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The interplay between China, the United States, and India - analysis

The world today stands at the cusp of a new industrial revolution. Driving the revolution are several emerging technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, 3D printing, robotics, autonomous systems and blockchain, all of which are fuelled by data. Physical, social and physiological lives of human beings and societies are being rapidly digitalised. Global Internet Protocol traffic was 100 GB per day in 1992 when the Internet was born, it reached 100 GB per second by 2002, and continued its exponential growth to cross 46,000 GB per second in 2017. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s Digital Economy Report (2019), it is expected to cross 150,000 GB per second by 2022. Digital growth is highly uneven, with the United States (US) accounting for 68% of the market capitalisation value of the world’s 70 largest digital platforms and China following with 22%. The rest of Asia accounts for 5%, and Europe, only 3.6%. The US and Chinese dominance are clear, as these two cater for over 75% of the cloud computing market and 50% of global spending on IoT. It is hardly surprising that the US-China trade war has now evolved into a technology war. Observer Research Foundation’s (ORF) Samir Saran and Akhil Deo unpack the implications of China’s rise and its implications in a slim and timely volume, Pax Sinica: Implications for the Indian Dawn (Full disclosure: I am a distinguished fellow at ORF). They point out that while President Xi Jinping has been the most vocal proponent of China’s “road to rejuvenation”, best captured in his 2012 speech by the dream of the “Two Centenaries” — of China becoming a moderately well-off society by 2021, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of China Communist Party, and becoming a fully developed nation by 2049, the 100th anniversary of establishment of the People’s Republic of China — the seeds of the US-China rivalry had already surfaced during the Barack Obama years. China’s growing economic weight and military modernisation had convinced it of its role in the 21st century, and the 2008 financial crisis in the West boosted its self-confidence in its State-owned capitalist model. The US responded with its “pivot to Asia”, the decision to bring 60% of its naval forces into the Pacific by reducing the Atlantic presence, and opened negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. China saw the Obama administration’s decisions as a move towards the containment of China, reminiscent of the Cold War. The reality is more complex. The US had enjoyed its industry leadership role for nearly a century. This enabled it to become the primary standard-setter and rule maker. Today, the US is witnessing China pull ahead in a number of emergent technologies — genetic engineering, hypersonics, 5G, AI-based facial recognition and quantum computing (China launched Micious, an experimental quantum satellite in 2017). While the US has tracked foreign investments into US companies since the Cold War as a way of blocking attempts at industrial espionage, it failed to track the growing early stage (seed and angel) and venture capital funding from Chinese sources coming into US start-ups. A report from the Defence Innovation Unit, set up during the Obama administration, concluded that China’s industrial espionage was costing $300 billion annually in terms of stolen intellectual property. Since 2010, Chinese participation in venture deals had gone up, and accounted for 16% in 2015, spread over 271 deals. Last year, the US tightened its export controls on emerging and foundational technologies, and passed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernisation Act to monitor investments in key sectors. Saran and Deo also focus on juxtaposing China’s rise with Indian assertions of being a “leading power”, articulated during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first term in office. It was demonstrated by India moving closer to the US justified as “pragmatism”, heightened diplomatic engagement, and willingness to assume greater responsibility (as at the Paris Climate Change summit). Presumably, the rationale was that India’s rise would be supported by the US. However, it soon led to tensions with China. The Doklam stand-off in 2017 had been preceded by the first Belt and Road Forum, in which India was conspicuous by its absence, having raised questions about the economic viability and transparency of many Belt and Road Initiative projects. China’s insensitive handling of the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor, coupled with growing presence in the Indian Ocean, were pointers to coming difficulties. Unlike in the South China Sea, where China had presented the world with a fait accompli with its reclaimed atolls, Doklam became a stand-off. Since neither country wanted an escalation, and Bhutan stood its ground, China had to back off. India responded by intensifying engagement with the Quad. The challenge for India is spelt out — “to successfully navigate its relationship with China even as China positions itself to design Asia’s security and political architecture unilaterally”. The answer, according to the authors, is proactive engagement with global governance, supporting a rule-based economic order, and building inclusive, multilateral platforms. These are ideational concepts. Whether these are enough to counter Pax Sinica dependson India’s economic and defence capabilities. Staking a claim to being a “leading power” carries greater weight when backed by hard power. Rakesh Sood is a former diplomat and currently distinguished fellow, Observer Research Foundation The views expressed are personal Read the full article

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Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid opens for prayers, first time since J&K’s special status was revoked - india news

