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]]> The Iran Sanctions Act passed by the US has a nifty feature called ‘extraterritoriality’ which means that Washington has the power to impose unilateral sanctions on third parties that interact with Tehran. A silent clause however allows dealings as may be determined by them on a case-by-case basis. India has so far managed to escape using this clause with every subsequent review, but they’ve had to diversify their sources and reduce dependence on Iran. Not surprisingly India’s crude imports from Iran have been steadily decreasing with massive fluctuations off late. The other impediment in this trade pact is finding the necessary private intermediaries to facilitate the deals. Since the sanctions were enforced, fewer and fewer institutions have been willing to insure the shipped exports, so much so that Tehran has accepted to insure the vessels themselves.These ad-hoc measures have increased costs of imports but till India diversifies further, there will have to be continual engagement with Iran, which means they need an alternative viable mode of importing; which brings us to the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, a perpetual thorn for the US.
The IPI Pipeline was first conceived back in 1989 as a viable mode of transporting natural gas from Iran, to fulfill increasing requirements of India and Pakistan. Over the years during different periods, both India and Pakistan have dillydallied from firm commitments, sometimes buckling to US pressure which has ceaselessly tried to isolate Iran, and sometimes over mistrust and security issues between India and Pakistan. After 26/11, India was firmly out of the project while Iran completed its phase of the construction in late-2009 reaching the Chabahar Port near the Iran-Pak border.
Since early 2011, India has showed renewed interest in the project and some important agreements have been signed as well – and from recent developments, India may have the incentives to snub ongoing US diplomatic pressure.
US stance on the project: Anything but the IPI Pipeline
Their reasons for opposing the project as mentioned before, is to isolate Iran and curb its growing power in the region. A paper by the Heritage Foundation presents recommendations for thwarting this project, most of which have already been applied.
As it stands today: Both India and Pakistan are moving ahead with Iran
The project on the Iranian side is nearly complete, with the pipeline reaching the Chabahar Port and responsibility now lies with Pakistan to begin construction. There were some delays on the Pakistani front mostly due to ceaseless pressure from the United States but all that is set to change as another wealthy player has shown interest in the project.
While the US has been watching developments with bated breath, stakes on the pipeline have suddenly quadrupled with Pakistan inviting China to invest and participate in the project. China has shown interest in investing in a pipeline from Pakistan northwards into China’s Xinjiang province running parallel to the Karakorum. That aside, Pakistan has also given them operational control of the strategic deep water port in Gwadar. Moreover they are planning to revive the shelved Coastal Oil Refinery project, which was a part of a $12Bn investment plan by China.
Such large investments are a tacit approval by them and has emboldened Pakistan to fearlessly move ahead with the IPI Pipeline, so much so that Petroleum Minister Shahid Abbasi openly claimed that they are not bothered about sanctions. “There is no fear of any sanctions. We are confident that the project will go through and we are pushing for it. Iran is selling gas to Armenia and Turkey. When these countries can buy gas then so can we.”
India too for its own requirements is increasing engagements with Tehran. Apart from the IPI project, India is also moving forward with investing in Iran’s North-South Transport Corridor, which would link the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea, creating a vital like with Russia, and northern Europe. They are also developing the Chabahar Port for transport of goods to Afghanistan.
That these engagements would irk the US was a given, and it seems Iran expected the US to try and thwart the project’s success. Even though progress is being made with Chinese backing, there is every chance that Pakistan may flounder if China backs out. To avoid such a contingency Iran has played a master stroke which may entirely negate its dependency on Pakistan to follow through, and hence break US leverage.
Iran’s lucrative offer to India, which would nullify all security concerns it had regarding the project – involves bypassing Pakistan completely by taking the pipeline underwater from Chabahar directly to India. In exchange they want India to shore up its crude imports, which have been falling steadily over the years and secondly invest in their Farzad-B gas field for which they are prepared to sign a production sharing agreement.
These developments are completely altering the geostrategic map of the region taking the chess game of hydrocarbons to another level. The balance of power is shifting away from the US and they need to make an immediate reassessment if they are to have any control over the region. Iran’s oil buffer has worked well against the sanctions and with this pipeline it should render it completely ineffectual. Dangling the carrot has not worked for the US, and it may have no other option but to threaten to use the stick.
