responsibility toProtect’. The world has seen mayhem result from this. And yet,there are regimes in undemocraticand repressive nations where thisyardstick will never be applied. Given the fragile and complex international system, which can become even more unpredictableand confl��ictual, India should worktowards a rulesbased global order. Sustainable development andpromoting peoples’ welfareshould become its new drivers.
Second, India should push toensure that the UNSC SanctionsCommittee targets all those individuals and entities warrantingsanctions. Multilateral action bythe UNSC has not been possiblebecause of narrowly defi��ned national interest. As on May 21, 2019,260 individuals and 84 entities aresubject to UN sanctions, pursuantto Council resolutions 1267, 1989,and 2253. The U.S. Department ofTreasury’s Offi��ce of Foreign AssetsControl maintains a larger list ofindividuals and entities subject toU.S. sanctions. The European Union maintains its own sanctionslist.
Third, having good relationswith all the great powers, Indiamust lead the way by pursuing inclusion, the rule of law, constitutionalism, and rational internationalism. India should once againbecome a consensusbuilder, in
stead of the outlier it has progressively become. A harmonised response is the sine qua non fordealing with global problems ofclimate change, disarmament, terrorism, trade, and development.India could take on larger burdensto maintain global public goodsand build new regional publicgoods. For example, India shouldtake the lead in activating theUNSC’s Military Staff�� Committee,which was never set into motionfollowing the UN’s inception.Without it, the UNSC’s collectivesecurity and confl��ictresolutionroles will continue to remainlimited.
Looking at polycentrismA rulesbased international orderhelps rather than hinders India,and embracing the multilateralethic is the best way forward. Indiawill be a rich country in the futureand will acquire greater militarymuscle, but its people will remainrelatively poor. India is a great nation, but not a great power. Apolarity, unipolarity, a duopoly ofpowers or contending superpowers — none of these suit India. India has a strong motive to embracepolycentrism, which is anathemato hegemonic powers intent oncarving out their exclusive spheresof infl��uence.
Finally, India cannot stride theglobal stage with confi��dence in theabsence of stable relations with itsneighbours. Besides whatever elseis done within the UN and theUNSC, India must lift its game inSouth Asia and its larger neighbourhood. Exclusive reliance onIndia’s brilliant team of offi��cers atits New York mission is not goingto be enough.
Jayant Prasad has served as Ambassador
in several stations and is a former
Director General of the Institute for
Defence Studies and Analyses
At the UNSC, a threepoint agenda India should once again become a consensusbuilder, instead of the outlier it has progressively become
Jayant Prasad
GE
TT
Y IM
AG
ES/I
ST
OC
KP
HO
TO
An exclusionary tacticIt is obvious that both theCentre and Assamgovernment want todeprive more people frominclusion in the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC).Hence, they are seeking areverifi��cation of 20% ofthose already enrolled(Front page, “Centre,Assam move SC for samplereverifi��cation of NRC,” July17). There have been manydisturbing reports on theanomalies in the process ofNRC updation, especiallyabout the use of locallydeveloped Digitised LegacyData software withoutsubjecting it to the rigoursof necessary testing.Moreover, there are alsoreports that complete dataon the 1951 NRC andelectoral rolls of 1966 and1971, based on which thepresent NRC is beingupdated, are unavailable.
