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NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 20178EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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EDITORIAL

Pakistan’s sudden announcement on Monday that

former Indian naval oicer Kulbhushan Jadhav

has been sentenced to death by a Field General

Court Martial is a development fraught with danger. It

could lead to a rapid escalation in bilateral tensions that

the region can ill aford. The trial, sentencing, and its

conirmation by the Pakistan Army chief, General

Qamar Javed Bajwa, were carried out so secretly that

the news took many in Pakistan as well by surprise.

There are glaring holes in the procedures followed by

Pakistan’s government and military in the investigation

and trial of Mr. Jadhav. His recorded confession that was

broadcast at a press conference within weeks of his ar-

rest in March 2016 appeared to have been spliced. At

various points in the tape, and in the transcript of the

confession made available, Mr. Jadhav contradicts his

own statements, suggesting that he had been tutored.

Even if the confession was admissible in a court of law,

little by way of corroborative evidence has been ofered

by Pakistan to back up the claim that Mr. Jadhav, who

was allegedly arrested in Balochistan last year, had

been plotting operations against the China-Pakistan

Economic Corridor. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s

statement in Parliament detailing 13 requests by the

government for consular access, and replies from the

Pakistan government that made the access conditional

on India cooperating in the investigation, further casts

the procedures followed in a rather poor light. Interna-

tional human rights agencies too have criticised them.

Mr. Jadhav must be allowed a retrial, preferably in a civil

court and with recourse to appeal.

New Delhi must step up its responses in the matter, as

it seems to have kept it on the backburner, conining it-

self to fruitless, repeated representations. India must

also pursue the issue with Iran, where Mr. Jadhav is be-

lieved to have been based for more than a decade, and

investigate how he was brought, by force or otherwise,

into Pakistan. The timing of the announcement of the

death sentence is also being seen in a spy versus spy

context, with the recent disappearance of a former

Pakistan Army oicer in Nepal. These are matters best

left to security agencies at the highest level, but the

questions around Mr. Jadhav’s arrest need to be dis-

pelled. Moreover, this escalation highlights the con-

sequences of the breakdown in the India-Pakistan dia-

logue process, limiting the channels of communication

between the two governments to sort out matters in a

sober manner. The government has stood fast on its de-

cision to not hold bilateral talks after the Pathankot at-

tack in January 2016, but this policy is hardly likely to

bring the desired results when a man’s life hangs in the

balance. The Jadhav case requires a proactive three-

pronged response from India: impressing on Pakistan

that the death sentence must not be carried out, ex-

plaining to the international community the lawed trial

process, and sending interlocutors to open backchan-

nels for diplomacy for Mr. Jadhav’s safe return home.

Risky, ill-consideredPakistan’s announcement on Kulbhushan

Jadhav threatens to escalate bilateral tensions

An election that isn’t free is not fair either. With vi-

olence by political protesters marring the by-

election in the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency,

resulting in the lowest-ever voter turnout of around 7%,

the Election Commission was left with no choice but to

put of the by-election in Anantnag. After ignoring the

advice of the Union Home Ministry against the conduct

of elections in the Kashmir Valley, the EC had to per-

force go by the report of the State administration that

the law and order situation in Anantnag constituency

was not conducive to holding of polls on April 12. Cer-

tainly, the EC is right in maintaining that it was not

bound to consult the Union Home Ministry before de-

ciding to conduct elections, but as demonstrated by

subsequent events, the Centre had called this matter

correctly. The security forces were unprepared for the

scale of violence, and failed to ensure conditions for

free, unrestricted polling. Whatever the reasons or pro-

vocations for the violence in Srinagar, which left eight

people dead and more than 170 injured, the end result

was that most voters chose to stay away from polling

stations. One polling station was set aire; many were

temporarily shut following attacks. Unlike a general

election, where a change of government is possible, a

by-election does not interest voters to any great degree.

And, unlike in a general election protesters ind it easier

to disrupt the polling process in a by-election. For

voters, the political stakes are low and the physical risks

high. Whether they were too scared to vote or they

heeded the calls for a boycott of the poll process, the by-

election appeared like an elaborate farcical exercise

that was robbed of all political legitimacy.

After the higher voter participation in recent years in

the Valley, the way the Srinagar by-election unfolded is

indicative of a dramatic slide in the political situation.

The killing of Burhan Wani, a ‘commander’ of the

Hizbul Mujahideen, by security forces in July last year

set of a new cycle of violence in Kashmir that does not

seem to have ended to this day as stone-pelting is met

with pellet guns. In these circumstances, by-elections

may have no political meaning. In any case, without

free re-polling in all the booths that witnessed violence,

the result in this election counts for little. Ideally, re-

polling in Srinagar too should be put of by a few weeks.