For the first time since August 5, when Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was revoked, and 135 days later, congregational prayers were held at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid on Wednesday.Anjuman-e-Auqaf, the body managing the mosque, said that they held a meeting on Tuesday after security forces were removed from the gates and decided to go ahead with the prayers.“We offered Zuhr (afternoon) and Asr (late afternoon) prayers today after the armed forces were removed from the mosque gates. The market is also open and if the situation remains normal, the prayers would continue,” said a member of the Auqaf.Some 100 to 150 people gathered at the mosque, sat in neatly ordered rows as the Imam led the prayers. Some women and children had also turned up at the 14th century mosque first built by Sultan Sikander Shah. Though security restrictions in the area were lifted from November 22, local residents had refused to offer prayers in the mosque till the heavy deployment of security forces around it was removed.For the past 19 consecutive Fridays, the prayers have not been held in the grand mosque where separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq delivers the weekly sermon after strict restrictions were imposed across Kashmir. The political leaders, including Mirwaiz, in the state continue to be under house arrest. As many as 33 political leaders of different mainstream political parties are currently lodged at MLA hostel in the heart of the city. “We would also go ahead with the Friday prayers now. The early morning or the evening prayers won’t be held owing to intense cold,” the Auqaf member said.From early morning, the local volunteers were seen cleaning the mosque and dusting its mats. Some people became emotional and kissed its huge wooden pillars. “I offered Namaz today and I am so happy and grateful to Allah. I also intend to offer coming Friday prayers. I just have one request that the mosque should not be closed. This is god’s house. Don’t impose curfew here,” said Aijaz Ahmad Baba, a resident.Kashmir was put under a lockdown with strict restrictions and communication blockade on August 5 when the state’s special status was abrogated in the parliament and Jammu and Kashmir was split into two union territories.Although restrictions have been mostly relaxed and landlines and postpaid mobiles restored since then but internet services continue to be blocked. Read the full article

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Life under detention: Kashmir political rivals turn friends - india news

They say politics makes strange bed fellows, but in Jammu and Kashmir adversity has. The detention of mainstream leaders together at MLA hostel in Srinagar has apparently made friendship bonds between the otherwise political rivals in the Union Territory. The mainstream leaders who till last year were sworn political enemies, now share food in the hostel and spend hours together chatting about the latest events in the region, India and the world.As many as 33 political leaders of different mainstream political parties are currently lodged at MLA hostel in the heart of the city. The leaders - mostly former ministers and legislators of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Conference (PC) - were detained hours before Parliament revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 and bifurcated state into two Union Torritories.These leaders were first detained at Centaur Hotel which was designated as a sub-jail and were recently shifted to the MLA hostel. Now, five months of detention has set new friendship bonds between these leaders.“Special curd is brought for former J&K minister Nayeem Akthar from his home. He takes some of the curd and rest is being distributed among all 33 detainees,” said relative of one of the detained political leader. “Now every detainee has developed special liking for the curd prepared at the house of former bureaucrat-turned-minister. The curd is being brought every day from his home.”Likewise, for PC chairman Sajjad Lone, chocolates and fruits are brought from his home by his relatives and acquaintances which is also being shared among the leaders who till last year were his sharp critics.Though there is a separate room for every leader, only two leaders - former minister and Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Lone and former legislator and PDP leader Yasir Reshi - have television sets in their rooms. Other leaders watch television at common room or mess room either at lunch or dinner. “All the leaders prefer to watch television at the common room. BBC, Al-Jazeera and NDTV are the preferred news channels for all the leaders,” said an official at the MLA hostel.The food is brought for all the leaders by their relatives and the most of the detainees share each other’s food on the regular basis. “Former assembly member Altaf Kaloo who had got elected from South Kashmir’s Pahalgam constituency in last elections has been assigned the job to distribute food among the detained leaders as he is considered good at sharing the food even between his former rivals,” said relative of a political leader. “I had prepared meat dishes for my brother which I handed over to Altaf Kaloo; it was he who distributed the stuff among the leaders.”Most of the leaders prefer to spend time in reading books. Sajjad Lone, former IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal and PDP youth president Waheed Para have turned voracious readers during incarceration. “These leaders are spending most of their time either studying books or discussing politics of Kashmir and India. Apart from books on Kashmir, some of the leaders have also started studying books on religion and biographies.”Even the leaders sometimes prefer to play cards to keep themselves busy. Compared to Centaur Hotel, which was located on the banks of picturesque Dal Lake, the MLA hostel is not soothing and for initial days the lack of facilities even led to brawls between leaders and the people guarding them. However, most of the leaders have now been allowed to bring electronic heating gadgets, blankets and quilts from their homes which has made things comfortable.“The lines are blurred here. The leaders who used to speak against each other are now close friends. On Wednesdays and Saturdays - the designated days for meeting these leaders - all of them sit in one hall and chat with each other. Their relatives also mingle with each other. We don’t know whether this bond will remain once they are out, but it seems this detention has cemented their bonds,” said nephew of a former minister in PDP-BJP government. Read the full article

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Citizenship protests: Violence is unacceptable - editorials

