Editorials

Clear & Distinct

Background: 

Assembly polls conducted in three states and one union territory i.e. the states which went to elections were West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry. The election results are out despite the ongoing health crisis of COVID-19.

·         Elections present an opportunity for political change and also continuity what is seen from the results is Assam, West Bengal and Kerala have voted for the incumbents, while Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have voted for change.

·         There is no one theme that can explain how the voters responded to the myriad political choices before them. Major national ruling  party was able to sweep victory in Assam but unable to  garner enough support in other states like Kerela, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

·         What’s evident from the election results that the leaders of the regional parties offered “ideological alternative” to the major political party ruling at centre. The results have exposed more chinks in its armour, while regional parties offered robust resistance to the ruling party at centre.

West Bengal

·         In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee mobilised “Bengali
sub­nationalism” that stopped the ruling party’s victory. With the Left and the Congress nearly obliterated, the BJP is now a force to reckon with in the State.

·         West Bengal is staring at an explosion in COVID­19 infections, and Ms. Banerjee has her task cut out, entering into her third term as Chief Minister. What’s needed is  taking serious note of the public resentment against the Trinamool party rather than read this victory as public approval of its high­handedness and corruption. The style and substance of the Trinamool’s politics and governance must change for the better. 

Assam

In Assam, the central ruling party reaped the benefits of its government’s proactive measures to provide relief to people badly impacted by the lockdown last year, and of a slew of welfare schemes. While the opposition partnership failed to live up to its promise. As the party’s key strategist in the victory, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will likely make a claim for the top post,and the ruling party will have an internal power tussle to handle.

Tamil Nadu

Mr. Stalin led the DMK to power in Tamil Nadu after a hiatus of 10 years. With his son also now MLA.This victory is not aided by any strident public resentment against the AIADMK government, and therefore can be considered a positive verdict in his favour. Moreover, the results also prove the resilience of Dravidian politics, modified to new challenges.

·         AIADMK is in the Opposition,
and its leadership still in a flux, it will have to
adapt to survive. There are other aspirants at play, and outgoing Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami might have to again beat off challenges from within the party to his leadership.

Kerala

·         In Kerala, the second consecutive victory of the Left Democratic Front led by the CPI(M)
marks a departure from the anti­incumbency verdicts
since the 1980s. With weak opposition this was an easy victory for the ruling party of the state. But victory was aided by other factors like mixture of political acumen and administrative measures. Management of two major floods and
 pandemic with considerable efficiency,and daring moves in social engineering brought the victory.

·         All that paid rich dividends for, but the path ahead is going to be tougher as Kerala faces
a fresh surge in COVID­19 infections. Finances are also
challenging for the State. Mr. Vijayan’s complete command over the party has eclipsed other leaders, a situation that can turn out to be a crisis in the future.

Conclusion

These results also hold some messages for national politics. Congress had lost Assam and Kerela where it had considerable chances to win. Major ruling central party failed to woo muslim voters thus lost the lone seat it had in Kerela. The notion that there can be a nationalist straitjacket into which the diversity of India will fit is irresponsible. They must consider a softer pursuit of power. The Left tasted historic victory in Kerala but faces extinction in Bengal. Ruling party at centre might have lost more than it won, but Sunday’s verdicts are no indication that a national­level alternative to it is in the making. That is still some distance away in time and effort.

Editorials

The rising sun in India-Japan relations

GS Paper 3: International Relations

Context:

New Delhi should be confident that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is willing to accord primacy to bilateral ties.

Background: Japan elected new PM Yoshihide Suga after the resignation of Shinzo Abe. He has kept the trend on of his predecessor in the foreign policy. His visit to the United States last month has set the agenda for the wider Indo-Pacific engagement of Tokyo and its evolving priorities.

Focus on China

·         To begin with, Tokyo and Washington drilled down to brass tacks on their joint security partnership given the need to address China’s recent belligerence in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas as well as in the Taiwan Strait.

·         Both sides affirmed the centrality of their treaty alliance, for long a source of stability in East Asia, and pledged to stand up to China in key regional flashpoints such as the disputed Senkaku Islands and Taiwan.

·         Reflecting the changed nature of conflict, both sides acknowledged the importance of extended deterrence vis-à-vis China through cooperation on cybersecurity and space technology.

·         Competitiveness and Resilience Partnership, or CoRe has been announced to invest in emerging technologies to fill the gap and Chinese ambitions to dominate the development of new age technologies such as 5G and quantum computing.

·         The two allies earmarked billions in funding for the deployment of secure 5G networks, committed to building digital infrastructure in developing countries and promised to collaborate on setting global digital standards.

·         Both sides have also signalled their intent to continue the Trump-era policy of pressure on China to reform economic practices such as “violations of intellectual property rights, forced technology transfer, excess capacity issues, and the use of trade distorting industrial subsidies”.

·         Both powers repeatedly emphasised their vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific that respects the rule of law, freedom of navigation, democratic norms and the use of peaceful means to settle disputes. In the aftermath of the successful Quad Summit both parties expressed their continued support for the four-nation grouping of the United States, India, Australia and Japan. China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang, its heavy-handed suppression of protests in Hong Kong and military aggression towards Taiwan came in for heavy criticism.

·         Japanese premier plans to visit India as soon as situation permits following the COVID-19 pandemic. But the precursor of what will happen can already be seen from preview of US dealing by Japan.

·         A preview

·         First, one can expect a continuation of the balancing security policy against China that began in 2014. During a phone call with the Indian Prime Minister, Japanese PM expressed concern over China’s “unilateral” actions in the East and South China Seas, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

·         Within a decade the relations between both the countries has seen an upward spree which is seen by expanded high-level ministerial and bureaucratic contacts, conducted joint military exercises and concluded military pacts such as the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) logistics agreement.

·         Both nations continuously affirm for Open and Free Indo Pacific and wok with QUAD which is central pillar of security strategy.

·         Upcoming meeting between the leaders will take stock of security relationship and enhanced cooperation in defence technology and exports.

Technology Partnership

·         Two powers will look to expand cooperation in sectors such as cybersecurity and emerging technologies. During the tenure of previous Japanese PM both nations put together a digital research and innovation partnership that ran the gamut of technologies from AI and 5G to the Internet of Things and space research.

·         Leaders of the both the countries may look to deepen cooperation between research institutes and expand funding in light of China’s aforementioned technology investment programme. It is yet unclear whether Mr. Suga will attempt to stir the pot and bring up the disagreements over India’s insistence on data localisation and continued reluctance to accede to global cybersecurity agreements such as the Budapest Convention.

·          Economic ties and infrastructure development are likely to be top drawer items on the agendas of New Delhi and Tokyo. While Japan has poured in around $34 billion in investments into the Indian economy over the course of the last two decades, Japan is only India’s 12th largest trading partner, and trade volumes between the two stand at just a fifth of the value of India-China bilateral trade.

·         The upcoming summit will likely reaffirm Japan’s support for key manufacturing initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and the Japan Industrial Townships. Further, India will be keen to secure continued infrastructure investments in the strategically vital connectivity projects currently under way in the Northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Third Country Outlook

·         Both nations will likely devote much attention to evolving a joint strategy towards key third countries and multilateral bodies. In past years both have collaborated to build infrastructure in Iran and Africa, provide vital aid to Myanmar and Sri Lanka and hammer out a common Association of Southeast Asian Nations outreach policy in an attempt to counter China’s growing influence in these corners of the globe.

