lordsrivenkateswaraswamy

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

The rejections of claims could affect millions more vulnerable Adivasis, according to documents accessed by me.

Nine state governments rejected more than 13 lakh forest rights claims of Adivasis and other forest dwellers without following due procedures, show minutes of two recent meetings at the Tribal Affairs Ministry, reviewed by me.

Under the Forest Rights Act, each “claim” attests to the rights of an individual or community to continue to live, farm, or gather forest produce, on land now claimed by the Forest or Revenue Department. The admission that 13 lakh claims were wrongly rejected, could affect several million more individuals, assuming each claim represents more than one person

The previously unreported documents reviewed by me show that the representatives of seven state governments admitted that over 11 lakh claims had been rejected without following due procedure, while top officials of the Tribal Affairs Ministry ticked off representatives of the state governments of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, who accounted for 1.61 lakh rejected claims between them, for not being sufficiently effective in settling forest rights claims.

The time period during which the claims were filed and processed by all states remains unclear as the minutes do not mention them, however these were the most recent figures available when the meetings were held on 6 March and 18 June.

Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal apart, the numbers of claims rejected by state governments are as follows: Chhattisgarh (4,54,379), Andhra Pradesh (11, 860), Karnataka (2,10,892), Odisha (1,45,750), Madhya Pradesh (2,45,592), Tamil Nadu (10,656) and Tripura (68,388).

These astonishingly high numbers of rejections of forest rights claims were collated from presentations given by the state government officials during the meetings with the Tribal Affairs ministry officials.

The meetings between the Tribal Affairs ministry and states were held in the aftermath of two controversial orders passed by the SC in February directing the forced eviction of more than 10 lakh forest dwellers whose claims over land titles under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, better known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA), were rejected.

The apex court gave its order of eviction in response to a clutch of petitions filed in 2008 and 2016 by wildlife groups and retired forest officials questioning the constitutional validity of the FRA. After widespread protests and intervention by government lawyers, which was prompted by criticism that the Narendra Modi government failed to put up a legal defense for the FRA, the SC stayed its own order with specific directions to the state governments to disclose whether due process was followed while rejecting forest rights claims. The meetings between the Tribal Affairs ministry and various state governments are a consequence of this direction. Sources told HuffPost India that some of the numbers regarding wrongful rejections quoted above are likely to be put before the Supreme Court at the next hearing of the case.

With the confirmation of absence of due procedure in rejecting at least 1.3 million (13 lakh) claims, the scale of the states’ failure to follow the letter and spirit of the FRA has been revealed with evidence for the first time during this case.

The candid confessions by seven states that they did not follow due procedures confirms a view widely held by Adivasi rights groups and activists that forest rights claims are dismissed without due process by the forest bureaucracy. The high numbers of rejections done without due process suggest that the narrative of adivasis “encroaching” on forest lands may be exaggerated. 

“Stigmatising Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers as encroachers is unfair. From 2009 to 2017, none of the Forest Survey of India reports said that forests have been destroyed because of the Forest Rights Act,” said Bhubaneshwar-based activist Y Giri Rao who has been following both FRA implementation and the SC case closely.

Critically, the deliberations recorded in the minutes of the two meetings also reveal how bureaucratic and political apathy towards proper implementation of the FRA has put millions of Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers at the risk of eviction from lands which have been, in a vast majority of instances, their homes for centuries.

Thus far, the estimated number of Adivasis at risk of being evicted was 1.89 million but the question of due procedure had not been raised in court, leading to the assumption among some that these are numbers of encroachers. However, with the confirmation of absence of due procedure in rejecting at least 1.3 million (13 lakh) claims, the scale of the states’ failure to follow the letter and spirit of the FRA has been revealed with evidence for the first time in this case.

Three states ruled by three different political parties united by one thing: failure of their forest bureaucracies to follow due procedure while settling forest rights of Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act. Snapshots of presentations by UP and West Bengal are from the March 2019 meeting while the Madhya Pradesh presentation synopsis is from June 2019 meeting.

What exactly the states confessed & what that means

Going by official numbers, Madhya Pradesh had the second highest number of claims rejected without due process at 2,45,592 units. The officially recorded synopsis of the presentation of the state tribal department officials before the union Tribals Affairs ministry officials on 18 June 2019 is tellingly worded.

“The state has found that due procedure was not followed while examining the FRA claims and their settlement and in majority of cases the claimants have not been served with speaking order in the cases of rejection and reasons of rejection were not cited. The claimants were given opportunity to adduce evidence but the forest department did not give its official records due to which evidence could not be adduced,” it states.

Further, it also states that the state government is reviewing rejected claims on the newly developed ‘MP Vanmitra Portal’ and the State Level Monitoring Committee, led by the Chief Secretary, is reviewing all rejected applications.

In the case of Chattisgarh, which has the most number of rejections at 4 lakh 54 thousand 379 units, the record notes the state’s failure to follow due process tersely. “Regarding procedure followed while rejecting FRA claims, written information has not been served to the claimants,” the minutes say. The state has started the review of rejected claims suo-moto, it adds.

The FRA record of both states is significant given that former Congress President Rahul Gandhi had asked party’s Chief Ministers to file review petitions against the SC order. Subsequent to this, party-led governments began a suo moto review of all rejected claims of forest rights.

Similarly, it is interesting to note the evidently poor record of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh with large number of rejections of forest rights claims, failure to follow due process and generally lackadaisical handling of the FRA claims process despite Party President Amit Shah  asking the party-led state governments to file review petitions and avoid large scale evictions.

It required criticism from the Tribal Affairs ministry for the UP state government to begin to address the problem.  “No claimant has been informed regarding the status of their claim, especially rejection. In the meeting state assured to initiate communication now in order to seek petitions while it was recommended to suo moto review all rejection instead of wasting time awaiting petitions,” note the minutes of a meeting held on March 6, 2019.

The state government of West Bengal also faced criticism for its poor forest rights claims settlement record. “The reasons cited for such high rate of rejection exhibit flawed interpretation of the provisions of the Act and the necessity of capacity building of concerned officers,” read the minutes of the meeting held on March 6.

Clearly, neither the spirit nor the text of the FRA were being followed by the state governments across party lines in right earnest.

he February 13 Order & FRA

The FRA has come to be seen as a law about Adivasi evictions following the controversial 13 February order even though it has no provisions for evicting people from lands.

The Forest Rights Act, passed in 2006 to undo the “historical injustice” to the Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers, recognises their rights over forest land and other resources which have been a source of their livelihood for centuries.

But sections of environment groups and forest officials, essentially those who are wildlife focused, consider the FRA as a populist measure that is dangerous for forest conservation.

Thus they filed a petition in the SC questioning the constitutionality of the FRA legislation in 2008. But in 2016, the scope of the issues involved was expanded after an Intervention Application was filed and since then, the SC began looking at the law’s implementation. While the government supported the legislation for the most part, it was inexplicably quiet during hearings in 2017-18 leading up to February 2019 thereby paving the way for the February 13 order, activists say.

The Forest Rights Act recognises people’s rights over forest land and other resources which have been a source of their livelihood for centuries. Thus when claims are filed by people for ‘forest rights’ the term encapsulates claims made for individual and community land titles as well as forests and their natural wealth except timber.

The claims for forest rights are first screened at the level of the Gram Sabha, followed by the Sub Division Level Committee and District Level Committees. Data from the minutes of the meetings show that a large number of forest rights claims were rejected at the level of the District Level Committee.

In the Supreme Court case, with its focus on evictions and encroachments from forest lands, the court interpreted rejections as opening up the window for eviction. But the focus on evictions is wrong given the still pending settlement of rights under the FRA and the regime of transparency it brings in forest management, civil society groups say. 

FRA is not a legislation about encroachment and eviction. It is a conservation legislation. The question is: should forest officials have absolute life and death power over both forests and people?

Shankar Gopalkrishnan, Secretary General, Campaign for Survival and Dignity

As Shankar Gopalkrishnan, Secretary General of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity, told this reporter, “FRA is not a legislation about encroachment and eviction. It is a conservation legislation. The question is: should forest officials have absolute life and death power over both forests and people? Or should we have a democratic system with rights for people and accountability for officials?  The FRA upholds the latter. This is the issue that MOTA should present before the court,” he said.

While the case was scheduled to come up for hearing on Wednesday, July 24, the Apex Court did not take it up fr consideration.

Shankar also emphasised a point that, as the minutes of the meetings show, the Tribal Affairs ministry now agrees to as well. But it remains to be seen if the ministry’s lawyers argue this before the Supreme Court. The point being that rejection of forest rights claims does not open up the possibility for eviction as assumed. 

“We would like the MoTA to tell the states and Court that rejection of claims is not a ground for eviction. A person may have other rights in forests also. FRA is not the only law through which forest dwellers’ rights are recognised.  Many states have their own laws. Also, the Indian Forests Act itself provides for recording of rights,” said Gopalakrishnan, #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

The rejections of claims could affect millions more vulnerable Adivasis, according to documents accessed by me.

Nine state governments rejected more than 13 lakh forest rights claims of Adivasis and other forest dwellers without following due procedures, show minutes of two recent meetings at the Tribal Affairs Ministry, reviewed by me.

Under the Forest Rights Act, each “claim” attests to the rights of an individual or community to continue to live, farm, or gather forest produce, on land now claimed by the Forest or Revenue Department. The admission that 13 lakh claims were wrongly rejected, could affect several million more individuals, assuming each claim represents more than one person

The previously unreported documents reviewed by me show that the representatives of seven state governments admitted that over 11 lakh claims had been rejected without following due procedure, while top officials of the Tribal Affairs Ministry ticked off representatives of the state governments of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, who accounted for 1.61 lakh rejected claims between them, for not being sufficiently effective in settling forest rights claims.

The time period during which the claims were filed and processed by all states remains unclear as the minutes do not mention them, however these were the most recent figures available when the meetings were held on 6 March and 18 June.

Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal apart, the numbers of claims rejected by state governments are as follows: Chhattisgarh (4,54,379), Andhra Pradesh (11, 860), Karnataka (2,10,892), Odisha (1,45,750), Madhya Pradesh (2,45,592), Tamil Nadu (10,656) and Tripura (68,388).

These astonishingly high numbers of rejections of forest rights claims were collated from presentations given by the state government officials during the meetings with the Tribal Affairs ministry officials.

The meetings between the Tribal Affairs ministry and states were held in the aftermath of two controversial orders passed by the SC in February directing the forced eviction of more than 10 lakh forest dwellers whose claims over land titles under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, better known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA), were rejected.

The apex court gave its order of eviction in response to a clutch of petitions filed in 2008 and 2016 by wildlife groups and retired forest officials questioning the constitutional validity of the FRA. After widespread protests and intervention by government lawyers, which was prompted by criticism that the Narendra Modi government failed to put up a legal defense for the FRA, the SC stayed its own order with specific directions to the state governments to disclose whether due process was followed while rejecting forest rights claims. The meetings between the Tribal Affairs ministry and various state governments are a consequence of this direction. Sources told HuffPost India that some of the numbers regarding wrongful rejections quoted above are likely to be put before the Supreme Court at the next hearing of the case.

With the confirmation of absence of due procedure in rejecting at least 1.3 million (13 lakh) claims, the scale of the states’ failure to follow the letter and spirit of the FRA has been revealed with evidence for the first time during this case.

The candid confessions by seven states that they did not follow due procedures confirms a view widely held by Adivasi rights groups and activists that forest rights claims are dismissed without due process by the forest bureaucracy. The high numbers of rejections done without due process suggest that the narrative of adivasis “encroaching” on forest lands may be exaggerated. 

“Stigmatising Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers as encroachers is unfair. From 2009 to 2017, none of the Forest Survey of India reports said that forests have been destroyed because of the Forest Rights Act,” said Bhubaneshwar-based activist Y Giri Rao who has been following both FRA implementation and the SC case closely.