As mentioned by the writerin her article, “The manyhurdles in provingcitizenship” (OpEd page,July 17), a majority of thoseleft out of the NRC areimpoverished and illiterate.They are not in a position tofi��ght for their legitimaterights in the court of lawand are in danger of beingdeclared “foreigners” eventhough they could begenuine nationals.S.K. Deb,
Kolkata
Disqualify the defectorsIt has become routine forelected representatives tochange loyalties forpecuniary benefi��ts,threatening the stability ofan elected government,following which a diff��erentparty captures power. Thisamounts to a clear breachof the trust of voters whoelected the MLAs and
endangers the very fabric ofdemocracy. The presentAntiDefection Law doesnot act as a deterrent.Hence, it needs to besuitably amended to ensurethat members of a party,irrespective of thenumbers, are not able todefect till they completetheir full term (Editorial,“Karnataka conundrum”,July 15). If they defect, theyshould be disqualifi��ed.M. Govindaraj,
Gudiyatham, Tamil Nadu
A test of federalismElected representativesfrom nonHindispeakingStates are often compelledto protest against theCentral government forconducting recruitmenttests only in Hindi orEnglish and denying anequal opportunity to manycandidates (Front page,“Centre annuls test to
recruit postmen,” July 17).Such quiet enforcement,where the state favours oneor two languages forcompetitive recruitmentexams, is against theprinciples of federalism andespecially disadvantagesthose living in rural areas.H.N. Ramakrishna,
Bengaluru
A realistic moveThe postponement ofChandrayaan2’s launchneed not be viewed as adampener. The ability toidentify a malfunctioningcomponent and recognisethe attendant risk is aslaudable if not more as asuccessful launch. We needto take lessons from thedisaster that befell NASA’sChallenger space shuttle onJanuary 28, 1986 (Editorial,“Waiting for daybreak”, July16). A design fault in one ofits components had been
congratulated because thepresence of the President ofIndia at the launch site didnot weigh on them andthey placed reality abovepublic relations. R. Narayanan,
Thiruvananthapuram
Judges not ‘Lords’The Rajasthan High Court’sdecision to do away withthe archaic practice ofaddressing judges as ‘MyLord’ and ‘Your Lordship’ islaudable and can beemulated by other courts.In the place of ‘My Lord’,‘Mr. Judge’, can be used.The custom of calling ajudge ‘Your Honour’ canalso be dispensed with(“Rajasthan HC seeks todispense with ‘My Lord’,”July 15).K. Pradeep,
Chennai
known to NASA scientists.Since, on the day of thelaunch, the temperaturewas below the permissiblelimit, the engineers raisedan alarm. However,President Ronald Reagan’saddress scheduled for thesame evening had includeda ‘successful launch’ in itscontent. To avoidembarrassment, NASA’smanagement overruled thetechnical advice. Soon afterliftoff��, the launch vehicleexploded, killing all theseven crew members. TheRogers Commissionconcluded that NASA’sorganisational culture anddecisionmaking processeswere the culprits. PhysicistRichard Feynman observedthat “for a successfultechnology, reality mustmake precedence overpublic relations, for naturecannot be fooled”. TheISRO team should be
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
The Supreme Court’s interim order stating that the
15 dissident Karnataka legislators cannot be com
pelled to attend the House, means they are not
bound by any whip relating to the trust vote moved by
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. This gives the nu
merical advantage in the House to the BJPled Opposi
tion. Without the support of the 15 lawmakers, the rul
ing coalition will be reduced to a minority. The other
limb of the order permits the Speaker to decide on the
resignation of these MLAs in a timeframe he considers
appropriate. Although the court says there was an im
perative necessity “to maintain the constitutional ba
lance”, the order tilts the odds in favour of the Opposi
tion in the vote. It amounts to holding that provisions of
the antidefection law, under which parties can issue
whips to their members to vote in a particular way, will
not be applicable to the 15 MLAs. The order raises the
concern whether it does not constitute a perilous pre
cedent for granting ad hoc judicial exceptions from con
stitutional provisions on defection and set the tone for
future judicial intervention to suspend the operation of
any whip in respect of a few. Alternatively, the court,
which is understandably reluctant to intervene in the
Speaker’s power ahead of his decisions, could have re
frained from making any orders about the legislators’
presence during the trust vote, and made it clear that
any action against them arising out of their absence or
manner of voting would be subject to judicial review.