·          the time is ripe for India and Japan to take a hard look at reports suggesting that joint infrastructure projects in Africa and Iran have stalled with substantial cost overruns. Japan will persuade India on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in an attempt  to reverse its decision not to join the massive trade compact.

·         Writing in 2006, Shinzo Abe, in his book, Utsukushii Kuni E (Toward a Beautiful Country), expressed his hope that “it would not be a surprise if in another 10 years, Japan-India relations overtake Japan-U.S. and Japan-China relations”.

A Timely warning

GS Paper 2: Polity & Governance

Background: UP CM issued guidelines to those who spread “misinformation” or “rumor” on COVID-19 will be detained under National Security Act (NSA) and their property to be seized.

·         The Supreme Court has issued a timely warning to the States against any attempt to clamp down on the dissemination of information about the serious health crisis besetting the country, or calls for help through social media from citizens affected by COVID­19.

·          It will surely help prevent ill­ advised action by the police and the administration to treat appeals concerning shortage of hospital

·         beds, medical oxygen and vital drugs as attempts to bring the government into disrepute.

·         While it is entirely in order that the government has directed the police to crack down on the profiteering on medicines in the black market, it is quite a different matter if the administration starts seeing all appeals for help in a grave crisis as nothing more than

·         activities aimed at tarnishing the government’s image.

·         The Supreme Court’s warning that any attempt to stifle the people’s voices would attract action for contempt of court is quite timely and necessary. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, remarked, “any clampdown on information is contrary to basic precepts”.

·         The Court drew inspiration from the theory, articulated by economist Amartya Sen, that the fundamental attributes of democracy — such as a free press and the need to face the people at elections and respond to political criticism — help prevent famines.

·         Amidst the grave situation of COVID-19 and it’s disastrous health impacts any move to stifle criticism will be of no avail if the infections and body count keep rising alarmingly and the health system draws close to a collapse.

Editorials

To stop a third wave, India has to mask up 

GS Paper 2: Polity & Governance

Context:

·         As the smoke from countless funeral pyres rises above our cities, and desperately sick people line the corridors and wards of our hospitals seeking beds, medication and oxygen to relieve their virus-damaged lungs, it is difficult to see a way out of the worst crisis India has faced since the plagues and famines of the 18th and 19th centuries.

·         The anaemic pace of the government’s vaccination drive is unlikely to slow the ferocity of this second wave of the pandemic, which epidemiological modellers predict could peak by the middle of May and gradually decline.

Waves across the globe

·         The United States has had three distinct waves since last March, as has Brazil.

·         The United Kingdom had a small first wave, followed by nearly four months when cases were low and the virus seemed to be disappearing.

o    This was followed by two explosive waves, which only subsided after a lockdown and an aggressive vaccination campaign in which 95% of all those over the age of 50 have been vaccinated to date, with the entire adult population to be vaccinated by the end of summer.

·         South Africa saw a first wave peaking last August, followed by a second wave that began around November, and peaked in the first week of January.

·         A second wave in India was almost a given. And once this wave recedes, it is highly likely that a third wave will build up, unless active measures are taken to stop it building up.

·         But given India’s population, the slow pace of vaccination, inelastic vaccine supplies both in India and globally, and limited finances with State governments which have now been given the responsibility of vaccinating the bulk of the country’s population, this is not going to happen quickly enough to blunt either this or future waves.

Tested methods that work

·         So along with vaccination, it is important to practice the full methods that have been shown to slow the spread of COVID-19 in different parts of the world: mask wearing, physical distancing, hand hygiene and a ban on mass gatherings.

·         They may not be as effective as mass vaccination, but in the absence of vaccines, they are perhaps the only way to reduce community transmission and slow the spread of the virus.

·         A study last year in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene found that countries where masks were widely used (either because of government orders or cultural norms) had lower per capita mortality from COVID than countries where there was no universal masking.

·         A smaller study of transmission among family members in Beijing households, found that face masks were 79% effective in preventing transmission when they were used by all household members.

·         A comprehensive review of the scientific evidence for the use of face masks, published in January this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), concluded that “near-universal adoption of nonmedical masks when out in public, in combination with complementary public health measures” could reduce community spread, provided the measures were sustained.

·         Public health measures that work best are those that the public voluntarily adopts because they see it as being in their best interests.

Bangladesh shows the way

·         There is evidence from an experimental study in Bangladesh that people will use masks enthusiastically if they are provided free, are comfortable, and accompanied with appropriate instructional material.

·         A team of researchers, led by Mushfiq Mobarak of Yale University, carried out an experiment involving 350,000 adults in 600 villages in Bangladesh to try and understand how to increase mask usage.

·         They found that mask usage tripled when they were given away free and accompanied by well-designed instructional material, as well as reminders from religious and community leaders and volunteers.

·         Having volunteers in public spaces such as markets to remind people to wear masks and distribute masks to those who did not have them, as well as frequent messages from religious and community leaders saw an increase in mask usage from 13%, when none of these interventions existed, to over 40% with them.

·         One key to success was mask quality: masks needed to be comfortable to wear in hot and humid conditions, as well as being effective filters.

·         Importantly, those who wore masks were also more likely to maintain social distancing.

·         Over the last year, India has built significant capacity to manufacture masks, so supplies should not be an issue.

Reaching out the right way

·         Communication at the level of communities is the key to getting people to protect themselves this way.

·         People need to be explained the reasons for mask wearing as well as the right way to wear a mask.

·         Imaginative and creative communication campaigns are essential.

·         In Bangladesh, community-level leaders as well as religious leaders were used to reinforce mask wearing and social distancing messages.

·         Most Indian States have reasonable, well-functioning networks of health workers at the village and community levels that can be used in health campaigns.

·         These solutions may seem simplistic, but if the country is to reduce the impact of future waves, it is essential that they are put in place.

·         Viruses are the most basic of organisms. And often, basic changes in human behavior can drastically reduce the ability of a virus to transmit.

State repression that breaches public peace

GS Paper 2: Polity & Governance

Context:

·         The Government of Telangana, on March 30, 2021, issued a notification (G.O. Ms.73) banning 16 organisations under the Telangana Public Security Act, 1992 (TPSA), declaring them as ‘unlawful associations’ and ‘new front organisations of the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist)’, which was made public three weeks later on April 24, 2021.

Health crisis, faltering steps

·         On April 19, the High Court of Telangana described the State government’s affidavit in response to PILs urging for greater transparency in control, containment and care as ‘wishy washy’ and ‘disappointing’ and wondered whether the State was competing for the first place in the COVID-19 surge — and we might add, the failure in governance reflected therein.

·         Logically therefore, the attention of the government should be directed at managing the public health crisis and the distress caused to the people at large, demonstrating due diligence in fulfilling its constitutional obligations under Part IV of the Constitution.

Omnibus labelling

·         From workers’ collectives, to women’s groups, students’ groups, Adivasi collectives and civil liberties groups — list trawls in anyone who is likely to resist or protest on any count by merely dubbing organisations as a ‘front’ or ‘new front’, or as ‘urban guerillas’.