Though Pakistan isn’t new to such a reception, India could well start to receive the first warnings if they continue their association with Iran. Certainly not as an overt threat, but there are many areas where they could tighten controls to let their displeasure be known. They could for instance reduce cut the availability of H1B visas, something India has been pushing for since long; not to mention the possibility of stemming investments or imports from the country, a move which could be devastating given the present situation of the economy.
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]]> http://dfuse.in/in-politco/us-sanctions/feed/ 0The post Quagmire in the Middle East appeared first on dfuse.in.
]]> A news presenter once told me that the Middle-East has been the most dependable fall back story for channels in this decade. One could almost chuckle if the ‘stories’ weren’t so grim. But on closer reflection you realize that it’s not true just for this decade – I can’t remember a time of relative peace in the last 30 years, save for a brief period in the mid 90’s. No sooner had things piped down after the First Gulf War when Iraq irked the NATO powers by refusing to heed to a UNSC resolution, Operation Desert Fox was launched in ’98 to bomb the hell out of them. At the turn of the century Bill Clinton passed on the baton to G.W.B. and we all know what followed.The first golden rule of foreign policy is that no nation is immune to circumstances, and everyone has a stake. That being said, the present conflict involves primarily four countries – Egypt, Syria, Israel and central to them all, Iran. (That the US plays a role in any conflict in the Middle-East is a safe assumption and needn’t be mentioned explicitly.) To understand the present situation better let’s roll back about a year, when Hosni Mubarak was ousted as President of Egypt.
In the ensuing elections, the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, Mohammad Morsi just about managed to beat Ahmed Shafiq, who was Prime Minister under Hosni Mubarak. He won by about 51 to 48, making him Egypt’s first democratically elected President – apparently. The international media has made this their slogan for defending Morsi’s position at present – but what they failed to mention with the election results were the circumstances surrounding it. The election was rife with documented incidents of rigging and intimidation – the Coptic Christians who account for almost 10% of the population were kept from voting altogether. However, the most critical point is that the total turnout of voters was less than half the registered voters, about 43%. In light of these facts, I’m not sure in which world would Morsi be considered the true representative of the Egyptian people. Now take a moment to consider the margin by which he beat the opposing candidate.
The disquiet was always there with the election results, it just needed a little provocation to erupt which came in late 2012 when Morsi effected a declaration which granted him unlimited power. The anti-Morsi crowed came out thundering and finally in July this year, the army decided to put its foot down and ceased power.
Now the hilarious bit is that the US has been providing Egypt with economic aid since the Camp David accords back in ’79; and from ’87 onwards, they supplemented this with military aid to the tune of $1.3 billion annually. So if they were to accept this as a coup, they would by definition be accomplices, having funded it! What I would pay to see Obama’s reaction when the army called his bluff to stop military aid and went ahead with their plan anyway and being surrounded by blithering idiots doesn’t make his job any easier – one such, Secretary of State John Kerry, said that when the army removed Mohammed Morsi on July 3, it was “restoring democracy”.
On the other side of the Suez, Syria has been embroiled in an internal strife for more than two years now, a war which is being very closely monitored by Israel, US and Iran. The reason why its outcome is important is because of the strategic relationship between the Assad regime and Iran. Were the Ba’ath party to flounder, Israel would instantly gain an upper hand in the region as opposed to Iran, which is why both parties are funding their respective sides in that strife.
Anybody remember the cartoon illustration Israeli Prime Minister Netahanyu brought along with him to the UN General Assembly meeting last year? Well this is what the whole mess boils down to – Iran’s nuclear program and growing strength in the region.
The illustration refers to Iran’s uranium enrichment program which Israel claim, is almost sufficiently pure, to use in a nuclear warhead. Even though Iran is a signatory to the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and is enriching uranium for civil purposes, which is permitted, the US is jittery. That is the reason why they enforced economic sanctions on them and prodded the media to make a song and dance about it. The fact that the media is tired of reporting of its ‘imminent economic collapse’ is proof enough that they’re happily carrying on. So now it is the leadership change in Iran, which the US is banking on for further dialogue and negotiations.
Bringing Egypt into the equation – part of the reason why Hosni Mubarak was ill in favor with the US, was because he was opposed to their plan of creating a United Sunni Arab front along with Israel to confront Iran, Syria and the Hezbollah. The Camp David accords signed with Israel had lost them many friends in the region and thus, being used for cannon fodder was not appealing to him. Morsi was expected to be more compliant given his relative closeness to the US – he did his graduate studies and was also teaching in the US – but then he may no longer be around.