But Kashmiris will also need a larger political motiva-

tion to go to the polling booths, a belief that they are in

charge of their own lives and that their vote will count

for something. Otherwise staying at home might seem

the better option to facing the stones of protesters and

the guns of security forces. Time alone will not heal

wounds.

A prolonged protestThe by-elections in Kashmir were marked

by a mix of indiference and violent anger

At a time when India inds itselfconsumed once again by itsobsession with Pakistan in

light of the death sentence pro-nounced on Kulbhushan Jadhav bya Pakistani military court, two re-cent visits to India by foreign dignit-aries underscore the graduallyevolving foreign policy priorities ofIndian diplomacy. The visits ofBangladesh Prime Minister SheikhHasina and Australian Prime Minis-ter Malcolm Turnbull to India thisweek exemplify not only the coun-try’s rising global proile but also itsgrowing stakes in the larger Indo-Paciic.

Positive trajectory There are now new demands beingmade on India. And New Delhiseems ready to play ball. Its role as asecurity provider is visible in theDelhi-Dhaka joint statement whichhas stressed the need for greatermilitary-to-military training and ex-changes, and complimented thearmed forces for their professionalconduct during joint search andrescue operations in the Bay ofBengal leading to the rescue of alarge number of ishermen from

both sides. The defence relation-ship was the highlight of Ms. Hasi-na’s visit to Delhi this time as it in-cluded a memorandum ofunderstanding on a defence frame-work, and a $500 million line ofcredit (LoC) for defence procure-ment by the Bangladesh militaryforces, the largest such LoC Indiahas extended to any country so far.What makes this line of credit moresigniicant is that Bangladesh willnot be bound to use it to source itssupplies only from Indian compan-ies. This is India’s way to reposingconidence in the Hasina govern-ment that it will not challenge NewDelhi’s vital interests.

India is also ready to demon-strate it keenness to share its eco-nomic growth with its regional part-ners. It is also extending a $4.5billion line of credit to Bangladesh,over and above the existing $2.8 bil-lion line, to fund around 17 infra-structure projects which includesport upgradation work at theMongla, Chittagong and Payraports. Given the critical need for en-hancing connectivity in South Asia,India is pushing for early imple-mentation of the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) MotorVehicles Agreement, aimed at facil-itating seamless transport of goodsover land customs stations. Bus andtrain services between Kolkata andKhulna have been started, andthere are plans to revive inland wa-terway channels.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

and Ms. Hasina have both been in-strumental in shaping the positivetrajectory of this important bilateralrelationship. Mr. Modi used hispolitical capital to push through theland boundary agreement (LBA), toswap enclaves India andBangladesh held in each other’s ter-ritory, in 2015 and is working to-wards mitigating diferences on thecritical Teesta water sharing pact.Ms. Hasina has been equally re-sponsive to Indian concerns.Bangladesh is taking serious stepsto deal a decisive blow to separatistIndian insurgent organisations suchas ULFA and the National Demo-cratic Front of Bodoland. There isnow greater convergence betweenIndia and Bangladesh on dealingwith fundamentalist forces such asthe Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, theJama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh

and Harkat-ul-Ansar.

For her commitment to strongDelhi-Dhaka ties, Ms. Hasina hasfaced a lot of opposition at home.Soon after New Delhi and Dhakasigned 22 pacts in key sectors,Bangladesh’s Opposition leader,Khaleda Zia, accused Ms. Hasina of“selling out” the country to India totranslate into reality her “dream ofstaying in power for life”. Given thesize and scale of India, it inevitablybecomes part of the domestic polit-ical milieu in its neighbouringstates. So it will always have totrudge cautiously in South Asiawhere suspicions about New Delhi’sintentions run high. But the moreIndia is seen to be reciprocating itsneighbours grievances, the betterchances it will have of mitigatingthese tensions.

For a larger Indian role The other way out for India is to en-hance its engagements in the largerIndo-Paciic, thereby getting out ofthe straitjacket of being a “mere”South Asian power. New Delhi’s suc-cess in engaging countries such asJapan, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysiaand Indonesia in recent years is test-ament to the growing demand in theregion for a larger Indian role andpresence. Mr. Turnbull’s visit toDelhi this week once again showedthat India is now widely perceivedto be a strong and credible regionalforce. The two countries pledged toenhance maritime cooperation asthey underlined “the importance of

freedom of navigation and over-light, unimpeded lawful com-merce, as well as resolving mari-time disputes by peaceful means, inaccordance with international law,including UNCLOS (United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea)”.