·         The reason for the proposed ban is the fact that these activists are ‘moving in urban area by adopting various guerilla tactics… to wage war against the state’.

·         Interestingly, the rationale is strengthened by the fact that they have ‘joined hands with several organisations and [are] alluring the members into their folds [sic] inciting inflammatory statements, meetings and rallies highlighting various issues against the State and Central Governments’.

·         The G.O. goes on to state that these organisations are organising protests in the ‘barren lands’ of Chhattisgarh besides demanding the release of G.N. Saibaba, Varavara Rao, Rona Wilson and other leaders of various front organisations who were arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, and ‘repealing of UAPA Act, Farm Laws, CAA/NRC etc’.

·         This omnibus labeling of organisations and so-called crimes in themselves are ground for challenging the ban.

·         The Bhima Koregaon case is ongoing. Even the investigation is as yet indeterminate. Construing support for the Bhima Koregaon accused as a crime under the TPSA is a criminal mis-reading and deliberate mis-application of an already draconian law.

Challenging UAPA

·         The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, is widely challenged by everyone with a rudimentary understanding of the Constitution as being against every constitutional guarantee.

·         Pending repeal, it is our constitutional right to challenge its application in every case in which we believe its application is a travesty of the Constitution.

·         Protesting against the UAPA or seeking its repeal cannot in itself be construed as an unlawful activity, as this notification by the Telangana government seems to suggest.

·         This brings us to protests against the CAA and Farm Laws which the G.O. 73 expressly mentions. There has been widespread protest against the farm laws in the State as well as against the CAA.

·         While Telangana Chief Minister, K. Chandrashekar Rao, refused to take a definite stand on the Farm Laws in the legislative debates on this issue, his stand on the CAA is clear and unequivocal.

·         The Telangana Assembly passed a resolution against the CAA, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register on March 15, 2020, stating that the CAA violated the constitutional guarantees of equality, non-discrimination and secularism, and will ‘endanger the lives of vulnerable groups who do not possess adequate documentary proof of citizenship’ — and went on to state that, ‘there are serious questions as to the legality and constitutionality of the CAA, NPR and NRC’.

·         There is no indication that the State Legislature has reversed its stand on this question.

Issue of timing

·         The timing of this notification merits close scrutiny.

·         At a time when the government is facing the heat for mismanaging public health and safety, and therefore endangering public security, the response is to blow out a smokescreen invoking draconian legislation to declare the demand for governmental accountability as an unlawful activity that is evidence of participation in an unlawful association.

·         It is state repression that breaches public peace. Not the demand by citizens for state accountability.

Editorials

Temples are not fiefdoms of the state (Polity & Governance) 

GS Paper 2: Polity & Governance & GS Paper 1: Indian Culture

Context:

·         Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday, revoked the Trivendra Singh Rawat govt's 'Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act', freeing 51 temples

What is the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act?

·         In 2019, the Trivendra Singh Rawat government had passed the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act in the Assembly taking over control of major Hindu religious institutions.

·         The Act allowed the government to nominate MPs, MLAs, and representatives as the chairman and members to the temple's boards for its management.

·         The Act was heavily criticised by the Opposition and aggrieved priests who reportedly claim that they were 'kept in the dark' regarding the law.

·         BJP's Subramanian Swamy had filed a PIL challenging the constitutional validity claiming that it violates Articles 31 A(1) (b), Article 25 and 26 of the Constitution.

 A myth                                                

·         A myth is trotted out to justify sovereign control of temples: that Hindu temples were supervised and managed by kings, who “habitually employed ministries to supervise temples and charitable bodies”.

·         Like many myths the colonials perpetuated, this too must be disabused: there is not a shred of historical source to support this claim.

·         On the contrary there are inscriptions, cast in stone, that attest that temples were managed wholly and entirely by local communities.

State in religion

·         The state has assumed the role of religious functionaries to determine who will be heads of Mutts and the authority to conduct poojas.

o    For example, The Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1954 entrusted the committee appointed by the state with the task of ensuring the performance of seva pooja.

o    When the Act was questioned by the Raja of Puri before the Supreme Court, in Raja Birakishore vs The State Of Orissa, the Court made a revelation: the performance of a puja is in fact a secular act and, therefore, the state is justified in its regulation.

·         The exercise of state regulation of secular aspects of religion was taken to extreme lengths when the Court ruled that the state, by appointing temple priests, was exercising a secular function (Seshammal & Ors, Etc. Etc vs State Of Tamil Nadu).

·         Whatever style of secularism we subscribe to, surely the Indian state is not to tell the believer how he/she is to offer worship to the deity nor is it to tell the custodian of the deity how she will be appointed.

Distinct aspects

·         Constituent Assembly framed the religious liberty clauses keeping in mind the historical prohibition of entry to certain classes and sections of Hindu society.

·         Article 25(2) grants power to the State to enact law on two distinct aspects.

o    Article 25(2)(a) empowers the state to regulate “economic, financial, political or other secular activities which may be associated with religious practice”.

o    Article 25(2)(b) enables the state to enact law to prohibit the exclusion of ‘classes and sections’ of Hindu society to enter into Hindu temples of a public character and also make law for social welfare and reform.

·         Thus, the control of secular aspects associated with religion and the power to throw open Hindu temples to all classes and sections of society are distinct.

·         The control of secular aspects is not a measure of any social reform.

·         Viewed from this standpoint, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department is not a “tribune for social justice” as argued in the article nor has it ever guaranteed equal access to worship.

·         Nowhere does the text of the Constitution permit the state to assume ownership of properties belonging to religious institutions and treat them as state largesse to be siphoned off.

·         The only vestige of authority under the Constitution empowering the state to take over property of religious institutions is under Article 31A (b).

·         The history of legislative practice of endowment laws reveals the state prerogative in ensuring regulation of only secular activities.

·         As a matter of fact, the Shirur Mutt case, while upholding certain provisions of the 1951 Act, struck down a major portion of the Act characterising the provisions as a “disastrous invasion” of religious liberty.

·         In 1959, the Legislature ‘cured’ the defects pointed out by the Supreme Court, by inserting verbatim the very provisions that the Supreme Court had stuck down in 1954.

Applicable to charities

·         The Waqf Act justification for the legitimacy of control of Hindu religious endowments is misleading.

·         A reading of the Act reveals that it applies to charities and specifically excludes places of worship such as mosques.

·         In fact the scheme of the Waqf Act supports the argument that the government should not regulate places of worship.

·         The most fundamental criticism against the release of Hindu temples from government control to the society is two-fold.

o    First, it is asked to whom will the temples be handed over to?

o    Second, once restored to the community, will it not perpetuate class hierarchies?

·         What is being asserted by the community is the right of representation in the affairs of the management of temples.

o    This right of representation can be effectuated by the creation of boards representative of religious heads, priests and responsible members from the dharmik sampradaya.

o    The logic is simple. Members who profess a particular dharmik sampradaya will have its due interest in mind.

British legacy

·         When the British government realised that a secular government should take no part in the management of religious institutions, it enacted the Religious Endowments Act (Act XX of 1863) repealing the pre-existing Bengal and Madras Regulations.

