Category: Law and Order

Self-Reliant India

The Prime Minister in his address on 12th May 2020 gave a call for self-reliant India. The definition of self-reliance has changed in the globalised world and he clarified that when the country talks about self-reliance, it is different from being self-centred. He said that India’s culture considers the world as one family, and progress in India is part of, and also contributes to, progress in the whole world. He noted that the world trusts that India has a lot to contribute towards the development of the entire humanity.

Five pillars of self-reliant India

Self-Reliant India will stand on five pillars viz. 

  1. Economy: which brings in quantum jump and not incremental change; 
  2. Infrastructure: which should become the identity of India; 
  3. System: based on 21st-century technology-driven arrangements; 
  4. Vibrant Demography: which is our source of energy for a self-reliant India; and 
  5. Demand: whereby the strength of our demand and supply chain should be utilised to full capacity. He underlined the importance of strengthening all stakeholders in the supply chain to increase, as well as fulfil, the demand.

Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

The Prime Minister announced a special economic package and gave a clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat. He noted that this package, taken together with earlier announcements by the government during COVID-19 crisis and decisions taken by RBI, is to the tune of Rs. 20 lakh crore, which is equivalent to almost 10% of India’s GDP. He said that the package will provide a much-needed boost towards achieving ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. He observed that the package will also focus on land, labour, liquidity and laws. It will cater to various sections including cottage industry, MSMEs, labourers, middle class, industries, among others.

Talking about the positive impact of reforms like JAM trinity and others, brought about in the last six years, Prime Minister said that several bold reforms are needed to make the country self-reliant so that the impact of crisis such as COVID-19 can be negated in future. These reforms include supply chain reforms for agriculture, rational tax system, simple and clear laws, capable human resource and a strong financial system. These reforms will promote business, attract investment, and further strengthen Make in India. Self-reliance will prepare the country for tough competition in the global supply chain, and the country must win this competition. The same has been kept in mind while preparing the package. It will not only increase efficiency in various sectors but also ensure quality. Highlighting their contribution to the country, Prime Minister said that the package will also focus on empowering the poor, labourers, migrants, etc., both from organized and unorganized sectors. He observed that the crisis has taught us the importance of local manufacturing, the local market and local supply chains.

Bold Reform-Need of the Hour

  1. Supply chain Reform for Agriculture
  2. Rational Tax System
  3. Simple and Clear Laws 
  4. Capable Human Resource 
  5. Strong Financial System

Self Reliant is the imperishable call from the side of PMO. It is the time in which India should stand on his own feet. The time has come to prove himself as a ‘teacher of the world’ as it was in the past.

Sushant singh rajput and bollywood

14 June, 2020. I write and underline this date in red.

It’s been a week and a day since we lost the great actor to suicide. While we flood social media with tributes to him and awareness about mental health, Sushant is probably flailing around and looking down at us through the smoky clouds. 

In this post, I’m not going to dove on about mental health, nor I am going lay flowers for him. This post isn’t a rant; this is serious and needs to be more talked about.

On the morning of 14th, the whole nation was left in a state of shock. It was the third death in Bollywood in the past two months, all of which were sudden and unexpected.

Since his death, a lot has been unraveled about the Bollywood, its dark side and the nepotism in the industry.

This is post is not to blame anyone, nor to praise anyone. It is about what we as an audience can do, with a slight concoction about the aforementioned topics.

  1. We need to be a vigilant and responsible audience, we need to watch and like the content, rather than the actors.

We have pedestalizedthe film workers so much that we forgot that they, too, like us are just at a job. A job which is as ordinary as ours, just that everyone and anyone under the sky can have access to it, acknowledge it or reject it.

  • We choose and make someone’s career, we need to watch their work and assess it and not just absorb anything that they show us.
  • While we blame the hierarchical paradigm of Bollywood and lash out the ones who are where they are because of blood, we must not start targeting everyone. Those at fault must be gripped but those who have done nothing wrong, shall not be targeted.
  • Bollywood is the nation’s industry just like BHEL or BSNL. Everyone shall have the opportunity to work in it, and this should not be regulated by the already established workers.