The situation as it stands is a practical stalemate. The crises in Egypt and Syria have to be dealt with before any further engagements can be made in this region. With the new leadership in Iran, it seems there will be more of practical dialogue than provocative gestures like Netahanyu’s cartoon. In any case, the US has far too a tainted image at present to take any aggressive action – hounding out Snowden hasn’t gone unnoticed, and Putin’s curt refusal to hand him over has drawn a round of raucous laughter.
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Featured image credits: Peter Milo/Peter Ito
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]]> Vedanta Aluminium was recently denied permission to set up a $1.7-billion plan to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa. Located in Kalahandi district of Orissa, these hills are inhabited by the Dongoria, Jharnia and Kutia tribes who participated in a public hearing on April 9, 2012 and opposed the mining of bauxite from their sacred hill. A report in the April 12 issue of Tehelka highlighted thus – ‘Tribals said that they have a birthright on the Hills and they won’t allow mining to their sacred mountain whatever the repercussion may be.’And soon enough, the Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, turned down Vedanta’s proposal on the grounds of non-compliance with Forest Right’s Act. He further denied being moved by the sentiments of the locals and stated that the decision was utterly based on facts. In the month of June, several newsletters were issued by Vedanta for local residents about its policies for redevelopment of the local zones where their mining plant would be established.
People did not fall prey to Vedanta’s numerous efforts that included boasting about its plans of expansion in field of education, health and other perks to local residents. Their constant refusal as well as not succumbing to the aggressive advertising campaign of Vedanta in month of April contributed to the denial of permission. The government had turned down their proposal as this development wasn’t sustainable; it also violated the Environmental Protection Act.
One may now very validly ask a question, ‘If a certain area is mineral-rich, is it not meant to be extracted?’ Fair enough. A mineral-rich area, often classified as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is meant to be extracted as long as the people displaced from that land are given adequate rehabilitation. Not just on paper but in reality as well.
Setting up plants, mining ores in remote villages fills up the conglomerates’ coffers and renders the poor, poorer. The ever-widening vacuum of disparity once again becomes visibly important when the locals’ land is taken away in lieu of small money with no other land rehabilitation measures. They eventually have no land, no deposits, and no job security. Even the health and educational prospects claimed by the company get buried deep under tender notices and signed deals. It gets worse if the family’s head count is appalling or/and the earning member is an alcoholic.
This does not imply that development should be curbed; development is primal to a country’s economy. But so are its people. Poverty, unemployment, hunger, still remain as major concerns for the country and require immediate action.
Now consider another case unlike this one. In May 2012, JSW Steel completed paperwork with the West Bengal government for land transfer. This steel plant in Salboni has not only bought land from locals but also provided them with jobs and shareholding in the company, minimizing disparity and maximizing security for every family. So, even if the family is left with no money, they have shareholding and an earning member whose job will suffice the family.
To conclude, development is indeed important but so are people who belong to the country. And as are those who choose their representatives with the belief that this disparity will be diminished. Recently, Mani Shankar Aiyar in a panel discussion, very rightly articulated, “Development is important, so is justice and inequality. But development with dignity is the solution to all problems.”
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]]> http://dfuse.in/cafe/development-with-dignity/feed/ 0The post It’s a MAD World appeared first on dfuse.in.
]]> On August 6 and 9 in 1945, the world witnessed the use of nuclear bombs for the very first time. Since then, the widespread destruction and loss of human lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki has left an indelible question on the morality of the human race. Unlike common agreement, the post World War II era was not about nuclear disarmament. In fact, Hiroshima and Nagasaki paved way for a nuclear marathon.Nuclear weapons were a significant part of national discussion and influenced the military doctrines of the two blocs (the United States of America and the USSR). The said military doctrine was known as ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ (MAD).Territorial insecurities compelled the USA and the USSR to inaugurate a theatre of proxy wars.
So where was the post War dream of peace and disarmament?
Soon after World War II, the dream turned into a nuclear nightmare. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, mankind was compelled to think of the unthinkable; a potential atomic annihilation. Today, our planet is over-stocked with world-ending weaponry which if used could make the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki look smaller. Fortunately, nuclear destruction today finds itself at the end of a long queue of anxieties guided by trust and mistrust. Possibly because of numerous treaties and nuclear diplomacy, we have injected blind faith in ourselves, our allies and our former enemies. It seems as if we have camouflaged all notions of a peaceful world.