Defence cooperation once againis at the centre of this relationshipwith the decision to hold a bilateralmaritime exercise named AUSIN-DEX in 2018. A bilateral exercise ofthe Special Forces will be held laterthis year, while the irst bilateralarmy-to-army exercise will also takeplace in 2018. The two countriesshould now prioritise the conclu-sion of the Comprehensive Eco-nomic Cooperation Agreement(CECA) at the earliest to give eco-nomic heft to their growing securityinteractions.

Despite the hype about the pos-sibility of India emerging as theguarantor of the liberal economicand security order in Asia, there arenow new possibilities for reimagin-ing New Delhi’s regional and globalrole. Greater cooperation with like-minded countries in the region andbeyond will give it greater space toemerge as a credible regional inter-locutor at a time when Washing-ton’s policies remain far from clearand Beijing is challenging thefoundations of the extant order.

Harsh V. Pant is a Distinguished Fellow atObserver Research Foundation, NewDelhi and Professor of InternationalRelations at King’s College London

Pivot to the Indo-PaciicCooperation with like-minded countries gives India more space to emerge as a key regional interlocutor

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Save KulbhushanNews of a Pakistani militarycourt having awarded thedeath penalty to Indiannational Kulbhushan Jadhavon the grounds that he wasinvolved in “espionage andterror activities” isshocking. There is no truthin this. Pakistan’s act ofdenying him a fair trial andfailing to provide him alawyer to defend himselfviolates the basic norms oflaw. It is not only amiscarriage of justice butalso makes a mockery of thelaw. Pakistan needs torethink and reconsider itsstand, which can severelydamage India-Pakistan ties.K.R. SrInivasan,

Secunderabad

■ The development isreprehensible anddiabolical, and there aremany loose ends in thiscase. Most sources say thatMr. Jadhav was on abusiness visit to Iran, fromwhere he was abducted byPakistani authorities. If thisis so, why are the Iranian

authorities not objecting tothe act of abductionconducted on their soil?How can a military court inPakistan try a civilian whobelongs to another country?The trial itself has beenconducted in a deceitfulmanner, without giving thehapless man anyopportunity to defendhimself. India must try allmeans possible to ensurethat the penalty is notcarried out. K.R. Jayaprakash Rao,

Mysuru

■ Pakistan’s decision is aclear indication that it willgo to any extent to ensurethat India dilutes its toughstance on Balochistan. Indiashould mobilise worldopinion against thesentence. New Delhi shouldalso take up the matter atthe United Nations at theearliest as a prisoner’srights guaranteed under theGeneva Convention havealso been breached.C.V. Aravind,

Bengaluru

Blot on democracyThe Election Commissionhas done a commendablejob in cancelling the R.K.Nagar by-election but it is awell-known fact that thismalady is not conined toR.K. Nagar alone (Editorial –“A damning indictment”,April 11). The practice ofbribing voters throughvarious means and thusinluencing them is aliveand kicking throughout thelength and breadth of thecountry. While we mayproclaim ourselves to be the‘world’s largest democracy’,it is an open secret thatserious malpracticescontinue unabated duringelections, which underminethe legitimacy of the entireprocess. The EC must leaveno stone unturned inpunishing the ofendersregardless of their politicalailiations. N. Venkata Sai Praveen,

Punggol, Singapore

■ There was plenty ofevidence that voters werebeing bribed — indeed being

showered — with large sumsof money in order to vote infavour of the ruling AIADMK(Amma). Given that theconstituency was the centreof attraction right from thebeginning, ruling partyfunctionaries were said tobe distributing moneywithout any fear. One hopesthat once the election isheld again, people will berepresented by an uprightrepresentative who willdeliver the goods fairly. Mani Nataraajan,

Chennai

Farmers’ plightPrime Minister NarendraModi appears to haveforgotten the relevance ofGandhiji’s struggle for thecause of exploited farmers.This is evident from thecontinuing neglect towardsfarmers from Tamil Naduwho have been protesting inNew Delhi for over twoweeks now (“TN farmersspring a surprise”, April 11).Though many politicianshave extended their supporttowards their cause, no

action seems to have beentaken so far. They havefailed those who voted forthem. A blind eye towardsthese desperate farmers at atime when huge taxconcessions are given tocorporates clearly showsthe priorities of our“people’s representatives”.Alisha Abraham,

Hyderabad

■ A large-scale waiver ofagricultural loans, involvinghuge inancial deprivationto the nation, cannot be

ordered overnight. Such adecision requires deepdeliberation with theministry concerned andinancial experts. Ourfarmers must realise thatgoing at the issue hammerand tongs will only result indisappointment.Thedelegation must realise thatthe powers-that-be will notcow down to suchidiosyncrasies. V. Lakshmanan,

Tirupur, Tamil Nadu

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

corrections & clarifications:

A sentence in “Transformative visit” (Editorial, April 11, 2017)read: “Both governments would do well to understand the advicehidden in Sheikh Hasina’s message during a speech where shepraised “all parties and all politicians” for coming together andclearing the land boundary agreement, to swap enclaves India andPakistan held in each other’s territory, in 2015. It should have beenthe enclaves held by India and Bangladesh.

