In December 1954, the African American novelist Richard Wright, then living in Paris, happened to idly pick up a newspaper. He later wrote in his book The Color Curtain that what he saw in that newspaper so “baffled” him that he had to read the news item twice: 29 free and independent nations of Asia and Africa were planning to meet in Bandung, Indonesia, “to discuss racialism and colonialism.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi really wanted to make an impression for his guests and dignitaries, and coarse realities would simply not do. The occasion of the G20 summit presented him with a chance to give the city an aggressive touch-up, touching up a good number of its residents along the way, not to mention the city’s animal life as well. As for those remaining nasties, these could be dressed up, covered, and ignored. Elements of the Potemkin Village formulae – give the impression the peasants are well-fed, for instance – could be used when needed.
One Delhi resident, Saroaj Devi, informed The Guardian about the sharp treatment meted out to him and those living in poverty blighted areas. “They have covered our area so that poor people like us, and poverty in the country, is not witnessed by the people arriving from abroad.”
These coverings, which could really be said to be barriers, are intended as temporary structures, shielding the G20 delegates from the unsightly as they head to their various abodes, a supreme example of detachment from social realities.
This attempt at rendering Delhi’s savoury reality anodyne and safe has also extended to policies of animal removal. Delhi police have been reported as seeking out the aid of civic agencies to deal with the presence of monkeys and stray dogs in the vicinity of Rajghat.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has not expressly linked the removal of the canines to summitry aesthetics, stating that this is being done “only on an urgent need basis”. The premise is fanciful, given the MCD’s express order made last month to remove stray dogs “from the vicinity of prominent locations in view of the G-20 summit”. It was only withdrawn after provoking much opposition.
This unpleasant picture was not something the opposition was going to let pass. The Indian government, concluded Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, “is hiding our poor people and animals. There is no need to hide India’s reality from our guests.”
Whatever Gandhi’s stance, the slum dwelling Devi is wise enough to realise that poverty is a damn nuisance to all, except when it comes to electioneering opportunities. In such instances, the invisible are brought to life as votes, tangible opportunities. “When it is election time, every politician comes to see us. They eat with us and make promises. But today, they are ashamed of our presence.”
There should certainly be some degree of shame, but hardly for the toiling slum dwellers who shoulder the world’s most populous country. Judging from the figures, the authorities, including the ruling regime, should turn crimson and scurry for cover in burning shame. In Delhi itself, there are 675 clusters populated by 1.55 million people. But do not fear, suggests the confident Union Minister for State Housing and Urban Affairs, Kaushal Kishore. Progress is being made. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), he recently revealed, had “rehabilitated” 8,379 people in 2022-23. Not to be outdone, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) had also its own set of figures: 1,297 people, according to their books, had been rehabilitated in five years.
The meaning of rehabilitation in this context is much like pacification. It is a benign expression enclosed in a fist or, in the Indian context, hidden in a bulldozer. It entails control, management, and dispossession. Slum clearance and forced evictions are favourites. The excitement of G20 summitry has clearly led Prime Minister Modi to speed matters up.
On July 13, 2023, the Concerned Citizens’ collective, with an eclectic membership, released a report documenting testimonies from those affected by the displacement policy ahead of the G20. The findings were based on a public hearing held on May 22, 2023, a horror story in the name of India’s beautification drive. Victims of these projects came forth from Delhi itself, along with Mumbai, Kolkata, Nagpur, Indore, and Udaipur.
The report reveals that 2.5 to 3 million individuals have been displaced, with Delhi alone bearing witness to the razing of 25 slums to the ground. The displacement has not merely taken the form of bulldozed slums; shelters that would have offered temporary relief have also been destroyed. Options for resettlement for the evictees have not been made available.
Residents, according to the report, received the shortest of notices to evacuate; in the case of Delhi’s Bela Estate near Yamuna Floodplains, a mere three hours was offered. Spitefully, the authorities could not leave it at that. Handpumps, for instance, were sabotaged as an incentive to abandon the settlement.
Barriers around the site, according to Akbar, an activist living in East Delhi’s Seemapuri, have also been erected in the immediate aftermath of the evictions to seal off any points or entry or exit. The account he gives is particularly harrowing: a police arrival time of 4-5 am; the barking of orders to vacate within a few hours; the lack of opportunity to seek court intervention. The demolition, once commenced, is done under the cover of police protection, a sinister practice designed to prevent documentary evidence from leaking out.
The police have been particularly mealy mouthed about describing the harsh conditions inflicted on residents. “Global event, Global responsibility – Not a lockdown,” read a full-page advertisement issued by Delhi police welcoming G20 guests. But the requirement for businesses, schools, offices, workplaces, markets, restaurants and non-food shops to effectively cease operations for three days, aided by onerous traffic restrictions, has crippled daily wage earners of the hand-to-mouth variety.
As it happens, the G20 Delhi summit was, as so many of these occasions are, much ado about nothing. The absence of China and Russia turned the occasion into a G18 gathering, removing a good deal of flavour that would otherwise have been present. At the very least it provided Modi an excellent excuse to rough up the slum dwellers, using beautification as a strategy to criminalise the poor.
Public demand for Jagtar Singh Johal to be set free is ‘not in his best interests’, says Asia minister
The UK government has decided not to call for the release of a British man held in an Indian jail for five years, saying it would not be in his best interests.
There have been repeated calls for Britain to do more to secure the release of Jagtar Singh Johal, who claims to have been tortured and forced to make a confession. He faces terrorism charges and the first stages of his trial have just started after repeated delays caused by disputes over evidence.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
International law guarantees certain inherent rights which cannot be violated by states. It imposes an obligation on states with regards to economic, social, and cultural rights that can be achieved through international cooperation and assistance. Such extraterritorial obligations on states are necessary for the protection of fundamental rights of refugees.
However, as India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it is only bound by the rules of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Further, there is no formal refugee policy in India. These can be considered a major reasons for the improper treatment of refugees in India. Although bilateral agreements were entered into by India, such as with Bangladesh on the Chakma agreement, there has been only ad-hoc and temporary standards for refugee protection, thus jeopardizing the human rights of refugees.
Further, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has only one office in the entire country, in New Delhi, to determine the status of asylum seekers. Thus causing the agency to completely fall short of providing legal assistance to refugees in other parts of the country. Though the Supreme Court has recognized the rights of asylum seekers to non-refoulment, the effect of this on environmental refugees remains unclarified and it is left to be determined by the UNHCR on a case-to-case basis.
Climate change-induced displacements have caused grave violations of human rights all over the world. The missing refugee label has been apparent over the years following the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) system in India. Even worse, despite environmental refugees being recognized by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), this recognition is not granted in India, causing them to be deprived of the benefits they ought to receive with the refugee label. This in effect forces people to reside in the country as illegal immigrants, denying them of their very basic rights.
One of the prominent rights guaranteed to environmental refugees is the right to non-refoulment which provides that no-one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm. Non-refoulment with regards to climate change was considered by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) in the landmark case of Ioane Teitiota v. New Zealand. The court held that the forcible return of a person to a place where there is threat to life due to climate change amounts to a violation of their human rights. Further, the UNHRC has stated that environmental degradation can be brought within the scope of the violation of the right to life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Further, the UNHCR also held that environmental contamination with proven long-term health effects may be a sufficient threat, provided there is sufficient evidence showing that the harmful quantities of contaminants have reached, or will reach, the human environment to be a criterion for Article 6 cases, thus, identifying the aspects of right to a healthy environment.
India has ratified the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), the ICCPR and other international treaties which obligate it to protect the human rights of environmental refugees. This not only includes addressing their needs and assisting them before and during the asylum-seeking process, and after being granted refugee status, but also includes: initiating action to mitigate climate change to prevent its negative impacts on human rights; ensuring all persons have the capacity and means to adapt; and ensuring accountability and effective remedies for harms caused by climate change.
Basic needs include access to basic services and assistance in health, nutrition, food, shelter, energy, education, as well as domestic items and specialized services for people with specific needs. The UNHCR defines the basic needs approach as a ‘way to enable refugees to meet their basic needs and achieve longer-term wellbeing through means to survive and services based on their socio-economic vulnerabilities and capabilities’ (UNHCR). In addition, a ‘poverty lens’ should be taken, alongside the prioritization of refugees who are economically and socially disadvantaged.
Refugees have a right to choose a country of residence, this in turn is linked to the states’ responsibility to receive them. This is considered as a form of partial compensation for injustice and trauma and loss and damage. Certain states have shown a positive response to this principle by incorporating legislation protecting environmental refugees. Bolivia has referenced climate change-induced asylum seeking and protection of rights of such refugees. Similarly, Kenya in its National Climate Action Plan has addressed seeking refuge to be a potential coping mechanism for climate change. Though India has a plethora of environmental laws, none of them have been aimed at dealing with the important aspects of climate change adaptation. Further India doesn’t have a national adaptation plan thereby leading adaptation programs to be fragmented, sector specific and small- scale. Thus, India’s action on climate mitigation still remains opaque.
Issues regarding environmental refugees were raised in early 2022 when the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav claimed in a Parliamentary session that India was prepared to deal with environmental refugees. But no plan was presented to substantiate this. Further, India has no officially reported data related to environmental refugees or internal displacements related to climate change. If not recognized and accounted for, such displacements can have a negative impact on India’s already climate-vulnerable communities.
The policy lacuna in recognizing refugees in India has already caused a situation of crisis in the country. Thus, as a first step, the Parliament of India must enact stringent climate adaptation legislation. Secondly, the Parliament has to form an inclusive policy or provide a domestic law for refugees providing them a legal pathway to enter the nation and enjoy the rights guaranteed to them under international law. This would also require the setting up of a decentralized system where the determination of refugee status is more systematic, transparent and accessible. The resettlement and adaptation plan must also include the implementation of a basic standard of living and protection of fundamental rights. Thirdly, the state should enter into bilateral agreements with climate vulnerable countries to facilitate the safe movement of people. If the following continues to be unaddressed, the fundamental rights of the refugees are left in jeopardy.
This post was originally published on LSE Human Rights.
The Pakistan Observer of August 11, 2023 carries the story which I wished Indian newspapers would also cover..:
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts have expressed their serious concern at the arrest, detention and accusations brought against Kashmiri human rights defenders Irfan Mehraj and Khurram Parvez, which they said are “designed to delegitimize their human rights work and obstruct monitoring of the human rights situation in” Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir
A joint communication released by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts, and which is available at the website of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders [https://srdefenders.org/india-arrest-detention-of-kashmiri-human-rights-defenders-irfan-mehraj-khurram-parvez-joint-communication/], said, “We underline the legitimacy of their work and of the activities of the JKCSS and express our fear that the arrest and detention of Mr. Mehraj, as well as the continued detention of Mr. Parvez since 2021 and his involvement in the second case at hand, are designed to delegitimize their human rights work and obstruct monitoring of the human rights situation in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir. [see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/81468931-79AA-24FF-58F7-10351638AFE3]
“As we have repeatedly stressed in the past, counter-terrorism legislation should never be used to sanction human rights defenders. We express our abhorrence at the continued instrumentalization of national-security measures and discourse to undermine, obstruct and persecute those peacefully promoting, defending and seeking the advancement of human rights in the country, as well as to frustrate accountability for human rights violations.”