A government regulated systemic processes shall be incorporated that check the industry and recruit the workers.

Bollywood does not belong to star kids; it belongs to us, our nation and its common people.

Raise your voice before it’s too late and we are robbed of our own industry.

Reach out to me @ekanika_shah on instagram.

The Chapekar Brothers and assassination of W.C Rand, The British plague Commissioner of Pune 1897

During late 1896 dreaded disease of plague had struck Pune and by early 1897, the disease had spread critically. In February 1897 alone, there were 657 deaths reportedly due to plague. About half of the city’s population had left it.The government set up a Special Plague Committee in March that year to handle the menace and control the spread of the disease. It was chaired by an Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer W. C. Rand.

The commission appointed more than 800 officers and soldiers on duty in Pune rather than employing doctors for the job of implementing the measures. The measures included entry into houses forcefully, examination of its occupants including women, taking them to segregation camps and preventing people affected with plague from leaving or entering Pune.People were denied permission to conduct the funerals of their loved ones unless the deaths were registered. If plague was the cause of death, the dead had to be cremated in special grounds designated by the government.

A medical camp for the plague, in Pune 1896, source of the image Google

The Chapekar brothers  Damodar Hari Chapekar, Balkrishna Hari Chapekar and Vasudeo Hari Chapekar and a friend of them Mahadev Ranade initially belonged to Chapa small hamlet near Chinchwad, then a village near Pune, in the state of Maharashtra, India

1.Balkrishna Hari Chapekar 2.Damodar Hari Chapekar 3. Basudev Hari chapekar 4. Mahadev Ranade. Source of image Google

Regular harassments of Rand commission had prompted the Chapekar brothers and other members of the revolutionary “Chapekar Club” to take action against the person who started it all—the commissioner. On 22 June 1897, brothers Damodar Hari Chapekar and Balkrishna Hari Chapekar assassinated a British official W. C. Rand and his military escort Lieutenant Ayerst at Pune, Maharashtra. This was the first case of militant nationalism in India after the 1857 Revolt.

Chapekar Brother statue at Chinchwad, source of the image Google

All three brothers were found guilty and hanged, an accomplice was dealt with similarly, another, then a schoolboy, was sentenced to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment.

SOUTH KOREA FINDS BOLTON’S MEMOIR DISTORTED

Accounts by former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton of discussions between leaders of the United States and the two Koreas in his upcoming book are inaccurate and distorted, South Korea said on Monday.

In the discussion in the book Bolton provides specifics before and after three meetings with the U.S.  President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong Un of North Korea, and what was the cause for the falling through of their second Vietnam Summit .

The novel, “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Autobiography,” is expected to be published Tuesday but excerpts have been released by various media outlets. Reports have cited Bolton as writing that Moon, who is keen to improve relations with North Korea, had raised unrealistic expectations for his own “unification” agenda with both Kim and Trump.

“It does not reflect accurate facts and substantially distorts facts,” South Korea’s national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, said in a statement referring to Bolton’s description of top-level consultations. Chung did not elaborate on specific areas South Korea saw as inaccurate but said the publication set a “dangerous precedent”.

“Unilaterally publishing consultations made based on mutual trust violates the basic principles of diplomacy and could severely damage future negotiations,” he said.

Trump and Kim met in Singapore for the first time in June 2018, raising hope for efforts to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. Yet their second summit, in early 2019 in Vietnam, failed after Trump refused Kim ‘s bid to give up North Korea ‘s primary nuclear facilities in exchange for lifting certain sanctions.

Bolton reportedly cites Chung as relaying Moon’s response to the breakdown as, on the one hand, Trump was right to reject Kim’s proposal but on the other, Kim’s willingness to dismantle the Yongbyon facility was a “very meaningful first step” toward “irreversible” denuclearisation.