A wrong illustration accompanied the Business page storyheadlined “Demonetisation resulted in 60% surge in tax ilers us-ing our service: ClearTax” (April 9, 2017).

It is the policy of The Hindu to correct signiicant errors as soon as possible. Please specify

the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers’ Editor’s office can be

contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to

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visits. The Terms of Reference for the Readers’ Editor are on www.thehindu.com

The claim that something as in-nocuous as the number ofMPhil students that a univer-

sity teacher is allowed to supervisewill determine the future of re-search in Indian universities mustseem far fetched. However, thedrastic cuts mandated by the latest(2016) University Grants Commis-sion (UGC) guidelines on MPhil andPhD are indeed alarming, and it isworrisome that they have not re-ceived the attention they demand.

A three-tier balanceFor those unfamiliar with it, re-search in Indian universities is loc-ated at the top rung of a three-tiered structure. The bottom rungis made of undergraduates who ac-count for the vast majority of stu-dents in higher education, and areenrolled in a range of disciplines inthe arts, social sciences, sciences,technology, and so on. The secondrung is expectedly much smallerand consists of student enrolled fortwo-year post-graduate degrees.The third tier, much the smallest, isthat of research students who mayeither enrol directly in the PhD de-gree, or opt to do an MPhil degree(usually of two years duration) be-fore eventually going on to thePhD.

The two-stage option is de-signed to address the need thatmaster’s students often feel for ad-ditional training and skills beforetaking on the challenge of conduct-ing original research for severalyears. This is a common require-ment because in India master’slevel courses do not involve ori-

ginal research — they emphasisethe assimilation and reproductionof existing knowledge. The MPhilhelps to orient students towardsthe new and entirely diferentactivity of research aimed atadding to current knowledge byasking and answering new ques-tions. Moreover, an MPhil degreemakes one eligible for a full-timeteaching position at the universityand college level, and is thus crit-ical for expanding faculty strength.

Many commentators have re-marked on the extraordinary ex-pansion of Indian higher educa-tion in recent years. Oicialstatistics show that enrolment hasdoubled over the past decade, pla-cing us among the largest such sys-tems in the world. Equally remark-able is the restructuring that hasaccompanied and enabled expan-sion. Increasing privatisation hasmeant that the majority of collegestoday are privately managed(though many may also receivesome government aid).

The oxygen of accessThere has also been a widening ofaccess to students from disadvant-aged backgrounds who are the irstfrom their families to enter highereducation. Apart from the verypoor who have little chance of go-ing beyond school, the presence

(albeit to varying degrees) of stu-dents from rural areas, ScheduledCastes and Scheduled Tribes,Other Backward Classes, Muslimsis transforming what until recentlywas an elite structure. Moreover,women from all these groups arealso present in numbers largeenough to approach parity withmen (oicial igures for 2015-16place the share of female enrol-ment at 46.2%). Even more unpre-cedented is the fact that this kind ofdiverse student body is found notjust at the lowest rungs of highereducation but also at the top.Thanks to the implementation ofreservations and the willingness ofparents from vulnerable back-grounds to invest in higher educa-tion for their children, this trans-formation is also visible inpostgraduate and research levelclassrooms.

There is, therefore, a tremend-ous sense of promise associatedwith this historical moment. In-dian higher education is poised toproduce new generations of stu-dents at all levels, including youngresearchers from hitherto under-or un-represented groups who canexpand and transform the know-ledge base of society. They will alsoform the next generation of univer-sity and college faculty. However,instead of enabling and strength-

ening this surge, the UGC’s 2016guidelines (which are mandatoryfor all institutions from the 2017-18academic year) appear to be benton halting and reversing it.

The “vision” of these guidelines,embedded in its various clauses, isto severely curtail the number ofMPhil students, perhaps with theintention of doing away with thedegree altogether. The previousguidelines of 2009 allowed facultyto supervise up to eight PhD andive MPhil students, with the over-all cap intended to regulate facultyworkload. Surprisingly and inex-plicably, the 2016 guidelines nowsay that an assistant professor canhave just one MPhil and four PhDstudents; an associate professortwo MPhil and six PhD students;and a full professor three MPhiland eight PhD students at a givenpoint of time. Moreover, it hasbeen further decided that only full-time regular faculty of a given de-partment can be supervisors; thatarrangements across departments(for interdisciplinary research)would require co-supervisors; andthat supervisors from ailiatingcolleges must have at least twopublications in refereed journals tobe eligible to supervise.