Critically, the deliberations recorded in the minutes of the two meetings also reveal how bureaucratic and political apathy towards proper implementation of the FRA has put millions of Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers at the risk of eviction from lands which have been, in a vast majority of instances, their homes for centuries.

Thus far, the estimated number of Adivasis at risk of being evicted was 1.89 million but the question of due procedure had not been raised in court, leading to the assumption among some that these are numbers of encroachers. However, with the confirmation of absence of due procedure in rejecting at least 1.3 million (13 lakh) claims, the scale of the states’ failure to follow the letter and spirit of the FRA has been revealed with evidence for the first time in this case.

Three states ruled by three different political parties united by one thing: failure of their forest bureaucracies to follow due procedure while settling forest rights of Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers under the Forest Rights Act. Snapshots of presentations by UP and West Bengal are from the March 2019 meeting while the Madhya Pradesh presentation synopsis is from June 2019 meeting.

What exactly the states confessed & what that means

Going by official numbers, Madhya Pradesh had the second highest number of claims rejected without due process at 2,45,592 units. The officially recorded synopsis of the presentation of the state tribal department officials before the union Tribals Affairs ministry officials on 18 June 2019 is tellingly worded.

“The state has found that due procedure was not followed while examining the FRA claims and their settlement and in majority of cases the claimants have not been served with speaking order in the cases of rejection and reasons of rejection were not cited. The claimants were given opportunity to adduce evidence but the forest department did not give its official records due to which evidence could not be adduced,” it states.

Further, it also states that the state government is reviewing rejected claims on the newly developed ‘MP Vanmitra Portal’ and the State Level Monitoring Committee, led by the Chief Secretary, is reviewing all rejected applications.

In the case of Chattisgarh, which has the most number of rejections at 4 lakh 54 thousand 379 units, the record notes the state’s failure to follow due process tersely. “Regarding procedure followed while rejecting FRA claims, written information has not been served to the claimants,” the minutes say. The state has started the review of rejected claims suo-moto, it adds.

The FRA record of both states is significant given that former Congress President Rahul Gandhi had asked party’s Chief Ministers to file review petitions against the SC order. Subsequent to this, party-led governments began a suo moto review of all rejected claims of forest rights.

Similarly, it is interesting to note the evidently poor record of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Uttar Pradesh with large number of rejections of forest rights claims, failure to follow due process and generally lackadaisical handling of the FRA claims process despite Party President Amit Shah  asking the party-led state governments to file review petitions and avoid large scale evictions.

It required criticism from the Tribal Affairs ministry for the UP state government to begin to address the problem.  “No claimant has been informed regarding the status of their claim, especially rejection. In the meeting state assured to initiate communication now in order to seek petitions while it was recommended to suo moto review all rejection instead of wasting time awaiting petitions,” note the minutes of a meeting held on March 6, 2019.

The state government of West Bengal also faced criticism for its poor forest rights claims settlement record. “The reasons cited for such high rate of rejection exhibit flawed interpretation of the provisions of the Act and the necessity of capacity building of concerned officers,” read the minutes of the meeting held on March 6.

Clearly, neither the spirit nor the text of the FRA were being followed by the state governments across party lines in right earnest.

he February 13 Order & FRA

The FRA has come to be seen as a law about Adivasi evictions following the controversial 13 February order even though it has no provisions for evicting people from lands.

The Forest Rights Act, passed in 2006 to undo the “historical injustice” to the Adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers, recognises their rights over forest land and other resources which have been a source of their livelihood for centuries.

But sections of environment groups and forest officials, essentially those who are wildlife focused, consider the FRA as a populist measure that is dangerous for forest conservation.

Thus they filed a petition in the SC questioning the constitutionality of the FRA legislation in 2008. But in 2016, the scope of the issues involved was expanded after an Intervention Application was filed and since then, the SC began looking at the law’s implementation. While the government supported the legislation for the most part, it was inexplicably quiet during hearings in 2017-18 leading up to February 2019 thereby paving the way for the February 13 order, activists say.

The Forest Rights Act recognises people’s rights over forest land and other resources which have been a source of their livelihood for centuries. Thus when claims are filed by people for ‘forest rights’ the term encapsulates claims made for individual and community land titles as well as forests and their natural wealth except timber.

The claims for forest rights are first screened at the level of the Gram Sabha, followed by the Sub Division Level Committee and District Level Committees. Data from the minutes of the meetings show that a large number of forest rights claims were rejected at the level of the District Level Committee.

In the Supreme Court case, with its focus on evictions and encroachments from forest lands, the court interpreted rejections as opening up the window for eviction. But the focus on evictions is wrong given the still pending settlement of rights under the FRA and the regime of transparency it brings in forest management, civil society groups say. 

FRA is not a legislation about encroachment and eviction. It is a conservation legislation. The question is: should forest officials have absolute life and death power over both forests and people?

Shankar Gopalkrishnan, Secretary General, Campaign for Survival and Dignity

As Shankar Gopalkrishnan, Secretary General of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity, told this reporter, “FRA is not a legislation about encroachment and eviction. It is a conservation legislation. The question is: should forest officials have absolute life and death power over both forests and people? Or should we have a democratic system with rights for people and accountability for officials?  The FRA upholds the latter. This is the issue that MOTA should present before the court,” he said.

While the case was scheduled to come up for hearing on Wednesday, July 24, the Apex Court did not take it up fr consideration.

Shankar also emphasised a point that, as the minutes of the meetings show, the Tribal Affairs ministry now agrees to as well. But it remains to be seen if the ministry’s lawyers argue this before the Supreme Court. The point being that rejection of forest rights claims does not open up the possibility for eviction as assumed. 

“We would like the MoTA to tell the states and Court that rejection of claims is not a ground for eviction. A person may have other rights in forests also. FRA is not the only law through which forest dwellers’ rights are recognised.  Many states have their own laws. Also, the Indian Forests Act itself provides for recording of rights,” said Gopalakrishnan, #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Protecting your privacy online may seem like a battle you’ve already lost, but take heart. There are steps you can take to minimize harm.

Google knows you better than you know yourself, and Facebook uses the data it’s gathered on people to carry out psychological experiments on them. The Russian app that everyone’s having fun morphing their faces has terms of service that say it basically retains the right to use your data forever (and this iPrs common for most social media apps!). Though some companies like Apple (and even Google) are now trying to make privacy a selling point, the sheer scale of the internet means that everyone is tracking you, from the government, to the police, to most tech companies, often without admitting to this.

With all this, it’s tempting to just throw up our hands and accept that we live in a post-privacy world, but there are some basic steps that we can all take to make our presence on the Internet a little more secure. Some of it is just very basic stuff, like turning your GPS and Wi-Fi off when you’re not using them, and the others involve a little more work, but are still easy enough to do. These are not high-security solutions, and aren’t really going to keep you invisible on the Internet. Instead, these are basic steps we should all simply make a habit of following, no matter what we’re using the Web for, to bring in some basic levels of privacy.

We spoke to a number of people who are not in the tech industry but rely heavily on the Internet to do their jobs, and found that most of them weren’t doing anything in particular to protect their privacy online, because they just weren’t aware of what they should be doing. So we looked at what some experts are saying online about this, and gathered the most easy-to-implement steps in one place.

1. Use burner emails to sign up for services

One common issue that people brought up was being bombarded by spam. Anita Verma, a dentist based in Bengaluru, said she has begun to miss important mails because there is so much spam. “Gmail removes a lot of spam but even then, every day I’m getting mails from brands I’ve never even heard of, and you keep marking things as spam but they don’t go away.” Part of the problem here is that we’re too used to giving our email IDs whenever asked for it, both online and offline.

There are a lot of times when you need to enter an email ID to sign up for a service which you might only use once, and don’t actually need to connect to your real inbox. Your email ID is a valuable piece of data, along with your phone number, and whenever you’re giving this out, think about whether you actually need to do so. A number of sites such as Guerrilla Mail, Maildrop and Burner Mail allow you to create temporary email IDs for forms.

Another useful thing to do is to see which platforms are misusing your email. Gmail, and some other email platforms, allow you to create a ‘new’ email using the plus sign—essentially, if your email is darthvader@gmail.com, you can sign up for services using IDs like darthvader+facebook@gmail.com, darthvader+paytm@gmail.com, or darthvader+flipkart@gmail.com and so on, and all of these emails will come to your inbox. Then, the next time you look at spam and see it’s addressed to, say, darthvader+paytm@gmail.com, you know who is leaking your data.

2. Use a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure gateway to the Internet. This means that anyone snooping on your connection can see that there’s data moving between you and your VPN, but not what is coming in and out of the VPN. You can run a VPN on your computer or smartphone, and in both cases, it’s as simple as signing up, installing an application and just running that before you start to use the Web.

There are free VPNs, which are either very slow, or have very limited data allowances, so it’s advisable to sign up for a paid VPN from a well-known provider like NordVPN or TunnelBear. “If you’re using a free VPN, you’re either going to have a bad experience with the speed or data limit, or worse, you’ve now put all of your data in the hands of someone who is giving you an expensive service for free,” said Saravanan K, a Bengaluru-based consultant working on security solutions for businesses. “I’m not saying all free VPNs are bad. But I will say that it’s worth spending the money, and a year-long subscription can often be just a few hundred bucks a month.”

3. Change your passwords from defaults

This is a really obvious tip, and yet most people reading this have probably put themselves at risk by not changing the default passwords on their Wi-Fi routers and other Internet-connected devices. Did you know that the Wi-Fi router that your Internet provider gave you comes with a password which you can use to change the Wi-Fi settings? Having access to your router means having access to all your data, so it’s pretty important to know this—if someone connects to your Wi-Fi, and you’re still using default passwords? Then you’ve basically handed over control of your network.

Most home Wi-Fi routers have been compromised, according to research by Banbreach, a Kolkata-based cybersecurity firm. According to Banbreach, cryptojacking—where attackers use your network and computing resources to mine Bitcoin, wearing out your devices and using up your data, in order to make money—is a huge problem in India.

Worse, many people using Internet-connected smart devices don’t think of changing these passwords either. You need only head over to Insecam, which is a listing of non-secure Internet connected cameras around the world to see live feeds from around the country. The good news is that in India, these are mostly in offices; the bad news is that this makes it harder for us as individuals to change the settings on the cameras.

On a related note, invest in a password manager. Password requirements are nuts, and it’s becoming impossible to keep track of all the passwords you’ll need. Either you’ll end up with a lot of weak passwords, or a strong password that you use everywhere, including on insecure sites, making it useless.

4. It’s Fine To Use WhatsApp

SMS is convenient, and it is universal. That’s a big plus. But it’s also possible to be hijacked, and there are reports of multiple police departments and scammers both doing just that, so encrypted communications are a better option.

Although WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption and hasn’t given into government pressure to trace users yet, the Facebook-owned platform is, owing to its huge reach, a tempting target for any attacker. A recent report showed that media files aren’t secure once they reach your phone, and if you’re using cloud backup for your chats, those aren’t encrypted either.

This doesn’t mean you should stop using WhatsApp. Telegram is an excellent alternative, but WhatsApp conversations are encrypted by default, while you have to opt-in to start a Secret chat on Telegram. This added step is going to be a stumbling block for most people (see above re: passwords). Signal is another alternative, which some would say is more secure.

However, it depends on how much risk each user faces — only a few people need to be at maximum security levels. For the rest of us, basic steps like WhatsApp’s standard choice of end-to-end encryption make sense. Zeynep Tufekci, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, at the School of Information and Library Science, explained here: “WhatsApp’s behavior increases reliability for the user. This is a real concern, as ordinary people consistently switch away from unreliable but secure apps to more reliable and insecure apps.

“Signal is well-designed.  Many in the security community use and consistently recommend it. However, the very thing that makes Signal a recommendation for people at high risk—that it drops messages at any sign of hiccup—prevents a large number of ordinary people from adopting it. Our community has used Signal for a long time, and have been trying to convert people to it, but its inevitable delivery failures (some by design, to keep users safer, and some due to bandwidth or other issues) mean that we often cannot convince people to use it despite spending a lot of effort trying to convince them—even people who have a lot at stake.“

5. Make sure all your software is up to date

A lot of people are also very lax about updating their software, using old versions for months (or more) after updates have been released. “My phone kept showing me this message about updating the Android version. I kind of ignored it because who has the time to reboot your phone in the middle of work, which is when the pop-up would show up,” said Akhil Yadav, who works in the marketing division of a technology company.