South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea, or ROK) is
One of the most significant strategic and
commercial allies in Asia. The U.S.-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty , signed at the end of the Korean War in 1953, promises the United States to help South Korea defend itself, especially from North Korea (officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK), and the relationship helps the United States advance its interests in East Asia and around the globe. For eg, ROK troops got fought in US-led military conflicts alongside U.S. troops.

About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are deployed in the ROK.
The U.S.-South bolster the strategic alliance Free-trade agreement with Korea (KORUS FTA). South Korea is the seventh-largest trading partner of the United States and the United States is the second-largest trading partner of South Korea, behind China.

Under the administration of Donald Trump and Moon Jae-in, policy cooperation between the United States and South Korea has been inarticulate. In May 2017, Moon, a progressive, had been elected President.

Although the two sides have generally managed to navigate differences , for example over trade and North Korea policy, underlying tensions on a range of issues continue to surface. Most recently, the U.S.-ROK “Special Measures Agreement” (SMA) on how to split the cost of basing U.S. troops in South Korea expired at the end of 2019, and subsequent negotiations were not successful.
Moving to a consensus. As a result, in April 2020 around 4,000 South Korean workers were furloughed on US bases. The Trump Administration has demanded Seoul increase its payments by 400 percent, and Trump publicly said it is debatable
Whether the presence of US troops is in the interests of the U.S.

Source: 1.https://in.reuters.com/article/northkorea-usa-southkorea/south-korea-says-boltons-memoir-on-trump-kim-summit-is-distorted-idINKBN23T0F0.

2.https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/IF10165.pdf

For george floYd

How is it I trigger your vision so much

That you become a thunderstorm 

And press against my chest until I can’t breathe.

I dismantle into the soil 

and you rain upon me 

suffocating my pores.

I am not fierce but 

I resent with the subtle smell of petrichor.

Why is it you want me to dilute my skin

and pour myself into your white ceramic cups

when my earthen pots are just decorated enough.

How is it I am not a ‘ray’ of hope

But a tunnel of darkness.

I am the metaphors that rest upon your tongue

I want to be more— more than your diction

I want to be a human. 

Why is it you want me to become you

And forget everything we’ve been through.

I am the prequel, the story and the sequel

I was exhaled by the cosmos, 

I refuse to be altered by an inch.

–ekanika shah.

For more such content, follow me on instagram @ekanika_shah

TENSION BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA ESCALATES

India is considering multiple, comprehensive measures to curtail China’s economic dependence on the country, targeting trade , investment, and project services in the wake of hostilities at the border. These are expected to include limits on Chinese firms’ involvement in government contracts and infrastructure programs, higher tariffs on imported Chinese finished goods as well as closer review of free trade arrangements that the country uses to indirectly export goods to India.

According to Economic times, a high-level meeting, likely to be attended by key stakeholder ministers and top officials from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), is expected soon to discuss the details and the extent of measures.

“Measures are being examined… All pros and cons of how and when as also their repercussions on Indian businesses will be looked into,” said a government official.

On the trade side, tariff as well as non-tariff measures could be put in place to discourage China’s imports which added up to $70 billion in FY19, which was more than any other country. In FY19, India had a trade deficit of $53 billion with China, and attempts to address it have made little progress. Chinese firms have a significant portion of the cell phone and electronics industries in India. The government should take steps to curtail Chinese imports while at the same time creating an atmosphere for domestic production of these goods.

India will also review its free trade arrangements with other countries to determine whether China is using them to enter the local market. India has already left the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, which includes China among others, on the grounds that there is no safeguard against a further increase in exports to India from that country. In addition, stringent quality standards and controls could be introduced to contain the country’s goods inflow.

Various options are being examined by the law ministry on the exact contours of the clause to ensure it cannot be challenged and meets international norms. The omnibus clause could cover all countries, the official said, though it is primarily aimed at Chinese companies.

One of the first sectors to introduce the clause could be roads and highways before it is expanded to others and eventually includes public sector units, said the officials. The ministries of road transport and highways and law are already in discussions to finalise the wording of the new clause, one official said.