Keeping in mind that the MPhilis a two-year degree, with super-visors being allotted during thecourse of the irst year itself, theseguidelines amount to cutting downon student intake every other year,leading to unviably small cohortsat best. If anything, the signiic-ance of the MPhil has only grown inrecent times. Today, more thanever before, State universities havebeen starting MPhil programmesin the pure sciences, social sci-ences and humanities, and in vari-ous interdisciplinary ields such asdevelopment studies, humanrights programmes and women’sstudies, and large numbers of stu-dents are entering this programme

across the country. Given the trans-formation in the student body withmore and more irst generationstudents making it to this level,there is an acute need for adequatetraining in undertaking research,including more inventive and rig-orous ways of imbibing researchmethodologies. Several institu-tions are currently engaged inplanning new modes of teachingthe kinds of reading, writing andresearch skills necessary to aid thisprocess. Besides, younger facultyalso need new training. Super-vising an MPhil student is one ofthe best ways for an assistant pro-fessor to grow as a researcher andteacher, so much so that junior fac-ulty should be encouraged to havemore such students, at leastinitially.

Route to unviabilityBut the precise opposite is beingmade to happen. MPhil classes willturn unviable because of low num-bers. More students will try to getinto PhDs straight from an MA de-gree and being ill-prepared for thechallenges they will face, they aremore likely to sink than swim. Fac-ulty will be less equipped to de-velop as research supervisors. Andmost important of all, the neces-sary expansion in faculty strength— both to meet existing severeshortages, particularly in facultyfrom disadvantaged sections, andto meet the growth in students —will not only be halted but also re-versed under the new conditions.

The UGC, under the direction ofthe Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment, appears in fact to bebent not just on quietly killing theresearch potential of India’s uni-versities, but on diminishinghigher education altogether.

Mary E. John is with the Centre forWomen’s Development Studies, New Delhi

No place for scholarshipNew guidelines cutting the number of MPhil and PhD students a professor can supervise will kill research

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THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI

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DATA POINT

The President has appointed Mr. Justice Kalias Nath Wanchoo,Judge of the Supreme Court, to perform the duties of the ChiefJustice of India vice Mr. Justice K. Subba Rao who resigned theoffice of Chief Justice with effect from this afternoon [April 11].Mr. K. Subba Rao, relinquished his office this afternoon, asChief Justice, his resignation having been accepted by the Pres-ident. Mr. Rao has been nominated by the Opposition partiesto contest the office of the President of India. Earlier, to-day,Mr. Subba Rao delivered his last two judgments in open court.He then expressed his thanks to the Bar for its “co-operationand kindness through the years,” and wished it success andprosperity.

FIFTY YEARS AGO APRIL 12, 1967

K.N. Wanchoo new Chief Justice of India

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FROM ARCHIVES

At the All-India Shiah Conference (Lucknow, April 11) it was re-solved that the Government of each province be requested toadd as holidays the 11th and 12th Muharram in all public of-fices, courts, schools and colleges. A resolution of thanks waspassed for the services rendered by Nawab Fateh Ali KhanOizelbast, C.I.E., for the Shia College. It was also resolved thatthe Punjab University be requested to open an examinationfor M.A. in Persian like other Universities and also to make thevalue of Persian equal to that of Arabic and Sanskrit in the ex-aminations of the Entrance, F.A., and B.A., that the Govern-ment of U.P. be requested to cancel Section 123 of the Educa-tional Code to the effect that students who fail twice in theexamination will not be admitted in any school, that in futureone-fourth of the scholarships of the Shiah Conference may begiven to students of arts and crafts.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO APRIL 12, 1917

Shiah Conference

In calm coastal Karnataka,my stint as a “rural dis-trict” reporter had alreadyexposed me to the com-plex dynamics of com-munalism and moral poli-cing. However, when Itravelled in 2013 in Daksh-ina Kannada, along a roadwhose every twist andturn revealed an undulat-ing landscape of areca andrubber plantations, littledid I know that my priv-ilege to be outraged wouldbe stripped of its preten-sions.

A few weeks earlier, Ihad stumbled upon asmall report in a localdaily on a press confer-ence by a local temple.The priest had announcedthat the Dalits of the vil-lage were “forgiven” anddid not have to leave dur-ing the annual festival.

I arrived at the remotevillage, the last on a roadthat disappears into thePushpagiri forests of theWestern Ghats. In the ab-solute green stood theramshackle houses of theDalit and tribal communit-

ies. In a rather matter-of-fact way, Bhatiya, 85, ex-plained their ostracising:“Some 300 years ago, dur-ing the temple festival, ourancestors were inebriated,and angered the com-munity by throwing buf-falo meat on the path ofthe procession. The deitywas angered, cursed uswith misfortune (look atour poverty), and ban-ished us from his site. Dur-ing the annual procession,we leave from the site.”

