[UPSC MAINS-2014] Insights Secure – Questions On Current Events, 11 September 2014by INSIGHTS · September 11, 2014

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11 September 2014

Answer ALL the questions in about 200 words

1) Write a note on important citizen-centric e-governance initiatives of the Union government. Also suggest how latest internet technologies can be used to make it easy for citizens to access government services.

Business Standard

2) Examine the implications of large trade blocks such as Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Regional Co-operation Economic Partnership (RCEP) and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on India.

Business Standard

3) Instead of privatisation of PUS banks, the government should improve the market’s confidence in the functioning of them and modernise financial system. Examine how this can be done.

Business Standard

4) Critically analyse the threat posed by non-state actors, both internal and external, to India’s internal security.

The Hindu

5) Critically examine the various issues plaguing Sri Lanka post its decisive win over LTTE and their impact on its relationship with India.

The Hindu

6) “There is little doubt that both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas have contributed to the Palestinian predicament.” Critically examine.

The Hindu

7) The SCO has become an influential organisation and an important factor in the emergence of a new polycentric world order. Discuss.

The Hindu

8) Write a note on locational factors of tea industry in India. Critically comment on various issues associated with this industry.

 

T S Vishwanath: The mega trade agreement seasonThree large free trade agreements, involving the US, European Union and Asean nations could have a deep influence on global trade

T S Vishwanath

Mega trade agreements have taken the fancy of most large countries - developed and emerging - to expand and deepen market access opportunities across the globe.

The two mega agreements that have catapulted to the top of the list include the US-led 11 country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the Regional Co-operation Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes the 10 countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), plus six other nations including India, Brazil and China.

Interestingly, seven out of the 16 partners in RCEP are also negotiating in TPP and reports indicate that South Korea has expressed a desire to become a part of TPP. India has shown interest in joining that group. The third big preferential trade agreement will be between the US and European Union where negotiations are under way to create the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Notable exceptions from these large free trade agreements are African countries that are building their own regional co-operation.

In a recent meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a short paper presented by Harshvardhan Singh, former Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organisation, states that TPP will be a reality within the next few years and it will have a deep influence on global trade. The paper is of the view that "the preparations for the kind of changes that will be required (post TPP) to equip the policy framework and business capability are extensive and time-consuming." In this background, Singh says, "it is advisable (for countries) to begin preparations as early as possible. Furthermore, since all non-members of TPP will be similarly affected, there is also a basis for them to link up and provide mutual support to each other, as also to press for the systems created by TPP to be inclusive."

A similar exercise is also being carried out by the Jaipur-based Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International. In a short note prepared for industry interaction, CUTS states that given that India's trade dependency on countries and regions belonging to these three large external trade agreements - TTIP, TPP and RCEP - is very high, the "possibility of diversion of trade and economic activities from India to trading partners within these preferential trade agreements, as a result of deepening preferential arrangements between

them, is going to have very serious implications for the Indian economy. The negative impact of such diversion would be of high intensity. This emerging scenario necessitates a through ex ante analysis of implications for the Indian economy as a result of these agreements and arrive at policy directions that would help India to mitigate and adapt to substantial changes that are underway in its external economic environment."

In short, both the papers are of the view that within the next couple of years, business in India is going to witness a major change in global trade environment that needs immediate attention. A few areas that are important, include the need for adopting higher standards, increasing their presence in regional value chains and better management of trade regulatory systems.

The Indian industry has not been very proactive in this approach. But slowly, with several large corporations in the country looking to expand their global footprint, keeping track of the developments in the large regional and multi-regional trade agreements will become very important.

Product standards are expected to be very high since the US is keen on TPP working towards creating high standards for products. In all probability, the US will push to harmonise its own existing standards for other countries, which are a part of TPP. While Indian standards have improved over the years - with some attention from standard-setting bodies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the Bureau of Indian Standards besides other bodies like the National Accreditation Board For Certification Bodies, which have worked to improve Indian standards - there is still scope for improvement and the impact of these regional trade agreements can be substantial if the industry distances itself from these emerging mega trade agreements.

Govt mulls 'digital locker' to store citizens' info on cloudGreat Kerala Tour Package Deals.   Book Directly with Kerala Experts. holidayiq.com/Kerala-Tour-PackagesJackpot Option TipsIntraday Tips For Equity and F&O   Tips By SMS and Messenger www.tradersorbit.com

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Imagine you are applying for a service - government or private - and do not have to go through the hassle of paperwork; instead of depositing myriad physical copies of documents, you only have to give an "online link". This might sound too good to be true but such an idea is already in the works.