Disagreeing with the definition of a terrorist by the Modi government, the joint communication said, “As we previously raised in OL IND 7/2020, we are deeply concerned about the definition of ‘terrorist act’ in the UAPA, which substantially departs from the model definition offered by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and provides broad powers to the executive, without oversight or control from the judiciary. We further remind your Excellency Government that the definition of terrorism and terrorism offences must be ‘genuinely’ terrorist in nature in accordance with the elements identified by the Security Council in its resolution 1566 (2004).”
The statement warned that “Conflation of human rights work with terrorism is inconsistent with the obligations of State affirmed by the Security Council that counter-terrorism activities by States should not conflict with other international law obligations, particularly human rights, and with the agreed consensus of Member States contained in the Global Counter-Terrorism strategy opposing the misuse of counter-terrorism measures against civil society (A/RES/60/288).”
“We also note our deep concerns about allegation of ‘terror funding’ and highlight that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has set forth international practices and guidelines aimed at preventing global money laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF recommendations, while non-binding, provide recognized international guidance for the countering of terrorism financing. Recommendation (1) states that ‘countries should apply a risk-based approach (RBA) to ensure that measures to prevent or mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing are commensurate with the risks identified’ Recommendation (8) provides guidance to States on the laws and regulations that should be adopted to oversee and protect NPOs that have been identified as being vulnerable to terrorist financing concerns.”
“Such measures must be ‘focused and proportionate’; ‘ ‘one size fits all’ approach to address all NPOs is not appropriate.’ FATF has reaffirmed that State compliance with Recommendation (8) and the other FATF Recommendations ‘should not contravene a country’s obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international human rights law to promote universal respect for, and observance of, fundamental human rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression, religion or belief and freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.”
Blaming India for targeting civil society, the joint statement said, “We are concerned that these arrests appear to contravene a “risk-based” approach to countering terrorism finance and appear to demonstrate a misuse of countering terrorism finance laws and practice to disproportionately target civil society.”
It is worth mentioning here that the “communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of India on 5 June 2023. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this time frame.”
The communication stated that “If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database”.
“Since the communication was sent, the detention of Mr. Mehraj and Mr. Parvez has twice been extended following petitions by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), with the latest extension granted on 27 July 2023. Both human rights defenders remain detained in Rohini Prison in Delhi”.—KMS.
see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/02/09/forgotten-kashmir-something-has-to-be-done/
https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=28286
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
By Venkat Raman, editor of Indian Newslink
Fiji is on the road to economic recovery and the government looks forward to the support and assistance of the Fijian diaspora in its progress, says Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad.
Inaugurating the Fiji Centre, an entity established at the premises of the Whānau Community Centre and Hub in Mount Roskill last night, Dr Prasad said that while the challenges faced by his administration were many, he and his colleagues were confident of bringing the economy back on track.
He said tourism was the first industry to recover after the adverse effects of the covid-19 pandemic, but foreign remittances by Fijians living overseas had been a major source of strength.
Dr Prasad was elected to the Fiji Parliament and is the leader of the National Federation Party, which won five seats in the current Parliament.
His NFP formed a Coalition government with Sitiveni Rabuka’s People’s Alliance Party and the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA).
The general election held on 14 December 2023 ousted former prime minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama and his FijiFirst Party.
Bainimarama took over the leadership after a military coup on 5 December 2006, but the first post-coup general election was not held until 17 September 2014.
Individual foreign remittances
“Tourism was quick to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels and personal remittances have been extremely helpful. The diaspora remitted about F$1 billion last year and I hope that the trend will continue,” Dr Prasad said.
He appealed to New Zealand-resident Fijians to also invest in Fiji.
“Fiji was under siege for 16 years and many suffered silently for fear of being suppressed and punished but that has changed with the election of the new Coalition government . . . The first law change was to amend the Media Industry Development Act which assures freedom of expression,” he said.
“Freedom of the media is essential in a democracy.”
Dr Prasad said that the pandemic was not the only reason for the state of the Fijian economy.
“Our economy was in dire straits. We inherited a huge debt of F$10 billion after 16 years of neglect, wasteful expenditure on non-priority items and total disregard for public sentiment,” he said.
“We believe in consultation and understanding the needs of the people. The National Business Summit that we organised in Suva soon after forming the government provided us with the impetus to plan for the future.”
Dr Prasad admitted that governments were elected to serve the people but could not do everything.
“We are always guided by what the community tells us. People voted for freedom at the . . . general election after an era of unnecessary and sometimes brutal control and suppression of their opinions,” he said.
“They wanted their voices to be heard, be involved in the running of their country and have a say in what their government should do for them.
“They wanted their government to be more accountable and their leaders to treat them with respect.”
Professor Biman Prasad’s speech at Auckland’s Fiji Centre. Video: Indian Newslink
Formidable challenges
Later, speaking to Indian Newslink, Dr Prasad said that the first Budget that he had presented to Parliament on 30 June 2023 was prepared in consultation with the people of Fiji, after extensive travel across the islands.
His Budget had set total government expenditure at F$4.3 billion, with a projected revenue of F$3.7 billion, leaving a deficit of F$639 million.
The debt to GDP ratio is 8.8 percent.
He said that education had the largest share in his budget with an allocation of F$845 million.
“This includes the write-off of F$650 million [in the] Tertiary Scholarship and Loan Service Debt of $650 million owed by more than 50,000 students.
“But this comes with the caveat that these students will have to save a bond. The bond savings will be years of study multiplied by 1.5, and those who choose not to save the bond will have to pay the equivalent cost amount,” he said.
Dr Prasad allocated F$453.8 million for health, stating that there would be a significant increase in funding to this sector in the ensuing budgets.
He said that the Fijian economy was expected to grow between 8 percent to 9 percent, revised from the earlier estimate of 6 percent since there is greater resilience and business confidence.
According to him, the average economic growth for the past 16 years has been just 3 percent, despite various claims made by the previous regime.
“We have promised to do better. We will stand by our commitment to integrity, honesty, accountability and transparency.
“The consultative process that we have begun with our people will continue and that would our community in countries like Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
He said that the Fiji diaspora, which accounted for about 70,000 Indo-Fijians in New Zealand and larger numbers in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada, had the potential to support the rebuilding efforts of his government.
Engagement with trading partners
“Whenever I visit New Zealand, I like to spend more time with our community and listen to their views and aspirations.
“I invite you to return to Fiji and help in rebuilding our economy. We are in the process of easing the procedures for obtaining Fijian citizenship and passport, including a reduction in the fees.
“The future of Fiji depends on our communities in Fiji and across the world,” he said.
Dr Prasad that he and his government were grateful to the Australian and New Zealand governments which had provided aid to Fiji during times of need including the pandemic years and the aftermath of devastating cyclones.
“We want to re-engage with our traditional partners, including New Zealand, Australia, India, the USA, the UK and Japan (as a member of Quad),” he said.
Dr Prasad said that while both Australia and New Zealand had had long ties with Fiji, he had always been drawn towards New Zealand.
He said that his wife had completed her PhD at the University of Otago and that his children received their entire education, including postgraduate qualifications, in this country.
Dr Prasad is in New Zealand to meet the Fiji diaspora, including the business community.
He addressed a meeting of the New Zealand Fiji Business Council at the Ellerslie Convention Centre in Auckland today.
Republished with permission from Indian Newslink.
Abdel Hadi el-Gazzar (Egypt), The Popular Chorus or Food or Comrades on the Theatre of Life, 1948 (post-dated 1951).
On the last day of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, the five founding states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) welcomed six new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The BRICS partnership now encompasses 47.3 percent of the world’s population, with a combined global Gross Domestic Product (by purchasing power parity, or PPP,) of 36.4 percent. In comparison, though the G7 states (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) account for merely 10 percent of the world’s population, their share of the global GDP (by PPP) is 30.4 percent. In 2021, the nations that today form the expanded BRICS group were responsible for 38.3 percent of global industrial output while their G7 counterparts accounted for 30.5 percent. All available indicators, including harvest production and the total volume of metal production, show the immense power of this new grouping. Celso Amorim, advisor to the Brazilian government and one of the architects of BRICS during his former tenure as foreign minister, said of the new development that ‘[t]he world can no longer be dictated by the G7’.
Certainly, the BRICS nations, for all their internal hierarchies and challenges, now represent a larger share of the global GDP than the G7, which continues to behave as the world’s executive body. Over forty countries expressed an interest in joining BRICS, although only twenty-three applied for membership before the South Africa meeting (including seven of the thirteen countries in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC). Indonesia, the world’s seventh largest country in terms of GDP (by PPP), withdrew its application to BRICS at the last moment but said it would consider joining later. Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo’s comments reflect the mood of the summit: ‘We must reject trade discrimination. Industrial downstreaming must not be hindered. We must all continue to voice equal and inclusive cooperation’.
Tadesse Mesfin (Ethiopia), Pillars of Life: Waiting, 2018
BRICS does not operate independently of new regional formations that aim to build platforms outside the grip of the West, such as the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Instead, BRICS membership has the potential to enhance regionalism for those already within these regional fora. Both sets of interregional bodies are leaning into a historical tide supported by important data, analysed by Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research using a range of widely available and reliable global databases. The facts are clear: the Global North’s percentage of world GDP fell from 57.3 percent in 1993 to 40.6 percent in 2022, with the US’s percentage shrinking from 19.7 percent to only 15.6 percent of global GDP (by PPP) in the same period – despite its monopoly privilege. In 2022, the Global South, without China, had a GDP (by PPP) greater than that of the Global North.
The West, perhaps because of its rapid relative economic decline, is struggling to maintain its hegemony by driving a New Cold War against emergent states such as China. Perhaps the single best evidence of the racial, political, military, and economic plans of the Western powers can be summed up by a recent declaration of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union (EU): ‘NATO and the EU play complementary, coherent and mutually reinforcing roles in supporting international peace and security. We will further mobilise the combined set of instruments at our disposal, be they political, economic, or military, to pursue our common objectives to the benefit of our one billion citizens’.
Alia Ahmad (Saudi Arabia), Hameel – Morning Rain, 2022
Why did BRICS welcome such a disparate group of countries, including two monarchies, into its fold? When asked to reflect on the character of the new full member states, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, ‘What matters is not the person who governs but the importance of the country. We can’t deny the geopolitical importance of Iran and other countries that will join BRICS’. This is the measure of how the founding countries made the decision to expand their alliance. At the heart of BRICS’s growth are at least three issues: control over energy supplies and pathways, control over global financial and development systems, and control over institutions for peace and security.
Houshang Pezeshknia (Iran), Khark, 1958
A larger BRICS has now created a formidable energy group. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are also members of OPEC, which, with Russia, a key member of OPEC+, now accounts for 26.3 million barrels of oil per day, just below thirty percent of global daily oil production. Egypt, which is not an OPEC member, is nonetheless one of the largest African oil producers, with an output of 567,650 barrels per day. China’s role in brokering a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia in April enabled the entry of both of these oil-producing countries into BRICS. The issue here is not just the production of oil, but the establishment of new global energy pathways.