“Then one day, one of our tech guys saw what I was doing and he gave me a real lecture about it.”

Either you do the same thing Yadav did, or you know people like him. It can be annoying to take out the time to update software in the middle of a busy day, many companies don’t clearly articulate why you should do it, and sometimes an update can cause new problems. Waiting a couple of days after an update comes out to make sure that nothing major is going wrong is not a bad idea—but ignoring updates for weeks, months, and even longer is definitely not recommended.

“Nearly all updates include things called security patches: they close holes in the software that make it easy for someone to hack into your software—and once they do they can often get access to everything on your phone or computer. Software can be very complex and security holes are discovered all the time, so keep an eye on those updates,” notes Amnesty International.

6. Use two-factor authentication

Amnesty also recommends using two-factor authentication (2FA), which is an important step. Two-factor authentication means that you need two different modes of access: something you know (like a password) and something you get (like an OTP). That’s right, all online payments in India require 2FA, and use the SMS OTP as the second factor.

Although this is a good step, it’s even better if the second factor isn’t an SMS-based system. Although SMS 2FA is a very convenient way to control access, this might not work if you’re traveling abroad and don’t have roaming on (for example), and researchers have shown that SMS can be hijacked.

Don’t get us wrong, SMS-based 2FA is still much better than no 2FA. But when you have the option, an authenticator app is a better choice. For example, you can set up 2FA on your Google account so that access to your account is only possible by unlocking an associated phone, and tapping the ‘Yes’ button there. Twitter and Facebook also have similar authenticators. In fact, most popular social media apps and email apps support this feature.

7. Turn off the GPS, limit app permissions, and opt out of tracking where possible

If an app has access to your location data, they’re tracking it as much as possible to understand your habits and behaviors. You’re being watched wherever you go, and often completely unnecessarily. There are a few things you can do to reduce this, and the first step is to turn off your GPS when you don’t need it. Switch it on before calling an Uber or using maps to find your way around—and leave it off the rest of the time.

More importantly, look at what information is being used by which apps. “There can be genuine reasons for asking for this information,” said Saravanan. “For example, many apps ask for SMS inbox access — just so they can read an OTP, and that’s not a bad thing. Some apps might want location access so they can offer information or deals based on where you are.” However, if you’ve got (for example) an alarm clock that wants to know your location, that’s not good.

Some apps that track your information also let you opt out. If you visit myactivity.google.com, you’ll see a list of every website you’ve opened in Chrome, details about your contacts, calendars, and apps from your Android phone, details on your voice records with Google from when you’ve used the Assistant, and all the videos you’ve searched for or watched on YouTube. It’s an unsettling insight into how visible you are. 

The good news is that it’s very easy to opt out. Just go to the settings on the same page and go to Activity Controls, and you can pause all your activity history. On all your apps, check the settings to find out what tracking is being done, and what you can opt out of, in order to increase your chances of privacy just a little.

8. Browse in private mode, and disable trackers

Almost all browsers have an incognito or private mode, where they’re not tracking your history and other data. Make this your default browsing environment to keep your data more secure. An easy way to do this is to switch to a browser like Firefox Focus on your phone, since it is designed to block trackers, and delete all history when you exit the app.

You can use apps like Ghostery on your computer to help disable trackers—this browser plug-in works with Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge. It’s one of the most famous apps of this kind, but there are other options as well. Its built-in ad-blocker strips away the ads on websites you visit, and also blocks the trackers that they’re using to follow you around the Internet.

Not only does this increase your privacy, but it also significantly speeds up your browsing because as it turns out, trackers and ads also use up a lot of your data. In a 2016 conversation with this writer, Opera’s CTO had said that 54% of the data that gets used when you load a webpage is due to ads. He added that the ads made up only 9% of the content on the page, but because multiple third-parties track users through ads, this ends up being a huge drain on your data.

9. Don’t use Google

Ah, now we come to this. Using Google is so common that it’s become a verb for ‘searching on the internet’. But Google searches are also giving the company an enormous trove of user data to analyse and use for advertising. Gabriel Weinberg, the founder and CEO of privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo, has written a long post about the different ways in which Google tracks you, which is worth reading in its entirety.

“Basically, Google tries to track too much. It’s creepy and simply just more information than one company should have on anyone,” Weinberg noted. “For starters, just switching the search engine for all your searches goes a long way. After all, you share your most intimate questions with your search engine; at the very least, shouldn’t those be kept private? If you switch to the DuckDuckGo app and extension you will not only make your searches anonymous, but also block Google’s most widespread and invasive trackers as you navigate the web.”

Duck Duck Go’s search engine is good and fast, but since it doesn’t track you, the results are not as personalised as Google’s. This is a trade-off that you’ll have to consider, but it isn’t as apparent like some of the other examples we’ve talked about, so you should consider at least trying out Duck Duck Go for a few weeks before deciding. #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Protecting your privacy online may seem like a battle you’ve already lost, but take heart. There are steps you can take to minimize harm.

Google knows you better than you know yourself, and Facebook uses the data it’s gathered on people to carry out psychological experiments on them. The Russian app that everyone’s having fun morphing their faces has terms of service that say it basically retains the right to use your data forever (and this iPrs common for most social media apps!). Though some companies like Apple (and even Google) are now trying to make privacy a selling point, the sheer scale of the internet means that everyone is tracking you, from the government, to the police, to most tech companies, often without admitting to this.

With all this, it’s tempting to just throw up our hands and accept that we live in a post-privacy world, but there are some basic steps that we can all take to make our presence on the Internet a little more secure. Some of it is just very basic stuff, like turning your GPS and Wi-Fi off when you’re not using them, and the others involve a little more work, but are still easy enough to do. These are not high-security solutions, and aren’t really going to keep you invisible on the Internet. Instead, these are basic steps we should all simply make a habit of following, no matter what we’re using the Web for, to bring in some basic levels of privacy.

We spoke to a number of people who are not in the tech industry but rely heavily on the Internet to do their jobs, and found that most of them weren’t doing anything in particular to protect their privacy online, because they just weren’t aware of what they should be doing. So we looked at what some experts are saying online about this, and gathered the most easy-to-implement steps in one place.

1. Use burner emails to sign up for services

One common issue that people brought up was being bombarded by spam. Anita Verma, a dentist based in Bengaluru, said she has begun to miss important mails because there is so much spam. “Gmail removes a lot of spam but even then, every day I’m getting mails from brands I’ve never even heard of, and you keep marking things as spam but they don’t go away.” Part of the problem here is that we’re too used to giving our email IDs whenever asked for it, both online and offline.

There are a lot of times when you need to enter an email ID to sign up for a service which you might only use once, and don’t actually need to connect to your real inbox. Your email ID is a valuable piece of data, along with your phone number, and whenever you’re giving this out, think about whether you actually need to do so. A number of sites such as Guerrilla Mail, Maildrop and Burner Mail allow you to create temporary email IDs for forms.

Another useful thing to do is to see which platforms are misusing your email. Gmail, and some other email platforms, allow you to create a ‘new’ email using the plus sign—essentially, if your email is darthvader@gmail.com, you can sign up for services using IDs like darthvader+facebook@gmail.com, darthvader+paytm@gmail.com, or darthvader+flipkart@gmail.com and so on, and all of these emails will come to your inbox. Then, the next time you look at spam and see it’s addressed to, say, darthvader+paytm@gmail.com, you know who is leaking your data.

2. Use a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure gateway to the Internet. This means that anyone snooping on your connection can see that there’s data moving between you and your VPN, but not what is coming in and out of the VPN. You can run a VPN on your computer or smartphone, and in both cases, it’s as simple as signing up, installing an application and just running that before you start to use the Web.

There are free VPNs, which are either very slow, or have very limited data allowances, so it’s advisable to sign up for a paid VPN from a well-known provider like NordVPN or TunnelBear. “If you’re using a free VPN, you’re either going to have a bad experience with the speed or data limit, or worse, you’ve now put all of your data in the hands of someone who is giving you an expensive service for free,” said Saravanan K, a Bengaluru-based consultant working on security solutions for businesses. “I’m not saying all free VPNs are bad. But I will say that it’s worth spending the money, and a year-long subscription can often be just a few hundred bucks a month.”

3. Change your passwords from defaults

This is a really obvious tip, and yet most people reading this have probably put themselves at risk by not changing the default passwords on their Wi-Fi routers and other Internet-connected devices. Did you know that the Wi-Fi router that your Internet provider gave you comes with a password which you can use to change the Wi-Fi settings? Having access to your router means having access to all your data, so it’s pretty important to know this—if someone connects to your Wi-Fi, and you’re still using default passwords? Then you’ve basically handed over control of your network.

Most home Wi-Fi routers have been compromised, according to research by Banbreach, a Kolkata-based cybersecurity firm. According to Banbreach, cryptojacking—where attackers use your network and computing resources to mine Bitcoin, wearing out your devices and using up your data, in order to make money—is a huge problem in India.

Worse, many people using Internet-connected smart devices don’t think of changing these passwords either. You need only head over to Insecam, which is a listing of non-secure Internet connected cameras around the world to see live feeds from around the country. The good news is that in India, these are mostly in offices; the bad news is that this makes it harder for us as individuals to change the settings on the cameras.

On a related note, invest in a password manager. Password requirements are nuts, and it’s becoming impossible to keep track of all the passwords you’ll need. Either you’ll end up with a lot of weak passwords, or a strong password that you use everywhere, including on insecure sites, making it useless.

4. It’s Fine To Use WhatsApp

SMS is convenient, and it is universal. That’s a big plus. But it’s also possible to be hijacked, and there are reports of multiple police departments and scammers both doing just that, so encrypted communications are a better option.

Although WhatsApp offers end-to-end encryption and hasn’t given into government pressure to trace users yet, the Facebook-owned platform is, owing to its huge reach, a tempting target for any attacker. A recent report showed that media files aren’t secure once they reach your phone, and if you’re using cloud backup for your chats, those aren’t encrypted either.

This doesn’t mean you should stop using WhatsApp. Telegram is an excellent alternative, but WhatsApp conversations are encrypted by default, while you have to opt-in to start a Secret chat on Telegram. This added step is going to be a stumbling block for most people (see above re: passwords). Signal is another alternative, which some would say is more secure.

However, it depends on how much risk each user faces — only a few people need to be at maximum security levels. For the rest of us, basic steps like WhatsApp’s standard choice of end-to-end encryption make sense. Zeynep Tufekci, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, at the School of Information and Library Science, explained here: “WhatsApp’s behavior increases reliability for the user. This is a real concern, as ordinary people consistently switch away from unreliable but secure apps to more reliable and insecure apps.

“Signal is well-designed.  Many in the security community use and consistently recommend it. However, the very thing that makes Signal a recommendation for people at high risk—that it drops messages at any sign of hiccup—prevents a large number of ordinary people from adopting it. Our community has used Signal for a long time, and have been trying to convert people to it, but its inevitable delivery failures (some by design, to keep users safer, and some due to bandwidth or other issues) mean that we often cannot convince people to use it despite spending a lot of effort trying to convince them—even people who have a lot at stake.“

5. Make sure all your software is up to date

A lot of people are also very lax about updating their software, using old versions for months (or more) after updates have been released. “My phone kept showing me this message about updating the Android version. I kind of ignored it because who has the time to reboot your phone in the middle of work, which is when the pop-up would show up,” said Akhil Yadav, who works in the marketing division of a technology company.

“Then one day, one of our tech guys saw what I was doing and he gave me a real lecture about it.”