The government is working on the concept of a digital locker of sorts - an online repository for all certificates and documents issued to the citizens of the country. So, when you apply for a service, the agency concerned will verify these documents, stored on a government cloud, and the task will be completed, without the trouble of record-keeping or getting photo copies, attestations and affidavits.

According to Ram Sevak Sharma, secretary in the department of electronics & information technology, the architecture for this 'digital locker' project is being discussed at present.

THE LOCK, STOCK AND BARREL The ‘digital locker’ will be an online

repository for all certificates and documents issued by the govt

Documents will be hosted over a cloud to be maintained by the govt

The project will address the issue of counterfeiting and  also save on the cost incurred in storing and maintaining physical documents

The govt will invite ideas through MyGov to build the architecture for the project

The issues of privacy and hacking fears remain key areas of concern

The government will invite ideas through MyGov, its platform to engage with citizens, and a conference of all stakeholders to chalk out details will be held soon. The idea is to do away with the need for physical copies of documents. And, the project will also address the issue of counterfeit certification.

"Let's admit it, we don't have all the answers right now," Sharma told Business Standard. It will be on the lines of the file hosting service Dropbox, Sharma added. The locker might be extended to also store health records, making it easier to share patients' past history for better treatment.

"It's a very radical and transformational idea but the whole ecosystem has to come together. Also, the rules of information interchange have to be defined," Sharma said, adding the project would have to ensure citizens' privacy was safeguarded and their informed consent was there, besides other things.

Going by the initial idea, any physical certificate issued by an authority will carry the URL (uniform resource locator) of an online copy.

This will ensure when this certificate is needed the next time, only the URL, leading to the original copy on the internet, could be sent.

Jaijit Bhattacharya, partner (government advisory), KPMG, said this was a "necessary" initiative and needed to be taken in the best way possible. "We have to make sure it works while taking into account that there could be some flip sides, too." Even Apple's iCloud had been hacked, so the security of the data needed to be ensured, he explained.

"Government has to build a locker that is really a 'locker'." There had to be measures to ensure people could not hack into their own documents to change those. If others got unwarranted access, there should be recourses to fix those again, Bhattacharya said. "The government will also have to work out a way to be able to store degrees from universities outside of India."

The idea was pitched in the department's presentation to the prime minister as one that could transform governance. Apart from making it easier for citizens and addressing the issue of

counterfeiting, it would also save the government the significant cost incurred in storing and maintaining physical documents. At present, there is no mechanism to check whether a piece of document is fake or original. "People have even become pilots by giving fake certificates," said Sharma. To address this issue, it should be the government's responsibility to digitise all documents it issues and make those available online. The responsibility of verifying the authenticity of the online link should rest with the user agency. "Since the government will have all the originals stored, chances of fakes will reduce dramatically. This will also increase the confidence in the system," Sharma said. 

Rajiv Lall: Privatisation not a panacea for PSU banksThe market can become more supportive of PSU banks provided the government improves their management and governance

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is reported to have said that he wants public sector undertaking (PSU) banks to "retain their public sector character". What does he mean? Presumably, he means that he wants the government to retain its ability to use these banks in pursuit of social, political and development objectives that he believes will not be met if these banks were privately run. This is why banks were nationalised in the first place and this is why, 45 years on, the government is still reluctant to let go of its control over banks. Take the Jan Dhan Yojana (JDY), an initiative that is being implemented in "mission mode". It is reported that 20 million new bank accounts were opened even before the scheme was formally launched by the prime minister on August 28.

Mobilisation of administrative resources at this speed and scale could not have been possible if the government had to rely on just private sector banks. Control over PSU banks is what is allowing the government to drive this scheme. But we also know that control has its downside. Government influence can, and has, been abused. It can, and has, eroded the profitability, asset quality and talent pool of these banks. Even the JDY has been designed to deliver on important social goals, so little thought has been given to cost recovery for the participating banks. Whatever the commercial consequences of government control, ownership must surely be backed up with capital.

The dilemma that Jaitley faces is that while he does not want to relinquish control over PSU banks, he does not have the resources to keep them adequately capitalised - he must raise equity funding from private investors. As pointed out in my last article, PSU banks need Rs 2-3 lakh crore of incremental equity over the next four years just to support modest credit growth of 15 per cent a year*. Currently, it will not be possible to raise the capital that these banks really need without diluting the government's direct ownership stake to below 50 per cent. There are several scenarios that could unfold.

There is the "do nothing" scenario in which PSU banks are left to cobble together whatever funds the markets are willing to give them. This will be a decidedly poor outcome for it will leave PSU banks severely under-capitalised. Given that more than two thirds of bank loans outstanding are from PSU banks, this course of inaction will erode our financial system's capacity to service the credit demands of a rebounding economy. Indeed, it may jeopardise

the economic recovery.