The Chinese-led Belt and Road Initiative has already created a web of oil and natural gas platforms around the Global South, integrated into the expansion of Khalifa Port and natural gas facilities at Fujairah and Ruwais in the UAE, alongside the development of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. There is every expectation that the expanded BRICS will begin to coordinate its energy infrastructure outside of OPEC+, including the volumes of oil and natural gas that are drawn out of the earth. Tensions between Russia and Saudi Arabia over oil volumes have simmered this year as Russia exceeded its quota to compensate for Western sanctions placed on it due to the war in Ukraine. Now these two countries will have another forum, outside of OPEC+ and with China at the table, to build a common agenda on energy. Saudi Arabia plans to sell oil to China in renminbi (RMB), undermining the structure of the petrodollar system (China’s two other main oil providers, Iraq and Russia, already receive payment in RMB).
Juan Del Prete (Argentina), The Embrace, 1937–1944
Both the discussions at the BRICS summit and its final communiqué focused on the need to strengthen a financial and development architecture for the world that is not governed by the triumvirate of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Wall Street, and the US dollar. However, BRICS does not seek to circumvent established global trade and development institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank, and the IMF. For instance, BRICS reaffirmed the importance of the ‘rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organisation at its core’ and called for ‘a robust Global Financial Safety Net with a quota-based and adequately resourced [IMF] at its centre’. Its proposals do not fundamentally break with the IMF or WTO; rather, they offer a dual pathway forward: first, for BRICS to exert more control and direction over these organisations, of which they are members but have been suborned to a Western agenda, and second, for BRICS states to realise their aspirations to build their own parallel institutions (such as the New Development Bank, or NDB). Saudi Arabia’s massive investment fund is worth close to $1 trillion, which could partially resource the NDB.
BRICS’s agenda to improve ‘the stability, reliability, and fairness of the global financial architecture’ is mostly being carried forward by the ‘use of local currencies, alternative financial arrangements, and alternative payment systems’. The concept of ‘local currencies’ refers to the growing practice of states using their own currencies for cross-border trade rather than relying upon the dollar. Though approximately 150 currencies in the world are considered to be legal tender, cross-border payments almost always rely on the dollar (which, as of 2021, accounts for 40 percent of flows over the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, network).
Other currencies play a limited role, with the Chinese RMB comprising 2.5 percent of cross-border payments. However, the emergence of new global messaging platforms – such as China’s Cross-Border Payment Interbank System, India’s Unified Payments Interface, and Russia’s Financial Messaging System (SPFS) – as well as regional digital currency systems promise to increase the use of alternative currencies. For instance, cryptocurrency assets briefly provided a potential avenue for new trading systems before their asset valuations declined, and the expanded BRICS recently approved the establishment of a working group to study a BRICS reference currency.
Following the expansion of BRICS, the NDB said that it will also expand its members and that, as its General Strategy, 2022–2026 notes, thirty percent of all of its financing will be in local currencies. As part of its framework for a new development system, its president, Dilma Rousseff, said that the NDB will not follow the IMF policy of imposing conditions on borrowing countries. ‘We repudiate any kind of conditionality’, Rousseff said. ‘Often a loan is given upon the condition that certain policies are carried out. We don’t do that. We respect the policies of each country’.
Amir H. Fallah (Iran), I Want To Live, To Cry, To Survive, To Love, To Die, 2023
In their communiqué, the BRICS nations write about the importance of ‘comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council’. Currently, the UN Security Council has fifteen members, five of which are permanent (China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US). There are no permanent members from Africa, Latin America, or the most populous country in the world, India. To repair these inequities, BRICS offers its support to ‘the legitimate aspirations of emerging and developing countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, including Brazil, India, and South Africa to play a greater role in international affairs’. The West’s refusal to allow these countries a permanent seat at the UN Security Council has only strengthened their commitment to the BRICS process and to enhance their role in the G20.
The entry of Ethiopia and Iran into BRICS shows how these large Global South states are reacting to the West’s sanctions policy against dozens of countries, including two founding BRICS members (China and Russia). The Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter – Venezuela’s initiative from 2019 – brings together twenty UN member states that are facing the brunt of illegal US sanctions, from Algeria to Zimbabwe. Many of these states attended the BRICS summit as invitees and are eager to join the expanded BRICS as full members.
We are not living in a period of revolutions. Socialists always seek to advance democratic and progressive trends. As is often the case in history, the actions of a dying empire create common ground for its victims to look for new alternatives, no matter how embryonic and contradictory they are. The diversity of support for the expansion of BRICS is an indication of the growing loss of political hegemony of imperialism.
This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
By Blessen Tom, RNZ journalist, and Liu Chen , RNZ journalist, for IndoNZ
The upcoming general election in Aotearoa New Zealand is poised to witness an unprecedented influx of around 250,000 first-time voters.
Data from the Electoral Commission shows that around 60,000 individuals will be eligible to vote for the first time this year after turning 18 since the 2020 election.
However, a more sizeable chunk of voters is expected to come from the roughly 200,000 individuals who will be eligible to vote for the first time after being issued fast-track residency visas in 2021.
Forty-nine-year-old Deepa Tripathi Chaturvedi is one such voter.
Having arrived in New Zealand in 2017 after a 20-year career as a broadcast journalist in India, Chaturvedi is looking forward to voting for the first time outside of India.
“I’m really excited to vote,” she says. “It’s my first time voting outside India. Secondly, I’d really like to see a change.”
Chaturvedi is concerned about the mounting cost of living in New Zealand, describing it as an increasingly arduous endeavor.
“Living in New Zealand is becoming incredibly difficult,” she says.
Home hopes look dim
Despite her reasonably steady income, the prospect of being able to purchase a home of her own looks dim.
“I believe in having my own place, but I just can’t afford it,” she says.
Chaturvedi is also concerned about the government’s immigration policies.
“I think it’s important to value your migrants and the current policies don’t reflect that,” she says.
Chaturvedi understands the importance of participating in the election.
Although Chaturvedi is unfamiliar with New Zealand’s mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system, she wishes to educate herself about it before voting.
Chaturvedi also draws comparisons between voting in India and New Zealand.
Long queues in India
“There are voting booths in India I think every 2km, so it’s very convenient,” she says. “But the queues can be quite long. ”
Unlike New Zealand, which allows advance votes to be submitted, voters can only cast their ballots on election day in India.
She hopes that she won’t have to stand in long queues when she votes in Auckland for the upcoming October election.
Aravind Narayan Suresh, a 28-year-old IT professional and 2021 resident visa holder, shares Chaturvedi’s excitement about the upcoming election.
Having migrated to New Zealand as a student, Suresh is eager to take part in the democratic process once again.
“I have only voted in India and, now that I have an opportunity here, I’d love to participate in the democratic process again,” he says.
His optimism is tempered by the economic challenges he currently faces, including the high cost of living and petrol prices.
“I have my wife over here and I can’t support her with one job, so I’m thinking of doing two,” he says.
Awaiting a work visa
Suresh’s wife is a civil engineer but cannot work in New Zealand because she is still waiting to receive a work visa.
“We have been waiting for seven months,” he says.
Suresh understands his right to vote gives him an opportunity to effect change – whether his preferred choices win or lose.
He also emphasizes the importance of diverse and inclusive representation among candidates in Parliament, believing it reflects the values of the community.
“I think it’s really important to see representatives of the community at the parliament.”
Like Chaturvedi, Suresh is also educating himself about New Zealand’s MMP electoral system but says he has found the overall enrollment process to be relatively straightforward.
Jaikrishna Anil Kanmani, another first-time voter, is looking forward to the election with a touch of nostalgia for the vibrant electoral atmosphere in India.
NZ elections ‘a little dull’
“I feel like the elections in New Zealand are a little dull compared to India,” he says. “It’s a public holiday (in India) and everybody is on the streets.”
He describes New Zealand’s MMP system as confusing and wishes to learn more about the mechanics of it as the election draws near.
“There are members in Parliament who didn’t win their electorates,” he says. “That seemed weird at first to me.”
He says he’s learning more about the electoral system to better understand how it all works.
Concerns about New Zealand’s housing crisis resonate with Kanmani, prompting him to dismiss the idea of purchasing a home due to exorbitant costs.
“I’ve completely dropped the idea of buying a house,” he says. “With the current living costs and the wages, we earn, there’s no way I would be able to put a down payment for a house.”
Serena Wei, who arrived in New Zealand from China in 2018, confesses to being overwhelmed by the array of political parties and candidates.
“I’m still a little confused now,” Wei says. “On the day of the general election, should I vote for a political party or a person? Because I have never experienced it, and I don’t know how to vote.”
As a mother of two, she worries about the country’s education system and its recent reforms.
“The current reforms make the curriculum and exams less difficult,” she says. “If everyone is moving forward, our country is stagnant, and we may lose touch with the progressing countries.”
Emma Chan has recently obtained her New Zealand residency and is looking forward to the election.
“I believe that actively engaging in democratic voting is a fundamental responsibility as a member of the community, contributing to both my own future and the collective well-being of everyone,” Chan says, speaking on condition of using a pseudonym to protect her identity.
Chan highlights the inherent relationship between key issues such as safety, economic development, education and race relations. She emphasises the government’s role in formulating holistic, long-term policies to address these concerns.
Snowee Jiang, who has previously volunteered for elections but has never voted, wants to vote this year to have a say on social issues.
Jiang, who received the fast-track residency visa in 2021, seeks genuine representation in elected officials rather than a political spectacle. She also urges greater Chinese voter participation through enhanced awareness campaigns.
“I hope that the Chinese can increase the proportion of voting,” she says. “Many people will not vote, and many people don’t care. I hope there will be more publicity in this regard.”
According to the Electoral Commission, 3,871,418 Kiwis are eligible to vote on both the general and Māori rolls in this year’s election and, as of August 2023, about 88 percent had already enrolled.
Advance voting starts on October 2, and election day is Saturday, October 14.
Official results for the general election will be declared on November 3.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.
An independent UN human rights expert has called for India to release an activist imprisoned since 2017, expressing concern over his persistent detention and deteriorating health. GN Saibaba, a former English professor at Delhi University, was arrested in 2014 and accused of links to banned Maoist groups, according to media reports. See: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2023/07/07/g-n-saibaba-in-india-continues-from-his-cell/
He was sentenced to life imprisonment three years later for multiple offences under the country’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
“GN Saibaba is a long-standing defender of the rights of minorities in India, including the Dalit and Adivasi people,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders on 21 August “His continued detention is shameful. It bears all the hallmarks of a State seeking to silence a critical voice,” she added.
UN human rights experts have repeatedly raised grave concerns about the prosecution of Mr. Saibaba, who has suffered from a spinal disorder and polio since childhood and uses a wheelchair.
His detention was declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in an opinion issued in 2021.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/08/1139932
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
This post was originally published on American Jewish World Service – AJWS.
“To be stateless means that you are deprived of the right to have rights.” – Hannah Arendt
Ten million people in the world are living unidentified, unnamed, and deprived of their right to have rights. 40% of this population belongs to Asia and the Pacific. India ‘being home to stateless’ is a significant contributor to this number. Despite several human rights guaranteed by the Constitution, access to basic needs remains a far-fetched dream for “the stateless”. The definition of stateless lies in Article 1 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. India is neither a party to the convention nor does it have legislation to deal with the issue of statelessness. The Passports Act of 1967 is the only Act that acknowledges the problem of statelessness to some extent.