On Tuesday afternoon, in Delhi’s Seelampur area, protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act turned violent. The protesters assaulted policemen, pelted stones, damaged vehicles, burnt a police post, and even attempted to storm a police station. The police retaliated by firing bullets in the air, tear gas shells, and resorted to lathi charge. 21 people, including 15 police personnel, were injured. Peace was, however, restored quickly. The police was effective but restrained, unlike its response in Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday night when it was excessive. Local peace committees and residents, who blamed “outsiders” for the protests, did their bit in calming the mood. But the nature of the protests throw up disturbing issues. The CAA has caused legitimate anxieties across the country, particularly in the Northeast, among Muslims, and across universities. There is a strong intellectual, ideological and political argument against the legislation and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). But there is a simple rule. These anxieties can only be expressed peacefully. The Constitution of India does not permit violence against the State. Laws will, justifiably, kick into force if there is an attempt to incite disorder, vandalise public property, and assault public officials on duty. And the law enforcement machinery is then within its rights to respond, though proportionately and within the framework of law. Those opposed to the CAA must recognise that the violent turn protests have taken in several parts of West Bengal, and increasingly in Delhi, has alienated even those sympathetic to their position. It has eroded the moral authority of the protests; it has allowed the government to claim that the protests have been engineered by vested interests out to cause chaos and instability; it has created the grounds for security forces to step in; it has taken away attention from the objections to the law and instead towards the history and background of the protestors. The infusion of religious radicalism into the protests has not helped either, for it has turned the debate from one about the constitution to one which is communal in nature. The government must allay the apprehensions caused by CAA. It must allow dissent and respect the right to protest. But the onus also lies on those at the forefront of these protests to abide by the Constitution of the land. This will be the legally correct, ethically sound, and politically wise route. Read the full article

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From nation-state to state-nation - analysis

Is India a “nation-state” or a “state-nation”? This may seem like semantics, but the answer will determine India’s democratic future. In their 2011 book, Crafting State-Nations: India and other Multinational Democracies, political scientists Juan Linz, Alfred Stepan, and Yogendra Yadav argued that ethnically diverse societies have one of two options when balancing the twin objectives of nation-building and democracy-building. One route is the construction of a nation-state in which the political boundaries of the State mirror the cultural boundaries of the nation. The historian Eugen Weber famously described how French leaders in the wake of the Revolution transformed “peasants into Frenchmen” by moulding a common cultural, linguistic, and national identity that was uniquely — and exclusively — French.But for societies that possess strong cultural diversity, at least some of which is territorially based and backed by strong sub-national identities, the nation-state model is ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. For these complex cases, Linz, Stepan, and Yadav suggest an alternative path — what they term a “state-nation”. Whereas a nation-state insists on alignment between the boundaries of the State and nation, a state-nation allows for a multiplicity of “imagined communities” to coexist beneath a single democratic roof. It recognises that citizens can have multiple, overlapping identities that need not detract from a larger sense of national unity.Although the Constituent Assembly debates did not frame arguments in precisely these terms, India’s founders grappled with this choice between a unitary Indian nation-state or a flexible state-nation. They shied away from the prevailing European model not out of weakness, but rather a conviction that India’s unprecedented diversity could not be corralled into such a hegemonic framework. The power and force of this idea of India was that there was, in fact, no single idea of India. Citizens could belong to an Indian “nation” but also express their pride as Tamils, Urdu-speakers, Hindus or Yadavs. The ability to possess multiple, complementary identities was a key element of the state-nation model, but not the only one. Asymmetric federalism, an embrace of individual rights and collective recognition, and a belief in political integration without cultural assimilation were also critical. Most of India’s social cleavages — caste, region, and language — do not pose an existential threat to democratic balancing, thanks to their cross-cutting nature. The only cleavage that can be reduced to a bipolar majority-minority contest is religion. Indeed, advocates of Hindu nationalism have consistently expressed unease with the state-nation model. VD Savarkar’s maxim of “Hindu, Hindi, Hindustan” mirrored European-style nationalism based on religious identity, common language, and racial unity. Loyalty to the nation — in this case, the Hindu nation — was paramount. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) 2014 electoral triumph laid the groundwork for Hindu nationalism’s resurgence and its present ideological hegemony. In the eyes of Hindu nationalists, India’s Hindu identity is not only important on its own terms, but also because it has the potential to foster the kind of coherent national community needed for stability at home and recognition abroad. Since being re-elected in 2019, the BJP has moved with an impressive clarity of purpose in implementing this vision. The abrogation of Article 370 undermines the promise of asymmetric federalism. The fact that asymmetric arrangements in India’s Northeast remain untouched creates the perception that such an accommodation was verboten in Jammu and Kashmir because it was India’s only Muslim-majority state. In November, the Supreme Court delivered a second longstanding BJP objective in its Babri Masjid judgment. Although the verdict was the product of judicial, not executive, action, the ruling was widely seen as a foregone conclusion. This feeling of inevitability had little to do with the legal merits of the case, but rather the political context in which it was adjudicated.And last week, Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which grants expedited citizenship to non-Muslim religious minorities originating from three of India’s neighbours. It is impossible to view this legislation without recognising its connection to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. Frustrated by the fact that a large proportion of the 1.9 million residents left off the NRC rolls are Hindus, the BJP has pledged to move the CAB in order to end their purgatory. In fact, the party has campaigned on implementing an NRC on a nation-wide basis. These moves suggest a departure from the state-nation model. But India’s political leadership should think long and hard before uprooting the negotiated framework that has made India the envy of the democratic world. Of the handful of longstanding multinational federal democracies, only India lacks an advanced industrial economy.This does not mean India’s model is flawless. The unusual definition of Indian secularism — whereby the State maintains a principled distance from all religious faiths, as opposed to a clear firewall — may have run its course. The opportunistic violation of this doctrine by secular politicians has hollowed out its core. Similarly, it might be time to revisit the idea of separate personal laws for different religious faiths. While one option is to usher in a uniform civil code, another possibility — as Yadav has recently argued — is retaining separate family laws while removing their illiberal provisions.In 1947, if forced to wager, political analysts would have bet that Sri Lanka — not India — would emerge as South Asia’s democratic success story. It boasted better human development indicators, higher per capita income, and fewer politically sensitive social cleavages. As India was busy building its state-nation, Linz, Stepan and Yadav note that Sri Lanka was lured down the nation-state path by the siren song of religious hegemony, linguistic uniformity, and cultural assimilation. Sri Lanka’s majoritarian experiment is a protracted tragedy that still haunts the island nation. The push to redefine India as a nation-state could lead the country down a similarly precarious road, one whose enduring consequences Indians only need to look southward to grasp.Milan Vaishnav is senior fellow and director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DCThe views expressed are personal Read the full article