·          Interestingly, in handing over the religious institutions to the society, it created committees in every district to exercise control over temples.

·         Section 8 of the Act provided that the members of the committee to be appointed from persons professing the religion, for purposes of which the religious establishment was founded or maintained and in accordance with the general wishes of those who are interested in the maintenance of the institution.

·         For this purpose the local government caused an election.

·         In the spirit of equality of all religions, this scheme should be applicable to all religious institutions which would guarantee adequate community representation in the management of their places of worship.

Antimicrobial resistance: the silent threat

GS Paper 3: Science and Technology

Context:

·         As serious as the current health and economic crisis is, COVID-19 may just be the harbinger of future crises.

·         Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the phenomenon by which bacteria and fungi evolve and become resistant to presently available medical treatment, is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century.

·         World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in July 2020, “AMR is a slow tsunami that threatens to undo a century of medical progress”.

·         AMR is already responsible for up to 7,00,000 deaths a year.

·         Unless urgent measures are taken to address this threat, we could soon face an unprecedented health and economic crisis of 10 million annual deaths and costs of up to $100 trillion by 2050.

Diverse challenges

·         AMR represents an existential threat to modern medicine.

·         Without functional antimicrobials to treat bacterial and fungal infections, even the most common surgical procedures, as well as cancer chemotherapy will become fraught with risk from untreatable infections.

·         Neonatal and maternal mortality will increase.

·         All these effects will be felt globally, but the scenario in the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) of Asia and Africa is even more serious.

o    LMICs have significantly driven down mortality using cheap and easily available antimicrobials.

·         Drug resistance in microbes emerges for several reasons. These include

o    The misuse of antimicrobials in medicine,

o    Inappropriate use in agriculture, and

o    Contamination around pharmaceutical manufacturing sites where untreated waste releases large amounts of active antimicrobials into the environment.

·         This is compounded by the serious challenge that no new classes of antibiotics have made it to the market in the last three decades, largely on account of inadequate incentives for their development and production.

·         A recent report from the non-profit PEW Trusts found that over 95% of antibiotics in development today are from small companies, 75% of which have no products currently in the market.

·         Tackling these diverse challenges requires action in a range of areas – in addition to developing new anti-microbials, infection-control measures can reduce antibiotic use.

·         Further, to track the spread of resistance in microbes, surveillance measures to identify these organisms need to expand beyond hospitals and encompass livestock, wastewater and farm run-offs.

·         Finally, since microbes will inevitably continue to evolve and become resistant even to new antimicrobials, we need sustained investments and global coordination to detect and combat new resistant strains on an ongoing basis.

The way forward

·         A multi-sectoral $1 billion AMR Action Fund was launched in 2020 to support the development of new antibiotics, and the U.K. is trialling a subscription-based model for paying for new antimicrobials towards ensuring their commercial viability.

·         Other initiatives focused on the appropriate use of antibiotics include Peru’s efforts on patient education to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.

·         Australian regulatory reforms to influence prescriber behaviour, and initiatives to increase the use of point-of-care diagnostics, such as the EU-supported VALUE-Dx programme.

·         Beyond human use, Denmark’s reforms to prevent the use of antibiotics in livestock have not only led to a significant reduction in the prevalence of resistant microbes in animals, but also improved the efficiency of farming.

·         Finally, given the critical role of manufacturing and environmental contamination in spreading AMR through pharmaceutical waste, there is a need to look into laws such as those recently proposed by India, one of the largest manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, to curb the amount of active antibiotics released in pharmaceutical waste.

·         While the range of initiatives that seek to control the emergence and spread of AMR is welcome, there is a need to recognise the limitations of a siloed approach.

·         Current initiatives largely target individual issues related to AMR (such as the absence of new antibiotics, inappropriate prescription and environmental contamination) and consequently, narrowly defined groups of stakeholders (providers, patients and pharmaceutical companies).

·         Regulating clinician prescription of antimicrobials alone would do little in settings where patient demand is high and antimicrobials are freely available over-the-counter in practice, as is the case in many LMICs.

·         Efforts to control prescription through provider incentives should be accompanied

o    By efforts to educate consumers to reduce inappropriate demand,

o    Issue standard treatment guidelines that would empower providers to stand up to such demands,

o    As well as provide point-of-care diagnostics to aid clinical decision-making.

·         Policy alignment is also needed much beyond the health system.

·         Solutions in clinical medicine must be integrated with improved surveillance of AMR in agriculture, animal health and the environment.

·         International alignment and coordination are paramount in both policymaking and its implementation.

·         Indeed, recent papers have proposed using the Paris Agreement as a blueprint for developing a similar global approach to tackling AMR.

Editorials

A patently wrong regime 

GS Paper 3: Economy & GS Paper 2: Govt. policies

Context:

·         Even an unprecedented pandemic can do little, it appears, to upset the existing global regime governing monopoly rights over the production and distribution of life-saving drugs.

·         Intellectual property rules that have served as a lethal barrier to the right to access healthcare over the last few decades.

·         The neo-liberal order, under which these laws exist, is so intractable today that a matter as seemingly simple as a request for a waiver on patent protections is seen as a claim unworthy of exception.

Request for waiver

·         On October 2 last year, India and South Africa submitted a joint petition to the World Trade Organization (WTO), requesting a temporary suspension of rules under the 1995 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

·         A waiver was sought to the extent that the protections offered by TRIPS impinged on the containment and treatment of COVID-19.

·         The request for waiver has, since, found support from more than 100 nations.

·         But a small group of states — the U.S., the European Union, the U.K. and Canada among them — continues to block the move.

·         Their reluctance comes despite these countries having already secured the majority of available vaccines, with the stocks that they hold far exceeding the amounts necessary to inoculate the whole of their populations.

·         Reports suggest that for most poor countries it would take until at least 2024 before widespread vaccination is achieved.

·         A patent is a conferral by the state of an exclusive right to make, use and sell an inventive product or process.

·         Patent laws are usually justified on three distinct grounds:

o    On the idea that people have something of a natural and moral right to claim control over their inventions;

o    On the utilitarian premise that exclusive licenses promote invention and therefore benefit society as a whole; and

o    On the belief that individuals must be allowed to benefit from the fruits of their labour and merit, that when a person toils to produce an object, the toil and the object become inseparable.

o    Each of these justifications has long been a matter of contest, especially in the application of claims of monopoly over pharmaceutical drugs and technologies.

A new world order

o    In India, the question of marrying the idea of promoting invention and offering exclusive rights over medicines on the one hand with the state’s obligation of ensuring that every person has equal access to basic healthcare on the other has been a source of constant tension.

o    The colonial-era laws that the country inherited expressly allowed for pharmaceutical patents.

o    But in 1959, a committee chaired by Justice N. Rajagopala Ayyangar objected to this on ethical grounds.

o    The committee found that foreign corporations used patents, and injunctions secured from courts, to suppress competition from Indian entities, and thus, medicines were priced at exorbitant rates.

o    To counter this trend, the committee suggested, and Parliament put this into law through the Patents Act, 1970, that monopolies over pharmaceutical drugs be altogether removed, with protections offered only over claims to processes.

o    This change in rule allowed generic manufacturers in India to grow.

o    As a result, life-saving drugs were made available to people at more affordable prices.

o    The ink had barely dried on the new law, though, when negotiations had begun to create a WTO that would write into its constitution a binding set of rules governing intellectual property.

o    It was believed that a threat of sanctions, to be enforced through a dispute resolution mechanism, would dissuade states from reneging on their promises and with the advent in 1995 of the TRIPS agreement this belief proved true.

o    It was only when Indian companies began to manufacture generic versions of these medicines, which was made possible because obligations under TRIPS hadn’t yet kicked in against India, that the prices came down.