India is one of the most preferred destinations for surrogacy and the commercial sex industry. The moment a child is born out of an Indian surrogate’s womb to parents of a foreign nation having no surrogacy laws, their nationality comes into question. Being born in a country that has deaf ears to the cries of the stateless puts them in an even more problematic state. Distinct yet similar, thousands of people are trafficked into India for employment opportunities but remain trapped in an alien land with no rights.
This article seeks to perceive statelessness from a less-known facet of surrogacy and trafficked prostitution.
India is a hub of commercial surrogacy. However, it is unfortunate to note that a slew of children born through commercial surrogacy either end up stateless or find it onerous to prove their nationalities.
The case of Jan Balaz (S) v. Anand Municipality & 6 (S) dealt with the issue of nationality of children born through surrogacy to an Indian surrogate mother and a father having German citizenship. Since surrogacy was not recognized in Germany, newly-born children could not receive German citizenship. Furthermore, as the children did not fit into the current legal definition of an Indian citizen, they were left stateless. Addressing this issue, the apex court stated that the children born out of gestational surrogacy to an Indian mother are Indian citizens. The court further stressed the urgency of comprehensive legislation to deal with the rights of the children born out of surrogacy. However, to date, no such legislation has taken effect.
The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill 2014 is the sole step taken by the legislature. It deals with the statelessness of children born out of surrogate agreements. However, the same has not been passed by the legislature. Moreover, section 38 of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021, makes it a penal offence for a person to abandon a child born out of surrogacy. However, the issue of statelessness has been largely left unaddressed.
The root cause of the problem in international surrogacy agreements lies in the irregularity of surrogacy laws in different countries. For instance, surrogacy is completely illegal in France. In such a scenario, if a couple from France, enters into a surrogacy agreement with a surrogate mother from India, the child will be in a hapless state of statelessness due to the absence of laws dealing with the issue.
The commercial sex industry of India, where women trafficked from different countries are exploited, opens the door to statelessness. The legal lacuna is the reason that India is infamously one of the preferred countries for commercial sexual exploitation where victims of trafficking from Nepal and Bangladesh are brought. In India, only commercial prostitution through procurers, and forced prostitution is illegal. On the other hand, sex work in India’s neighbouring countries is completely illegal. This increases the rate of trafficking into India for a better opportunity and aids statelessness.
Female sex workers remain in dire need of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. However, despite this need being observed, they are consistently denied access to these services. Moreover, sex workers fail to convince the clients to use contraceptives, let alone fight for access to SRH services. This leads to unintended pregnancies and the passing on of the mother’s misfortune to her child. Trafficked women in India do not fall under the definition of an immigrant or a refugee. Since the child’s mother is not a citizen of India, the child is denied fundamental rights like access to education and healthcare facilities promised by the central government. The non-issuance of Aadhaar cards worsens the situation. Therefore, neither law nor society comes to the rescue of the stateless.
Rohingya women are lured by false promises of jobs and fall prey to forced prostitution. Since they enter Indian territory with the help of forged documents, they lose their identity and fall into the pit of statelessness. Further, having no legal protection adds to their plight if they are caught and sent to prison or asylum. Since India does not have a refugee law, the government deals with refugees and asylum seekers in a make-do way. Consequently, the stateless status in India is nothing more than mere mortal existence, as the official census carried out does not include a population belonging to unknown nationalities. Remaining in the legal grey area is a sorry state to be in as the stateless can neither go back to the countries they came from nor enjoy the rights promised by the country they are residing in, leaving these populations exceptionally vulnerable and disadvantaged.
More than seven decades have passed since India enacted its Constitution, and still, statelessness is given the cold shoulder in the Indian statutes. Though international efforts have been made to fiddle with the issue, UDHR confers that everyone has the right to nationality and the right to change one’s nationality. Consequently, the Convention on Reduction of Statelessness became the most vital treaty responsible for reducing statelessness. However, India not being a party to the convention and giving no statutory recognition to the stateless leave the stateless within India in a vulnerable and uncertain position.
India is in a clamorous need to enact a humanitarian statute, and the responsibility lies on the shoulder of parliament to order it. Initially, the government must include the population in the census, to ascertain the number of the stateless. Concomitantly birth certificates may be issued to the children of unknown parentage or to those whose parent(s) is/are stateless. In India, a birth certificate is a necessary document to prove age, secure admission to educational institutions, apply for immigration, and obtain identity proof documents like Aadhar, PAN, passport etc. Thus, although birth certificates are not proof of nationality, they will prove the place of birth and parentage of the child, which may help provide recognition from the state. To note, the lack of documentation doesn’t mean someone is stateless per se, however, it makes the process arduous to prove nationality, issuing and accepting birth certificates can help circumvent this issue.
The evil of statelessness is intermingled with a slew of issues, so one solution approach is not applicable in this case; nevertheless, parliament has to be held responsible for the enactment of a pro bono publico legislature or amend the current laws to address this widespread phenomenon of statelessness and its effects in India.
Warnings of rising fascism have emanated from India for years as the Hindutva, or Hindu nationalist, movement under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unleashed escalating religious and caste-based violence in “the world’s largest democracy.” Throughout, India’s fascists have found a fellow traveler, a collaborative partner, and a state model to emulate in Israel’s ethno-nationalist apartheid regime. How deep does the India-Israel relationship go? And how can Hindu and Jewish progressives be part of the solution? Aparna Gopalan joins The Marc Steiner Show to discuss her explosive investigation for Jewish Currents, “The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook.”
Aparna Gopalan is the news editor at Jewish Currents.
Studio Production: Cameron Granadino, David Hebden
Post-Production: David Hebden
Marc Steiner: Welcome to another edition of The Marc Steiner Show here on The Real News. Good to have you all with us. And as many of you know, we have two series rolling. One is, Not In Our Name, which is conversations with mostly Jews from across the globe saying no to the occupation and the Farrah government in Israel, and The Rise of the Right, which looks at the rise of the right-wing and neo-fascism nationally and globally and what we can do about it. Well, today’s conversation is like an intertwining of those two themes. I’m sitting down with Aparna Gopalan, who was a news editor at Jewish Currents and wrote an article for them called “The Hindu Nationalists Using the Pro-Israel Playbook.”
Now, this is a strange but not surprising synergy between Israel and India, the rise of neo-fascist movements in both countries, both of whom have far-right governments now, both having important diasporic communities in this country in the US, both countries with deep alliances with the US, and the ties between India and Israel are deepening as they become two of the most oppressive right-wing governments on the planet. So we’re going to look at all that. And so one of the questions I had reading this article and I’ve been thinking about a lot is how did two peoples who lived under oppression, who fought for liberation, be represented by such far-right governments and movements now?
In her article, Aparna Gopalan tackles the complex issue with depth and clarity. She’s the news editor of Jewish Currents, she’s a social anthropologist with a degree from Harvard University, and editor at In These Times and Boston Review before and was the lead organizer of the Harvard Graduate Students Union. And Aparna, welcome. Good to have you with us.
Aparna Gopalan: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Marc Steiner: So when you look at the rise and the power of the right-wing world on our planet at the moment, everywhere, you can’t look at any nation on the planet or anything in our own country here in the US where you don’t see the rise of the right. So I was thinking as I was reading your piece, what your analysis is about how in India and in Israel both, the rise of the right has taken over. And what that dynamic was that allowed both peoples rising out of oppression, throwing off yokes of colonialism, post-Holocaust but clearly there’s a lot of complexity there and led to this moment of Modi in India and the right-wing government in Israel. How do you explain that?
Aparna Gopalan: That’s an interesting question. Post-2016 in this country, there was a lot of interest in looking at all the right-wing regimes across the world and talking about how all of them are coming up at the same time. But I feel like this story, with regards to India at least, and also with regards to Israel and other places is much longer. So in India, the right-wing movement that I’m looking at started in the 1920s with European fascism. So there were these right-wing leaders who were visiting Italy under Mussolini and who were visiting Nazi Germany. And they were learning, they were reading Hitler and Mussolini’s writings and they were learning this ideology of racial pride and how to articulate it and what movement to build. And they were looking at the successes of European fascism and thinking we want to build something like that.
And that is the movement that is in power today in India that has finally, after a hundred years, won political office, they have taken over the judiciary, they’ve taken over the executive branch and they’re making laws. And so in some sense, this is a fruition of a very long-standing effort that has been on pause at different moments. So during the independence struggle, for example, there was a very strong push to create a Hindu India that came out of British independence but it was foiled by secular forces which were stronger at that moment. And that kept happening throughout the history of modern India, that there was a Hindu right push and there was a balancing force. And what’s happened recently since the 1990s is that the balancing force has gone away or has weakened. And the Hindu right force has become so strong because they have systematically in a very grassroots fashion, something that we need to look at and learn from.
They’ve built a ground game and so they have branches in every village, in every small town, and they are going and talking to people, they’re doing the things that we on the left say we want to be doing. It’s reaching everyday people, working people. They’ve done that and they’ve done that for decades. And so right now, what’s happening in India is the most complete success of fascism. It’s in some sense, unlike what was happening in the US because people would say Trump doesn’t represent the working man or whatever. And maybe to some extent that was true but in India, Modi does represent the working man. They truly have built it from the ground up. So that’s what’s very terrifying about it. And I feel like that long history is important to understand, to contend with what’s happening,
Marc Steiner: The movement, and if I mispronounce this, please correct my pronunciation, Hindutva, is that right? Hindutva, which is a larger right-wing sensibility and movement in India. But when you look at the history and you know that it was a Hindutva activist who assassinated Gandhi, right? And now they’re in power. And if thought about the parallels with the US that the right wing in this country has been organizing intensely since the early seventies and built the power that they have where they control 26 states in our country now, literally, growing power. It’s similar to what happened in India. What you were describing about how they amassed this power over the years with the fall of the Congress party and what was left in India, which seems to have dissipated.
Aparna Gopalan: Precisely. Yeah. To whatever extent there was a left in India, the Congress party, which is the secular party that opposes Modi’s BJP, the Congress party has done its share to crush the left in India for many decades since independence. So they have been arresting [communists] and they have been crushing unions and they’ve been taking over tribal land and doing development work on it. And they’ve been doing that for so long that they’ve erased any base that we would have for a working-class movement. And then the far-right, Hindutva, comes in and takes advantage of that. So it’s not unlike what’s happening in this country where the Democrats, they waffle and they don’t go far enough and they make it impossible for working people to organize. And of course, who takes advantage of that, but the far-right. So it’s a very similar dynamic.
Marc Steiner: As I was reading the pieces you wrote and some of the attachments that you linked to, the question is when you look at India now and look at the power India has and the growing relationship between the US government, Israel, and India in this weird triad that’s taking place, that’s taking on, a, the Muslim world, but also taking on the post-communist world as well. So let’s talk a bit about those roots and how you see that playing out in India in terms of the population and the people’s political attitudes.
