NRC update-Issues involved

The up-gradation of National Register of Citizens(NRC) was agreed upon by the parties involved in the Assam Accord,1985-The Government of India, the Government of Assam and All Assam Students Union(AASU). Due to some reasons or the other, the upgradation of NRC could not materialise for more than two decades.  The government has recently decided to update NRC at the earliest after the Supreme Court directed the state government to complete the process by 2016.

The notification issued by the government mandates that the legacy data was to be the criterion on which the citizenship would be determined. The legacy data is a primary set of documents consisting of National Register of Citizens,1951 and the electoral roll preceding the midnight of March 24,1971. Alternatively, a person could submit 12 documents as prescribed by the government to prove one’s identity. The exercise would take place as per the provisions in the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the citizenship rules, 2003.

However, the procedures involved in the upgradation of NRC is not without contradictions. First, all the names of the genuine citizens are not correctly mentioned in the NRC data and electoral rolls. In this case, many citizens would face difficulty in verifying their present documents with that of their ancestors. For instance, ‘Boro’ used to be the popular surname of the members belonging to ‘Bodo’ community in those days. With the passage of time, they altered their surnames to Swargiary, Basumatary, among others.  Therefore, it is still unclear as to how the issue pertaining to the surnames would be resolved.

Second, many people in Assam, mostly adivasis, did not feel the necessity to preserve the documents for future use. Since the rules mandate that certain documents would have to be produced in order to claim the citizenship rights, the original inhabitants might be harassed in the name of illegal immigrants.

Third, many illegal immigrants have made legal documents, like Voter identity cards, ration cards and so forth by fraudulent means. According to an estimate, such illegal immigrants would number up to an overwhelming figure exceeding one million. The issue as to how the government plans to ascertain their true identity remains to be seen.

It is indeed heartening that the Government has initiated the herculean task by setting up NRC Seva Kendras and urging the people to submit their particulars within a time-frame. This would help in identifying the illegal immigrants and then deporting them to their homelands. At the same time, the government should sort out the roadblocks that would come in the way of an effective determination of citizenship rights.

Child labour in India

The problem of child labour and exploitation of children continues unabated in India. According to the 2011 census, over four million children in the age group of 5-14 years are being exploited as child labourers. This figure is certainly shocking considering the constitutional provisions that have been laid down in Indian constitution prohibiting child labour. Despite more than 60 years afterIndependence, the situation has not yet improved.

Why has the menace of child labour not been eradicated? This is certainly related to the shoddy implementation of the law at the ground level. That said, we have a multitude of laws banning child labour even to the extent of awarding harsh provisions like imprisonment upto 2 years. However, the conviction rate is abysmally low. People are, thus, relatively confident that they can get away from the clutches of law very easily.

Moreover, the law prescribes punishment for the employers only. There is no provision to ensure accountability of those employed in enforcement agencies, like factory inspectors and labour inspectors. These people at the position of authority are as much culpable as the employers violating the law.

The Indian law bans child labour in the age group of 6-14 years in the areas of hazardous employment. The open-ended nature of laws have provided the offenders much leeway to employ children as domestic help or agricultural labourers. As a result, the drop-out ratio of children in the primary and secondary schools is very high. In the long run, the productivity of the nation decreases as these helpless hands cannot be translated into productive human capital. The lowly nature of the work thus drives such people into perpetual poverty.

Lastly, the rehabilitation homes and child-care centres are available in select few towns and cities. The commission for protection of child rights act,2005 was enacted to provide for the creation of National Commissions and state commissions for the protection of child rights and children’s courts for the speedy trial of offences pertaining to violation of child’s rights. These institutions are rarely seen to have imposed penalties on the defaulters.

Thus, it is imperative that there ought to be stringent implementation of the laws accompanied with assured conviction to the offenders. Not only the employer should be held responsible, but the labour inspectors need to be held accountable if children are found working within their jurisdiction. Al forms of child labour needs to be prohibited and it should be made a cognizable and non-bailable offence. Rehabilitation should be made an integral part of the law on child labour. Rehabilitation measures should be included in government schemes and must address economic rehabilitation of parents, wherever necessary.

FDI in defense sector-Is it warranted?

Foreign direct Investment refers to the foreign companies investing in Indian companies and its production in the long term. The central government has allowed 49 percent FDI in defense sector under automatic route, 75 percent involving Transfer Of Technology(TOT) and 100 percent where significant new technology is involved. The essay deals with the reasons as to why relaxation in FDI norms in defense sector might still be inadequate to attract foreign players in the sector.