To be fair to the Supreme Court, it is being burdened
with the task of unravelling political knots created by
amoral strategems. In this case, the “political thicket”
into which the court has been dragged has its origins in
manoeuvres to reduce the combined strength of the Ja
nata Dal(S) and the Congress. In a bid to thwart tactical
resignations, the government and the Speaker adopted
the counterstrategy of not immediately accepting
them, but initiating or pursuing disqualifi��cation pro
ceedings. One of the questions in the litigation is wheth
er it is resignation or disqualifi��cation that should get
priority. The objective of disqualifying the MLAs rather
than allowing them to quit will not save the govern
ment, but it will prevent them from taking oath as mi
nisters in an alternative Cabinet. Though the court’s or
der recognises the Speaker’s authority to rule whether
the resignations are genuine, and fi��xes no timeframe, it
is a Pyrrhic victory; for, their continuance as members
puts them under no obligation to vote for the govern
ment in view of the allowance given to stay away during
the vote. The dissident MLAs risk nothing other than
their seats, certainly not the opportunity to join the Ca
binet of a successorgovernment. When the court takes
up the substantive questions of law for adjudication, it
should squarely address the newfound interplay bet
ween issues of resignation and disqualifi��cation, lest it
become a perennial source of political controversy.
Balance and tiltSC order on rebel MLAs hands over the fl��oor
advantage to the Karnataka Opposition
Journalists are facing heightened threats around the
globe, according to the 2019 World Press Freedom
Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders
(RSF), covering 180 countries and territories. It notes
that the number of countries regarded as safe for jour
nalists is on the decline; this should be a wakeup call.
Hatred of journalists has degenerated into violence in
many places, and India is no exception. In 2018, at least
six Indian journalists were killed in the line of their
work, the report said. India’s rank fell by two places to
140 from 138 — in 2016 it was 133 and in 2017 it was 136.
In 2014 India’s ranking was 140, but this year’s setback
is qualitatively diff��erent. The report notes that organ
ised campaigns by supporters of Hindutva “to purge all
manifestations of ‘antinational’ thought from the na
tional debate” is putting journalists in danger. Women
journalists are particularly at the receiving end, and co
vering sensitive but important topics of public interest
such as separatism in Jammu and Kashmir and Maoist
insurgency has become more diffi��cult. Authorities use
anachronistic sedition laws against journalists, who al
so face the wrath of militants and criminal gangs.
Hostility towards the media is a defi��ning feature of
hypernationalist politics in many countries. In India,
the Centre and several State governments have not
merely shown extreme intolerance towards objective
and critical reporting but also taken unprecedented
measures to restrict journalism. The Finance Minister’s
recent order barring credentialed reporters from the
Ministry’s premises is a case in point but this is not an
isolated measure. There is a systematic attempt to limit
the scope of journalism in India through physical res
trictions, denial of information and hostile rhetoric
against journalists by senior government functionaries.
The Narendra Modi government is unlikely to take the
RSF report seriously. While expression of concern by
foreign countries or global bodies regarding human
rights, religious violence or media freedom is routinely
dismissed as external interference in India’s sovereign
ty, the government knows all too well that in a global
ised world these perceptions matter. What else would
explain the Prime Minister’s singleminded pursuit to
improve India’s position in the World Bank’s annual
Ease of Doing Business ranking? If India is concerned
about its reputation in terms of business and invest
ment, it should be equally or even more concerned
about its standing as a democratic, pluralist country
with a free and dynamic press. That is not so much for
the infl��ow of investment or luring global corporations,
which may care little about a destinationcountry’s de
mocratic credentials — but for India’s wellbeing.