The government has sought to cancel and rework contracts with state-owned telecommunications firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to keep Chinese vendors out of security issues. Additional criteria could be introduced to ensure Indian suppliers of goods and services secure contracts awarded by the government as well as public sector entities. The Ministry of Law is examining the feasibility of introducing such a clause examining the feasibility of introducing such a clause in contracts in accordance with restrictions or strict conditions imposed by some other countries on Indian firms from contracting.

“These stiff criteria essentially are barriers to ensure that only local companies can participate,” the official said, adding that such restrictions imposed by other countries are also being examined in detail.

The exercise was already underway as part of the Atmanirbhar government’s mission, or self-reliance, and gained importance following changed border circumstances, he said. The cabinet secretary, who also chairs a committee to boost local manufacturing, has had discussions with various ministries dealing with infrastructure projects on how to boost local sourcing of both goods and services.

The lowest bidder is generally accorded prior security clearance but there’s a growing view that a more stringent framework is needed, said the official cited above.

Some bids in which Chinese companies were roped in as partners by an Indian company in the roads sector have been cancelled recently, including one in Nagpur. The government has already reserved supply contracts of up to ₹200 crore for local producers. The government is likely to revisit these criteria to ensure wider participation by domestic companies, another official said.

Source:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/india-set-to-erect-a-great-wall-against-chinese-companies/articleshow/76455684.cms

North and South Korea RELATIONS

North Korea blew up the joint liaison office with South Korea in Kaesong, an industrial area on its side of the border, becoming one of the two countries’ most damaging conflicts without ever going to war. The collapse of the joint liaison office followed a growing breakdown of ties between Pyongyang and Seoul, which came just hours after Pyongyang had threatened with military action at the border with South Korea.

Tensions between the two countries had increased since last week, after Pyongyang took offence to South Korean activists and defectors sending anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets, rice and bibles using ballons across the border into North Korean territory, and cut off communication with Seoul. Experts believe that these movements follow the frustrations of North Korea over the inability of South Korea to revive inter-Korean economic projects that, under US pressure, had benefited Pyongyang, along with UN sanctions.

The liaison office was set up in Kaesong in 2018 to facilitate communication between North Korea and South Korea. Following the demolition of the office, North Korean state media outlet KCNA released a statement saying the office had been “tragically ruined with a terrific explosion”.

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in called for an urgent national security meeting following the demolition. The country’s Unification Ministry called the incident “a senseless act”, one that had “destroyed the hopes of those who wished for peace on the Korean Peninsula”.The South Korean government said they would “respond strongly” if the situation were to worsen but did not elaborate on how it would retaliate. The demolition occurred just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong had threatened to destroy the liaison office.

North Korea and South Korea jointly established a liaison office in North Korea’s Kaesong, in 2003. The Kaesong Industrial Complex is a joint industrial zone where both North Koreans and South Koreans operate and run  factories. Approximately 120 factories operated in this industrial zone at its height, with more than 50,000 North Korean employees and several hundred managers, according to a BBC report. Pyongyang had threatened to close this liaison office last week and had cut off his lines of communication with Seoul.

Following the demolition of the liaison office, North Korean state media KCNA announced that Pyongyang would be sending troops in demilitarised areas, including in the Kaesong industrial zone. The KCNA added that North Korea would be adding artillery units along the border with South Korea for reinforcement and North Korean police posts that had been withdrawn when relations had improved between the two countries would now be instituted once again.

Observers say North Korea has been the most provocative by doing these actions in the last few years. During the last few years, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has made efforts to improve relations with Pyongyang. Researchers say that such provocations may have happened because Pyongyang aims to compel Seoul to make it more concessions that will be economically favorable to North Korea, which has been hit hard by sanctions. Although it is not clear how COVID-19 has affected North Korea, experts believe it is likely that the country has not escaped unscathed, particularly in the context of how China is the main trading partner for North Korea.