First, in the defense sector, the government is the sole procurer of defense equipments. The government do not make orders on a continuous basis either for domestic needs or for defense-export conventionally. For instance, the Dassault-made Mirage 2000 was inducted in late 1970s. After a long gap of nearly three decades, the Government decided to induct Rafale fighters in its fleet. In such a situation, the foreign company would be disincentivised to expand its infrastructure in India.

Second, the foreign companies often raise concerns about the offset policy as mandated in Defense Procurement Policy(DPP). That said, the offset rule states that 30 percent of the contracted amount has to be invested in local manufacturing and providing local employment. In a situation where the co-partner has sufficient bargaining power(as in the case of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), the foreign company is wary of losing control over its technology and intellectual property.

Thus, FDI is not the panacea for all ills in defense sector. Self-sufficiency does not necessarily mean merely increasing the content of indegenisation in producing defense equipments and creation of jobs locally. Rather, the defense industrial base unit needs to be strengthened so that we are able to independently produce critical defense components without having to import from foreign nations. This will increase our capacity for technology absorption. We have improved our credibility in space sector against all odds through strong political will and persistent efforts. There is no reason why we can’t achieve self-sufficiency in high-end defense sector.

Net neutrality and digital discrimination

The advent of internet has made our lives easier so much so that the internet has become an indispensable part of our day-to-day life. There are a multitude of web-based applications including social media platforms like facebook and twitter. The concept of e-governance is based on the applications of internet technology, wherein the government is committed to providing faster and efficient delivery of services. One of the booming sectors involving online platform is that of e-marketing which is a revolutionary development in the area of trade and commerce.

Of late, concerns have been raised over the methodology of provision of internet  services to the people. Recently, Bharti Airtel had announced its decision to charge its customers for making calls through the Skype platform. Later the mobile operator back-tracked from its earlier decision pending operational guidelines from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI). Similarly, the social media giant Facebook collaborated with Reliance communication to launch an online platform ‘internet.org’.

A fundamental principle governing internet use is ‘net neutrality’. It fundamentally guarantees that all data on the internet should be treated equally and there should be no digital discrimination. However, the decision by the mobile operators to charge the users violates the principle of net-neutrality. It is because certain websites become costly or operate faster as compared to other web portals.

Such discriminatory policies shuts the door for entrepreneurial aspirations of millions. The potential job creators would face undue disadvantage in furthering their ambitions as they do not get a level playing field in the area of internet services. Moreover, a cartel of big and influencing corporates could distort market forces by adopting monopolistic business practices.

Internet penetration in India is very low as only 20 percent of the population do have access to the internet. On the contrary, countries like Brazil and China have succeeded in providing basic internet services to almost half of the population. At a time, when India is in dire need of uninterrupted internet services to grow at a decent economic pace, the violation of net neutrality does not augur well for the nation.

All is not well with cease-fire agreements

The armed insurgency in North-eastern regions is not a new development. It started with the Naga National Council(under the leadership of Angami Phizo) in late 1940s which demanded abrupt secession of Naga territories from the Indian Union. The Indian government left no stone unturned to contain the rebellion. The Armed Force Special Powers Act(AFSPA) was put in place but the militaristic approach could hardly succeed in bringing peace to the region. The lack of economic development and rampant unemployment have further fuelled alienation among the inhabitants of the region.

Of late, the Government has realized the importance of fostering dialogue and cooperation with the dissenting groups including the armed parties in the region. The cease-fire agreement between Indian government and insurgent groups like NSCN(IM) and NSCN(Khaplang) of Nagaland in the late ninetees and the more recent NDFB faction led by Ranjan Daimary and pro-talk ULFA faction(led by Aravinda Rajkhowa) are remarkable instances of the power of dialogue.

However, the cease-fire agreements have been partly successful in restoring peace in the region. The inter-factional conflict between the armed groups has been a matter of deep concern. For instance, intense fight takes place among various groups in Naga region. The immediate purpose is to either gain political legitimacy among the local people or to exercise trade control in the region.  Often, the hardliners of insurgent groups allege the pro-talk groups of diluting the movement for independence by initiating talks with the government.

Moreover, the  cease-fire signatory groups do not adhere to the ground rules as has been agreed with the government. A closer look at the ground situation reveals that these groups openly carry arms even in the prohibited zone. It has been found that the NSCN-K dominated areas in Myanmar are safe havens for setting up base-camps for groups like ULFA( anti-talk faction) and NDFB(songbhojit).