The disintegration of the USSR ended the planetary superpower rivalry and the United States was left with no other rival. So, did nuclear weaponry become extinct? Were these the closing stages of the MAD world? No, the global nuclear landscape is more or less intact, mission-less and largely untouched. Unacknowledged, as it may be, I believe that the MAD world still exists.
Today, threats and perceptions have changed. The nuclear issue worth the bother is stopping the spread of nuclear bomb to a couple of supposedly fanatical and problematic regimes. The government as well the media seems to be obsessed with an ‘invisible threat’. Remind me: when was the last time you read getting rid of nuclear weapons altogether?
Despite a dawning realization, the global nuclear arms race has been masked by modest diplomacy and pledges. The said race is alive and is scheduled to live for decades to come in future. With nearly 20,000 nuclear warheads dotting the earth’s landscape, we surely are staring at a potential nuclear holocaust. Perhaps, some of the inadequately guarded nuclear weapons littering the globe might fall into the hands of terrorist groups. Perhaps, an Islamic fundamentalist group will seize power in Pakistan and go a step too far in nuclear brinkmanship with India over Kashmir. Maybe the Israeli leadership will strike out at Iran with nuclear weapons in an effort to keep Tehran from going nuclear.
The United States and Russia together possess 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. Therefore, an impasse between the two countries will undercut any leverage they might have to encourage other nations to embark on a path leading to global nuclear reductions. Although these scenarios might seem unimaginable, yet nuclear alarmists suggest that as long as the nuclear weapon stockpile exists, the threat of doomsday shall persist. As long as these weapons remain in hair trigger mode, the ghost of MAD will linger.
Nuclear weapons have been the most dangerous legacy of the cold war. The issue of a ‘nuclear free world’ cannot be dodged. Though, it is imperative for one to acknowledge that a ‘nuclear free world’ is not a near term possibility. We should try and seize the high moral ground. This will surely reduce the risk of unwarranted nuclear confrontations. The ultimate goal should be to eliminate all forms of nuclear weapons and fission material. But such a goal can only be achieved through ‘substantive reduction’ and consequent extinction of nuclear warheads. Unquestionably, this is a daunting task but we need to start thinking on these lines. Hopefully, in time to come, we will wake up to a future where we feel completely secure about where we are and what is around us.
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]]> http://dfuse.in/cafe/its-a-mad-world/feed/ 0The post The Green State appeared first on dfuse.in.
]]> At the very outset, let me clarify that I am not an environmentalist. Neither am I affiliated to any political party, though I am likely to get branded as a Maoist after writing this article. I am just an average twenty-year-old who has grown up in Calcutta and learnt to love the city and the state. Thus, my curiosity propels me to question the numerous anomalies that I notice around me. At this point of time, I think it is also of significance to mention that I’ve been working with an NGO of considerable repute, which strives to provide a better life to underprivileged children. This organization works hand-in-hand with the Kolkata police.That said, here’s what happened on the 5th of June, World Environment Day: a concept which has never been too popular in India. Nevertheless, since Mamata Banerjee took oath as Chief Minister of West Bengal, she has promised to make Calcutta the equivalent of London, and Darjeeling the equivalent of Switzerland. This means just like the West, it is now imperative for the state to celebrate World Environment Day. As long as it is truly benefitting the environment and the people, I see no reason to complain.
I was told to report to the Gariahat Police Station at 7.30 a.m. to help my NGO with a rally in support of the environment. Since we work for child rights, I immediately asked why we were doing something unrelated to our work. I was told that we were doing this in support of the police since they support us for our cause. Therefore, I arrived at the venue on time only to be greeted by a cop sitting languidly amidst a bunch of street children. By the time our bus started moving, it was 8:45 a.m.
Due to the incompetency of one of the policemen, we reached the wrong destination and waited for around 45 minutes until someone realized that this wasn’t Harish Mukherji Park, where the rally was supposed to start from. Needless to say, the rally had left by the time we reached. The same ‘bright’ policemen now had the idea of making the bus somehow catch up with the rally. By the time we reached our next destination, Rabindra Sadan, the rally had ended and people had already dispersed.
We waited to enter the auditorium where an event was going to happen. Everyone was given free t-shirts with the government’s name and various sorts of captions. Most people who got these were illiterate and had turned up only because they had been promised free food. The plastic covers of the t-shirts were haphazardly thrown on the ground as people lined up to get inside the auditorium.