Either you do the same thing Yadav did, or you know people like him. It can be annoying to take out the time to update software in the middle of a busy day, many companies don’t clearly articulate why you should do it, and sometimes an update can cause new problems. Waiting a couple of days after an update comes out to make sure that nothing major is going wrong is not a bad idea—but ignoring updates for weeks, months, and even longer is definitely not recommended.

“Nearly all updates include things called security patches: they close holes in the software that make it easy for someone to hack into your software—and once they do they can often get access to everything on your phone or computer. Software can be very complex and security holes are discovered all the time, so keep an eye on those updates,” notes Amnesty International.

6. Use two-factor authentication

Amnesty also recommends using two-factor authentication (2FA), which is an important step. Two-factor authentication means that you need two different modes of access: something you know (like a password) and something you get (like an OTP). That’s right, all online payments in India require 2FA, and use the SMS OTP as the second factor.

Although this is a good step, it’s even better if the second factor isn’t an SMS-based system. Although SMS 2FA is a very convenient way to control access, this might not work if you’re traveling abroad and don’t have roaming on (for example), and researchers have shown that SMS can be hijacked.

Don’t get us wrong, SMS-based 2FA is still much better than no 2FA. But when you have the option, an authenticator app is a better choice. For example, you can set up 2FA on your Google account so that access to your account is only possible by unlocking an associated phone, and tapping the ‘Yes’ button there. Twitter and Facebook also have similar authenticators. In fact, most popular social media apps and email apps support this feature.

7. Turn off the GPS, limit app permissions, and opt out of tracking where possible

If an app has access to your location data, they’re tracking it as much as possible to understand your habits and behaviors. You’re being watched wherever you go, and often completely unnecessarily. There are a few things you can do to reduce this, and the first step is to turn off your GPS when you don’t need it. Switch it on before calling an Uber or using maps to find your way around—and leave it off the rest of the time.

More importantly, look at what information is being used by which apps. “There can be genuine reasons for asking for this information,” said Saravanan. “For example, many apps ask for SMS inbox access — just so they can read an OTP, and that’s not a bad thing. Some apps might want location access so they can offer information or deals based on where you are.” However, if you’ve got (for example) an alarm clock that wants to know your location, that’s not good.

Some apps that track your information also let you opt out. If you visit myactivity.google.com, you’ll see a list of every website you’ve opened in Chrome, details about your contacts, calendars, and apps from your Android phone, details on your voice records with Google from when you’ve used the Assistant, and all the videos you’ve searched for or watched on YouTube. It’s an unsettling insight into how visible you are. 

The good news is that it’s very easy to opt out. Just go to the settings on the same page and go to Activity Controls, and you can pause all your activity history. On all your apps, check the settings to find out what tracking is being done, and what you can opt out of, in order to increase your chances of privacy just a little.

8. Browse in private mode, and disable trackers

Almost all browsers have an incognito or private mode, where they’re not tracking your history and other data. Make this your default browsing environment to keep your data more secure. An easy way to do this is to switch to a browser like Firefox Focus on your phone, since it is designed to block trackers, and delete all history when you exit the app.

You can use apps like Ghostery on your computer to help disable trackers—this browser plug-in works with Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge. It’s one of the most famous apps of this kind, but there are other options as well. Its built-in ad-blocker strips away the ads on websites you visit, and also blocks the trackers that they’re using to follow you around the Internet.

Not only does this increase your privacy, but it also significantly speeds up your browsing because as it turns out, trackers and ads also use up a lot of your data. In a 2016 conversation with this writer, Opera’s CTO had said that 54% of the data that gets used when you load a webpage is due to ads. He added that the ads made up only 9% of the content on the page, but because multiple third-parties track users through ads, this ends up being a huge drain on your data.

9. Don’t use Google

Ah, now we come to this. Using Google is so common that it’s become a verb for ‘searching on the internet’. But Google searches are also giving the company an enormous trove of user data to analyse and use for advertising. Gabriel Weinberg, the founder and CEO of privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo, has written a long post about the different ways in which Google tracks you, which is worth reading in its entirety.

“Basically, Google tries to track too much. It’s creepy and simply just more information than one company should have on anyone,” Weinberg noted. “For starters, just switching the search engine for all your searches goes a long way. After all, you share your most intimate questions with your search engine; at the very least, shouldn’t those be kept private? If you switch to the DuckDuckGo app and extension you will not only make your searches anonymous, but also block Google’s most widespread and invasive trackers as you navigate the web.”

Duck Duck Go’s search engine is good and fast, but since it doesn’t track you, the results are not as personalised as Google’s. This is a trade-off that you’ll have to consider, but it isn’t as apparent like some of the other examples we’ve talked about, so you should consider at least trying out Duck Duck Go for a few weeks before deciding. #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

The ad was used in a Republic Day hoarding but made headlines only six months later because of a printer whose dues weren’t paid on time.

Chandigarh: Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is facing heat after news broke last week that the Hoshiarpur district administration used a photograph of Mukesh Kumar, one of the convicts in the 2012 gangrape and murder of a physiotherapy student in Delhi, in a voter awareness advertisement.

 I have learnt that the advertisement was on a hoarding installed at the venue of a Republic Day function inside the district administration complex.

That was more than six months ago, but the mistake was exposed just now because the printer whose payment was pending with the district administration approached a local journalist with the story, said people familiar with the matter.

Punjab CEO Karuna Raju told me that the error was made by a contractual employee who downloaded some photographs from the internet for the advertisement without recognising Kumar.

“The officials committed a blunder by downloading an unknown photograph from an unknown source and using it in Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities. It has sent a wrong message,” said Raju, adding that it appeared that the advertisement was sent for printing by officials without checking the proof.

Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar Jail along with four others and is facing a death sentence.

Asha Devi, the mother of the 23-year-old whose rape had led to unprecedented protests across the country, told HuffPost India that she was shocked at the way election officials in Punjab ‘glorified’ a rape convict.

“We are struggling for the last seven years to get justice,” she said, adding that the Election Commission has sent the “wrong message across the world”.

The Indian Express reported on Monday that the Election Commission had issued a notice to the Punjab CEO, and had asked for a report within a day.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has also sought a reply from Raju after Asha Devi lodged a complaint with DCW along with a picture of the hoarding. The Commission has sought the names of the officials responsible and demanded strict action in the matter.

After receiving flak, the Hoshiarpur district administration has now asked the concerned computer operator to reveal the source from where the picture was downloaded.

CEO Raju said that as per rules, the officials should have used photographs of voters from the area.

“As a common practice, we use three photographs including a common voter, a woman voter and the third from the LGBT community.  The officials should have chosen the actual voters from their own area,” said Raju, who has sought a detailed report from the Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner.#MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

The ad was used in a Republic Day hoarding but made headlines only six months later because of a printer whose dues weren’t paid on time.

Chandigarh: Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is facing heat after news broke last week that the Hoshiarpur district administration used a photograph of Mukesh Kumar, one of the convicts in the 2012 gangrape and murder of a physiotherapy student in Delhi, in a voter awareness advertisement.

 I have learnt that the advertisement was on a hoarding installed at the venue of a Republic Day function inside the district administration complex.

That was more than six months ago, but the mistake was exposed just now because the printer whose payment was pending with the district administration approached a local journalist with the story, said people familiar with the matter.

Punjab CEO Karuna Raju told me that the error was made by a contractual employee who downloaded some photographs from the internet for the advertisement without recognising Kumar.

“The officials committed a blunder by downloading an unknown photograph from an unknown source and using it in Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities. It has sent a wrong message,” said Raju, adding that it appeared that the advertisement was sent for printing by officials without checking the proof.

Kumar is currently lodged in Tihar Jail along with four others and is facing a death sentence.

Asha Devi, the mother of the 23-year-old whose rape had led to unprecedented protests across the country, told HuffPost India that she was shocked at the way election officials in Punjab ‘glorified’ a rape convict.

“We are struggling for the last seven years to get justice,” she said, adding that the Election Commission has sent the “wrong message across the world”.

The Indian Express reported on Monday that the Election Commission had issued a notice to the Punjab CEO, and had asked for a report within a day.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has also sought a reply from Raju after Asha Devi lodged a complaint with DCW along with a picture of the hoarding. The Commission has sought the names of the officials responsible and demanded strict action in the matter.

After receiving flak, the Hoshiarpur district administration has now asked the concerned computer operator to reveal the source from where the picture was downloaded.

CEO Raju said that as per rules, the officials should have used photographs of voters from the area.

“As a common practice, we use three photographs including a common voter, a woman voter and the third from the LGBT community.  The officials should have chosen the actual voters from their own area,” said Raju, who has sought a detailed report from the Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner.#MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Digital transformation is sweeping the globe. Its vast economic potential has long been obvious, while the risks of social harm become clearer by the day. Less clear is the role of traditional regulation: legislation, executive policy and – especially tricky in these populist times – international agreements. We need to identify values that can guide conversations on these issues. Those values must transcend cultures and resonate around the world. Drawing on six months of conversations with citizens, CEOs, civil society activists, ethicists, regulators, politicians and engineers, here are four suggestions. In Hebrew, tikkun olam means ‘fixing the world’. It captures the notion that while the world is inherently good, the Creator gave agency to human beings to improve it, and anyone – children or adults, entrepreneurs or artists – can participate. Israelis cite tikkun olam as an essential ingredient in their nation’s startup culture, but it also captures beautifully the engineering spirit around the world – from Silicon Valley coders taking on global problems to tinkerers from India to Africa doing jugaad, a Hindi word meaning ‘good enough technology’. One embodiment of tikkun olam is Carmel 6000, an Israeli social enterprise that engages girl volunteers in exploring how technologies might solve problems in education, health and disabilities. Meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will require more of this kind of approach. It will also require creativity, which brings us to our second concept: in Sanskrit, pratyahara means turning the senses inward under the command of a focussed mind. This inwardness is considered to be the wellspring of our ability to learn, express ourselves and solve problems. It is also the antidote to being perpetually distracted by notifications on our smartphones and sucked into the mindless consumption of ever more digital content. Pratyahara is our defence against becoming like the protagonists in Ready Player One: cocooned in virtual reality as the world crumbles around us, cut off from the depth and beauty of face-to-face interactions. Pratyahara is especially important for children. Common Sense Education in the Bay Area is one example of an organisation developing tools to help teachers, parents and students to make smart media choices – sifting the true from the fake, the empowering from the addictive. Alongside smarter users of digital technologies, we need responsible creators. In Mandarin, he xie denotes ‘harmony’. Chinese engineers and ethicists that i have talked to mention it among their top values. Interestingly, in its slang form it also indicates concern with excessive control over content and self-expression. These are not only Western preoccupations. One example of a technology that embodies he xie is Alibaba’s Taobao e-commerce platform, which has enabled tens of thousands of small enterprises to grow their businesses, create employment and foster trust in digital payment systems and logistic chains. He xie could also capture concern about the potential of digital technologies to spread hate, incite violence, enable censorship, and erode trust. More deeply, a commitment to he xie – social harmony – should address fears that we are heading towards a future of disappearing jobs and unbridgeable gaps between ordinary people and techno-elites. But it is not enough to define the dystopias we want to avoid. What, in the end, do we want technology to achieve? The Greeks regarded the greatest good as eudaimonia – literally ‘happiness’, but more accurately ‘flourishing’: not the hedonism of momentary pleasure, but the self-fulfilment in material comfort of a considered life. Digitisation has already done much to promote eudaimonia – just think about how much easier it is now, compared to two or three decades ago, to connect with loved ones, find information, or grow a business with limited resources. But plenty of capital and brainpower is also going into enterprises that will not do much for human flourishing even if they succeed. As someone in Silicon Valley asked me, do we really need ten apps to help us order bubble tea? Imagine these four values working together: eudaimonia provides the propulsive force for the digital economy; he xie aids equitable sharing of benefits; tikkun olam helps us harness digital technologies for social good; and pratyahara ensures that we do not forget where the real solutions lie – in the analog world and in our human connectedness.#MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Digital transformation is sweeping the globe. Its vast economic potential has long been obvious, while the risks of social harm become clearer by the day. Less clear is the role of traditional regulation: legislation, executive policy and – especially tricky in these populist times – international agreements. We need to identify values that can guide conversations on these issues. Those values must transcend cultures and resonate around the world. Drawing on six months of conversations with citizens, CEOs, civil society activists, ethicists, regulators, politicians and engineers, here are four suggestions. In Hebrew, tikkun olam means ‘fixing the world’. It captures the notion that while the world is inherently good, the Creator gave agency to human beings to improve it, and anyone – children or adults, entrepreneurs or artists – can participate. Israelis cite tikkun olam as an essential ingredient in their nation’s startup culture, but it also captures beautifully the engineering spirit around the world – from Silicon Valley coders taking on global problems to tinkerers from India to Africa doing jugaad, a Hindi word meaning ‘good enough technology’. One embodiment of tikkun olam is Carmel 6000, an Israeli social enterprise that engages girl volunteers in exploring how technologies might solve problems in education, health and disabilities. Meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will require more of this kind of approach. It will also require creativity, which brings us to our second concept: in Sanskrit, pratyahara means turning the senses inward under the command of a focussed mind. This inwardness is considered to be the wellspring of our ability to learn, express ourselves and solve problems. It is also the antidote to being perpetually distracted by notifications on our smartphones and sucked into the mindless consumption of ever more digital content. Pratyahara is our defence against becoming like the protagonists in Ready Player One: cocooned in virtual reality as the world crumbles around us, cut off from the depth and beauty of face-to-face interactions. Pratyahara is especially important for children. Common Sense Education in the Bay Area is one example of an organisation developing tools to help teachers, parents and students to make smart media choices – sifting the true from the fake, the empowering from the addictive. Alongside smarter users of digital technologies, we need responsible creators. In Mandarin, he xie denotes ‘harmony’. Chinese engineers and ethicists that i have talked to mention it among their top values. Interestingly, in its slang form it also indicates concern with excessive control over content and self-expression. These are not only Western preoccupations. One example of a technology that embodies he xie is Alibaba’s Taobao e-commerce platform, which has enabled tens of thousands of small enterprises to grow their businesses, create employment and foster trust in digital payment systems and logistic chains. He xie could also capture concern about the potential of digital technologies to spread hate, incite violence, enable censorship, and erode trust. More deeply, a commitment to he xie – social harmony – should address fears that we are heading towards a future of disappearing jobs and unbridgeable gaps between ordinary people and techno-elites. But it is not enough to define the dystopias we want to avoid. What, in the end, do we want technology to achieve? The Greeks regarded the greatest good as eudaimonia – literally ‘happiness’, but more accurately ‘flourishing’: not the hedonism of momentary pleasure, but the self-fulfilment in material comfort of a considered life. Digitisation has already done much to promote eudaimonia – just think about how much easier it is now, compared to two or three decades ago, to connect with loved ones, find information, or grow a business with limited resources. But plenty of capital and brainpower is also going into enterprises that will not do much for human flourishing even if they succeed. As someone in Silicon Valley asked me, do we really need ten apps to help us order bubble tea? Imagine these four values working together: eudaimonia provides the propulsive force for the digital economy; he xie aids equitable sharing of benefits; tikkun olam helps us harness digital technologies for social good; and pratyahara ensures that we do not forget where the real solutions lie – in the analog world and in our human connectedness.#MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