Sword against penIndia needs a free and independent
media for its own wellbeing
https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
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THE HINDU DELHI
THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019 11EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CMYK
A ND-NDE
OPED
Mr. Eardley Norton addressed this evening[July 17, in Calcutta] a public meeting at theIndian Association on the present politicalsituation. Mr. Norton began with a short history of the growth of political life in Indiaand said that the people of the countrywould be well advised in taking whatever reforms were off��ered to them and then pressfor more. They should work out their ownsalvation by fi��ghting their own battles and bypressing the rulers that they were fi��t to beentrusted with further installments of freedom. They should cooperate in the successful working of the Reform Scheme and thuslay their claim to get more freedom. Theyshould accept whatever political concessions now given to them and then go on agitating for more and more. Though therewere a few Englishmen here who wereagainst Indian aspirations they did not represent the millions of liberalminded Englishmen, who sympathised with Indian aspirations and who wanted to see India moreand more prosperous and selfgoverning.
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JULY 18, 1919.
Judicial Methods Criticised.
In November 2015, a Turkish F16shot down a Russian fi��ghter jet overthe Syrian border, ratcheting up tensions between Moscow and Ankara.There were speculations that RussianPresident Vladimir Putin would retaliate. But Mr. Putin didn’t take anymilitary action against Turkey. Instead, he stayed focussed on his strategic goal of defeating the antiregime rebels and jihadists andbolstering Syria’s existing state institutions. Mr. Putin’s strategy was notto attack Turkey, but to win over it.He exploited the cracks in the Atlantic alliance, especially in U.S.Turkeyrelations. Evolving regional equations also favoured his bet. On July12, three and a half years after theRussian bomber was downed by theTurks, Ankara received the fi��rstbatch of the S400, Russia’s most advanced missile defence systems, despite threats and warnings from theU.S. and NATO.
An ironyThis is a pivotal moment in the postSoviet order. Turkey is a NATO member and also hosts a U.S. airbase in Incirlik. Turkey’s strategic location, inthe intersection of southern Europe,Central Asia and West Asia, makes ita pricey catch in geopolitical games.
During the Cold War, Turkey was akey buff��er for the Atlantic powersagainst the Soviet Union. Even afterthe Soviet Union disintegrated, theU.S. continued to maintain a close alliance with Ankara. But now, a hightech Russian missile system protectsa NATO nation’s airspace. This is anirony as the idea of NATO, a relic ofthe Cold War, is to check Russia.
The U.S. has raised several technical issues over Turkey acquiring theS400. It fears the system will gatherdata from the latest radarevadingAmerican bombers, F35, for whichTurkey has placed an order. In response to Turkey’s decision to goahead with the S400 deal, the U.S.has already suspended training programmes for Turkish pilots. Ankara
could also attract sanctions fromWashington. But beyond these issues, the political point of a NATOmember defying NATO and a powerful member of the alliance to buyRussian weaponry is what makes theS400 deal the hottest postSovietweapons agreement.
Turkey’s failed betWhy did Turkey defy the U.S., evenrisking sanctions when its economyis underperforming? A host of factors led President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to redirect foreign policy.
The fi��ssures in U.S.Turkey tiesdate back to the 2003 Iraq War whenAnkara refused to be a launchpad forthe American invasion. During theSyrian crisis, Turkey wanted the U.S.to interfere in Syria on behalf of therebels and overthrow the Assad regime, but the Obama administrationrefused to do that. Turkey at thattime was betting on the Arab Springas a foreign policy tool to expand itsinfl��uence in West Asia and NorthAfrica. The expectation was that thedictatorships in the region would bereplaced by Islamist political parties(say, the Muslim Brotherhood whichis ideologically aligned with Turkey’sruling Justice and Development Party). But this bet was counterproductive, especially in Syria.
In the initial years of the Syriancrisis, the porous SyrianTurkish border was a crucial transit point for rebels and jihadists alike. By the timeTurkey started sealing the border,the Islamic State (IS) had establisheditself as a dominant player in Syria.