Then there is the "buy more time" scenario in which the government forces insurance companies under its control, notably the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), to bridge the gap in the equity funding requirements. But beyond a point IRDA, the insurance regulator, will surely prevent LIC from increasing its already substantial exposure to PSU banks. The numbers are too large for LIC to plug the likely funding gap.

The most sensible and, therefore, the most difficult, course of action will be for government to first launch a series of measures to improve the market's confidence in the functioning of PSU banks. The purists will argue that the only way to win the sustained confidence of the markets will be for government to privatise PSU banks. I do not believe that privatisation is a panacea for our PSU banks. It may work for a couple of the smaller PSU banks, but for the rest, it will likely create its own set of problems. I think the market could become suitably supportive even of government-controlled PSU banks, provided these banks stay committed to a certain minimum standard of commercial discipline. How is this to be done?

Improve management: Hiring the right people for the job and giving them room to run is half the battle. Getting this right for PSU banks will mean adopting familiar recommendations including: setting up an independent panel of professionals to make transparent, merit-based selections to senior management positions through open competition; fixing a minimum tenure of three to five years for senior-most management positions; and de-linking the compensation of PSU bank senior management from government comparators1.

Improve governance: This will include steps such as: allowing the panel of professionals to also select the non-government outside directors to the boards of PSU banks; bifurcating the position of chairman and CEO and making the former a non-executive position to add another layer of governance; allowing PSU bank boards to function as normal boards with responsibility for strategy formulation, performance targets, succession planning and compensation setting; improving the transparency and quality of disclosures on PSU banks' non-commercial activities; and inter alia finding a solution for getting these banks out from under the debilitating oversight of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)2.

Change mindsets: The government must change its mindset from "owner as sovereign" to "owner as investor" in terms of how it engages with the financial system. This implies recognising that retaining control does not require retaining majority ownership. And it will require a shift from using administrative fiat and sanction to using indirect mechanisms and incentives for driving policy outcomes. As far as PSU banks are concerned, the government could allow its ownership share to fall below 50 per cent and drive policy objectives through priority sector-type regulations administered by the Reserve Bank of India rather than through directives issued to bank management. In the case of the JDY, for example, the scheme could be re-crafted to rely less on top-down targets for opening bank accounts and more on providing incentives to all banks, public and private, for stepping up their outreach.

If the government still felt the need to intervene more directly in the allocation of credit it could still rely on the array of existing majority government-owned development finance institutions (DFIs) including the Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation, Industrial Finance Corporation of India, India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and Small Industries

Development Bank of India that together account for a substantial eight per cent of our financial system's advances in three areas of national priority - infrastructure, agriculture and inclusion and SMEs without undermining the governance of the wider financial landscape3.

This government has the opportunity to significantly modernise our financial system, so that it is prepared for the challenge of the next couple of decades. Unless we act strategically now, we risk drifting into a messy growth-constraining quagmire.

one area of strategic priority.

‘We will not allow an external probe’

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.— Photo: By Special Arrangement 

Interview with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa faces the twin challenges of external pressure for an international probe into allegations of war crimes and internal pressure over the dialogue process with the Tamil National Alliance. In his first interview since meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May, he spoke to Suhasini Haidar about the UNHRC resolution and the possibility of restarting dialogue.

Tell us what you think the Sri Lankan-appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commisson (LLRC) has achieved so far?

We have already implemented 35 proposals of the LLRC and more are to be implemented. Some of them deal with issues like land, which can’t be done overnight.

At the UNHRC session in progress right now, your ambassador admitted there have been thousands of cases of disappearances during the war years.

We have already appointed a Disappearances Commission in Sri Lanka, and about 20,000 cases have appeared before the commission. The cases are from both the North (Tamil-dominated areas) as well as from the armed forces. The report is still not out, but from what I understand, the majority of the cases are where the LTTE was responsible for the disappearances.

Five years later, the accusation that arises is that President Rajapaksa won the war, but is yet to win the peace?

If you go to the north and east you will see the real situation. We can’t change the mindset of the older politicians, the ones who were once entrenched with the LTTE, but younger people feel differently today. We held provincial council elections there last year, knowing very well that we would lose. There is a new freedom of movement after the war. People from the north are freely travelling to the south in Sri Lanka, those from the south feel comfortable travelling to the north.

Members of the TNA were recently in New Delhi. When they met Mr. Modi, they listed their concerns, including your government’s failure to devolve power, the presence of military in the north and east, and your interference in civil administration.