Source:https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-north-korea-blew-up-a-joint-liaison-office-and-what-it-means-for-relations-with-seoul-6463170/

India-China Conflicts and The World

In the recent skirmish on the China-India border, both sides have suffered heavy losses. It has confirmed from the official statement from India that 20 soldiers have martyred and no official data has come from China yet Editor-in-chief of the Chinese government’s news magazine Global Times believes that the Chinese military also suffered casualties. It has been the old attitude of China that whenever there is more loss on its side, it does not share the correct information. We had seen this attitude in the case of Corona also. Although China tries to hide the exact and actual data, somehow it comes out from somewhere.

This incident of the violent skirmish between India and China is extraordinary because such an accident has occurred on the Chinese border the first time after 45 years. Colonel Santosh Babu, who martyred, was leading the Indian contingent during this astonishing incident. According to military sources, this violent skirmish in the Galvan valley started on Monday night due to the changing attitude of Chinese soldiers. The Chinese troops intended to capture L.A.C. through the Galvan valley. But Indian soldiers thwarted the Chinese plan.

The way China has done stabbing behind the back, it proves that China is the most dangerous and vicious enemy for India. All these activities proved that trusting China even more than a century can prove to be the biggest threat for India. In the coming times, there will be unexpected changes in the relationship between India and China. But one thing is clear that a dispute arises on three different boundaries simultaneously, it is a sign of spacious threat. Relations with Pakistan and China are always intense. But Nepal is a neighbouring country whose relationship was not disturbed till date, but by presenting a new map and passed an amendment in the lower house of their Parliament and claiming a small part of India near to the area of Kalapani is the part of Nepal. It is an unfortunate situation for us. Experts of international relations believe that all these concern are interlinked. Chinese Diplomacy transforms from peace to aggression. Their diplomatic policy has changed. If we compare China of the 21st century to the China of the 20th century, we will find an enormous gap between the low profile china diplomacy and leadership china diplomacy. They want all control over the world. China is trying to compete with the United States of America. But the Chinese do not know that they are not like USSR. They could not take the place of the United States of America.

China is a country whose reality was known to the whole world that they do anything to increase its dominance and borders. The way China told the world about the Corona Virus was too late. They hide ambiguous numbers of infected and dead people, revised several bills against it to suppress the violence in Hong Kong and increasing military activities in the South China Sea proves how China is creating an atmosphere of unrest around itself.

Contempt Of Court

If a person opposes the dignity of court and defies the authority or justice than that behavior is called as contempt of court. Basically being disobedient or disrespectful to the court of law is simply the “contempt”. It is an act of 1971. The person either gets six months jail or fine up to Rs. 2000, or both. In Indian constitution under the article 129 and 215 it is stated that if any person defies the authority or the court then under this article court will imposed contempt of court on them.

The Contempt of Court Act, 1971, comes under Section2(a) as “civil contempt or criminal contempt”. Although they both differs from each other. However, civil contempt is a willful disobedience to a court judgement, writ, order, or etc. whereas criminal contempt means that an illegal act against the society where the person either by their words or actions undermines the authority or disobey the court. These are further regarded under Section2(b) and Section2(c) in the constitution. This act applies to every state of India except Jammu and Kashmir. This gives the court with certain powers to punish an individual for disobeying the judgement of the court. This acts also talk about the civil and criminal contempt with total of 24 sections comprised together. It generally states the concept, definition, defences available, the powers for punishment, procedure, or etc. under contempt of court. With this there is also Section 13 which include the defence of truth which can restrict the powers of the court to hold anyone in contempt only if they don’t interfere between the due process of justice, or amendment. This will balance the powers not only in the right direction but also the fundamental rights so that their can be a proper check in the judicial proceedings of the contempt.

Many people also criticize the Act as according to them there are many uncertainties in the legislation where it talks that how all words, acts, signs and visible representation that interfere in the process of justice can be a punishable offence. The purpose is rightly cleared by the House of Lords in Attorney General v. Times Newspapers Ltd. are ‘to enable the parties to litigation and the witnesses to come before the court without outside interference; to enable the courts to try cases without such interference; and to ensure that authority and administration of law are maintained.’