Aparna Gopalan: Yeah, a lot of the geopolitical strategy that’s involved in this alliance is coming out of 9/11, like you mentioned, taking on the Muslim world, but some of it actually predates that. So this is an excellent book that I cite in my piece extensively by this journalist called Azad Essa, the book is called Hostile Homelands, and it’s about India and Israel’s relationship over the decades starting in the twenties and all the way down to now. And India actually used to be one of the most pro-Palestine forces in the world standing with the colonized people. And that changed in the ’70s and ’80s, and especially the ’90s when India realizes that, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union, we want to be closer to the US. To be closer to the US, we have to be closer to Israel, we cannot be anti-Israel or we won’t be allowed into the US’s orbit.
And that’s when this switch happens of inviting Israeli leaders to India, going to Israel, having these trade deals, and there’s a weapons boom in India, basically, India’s buying weapons and frantically expanding their military. They’re doing nuclear tests and Israel is, of course, key to a lot of that. And so that’s the moment at which the partnership intensifies. And it comes to a head, I talk about in my piece, around 2005 when India wants to be exempted from nuclear non-proliferation across the world. They want to develop nukes and nobody else is doing that and they want the blessing of the US to do that. And who helps them achieve that goal is the Jewish lobby in Washington. So there are leaders from the American Jewish Committee, there are leaders from APAC who are writing op-eds, who are writing letters, who are giving informal advice to their Indian Hindu nationalist counterparts to help them secure this nuclear deal.
There are actually certain members of the India caucus in the US Congress who are longstanding Jewish lobby members as well and they go and talked to President Bush at the time and they convince him that we need India to be strong to counter Pakistan and to shore up the whole area. And then India wins this nuclear deal which is a game-changing win for India. And it changes the dynamic in the subcontinent altogether and flexes the muscle. And who’s behind that is Jewish groups in the US. So the partnership has this geopolitical root and it’s only growing. India and Israel have arms deals worth billions of dollars now. And we saw Modi visiting Washington recently and the welcome he got here matches the welcome he’s getting when he goes to Israel. So that’s the answer to the question of why is this happening.
In terms of the political attitudes of everyday people, I don’t know that everyday people are saying we need to buy arms from Israel or we need to develop nukes. That’s not how they’re being pulled in. They’re being pulled in with this question of national pride. Are you proud to be a Hindu and we’re going to do you proud on a global stage? The way that Modi marketed his US visit to India is incredible. If you were in India, if you were reading a newspaper there, you would think that no other political leader in the history of the world has ever been welcomed to the US the way that Modi has. No one else has ever had a state dinner, no one else has ever walked on a red carpet. So I feel like that marketing campaign is being done well and it’s a year ahead of India’s general election next year. So it’s all very strategically done but I don’t think everyday people are as invested in the actual defense goals as in being proud Hindus or something.
Marc Steiner: So after reading your piece, what I was thinking about is how you analyze the importance and depth of the Israeli-Indian relationship and what that means for the future, but also how it plays out here. Because Indians are the second largest diasporic group in the US, immigrant group in the country. The ties between the right-wing parts of the Indian community, and right-wing parts of the Jewish community are intense in this country. Much of it builds around anti-Muslim fervor. So I’m curious how you analyze that in terms of what all that portends both internationally and here in our country.
Aparna Gopalan: Yeah, this is one of the things working at Jewish Currents, we’ve as an outlet, Jewish Currents covers the dangers of the pro-Israel playbook in the US. And I feel like we’ve been saying for a long time that this is a very dangerous strategy they’ve developed in which you have this whole propaganda machine and any activist who speaks out against Israel’s human rights violations is on Canary Mission the next day and has trouble getting jobs and is struggling to enter Israel. And it’s this machine that’s working very effectively to stop people from talking. And we’ve been saying for a long time that this is dangerous. And I feel like now with this development with Hindu right groups, we have proof that it’s dangerous because it can be exported. It’s a strategy that you can copy and paste into a completely different context and it’s working as well.
So after my article came out, my name was in the Hindu Canary Mission, and it’s like the army of internet trolls, they come after you. There are people who are making note of you to make sure that next time you want to enter India or next time you want to go speak about this issue or get a job or something that they’ve made note of it, that you are anti-India, you’re anti-national. And it’s very reminiscent of what’s been happening with Israeli critics. But it’s not reminiscent, they’re actually talking to each other. I talked to a lot of Hindu nationalists in reporting the piece, and I would ask them, do you see any parallels between what you’re doing and Israel advocacy?
And I thought that they would shy away from it but they proudly would declare, we talk to Israel advocates, we talk to the ADL all the time. They actually taught us how to make this concept of Hinduphobia because we saw what they were doing with antisemitism and we were like, we want to be like that. And then we had meetings with them, and then we have this thing Hinduphobia. And look, it’s like antisemitism. They would show a point-by-point comparison of both definitions and explain how they’re mapping what they’re doing onto the Israel advocacy.
So the ramifications are huge because if tomorrow there’s another ethnonationalism movement that has a diaspora in the US and that diaspora wants to make sure that what’s happening in the homeland is left alone, that the US supports it, the US doesn’t intervene, all they have to do is copy this playbook and they have to go talk to the Israel groups. They have to go talk to the Hindu groups and they will be in on the action as long as all the geopolitical incentives line up. So it’s very worrying that the Israel playbook has proved itself to be so versatile and that the Jewish groups have proved themselves to be so willing to help other far-right movements.
Marc Steiner: So it also makes me wonder about a couple of things. Let me take one at a time. How that plays out here in this country, in the U, inside the Indian community. It’s not unanimity. It’s not a monolith where everybody supports Modi, right? And clearly one of the things you linked to was the Carnegie Poll, which showed the divide inside the Indian community about supporting Modi or not supporting Modi. So how does that dynamic figure into this, do you think, and how does it play out?
Aparna Gopalan: So one thing that’s very interesting about what I’m calling the “Hinduphobia Strategy” is it’s drawing on a real experience that a lot of Indian Americans have, which is we all experience US racism in some way or the other, right? We’re called names. We are Brown people. As soon as you move to the US and you are on that rung of the totem pole. Even though Indian Americans are relatively wealthier and more highly educated and stuff like that, there are still everyday experiences of racism and feeling alienated from this country. What is remarkable about Hinduphobia is that it acts upon that fear. So the people who are worried about Hinduphobia will tell you, and they told me, my sources, my Hindu national sources tried to scare me when I was reporting the piece. And they would tell me, they’re coming for you. And they would talk about experiences of racism, they would draw some religious symbols on their doorstep and then the neighbors would complain that this shouldn’t be here, or something like that.
Marc Steiner: That actually happened?
Aparna Gopalan: Those are stories that they would tell me in reporting.
Marc Steiner: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Aparna Gopalan: But yes, the interviews were a recruitment pitch for them because they were like, you’re a young Hindu, this is what’s going on in our community. You should be really, really afraid right now. And because everything is in danger, what we need to do is band together and support our movement. And our movement, of course, is Hindu. They wouldn’t say that but that’s the way in which they’re recruiting American Hindus because American Hindus, like you said, are very divided. American Indians are divided. They don’t all support Modi, but the more that you are able to connect to their everyday lived experience of racism and tell them that that’s going to keep getting worse until, and unless you join this Hindu movement globally that we are all creating to protect ourselves and protect our children, then you’re in danger. And so that’s a very effective recruitment pitch. It didn’t work on me but I could see it working on somebody else.
And it’s remarkable because the they who’s coming for you is not like white nationalists, which is who you would think you’re in danger of, but it’s actually Muslims who are going to come for you or lower cast people, oppressed cast people who are going to come for you. And so that’s what I was told over and over again: I need to watch out for all those Indian minorities in the US and how they might become too powerful unless I join these groups that I’m interviewing and become an activist and become a Hindu nationalist. So that’s the way in which the Hindu nationalist groups are trying to bridge the divide within the Indian community by politics of fear. And again, very similar to antisemitism and how it’s being used to recruit Jews for the cause of Israel. So if there’s an attack in New York, the ADL will say, look, Jews are in danger, donate money to us so we can defend Israel. Yeah.
Marc Steiner: And it becomes complex and difficult because antisemitism is real and it runs deep. And anti-Hindu feelings can run deep as well on lots of racist levels in this country and across the globe. So if you play on that reality and use it to not unite people against their oppression and to fight for a better world, but if you use that to unite people out of the fear, which is what you’re seeing is happening, that builds a different movement and a dangerous movement.
Aparna Gopalan: Precisely. They’re not saying that, look, there’s a rise in anti-immigrant violence so we need to all unite against, again, against white nationalism, against Christian nationalism. That’s not what their goal is. They don’t want to unite with other working people. They don’t want to unite if there’s anti-Chinese violence. Hindu nationalist groups told me that anti-Hindu violence is completely different from any other anti-Asian violence.
Marc Steiner: You’re special.
Aparna Gopalan: Right, exactly. We are in unique danger. And so we have to act as Hindus. We don’t have to act as Asians, as people of color. Those are not the identities. You are a Hindu first and that’s the foundation of the Hindu nationalist movement.
Marc Steiner: So on the other side of that, you wrote about, if I have this, remember correctly, Hindus for Human Rights and the interaction that organization, that group of advocates has with things like JVP, Jewish Voices for Peace, and others. So what about that dynamic is, A, significant? And, B, is it growing and how do you think that fits into this?
Aparna Gopalan: It’s definitely significant. I, in the process of reporting, found out that not only is Hindus for Human Rights, which is a progressive Hindu group, talking to Jewish Voice for Peace, they’re literally modeled on Jewish Voice for Peace. One of the people who founded the group went to Jewish Voice for Peace and said, I want to found a group which is Hindus who are speaking out as Hindus against Hindu nationalism. Will you help me? And Jewish Voice of Peace said yes and so they helped. And so this group is modeled on the image of the Jewish Voice of Peace. And that’s important because like I said, the same playbook is being used against both of these progressive groups. And so they are, by uniting, they’re like bringing together, we as progressive Hindus now are able to draw on the expertise that a group like JVP has in dealing with this repressive and silencing playbook.
And it’s interesting how the collaboration works because when Modi came to visit, the very same people who would speak up against Israel in Congress, for example, are the same people who spoke up against Modi. So Rashida Tlaib said, I’m not going to attend Modi’s congressional address. Ilhan Omer said, I’m not attending that address and I’m actually having a briefing on human rights right after the address so senators and Congress people can learn more about what’s happening in India. So it’s very clever in some ways by progressive Hindus because we’re able to draw on an existing political formation, and we don’t have to start from scratch. And we shouldn’t have to because it’s the same struggle on both fronts. So it’s very important.
One thing I will say, which again, as Azad Essa, the journalist, pointed out to me and is exactly right, is that anti-Zionist groups like JVP, are coming from a long tradition of working-class activism, whereas groups like Hindus for Human Rights are very new still, and there actually isn’t a huge Indian diaspora working-class movement. Most of the people who are speaking up are still people who are relatively upper caste. They’re still upper class. And so we still are struggling to engage with working people within our community and that’s where the fight will be won. We need to engage the people who do everything in India, who are the farmers and the laborers. And so that ground game that is still absent both in the US and in India. And unless that is built, I don’t see how Modi gets taken down by a movement like this, for example.