Hence the government needs to enforce accountability on cease-fire signatory groups for their acts of omission and commission. In holding cease-fire agreements, adequate emphasis ought to be given to all the stake-holders involved in the region. In the long run, development holds the key because it reduces alienation among the inhabitants. The north-east India is the gateway to the ASEAN nations.The ‘Act East’ motto of Indian Government can succeed if and only if there is a strong and secure North-East.

Shayri

Tijoriya Bharte hai log umar bhar ke liye,
Mout ka farishta rishwat nahi leta.....!

Promoting tourism in North-East

Tourism, by and large, is an untapped sector in the north-eastern parts of India. The seven sisters of the North-East are endowed with rich natural resources and biodiversity, which is a comparative advantage of the region. Despite its enormous potential as a credible tourist destination, the international and domestic tourists do not regard it as a preferred destination for leisure and sight-seeing. This speaks volumes about the need to develop the region with concerted investments by the government and private sector.

There are various reasons as to why the north-east India has consistently failed to attract tourists. First, the poor infrastructure development in the form of inadequate roads, poor railway network, select few airports and the abysmal hospitality(say,hotels or lodging facilities) acts as the foremost deterrent for domestic and international tourists. Second, the security situation is quite vulnerable in the region. The insurgent groups and frequent ethnic clashes among tribal communities have vitiated the atmosphere and disturbed the peace and tranquility in the region.

Therefore, the Government should strive to promote connectivity in the region. Recently, the Prime Minister has inaugurated two railway lines in Arunachal Pradesh with one of them connecting Naharlagun and New-Delhi. But improving connectivity would not bear fruit unless there are multi-modal linkages with equal emphasis on roadways, railways as well as airport facilities. The security climate could improve if efforts are made to rein in insurgency through dialogue and cooperation with the stakeholders involved. The Central government has directed the state governments to recruit tourist police for vigilance purposes. Yet not all the states have implemented the proposal with alacrity.

Most importantly, the government should facilitate product development and effective marketing of specific products. For instance Assam could promote its tea and silk products where it enjoys competitive advantage with other regions. Similar branding and exposure of festivals and traditional cultural features can be done in  coordination with the people of the region. Generating and promoting awareness at the macro and micro level through online platforms and creating help-desks at airports and railway stations would go a long way in promoting tourism.

Secularism in the Indian context

Secularism in the Indian context is different from the western model of secularism. Western countries  like France adopt an exclusivist policy in matters of religion. That said, the state and the religion are mutually exclusive. Such states do not interfere in the domain of religion and vice versa.

On the contrary, the Indian model of secularism is conceptually different from the western model. The Indian state does not promote any religion as an official religion unlike Pakistan that considers Sunni Islam as its official religion. Despite the Hindus comprising almost 80 percent of the Indian population, the constitution makers have shown impeccable foresight in upholding the composite nature of Indian values and ethos. The constitution allows freedom to individuals to practice, profess or propagate any religion or not to follow any religion (Article 25).

However, the state is free to interfere in matters of religion for social progress. Jawaharlal Nehru aptly described secularism as a principle where the state gives equal respect to all the religions. For instance, the constitution has forbidden untouchability(Article 17 of Indian constitution) and it is a punishable offence under Indian laws. The state also positively discriminates religious affairs. The Sikhs are allowed to carry a kirpan and they should not compulsorily wear a helmet, whereas normal citizens may be penalized for riding two-wheelers without wearing helmets. The state has also overtaken the management of religious institutions as in the case of Vaishno Devi or Amarnath shrines.Recently the Jains have been accorded the minority status which is very much in keeping with the ethos of secularism.

There are indeed instances of aberration where the pluralistic principles of Indian society have been challenged. The expulsion of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley in early ninetees or the demolition of Babri mosque is a case in point. While the Indian state is undoubtedly secular, the Indian society and the individuals, in many cases, are not. Since tolerance is intangible and is of subjective nature, we find that certain regions in India are quite tolerant of religious diversity while people in other areas are less tolerant of diversity.

Change, for good, has to come from the deeper roots of human psyche. The culture of tolerance has to be imbibed right from the family level and educational institutions. The educational curriculum should focus on celebrating the Indian diversity through select chapters in NCERT and state textbooks. It is a truism that India can remain united only when it respects diversity.