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Home Minister Amit Shah in Mamata Banerjee’s line of fire as she leads third protest against Citizenship Act - india news

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit the streets for third consecutive day to protest against the amended citizenship law. In Wednesday’s rally in Kolkata, Banerjee directed her attack on Home Minister Amit Shah who piloted the bill and led to its passage in Parliament.“You (Amit Shah) are the Home Minister of the country, and not just a BJP leader. Please maintain peace in the country. You have not done ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’ but ‘sabke saath sarvanash’ (disaster). Withdraw CAA & NRC, or else I will see how you implement it here,” the Bengal Chief Minister said.I urge Amit Shah to ensure that the country does not burn over amended citizenship law, she added.“CAB and NRC are two sides of the same coin. They are lying when they say this will not nullify anybody’s citizenship. Don’t understand us. We are mice if you think you are rock. We will bite you into bits. You cannot scare me,” said Banerjee.The Trinamool Congress chief also said that if Aadhaar is not a proof of citizenship as per the home minister, then why was it linked to welfare schemes and the banking system.“They want to turn the entire country into a detention centre. But we will not let that happen,” she said.She also alleged that the BJP is circulating fake videos of violence to create divide in the society and these are being shared on social media by people enjoying constitutional posts.Banerjee, along with her party colleagues, began a protest march from Howrah Maidan which culminated at Dorina Crossing at Esplanade in the heart of Kolkata.She has announced back-to-back agitations against the citizenship act till Sunday and promised more. She will address a rally for youths and students in the Maidans on Thursday and a rally at Park Circus, a minority dominated area in the Kolkata, on Friday. The programmes to be held during the weekend will be decided soon, she said, making it clear that she will be on the streets.“Jab tak suraj chand rahega, hamara ladai jaari rahega (Our struggle will continue till the sun and the moon exist),” Banerjee shouted at the end of Wednesday’s roadshow.The West Bengal Chief Minister has already led two major protest march - one each in south and north Kolkata and has told her audience that National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be implemented in West Bengal only over her dead body.West Bengal has witnessed violent protests against the citizenship act with protesters torching trains, railway stations, buses and targeting government officials. Read the full article

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‘Don’t we have rights’: Delhi gang-rape victim’s mother breaks down in court - india news

A Delhi court hearing a request by the police to issue a black warrant to execute the four men who gang-raped the 23-year-old physiotherapy student in 2012 on Wednesday declined to immediately issue the death warrant.Judge Satish Kumar Arora, who had heard the police push hard for the warrant to execute the four, said he wanted to wait for a mercy petition filed by one of the convicts to be decided before issuing the warrant.“I am not going into these arguments. The fact of the matter is that a mercy petition is pending,” Arora ruled. He ordered Tihar jail officials to issue a fresh notice informing the convicts about their legal remedies and put off the next hearing to January 7.As the judge was wrapping up the hearing, the gang-rape victim’s mother broke down. “Do we not have any rights… Wherever we go, we hear people talking about the rights of their (convicts)... What about ours,” she said, whimpering.The judge sought to console her. “We are here to uphold that,” he told her.She continued to speak about her frustration and disappointment outside.“We have been coming to this place (Patiala House courts complex)... Everywhere we see that the system supports the convicts… It seems they, and not the government and the prosecution are supreme,” she said after wiping away her tears. Read the full article

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Dissatisfaction brewing, but UP BJP confident of handling it - india news