There is no interference at all. Of course, the main officials are appointed by me. But when they have asked me to transfer them, those officials go to court…what do I do?

You are referring to the Chief Secretary who went to court. If you have allowed this process, if you have had elections, shouldn’t you now hand over these powers to the elected representatives?

The Chief Secretary is a bureaucrat. She is an independent person. Now, when it comes to the 13th amendment, other than police powers, they have all powers, and I can discuss that with them.

That’s not quite accurate, as the Chief Minister cannot choose his bureaucrats, and they don’t report to him.

Now of course, that is something we can discuss. I am ready to talk to the TNA, but they refuse to talk to me. Without a dialogue how can I discuss devolution or anything else?

Are you upset with their meeting with Mr. Modi then?

No, not at all…they can go meet anyone. It is a democracy.

And what about the presence of military in the north and east…it isn’t just a large presence, but the land they have acquired.

Since the war ended in 2009, the presence of the military has been reduced by 90 per cent. I am trying to move them to other areas…but how much further can I go? I have to find space for my Army in Sri Lanka itself…I can’t send them to be housed in India or some other country, can I?

But the most emotive issue for India has been the idea that there is colonisation of Tamil areas, that non-Tamils are settling in those areas.

I deny that categorically. There has been no demolition of Tamil monuments. There is no colonisation. But in Sri Lanka, any citizen can live in any part of the country — whether the person is Tamil, Sinhalese or Muslim.

Part of the reason it is difficult for the Central government to move forward in ties with Sri Lanka is the bad relationship you have with political parties in Tamil Nadu, particularly with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

What can I do? I have always tried to speak. (smiles) I always raise the white flag of peace with her.

Yet your Defence Ministry website portrayed her in a derogatory manner

…

That was a serious error and that is why as soon as the Defence Secretary came to know of it and told me, it was taken off immediately and we apologised. Even I apologised after that.

The long-term problem is that of fishermen from Tamil Nadu being arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy.

I always believe that fish do not have any borders, and fishermen have to follow the fish to catch them. But the fishermen from the Indian side have been destroying the environment, using massive bottom trawlers, which are depleting all the resources of fish, and we cannot tolerate that. And bottom trawling of this kind is banned even in India now.

You have freed the fishermen but not their boats. Is that something you would consider?

No, not at the moment. Because if I allow the boats to return, again they will return and do the same thing.

Do you think in the upcoming UNGA session, you will meet Mr. Modi? What kind of relationship do you share?

I think if he is able to, and we can find the time in our schedules, I would hope to meet him. I think it is too early to say where the relationship will go. I had only a brief chat with him in Delhi. I think our chemistry is good. He is a very strong leader and has won a big majority. I think we can deal very well, this is what I feel.

Has the relationship between India and Sri Lanka undergone a shift this year? India has backed Sri Lanka on its stand not to allow UN rapporteurs appointed by the UNHRC to visit.

Well, I think that shift came before the elections, when India decided to abstain at the UNHRC vote, and didn’t support the resolution for an international enquiry.

To go back to the UNHRC process now underway, the Sri Lankan ambassador has admitted there that there are 19,471 cases of missing persons. Why not allow the UN to assist finding them?

We want a local enquiry here to find out what happened to them. Obviously many are missing in the war, both from the civilians and the Army. But we reject this UN commission, and how it was formed.

From the beginning, the statements by the (former) UNHRC Commissioner (Navi Pillay) were biased. We invited her here. She told us one thing and said another thing after returning. But we have nothing to hide, so if the new Human Rights commissioner wishes to come, we would accept his request.

But even your government has admitted they are investigating the Muttur massacre (killing of aid workers ) and the Channel 4 allegations (of war crimes) and Ms Pillay has said your blocking the team won’t stop them from enquiring.

Our government is speaking of local investigations, but we won’t allow them to internationalise it. The next time if they will say that there must be an international enquiry into Kashmir, what would be our position? Would we support such a thing? No! Whether it is against India or Sri Lanka, we will not allow an external inquiry. It is all politics.

India voted twice for what Ms Pillay recommended (2012, 2013 UNHRC resolutions). Does that still hurt?

No, we understand. They had to face their electorate there. Look, relations between India and Sri Lanka are very strong and will remain strong. We will never forget that in the defeat of the LTTE, India was a major factor. We will not forget the support that India gave us.

Also at that time, a significant factor in India’s vote was said to be the publication of photographs of the killing of the LTTE chief’s son Balachandran. What has your enquiry on him revealed?