Marc Steiner: So that leads me to where you think your analysis takes you and us when it comes to this far-right government in India that has literally attacked the Muslim population, burning down mosques, and the riots that have taken place over the last 30-odd years in India. And what’s happening in Israel with the rise of the far-right government and that powerful synergy with the alliance with the US? This is almost one of those hidden dangers that our future faces that we don’t put together in this puzzle that you were doing in this article.
Aparna Gopalan: Yeah, one thing that I was impressed by when my sources were telling me about the reason that there is this huge effort to call any criticism of Hindu nationalism as Hinduphobia, the reason that there’s that effort is that the risk is great. So India stands to lose a lot if the US actually acts against India and India’s human rights violations. For example, the US has this report that an independent government agency releases every year. And for the past four years, this religious freedom report has said India should be on a blacklist for violations of religious freedom. That’s been the recommendation being made to the State Department. The State Department hasn’t acted on it yet. They could though, tomorrow they could wake up and say, we are going to act on this because our own agencies are recommending this. And if that happens, India stands to lose a great deal.
They stand to face sanctions if the US wants to go that far. But before that, they stand to lose their arms deals with US companies, they stand to lose their trade and technology deals with US companies. And all of those threats are why there’s so much activity to stop that outcome. And I feel like, what I’m saying is the situation, like you said, is very grim in both Israel and India. In India, there are 10 stages of genocide, and India is at stage eight according to a report by Georgetown University. So we’re two stages away from a complete genocide of Muslims in India, and in Israel, we’re seeing a very similar situation where Palestinians are literally being expelled from the West Bank. So the situation’s grim but at the same time, the amount of activity that’s happening in the US to silence speech about the situation gives some degree of hope that there’s still a chance that the US could act. Both against India, much more easily actually against India, because India and the US don’t have a special relationship, but also the US could act against Israel.
There are efforts to do that also. There are efforts to take out US government money from settlements and that’s a signal that this is not okay. So in both cases, there is real potential for change but it’s urgently needed because in both cases we’re almost at the end of the road in terms of how bad things could get. They almost couldn’t get any worse in both places.
Marc Steiner: And to conclude, I was thinking about a couple of things here. One is, and you touched on this a bit in the article, but I’m really, really interested in how you see it playing out domestically in the US within the Indian community. Because when you look at the Jewish community in America, you see this divide, and part of it’s generational or there’s a political divide. It’s built around Israel and the occupation and the right-wing government. How do you see that playing out here in this country with the Indian population in America and the battle around Modi and the right wing in India?
Aparna Gopalan: A big part of both of these fights is young people and college campuses. And in the Hindu diaspora and the Indian diaspora, really, there are groups on both sides. So there are Hindu nationalist groups who heavily recruit on college campuses and they recruit through holding cultural events. They’ll be like, this is a Diwali celebration. And then you’ll show up there and you end up on a mailing list, and then the mailing list invites you to progressively more Hindu right events. And pretty soon you’re a Hindu right activist. And then they’ll try to position you in a Capitol Hill internship. They’ll try to connect you to the RSS, which is the paramilitary group that’s at the heart of Hindu nationalism in India. And before you know it, you’re a Hindu nationalist leader. So that’s the effort on the Hindu nationalist side. But there are counter efforts by people who are opposing Hindu nationalism and that’s where all our hope lies.
So there are student groups who have decided that at every Indian festival, we’re going to have some event of our own. We’re not going to be silent. We’re not going to give up on Hinduism, we’re going to enter the fray, and we’re going to say here is a progressive interpretation of Diwali. Or here is Holi, which is an Indian holiday, but on this Holi event we’re going to talk about political prisoners and we’re not going to let ourselves off the hook. And so again, not in our name is what these student groups are saying. And so it’s hard to predict where the balance of forces is. To be frank, right now, the Hindu right on campus game, in the US ground game, is much stronger. They’ve been doing it for decades. And these other groups are just forming. During the pandemic, they’ve started.
Hindus for Human Rights was founded in 2019 and their most direct rivals were founded in 2002. And of course, the RSS was founded in the 1920s. So we’re catching up to hundreds of years. So yeah, if this trend continues where there are student groups and anti-cast groups which are forming, especially, again, among high school students and on campus, by the next generation we’re going to see a very different Hindu-American population. But there’s every effort being made to make sure those groups don’t succeed because they’re called Hinduphobic immediately as soon as they come into existence. So that’s the contour of the struggle right now.
Marc Steiner: That’s interesting. And as we wind out here that what you’ve described is two things. A, a hopeful look at where both Indian and Jewish populations in America could go in terms of fighting for progressive change, both in the Middle East and in India, and in this country. And the coming together of these groups is something we have not heard about, I’ve not heard about until I read your article. And then that’s also confronted by the immense power of the right-wing political movements in India and in Israel. Contradictions are coming to a head here.
Aparna Gopalan: And again, in both cases, again, also, this is the same with groups that are pro-Palestinian, right? They don’t have the money on their side. The group that has the money is APAC. APAC has money. The rest of us, what we have is we knock on doors or whatever. That’s all that there is. So the tool that’s in the hands of the progressives in both India and Israel is raising consciousness to the point that you have enough people knocking on doors that you can defeat the APAC candidate in every town race and state race and federal race. And that’s how you make the change that’s necessary. So it’s like an arduous fight against impossible odds. But again, that’s the fight against the right in any context.
Marc Steiner: This popped into my head as you were saying that. You describe what was happening in Teaneck, New Jersey, in places like that. It is possible. Movements are building and they’re growing to actually make these things happen, to build something different.
Aparna Gopalan: There was actually this recent study, I’m going to get the number wrong, but somebody did this report and they found out that maybe 40% or maybe 60%, which is different, but 40% or 60% of Americans have never heard of Modi. And that’s a golden opportunity because that means that 40% or 60%, let’s say 50% of Americans can still be educated about this by us. So we can start that conversation right now and we have to get there first. We have to get there before the Hindu right groups get there and say, this guy is the savior of the Hindus, and that’s what needs to happen. I’m sure the state visit that Biden did will have changed that number and will have made things worse. So that’s why we need to fight back against all these efforts to legitimize Modi because lots of people are still on the fence or have no idea who this is. So that’s where the fight is, is to make sure that we get there first and we get there with the full truth about what’s happening.
Marc Steiner: I want to say, Aparna, it has been great to meet you and to have this conversation, and I want folks to check out this article. It will be linked here, that the Hindu nationalists using the Pro-Israel Playbook in Jewish Currents. It came out June 28th by Aparna Gopalan, their news editor. A deeply thorough article that I’m not sure I did justice to but it was an amazing piece of work. And I appreciate you taking the time here on The Marc Steiner Show, on The Real News, and we should move forward to create this American-Jewish-Indian alliance for real change and make that happen. That’s got real potential for the future.
Aparna Gopalan: That’s the hope. If my article could have gotten us 1% closer to that alliance, that’s all that’s needed.
Marc Steiner: I think it did.
Aparna Gopalan: Thanks for having me though. This is great.
Marc Steiner: Thank you, Aparna. I hope you enjoyed our conversation today with Aparna Gopalan. Her article in the Jewish Currents is called “The Hindu Nationalist Using the Pro-Israel Playbook.” Now, we’ll be linking to the article so you can read it. It is well worth the read. And I want to thank you all for joining us today. Please let me know what you think about what you heard today, and what you’d like us to cover. Write to me at mss@therealnews.com and I’ll write right back to you. And while you’re there, go to therealnews.com/support, become a monthly donor, and become part of the future with us. For Cameron Grandino, David Hebdon, Kayla Rivara, and the crew here at The Real News, I’m Marc Steiner. Stay involved. Keep listening, stay in touch, and take care.
Maximillian Alvarez: Thank you so much for watching The Real News Network, where we lift up the voices, stories, and struggles that you care about most. And we need your help to keep doing this work, so please tap your screen now, subscribe, and donate to the Real News Network. Solidarity Forever.
This post was originally published on The Real News Network.
In the ongoing session [1] of the Rajya Sabha, the seat of the former Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh was shifted from first to last row, due to health issues inhibiting his ability to walk to the first row. This has led to a debate regarding the accessibility of public buildings for persons with disabilities. It leaves behind a pertinent question, when the parliament of the country is not accessible for persons with disabilities, how accessible are other buildings and offices of public importance?
Out of all other institutions, the need to revamp the educational institutions, be it public or private is more than ever before, especially when we recently observed the 30 years of Unni Krishnan vs. The State of Andhra Pradesh [2], wherein the Right to Education was included within the ambit of Right to Life under Article 21 [3] of the Constitution of India. This right to education was later explicitly inserted under Article 21A [4] of the Constitution by way of the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, [6] 2002. Reading Article 21 with Article 15 [5] of the Constitution construes that inaccessibility to educational institutions of the persons with disabilities amounts to violation of their fundamental rights.
Under section 16 [7] of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘2016 act’), government funded or government affiliated educational institutions are mandated to provide inclusive education to children with disabilities. This includes both the public and private educational institutions. However, the UDISE+ [8] data reflects that for the year 2019-20, only 0.98 percent of the children with disabilities out of the total population were enrolled at the primary level schools. Not only this, the figures for the year 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 show that, excluding the trends of senior secondary level schools for the year 2016-17, the enrolment rates have been gradually decreasing across all levels each year. This clearly indicates that the legislation, in spite of being well-intentioned, has failed to uplift the level of integration of children with disabilities.
Primarily, the failure of the legislative provisions in place to effectuate the benefits of these welfare legislations can be attributed to two reasons. Firstly, no concrete and earnest efforts have been taken to streamline the implementation of existing legislative provisions for persons with special needs and secondly, there is a lack of institutional support from the state. In Rajive Raturi v. Union of India [9], the Supreme court argues about the shift in the approach of dealing with persons with disabilities. The court opines that the objective should not be to view them as “abnormal, deserving of pity and care, and not as individuals who are entitled to enjoy the same opportunities to live a full and satisfying life as other members of society”. Rather, the state should endeavor to uphold their dignity and to cease their exclusion from mainstream society. This can be achieved through ensuring higher rates of enrolment of children with special needs in public and private schools and universities. The aim is to broaden the discourse from mere attainment of literacy to securing higher education and employment opportunities.
Section 16 (ii) [10] of the 2016 act mentions that the campus, building and other facilities of the educational institutions should be accessible to children with disabilities. Now, most of the educational buildings evade the mandatory application of this provision as there is no mechanism to enforce them upon the institutions. Thus, in order to effectuate the mandates of the 2016 act, there is a need for an amendment to the act to include a provision for the establishment of a ‘Regulatory Authority.’ In such a case, every public funded institution or institution officially recognised by the government, whether school or university, would have to get a ‘green signal’ from the regulatory authority. In the case of private institutions, the union and the state governments can come up with concerted schemes to allocate funds for revamping and realigning low-budget institutions according to the needs of making it accessible for persons with disabilities. In the initial period, this scheme could incentivise and provide support to the schools and colleges to comply with the guidelines of the regulatory authority.