As peace-loving Indians are looking for a justification for their fear that miniscule ugliness of war pouring out of the TV and social media screens has caused, Carl Sagan is dug out and quoted, “The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.” It is a wonderfully wise statement and, coming from a man of science who can clearly understands the aftermath of unleashing power hidden deep within atoms, it is really worth having on the desk of every chief executive of nations armed with atom bombs. It is clear that we may survive greatest of natural catastrophes, but a global nuclear war would surely draw curtains for humanity. This planet may be able to resurrect over next million years, but we surely wont. So, if we are to learn the Art of War from Carl Sagan, there is no doubt that nuclear war must be avoided, and India and Pakistan must not play this gasoline and match game. Unfortunately for India, while Carl Sagan wisdom is of great use, there is a small problem, and that is in the description of scenario of sagacious Sagan. If we make a small correction to add real context to the wisdom, it is not “Two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline”, it is “Two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline with one constantly slapping the other while holding a burning match”. Though visibility of this scenario decreases with increase of education and wealth amongst the Indians, to most of us commoners, Pakistan has been constantly blackmailing India using our fear of nuclear war, and what has made last few days special is that we have decided to set aside that fear and act. But, while I am being sarcastically critical of the fear of liberal educated Indians who harbour the fear of war and the discomfort it can bring, I must acknowledge that #SayNoToWar people have a huge point. We have pushed both the nations closer to near-complete self-destruction and hence Carl Sagan’s wisdom needs serious consideration while planning our next step of action. As I am typing this at middle of the night and getting increasingly scared by possibility of a nuclear war, I have just found (or rather heard) my saviours howling and growling away on the street below! Thanks to infinite wisdom possessed by our Supreme Court, we all are blessed with wonderful company of street dogs multiplying in numbers each year. As these territorial animals throng our streets in huge numbers, they face the same problem as India and Pakistan, i.e. constant need of settling boundary disputes. So, step aside Carl, as I want to usher in Dogs’ Wisdom for the Art of War. Let me extend it further and say that it is not only about Art of War, it is applicable for all human interactions and hence worth considering as Art of Living for average Humans like you and me. When two dogs interact, the scenario rolls out with two broad option. It is either with one dog having clear advantage recognised by the other or with both dogs unclear about who has an advantage. It is easy to see that the first interaction is mostly uncomplicated as both dogs know their relative position and hence outcome of a conflict between them. So, there is, at the most wee bit testing of temper by staring or growling, but it quickly resolves with lesser dog moving away or even going all out to express explicit submission. So, life between dogs with clearly defined position in hierarchy is easy. The problem starts when two dogs with uncertain status interact, as they need to discover their relative position in hierarchy. Here the interaction is extremely complicated as it is full of small skirmishes and tests of strength. It is interaction that really holds wisdom for us all. So, if you are really worried that war must be avoided at all costs, there is something really positive for you to learn from dogs, i.e. posturing and its impact of behaviour. Interactions, be it between dogs, humans or nations, follow a simple logic because there is a strange switch in all brains, and that is switched on to avoid waste of energy if there is no bigger long term gain. #MohnishAhliwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