We are investigating it still…I don’t believe that it was (carried out by the military). But if it is true, I must know. That is why we are enquiring. In a war, when both sides are fighting, how can you say who shot at him?

Are you hopeful of a visit by Mr. Modi?

Yes, I am hopeful of it. When I met him the first time, I invited him. If I meet him at the U.N., and at the SAARC later this year, I will invite him again.

Of particular concern has been the plan for an air force maintenance base in Trincomalee which has been given to the Chinese (PLA-run) company CATIC….

How does it matter? Aren’t there Chinese companies inside India? In South India too? India has nothing to worry about from China in Sri Lanka. Until I am here, I can promise that.

There are reports that you are planning early elections, possibly in January 2015.

They could be. I am not ruling that out.

suhasini.h@thehindu.co.in

A jihadi battle of brands

On September 3, al-Qaeda’s media arm, al-Sahab Media, released one of the strangest videos in the movement’s history, announcing the formation of a new branch of “al-Qaeda in the South Asian Subcontinent.” Strange, because of the panicked tone of the three separate statements in the video, and because its content has very little to do with South Asia. The first statement in the video is by al-Qaeda’s notably uncharismatic leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who essentially rehashes the virtues and importance of armed struggle ( jihad ) against the United States, which he labels “the global order of unbelief,” and reaffirms, repeatedly, loyalty to Mullah Umar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban. The video betrays a deep anxiety among al-Qaeda’s original leadership about its future as the guiding movement in the global jihad .

Competition for relevance

This anxiety is no doubt due to the stiff competition al-Qaeda now faces from the newly established Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a self-proclaimed caliphate occupying territory in Iraq and Syria and until recently notching up a series of spectacular military successes. One should not take al-Qaeda’s video’s claims at face value: it has little to do with India or even South Asia, and consists of a cheap propaganda effort to maintain relevance in the dynamic world of jihadism and the competition for relevance, recruits and funding. More specifically, the video represents the latest salvo in a fierce conflict between jihadi groups as to which of these is the true heir to Osama bin Laden’s political and ideological legacy. Is it to be the hyper-violent ISIS that deliberately targets fellow Muslims along with all others, or is it the older al-Qaeda movement with its branches, which assert that violence must be measured and calculated and mostly directed at non-Muslims?

At nearly 56 minutes in length, the recent video release actually consists of three separate statements in two language versions — one in Arabic and one in Urdu — and both have been posted on YouTube.com, which is the main medium for their distribution. Aside from Ayman al-Zawahiri, the two other speakers are Ustadh Usama Mahmud and Shaykh Asim Umar, respectively al-Qaeda in South Asia’s “official spokesman” and “military commander.” The latter two are South Asians, but little else is known about them other than that they master spoken classical Arabic, which indicates that they are seminary educated and have probably spent considerable time studying in the Arab world. The video begins with a short speech by the late Osama bin Laden about al-Qaeda redrawing the map of the world with the aim of creating a unitary Islamic state under the caliphate — a Utopian political order that ceased to exist formally in 1258 when Baghdad was sacked by the Mongols. Bin Laden’s clip is intended to underscore that al-Zawahiri and his followers are indeed the true heirs of the global jihadi movement, and not the upstart ISIS. The video then announces and celebrates the formation of a new branch: Al-Qaeda in South Asia (AQSA) whose full Arabic name translates literally as “The Base for Armed Struggle in the South Asian Subcontinent.” This is an odd name because the purist jihadis prefer traditional geographical labels, such as al-Sham

for Syria, Khorasan for Iran and Central Asia, Bilad al-Haramayn for Arabia, al-Hind or Hindustan for India, and not those of British vintage such as “the South Asian Subcontinent.” One suspects the choice has to do with the jihadis not wanting to use anything that approximates the word Hindu, or a name that would offend radical Pakistani sensibilities, and thus opted for the British designation instead.