Putting aside my note-book, my urban, edu-cated, naive, idealistic selftook over the questioning.Hadn’t they thought ofprotesting against thispractice? Does the com-munity see this as fair? DidBhatiya believe this story?“I do not know,” he saidpithily. “All that matters isthat the temple and theupper caste households inwhose farms we work be-lieve this.”

Only in the last fewyears, the younger genera-tion in the village, includ-ing the genial Somnath,have questioned the ritual,not forcefully but politely.

They readily agreed to acompromise formula: sinswere atoned throughrituals in three temples,and a custom-madebronze lamp had to bedonated. The cost cameup to ₹5,000 per family —wiping out their savingsand forcing some to takeloans.

Somnath told me whenI did a follow-up thatthings have improved.“We can now sit in thetemple, take part in theprocession. Of course, wecannot enter the homes ofthe upper castes. But wecannot force them, right?We live in the same villageafter all. No number ofrituals can change that,and I know things will im-prove eventually,” he said.

Just like in 2013, I can-not understand this optim-ism. Hadn’t the com-munity capitulated to atradition that was clearlyunfair and illegal? Doesmy outrage stem from myprivilege of caste and classwhich clouds my discom-fort with the “comprom-ise”? The questions con-tinue to frustrate.

My privilege of outrage

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NOTEBOOK

On meeting Dalits who are slowly ighting discrimination

Mohit Rao

Our burgeoning young populationis clearly struggling for jobs, despitebeing in the world’s fastest growingeconomy. More than 30% of Indi-ans aged 15-29 are neither in em-ployment nor in any training oreducation, according to a recentsurvey by the OECD. This added to

the gloomy state of employment, for only in March the All In-dia Council for Technical Education had said that more than60% of the eight lakh engineers graduating from technical in-stitutions across the country every year remain unemployed.

Bridging this employment gap could become an insur-mountable challenge thanks to the growing integration of ma-chine learning and artiicial intelligence (AI)-based technolo-gies and robotics in all our core industrial sectors.

Currently, various automation technologies are in the pro-cess of overhauling the mass employment-generating but low-skilled blue-collar labour markets. They could also threatenskilled white-collar workers. For instance, JP Morgan Chaseand Co. recently developed a programme called COIN, a learn-ing machine that interprets legal agreements in just a fewseconds, a task that consumed 3,60,000 work hours for law-yers and loan oicers annually. Similarly, an American med-ical school tested IBM’s AI technology Watson to analyse 1,000cancer diagnoses. In 99% of the cases, Watson was able to re-commend treatment plans that matched the suggestions ofwell-renowned oncologists. Suddenly, the World EconomicForum’s estimate that automation threatens almost 69% of theexisting jobs in India seems like a conservative number.

Throughout history, we have always feared that machineswill cause mass unemployment. “In every kind of endeavour,in oice work as well as industry, in skilled labour as well ascommon tasks, machines are replacing men, and men arelooking for work,” John F. Kennedy had said in 1960. However,this never happened as once old jobs became obsolete, newones evolved. Machines decreased costs and prices, boosteddemand, and created more employment opportunities. In In-dia, for instance, as jobs started dwindling in farms, more pro-ductive sectors like manufacturing and services emerged.

Creating employment opportunities However, lately we have been inept in creating new employ-ment-generating sectors while machines are systematicallycutting down the workforce requirements in the principal la-bour-generating triumvirate of agricultural, manufacturingand services sectors. This will be one of our foremost chal-lenges. Even if we rise up to it, a majority of the jobs absorbingour labour requirements will be ones that do not currently ex-ist. If most of our future jobs are expected to come from theservices sector, it is also imperative to impart social and com-munication skills along with the requisite domain expertise toensure the creation of a market-ready workforce. The successof the Modi government’s Skill India mission will turn out to bevital in the prevention of social inequalities that are bound toarise because of our current unemployment trajectory.

Anil K. Antony is the Executive Director of an Indo-American think tank incybersecurity, intelligence and surveillance technology. Tweets@anilkantony

More robots, fewer jobs? Lately we have been inept at creatingnew employment-generating sectors

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The Clever

Hans effect

Psychology/Ethology

Clever Hans was a ‘ma-gical’ horse in the early20th century that couldsupposedly count, dosome arithmetic and telltime, among other things,by tapping his hoof. Suchfeats provoked systematicinvestigations and finally apsychologist, OscarPfungst, deduced thatClever Hans was actuallypicking up unconsciousverbal cues from his mas-ter, or whoever was doingthe questioning. TheClever Hans effect has rel-evance today in studies ofthe mental capacities ofanimals, child psychology,and making sure that ex-perimenters design stud-ies by being mindful ofways in which they mayunintentionally lead theirsubjects.