As Tagore played in the background (the state had to flaunt our culture, right?), hundreds of people took their seats for the special programme that the state government had organized. The dignitaries included the Commissioner of Police, the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Mr. Partha Chatterjee, the Minister of Sports, Mr. Madan Mitra, and the likes. Due to the late arrival of Mr. Chatterjee, the audience were made to wait endlessly. Meanwhile, the host ranted on about the environment.
In the midst of such high end drama, I couldn’t help but notice the huge flex in the background with the government’s proclamation of aid to the environment taking up half of it, while Mamata Banerjee’s face covered the rest. What ‘splendid’ use of resources to commemorate the occasion! Also, on stage, were a group of colour co-ordinated (white, blue and green) women who were present to sing and entertain the audience. As if the recorded Rabindra Sangeet hadn’t already quenched my thirst for music on a day which almost hit 40 degree Celsius while the humidity was more than 80 percent.
It was at this point of time that I felt I had had enough trash for a lifetime and decided to leave the auditorium. I have always avoided emotional TV serials, so clearly there wasn’t any need for me to subject myself to something a hundred times worse. As I walked outside, I noticed how the entire area was full of plastic packets, food packets, and disposable glasses.
Too tired to really care about anything else in the world, I hailed a cab and started moving towards my house. But apparently, the show was yet to go on. As I sat in the cab which was as stationary as the leaves on the trees, I noticed a truck which had been covered with flexes on all sides. They all said the same thing, ‘Save the Environment – An Initiative by the Government of West Bengal’.
And on the truck was a tree. Yes, that’s right, a tree. And then I noticed the second truck. And the third. In their effort to promote the environment, the government had put a tree on a truck and was making it go all around the city. Screw the rising price of diesel and the emissions they were producing. The West Bengal government might have a debt of 2,00,000 crore but they can afford it as long as the public are left in awe of a moving tree. They don’t mind polluting the air as well.
As I finally reached home and rushed towards the comforts of my room, I couldn’t help but spare a thought at the amount of resources which had been wasted for putting up this show. Right from printing flexes with our honorary Chief Minister’s face on it, to providing free t-shirts, caps, identity tags and food.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m not an environmentalist and nor do I have a hidden political agenda. Out of all the happenings of the day, I was most disturbed by the fact that I had to wake up at 7 a.m. for something as nonsensical as this. But by the end of it, I was left with another thought.
For the past one year, the newly-elected Trinamool government have been trying to eliminate all traces of red and make West Bengal a green state. From banning Marx in schools to asking people not to marry into families with CPI(M) members, and even changing the name of the state, they have gone out of their way to provide the state with an identity which is completely different from the one which we have had for the three and a half decades which preceded that. However, on the occasion of World Environment Day, the city of Calcutta was filled with various colours. And green definitely wasn’t one of them.
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Photographs by Rajdip Ray
To view the complete, unedited version of this article, go here.
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]]> http://dfuse.in/cafe/the-green-state/feed/ 0The post Syrian Uprising: A War Within appeared first on dfuse.in.
]]> The Syrian uprising can be defined as an ongoing, violent internal conflict which can surely be regarded as a part of wider Arab Spring. What started as a public demonstration on 26th January 2011 has turned into a war between the rebels and the government forces. Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad has relentlessly opposed the uprising terming it as a ‘political vendetta’ against his regime. As a consequence, countless civilian lives have been lost and the country has plunged into chaos.Today, it seems as if the flowers of the Arab Spring were chopped off in Syria even before they could bloom. A melancholic ballad can be heard across the Syrian landscape where streets are strewn with corpses bathed in blood.In this story of undefined violence and destruction, one might recognize Bashar al-Assad’s regime as almost picaresque-ian. Over the past one year or so, Syria has been punctuated by barrages of cannon fire. The ongoing violence between the rebels and government forces have had great impacts on Syria and beyond. The Annan peace plan, deployment of UN monitors and attempted ceasefire have been conceived as ‘peace-building processes’. However, they have been ineffective and have acted only as survival tactics across this ‘strategic terrain’.