The regulatory mechanism could contain provisions mandating procurement of special reading materials for students with visual impairment. Every university hostel must have specific rooms catering to the needs of students with disabilities. On February 14, 2023, the apex court in Rajneesh Kumar Pandey & Ors vs. Union of India [11] sought details from the state governments of different states regarding the total number of children with special needs in the state, total special teachers enrolled and total vacancies in the state. The court also ordered to give details pertaining to the ad hoc appointment of teachers and to provide a stipulated time frame to fill up these vacancies.
Another aspect is the institutional support from the state’s end. One instance of this could be the Nyaya Bandhu scheme, which has been initiated under the Ministry of Law and Justice of the Government of India, wherein the ministry has collaborated with 69 law schools across India in order to expedite the dispensation of legal services amongst the target groups. Under the scheme, the legal aid clinics of the law schools also receive funds on a regular basis from the ministry. Similarly, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment could also collaborate with educational institutions across the country for the empowerment of students with special needs within the educational institution and beyond it. Under this scheme, a welfare committee catering to the needs and interests of the students with special needs can be established in universities and colleges.
The 2016 act is progressive in terms of recognising the roadblocks for persons with special needs to have the ability to live a dignified and meaningful life. However, the act has achieved only a stunted outcome in terms of making the educational institutions accessible for persons with special needs. India’s present disability rights law is riddled with issues of inconsistency and non-compliance. It thus, needs to be shielded with regulatory and institutional mechanisms for its effective implementation, lest it will turn into merely a toothless tiger.
This post was originally published on LSE Human Rights.
Mao Xuhui (China), ’92 Paternalism, 1992
In 2003, high officials from Brazil, India, and South Africa met in Mexico to discuss their mutual interests in the trade of pharmaceutical drugs. India was and is one of the world’s largest producers of various drugs, including those used to treat HIV-AIDS; Brazil and South Africa were both in need of affordable drugs for patients infected with HIV as well as a host of other treatable ailments. But these three countries were barred from easily trading with each other because of strict intellectual property laws established by the World Trade Organisation. Just a few months prior to their meeting, the three countries formed a grouping, known as IBSA, to discuss and clarify intellectual property and trade issues, but also to confront countries of the Global North for their asymmetrical demand that the poorer nations end their agricultural subsidies. The notion of South-South cooperation framed these discussions.
Interest in South-South cooperation dates back to the 1940s, when the United Nations Economic and Social Council established its first technical aid programme to assist trade between the new post-colonial states in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Six decades later, just as IBSA was formed, this spirit was commemorated by the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation on 19 December 2004. At this time, the UN also created the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (ten years later, in 2013, this institution was renamed as the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation), which built upon the 1988 agreement on the Global System of Trade Preferences Among Developing Countries. As of 2023, this pact includes 42 member states from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, that are collectively home to four billion people and have a combined market of $16 trillion (roughly 20% of global merchandise imports). It is important to register that this longstanding agenda to increase trade between Southern countries forms the pre-history of the BRICS, set up in 2009 and presently made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Madhvi Parekh and Karishma Swali (India), Kali I, 2021–22
The entire BRICS project is centred around the question of whether countries at the nether end of the neo-colonial system can break out of that system through mutual trade and cooperation, or whether the larger countries (including those in the BRICS) will inevitably enjoy asymmetries of power and scale against smaller countries and therefore reproduce inequalities rather than transcend them. Our latest dossier, on Marxist dependency theory, calls into question any capitalist project in the South that believes it can somehow break free from the neo-colonial system by importing debt and exporting cheap commodities. Despite the limitations of the BRICS project, it is clear that the increase in South-South trade and the development of Southern institutions (for development financing, for instance) challenges the neo-colonial system even if it does not immediately transcend it. At Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, we have been closely following the developments and contradictions of the BRICS project from its inception and continue to do so.
Later this month, the fifteenth BRICS summit will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 22–24 August. This meeting comes as two of the group’s members, Russia and China, are facing a New Cold War with the United States and its allies, while the other members face immense pressure to be drawn into this conflict. Below, you will find briefing no. 9, published in collaboration with No Cold War, which offers a brief but necessary primer of the upcoming BRICS summit. You can read the briefing below.
The upcoming fifteenth BRICS Summit (22–24 August) in Johannesburg, South Africa, has the potential to make history. The heads of state of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa will gather for their first face-to-face meeting since the 2019 summit in Brasilia, Brazil. The meeting will take place eighteen months since the beginning of military conflict in Ukraine, which has not only raised tensions between the US-led Western powers and Russia to a level unseen since the Cold War but also sharpened differences between the Global North and South.
There are growing cracks in the unipolar international order imposed by Washington and Brussels on the rest of the world through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the international financial system, the control of information flows (in both traditional and social media networks), and the indiscriminate use of unilateral sanctions against an increasing number of countries. As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently put it, ‘the post-Cold War period is over. A transition is under way to a new global order’.
In this global context, three of the most important debates to monitor at the Johannesburg summit are: (1) the possible expansion of BRICS membership, (2) the expansion of the membership of its New Development Bank (NDB), and (3) the NDB’s role in creating alternatives to the use of the US dollar. According to Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to BRICS, twenty-two countries have formally applied to join the group (including Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Algeria, Mexico, and Indonesia) and a further two dozen have expressed interest. Even with numerous challenges to overcome, the BRICS are now seen as a major driving force of the world economy and of economic developments across the Global South in particular.
Lygia Clark (Brazil), O Violoncelista (‘The Violoncellist’), 1951
The BRICS Today
In the middle of the last decade, the BRICS experienced a number of problems. With the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India (2014) and the coup against President Dilma Rousseff in Brazil (2016), two of the group’s member countries became headed by right-wing governments more favourable to Washington. Both India and Brazil retreated in their participation in the group. The de facto absence of Brazil, which from the outset had been one of the key driving forces behind the BRICS, represented a significant loss for the consolidation of the group. These developments undermined and hampered the progress of the NDB and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), established in 2015 – which represented the greatest institutional achievement of the BRICS to date. Although the NDB has made some progress it has fallen short of its original objectives. To date, the bank has approved some $32.8 billion in financing (in fact, less than that has been issued), while the CRA – which has $100 billion in funds to assist countries that have a shortage of US dollars in their international reserves and are facing short-term balance of payments or liquidity pressures – has never been activated.
However, developments in recent years have reinvigorated the BRICS project. The decisions of Moscow and Beijing to respond to escalations of aggression in the New Cold War by Washington and Brussels; the return of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the presidency of Brazil in 2022 and the consequent appointment of Dilma Rousseff to the presidency of the NDB; and the relative estrangement, to varying degrees, of India and South Africa from the Western powers have resulted in a ‘perfect storm’ that seems to have rebuilt a sense of political unity in the BRICS (despite unresolved tensions between India and China). Added to this is the growing weight of the BRICS in the global economy and strengthened economic interaction between its members. In 2020, the global share of the BRICS’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in purchasing power parity terms – 31.5 percent – overtook that of the Group of Seven (G7) – 30.7 percent – and this gap is expected to grow. Bilateral trade among BRICS countries has also grown robustly: Brazil and China are breaking records every year, reaching $150 billion in 2022; Russian exports to India tripled from April to December 2022, year-on-year, expanding to $32.8 billion; while trade between China and Russia jumped from $147 billion in 2021 to $190 billion in 2022, an increase of nearly 30 percent.
Ayanda Mabulu (South Africa), Power, 2020
What’s at Stake in Johannesburg?
Faced with this dynamic international situation and growing requests for expansion, the BRICS face a number of important questions:
In addition to providing concrete responses to interested applicants, expansion has the potential to increase the political and economic weight of the BRICS and, eventually, strengthen other regional platforms that its members belong to. But expansion also requires having to decide on the specific form that membership should take and may increase the complexity of consensus building, with a risk of slowing the progress of decision making and initiatives. How should these matters be dealt with?
How can the NDB’s financing capacity be increased, as well as its coordination with other development banks of the Global South and other multilateral banks? And, above all, how can the NDB, in partnership with the BRICS’ network of think tanks, promote the formulation of a new development policy for the Global South?
Since the BRICS member countries have solid international reserves (with South Africa having a little less), it’s unlikely that they will need to use the CRA. Instead, this fund could provide countries in need with an alternative to the political blackmail of the International Monetary Fund, which requires developing countries to enact devastating austerity measures in exchange for loans.
BRICS is reported to be discussing the creation of a reserve currency that would enable trade and investment without the use of the US dollar. If this were established, it could be one more step in efforts to create alternatives to the dollar, but questions remain. How could the stability of such a reserve currency be ensured? How could it be articulated with newly created trade mechanisms which do not use the dollar, such as bilateral China-Russia, China-Brazil, Russia-India, and other arrangements?
How can cooperation and technology transfer support the re-industrialisation of countries like Brazil and South Africa, especially in strategic sectors such as biotech, information technology, artificial intelligence, and renewable energies, while also fighting poverty and inequality, and achieving other basic demands of the peoples of the South?
Leaders representing 71 countries of the Global South have been invited to attend the meeting in Johannesburg. Xi, Putin, Lula, Modi, Ramaphosa, and Dilma have a lot of work to do, to answer these questions and make progress on the urgent matters in global development.
Peter Gorban (USSR), Field Camp. The Izvestiya., 1960
Our institute continues to track these developments, neither with the belief that the BRICS project offers global salvation, nor with the cynicism that dismisses it as nothing new. History is moved, not by purity, but by the world’s contradictions.
As these major countries of the South meet in Johannesburg, they will confront the vast inequities in South Africa. These fissures are the grist for the poems of Vonani Bila, whose voice rises out of Shirley Village (Limpopo) and reminds us of the long walk ahead, through the BRICS project and beyond:
When the sun recedes
into the Soutpansberg,
Giyani Block puts on a
black adder coat;
a mirror of death and despair.Doctors and nurses stand on their feet.
They shall not rest when the workers’ strike
ignites its furious flame.
They’re on tiptoe, looking up,
wrestling the faceless, tailless monster.
After thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. concluded a Memorandum of Understanding in June this year for the local construction of submarines for the Indian Navy, the partners have now teamed up again for the overhaul and modernization of the Indian submarine INS SHANKUSH. INS SHANKUSH is the second submarine in a series […]
The post thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited sign contract for overhaul and modernization of Indian submarine INS SHANKUSH appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
A new war film following the untold story of Gurkha soldiers cut off from their platoon behind enemy lines is set to have its international premiere in Leicester Square, London, this September. Gurkha Warrior, directed by award–winning Milan Chams, is set during the Malaya Emergency, when British troops were deployed to combat a Communist insurgency […]
The post Gurkha Warrior: the Untold Story of Jungle Survival during the Malaya Emergency appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
Akeel Bilgrami’s article “Gandhi and Liberal Modernity: The Vexed Question of Caste” undertakes a materialist interpretation of Gandhi’s thought against the background of capitalism and the agrarian question. Gandhi’s idealization of precapitalist communities is given “descriptive” dignity as an implicit grasp of the inapplicability of the Marxist notion of “primitive accumulation” to India. While those dispossessed by primitive accumulation in England could move to other parts of the world as a result of settler colonialism, the impoverished Indian peasantry finds itself without such avenues for migration. This historical difference creates a divergence in the process of class formation. In the metropole, the decline in the capitalist reserve army owing to massive out-migration of surplus labor improved the bargaining strength of those left behind, allowing the metropolitan working class to struggle for better living standards and improve political representation. In the periphery, on the other hand, capitalism is unable to absorb the huge reserve army of labor that has been produced due to colonial pauperization. This gives rise to a fragmented, intermittently employed working class whose ability to wage class struggle is undercut by its vast size. Through these historical facts, Bilgrami attempts to show that there is no necessary linkage between capitalist development and the establishment of a socially and politically unified space – the expansion of welfarist statism and liberal democracy in the North is a historically unique trajectory founded upon widespread destruction in the South.