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) top brass is aware of dissatisfaction brewing among at least a section of its lawmakers in Uttar Pradesh, but is of the view that the state leadership should be able to resolve their issues, a functionary of the party said on Wednesday.The dissatisfaction came to the fore on Tuesday when around 100 lawmakers of the BJP disrupted proceedings of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly when one of their party colleagues, Nand Kishore Gujjar, was not permitted to speak in the House. Opposition Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and Congress lawmakers supported Gujjar and urged the Speaker to permit him to talk about his detention in Ghaziabad.A state BJP leader said that the top brass has taken a serious note of the ruckus in Uttar Pradesh and is seized of the matter. “Some MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) have raised questions about the chief minister’s (Yogi Adityanath) working style,” he said.Another leader said that the lawmakers in Uttar Pradesh are upset with the way police officers do not respond when they ask for help. “It is a long-standing issue which they feel the chief minister is not helping them with,” said the BJP leader.The functionaries cited above said that the lawmakers have pointed out that Aditynath was often too preoccupied to meet them to listen to their complaints. It was a grievance against the functioning of police that triggered the protest on Tuesday, they added.Uttar Pradesh assembly’s principal secretary, Pradeep Dubey, said that the lawmakers ended their protest said after an assurance from Speaker Hriday Narayan Dikshit.Gujjar said that Dikshit assured him that the district magistrate and superintendent of police of Ghaziabad would be summoned to the House.Adityanath, who became the chief minister after the BJP swept to power in 2017 winning 312 seats in a 404-member House, was not in the assembly when the lawmakers protested. Read the full article

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CAA violates international customary law. Review it - analysis

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, aims to give Indian nationality to non-Muslim “illegal migrants” from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who came to India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution, and who enjoy the benefit of waiver of Foreigners Act and Passports Act. As several constitutional lawyers have argued, the CAA violates the fundamental right to equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution. Excluding Muslims, who also face religious persecution, from the list of communities eligible to gain Indian citizenship constitutes an irrational classification. Moreover, restricting the CAA to just three countries is arbitrary, when there is evidence of religious persecution in several neighbouring countries. Tamils in Sri Lanka and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, for example, face religious persecution, and have taken refuge in India. Since the CAA deals with persecuted refugees, its international legal dimensions need to be comprehended. The problem of mass inter-State influx of refugees is well known globally. To protect the human rights of refugees, in 1951, under the aegis of the United Nations, countries adopted a convention relating to the status of refugees (Refugee Convention), which was later amended by the 1967 Protocol. These two global legal instruments, now ratified by 145 countries, constitute the major international legal framework on the treatment of refugees globally. India is not a party to either the Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol. As per these instruments, refugee means any person who owing to well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, flees his country seeking protection in another. The scope of persecution in international law is wide, not restricted to religious persecution. A fundamental aspect of these two international legal instruments is the principle of non-refoulement. Laid out in Article 33(1) of the Refugee Convention, this principle prohibits a country from returning refugees to countries where they face a clear threat of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, among others. Deviation from this principle is allowed only in two situations: First, where a refugee constitutes a threat to the national security of the host country; and second, where the refugee’s proven criminal nature and record constitute a danger to the community. The principle of non-refoulement is also part of the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which India has signed, but not ratified. According to the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR), the principle of non-refoulement has attained the status of customary international law (CIL). CIL is binding on all countries, unless a country has persistently objected to the customary norm. Consequently, the non-refoulement principle is binding on all countries, including India, regardless of whether they have acceded to the 1951 Convention or the 1967 Protocol. Indeed, on the global stage, India has always supported the non-refoulement principle, despite not acceding to the Refugee Convention. In October 2018, India deported a group of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar where they are facing not just persecution but also alleged genocide. Recently, Gambia has moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar alleging the genocide of the Rohingyas in Myanmar. In view of this, India deporting Rohingyas to Myanmar contravenes the principle of non-refoulement, thus international law. The CAA makes India’s violation of the non-refoulement principle manifest. The CAA creates a legislative framework, which, on the one hand, allows India to give citizenship to Hindu refugees from Pakistan facing religious persecution. On the other hand, Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, who fled their country because of persecution and are placed as Hindu refugees, will continue to be treated as illegal migrants. India will attempt deporting them despite the high risk of persecution, thus contravening the non-refoulement principle. The political rhetoric of the ruling party, promising to throw out all illegal migrants, is a clear pointer to this. The CAA is not so much about protecting persecuted Hindu refugees from three Islamic countries. It is about propelling the Hindutva project’s belief that India is the sacred land and pitribhoomi of Hindus, not of Muslims. But this belief is neither supported by India’s pluralistic and liberal constitutional order — which rejected the idea of having religion as the unit of nationhood — nor by international law. Instead of this unnecessary law, India, taking into account its international law obligations, should develop a national refugee protection framework. This framework should explore the opportunities to shelter “the persecuted and the refugees of all religions”, as Swami Vivekananda had said at the Parliament of religions in Chicago in 1893. Prabhash Ranjan is a senior assistant professor, South Asian University’s faculty of legal studiesThe views expressed are personal Read the full article

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Could skill training be a viable replacement to higher education - education