I’m afraid, but categorically speaking, the Syrian uprising is a war within. It has been a preconceived notion that the Syrian struggle is a part of the wider Arab spring and is purely against the iron fist rule of Bahar al-Assad. The western media has tried but failed to reflect the true sentiment of the Free Syrian Army and numerous other groups. Syrians are surely skeptical of the outcome. The dismantled Syrian society, economy and polity have been replaced with suffering. It is a double-edged sword where the regime cannot possibly eliminate the rebellious population, and the rebels cannot overthrow the regime. The situation has thus become a disaster in which no one wins.
The conflict has even punctured relations between the Arab league and Syria. The former has suspended Syria’s membership over the government’s response to the crisis. The US along with the EU has condemned the use of violence on protestors and has consequently put sanctions on the Assad regime.
Additional characters have been drawn in the struggle. Syria could be a magnet for religious extremists. The signs of ‘terrorist’ infiltrations are evident as over 70 people in Damascus have been reportedly killed due to a series of mysterious explosions. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has issued a call to Muslims to make war on Bashar al-Assad. Such indications and instances could give the west all the more reasons to provide lethal assistance to the rebel groups. The ruling regimes of Iran and Saudi Arabia have been fighting their proxy wars over the backs of Syrian people. The rebel groups are regarded as extensions of Saudi, Qatar, US and Euro policy.
The Syrians I believe have enough means and motives to ouster the Assad regime and are definitely not inclined to see their national quest as a part of wider struggle. The road of peace and reconciliation goes through the valley of violence marred with the blood of countless innocent civilians, journalists and soldiers. In the backdrop of the escalating violence, at least the Annan peace plan could mediate some form of truce and peace between the opposition and the government. The Syrian crisis has severe implications on the international stage. No more can it be defined as a struggle between the Syrians against the ruling regime. For the west and other gulf states, it is now a game of geo-political gains and strategic influence.
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]]> “A place where girls once dreamt of getting married. It was a cup shaped wedding hall in a beauty spot on the edge of the ocean. Today, this dream has been smashed. The walls and windows broken, leaving just a concrete skeleton with spiral staircase ascending into the thin air, which smells of gun powder.”
The Israel-Palestine conflict traces its roots to the late 19th century. Marred with periodic bloodshed, the said conflict has set an unprecedented example of human rights’ violations and failure of international diplomacy. It has been defined by right to self-determination, statehood and territory.
To start with, it is definite that there was a time when both these communities lived in harmony. The daily accounts of Babatha (a second-century Jewish woman) which were found in the Judean desert on the Southern fringe of the West Bank reflects a peacefully co-existing society without friction between the Jews and the Arabs. With the passage of time, escalating hostilities led to the intervention of the United Nations which in 1947, produced a plan for the partition of the area of Palestine, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.
The plan seemed benevolent and was welcomed by the Jews but outwardly rejected by the Arabs. Consequently, this conflict has taken many violent forms and has given rise to an Israel-Palestinian conflict which forms a part of the wider Arab-Israel conflict. These conflicts have not only undermined the principles of the Charter of the United Nations but have also laid a bitter imprint on the minds of the Palestinians.
At this point in time, bearing in mind the violation of the International Humanitarian Law and the ceaseless cycle of death in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank make me feel for the Palestinians. Organizations like the Hamas have claimed to be the voice of the Palestinian people and yet, their actions have been greeted with unprecedented criticism. However, the people living in the West Bank and the Gaza strip have come in terms with this new “culture” – that of fear, oppression and abuse. A Palestinian child living in the Gaza Strip has seen horrors of war. The distant sound of the machine gun and the sound of exploding shells have become a part of a conflict-torn childhood.
Palestinian terror attacks on the Israelis (such as suicide-bombings) have been counter- productive, leading to their dehumanization in the eyes of the Israelis. Such acts of violence have boomeranged and thus, have become major hindrances for the Palestinian resistance movement. Even the international community has failed to acknowledge and recognize the harsh realities and the surprising truths of the Gaza Blockade. When dealing with conflict resolution, it is crucial to address underlying human needs and values and question if they are being violated or not. In the complex Israel-Palestine conflict, there is a strong need to include actors at all levels of society in a peace-building process. There needs to be vertical co-operation between all levels – from the grassroots to the civil society; from middle-range leadership to the top leadership. An important way that Palestinians can participate in conflict transformation is through resistance based mainly on civil disobedience.
It is also essential to deal with underlying structural causes for the conflict and to aim at fulfilling basic human needs such as security and the correct expression of cultural and national identity. Building peace in Israel and Palestine is a long process which requires continuous and sincere efforts from the international community at large. However ‘ideal’ these solutions might sound, they have a chance of transforming this conflict. As of now, it stands still and has already surpassed the pillars of international diplomacy.