Refuting objections

o    Instead, two common arguments are made in response to objections against the prevailing patent regime.

o    One, that unless corporations are rewarded for their inventions, they would be unable to recoup amounts invested by them in research and development.

o    Two, that without the right to monopolise production there will be no incentive to innovate.

o    Both of these claims have been refuted time and again.

o    Most recently, it has been reported that the technology involved in producing the Moderna vaccine in the U.S. emanated out of basic research conducted by the National Institutes of Health, a federal government agency, and other publicly funded universities and organisations.

o    Similarly, public money accounted for more than 97% of the funding towards the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

o    It’s also been clear for some time now that its research is usually driven towards diseases that afflict people in the developed world.

o    Therefore, the claim that a removal of patents would somehow invade on a company’s ability to recoup costs is simply untrue.

o    The second objection — the idea that patents are the only means available to promote innovation — has become something of a dogma.

o    The economist Joseph Stiglitz is one of many who has proposed a prize fund for medical research in place of patents.

o    A system that replaces patents with prizes will be “more efficient and more equitable”, in that incentives for research will flow from public funds while ensuring that the biases associated with monopolies are removed.

Conclusion

·         The unequal vaccine policy put in place by the Indian state is indefensible.

·         But at the same time, we cannot overlook the need for global collective action.

·         If nation states are to act as a force of good, they must each attend to the demands of global justice.

·         The pandemic has demonstrated to us just how iniquitous the existing world order is.

·         We cannot continue to persist with rules granting monopolies which place the right to access basic healthcare in a position of constant peril

Marking the beginning of a green era 

GS Paper 2: International Relations & GS Paper 1: Climate Change

Context:

·         Two recent initiatives launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to combat the threat of climate change — the ‘Saudi Green Initiative’ and the ‘Middle East Green Initiative’.

·         The Saudi leadership of the summit highlighted how climate change had negatively impacted the planet, people’s lives and their well-being.

Progress towards goals

·         Ambition alone cannot attain goals. Good results depend on our ability to act.

·         The G20 introduced initiatives like establishing a Global Coral Reef Research and Development Accelerator Platform to accelerate scientific knowledge and technology development in support of coral reef survival, conservation, resilience, adaptation and restoration.

·         G20 leaders also acknowledged the Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) Platform as a tool towards affordable, reliable, and secure energy and economic growth.

·         The Saudi Green Initiative aims to

·         Raise the vegetation cover,

·         Reduce carbon emissions,

·         Combat pollution and land degradation, and

·         Preserve marine life.

·         As part of the initiative, 10 billion trees will be planted in the Kingdom.

·         It aims to reduce carbon emissions by more than 4% of global contributions, through a renewable energy programme that will generate 50% of Saudi’s energy from renewables by 2030.

·         Saudi Arabia is working towards raising the percentage of its protected areas to more than 30% of its total land area, representing roughly 6,00,000 sq km, exceeding the global target of 17%.

·         As part of the Middle East Green initiative,

·         Saudi Arabia will work with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and regional partners to plant an additional 40 billion trees in the West Asian region.

·         It represents 5% of the global target of planting one trillion trees and reducing 2.5% of global carbon levels.

·         Saudi Arabia has been sharing its expertise and know-how with its neighboring countries to reduce carbon emissions resulting from hydrocarbon production in the region by 60% and globally by 10%.

·         Saudi Arabia currently operates the largest carbon capture and utilization plant in the world, turning half a million tones of CO2 annually into products such as fertilizers and methanol.

·         It also operates one of the region’s most advanced CO2-enhanced oil recovery plants that captures and stores 8,00,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.

·         Plans are afoot to deploy additional carbon capture, utilisation and storage infrastructure.

·         Saudi Arabia have already joined hands in February 2019 with India when it joined the International Solar Alliance during the Crown Prince’s state visit to the country, hence promoting cooperation in the renewable energy sector.

·         Later that year, when the Indian Prime Minister visited Saudi Arabia, several MoUs and agreements in key sectors including renewable energy were signed.

·         To ensure momentum and continuity, Saudi Arabia will convene an annual summit called the Middle East Green Initiative which will host leaders from the government, scientists and environmentalists to discuss the details of implementation.

·         Saudi Arabia also recognises the scarcity of financial resources to irrigate the terrain.

Working towards Vision 2030

·         In 2016, the Crown Prince unveiled Vision 2030, a comprehensive road map to improve the quality of life of the citizens of the country.

·         As part of this, Saudi Arabia carried out a comprehensive restructuring of the environmental sector and established the Environmental Special Forces in 2019.

·         With NEOM and The Line, Saudi Arabia has already redefined the idea of sustainable habitats.

·         NEOM’s location also gives Saudi Arabia many advantages in the field of hydrogen production.

·         According to the World Bank, for every dollar invested in resilient infrastructure, $4 in benefits are generated.

·         With the Public Investment Fund recently pumping in $15 billion in the NEOM project and another $10 billion in renewable and solar energy projects, it is clear that the pandemic has only strengthened Saudi Arabia’s resolve to realise the goals of Vision 2030 and become one of the major producers of renewable energy with a capacity to generate 9.5 GW by 2023.

·         Our close friend and strategic partner India has also made remarkable commitments to tackle climate change and is on track to achieve its Paris Agreement targets.

·         India’s renewable energy capacity is the fourth largest in the world and has an ambitious target of achieving 450 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

·         Saudi Arabia hopes that the launch of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative marks the beginning of a green era and that these initiatives provide momentum to other countries to unify their efforts to save our planet.

Editorials

Another wave spells more nutrition loss (Economy) 

GS Paper3: Economy & GS Paper 2: Govt. policies

Context:

1.     The political and social handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has added to the persisting issues of food insecurity faced by millions in India even prior to the novel corona virus pandemic.

2.     India consistently has ranked poorly in all international rankings on hunger (ranking 102 among 117 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2019).

3.     With the second, more vigorous wave of COVID-19, the inability of those already on the brink of subsistence to absorb a second economic shock cannot be overlooked even as the current health crisis is creating havoc.

4.     Rural distress specifically needs closer examination and urgent policy attention.

Data collection, findings

1.     The Rapid Rural Community Response or RCRC to COVID-19, a collective of over 60 non-governmental organisations has collected three rounds of data since the lockdown.

2.     The third round conducted between December 2020-January 2021 has collected data from 11,766 households across 64 districts, in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.

Cutting down on food

1.     The most recent data suggest a persistence of cutting down on food even nine months after the first lockdown, during the seeming “revival” period.

2.     While 40% of the sample cut down on food during the first lockdown, an alarming 25% reportedly continued to cut down on food during the most recent survey conducted between December and January 2021.