Ever since the inception of formal higher education in various parts of the world, from 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to 1948 in India, the clash of skilling or apprenticeship versus higher education has existed. For the longest time, higher education has imparted and taught the skills required for an individual to thrive in the world. But, recently, this has come into question – Does higher education equip the students of today for the workforce of tomorrow?The question resonates across the globe and in India too. A recent Annual Employability Survey by Aspiring Minds found that 80% of Indian engineers are not fit for any job in the knowledge economy1. In an economy and world that thrives on technology, this fact does not bode well. Though there is strong intent from the current government to change this challenge into an asset, we will have to wait a few years to see its action on the ground. In terms of Technology, that time span can be considered a few decades or more.Ironically, the industrialized world is encountering an unmatched vocation boom especially in terms of technology. There are jobs in every position imaginable but there is a clear lack of skill requirement for the job. For example, employers often share their concern that even when graduates come with above average academic credentials they probably would not have learnt what they are expected to be able to do on their job. Though this has not been true in the case of an Ivy League education or an IIT/IIM based education, it remains a small number in comparison to the overall number of graduates across India. On the other hand, skilling courses have been niche and to a shorter time period in comparison to a university degree. The focus on making oneself the best in the field has driven the individual to better oneself and gain employment. But the lack of extensive theory behind the practice brings questions of legitimacy to the skill training imparted.World Economic Forum in its 2018 report, The Future of Jobs highlights the fact that new categories of jobs will emerge, partly or wholly displacing others. Therefore, the skill sets required in both old and new occupations will change in most industries and transform how and where people work. Therefore, there is an increased level of awareness for the need for skilling. In India, there are multiple skill development models spearheaded by The National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) launched in 2009. This was followed by Skill India mission in 2015 and the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMVKY) in 2016. Despite the progress made so far learners still face multiple challenges on their skilling journey.In comparison to the globe, India’s journey in skilling is still in its nascent stages. The global gig economy has been the driving force in United States of America and Europe to rethink their strategies in upskilling and reskilling their labour force. If India is a toddler in terms of skill development, countries like Japan, Britain, Denmark, Norway, and Taiwan are in their adolescence. On the other hand, India is committed in transforming itself as the skill capital of the world and premeditated efforts such as the India International Skill Centre (IISC) programme are evidence of this. A new IISC network has been proposed to lead potential emigrants with a focus on skills tests, upskilling, language and pre-departure orientation. Hence, there is still hope that India can catch up to the global standards in the skilling race.In today’s fast changing and technology driven world, the traditional higher education is being slowly chipped away. By one popular estimate, 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist. In such a rapidly evolving employment landscape, the ability to foresee and prepare for future skills requirements is a need more than a luxury. The aggregate effect on employment is increasingly critical for businesses, governments and individuals in order to fully seize the opportunities presented by these trends—and to mitigate undesirable outcomes3. Though the white elephant in the room still stands, whether to take the route of skilling or higher education; the world today has the room for both to growDespite the argument and banter, the goal at the end of the tunnel is to make India a skills reservoir which in turn can contribute to Indian economy and global advancement. Right now, the iron is hot on the decision to be made on how India will readapt in bringing skilling to the population. Given its need and importance, we hope to see skills on the same pedestal as higher education.(The author is Co-founder and CEO, Masai School) Read the full article

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‘Food, first aid’: Area residents helped Jamia students during Sunday violence - delhi news

From providing shelter to offering first aid, shielding victims from police or taking them to the hospital, residents of Jamia Nagar and New Friends Colony came to the rescue of Jamia Millia Islamia students during Sunday’s violence. Around 7.30pm on Sunday, Shama Parveen, 52, was sitting outside her house in Ghafoor Nagar, when she saw a group of Jamia Millia Islamia students — many of them injured— approaching. She immediately called her sons to check on them. Parveen, who has been living a few metres from the university campus for the last 30 years, said she had never witnessed a situation like Sunday’s. “A group of 50-60 students, both male and female, reached our house. Most of them had injuries on arms and legs. One had a big cut on his ear. We made them sit and offered water. Their eyes were burning because of the tear gas used by the police,” she said. Also Watch l Jamia crackdown: Video shows Delhi police urging students to stop stone pelting  Sitting next to her was her son Malik, who took leave from work on Tuesday in view of the situation. “The group of students swelled into hundreds within minutes. They were all crying and shouting. Many of them had lost their mobile phones and were asking for help to contact their families,” he said. On Sunday, students were injured when police allegedly barged into the Jamia Millia campus and attacked them. The clash followed a protest organised by students and locals against the Citizen Amendment Act. Police alleged many unruly protesters set vehicles on fire and hurled stones at them. Shamsul Arifeen, a doctor residing in the locality, said, “I did not have enough medication at home because my clinic is in Kalkaji. But I tried to provide first aid to as many injured students as possible. Four of them had serious injuries, I immediately referred them to hospitals.” A group of men, standing outside the mosque at the back gate of Jamia Millia Islamia, termed Sunday’s incident “disturbing and shaking”. “We saw smoke coming out from the windows of the library building. We could hear the screams of students and sounds of tear gas shots. Then we saw students running towards us for help. We took them to a hospital in Shaheen Bagh. Two of them stayed at my home in Batla House till the next morning,” said Shahanawaz Malik, one of the group. Danish Khan, a first-year MBA student in Jamia, who was present in the campus on Sunday and received injuries on his arms and hands, said, “The locals helped injured students and gave shelter to many. Otherwise, we had nowhere to go.” Residents of Sarai Jullena and New Friends Colony (NFC) also narrated similar experiences. Sikha Singh, a resident of NFC and a teacher at a primary school in south Delhi, said, “Around 5 pm, some people entered the compound of my house from the main gate and tried to hide behind the car parked there. My husband rushed out to check and found they were some students of Jamia. He took them inside. They told us they were attacked by the police during a protest. They stayed at our place for couple of hours and then left,” she said. Read the full article