The IS initially attacked Syrian government forces and rebel groups.But once it started facing the heat onthe battlefi��eld, it turned against Turkey, carrying out a host of terror attacks in 2016. Another consequenceof Turkey’s failed Syrian bet was theempowerment of Syrian Kurdish rebels, who have close ideological andmilitary ties with the KurdistanWorkers’ Party, which has been fi��ghting the Turkish forces for decades.When Kurds fought the IS in the battlefi��eld, the U.S. started supportingthem directly. So Turkey lost all sidesin Syria. It failed to topple the Assadregime as the Russians and Iranianscame to the regime’s rescue. The porous border policy backfi��red as jihadists turned against Turkey. Finally,there is an empowered Kurdistanacross the border controlled by battlehardened Kurdish rebels, whoTurkey sees as its primary enemies.
Turkey accepted this new reality.It gave up its demand to topple theAssad regime, and shifted its focus tocreating a buff��er between its borderand Syrian Kurdistan. For this itneeds Russian and Syrian help, as theSyrian government also doesn’t wantto see the Kurds being empoweredany further. But Kurds were the U.S.’spartners in the war against the IS,and over 2,000 U.S. troops are stillstationed in Syrian Kurdistan. HereTurkey’s interests directly clash withthe U.S.’s.
There were other issues as well.Ankara blames Fethullah Gulen, aU.S.based Turkish cleric, for the2016 failed coup bid against Mr. Er
dogan, and wants him to be extradited to Turkey. (Turkey also issued anarrest warrant against a former topCIA offi��cer with links to Mr. Gulen.)The U.S. refused to give in to Turkey’s demands. Turkey also wantedto buy the Patriot missile defencesystem from the U.S., but Washington initially was not keen on selling itto Ankara. As all these issues piledup, Turkey turned to a willing Russia.
Putin’s calculusFor Mr. Putin, Turkey is a big win, aluxury which even his Soviet bossesdidn’t have. If it has Turkey on itsside, Russia will have seamless access to the Mediterranean Sea fromthe Black Sea (where it has Naval bases) through the Bosporus Strait. Andif Russia wants to deepen its engagement in West Asia in the long term,Turkey’s role would be critical. Mr.Putin has made a few compromisesto keep Turkey tilting. He didn’t doanything when Turkey invadedAfrin, a largely Kurdish town on theSyrian side, last year, despite protestations from Damascus. Also, afterfreeing much of Syria from rebels’hands, Russia didn’t do the same inIdlib, Syria’s last rebel/jihadistheldenclave where proTurkey rebels arealso stationed. Instead, Russia initiated talks with Turkey and Iran fortruce, and reined in the Syrian government. Step by step, Mr. Putinlured Turkey to his side.
This doesn’t mean that Russia andTurkey have become new regional allies. There are still structural issuesbetween them. In Syria, where bothcountries continue to back rivalsides, the crisis remains unresolved.Turkish national security establishment has historically been alignedwith the U.S. Russian and Turkish interests vary in several other countries, from Libya to Israel. But the unmistakable message that Turkey hassent is that the U.S. is no longer an indispensable partner in its nationalsecurity strategy. Turkey has alsotold NATO that it’s ready to risk theorganisation’s ire over a defence dealwith Russia. Turkey is tilting. TheU.S. will have to either mend its waysto retain a drifting Turkey or take retaliatory steps against an ally. Eitherway, it’s a “check” by Mr. Putin onthe grand geopolitical chessboard.
Why Ankara is ready to risk NATO’s ire over a defence deal with Moscow
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a few compromises to keep Turkeytilting.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Putin at a jointpress conference after a meeting in Ankara in April 2018. * REUTERS
Turkey’s tilt towards Russia
Stanly Johny
The tea plantation sector continues to play asignifi��cant role in the economy of north Bengal. There are 276 organised tea estatesspread over the three teagrowing regions ofWest Bengal: Darjeeling Hills, Terai andDooars. Besides the formally registered largetea plantations, there are thousands of smallgrowers. According to one estimate, theplantations employ about three lakh permanent dailywage workers. However, despitetheir large numbers, the issuesof tea plantation workers, suchas labour standards and violation of human rights, hardly getany space in the media, let alonebeing discussed in policy circles. As the plantations are located in remote places, the narratives of deprivation remainconfi��ned to these alienated enclaves.