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]]> The Jan Lokpal Bill might appear to be the product of a people’s movement but it may well be a flawed decision of a particular socio-economic group.
In a nation where the 8 to 9 percent growth has remained limited to roughly 15 percent of the total population, where the elite, ministers and other people of influence have been involved in scams of outrageously gargantuan proportions while 17,368 farmers committed suicides in 2009 (data as per National Crime Records Bureau), it only made sense that a people’s movement against corruption arose with an objective to counter malpractices like money laundering, bribery and bulk cash smuggling. In the current state of affairs, what the nation saw was not really a people’s movement, but what merely appeared to be so. Although the intentions of both the eminent personalities, namely Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev were good, it now seems that their vision and actions have fallen short in successfully curbing corruption in the nation.
The truth is that there hasn’t really been a true people’s movement in India since the 1974 Bihar Movement led by Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, which would later, during the Emergency period, go on to be called the Total Revolution Movement as it spread all across the country. This movement would be responsible for metaphorically dethroning the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi and establish Morarji Desai as her successor. Although this movement is mentioned in higher education History books, much has been forgotten about it. Forgetting him has been in the best interest of both UPA and NDA. As a matter of fact, all through the seventies, JP was referred to as ‘the second coming of Gandhi’. That was the first clarion call against corruption in India and was widely successful too. It is ironic though that in 2011 we are questioning the actions of the same politicians (amongst others) that emerged out of this very movement.
In 1974, a consolidated demand was made for the complete revaluation and change in how the government functioned and how people held the positions of power while urging for a fair distribution of wealth and opportunity to all and not just a select few influential people. JP believed that a mere interpretation of an unjust and iniquitous human society wasn’t adequate. What he demanded was its fundamental transformation. This is where the present day anti-corruption movement seems to be failing. The Jan Lokpal Bill is only looking at a single dimension of a bigger picture.
There are questions on whether to include the judiciary, or, the conduct of MPs inside Parliament into the Bill. Our Constitution protects civil servants from being dismissed or removed by any authority subordinate to the appointing authority. This hasn’t been addressed in the Jan Lokpal Bill. In that case should these provisions within the Constitution be amended? If so, then will the Lokpal, single-member or multi-member, exercise all quasi-judicial powers? If that does happen then institutions like Central Vigilance Commission or the Central Bureau of Investigation will no longer be required. Which leads us to another question and that is how efficient will this ombudsman body be in comparison to the CVC and CBI? If the Bill is to be passed then it will require a great deal of amendment. Therein also lies the question of the intention of implementation of these amendments on the Government’s part.
A fear of inclusion of dodgy clauses exists which may either render the bill useless or dilute its urgency. Establishment of only a Lokpal isn’t the solution if further legal infrastructure in not available to support it. The failure of the RTI act is a testimony to this. Upon asking for information the government officials either give incomplete information, false information or decline to give information under one pretext or the other thanks to the clauses within the RTI Act itself. Can a similar advantage be taken of the Jan Lokpal Bill while making amendments before passing it?
No amount of fasts or forceful schema in order to make the Government approve and pass the Jan Lokpal Bill, will work if the drafting of the Bill by ‘India Against Corruption’ has been loose from the very start with such obvious gaping loop holes that it gave the Government an opportunity to evade its responsibility in the first place and argue about the viability of the Bill. In fact, both Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia often said that, “Fasts shift the attention from the issues to the person.” The unnecessary theatrics by a Yoga guru will also not work. Standing on a stage and screaming about bring back “black money stored in foreign banks” will not bring in the money and retreating at the last moment from the Ramlila Maidan will beyond doubt send a message of weak leadership making way for political goons and the police to take violent actions against you no matter how big a celebrity you are.
A people’s movement is a product of everyone’s involvement and participation. A movement which itself is bias enough to separate the “civil society” from the rest of the nation, and thrives solely on media support is bound to either fail or not have the desired effect. What does calling a particular socio-economic group of people “civil society” imply? That the rest of the people are uncivil? Projecting a few opinions as the need of the hour, when one knows that it will greatly affect the nation, isn’t really democratic. One begins to wonder whether the Jan Lokpal Bill even belong to all “jans”. If not, then there’s no point in making it into an Act because then it would indeed, apply to all.
Images Courtesy:Deepankar Raj
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