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Unease at JNU as khaki tent crops up on campus, department doors removed - education

Amid the ongoing lockdown at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), the police Tuesday put up a tent in front of the administration block, giving rise to panic among students.The move came a couple of days after a clampdown by police on students of Jamia Millia Islamia on their campus after their protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Sunday turned violent .JNU students also said that early Tuesday, guards had broken down the doors of a few department buildings — those of the School of Social Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, School of Languages, and School of International Studies — reportedly to prevent students from locking the gates during protests.“I had come here early around 8am and at that time, the tent was still being put up and when we asked one of the police personnel about it, he did not give us a clear response,” Apeksha Priyadarshini, an MPhil student of the department of Arts and Aesthetics, said.The khaki coloured tent, with chairs inside, has been placed at the corner of the park facing the administration building. When HT visited it, a police officer was seated inside and he claimed to have no knowledge about why the tent was set up.But, another police officer, on condition of anonymity, said, “We are abiding by the high court orders to look at the ingress and egress within 100 metres of the admin block. Police will protect the building round the clock. However, we have nothing to do with the tent and we have not set it up.”JNU students said the appearance of the tent is “worrying” and that they fear a clampdown, similar to the one that took place at Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday.“For the past three or four days, even though the police are supposed to be within the 100-metre radius to enforce the court order, they have been roaming around the campus. We have spotted them in plainclothes as well, and also inside hostels,” Priyadarshini said.Talking about how guards broke down the door of her department in the morning, Sana Chowdhury, an MPhil student at the School of Social Sciences, said, “When I saw the guards, I put up a desk in front of the door and sat on it. But they pushed me away and broke down the door. However, later, we blocked the door again with potted plants.”Sharik Sengupta, a Masters student at School of Environmental Sciences, said, “Around 7.30 or 8am, about 40 guards came here and started removing the flower pots in front of the door. About 15 of us were here and we formed a human chain to stop them. They pushed us away and hit us. One of my friends was left bleeding from the nose.”He added that while the guards were unable to remove the door, they managed to break the lock on it. Students of JNU have been protesting against the revised hostel manual and, in particular, the fee hike it entails, for over a month, and have boycotted classes and examinations.Earlier, the JNU administration had removed gates of four schools and two special centres in an attempt to stop the boycott of end-semester examinations which were scheduled to begin from December 12. Read the full article

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Here is Mamata Banerjee’s gameplan to benefit from CAA-NRC controversy - india news

Streets are the preferred way in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s brand of politics. Be it the Singur agitation on the national highway or sitting in a dharna in solidarity with Kolkata top cop Rajeev Kumar when CBI tried to catch the latter over a chit fund scam case, Banerjee has always found it suitable to hit the streets to protest.This time too, there’s no exception. The West Bengal Chief Minister has already led two major protest march - one each in south and north Kolkata and has told her audience that National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be implemented in West Bengal only over her dead body. Her aides say that she will organise more such protest programmes in the near future.Also, for Banerjee, who walks nearly 10km daily (the terrace of the state secretariat is one of her favourite places to walk) to keep herself fighting fit, any protest march naturally fits the bill for all practical purposes.The twin marches, however, is sharply focused for as many purposes. One, it will further consolidate the minority voters in favour of Trinamool. And two, to try and mop up the support of the liberal, educated Bengali bhadralok (including the students) who are upset with the idea of CAA.In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress was the second largest Opposition party with 34 seats. But after five years, they were reduced to 22 seats and the BJP tally jumped from just two to 18 in the state, thanks to the largescale shift of the traditional Left vote to the BJP.A cautious Banerjee, a veteran of many political battles, eyes the CAA and NRC protests to woo back the middle-class, educated vote bank that shifted from red to saffron in the last Lok Sabha polls. With the Trinamool at the forefront of the anti-CAA and NRC protests in Bengal, and the Congress and the Left offering pale shadows of their past, Banerjee wants to emerge as the only choice for anti-BJP voters.The Trinamool can also hope that the emotive issue of CAA-NRC will distract the people’s attention from the many charges of corruption against lower-ranking party leaders.With Bengal assembly elections scheduled to be held in less than two years, Banerjee will desperately cling to the CAA-NRC issue also to lure the students, a strong and vocal vote bank towards her party.In her last rally, she posed a direct question to the audience: “Do you trust me?” It is the trust factor of being the only force capable of stopping the BJP’s march in Bengal that Banerjee is relying on to seal another five years in power.To ensure this, Banerjee has found the right combo: NRC and CAA. Read the full article

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Students should be encouraged to be job creators rather than job seekers: President - education