The local enemy

The competition between al-Qaeda and ISIS is not new. It dates back to at least 2005 when the precursor organisation to ISIS, al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia, then headed by the murderous Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (d. 2006), refused to abide by al-Qaeda’s command to stop the senseless and deliberate killing of ordinary Shiites and the indiscriminate use of suicide bombing in the Iraqi conflict. ISIS, as the heir to Zarqawi’s teachings, sees the enemy as first and foremost being the local people, including Muslims, who do not share its views, and not the more distant “imperialist” powers such as the U.S. or India. The fight against the latter is deferred for a time after the caliphate has been established in the central lands of Islam, or in other words West Asia. Although such differences can be understood to be ideological and tactical, these acquire real urgency in the jihadi world when one group is perceived to be more successful in its strategy and propaganda. And here success is measured in terms of military victory, which ISIS has recently achieved whereas al-Qaeda has not. Furthermore, there are real world implications to such accomplishments in terms of each movement’s propaganda appeal among the global Muslim audience, the capacity to recruit fighters and to raise funds for the cause. By each of these measures, al-Qaeda has been on a losing streak, and its leadership has been ineffective since the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011. One gauge of this failure is the meagre viewership of the recently released video on the formation of AQSA: the Arabic version has garnered 3,500 viewers and the Urdu less than 1,000 on YouTube as of this writing. Moreover, there has been relatively little discussion of, and commentary on, the formation of AQSA on the social media services Twitter and Facebook, which are the dominant forums today for political debate and discussion in the Arab and Muslim worlds. Clearly, much has changed in the world since 2005 and this can be further gleaned from the numerous jihadi groups, in Syria, Egypt and elsewhere, that are rallying to ISIS’ side and effectively abandoning al-Qaeda.

Afghan angle

Returning to the content of the recently released al-Qaeda video, it is notable that there are few references, and almost no discussion of the events and dynamics in South Asia. A list of names is mentioned by the speakers by way of highlighting the forebears of the new branch of al-Qaeda in South Asia, including various dead jihadis from Pakistan and most notably the historical 19th-century Muslim warriors, Sayyid Ahmad Shahid and Shah Ismail Shahid, who fought and were defeated by the Sikhs in the North-West Frontier Province in 1831. This rapid listing of names and the brief mention of Ahmedabad and Gujarat, Kashmir and even Assam and Myanmar appears gratuitous and insincere. However, the three speakers emphasise repeatedly their loyalty towards Mullah Umar, the Taliban leader in Afghanistan. It is as if al-Qaeda’s leadership is worried that its erstwhile ally might abandon it (perhaps in favour of ISIS) and then find itself without a protector on the Afghan-Pakistani frontier region.

Al-Qaeda could have said much more about Muslims and Islam in South Asia or even about the Hindus, who are only mentioned once in a shamefully derisive manner towards the very

end of the video. Avoiding such topics is deliberate, not least because the historically dominant form of Islam in India, which is strongly inflected by Sufism and somewhat syncretistic, is inimical to al-Qaeda’s ideology and teachings. Even the Salafis in India, the otherwise named Ahl-e Hadis, among whom I have done extensive fieldwork research in such places as Batla House and in Old Delhi, are committed to an Indian nationalistic agenda, and readily participate in electoral politics. Indian Islam, in other words, does not fit the rigid categories that al-Qaeda would like to impose on the wider world of Muslim belief and practice. Hence, it is better for al-Qaeda not to delve into such matters for fear of losing further credibility and audience share. It is challenging enough to have to contend with the threat that ISIS poses, and it would be suicidal to have to argue also with the Barelavis, the Deobandis, the traditional Hanafis, the Ahl-e Hadis and the Sufis. For al-Qaeda, as for any fundamentalist religious movement, India’s diversity will always represent a bitter pill to swallow.

If it is careless, India can play a negative role in the outcome of this morbid competition between various jihadi groups. Should New Delhi engage al-Qaeda by, for example, giving importance to statements such as those in this video release, it will give credence to al-Qaeda’s claims to being the true vanguard of the jihad against the unbelievers. Al-Qaeda’s central leadership desires nothing more than for India to react seriously to its statements, since nothing will burnish better its fading claims and designate it the standard-bearer of jihad . As such, it is important for India to proceed with careful deliberation and an understanding of what is at stake, namely that al-Qaeda is seeing its fortunes sink and that its heyday has long since past.

(Bernard Haykel is Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, U.S.)

For al-Qaeda, as for any fundamentalist religious movement, India’s diversity will always represent a bitter pill to swallow.

Differences understood to be ideological and tactical acquire real urgency in the jihadi world when one group is perceived to be more successful in its strategy and propaganda. And here success is measured in terms of military victory, which ISIS has recently achieved whereas al-Qaeda has not

Israel, a gift of the ArabsThe present state of Jewish-Muslim relations is an inversion of the friendly relationsthat had lasted through the last 20 centuries

war-torn:Gaza has been rendered a desolate graveyard with over 2,000 dead and a third of the population having fled.— Photo: AFP 

A tenuous truce has interrupted the most recent and devastating round of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories. I was in Israel on May 31, 2010 when the Gaza Freedom Flotilla had been attacked by Israeli commandos. This was the culmination of Operation Cast Lead (2008) during which Gaza had been subject to phosphorus bombing, killing an estimated 1,400 persons, one third of them children, and even targeting educational

institutions for harbouring refugees. Gaza is a slum, a person working with an NGO had told me then. This time it has been rendered a desolate graveyard with over 2,000 dead and a third of the population having fled.