3.     Households reported cutting down on nutritious food — 80% cut down on milk, vegetables, pulses and oil (around 50% reported cutting down on pulses alone).

4.     Disaggregating the figure, socially marginalised Dalits, and those with lesser access to food security schemes (such as migrants) faced more severe food insecurity.

5.     Comparing similar households, households in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand were faring among the worst performing States.

6.     These reductions will undoubtedly further accelerate the impending effects on children’s nutrition, as highlighted in the National Family Health Survey or NFHS-V (2019-20) and the Global Food Policy Report, 2021.

7.     The loss in nutrition may have come as a consequence of people losing their jobs and/or being pushed into lower income brackets over time due to the nature and handling of the pandemic.

Reduction in incomes

1.     Pew Research Center has indicated that the middle class in India has shrunk by over 32 million households in the past year.

2.     Survey suggests an over 70% reported reduction in incomes post the pandemic, with many falling into significant pre-carity.

3.     While 55% of households recalled earning less than ?5,000 per month prior to the pandemic, around 74% reported doing so in December 2020-January 2021.

4.     It is thus unsurprising that around 30% households were also seeking loans, and among them, at least half of them reported needing loans for food, all indicative of the debilitating food and financial insecurities that poor households continue to face.

Migrants on the margins

1.     The second wave of the pandemic comes on the back of an uneven recovery and persistence of crippling food and financial insecurity among the poorest households, especially migrants.

2.     Migrants who have travelled to cities only months ago are again travelling back to their villages.

3.     In one sample, 74% households had migrant members who had returned to the village during or after the lockdown (in mid-2020); 57% among them had gone back to the destination city by December-January, with 59% of those remaining also wanting to go back.

4.     There was limited support for migrants even in existing social protection schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

a.     For example, among the poorest, households with migrants were more likely to seek work than those without (43% versus 32%), but less likely to get work (49% versus 59%) under the scheme. 

Food security is a must

1.     The Government has promised to restart the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) with 5 kg of rice/wheat per person per month for the next two months.

2.     The government needs to provide similar support for stabler longer periods;

1.     Expand the current offering to include nutritious foods like pulses;

2.     Address issues faced in existing schemes such as MGNREGA (like delays in wages and rationing); and

3.     New schemes such as a potential urban employment scheme should be explored.

3.     Food security schemes such as ration provided to children through anganwadis, Public Distribution System and mid-day meal scheme in primary schools need to be ramped up systematically and urgently.

4.     For migrants stuck in cities without work, community kitchens (such as Amma canteens) are required.

5.     The most vulnerable will need more predictable and stable support than ever before.

Editorials

Endeavor, leadership and the story of a nation

GS Paper2: International Relations

Context:

·         Bangladesh and India both celebrated the golden jubilee (26 March) of Bangladesh’s Independence recently, alongside the birth centenary of ‘Banghabandu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

·         The creation of Bangladesh — from the ashes of East Pakistan — is presumably India’s finest foreign policy triumph till date, and it defies imagination why India has been so reticent in acknowledging this fact.

The architect, India’s stand

·         Anyone who had an opportunity to witness Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s steely resolve during that period — as for instance when it was communicated to her during a meeting of the War Cabinet, that the U.S. Seventh Fleet (which included the nuclear powered aircraft carrier, Enterprise) was steaming up the Bay of Bengal, will hardly dispute this fact.

·         Displaying no signs of diffidence, she made it clear that it made little difference to the cause that they had embarked upon.

·         Few nations across the world can possibly boast of an achievement of this nature.

·         What is even more noteworthy is that while accomplishing this task, India did not claim any ‘spoils of victory’.

·         After Pakistan’s defeat in East Pakistan, India voluntarily and unconditionally, handed over power to the elected representatives of the newly established nation.

A year of significance

Not too many among the current generation would remember that 1971 was a signal year for India.

·         It was in 1971 that India had extended all out support to the Government in Sri Lanka to defeat the group, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna in that country.

·         Bangladesh, which was carved out of East Pakistan following a program launched by the military rulers in Islamabad that was unmatched in modern times.

·         Half-a-century later, India would have done well to highlight and remind the world of these two events, to further embellish its democratic credentials.

·         While India was busy scripting a new destiny for the people of East Pakistan, millions of refugees from East Pakistan were streaming into India.

·         It was to adhere to this position till Pakistan declared war on India in December 1971.

·         Meantime, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had been arrested and flown to West Pakistan.

·         Tajuddin Ahmad had been secretly sworn in as the Prime Minister of an independent Bangladesh and installed in Mujibnagar, from where the new government-in-exile operated till the liberation of East Pakistan.

·         India well recognised that before India could legitimately intervene in East Pakistan, the new government-in-exile had to acquire legitimacy, both within East Pakistan and also internationally.

·         All this demonstrated political finesse of the highest order.

Coordination and the goal

·         Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s carefully crafted diplomatic dispatches to world leaders had helped create a groundswell of support for the persecuted Bengalis of East Pakistan.

o    The signing of the Indo-Soviet Treaty in August 1971 came as a shot-in-the-arm for India, encouraging it to stay the course.

o    Russia’s action was in marked contrast to the stand of western nations such as the United States which displayed hostility to India’s efforts, viewing it as an encouragement to the forces seeking to dismember the state of Pakistan.

o    Within the country, regular meetings and the constant dialogue with Opposition leaders ensured that India acted in a united manner, notwithstanding the public clamour for immediate action.

·         India sought to intervene in East Pakistan, only after Pakistan attacked India on December 3, 1971.

o    Three days later on December 6, India made the formal announcement of recognizing the new state of Bangladesh, almost nine months after the Peoples’ Republic of Bangladesh had been proclaimed by Sheik Mujibur Rahman.

o    Still later in March 1972, India and Bangladesh signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

o    The West, however, erroneously believed the humanitarian disaster notwithstanding, that it could not let down its ally Pakistan, which was a member of several western-led military alliances.

o    Quite a few other nations, while sympathetic to the plight of the beleaguered population of East Pakistan, were unwilling to extend support fearing the wrath of the U.S.

Operating from the shadows

A great deal has been written about the military exploits in connection with the formation of Bangladesh — of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force.

Very little has, however, been mentioned about the role of the intelligence agencies.

·         Fifty years after Bangladesh gained Independence, it may, however, be time to give a pat on the back of the two principal intelligence agencies at the time — the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW/RAW).

·         A vast network of agents had been created by the IB well before the organization was bifurcated in 1968 into the IB and the R&AW, and the latter built on these assets.

·         These agents played a critical role behind the scenes, preparing the ground for the eventual collapse of Pakistani Army resistance in East Bengal.

·         The time has also come to acknowledge the role of the Mukti Bahini — the Army of Bangladeshi irregulars — fashioned by the intelligence agencies which played a key role during the conflict.

·         The ultimate accolade for India’s role in creating a new nation is that Bangladesh is today a relatively prosperous country, having made steady progress from the category of a Least Developed Country to a Developing country.

·         Bangladesh “will get time up to 2026 to prepare for the transition to the status of a developing country”.

Bangladesh today

·         Today, Bangladesh is a shining example of what is possible through human endeavor and a wise leadership.

