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As Parliament prepares to convene again after a winter session washed out due to the Opposition’s protest on demonetisation, it is worth asking why political mobilisation against the exercise is proving to be so difficult Demonetisation has been the most hotly debated topic since November 8, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the high-denomination notes then in circulation would cease to be legal tender. In a single stroke, nearly 86% of the currency in an economy powered by cash transactions, with 54% people without bank accounts, was wiped out. The move disrupted the lives of ordinary people, led to widespread hardship for the poor, major job losses and over a hundred deaths. Despite the huge distress and disruption, the general sentiment seemed to be in favour of the decision. The shock move invited widespread criticism. It provoked protests and a lot of anger and agitation, but most of it was directed against local irritants, particularly banks. There are numerou...

Even though the interpreter was missing at their joint appearance in Delhi’s Hyderabad House, there was no mistaking the rapport between the United Arab Emirates Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two leaders have met three times in the last 18 months, each meeting more full of warmth than the previous one. That the UAE Crown Prince, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the Emirati armed forces, was invited as Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade, even though he is not a head of government or state, indicates the importance India invests in him and in ties with the Gulf country. India’s interest in the UAE rests on several pillars: trade ties of about $50 billion, energy and oil supplies from the world’s fifth largest exporter, the welfare of 2.6 million Indians who remit billions of dollars home annually, and defence and security. While bilateral ties have been robust for decades, the defence and security partnership is clearly ...

MORE-IN Republic Day Our Republic and the Prime Minister were both born in 1950. An open letter, on Republic Day, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about India’s deepest oath Dear Prime Minister Warmest greetings to you on Republic Day. You were born the same year as our Republic was. So, as the Republic turns 67, you do too. Twinned, by birth, to the Constitution, you have with it another bond. As Prime Minister of India you have taken an oath, in the name of God, to ‘bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India’. And from that great position, you have called it India’s holy book. You are therefore, a Constitution-person twice over, by birth and by oath. Two and a half years after taking that oath, on this anniversary day, how do you see yourself in that bond? You could, of course, say, “Ask the people of India, they will tell you if I have or have not been true to it.” If I were to do that, I know, there would be a torrent of appreciation for you. Not just t...

Ironic as it may seem, the Obama administration’s foreign policy and Donald Trump’s call for its recalibration are both inspired by the same desire to prevent any new challenge to American supremacy In recent weeks, we have been watching an extraordinary spectacle in the country often described as the world’s greatest democracy. Barely weeks before demitting office, President Barack Obama introduced new sanctions against Russia and ordered expulsion of its diplomats from the U.S. A Congressional hearing was hastily arranged on alleged Russian hacking operations. Then came the “leaks” that Russia had compiled damaging personal information to potentially blackmail Donald Trump, the then U.S. President-elect. Their origin and authenticity remain in doubt. In a country proud of its traditional freedom of views and expression, we heard demands for action against Russian media agencies for misleading Americans about the true nature of their democracy! It was a strange manifestation of a...

The Aamir Khan film Dangal, now the highest grossing Indian film ever, is already much celebrated. In a State such as Haryana, where the most egregious forms of patriarchy operate, it is indeed exhilarating to see women, in Dangal, beat men in wrestling, a combat sport considered a male bastion. And in a nation such as India, where women’s bodies are subject to perpetual surveillance and shaming, it is definitely liberating for women to vicariously participate in the sporting triumph of Dangal. Yet, the film throws up many interesting questions around women’s empowerment, which obviously, cannot be resolved in the context of the film, or a single film. Besides, it is illogical to expect a commercial film backed by Walt Disney Studios, the world’s largest film studio, to deal with the complexities of women’s liberation. A critical scene in the film is Mahavir Phogat instructing his wife that the daughters will not do chulha-chowka (household work) any more, but will henceforth devo...

The condition the U.K.’s highest court has stipulated for London to trigger Article 50 of the European Union treaty removes any shred of doubt about the legislature being bypassed in giving formal shape to the Brexit vote last June. The crux of the majority opinion is that there needs to be parliamentary endorsement in the form of primary legislation, not merely a ministerial decision or action, for the activation of the exit provision. In arriving at this position, the justices relied on the reasoning that Britain’s domestic laws would be significantly and substantially altered as a consequence of the impending termination of its membership of the EU. The stance of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government, which appealed an earlier ruling, was that once the people had spoken their mind in the June vote on whether to remain in or leave the EU, the executive could exercise the royal prerogative on matters of foreign policy. The opposition, on the other hand, had emphasised ...

Indigenous assessment to be presented to IPCC to report on effect on ocean temperatures, weather patterns Scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, are likely to unveil in December a computerised model that can forecast the impact of climate change on the Indian monsoon until 2100. This model is significant because it is the first time India will be submitting a home-grown assessment to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body convened by the United Nations, and hugely influential to policymakers and governments on the risks posed by climate change. A test version of the model is already available on websites of research groups affiliated to the IPCC. The IPCC summarises projections from such models, developed by scientists from around the world, to report on the level of consensus, among scientists, of the extent to which specific pollutants and gases — from carbon dioxide to particulate matter — interfere with weather patterns...

The suspected Indian superbug link to an American woman’s death underscores the urgent need for a national action plan to execute the existing framework for combating antimicrobial resistance A U.S. woman’s death that took place in September last year has had fingers being pointed at India. An incurable bacterial infection, believed to have been contracted from one of India’s hospitals, is said to have killed the Nevada resident, raising questions about the country’s efforts in tackling a threat bigger than any known epidemic. The Indian connection The story of the 70-year-old, described by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its Morbidity and Mortality report of January 13 goes thus — during the two years before her death in 2016, the woman was hospitalised multiple times in India for treatment of her fractured right thigh bone. Following an emergency hospitalisation in the U.S. in August last year, testing of a wound sample for antibiotic susceptibili...