As peace-loving Indians are looking for a justification for their fear that miniscule ugliness of war pouring out of the TV and social media screens has caused, Carl Sagan is dug out and quoted, “The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.” It is a wonderfully wise statement and, coming from a man of science who can clearly understands the aftermath of unleashing power hidden deep within atoms, it is really worth having on the desk of every chief executive of nations armed with atom bombs. It is clear that we may survive greatest of natural catastrophes, but a global nuclear war would surely draw curtains for humanity. This planet may be able to resurrect over next million years, but we surely wont. So, if we are to learn the Art of War from Carl Sagan, there is no doubt that nuclear war must be avoided, and India and Pakistan must not play this gasoline and match game. Unfortunately for India, while Carl Sagan wisdom is of great use, there is a small problem, and that is in the description of scenario of sagacious Sagan. If we make a small correction to add real context to the wisdom, it is not “Two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline”, it is “Two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline with one constantly slapping the other while holding a burning match”. Though visibility of this scenario decreases with increase of education and wealth amongst the Indians, to most of us commoners, Pakistan has been constantly blackmailing India using our fear of nuclear war, and what has made last few days special is that we have decided to set aside that fear and act. But, while I am being sarcastically critical of the fear of liberal educated Indians who harbour the fear of war and the discomfort it can bring, I must acknowledge that #SayNoToWar people have a huge point. We have pushed both the nations closer to near-complete self-destruction and hence Carl Sagan’s wisdom needs serious consideration while planning our next step of action. As I am typing this at middle of the night and getting increasingly scared by possibility of a nuclear war, I have just found (or rather heard) my saviours howling and growling away on the street below! Thanks to infinite wisdom possessed by our Supreme Court, we all are blessed with wonderful company of street dogs multiplying in numbers each year. As these territorial animals throng our streets in huge numbers, they face the same problem as India and Pakistan, i.e. constant need of settling boundary disputes. So, step aside Carl, as I want to usher in Dogs’ Wisdom for the Art of War. Let me extend it further and say that it is not only about Art of War, it is applicable for all human interactions and hence worth considering as Art of Living for average Humans like you and me. When two dogs interact, the scenario rolls out with two broad option. It is either with one dog having clear advantage recognised by the other or with both dogs unclear about who has an advantage. It is easy to see that the first interaction is mostly uncomplicated as both dogs know their relative position and hence outcome of a conflict between them. So, there is, at the most wee bit testing of temper by staring or growling, but it quickly resolves with lesser dog moving away or even going all out to express explicit submission. So, life between dogs with clearly defined position in hierarchy is easy. The problem starts when two dogs with uncertain status interact, as they need to discover their relative position in hierarchy. Here the interaction is extremely complicated as it is full of small skirmishes and tests of strength. It is interaction that really holds wisdom for us all. So, if you are really worried that war must be avoided at all costs, there is something really positive for you to learn from dogs, i.e. posturing and its impact of behaviour. Interactions, be it between dogs, humans or nations, follow a simple logic because there is a strange switch in all brains, and that is switched on to avoid waste of energy if there is no bigger long term gain. #MohnishAhliwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Wing Commander Abhinandan is back. One Pakistani F16 has been shot down and a pilot killed. Pulwama has been avenged with the destruction of the JeM terror camps. And our apologists are back to hankering for immediate commencement of peace talks. Where is the Pakistan – India relationship heading and what happens next for Pakistan? After the Pulwama attack, there was a complete sense of gloom and doom in the country and everyone wanted revenge. Within a few days, sarcastic comments were being made by leaders of the opposition. Twelve days later, the Indian Air Force hit back hard and destroyed three Jaish-e-Mohammad training camps in Pakistan and killed between 300 – 400 terrorists who were being trained. Also killed were 25 leaders of the terrorist organisation. It is interesting to note that it is primarily “family” members of Azhar Masood who were in leadership positions (no other meanings intended here)! These strikes were applauded all over the country. It was surprising that while every opposition leader congratulated the Indian Air Force which was their due, not one of these politicians acknowledged the strong decision making by the Prime Minister. Ironically, after making so much noise about the attacks, these political parties are now blaming the BJP for politicising the IAF action. The following day, Pakistani F16 fighter jets tried to enter Indian Air space and were rebuffed. One of these modern jets was shot down by Wing Commander Abhinandan who has been taken into custody. Under the Geneva Convention and after a lot of behind the scenes diplomacy and political manoeuvre, he has been released and back as a war hero. So why are some sections of the press suddenly swinging to the other side? Why has Imran Khan become a diplomat par excellence and what makes so many of our journalists and opposition politicians give so much credit to Pakistan? 1. It surprises me that some sections of the press have started to comment on why war is never an answer. Quite an inane set of platitudes because no one can deny this. But when you see how much hurt has been caused to our nation over the years by Pakistan supported terrorists, are these journalists talking about pulling back and going back to status quo ante? 2. Some journalists are questioning why the Prime Minister is going about his normal workday. Why shouldn’t he? I am sure he is monitoring the situation closely and has a team of excellent leaders who are more directly handling the matter. The same journalists would take the counter view if the Prime Minister was seen to be spending all this time on this matter! 3. Some journalists have asked whether India has a Defence Minister? I was not able to understand this comment. In addition to the Defence Minister and the National Security Advisor, there are three Chiefs of Staff and it is this core team that must be handling every detailed issue under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister. 4. Some politicians are screaming that all political activity must be stopped by the PM. Have they stopped all political activity from their side? The answer is a clear No. 5. One senior BJP leader has announced how many seats his party will win in a state. I think this is a very insensitive comment and must be condemned at all costs. 6. Then there is the Chief Minister of a major state who can’t stop talking about how this entire Pulwama episode has been stage-managed by the ruling party. This thinking needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It only shows the thinking of this Chief Minister. I would strongly urge that we should let our elected Government do its work. On the other hand, Pakistan is in serious trouble. 1. Pakistan economy is bankrupt, and though they are receiving some money from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China, all this money is coming with strings attached. There is no free lunch and someday payment will be extracted from Pakistan for today’s largesse. 2. Prime Minister Imran Khan is a puppet of the powerful Army whose single point agenda is to keep warmongering against India. They have no other reason to exist. 3. Pakistan has created trouble on all its borders with Iran, Afghanistan and India. Its all-weather friend China only looks at a selfish financial partnership on account of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 4. No investors are willing to come and invest in Pakistan. 5. Despite so many promises, no credible action is expected to be taken by Pakistan against the terrorist camps being supported by their Army. 6. Finally, the Army will continue to have a stranglehold on the country and every time a politician attempts to raise his head, they will either cut it or control it. The last word has not been written on this subject. The last bullet has not been fired and the last life has not been lost. This is a long battle which has scarred many and will continue to scar many more. Pakistan needs to take some serious confidence-building measures which would include: 1. Allowing China to declare Azhar Masood as an international terrorist and hand him over for trial. 2. Hand over Hafeez Sayyed to India to stand trial for the 26/11 attacks. 3. Hand over Dawood Ibrahim, the architect of the Bombay attacks. Handing over these three terrorists would be a starter but given popular opinion, it is highly unlikely that the Pakistan Army will ever agree to handing over their prime terror arm! It is only after this action has been taken should they ask for a dialogue on Kashmir. It is too early for us to forget Pulwama and it is unrealistic to expect everyone to forgive and move on. As the old saying goes me must forgive if they take action against the terrorists but we must never forget the harm they have caused us. #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Wing Commander Abhinandan is back. One Pakistani F16 has been shot down and a pilot killed. Pulwama has been avenged with the destruction of the JeM terror camps. And our apologists are back to hankering for immediate commencement of peace talks. Where is the Pakistan – India relationship heading and what happens next for Pakistan? After the Pulwama attack, there was a complete sense of gloom and doom in the country and everyone wanted revenge. Within a few days, sarcastic comments were being made by leaders of the opposition. Twelve days later, the Indian Air Force hit back hard and destroyed three Jaish-e-Mohammad training camps in Pakistan and killed between 300 – 400 terrorists who were being trained. Also killed were 25 leaders of the terrorist organisation. It is interesting to note that it is primarily “family” members of Azhar Masood who were in leadership positions (no other meanings intended here)! These strikes were applauded all over the country. It was surprising that while every opposition leader congratulated the Indian Air Force which was their due, not one of these politicians acknowledged the strong decision making by the Prime Minister. Ironically, after making so much noise about the attacks, these political parties are now blaming the BJP for politicising the IAF action. The following day, Pakistani F16 fighter jets tried to enter Indian Air space and were rebuffed. One of these modern jets was shot down by Wing Commander Abhinandan who has been taken into custody. Under the Geneva Convention and after a lot of behind the scenes diplomacy and political manoeuvre, he has been released and back as a war hero. So why are some sections of the press suddenly swinging to the other side? Why has Imran Khan become a diplomat par excellence and what makes so many of our journalists and opposition politicians give so much credit to Pakistan? 1. It surprises me that some sections of the press have started to comment on why war is never an answer. Quite an inane set of platitudes because no one can deny this. But when you see how much hurt has been caused to our nation over the years by Pakistan supported terrorists, are these journalists talking about pulling back and going back to status quo ante? 2. Some journalists are questioning why the Prime Minister is going about his normal workday. Why shouldn’t he? I am sure he is monitoring the situation closely and has a team of excellent leaders who are more directly handling the matter. The same journalists would take the counter view if the Prime Minister was seen to be spending all this time on this matter! 3. Some journalists have asked whether India has a Defence Minister? I was not able to understand this comment. In addition to the Defence Minister and the National Security Advisor, there are three Chiefs of Staff and it is this core team that must be handling every detailed issue under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister. 4. Some politicians are screaming that all political activity must be stopped by the PM. Have they stopped all political activity from their side? The answer is a clear No. 5. One senior BJP leader has announced how many seats his party will win in a state. I think this is a very insensitive comment and must be condemned at all costs. 6. Then there is the Chief Minister of a major state who can’t stop talking about how this entire Pulwama episode has been stage-managed by the ruling party. This thinking needs to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It only shows the thinking of this Chief Minister. I would strongly urge that we should let our elected Government do its work. On the other hand, Pakistan is in serious trouble. 1. Pakistan economy is bankrupt, and though they are receiving some money from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China, all this money is coming with strings attached. There is no free lunch and someday payment will be extracted from Pakistan for today’s largesse. 2. Prime Minister Imran Khan is a puppet of the powerful Army whose single point agenda is to keep warmongering against India. They have no other reason to exist. 3. Pakistan has created trouble on all its borders with Iran, Afghanistan and India. Its all-weather friend China only looks at a selfish financial partnership on account of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). 4. No investors are willing to come and invest in Pakistan. 5. Despite so many promises, no credible action is expected to be taken by Pakistan against the terrorist camps being supported by their Army. 6. Finally, the Army will continue to have a stranglehold on the country and every time a politician attempts to raise his head, they will either cut it or control it. The last word has not been written on this subject. The last bullet has not been fired and the last life has not been lost. This is a long battle which has scarred many and will continue to scar many more. Pakistan needs to take some serious confidence-building measures which would include: 1. Allowing China to declare Azhar Masood as an international terrorist and hand him over for trial. 2. Hand over Hafeez Sayyed to India to stand trial for the 26/11 attacks. 3. Hand over Dawood Ibrahim, the architect of the Bombay attacks. Handing over these three terrorists would be a starter but given popular opinion, it is highly unlikely that the Pakistan Army will ever agree to handing over their prime terror arm! It is only after this action has been taken should they ask for a dialogue on Kashmir. It is too early for us to forget Pulwama and it is unrealistic to expect everyone to forgive and move on. As the old saying goes me must forgive if they take action against the terrorists but we must never forget the harm they have caused us. #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Post-Pulwama, leaders at an all-party meeting expressed the country’s resolve to eliminate terrorism photos Despite it being an election year, political parties have managed to show remarkable restraint in politicising the strikes across the LoC? But, how long can they sustain this? The sudden shift in the nature of India-Pakistan ties on the political plane is something pundits would not like to predict about. During the last three decades, perhaps the most consistent feature of Indo-Pakistan bilateral relations has been its inconsistency. Since late 1990s, when militancy in Jammu and Kashmir began to rise, ties between the two neighbours have seen sharp swings and often become a roller-coaster ride — high once and then sharply sliding down. A few years back the political leadership in India and Pakistan had sought to adopt a correctional path — at least on the face of it. That was when President Zia-ul-Haq had managed to extract an invitation from India through what was called cricket diplomacy. This happened at the height of Operation Brasstacks, an exercise mounted in early 1987 by the Indian military leadership that almost took both countries to war. General Zia arrived in Jaipur to watch a cricket match between India and Pakistan in a bid to reduce the simmering tensions. Subsequently, PM Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, too, adopted the same measure during a 2011 World Cup fixture. On his part, PM Narendra Modi began his innings on the same diplomatic pitch by inviting all SAARC leaders for his swearing-in. Years before, there was a verbal duel between New Delhi and Islamabad. On Independence Day in 1994, the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao declared from the ramparts of Red Fort that the only unfinished task that remained of Partition was to reclaim Pakistan-occupied territory of Kashmir and that Kashmir would always remain an integral part of India. PM Rao was responding to Pakistan premier's mention of Kashmir as the unfinished agenda for the country. The wordy duel eventually while relations between the two countries continued to swing like a pendulum. Post-1987, an eyeball-to-eyeball situation for troops on either side of the border came in 2001 when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ordered the military to reach the borders as a measure to exert pressure after the audacious LeT/JeM attack on Parliament. Many questions were raised about the incident, especially how could such an attack occurr on India's temple of democracy. However, these queries were more in the nature of introspection and not necessarily finger wagging. In fact, a day after the attack, PM Vajpayee mentioned in Parliament that the first call after the attack enquiring about his well-being was from then Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi. The gesture, PM Vajpayee remarked, underscored the strength of Indian democracy and its future. Post 2000, there have been a number of such attacks especially on our military establishments — among them Kaluchak in 2002 and Pathankot in 2016. However, the most grim reminder of how Pak-based terrorists were used to attack India and Indian citizens were the Mumbai attacks in 2008 that went on for three days. Pulwama is the latest in this series of militants killing at will. An indoctrinated youth drove a car packed with explosives in a fidayeen attack to strike at a convoy of CRPF soldiers, killing 40 jawans. Condemnations poured in across the political lines though there was an initial outburst by the Congress chief spokesperson on February 14. But it did a swift course correction with party president Rahul Gandhi, flanked by former PM Manmohan Singh and former Defence Minister AK Antony, conveying solidarity with the government in this hour of crisis. The party even decided to call off its scheduled meeting of the working committee realising this is not the time to engage in politics. Yet, with general elections around the corner, can politicians of different hues and grades not eschew from escalating the debate or lowering its levels? It is easy to point fingers at say a BS Yedduryappa for his remarks that the Balakot operation would translate into rich electoral harvest for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka or for the ruling party elite to underscore that critical remarks by members in the Opposition were being lapped up by Pakistan. To examine one of the points raised by the Opposition after the all-party meeting of being taken on board or to be briefed as they, too, had a stake in the country was greeted with derision. Surely, it is not expected that the government of the day would discuss threadbare, leave alone operational details, but even contours of what it could look like. What needs to be looked at is whether such an outreach by the government to parties across the political spectrum can help in building consensus in the country at a time when a message of being one should be both loud and clear to the world. For instance, the previous NDA government hammered out consensus when the country was torn between the idea of putting Indian troops on the ground in Iraq, which the USA wanted or those against it. Amid reports of a battalion being readied, Vajpayee felt the pulse of the country through voices in the Opposition to nix ambitious plans of members of his own Cabinet. Eventually, a resolution in Parliament conveyed to the world the collective sense of disagreement to send Indian military personnel to Iraq. The country had not forgotten the fate of the brave Indian soldiers fighting a war that was not of India — in Sri Lanka against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — and did not want an encore. In the last few days, the debate has been shrill around the lack of political will of the leadership after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. It has been compared with the lightening decisions being taken now to respond — be it the surgical strike post Uri or Balakot in response to Pulwama. The Manmohan Singh government was pilloried then, as again now, for its inability to strike back and pursuing a policy of strategic restraint. Recorded conversations of the days leading to a decision lie wrapped in classified documents and would remain so barring a select few who can access it. Any dispassionate discussion based on information available on record and examined by a community of strategic, security thinkers and policy researchers, cannot happen since unlike some western democracies, India does not have a clear policy of declassification of such documents or at least unhindered access. Strategic planners emphasise that in planning a retribution, essential ingredient is hosh (consciousness) while its execution requires josh (euphoria). #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Post-Pulwama, leaders at an all-party meeting expressed the country’s resolve to eliminate terrorism photos Despite it being an election year, political parties have managed to show remarkable restraint in politicising the strikes across the LoC? But, how long can they sustain this? The sudden shift in the nature of India-Pakistan ties on the political plane is something pundits would not like to predict about. During the last three decades, perhaps the most consistent feature of Indo-Pakistan bilateral relations has been its inconsistency. Since late 1990s, when militancy in Jammu and Kashmir began to rise, ties between the two neighbours have seen sharp swings and often become a roller-coaster ride — high once and then sharply sliding down. A few years back the political leadership in India and Pakistan had sought to adopt a correctional path — at least on the face of it. That was when President Zia-ul-Haq had managed to extract an invitation from India through what was called cricket diplomacy. This happened at the height of Operation Brasstacks, an exercise mounted in early 1987 by the Indian military leadership that almost took both countries to war. General Zia arrived in Jaipur to watch a cricket match between India and Pakistan in a bid to reduce the simmering tensions. Subsequently, PM Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani, too, adopted the same measure during a 2011 World Cup fixture. On his part, PM Narendra Modi began his innings on the same diplomatic pitch by inviting all SAARC leaders for his swearing-in. Years before, there was a verbal duel between New Delhi and Islamabad. On Independence Day in 1994, the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao declared from the ramparts of Red Fort that the only unfinished task that remained of Partition was to reclaim Pakistan-occupied territory of Kashmir and that Kashmir would always remain an integral part of India. PM Rao was responding to Pakistan premier's mention of Kashmir as the unfinished agenda for the country. The wordy duel eventually while relations between the two countries continued to swing like a pendulum. Post-1987, an eyeball-to-eyeball situation for troops on either side of the border came in 2001 when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ordered the military to reach the borders as a measure to exert pressure after the audacious LeT/JeM attack on Parliament. Many questions were raised about the incident, especially how could such an attack occurr on India's temple of democracy. However, these queries were more in the nature of introspection and not necessarily finger wagging. In fact, a day after the attack, PM Vajpayee mentioned in Parliament that the first call after the attack enquiring about his well-being was from then Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi. The gesture, PM Vajpayee remarked, underscored the strength of Indian democracy and its future. Post 2000, there have been a number of such attacks especially on our military establishments — among them Kaluchak in 2002 and Pathankot in 2016. However, the most grim reminder of how Pak-based terrorists were used to attack India and Indian citizens were the Mumbai attacks in 2008 that went on for three days. Pulwama is the latest in this series of militants killing at will. An indoctrinated youth drove a car packed with explosives in a fidayeen attack to strike at a convoy of CRPF soldiers, killing 40 jawans. Condemnations poured in across the political lines though there was an initial outburst by the Congress chief spokesperson on February 14. But it did a swift course correction with party president Rahul Gandhi, flanked by former PM Manmohan Singh and former Defence Minister AK Antony, conveying solidarity with the government in this hour of crisis. The party even decided to call off its scheduled meeting of the working committee realising this is not the time to engage in politics. Yet, with general elections around the corner, can politicians of different hues and grades not eschew from escalating the debate or lowering its levels? It is easy to point fingers at say a BS Yedduryappa for his remarks that the Balakot operation would translate into rich electoral harvest for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka or for the ruling party elite to underscore that critical remarks by members in the Opposition were being lapped up by Pakistan. To examine one of the points raised by the Opposition after the all-party meeting of being taken on board or to be briefed as they, too, had a stake in the country was greeted with derision. Surely, it is not expected that the government of the day would discuss threadbare, leave alone operational details, but even contours of what it could look like. What needs to be looked at is whether such an outreach by the government to parties across the political spectrum can help in building consensus in the country at a time when a message of being one should be both loud and clear to the world. For instance, the previous NDA government hammered out consensus when the country was torn between the idea of putting Indian troops on the ground in Iraq, which the USA wanted or those against it. Amid reports of a battalion being readied, Vajpayee felt the pulse of the country through voices in the Opposition to nix ambitious plans of members of his own Cabinet. Eventually, a resolution in Parliament conveyed to the world the collective sense of disagreement to send Indian military personnel to Iraq. The country had not forgotten the fate of the brave Indian soldiers fighting a war that was not of India — in Sri Lanka against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — and did not want an encore. In the last few days, the debate has been shrill around the lack of political will of the leadership after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. It has been compared with the lightening decisions being taken now to respond — be it the surgical strike post Uri or Balakot in response to Pulwama. The Manmohan Singh government was pilloried then, as again now, for its inability to strike back and pursuing a policy of strategic restraint. Recorded conversations of the days leading to a decision lie wrapped in classified documents and would remain so barring a select few who can access it. Any dispassionate discussion based on information available on record and examined by a community of strategic, security thinkers and policy researchers, cannot happen since unlike some western democracies, India does not have a clear policy of declassification of such documents or at least unhindered access. Strategic planners emphasise that in planning a retribution, essential ingredient is hosh (consciousness) while its execution requires josh (euphoria). #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Whose win is it anyway? Pakistan tried to score points by releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, three days after he was captured As India and Pakistan try to outmanoeuvre each other to win global support, India could lobby with various players to pressurise its neighbour to act against terror After giving Pakistan a befitting reply in Balakot for the Pulwama attack, India is actively making diplomatic overtures to pressurise Pakistan to abandon its jihad dependence. Here are some viable options: A Cut a deal with China for banning Azhar at UNSC: India can offer China its support in its aspiration to head global bodies in order to exhibit its status as a global power. In return, China can agree not to use its veto when the three permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) bring a resolution seeking to name Masood Azhar as an international terrorist. What will banning achieve: It will slightly damage Masood Azhar because he does not have extensive sources of revenue like the ISIS, Al Qaeda and the Taliban. However, a more permanent source of worry for Azhar after being named by the UNSC could be that India can justify any Special Forces action against him on moral as well as national security grounds. Past experience: The UNSC’s naming of Azhar will be a pyrrhic victory as international terrorists like him have roamed freely all over the world even after being called out by the global community. It has made no difference to the chiefs of ISIS and Al Qaeda whether 15 diplomats in New York name them as terrorists. However, if international pressure also forces Pakistan to implement its anti-money laundering laws, the naming of Azhar as an international terrorist will emasculate his appeal as a bag man. B The US should ban military trade with Pakistan: India can put pressure on the US to take Pakistan to task for misusing the F-16s given to it for anti-terrorist operations. There are already reports of the US seeking more information on the potential misuse of America-made F-16 fighter jets by Pakistan against India in violation of the end-user agreement (EUM). What is EUM: The US signs end-user verification agreements with all countries it sells arms to. The EUM allows American inspectors to examine the equipment for misuses and even seize the equipment or deny servicing it and not provide spares. Past experience: In 2009, Pakistan conducted a mysterious missile test leading to suspicion that it had surreptitiously altered US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The Harpoon was supposed to be used as a defensive weapon but the modification gave it an offensive role, enabling it to hit targets on land. The US also suspects that Pakistan has modified its P-3C aircraft meant for oceanic surveillance into a weapon capable of launching land-attack missions. The US had protested against both violations but its inspectors were not allowed to enter Pakistan cantonments. What can India do: It needs to lobby with the US Congress highlighting previous misuses by Pakistan that date back from the time when it was in the South Asia Treaty Organisation in the mid-50s and seek an embargo on all military sales to Pakistan. C Keep up the pressure on anti-terror financing laws: India played a smart hand in October 2018 when the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) met in Paris to review anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws of member countries. Pakistan was in the nether zone and could have escaped with a mild rap. But India played on Pakistan’s all-weather friend, China’s global aspirations by offering to support it for the post of vice-president of FATFA. China eagerly grabbed the offer because it will automatically head FATFA next year. As a result, it did not move a muscle when FATFA put Pakistan on the Grey List. What is FATFA?: It began as a construct of the world’s most powerful capitalist countries and gradually enrolled other economies such as Russia, China, India and Pakistan. It has set standards for anti-terrorist and money laundering laws. Failure to meet the standards could lead to blacklisting and denial of funds from the IMF and the World Bank. Past experience: Pakistan has been censured at least 25 times in FATFA’s 30 years of existence. It was again censured in February this year and has been given a three-month deadline till June. What can India do: India was at its lobbying best when FATFA met in Paris just after the Pulwama attacks. China again stayed away from throwing its weight behind Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan remained on the Grey List. India needs to sustain the pressure so that Pakistan is denied IMF loans or it implements its anti-terror and money-laundering laws so that it becomes difficult for the Hafiz Saeeds and Azhar Masoods to operate. D Make Pakistan feel awkward among Muslim nations: One regional multilateral organisation that has excluded India at the behest of Pakistan is the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (who later became President of India) could not attend the first OIC summit after Pakistan threatened to walk away. In a delicious irony now, the OIC Ministerial held last week saw Sushma Swaraj’s participation as a Guest of Honour while Pakistan sat out in protest. What is OIC: It has 57 members, but, of them, 17 are not Muslim majority. Having the field to itself, Pakistan has managed to force the OIC to deliver virulently anti-India statements on its handling of the Kashmir situation. Though the OIC takes no further action, the statements embarrass India, which takes pride in its diversity and vibrancy of religions. What can India do: Bangladesh and Turkey have already proposed ‘observer’ status at the OIC for India. This is again a  sweet revenge against Pakistan for proposing ‘observer’ status for China at SAARC. India can let the proposal for ‘observor’ status at the OIC hang fire, provided Pakistan promises to behave. E Get Pakistan upbraided at the SCO for its behaviour: India cancelled a SCO meeting in Hyderabad on January 28 in protests against the Pulwama attack and could boycott another upcoming meeting as Pakistan is one of the participants. Other members are worried that this warring duo may turn the SCO ineffectual as their rivalry has done to SAARC. What is SCO: An eight-member organisation consisting Russia, China, four Stans of Central Asia besides India and Pakistan. Pakistan has no dispute with any of these countries. On the contrary, it sees them as its passport to economic rejuvenation, What can India do: The SCO was originally set up to sort out border disputes among the original six members (India and Pakistan joined later) and then moved on to anti-terrorism cooperation. India must make clear its stand that militants from Pakistan must also be put on its anti-terror data base. That will make Pakistan accountable for their actions. As opposed to the client-patron relationship between Pakistan and the US, the SCO countries enjoy peer-level ties with Pakistan, making it more amenable to their counsel #Mohni8shAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