·         It has not allowed itself to be drawn into the vortex of foreign influences, and maintains an independent foreign policy.

·         Relations with India are excellent today, though there have been periods when relations were not all that cordial.

·         Currently, Bangladesh’s annual GDP growth exceeds that of its erstwhile parent, Pakistan.

·         Women empowerment has been a major catalyst in Bangladesh’s progress, and this is largely responsible for transforming the country.

A case for judicial federalism (Polity & Governance) 

GS Paper2: Polity & Governance

Context:

Pleas of various hospitals for oxygen supply were filed in different HC’s across country.

·         The Gujarat High Court issued a series of directions, including for laboratory testing and procurement of oxygen.

·         The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court was constrained to hold night sittings to consider the issue of oxygen supply.

·         It directed immediate restoration of oxygen supply that had been reduced from the Bhilai steel plant in Chhattisgarh.

·         The Delhi High Court directed the Central government to ensure adequate measures for the supply of oxygen.

Legislature Vs Executive

·         In comparison to the legislature and the executive, what the judiciary can deliver in the realm of socio-economic rights is limited.

o    Courts cannot build better health infrastructure or directly supply oxygen; neither are they functionally bound to.

o    What they can do is

§  To ask tough questions to the executive,

§  Implement existing laws and regulations, and

§  Hold the executive accountable in various aspects of healthcare allocation.

·         In Parmanand Katara v. Union of India (1989), the Supreme Court underlined the value of human lives and said that the right to emergency medical treatment is part of the citizen’s fundamental rights.

·         In the face of a de facto COVID-19 health emergency, the High Courts of Delhi, Gujarat, Madras and Bombay, among others, have done their duty to protect this right.

Transfer of cases

·         On April 22, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the issue in ‘Re: Distribution of Essential Supplies and Services During Pandemic’.

·         It said, “Prima facie, we are inclined to take the view that the distribution of these essential services and supplies must be done in an even-handed manner according to the advice of the health authorities” and asked the Central government to present a national plan.

·         In addition, it issued an order asking the State governments and the Union Territories to “show cause why uniform orders” should not be passed by the Supreme Court.

·         Under Article 139A of the Constitution, the Supreme Court does have the power to transfer cases from the High Courts to itself if cases involve the same questions of law.

·         However, what make the court’s usurpation disturbing are two well-founded observations regarding its contemporary conduct.

o    One, the court has been indifferent to the actions and inactions of the executive even in cases where interference was warranted, such as the Internet ban in Kashmir.

o    Two, where effective remedies were sought, when activists and journalists were arrested and detained, the court categorically stayed aloof. It acted as if its hands were tied.

A characteristic feature of the apex court in the recent years is general lack of dissent in issues that have serious political ramifications.

·         This deficit occurs not only in the formally pronounced judgments and orders; dissenting judges on the Bench are rare, and the hearing on the COVID-19 case was no exception.

According to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, public health and hospitals come under the State List as Item No. 6.

·         There could be related subjects coming under the Union List or Concurrent List.

·         Also, there may be areas of inter-State conflicts.

·         But as of now, the respective High Courts have been dealing with specific challenges at the regional level, the resolution of which does not warrant the top court’s interference.

·         In addition to the geographical reasons, the constitutional scheme of the Indian judiciary is pertinent.

In L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997), the Supreme Court itself said that the High Courts are “institutions endowed with glorious judicial traditions” since they “had been in existence since the 19th century and were possessed of a hoary past enabling them to win the confidence of the people”.

Even otherwise, in a way, the power of the High Court under Article 226 is wider than the Supreme Court’s under Article 32, for in the former, a writ can be issued not only in cases of violation of fundamental rights but also “for any other purpose”.

·         This position was reiterated by the court soon after its inception in State of Orissa v. Madan Gopal Rungta (1951).

Autonomy is the rule

·         Judicial federalism has intrinsic and instrumental benefits which are essentially political.

·         The United States is an illustrative case. Scholar G. Alan Tarr of Rutgers University hinted, “Despite the existence of some endemic and periodical problems, the American system of judicial federalism has largely succeeded in promoting national uniformity and subnational diversity in the administration of justice”.

·         Justice Sandra Day O’Connor rightly said in a 1984 paper that the U.S. Supreme Court reviews “only a relative handful of cases from state courts” which ensures “a large measure of autonomy in the application of federal law” for the State courts.

·         The need for a uniform judicial order across India is warranted only when it is unavoidable — for example, in cases of an apparent conflict of laws or judgments on legal interpretation.

·         Otherwise, autonomy, not uniformity, is the rule.

·         Decentralisation, not centrism, is the principle.

·         In the COVID-19-related cases, High Courts across the country have acted with an immense sense of judicial responsibility.

·         This is a legal landscape that deserves to be encouraged. To do this, the Supreme Court must simply stay away.

Editorials

Arise and rejuvenate the third layer of governance 

GS Paper2: Polity and Governance

Sub Topic: Local Self Governance

Context:

·         The government must ensure that even the last man sitting in the remote corner of the last row should have access to the benefits of the plan.

·         This is why it is crucial that strong local bodies are formed to enable genuine feasibility and execution.

·         The Cholas were the pioneers in the formation of local bodies as part of a well-organized hierarchy to oversee the implementation of progressive plans.

The journey of Panchayati raj

·         “The voice of the people is the voice of god; The voice of the Panchayat is the voice of the people,” is the quote attributed to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

·         Panchayati raj ensures that the voices of the people are heard loud and clear.

·         Realizing that seamless administration is impossible without power sharing, the British, in 1884, passed the Madras Local Boards Act.

·         With this, the British formed unions in both small towns and big cities and began to appoint members to ensure better administration.

o    To a certain extent, this brought about positive changes in basic parameters such as health and hygiene.

·         With the advent of gram panchayat laws in 1920, people over 25 years of age were bestowed with the right to vote and choose their panchayat members.

·         Even though Gandhiji was constantly laying emphasis on the importance of autonomously ruled villages, the idea received constitutional recognition only in 1992.

·         It was only after the 73rd Amendment in the 1990s that the Panchayati raj law came into force.

·         This was the law that brought about massive turning points such as

o    The initiation of grama sabha,

o    A three-tier Panchayati raj methodology of governance,

o    Reservation for the downtrodden and women,

o    Consistency in economic development,

o    Local body elections once in five years,

o    The formation of the State Election Commission,

o    Finance Commission, and the

o    Power to draft the rules and responsibilities of the Panchayat.

·         The regions which were better equipped with basic facilities and which were more developed than the villages were brought under one coordinated body, namely, the municipality.

·         The district capitals were further slotted into a combined parameter, namely, the corporation.

·         The administration was transferred to the people, from the politicians and other officials.

·         The lofty dream of Gandhiji to make each village of independent India a republic organization, and to reiterate that the autonomous administration of villages should be made the foundation of the entire country’s administration was heard and he lay stress on the active participation of the people in governance.

Ideal platform

·         For seemingly trivial and easily resolvable issues, the villages did not have to seek the assistance of the State or the Central governments.

·         Grama sabhas could and can be the platform to resolve such issues.

o    Besides, grama sabhas can be convened as and when the necessity arises.

o    Every grama sabha meeting ensures the equal right to highlight the issues that disrupt life.