Source of terror

Islamic terror has become the popular topic of drawing room conversations in the last decade. The doings of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Taliban and most recently of the Islamic State have provided much fuel to the fire. There is little reference, however, to the state as the source of terror of which Israel is currently the prime example.

Anti-Semitism has plagued the Jews for two millennia and is often invoked to justify Israeli impunity. Ironically, the Arabs have historically not been participants in this history of racial hatred. On the contrary, it was in Arabia that the Jews sought refuge after they fled Jerusalem following the destruction of Second Temple.

In his story of a small Moroccan town Dammate in the High Atlas Mountains, anthropologist Abdellah Hammoudi describes a ritual exchange of yeast between Jews and Muslims staged each year in a celebration called Mimouna held during the last day of the Jewish Passoves (Pessah). The exchange shows how despite there being hierarchy and inequality for Jews in Muslim dominated polities, there was civility, hospitality and even friendship. There is substantial historical evidence available to show how Jews were thriving in the Abbasid and Ottoman Empires. The present state of Jewish-Muslim relations, therefore, is an inversion of the friendly relations that had lasted through the last 20 centuries.

The Palestinians, through sales of their land to migrant Jews actually made the state of Israel possible on the ground. Israel is, quite literally, as I have argued in a forthcoming book, a “gift” of the Arabs even as the land transfers occurred without Palestinians realising that a “Jewish State” was in the making.

Tragically, the state of Israel seems to have learnt more from its persecutors than its benefactors in the calculated precision of its targeting and killing. But the problem is not just the most recent round of the war in Gaza. The deeper problem is that Israel has made impossible any viable statehood for the Palestinians.

There is little doubt that both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas have contributed to the Palestinian predicament. The PLO wrote off East Jerusalem in the Oslo Agreement in 1993 and compromised on the right to return of Palestinians in return for its recognition as the official Palestinian authority. The Oslo peace process itself enabled the rise of Hamas, since the PLO had lost legitimacy with many Palestinians. For the West, Hamas was an effective counterbalance to the PLO. Since then Hamas’ own violent politics has gone hand in hand with Israel’s metamorphosis into an expansionist, settler state.

The old secular left that had dominated Israeli politics has been marginalised. A new wave of religious nationalism holds sway, some sections of which advocate a Greater Israel and would like to annex the West Bank as the Biblical Judea and Samaria. There are suggestions that paying Palestinians to emigrate would be less expensive than the costs of maintaining the two-state solution.

Stand in India

What then should be our stand in India? Though India has become hugely dependent on Israel for small arms and India-Israel relations have strengthened, it must stand for peace and justice in Palestine if it aspires for leadership in global politics. Fortunately the official Indian statement at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council criticised the heavy airstrikes in Gaza, the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestine Territory including East Jerusalem and emphasised the need for a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine. Citizens all over the world must press for stronger action in favour of Palestinian statehood including the resort to economic boycott of Israel if required. The solution to Hamas lies in a sustainable Palestine and not in death in Gaza.

(Shail Mayaram is author of Israel as the gift of the Arabs: A Tel Aviv Diary , Yoda, in press).

The solution to Hamas lies in a sustainable Palestine and not in death in Gaza

Peace and prosperity through security and stability

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, to be held in Dushanbe on September 11 and 12, will be attended by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, heads and senior representatives of observer states, international organisations and other guests.

The SCO has become an influential organisation and an important factor in the emergence of a new polycentric world order. The organisation has worked to bring about tangible improvements in the security and multilateral political, economic and humanitarian cooperation of member states.

As a result, the role of the SCO in international and regional affairs is on the rise, attracting the attention of many countries and international organisations. Pakistan, India, and Iran want to become full members of the SCO, while more and more countries are seeking observer or dialogue partner status.

Secret to success

What is the secret to the success and appeal of the SCO? The answer is simple: our steadfast commitment to the United Nations Charter and fundamental international norms and laws; to the principles of equality, mutual respect, consideration of each other’s interests, resolving conflicts and disputes by political and diplomatic means, and the right of nations to choose their own path of development. These principles are consistent with the goal of ensuring a stable and democratic international system. The SCO is fully in tune with the realities and demands of the 21st century, unlike the relics of a past era that rely on rigid adherence to discipline that exists within particular blocs of countries.

During Russia’s SCO presidency, which will begin right after the Dushanbe Summit, we plan to focus on better equipping the SCO to handle the many challenges facing the world today and on working together to adequately respond to events in the region and the world.