Our independent survey in 30 tea gardensacross West Bengal in 2017 revealed that theliving conditions in the plantations have notseen any improvement in decades. In fact,the situation has worsened in some respectsin recent years, despite the presence of lawsfor labour protection.
Dismal implementation of lawThe Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951 gavecertain social and economic rights to theworkers. Nevertheless, the ground realitiespoint to a dismal implementation of the Act’smajor provisions in West Bengal.
For instance, though the Act makes itmandatory to provide housing accommodation to every worker and his/her family, almost onethird of the 501 surveyed households were found to be living in huts made ofwood, mud, straw and dry leaves. Further,half of them were living in semikutchahomes and only a fourth of the families wereresiding in pucca houses. Moreover, one in10 homes did not have electricity.
Water and sanitation remained a major issue. Half of the households lacked safe drinking water and toilets. Latrines had not beenset up in labour lines by the management ofmany tea estates and plantations and thoughsome toilets had been constructed throughgovernment initiatives, they were not properly maintained. Hence, labourers had togo to the fi��elds to relieve themselves.
Access to quality education remained adream for the children of the plantationworkers as the government schools were in ashambles. Many of the children either neverhad an opportunity to go to school or attained education only up to the primary level (nearly 40% of those surveyed belongedto these categories). Further, workers in certain plantations reported that they were unable to send their children to high school because of the distance. Though the PLArequires plantation owners to provide transport for schoolchildren, many estates choseto look the other way.
Further, though the PLA makes provisionof medical facilities mandatory, only four ofthe 30 tea gardens surveyed were found tohave fully functioning hospitals. More than
half of them did not have hospitalsat all and of those that had a medical facility, most did not have a residential doctor.
Lack of quality medical careThe unhealthy living conditions,coupled with a lack of quality medical care, had a bearing on thehealth of the workers. Respiratory
and digestive diseases were common whilemany reported chronic ailments such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and asthma.Nonetheless, onesixth of the sick workersdid not seek treatment.
Apart from being deprived of their PLAentitlements, at least 11% of the workers reported denial of rations from the Public Distribution System as they did not possess ration cards. Not surprisingly, thesedeprivations pushed them further into thevicious cycle of poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Every second child under the age offi��ve was found to be stunted and starvationdeaths were very common. However, theseissues did not come into public knowledge asgovernments refused to acknowledge them.
The PLA is considered to be one of India’smost labourfriendly pieces of legislation.However, it remains largely unenforced andgovernments have turned a blind eye to theinfractions. In the light of what our surveyhas found, there is a need to recognise thatprovision of services mandated by the PLAwould call for a farreaching enforcement.However, so far, the state has not demonstrated the political will needed to raise thestandard of living of teaplantation workers.It is high time governments, both at theCentre and in West Bengal, ensured that theworkers are able to live a life of dignity.
Soumitra Ghosh is an Assistant Professor at
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
The price of a good cuppa The lives of tea-estate workers in West Bengal haveworsened in many aspects over the years
Soumitra Ghosh
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DATA POINT
The Banning of Cryptocurrency andRegulation of Offi��cial Digital Currency Bill, 2019 has proposed stringentpenalties, including 10 years of imprisonment, for holding, selling ordealing in cryptocurrencies such asBitcoin. Given the high chances ofcryptocurrencies being misused inmoney laundering, various government bodies such as IT, CBDT, andthe customs departments have endorsed this endeavour.
While it is important to put mechanisms in place to deter bad actors, a blanket ban on all forms ofcryptocurrency transactions will result in India missing out on what maybecome one of the biggest technology revolutions since the Internet.
The potential of blockchainWhile an oversimplifi��cation, blockchain can be described as a way forpeople to share extra space and computational power in their computersto create a global supercomputer thatis accessible for everyone. Everycomputer connected to a blockchainnetwork helps validate and recordtransactions. People who connecttheir computers to a network areknown as validators and receive transaction fees in the form of tokens.