President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday said that students must be encouraged to emerge as job creators rather than job seekers and research and innovation hold the key to lifting people out of poverty, ensuring their health and well-being.The President, who presented the 5th Visitor’s Award here, said the event was a recognition of eminent researchers in science, humanities and technology.“It is the knowledge that will allow us to find solutions to the problems we face in our world, nation and society. Research and innovation hold the key to lifting our people out of poverty, ensuring their health and well-being or attaining food and energy security,” he said.The President called for giving top priority to meaningful linkages between the academic community and local industry.“Students must be encouraged to emerge as job creators rather than job seekers. In this context, I am delighted that the UGC and Ministry of Human Resources Development have come out with a handbook for Vice-Chancellors on governance issues in higher education,” he said.The President complimented the team behind the publication of this handbook for their hard work and determination.“I look forward to seeing this handbook in the hands and offices of not only every Vice-Chancellor and but also all aspiring Vice-Chancellors,” he said.Kovind said the job of a professional researcher is not a regular one, and neither is it an easy one.“It is sometimes not understood that research calls for untiring determination from the researcher as well as full institutional support. In this backdrop, I wish to acknowledge the specific contribution of the winners of the Visitor’s Awards,” he said.The President said universities and institutions were the pride of the higher education system.“The goal of our central universities should be to constantly grow and upgrade themselves as per the best of global standards. It is here that all of you as Vice-Chancellors and Directors have to provide leadership. As an immediate goal, you should strive to become the best in the country and compete with each other in a healthy way. Thereafter, you must aspire to compete with the best in the world,” he said. Read the full article

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Jamia students not involved in arson during citizenship law protest: MHA official - india news

Criminal elements, and not students, were involved in arson and vandalism that followed the protest against the citizenship law on Sunday near Jamia Millia Islamia university in south Delhi, according to an initial probe into the violence, two officials familiar with the development said.The probe has also established that the police did not open fire at the protesters. But there is a view that one or more firearm may have been used by the criminal elements who joined the protests to incite violence. This suspicion has been confirmed after an empty cartridge was found in the area that bore the brunt of the violence on Sunday.At least four buses and several two-wheelers had been burnt or vandalised by the mob.The damage to public property during the protest had provoked sharp comments from Chief Justice of India SA Bobde when he was hearing a request for a court-mandated probe into the police response to the protest at Jamia and other universities that followed. Chief Justice Bobde directed on Tuesday that the petitions be filed in the high courts which would take steps to inquire into the allegations.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also responded to reports of violence during protests against the citizenship law in a string of tweets on Monday, underlining that debate, discussion and dissent - and not violence - are essential parts of democracy.A total of 67 people and 31 police personnel were injured on Sunday.A total of three persons had to be admitted to Safdarjung and Holy Family hospitals. A detailed examination by doctors and the police to confirm a gunshot wound in one case is still on.“We want to make it clear that the Delhi Police did not fire on protesters at Jamia. However, investigation is on about an empty cartridge that was found from the spot,” a senior home ministry official said.The probe ruling out the involvement of students in incidents of arson comes a day after Jamia vice chancellor university vice-chancellor Najma Akhtar backed her students all the way and sought action against the police for entering the university campus with the administration’s permission.“How can police enter a central university campus without permission and break things?” Akhtar said at a press conference on Monday after the university’s Executive Council meeting. Read the full article

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‘Oppose as much as you want’: Amit Shah dares Oppn over citizenship law - india news

As opposition parties step up efforts to corner the government, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday signalled that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led national coalition was firm on implementing the citizenship law that has led to protests in parts of Delhi and beyond. “I want to say (to opposition) oppose politically as much as you want, but Narendra Modi government is firm and we will ensure that people who have been deprived of their rights for so many years will be given citizenship ,” the home minister said at an event to lay the foundation stone of a park, Bharat Vandana Park, in west Delhi. The home minister’s challenge to the opposition came around the same time hundreds of people in east Delhi’s Seelampur hit the streets against changes to the citizenship bill. Soon, the protest turned violent with stones and bottles being thrown at police personnel who responded with tear-gas shells to disperse them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who pinned the blame for the protests on the Congress, told an election rally in Jharkhand that the opposition party was being used by urban naxals to attack the provisions. He also asked if the Congress wanted the government to extend Indian citizenship to Pakistanis. Also Watch l Watch: PM Modi’s dare to opposition parties on Citizenship Amendment Act  The amended citizenship law provides citizenship to undocumented minorities who entered India from three Islamic countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - in India’s neighbourhood. Amit Shah, who spoke a few hours in national capital Delhi, picked up from where the prime minister left it to continue the offensive. Amit Shah said the opposition was trying to “mislead” people about the intention behind the law and reiterated that changes to the citizenship law weren’t designed to take away anyone’s rights, but give them to people who had faced persecution in India’s neighbourhood due to their religion. “The entire opposition is trying to mislead the population. I am saying again that nobody’s citizenship will be taken away. This was part of Nehru-Liaquat pact but was not implemented for 70 years because the Congress wanted to make a vote bank. “Modi government has implemented the pact which will give citizenship to lakhs and crores of people,” said Shah at the event in Delhi. Read the full article