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CONCEPTUAL

They jumped thequeue: By ShantiBhushanhttp://bit.ly/ShantiBhushan

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Despite differences in the party over whether to contest the by-election from the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat or not, National Con-ference president and three-time Chief Minister of Jammu andKashmir Farooq Abdullah took the plunge. In an interview con-ducted before and after polling on April 9, which saw anabysmal turnout, Mr. Abdullah talks about the ground situationin Jammu and Kashmir, India’s strained relationship withPakistan, and the current challenge to secularism. Excerpts:

On April 9, the day ofvoting for the by-election,Srinagar witnessedunprecedented violence,which left eight civiliansdead, and the lowest evervoter turnout. Were youexpecting this? What wasthe cause of this rage onthe streets?

■ The Peoples DemocraticParty-BJP (Bharatiya JanataParty) alliance should ac-knowledge the disastrousconsequences of its anti-people and power-hungrypolitics. The ruling coalitionis responsible for sheddinginnocent blood during thebypolls. The elections shouldhave been peaceful. This gov-ernment has failed in doingso. The deaths only showedhow much the situation hasdeteriorated in Kashmir.

Since 2002, mainstreamparties contested polls onthe issues of bijli, sadak,paani (electricity, roads,water) but in this election,political ideology wascentral to your campaign.What has changed?

■ Communal elements in In-dia are changing the situ-ation. The idea of diversity,even protected by the Consti-tution of India, is being des-troyed. It has even changedthe polity of the State. In2002, unity and diversitywas a strong element. TheCongress, with a strong secu-lar tradition, was in powerthen. There was no visiblethreat. Today the situationhas taken a 360-degree turn.There is dictation being donein Delhi to make India a com-

plete Hindu Rashtra, whichwas not there when thecountry came into existence.I see India heading towardsdisaster. If this policy of divi-sion and one-religion rulecontinues to dictate terms, Isee nothing but a dark fu-ture. Development is not go-ing to take place if there isunrest. As trouble increases,the GDP is going to fall.

You contested polls in1996 when the situationwas really tough. Howgood or bad is thesituation in 2017?

■ We don’t face less tragedynow. The presence of gunsand grenades may not be thesame. However, today, atleast you are able to put forththe idea before the people.But there is tremendous un-rest, youth are throwingstones and people are dying,and that… conducive atmo-sphere is not there. I am sur-prised elections are beingheld. Why elections nowwhen the gravity of tragedyis so big? As a party, we haveno other option but to jumpinto the fray.

What is your sense of theground situation?

■ I see tremendous aliena-tion. The youth are up inarms. They do not fear fortheir lives. Every day incid-ents are occurring in the Val-ley. There is an atmosphereof destruction. There hasbeen no progress on manyfronts, whether it’s powerprojects, talking to Hurriyatleaders as promised in thejoint agreement (between

the PDP and the BJP), andcreating a conducive atmo-sphere for India-Pakistantalks.

In your election rallies,you described the bypollas one against tyrannyand fascism. What threatdoes Kashmir face?

■ Kashmir is beingthreatened by communalforces emerging in the na-tion. It’s those forces we arefighting. Today, it is notabout development or con-struction of tunnels, butthose forces who are out tofinish every other religionand have the supremacy ofonly one religion.

You lost the 2014parliamentary election bya margin of 40,000 votes.How confident are youthis time?

■ This election is not just im-portant to me and my partybut important [for] the sur-vival of Kashmiriyat; whetherwe will survive as an entity ofa Muslim-majority State,

which is under threat. TheMuslim Rashtriya Manch,projected by the RSS(Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh), is already recruitingyouth to infuse the ideologyof the RSS.

How important is theJamaat-e-Islami’s ( JeI)support for the NationalConference-Congressalliance candidate insouth Kashmir? Why didyou seek their support?

■ JeI brought Mufti Mo-hammad Sayeed to power (in2002) from south Kashmir.Today, the JeI has realised itsfolly of supporting it (PDP) asthe PDP has loaded the RSSon its shoulders. The JeI is

also seeing the danger. Thetime has come for the JeI tosupport those forces that aregoing to fight the elementssupporting communalpolitics.

The JeI, in fact, hasreacted to yourstatements saying it willsupport you only if youtake “concrete measures”for the welfare of Islam.

■ Yes, I am fighting not onlyfor Islam but for the very ex-istence of people of the en-tire country. People are goingto suffer at the hands of thesecommunal elements. Twoyoung people bring theirherd to a market (inJharkhand) and goons hangthem by the tree. They aresaying they will put theirgods’ pictures in themosques. They want tothrust their code on us.Where is the Constitution ofIndia?… Muslims of Kashmirhave never been communal.Neither does Islam teach uscommunalism. It teaches usbrotherhood and respect forother religions.