India-UAE ties are an exemplar for the changing Indian approach towards the wider region. India’s ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to get a major boost with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, visiting New Delhi as the chief guest at the Republic Day parade. In recent years, Delhi has often used this ceremony to send out important signals on the foreign policy front by inviting its key partners. The Modi government has invested significant diplomatic capital towards strengthening its ties with the UAE. With the conclusion of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership agreement between India and the UAE this week, this relationship is poised for a dramatic leap. A contingent of 179 UAE soldiers will lead the Republic Day parade. Several agreements, including one on road and maritime transport, are expected to be signed during the visit. The two sides will underscore their commitment to deal with terrorism. They also hope to work closely ...

The past is no longer a guide to the future. In the coming years, Indian foreign policy will need less red lines and greater agility and pragmatism as the country seeks to find its place in this Age of Uncertainty. Last week, as Donald Trump took the oath of office to become the 45th President of the United States, millions around the world watched, gripped by the thought that the surreal had become real. Clearly, this is not just a regular political transition that takes place every eight years (or sometimes, four years). This is a transition pregnant with implications, not just for the U.S. but also for its role in the world at a moment when tides of change are already under way. Mr. Trump’s elevation adds to the unpredictability, marking 2017 as the beginning of a new age of uncertainty. If there were any expectations that President Trump was going to be different from candidate Trump, these were quickly dispelled by his inaugural speech. There was neither a healing touch nor a...

Everybody loves a good protest — an orderly, self-limiting protest at iconic landmarks organised with state sanction and police protection. But what began as a people’s protest on Chennai’s Marina beach against the ban on jallikattu quickly descended into chaos and confusion when the protesters stood their ground even after the government came up with a practical, legislative solution to the judiciary-imposed prohibition of the annual bull-taming ritual. As the police resorted to force, violence broke out in several parts of Tamil Nadu. Unfortunately, some in the police not only used excessive force but also tried to match the rioters in lawlessness by attacking two-wheelers and setting fire to autorickshaws. Only later in the day did the authorities try to use rational arguments by taking the help of a retired judge and a group of lawyers to persuade the protesters to vacate the Marina where the Republic Day parade is scheduled to be held. Clearly, the government was slow to react, r...

The suspense over the timing of the Union Budget for 2017-18 finally ended on Monday with the Election Commission and the Supreme Court scotching calls, in the light of upcoming elections for five State Assemblies, to defer the February 1 date proposed by the Centre. The NDA government has been keen to abandon the tradition of presenting the next financial year’s Budget on the last working day of February, citing the potential benefits for the economy from faster spending of the approved public expenditure. With a February-end Budget, transmission of funds, and thereby meaningful implementation, seldom starts before June, by which time the monsoon sets in. This leaves just about two quarters to spend a whole year’s funding for projects involving physical infrastructure capacity-creation, for instance. This is the argument in favour of advancing the Budget date. The Opposition, for its part, has voiced concern that a Budget presentation this year so close to Assembly polls could influe...

NASA has invited people to vote on which parts of Jupiter should be photographed by the Juno spacecraft during its next close flyby on February 2. “We are looking forward to people visiting our website and becoming part of the JunoCam imaging team,” said Candy Hansen, investigator in the Juno probe from the Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona. “It’s up to the public to determine the best locations in Jupiter’s atmosphere for JunoCam to capture during this flyby,” Ms. Hansen added. JunoCam is a colour, visible-light camera designed to capture detailed pictures of Jupiter’s poles and cloud tops. Juno will make its closest approach to Jupiter when the spacecraft is about 4,300 kms above the planet’s swirling clouds. Two hours later, the imaging will conclude as the spacecraft completes its close flyby, departing from below the gas giant’s south pole. Juno is now on its fourth orbit around Jupiter. — IANS

A UN Environment report says people are at great risk every time they travel due to the lack of investment in safe transport options. Some 1.3 million people die each year on the roads and almost half of them are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Investment in walking and cycling infrastructure can save lives, reverse pollution and reduce carbon emissions, the report adds. “People are risking their lives every time they leave their homes,” Erik Solheim, the head of UN Environment, said. “But it isn’t just about accidents. Designing transport systems around cars puts more vehicles on the road, increasing both greenhouse gas emissions and deadly air pollution. We must put people, not cars, first in transport systems.” Compared to high-income countries, more people die in low-to middle-income countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America due to road accidents. As the global population is heading towards nine billion, there is a need to design mobility for people instead of...

In developing countries, one of the ways to ensure food security is by assuring adequate tenure rights to land. However, safeguarding tenure is not an easy task when it comes to the way land is used by pastoralists. Over 500 million people in the world rely on livestock herding in the rangelands. They move from one place to another in search of pasture and also to avoid drought, animal diseases and civil conflicts. To address the needs of pastoralists, the Food and Agriculture Organization, along with other organisations, has come up with a guide on how to establish tenure arrangements for this marginalised group of people. “Pastoralism is a system of livestock production that takes advantage of both the diversity and the seasonality of natural resources in the rangelands. It is based on large-scale, carefully planned movements of livestock, which demands high levels of coordination between multiple users. This has led to the emergence of customs and institutions that enable dec...