Whose win is it anyway? Pakistan tried to score points by releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, three days after he was captured As India and Pakistan try to outmanoeuvre each other to win global support, India could lobby with various players to pressurise its neighbour to act against terror After giving Pakistan a befitting reply in Balakot for the Pulwama attack, India is actively making diplomatic overtures to pressurise Pakistan to abandon its jihad dependence. Here are some viable options: A Cut a deal with China for banning Azhar at UNSC: India can offer China its support in its aspiration to head global bodies in order to exhibit its status as a global power. In return, China can agree not to use its veto when the three permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) bring a resolution seeking to name Masood Azhar as an international terrorist. What will banning achieve: It will slightly damage Masood Azhar because he does not have extensive sources of revenue like the ISIS, Al Qaeda and the Taliban. However, a more permanent source of worry for Azhar after being named by the UNSC could be that India can justify any Special Forces action against him on moral as well as national security grounds. Past experience: The UNSC’s naming of Azhar will be a pyrrhic victory as international terrorists like him have roamed freely all over the world even after being called out by the global community. It has made no difference to the chiefs of ISIS and Al Qaeda whether 15 diplomats in New York name them as terrorists. However, if international pressure also forces Pakistan to implement its anti-money laundering laws, the naming of Azhar as an international terrorist will emasculate his appeal as a bag man. B The US should ban military trade with Pakistan: India can put pressure on the US to take Pakistan to task for misusing the F-16s given to it for anti-terrorist operations. There are already reports of the US seeking more information on the potential misuse of America-made F-16 fighter jets by Pakistan against India in violation of the end-user agreement (EUM). What is EUM: The US signs end-user verification agreements with all countries it sells arms to. The EUM allows American inspectors to examine the equipment for misuses and even seize the equipment or deny servicing it and not provide spares. Past experience: In 2009, Pakistan conducted a mysterious missile test leading to suspicion that it had surreptitiously altered US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The Harpoon was supposed to be used as a defensive weapon but the modification gave it an offensive role, enabling it to hit targets on land. The US also suspects that Pakistan has modified its P-3C aircraft meant for oceanic surveillance into a weapon capable of launching land-attack missions. The US had protested against both violations but its inspectors were not allowed to enter Pakistan cantonments. What can India do: It needs to lobby with the US Congress highlighting previous misuses by Pakistan that date back from the time when it was in the South Asia Treaty Organisation in the mid-50s and seek an embargo on all military sales to Pakistan. C Keep up the pressure on anti-terror financing laws: India played a smart hand in October 2018 when the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) met in Paris to review anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws of member countries. Pakistan was in the nether zone and could have escaped with a mild rap. But India played on Pakistan’s all-weather friend, China’s global aspirations by offering to support it for the post of vice-president of FATFA. China eagerly grabbed the offer because it will automatically head FATFA next year. As a result, it did not move a muscle when FATFA put Pakistan on the Grey List. What is FATFA?: It began as a construct of the world’s most powerful capitalist countries and gradually enrolled other economies such as Russia, China, India and Pakistan. It has set standards for anti-terrorist and money laundering laws. Failure to meet the standards could lead to blacklisting and denial of funds from the IMF and the World Bank. Past experience: Pakistan has been censured at least 25 times in FATFA’s 30 years of existence. It was again censured in February this year and has been given a three-month deadline till June. What can India do: India was at its lobbying best when FATFA met in Paris just after the Pulwama attacks. China again stayed away from throwing its weight behind Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan remained on the Grey List. India needs to sustain the pressure so that Pakistan is denied IMF loans or it implements its anti-terror and money-laundering laws so that it becomes difficult for the Hafiz Saeeds and Azhar Masoods to operate. D Make Pakistan feel awkward among Muslim nations: One regional multilateral organisation that has excluded India at the behest of Pakistan is the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC). Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (who later became President of India) could not attend the first OIC summit after Pakistan threatened to walk away. In a delicious irony now, the OIC Ministerial held last week saw Sushma Swaraj’s participation as a Guest of Honour while Pakistan sat out in protest. What is OIC: It has 57 members, but, of them, 17 are not Muslim majority. Having the field to itself, Pakistan has managed to force the OIC to deliver virulently anti-India statements on its handling of the Kashmir situation. Though the OIC takes no further action, the statements embarrass India, which takes pride in its diversity and vibrancy of religions. What can India do: Bangladesh and Turkey have already proposed ‘observer’ status at the OIC for India. This is again a  sweet revenge against Pakistan for proposing ‘observer’ status for China at SAARC. India can let the proposal for ‘observor’ status at the OIC hang fire, provided Pakistan promises to behave. E Get Pakistan upbraided at the SCO for its behaviour: India cancelled a SCO meeting in Hyderabad on January 28 in protests against the Pulwama attack and could boycott another upcoming meeting as Pakistan is one of the participants. Other members are worried that this warring duo may turn the SCO ineffectual as their rivalry has done to SAARC. What is SCO: An eight-member organisation consisting Russia, China, four Stans of Central Asia besides India and Pakistan. Pakistan has no dispute with any of these countries. On the contrary, it sees them as its passport to economic rejuvenation, What can India do: The SCO was originally set up to sort out border disputes among the original six members (India and Pakistan joined later) and then moved on to anti-terrorism cooperation. India must make clear its stand that militants from Pakistan must also be put on its anti-terror data base. That will make Pakistan accountable for their actions. As opposed to the client-patron relationship between Pakistan and the US, the SCO countries enjoy peer-level ties with Pakistan, making it more amenable to their counsel #Mohni8shAhluwaliaNotes