Your party too was inalliance with the BJP-ledNational DemocraticAlliance in the past. Howis Prime MinisterNarendra Modi'sdispensation differentfrom that of Atal BihariVajpayee?

■ Mr. Vajpayee was a manfrom the RSS but he realised[that] if India has to survive,then everyone has to survive.His thinking was totally dif-ferent. He wanted to see In-dia strive forward with all re-ligions. The presentdispensation is completelydifferent.

Mr. Modi too refers to Mr.Vajpayee’s phrase ofJamhooriyat, Insaaniyatand Kashmiriyat toaddress the Kashmirproblem.

■ Mr. Modi doesn’t believe init. These are mere words. Wehave seen nothing in theseyears to prove that Mr. Modiis moving towards that. If hebelieved in Jamhooriyat, In-saaniyat and Kashmiriyat,then why doesn’t he talk tothe Hurriyat? They too arepart [of the] Kashmir polity.You may not agree to a hun-dred things of the Hurriyat,but at least you can agree tosome of the things whichmay bring this tragedy to anend. Has there been anysolid move by the Centre tostart a dialogue withPakistan? Just visiting thePakistan Prime Minister onhis birthday does not makeany difference. The Centrehas to grapple with the situ-ation in Kashmir. AndPakistan is a part of it. Youwill never have peace hereunless we are able to bringPakistan on board.

Do you have any road mapon how India andPakistan can get closer?

■ Let’s hope I win. My rolewill be to rope in all the ele-

ments in the Valley for acommon agenda that couldbe presented to both Indiaand Pakistan. Second, I willunite the Opposition in Indiato face jointly the communalthreat.

Of late, the U.S. is alsooffering mediation onKashmir. How do you seethis move?

■ India has always believedKashmir has to be resolvedbilaterally. We also agreedwith that. After so manyyears nothing has beenachieved by India andPakistan. We feel today that ifIndia makes no positivemoves towards resolving theproblem with Pakistan, westand for U.S. mediation tocome to an agreement asthey did over the water dis-pute. It was settled by anAmerican. It seems the timehas come where America isable to settle this one too.

Your party is forautonomy as a politicalsolution and, in the past,demanded turning theLine of Control into aninternational border.Where does the NationalConference stand now?

■ On autonomy, we standwhere we were. It has beenour stance from the begin-ning. The Centre has erodedArticle 370, but if you wantpeace in the Valley, you haveto go back to the position of1953. My mother’s body waslying in this garden (in 2000)and the then Prime Minister,Mr. Vajpayee, and Home Min-

ister L.K Advani came here.We were leaving the coalitionbut they asked us not to leaveand promised to discussautonomy. They appointedK.C. Pant, then DeputyChairman of the PlanningCommission (in 2001), whoheld a meeting and came tono conclusion. Later, BJPleader Arun Jaitley was on itand the government fell. Ourreport is still lying with theBJP and they have to one daygrapple with this. As far asthe border is concerned, thatis also Kashmir and this sideis also Kashmir. Let’s makethe LoC a permeable borderso that it’s easy for people totrade and meet relations.This wound should get somehealing.

Your political careerspans four decades. Allthese years did you everfeel that the Kashmirproblem was gettingcloser to a solution? Didyou ever witness apeaceful Kashmir?

■ The discussions withformer Pakistan PresidentGeneral Pervez Musharrafmade us hopeful. Wethought a solution was pos-sible in the four-point for-mula. A former Pakistan For-eign Minister told me inDelhi that a solution was inhand. I met them abroadalso. At that time, they werehopeful that a resolutionwould come.

Which political decisionhave you regretted themost since you startedyour political career?

■ I don’t think I took anysuch political decision. I al-ways kept fighting and lostpower because I stood forthem. The Resettlement Bill(of 1983) did not go well withthe people in Delhi and Ipaid a price in 1984.

For full interview, please seewww.thehindu.com

‘I see India heading towards disaster’The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on how national politics forced a change in his campaign in the by-election in Srinagar

Peerzada Ashiq

<> We feel if India

makes no positive

moves towards

resolving the

problem with

Pakistan, we stand

for U.S. mediation to

come to an

agreement.

THE WEDNESDAY INTERVIEW | FAROOQ ABDULLAH

<> The Centre has to

grapple with the

situation in Kashmir.

And Pakistan is a

part of it. You will

never have peace

here unless we are

able to bring

Pakistan on board.

Farooq Abdullah at his residence in Srinagar. * NISSAR AHMAD

https://telegram.me/TheHindu_Zone https://telegram.me/PDF4EXAMS