Freedom of speech and expression is the fundamental right of the citizens. If this is important then the faith on jurisdictional process is also important. Also if there are any uncertainties in the legislation then under Section 13 it could keep a check on discretionary powers of the court. This section also allow the defence of truth in the court proceedings and judges at that time can not charge anyone under this Section.

India-Nepal Relation in Deep Maelstrom

Current Scenario 

The Lower House of Nepal’s Parliament passes amendment on a new map. Nepal’s Parliament on Saturday unanimously voted for the second Constitutional Amendment Bill, which guarantees legal status for new political map of the country that includes part of Indian territory in Uttarakhand. Their new map shows places such as Limipiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh, including strategically important Lipulekh pass, which are in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district as part of that country’s territory.

Historical Relation: Treaty of Sugauli

It is a treaty that established the relation about the boundary line of Nepal, was signed on 2 December 1815 and ratified by 4 March 1816 between the East India Company and Raj Guru Gajaraj Mishra with Chandra Shekhar Upadhaya for Nepal following the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16. The treaty represented a Nepali surrender to the British and contained the concession of Nepal’s western territory to the British East India Company. The result of this treaty was that Nepal lost almost one-third of its territories on the east, south and west.

Why are Nepalese not accepting this treaty ?

Nepal is not accepting this treaty because they thought that aim of any treaty is to provide both the sides more or less equal o equitable benefits even of one side get a little more benefits and the other a little less. But Nepal suffered only losses because of the treaty while British India gained a huge territorial advantage. The British got the facilities of the corridor in the concession was made for Nepal.

They also claim that this treaty was not signed by both parties. The draft was prepared by the only East India Company with the signature of Lieutenant Colonel Paris Bradshaw on December 2, 1815. Nepali Majesty signed over the treaty because he threatened by the East India Company.

At present Nepal renounced “all claims to or connection (as in original text with the countries lying to the west of river Kali.” (Art. V.) The land east of the Kali thus remained with Nepal. This claim is reinforced by some old revenue records and gazette notifications.

India’s Stand Over this Issue 

India accepts this position, but its claims arise from the ambiguity in the treaty on the identification of the Kali river and its origin. According to India, the river originates from Lipu Lekh and then merges into other streams and tributaries to become the Mahakali. Nepal contends that Kali originates from Limpyadhura and the stream originating from Lipu Lekh is called Lipu Khola. India commented that we can solve this issue by bilateral talks but Nepal does not seem taking interest in this matter. There may be some doubt, opacity or obscurity but it can be solved through the bilateral discussion. Nepal should come over the table and discuss this issue. 

The British Government

British government ruled over India for almost 200 years. They took many decisions but all the decisions are in controversy in today’s scenario. Either we talk about the decision over Indo-Pak border or Indo-Nepal border. Everywhere, we will get unsatisfied decision or disputed matter where the British government was involved. The main aim of the British government was to rule over the countries for a long time. And they follow the “divide and rule” principle. First Pakistan raised concern over the Kashmir and now Nepal is behaving in the same way. 

Epilogue

The maps issued by the British between 1816 and 1860 may favour the Nepali position. But, the maps issued afterwards endorse India’s position. It is possible that the British administration changes this position through proper surveys or subsequently decided to manipulate this position, to serve its larger strategic and commercial interests in using the Lipu Lekh pass for access to Tibet. Independent India was handed over access to Kalapani and Lipu Lekh by the British.

Blaming India for any encroachment is baseless. It must be borne in mind that much before the British came, not the Gurkha kings annexed Kumanon and Garhwal regions-then surrender under the Sugauli Treaty-Indians were using this route for the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar. The route has deep spiritual and civilisational significance for India. China accepted Lipu Lekh as one of the cultural and commercial transit points with India under its 1954 Peaceful Co-Existence Agreement. This was reiterated in 2015 in a joint statement during the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China.