Many technologists believe thatthe blockchain industry is poised foran explosion similar to what happened to the smartphone industry.None of us could have imagined services such as Google Maps or Uberwhich came to fruition due to thenew mobile platform. Startups havealready built thousands of apps onblockchain platforms like Ethereum.However, these apps aren’t easilyavailable to nontech savvy consumers through an app store, and hencetheir usage remains low. They alsoface technical problems includingscalability and slowing down of thenetwork when many people usethese apps simultaneously. New companies such as Algorand and CasperLabs are investing millions in research and development and areclose to solving these issues.
Blockchain technology has the potential to create new industries andtransform existing ones in ways wecannot imagine. For instance, it hasthe capacity to facilitate nanopay
ments proportionate to an individual’s contribution and value creation in the Internet, making it anideal wealth redistribution tool forour digital age.
Even big technology companieshave started to take blockchain applications seriously. Facebook, for instance, recently announced its owncryptocurrency to facilitate payments globally with minimal fees andno dependency on a central bank.Venture capitalists invested $2.4 billion in blockchain and cryptocurrency startups in 2018. So far, 2019 ispoised to exceed this benchmark.
None of the above is possible without the underlying tokens that facilitate transactions in a blockchain network. A law to ban holding ortransacting in cryptocurrency wouldnot only prevent Indians from reaping economic benefi��ts by participating in blockchain networks as validators and earning transaction fees, butalso stifl��e any innovation related tothis disruptive emerging technology.
The European exampleThe European Parliament and European Council are working on an antimoney laundering directive, knownas AMLD5. The deadline for its implementation is January 2020. All cryptoexchanges and wallet custodians operating in Europe will have to implement strict knowyourcustomer(KYC) onboarding procedures andneed to register with local authorities. They will also be required to report suspicious activities to relevantbodies. This will not fully solve theproblem since it is not always possible for the exchange to know a beneficiary’s details.
The EU Commission is aware andhas been mandated to present further set of amendment proposals regarding selfdeclaration by virtualcurrency owners, the maintenanceof central databases registering users’ identities and wallet addresses,and norms while using virtual currencies as payment or investmentmeans by 2022. This is a more reasonable approach, and the Indian government could follow suit.
Anil K. Antony is Convener of INC-Kerala
Digital Media; Ankur Prasad is the Head of
Product for Amazon Moments
The benefi��ts of blockchain India could take a leaf out of Europe’s book instead of calling for a blanket ban on cyptocurrencies
Anil K. Antony & Ankur Prasad
Apollo11 was well on target for the moon today [ July 17] after its threeman crew hadsuccessfully fi��red its main rocket for threeseconds – the fi��rst fl��ight path correction ofthe historic mission. The spacecraft’s speedwas increased by 25 KPH (21 feet per second), an essential correction if it is to pass111 kilometres above the moon on Saturday[July 14]. Had the fi��ring failed the craft wouldpass 323 kilometres above the moon, marking it necessary for the astronauts to makeunscheduled orbital changes. The three second fi��ring was made at 1617 GMT (21471ST) less than two hours after the spacecraftpassed the halfway stage on its historic mission. Offi��cials at the Houston Space Centrelet them wake on their own accord as therewas nothing urgent for them to do. “Goodmorning up there,” said a ground controllerwhen he heard noises from the capsule. Oneof the fi��rst things the American astronautslearnt after they awoke this morning from agood night’s sleep was that Luna15, the latest Russian unmanned spacecraft, was orbiting the moon. They made no comment.They breakfasted on fruit cocktail, sausage,meat patties, cinnamon, toasted breadcubes, cocoa and grapefruit drink. To conserve energy for their moon lauding thisweekend, today’s fl��ight plan was not acrowded one.
FIFTY YEARS AGO JULY 18, 1969
Apollo 11 racing to the moon
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