[lordsrivenkateswaraswamy]

In 2013, the insurgency in Kashmir was at its lowest ebb. The number of militants had fallen to single digits — only eight new men were recruited and only two groups were surviving. Six years later, in 2019, the shrinking insurgent landscape has changed. Even as 600 militants were killed in past three years, their numbers remain highest in a decade. The militant groups present in Kashmir valley have proliferated to seven. While two formerly defunct groups surfaced and their cadres were killed by security forces last year, two new groups have also emerged.

The significant increase in the number of militant organisations has coincided with the rising number of readily available recruits, who have swelled the militant ranks despite these groups suffering large number of casualties.

Hizbul Mujahideen (HM)

Formative years: The group was formed in 1990 with a focus on consolidating a base for Pakistani sympathisers in Kashmir. The group’s ideological core revolved around Jamaat-e-Islami, a socio-religious group that disowned itself from HM in 1997 after it faced a withering onslaught from a pro-India militia. HM also rivalled for influence against pro-independence JKLF, which had pioneered the insurgency and the two groups slid into deadly internecine battles leading to dissolution of JKLF’s armed campaign.

Founder: Ahsan Dar, a former teacher, founded HM and also served as its first chief commander. He was removed in 1991 by section of Jamaat-e-Islami loyalists. Former politician and Jamaat-e-Islami member Mohammad Yusuf Shah aka Syed Salahuddin became its new chief.

Leadership: Syed Salahuddin, a resident of central Kashmir’s Budgam district, has served as HM’s chief commander for nearly three decades. He is based in Pakistan. The group’s cadre inside Kashmir valley work under the command of Field Operations’ Commander. Riyaz Naikoo, a resident of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, is currently the group’s chief in Kashmir.

Splits: HM has faced multiple ideological splits since its formation. The first happened when a group within HM commanded by Nasir-ul-Islam opposed the move to transform the group into armed wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. Nasir-ul-Islam then founded Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen in 1990 and described it as the “armed wing of Islam”. In 2000, the group suffered a major split over ceasefire that later led to collapse of its command structure in Kashmir valley. In 2015, HM suffered another split when its divisional commander for north Kashmir, Abdul Qayoom Najar, formed Lashkar-e-Islam. In 2017, the group’s divisional commander for south Kashmir, Zakir Musa, threatened separatists for describing Kashmir’s separatist struggle as a political movement and then formed Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.\

Strength: HM strength peaked in 1992 when its cadre was believed to be several thousands in number. The group, however, had fallen to less than 20 members in 2013. Its current strength is believed to be 100-120. It lost nearly 60 militants last year.

Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)

Formative years: JeM was formed in January 2000 and its ideological core is based on the Hanafi strand of Islam. The group introduced militant-driven car bombs in the Valley and carried out the first such attack in April 2000, which also signalled its arrival on the region’s militant landscape. JeM carried out a series of fidayeen and suicide car bomb attacks, including attacks on Legislative Assembly complex in Srinagar and Parliament in New Delhi during its initial years. The group was banned by Pakistani government in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks, which led to sharp decrease in its attacks in Kashmir.

Founders: JeM was founded by Masood Azhar, a militant cleric, within days of his release in exchange for the hijacked IC-814 Indian Airlines plane in December 1999. He has been critical of Pakistan’s policies but remains loyal to the Pakistani state.

Leadership: Ghazi Baba was the first major commander of JeM and was the mastermind of a wave of fidayeen and suicide car bombs that the group carried in its initial years. He was killed in August 2003 and the group then slowly disappeared in Kashmir valley as it was banned in Pakistan. Mufti Waqas led the group’s resurgence in Kashmir in 2014-15 with a series of deadly fidayeen attacks before he was killed in March 2018. He was succeeded by Kamran, a foreign national, suspected to be the mastermind of Pulwama highway blast in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.  He was killed in a fierce gunfight on February 18.

Splits: JeM suffered major splits in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack and several of its commanders switched sides to fight wars in Afghanistan and inside Pakistan. Its militants were also found involved in suicide attacks against Pervez Musharaf.

Strength: The group was almost written off from the militant landscape in Kashmir in 2013 when almost all its cadres in the region had been killed. The group, however, has made a slow comeback since 2014 and established safe houses across south Kashmir, where it also found a steady trickle of recruits. The group’s existing number in Kashmir is estimated to be around 60. Nearly 35 of its members were killed last year.

Ansar Ghawat-ul-Hind (AGH)

Formative years: AGH is one of the newest militant groups in Kashmir and was formed in 2017. The group is still in infancy and has remained restricted to south Kashmir region. The group was born out of feud between HM’s Pakistan-based leadership and its south Kashmir commander Zakir Musa. The group was formed when a major ideological split emerged in the separatist camp following Musa’s threat to separatist leaders against delinking Islam from the separatist movement. HM distanced itself from Musa’s statement; in turn, Musa distanced himself from HM. Months later, he formed a new militant group that appears to draw inspiration from Al Qaeda. However, the exact link and affiliation between AGH and Al Qaeda is not known.

Founder: AGH was founded by Zakir Musa, a young militant commander who succeeded Burhan Wani. Musa is one of the longest surviving militants in Kashmir and has emerged as a prolific ideologue within the Islamist sections.  #MohnishAhluwaliaNotes

Leadership: Since its formation nearly two years ago, AGH has been led by Zakir Musa. The group’s deputy chief Mohammad Soliha was killed along with five AGH militants in November last year. Its two foreign commanders — Abu Dujana, who was previously with Lashkar-e-Toiba, and Abu Hamas, who was previously with Hizbul Mujahideen — were killed in separate gunfights in August 2017 and March last year respectively.

Strength: The group has attracted cadre from Hizbul Mujahideen as well as Lashkar-e-Toiba and has also recruited several new members since its formation. Its eight members were killed in 2017 and 10 last year. The group’s existing number is estimated to be four but its exact strength is in its ideological outreach for which it has pioneered use of audio-visual statements.

Tehreek-ul-Muhadeen (TuM)

TuM was formed in 1990 by Yunus Khan and the organisation was ideologically centred around Ahl-e-Hadees’ interpretation of Islam. The group suffered major setbacks in its early years when Khan was killed in a gunfight in 1991. The group’s most prominent member, Abdul Gani Dar alias Gazali, was arrested in March 2002 in Srinagar. Sheikh Jamil-ur-Rehman is the current chief of the group and is based in Pakistan. It remained defunct for nearly a decade and its recent recruitment attempts went bad as several of its cadres split to form a cell linked to Islamic State group. It recruited three youth in October last year, two of whom were immediately killed and one was arrested.

Al Badr

The group is headquartered in Pakistan where it is headed by Bakht Zaman. The group’s ideological core is based around Jamaat-e-Islami and it was initially formed to recruit foreign militants. It gave Hizbul Mujahideen, which also had ideological roots in Jamaat-e-Islami, an excuse to maintain a semblance of indigenous character. Al Badr remained defunct for more than a decade and made a comeback in 2018 when two of its militants were killed in north Kashmir last year. In January, the group suffered a major setback when Zeenat-ul-Islam, a militant commander who was previously affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen and had joined Al Badr late last year, was killed alongwith another associate in Kulgam district.

Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK)

A nascent militant group, which claims inspiration from as well as affiliation with the Iraq-based militant group Islamic State, came into formation in 2017. It lost eight militants last year, including its three commanders. The group suffered major setbacks in establishing itself as it wantonly practiced takfir — declaring another Muslim as a non-believer. The group is currently believed to be in disarray.

Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)

Formative years: The group was formed in Pakistan as the armed wing of Markaz Dawah wal Irshad and its ideological core is based on Ahle Hadees’ interpretation of Islam. In the mid-1990s, LeT entered Kashmir conflict and, in 1999, pioneered the fidayeen attacks in Kashmir when its cadre stormed a paramilitary camp in Bandipora district. Since then, the group has carried out dozens of fidayeen attacks against security forces’ installations across Kashmir valley.

Founders: The group was founded by Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed and is reported to be headquartered in Muridke near Lahore in Pakistan. Sayeed is a staunch Pakistan loyalist and had formed a party last year to contest election.

Leadership: The group’s leadership inside Kashmir has remained exclusively with Pakistani nationals. Its first major commander operated under multiple aliases of Bilal, Salahuddin and Haider and was instrumental in carrying out a wave of fidayeen attacks in the early years of the last decade and operated from Bandipora. Abdullah Uni was another major commander who operated from Sopore. Abdul Rehman and Abu Qasim operated from south Kashmir.

Split: The group suffered a major split in 2017 when its commander in Kashmir, Abu Dujana, joined Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. It caused major distress in LeT, which named Abu Ismail as the new chief, who died within months. Since then the group has slid into backdrop with no significant commander being able to anchor the group’s operations.

Strength: It continues to remain one of the largest militant groups in Kashmir valley and its cadre strength is estimated to be 100 to 150. The group has presence across north, central and south Kashmir. It lost nearly 60 militants last year. #MohnshAhluwaliaNotes