·         In addition to this, the elected members of the Panchayat are obliged to read out the ?nancial statements and balance sheet to ensure transparency.

The reality

·         The decisions taken during a grama sabha meeting and the proposed solutions with a feasible deadline are potent and powerful.

·         Unfortunately, the reality today is that grama sabhas have become more like auction houses.

·         Even though the government announced that people’s opinions would be considered, it went ahead and conducted meetings, which were marked by poor attendance and poor representation from the people.

·         Even then, the government went ahead with the approval of projects which are impediments to normal life.

·         The truth is that keeping in mind a single goal, of profit, politicians hold ‘negotiations’ with the of?cials. Several projects are being implemented for the bene?t of private and corporate entities.

·         Sadly, in this age, women do not find themselves in major administrative roles in the local bodies, though, on paper, women are shown to be a considerable force.

The Kerala example

·         The State of Kerala has been diligently working toward ensuring the proper use of allotted funds, and ensuring the ef?ciency of administration and eligible member appointments.

·         To ensure ef?ciency,

o    We need to strengthen our grama sabhas,

o    Hold area sabhas in cities,

o    Form ward committees,

o    Hold online Panchayat meetings,

o    Ensure decent remuneration to Panchayat chiefs and councillors and

o    Also bestow the grama sabha with the power to revoke appointed members and representatives.

·         These steps are what will ensure real growth in the State.

·         The State-appointed corporation commissioner faces mammoth challenges when a member of the Opposition party takes charge as a mayor.

o    The constant and meaningless con?icts between the ruling party and the mayor from the Opposition party make it impossible for the corporation commissioner to execute what was agreed upon in a meeting.

o    The same treatment is meted out to municipal councillors and district councillors.

Conclusion

·         We must collectively ensure that Panchayati raj should be strengthened. This should be the outcome of a peoples’ movement.

·         Gandhiji’s belief was that the voices of people will resolve what violence can never be successful in resolving.

·         Let the peoples’ voices be heard. We should also note that every year, April 24 is celebrated as Panchayat raj day.

Editorials

The Chequered legacy of a Chief Justice of India

GS Paper2: Polity

Sub Topic: Judiciary

Context:

·         The Supreme Court of India in the last five years during the tenure of the last four Chief Justices of India (CJIs), has seen an unprecedented fall — from being an independent custodian of justice, to becoming an instrumentality of the government.

·         After the tenure of former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, who oversaw the Ayodhya and Rafale verdicts, before retiring to join the Rajya Sabha, we thought the worst was behind us.

·         We hoped that his successor, CJI S.A. Bobde would lift the Court out of this abyss and at least restore its independence from the executive.

·         But, the nearly18 months of his tenure has exposed a deep malaise in every aspect of dispensation of justice;

o    From the administration of the Court;

o    In the allocation of cases and benches;

o    To presiding over matters related to the protection of civil liberties,

o    Securing the rights and the livelihood of the poor and marginalised;

o    In ensuring that the unconstitutional actions and policies of the executive are kept in check.

Momentous months

·         His tenure began in November 2019 with many important cases before him.

·         There were over 100 petitions challenging the dilution of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into Union Territories.

o    The cases challenging the cataclysmic changes to the status of J&K remained unheard during his entire tenure as did the cases challenging the CAA.  

·         Soon after he assumed office, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed, which led to another spate of petitions challenging its constitutionality.

·         The main challenge to the electoral bonds and other changes to electoral funding, which have a fundamental bearing on our democracy, remained unheard.

o    Applications for the stay of bonds being issued before every election, were never listed for hearing, and were eventually dismissed on the ground that the bonds had been around for several years; therefore, there was no need to stay them.

·         Similarly, the main petition regarding the status of the Rohingya refugees and the protection to be accorded to them, remained unheard.

o    An application to prevent their detention and deportation, was disposed of by Chief Justice Bobde, in complete disregard of constitutional and international law norms, on the basis that their fleeing genocide in Myanmar did not concern the Court.

·         The Supreme Court, under his stewardship, remained shut for physical hearing much of the time, resulting in fewer than 25% cases being heard in a Court, already reeling under a backlog and pendency of cases.

Migrant labour exodus

·         During the nationwide lockdown last year, the country witnessed unprecedented suffering by migrant labour;

o    There was a mass exodus of them from the big cities, and they suffered a huge loss of livelihood and income.

o    Without any public transport, they were forced to walk hundreds of miles to reach their villages.

o    Their case for relief in terms of food, wages and transport was initially heard by the CJI’s Bench.

o    The CJI remarked infamously during one of the hearings, “If they are being provided meals, then why do they need money?”

o    It would be no exaggeration to say that the Court’s inhumanity and apathy towards the distress of the poor and marginalised reached its nadir during this time.

·         Far from being a custodian of citizens’ rights, CJI Bobde, while hearing the Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan’s habeas corpus petition (arrested while covering the infamous Hathras rape and murder case in Uttar Pradesh), noted that the Court had been discouraging people from approaching it under Article 32, Mr. Kappan’s petition remained pending with repeated adjournments.

·         In the farmers’ protest case, the CJI appointed a committee of people, whose political neutrality was suspect, to examine the issues and commence negotiations with the farmers.

o    These committee members had publicly supported the farm laws in the past.

Administrative role

·         Apart from his role as the master of the roster, the CJI also plays a pivotal role in judicial appointments.

o    Unfortunately, here too, he failed to carry the collegium with him, leading to no appointments to the Supreme Court during his tenure, and very few appointments even to the High Courts.

o    He did not even order the government to issue notifications for the appointment of judges where the collegium had unanimously reiterated its recommendations, despite the government procrastinating over them for long.

o    The law laid down by the Court says that these are binding on the government.

·         The Chief Justice of India also plays a critical role in dealing with complaints against judges.

o    During his tenure, the CJI received a serious complaint made by a Chief Minister of a State against one of the Court judges, with considerable documentary evidence of questionable land purchases.

o    For over six months, the people in the country were not informed how the complaint had been dealt with, and whether any in-house committee (as per the law) has been appointed to, who the members of the committee were, and what their report was.

·         The same lack of transparency was visible in another case, where he was chairman of a committee examining allegations of harassment made by a woman staffer of the Court against his predecessor.

o    His report, purporting to give a clean chit to his predecessor, was never allowed to see the light of day and not even provided to the complainant.

Green cause

·         The only positive intervention by CJI Bobde was his order in the West Bengal trees case, where he appointed an expert committee to examine the value of trees which are to be felled for any public project.

·         In all other issues, the CJI has only caused disappointment with his silence, letting the executive have its way and even making strong remarks on sensitive issues and subjects.

·         He has kept important matters pending, and has hardly intervened to provide any relief to the most marginalised or the weak in India.

·         As we bid farewell to Chief Justice of India Bobde, the Supreme Court must examine what has happened to what had once been called the most powerful court in the world and a beacon for many other courts across the world.

·         As the Supreme Court turns the page on his tenure, let us hope that in the coming years, it can rebuild its legacy by asserting its judicial independence from the government and once again reclaiming its constitutional role as a citadel that establishes India’s constitutional values, guards its democracy, and protects human rights and dignity.