Coordinated approaches to common challenges will be reflected in the Strategy for the SCO’s Development to 2025, which will be finalised in time for the meeting of the council of heads of the SCO member states in Ufa in 2015. The document is designed to deepen cooperation within the SCO while expanding cooperation with leading multilateral institutions such as the U.N. and its specialised agencies. It also contains provisions on establishing relations with the Eurasian Economic Union.

Regional security

Regional security remains the SCO’s top priority. Other priorities include building up joint capabilities to combat terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking, especially amid the worsening situation in Afghanistan. This will be achieved by strengthening the SCO’s Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure, implementing the Anti-Drug Strategy, and regular counter-terrorism training. The SCO Peace Mission 2014 exercises held in China on August 24 to 29 confirmed that the member states are prepared to deal with emerging threats. The SCO has been clear that it does not seek to create a military-political alliance. However, its core principles include preventing unlawful acts that harm the interests of member states.

In the face of complex and interrelated challenges, Russia will use its presidency of the SCO to advocate for coordinated steps on the economy, financial sector, energy and food security.

The continuing instability of the global economy and the risks of another crisis demand greater economic cooperation. Plans are being outlined to make broader use of national currencies in settlements. Prospects are good for launching large multilateral projects in transport, energy, innovative research and technology, agriculture, and the peaceful use of outer space, though the optimal funding mechanism for such projects remains to be determined. The SCO Business Council, Interbank Consortium, and Energy Club are at the forefront of expanding practical cooperation among member states.

The SCO is rapidly forming a common research, educational, cultural and humanitarian space. Work is underway to expand the SCO university network and to institutionalise information cooperation. And the planned joint celebrations of the 70th anniversary of victory in the Second World War will be a clear indication of the member states’ commitment to preserving our shared historical memory and strengthening mutual trust, including through the Youth Council and the SCO Forum.

The Dushanbe Summit will also formalise the legal, administrative and financial requirements for admitting new SCO members, making it possible to start expanding the organisation during the Russian presidency. At the same time, we will continue to engage with observer states and dialogue partners.

I strongly believe that, in close cooperation with our partners, we will be able to accelerate the SCO’s development and further enhance its role in promoting peace and prosperity in the region.

(Sergey Lavrov is the Foreign Minister of Russia.)

Russia will use its presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to advocate for coordinated steps on the economy, financial sector, energy and food security

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Deliberations over the recent deaths in the tea gardens of North Bengal may remind one of the Japanese film Rasho¯mon . As in the 1950s masterpiece, death in Rasho¯mon and the tea gardens will be remembered for the differing accounts of witnesses. While the unions claim the workers are starving, the management of the closed gardens disagree, thus refusing to appropriately increase the daily wages. The government willy-nilly accepts the problem but denies starvation deaths. Meanwhile, one of the reports suggested that 60 per cent (136) of the people had a Body Mass Index (BMI) lower than the critical value of 18.5 in a closed garden, surveyed by health professionals like Dr. Binayak Sen. Of these 136 chronically under-nourished adults, 37 had a BMI below 16, that is, their nutritional status in itself constituted a risk to life. According to WHO recommendations, any community that has more than 40 per cent of its members with BMI levels below 18.5 should be considered as “a starving community”. A report by the West Bengal Labour Department published earlier this year concluded that the workers are acutely exploited. The report said that in scores of gardens the managements do not provide for the maintenance of the workers and their families, thus flouting the Plantations Labour Act of 1951. Of the workers, 36 per cent have not been provided with housing. Out of 273 tea estates, only 166 have hospitals and only 56 of those hospitals have full-time residential doctors, while eight gardens have stopped paying wages. Managements have not made provision for provident fund, bonus or gratuity in many gardens. However, many estates are doing well, indicating that tea planting is still a profitable business a quarter-century after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which was the main buyer of Indian tea.

Then there are the ‘sick’ tea estates. The owners of such gardens argue that wage enhancement is “impractical” as business is slow. The workers are mandated to get a daily wage of just Rs.95 — much less than the daily agricultural wage — on condition that the garden owners provide facilities such as housing, education and health care. Such maintenance was made mandatory as the tribals of central India were once uprooted to work in tea plantations. So, payment of maintenance is legally binding and the argument of business going belly-up should cut no ice. Such owners, who have groomed their gardens poorly for a windfall profit and stopped paying wages, should be brought to book and forced to clear the dues through appropriate legal action. But neither the settlement of dues nor appropriate wage escalation is likely in the near future unless the plight of the tea garden workers receives urgent and serious attention from the governments concerned.