The Contingency of the Encounter
The refutation of the supposedly linear temporality of primitive accumulation enables Bilgrami to posit Gandhi as a “social philosopher” whose normative valorization of pre-capitalist structures serves as a method of exploring alternatives to the ultimately futile dynamics of capitalist modernity. More particularly, the conception of caste as non-hierarchical heterogeneity constructs a conjectural past from which to articulate an internal moral response to monetary homogeneity. This stands in contrast to primitive accumulation, whose teleological faith in the external destruction of precapitalist structures and the subsequent dynamics of class formation (the working class acting as the “gravediggers” of capitalism) is undermined by the specificities of colonized society. Gandhi’s stance is encapsulated in the economic notion of trust, which, Bilgrami says, is aimed at maintaining responsibility within social relations. The objective is to pit the internal vitality of society against the extraneous dominance of the economy. Here, we encounter an ontological dualism in the form of the difference between society and economy. The relation between the two terms is one of hierarchical externality: it is either the harmonic stability of society subsuming the economy or the self-standing independence of economy dislocating society.
Gandhi’s particular conception of totality transforms a particular instance of the mode of production into the fundamental essence of other instances, which are then perceived as phenomenal manifestations of a more profound content. Insofar as totality continues to be thought of in terms of a deeper structure, the mode of production becomes an invariant structure wherein there is no concrete possibility of transformation. Change can only be thought of in terms of a complete systemic collapse of the totality, evident in Gandhi’s sharp juxtaposition of precapitalist heterogeneity and capitalist homogeneity. Such a dichotomy is averted by the very concept of primitive accumulation that Bilgrami repudiates. The assumption that primitive accumulation is irreparably connected to teleological prognostication about the future cohesiveness of the working class is an illegitimate extrapolation of Marx’s writings. Instead of positing a latent structure as the essence of a totality, primitive accumulation allows us to decompose it into the complexity of a mode of production, “understood in terms of difference rather than continuity, as one social formation appropriates and abruptly reconfigures an older institution or revives various features of extant social organization by selectively recombining them to suit its own purposes.” Whereas Gandhi pictures a self-sufficient totality with an internal unfolding and resolution of all contradictions, primitive accumulation disrupts those boundaries: it can either be situated within the precapitalist mode of production, whose destruction it represents, or within the capitalist mode of production, whose emergence it brings forth. Thus, primitive accumulation is both internal and external to a specific social formation: “[i]t is…a point of passage and transition.”
Capitalism is not equivalent with the structural regularity of an all-powerful economy. On the contrary, it is an unstable product of a contingent encounter between elements that have their own divergent histories. While Gandhi conceives of capitalism as the imposition of a series of “distorting abstractions” upon the qualitative richness of precapitalist society, Marxism understands the economic cause to exist only through the relationality of class struggle. The cause is not a stable structure underlying the effects, but is nothing other than the encounter, or relation of those effects. Instead of the eternity of a mode of production as a deeper structure, “we have the durability of social relations as reproduced social practices, always open to transformation…Structure is a relation that exists because it lasts, and lasts because it is reproduced through the material effectivity of a system of material apparatuses that guarantees this reproduction, a system that is itself conditioned by social practices and antagonistic social relations and strategies”. There is no teleology or fundamental causality that is responsible for the maintenance of structures; their persistence depends upon the balances of forces found in the antagonistic relations of the encounter, which provide the constitutive elements for the mode of production.
With regards to India, primitive accumulation belongs to the global history of colonization, which involves the articulation of power relations in the historically plural space of concrete social formations. As the becoming-necessary of contingent encounters, capital has to confront the “counter-forces rooted in non-capitalist practices and values that resists or subvert the attempts to subordinate life, ecology, and work to the imperatives of profit and accumulation. Primitive accumulation and resistance to it form a force field, an indeterminate though not arbitrary space of antagonism and struggle, within which capitalist transformation takes on an open-ended, relational, variegated, and reversible character.” The coexistence of the abstract, structural laws of capital with the concrete density of multiform conjunctures underscores the spuriousness of the Gandhian distinction between the internality of precapitalist society and the externality of capitalist economy. Such a topological distinction as part of the “theoretical deployment of mythos” à la political philosophy is always-already effaced by the global reach of capital, which, as Bilgrami showed, externalizes its internal contradictions in the form of settler-colonialism. The error consists in regarding this externalization as a mere intrusion in the stable totality of precapitalist society, instead of seeing it as an encounter of an ensemble of relations that do not have as their final cause some abstract essence but “other relations: relations which coexist with and precede this particular ensemble of relations”. This is a relational conception of cause, in which it “is always at work on the other scene – that is, it intervenes through the mediation of its opposite. Such is the general form of the ‘ruse of reason’ (which is every bit as much the ruse of unreason): economic effects never themselves have economic causes, no more than symbolic effects have symbolic or ideological causes.”
The worldwide operations of capitalist subsumption delineate an international valorization space that incorporates labor and land into the networks of abstract social labor and abstract social nature. The universality of this process is paralleled by the discrete historical configurations of violence and heterogeneous social forms through which primitive accumulation operates. While talking about the “local, diverse, and disconnected articulations of land and labor” that comprise the commodity and capital networks of colonial empires, Onur Ulas Ince notes: “Slave labor commanded by Atlantic plantocracies, peasant family labor commandeered by the militarized trading companies in South and Southeast Asia, industrial wage labor in Europe, and white colonial emigrant labor in Australasia coalesce into a global archipelago of accumulation. We can grasp these forms as properly belonging to the internal variegation of global capitalism, which no longer remains confined to metropolitan industrial and agrarian capitalism, but encompasses slave-plantation capitalism, company capitalism, and settler capitalism.”
The Materiality of State Power
By enacting policies of primitive accumulation throughout the globe, colonial empires force the subjugated people to deal with the materiality of state power. According to William Clare Roberts, Marx’s narrative of primitive accumulation is primarily concerned with explaining the unviability of the working-class separatism practiced by cooperative and mutualist movements. These movements are driven by the ideals of small-scale production, self-subsistence and familial independence, which makes it seem that “virtue, conviction, and hard work are sufficient to establish the colonies, associations, and communities out of which the new world will grow.” Marx subverts this faith by showing how primitive accumulation is based on the concentration of force in the hands of the state, which consistently combats any small-scale or decentralized petty production project. By thinking under the pressure of the capitalist conjuncture, Marx is able to extract a strategic orientation for the communist movement. The Left, instead of trying to escape from the reality of state power, has to sap it through a concrete movement of contradictions that identifies the vulnerabilities of the state. In the words of Roberts: “The magnitude of the state’s power, and the reliability with which that power is utilized to foster the conditions of capital accumulation, indicate to Marx that the workers must unite in large numbers and carry out a political struggle to dismantle the state and expropriate the capitalist class.”
The Marxist perspective envisions a “republic without independence,” where the capitalist dissolution of the fragmented reciprocity inherent in pre-capitalist relationships is acknowledged. This acknowledgment aims to foster what Marx referred to as “world-historical, empirically universal individuals,” whose material interdependencies preempt any possibility of reverting to local autonomy. Crucially, the interdependencies being talked about here don’t refer to the progressivist linearity of the production process, whose socializing and unifying tendencies are supposed to give rise to a homogenous proletariat. Rather, interdependency refers to the contradictory and complex manner in which capitalism intertwines the world through circuits of valorization. Lenin mentioned this perverse universality of capital through his conception of imperialism, which denotes the “highest stage of capitalism” in the precise sense “that it extends the contradictions of capitalism to the furthest reaches of the world and pushes them, in the form of imperialist war, to their highest intensity”. The focus on the material interlinkages of the capital world allows us to avoid anti-modernist fantasies that pursue a precapitalist agenda of proletarian separatism. Large-scale modern economic activities – collectivization, massification, industrialization, planning etc. – are valued not because they are the automatic culmination of the capitalist dynamic but because they are superior to petty production and communitarianism. This superiority is manifest in their coordinated national and international strategies, which respond to the materiality of state power contained in primitive accumulation.
While expanding on Ambedkar’s critique of Gandhism, Soumyabrata Choudhury remarks that Gandhi merely labels caste as an “anachronism,” as “a ‘part’ of the totality that has fallen into obsolescence and degenerated into a kind of temporal appendage of another consistent time of society”. This totality, as we have seen, is what Bilgrami christens as a “normative model” that ostensibly gives a method of mustering the internal moral resources of society against capitalist modernity. For Ambedkar, however, this precapitalist conjectural past is an “anathema”; i.e., a “wound of inconsistency at the heart of the logical object that is caste (anti)society”. The movement from “anachronism” to “anathema” indicates the annihilation of the immemorial spiritual totality that Gandhi presupposes. Why is this necessary? If Dalit suffering relates only to an “anachronistic” but deeply dehumanizing part of the totality, “then that part can be purified, or the totality can be purified of that part. This is precisely the logic which is built on the silent assumption—axiom—of the immemorial ‘true reality’ of the totality, and any change of heart must already be coded by the demands of this axiom.” This a-historical outlook is also evident in Gandhi’s idea of trust, which embeds corporations in an unchanging spiritual whole, thus replacing the militant rhythm of class struggle with the coherence of a generalized religious economy. In the caustic words of Ambedkar:
The idea of trusteeship which Gandhism proposes as a panacea by which the moneyed classes will hold their properties in trust for the poor is the most ridiculous part of it. All that one can say about it is that if anybody else had propounded it the author would have been laughed at as a silly fool who had not known the hard realities of life and was deceiving the servile classes by telling them that a little dose of moral rearmament to the propertied classes—those who by their insatiable cupidity and indomitable arrogance have made and will always make this world a vale of tears for the toiling millions—will recondition them to such an extent that they will be able to withstand the temptation to misuse the tremendous powers which the class structure gives them over servile classes.
To conclude, Bilgrami’s assessment of Gandhi as a philosopher-activist endowed with a perceptive “descriptive instinct” falls short in comprehending the efficacy of the concept of primitive accumulation. This concept supplants the speculative idealizations of Gandhism with the immanent tendencies of the constitutive encounter of the capitalist mode of production. While the former’s inability to comprehend the becoming-necessary of social formations leads it into the arbitrary construction of transcendental causes and abstract utopias, the latter’s appreciation of the contingent constitution of modes of production generates a revolutionary politics of the conjuncture.
This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
Between 1991 and 2016, the population of Delhi and its suburbs increased from 9.4 million to 25 million. In 2023, the World Population Review website estimates Delhi’s population to be 32.9 million.
In the December 2016 paper Future urban land expansion and implications for global croplands, it was projected that by 2030, globally, urban areas will have tripled in size, expanding into cropland and undermining the productivity of agricultural systems.
Around 60% of the world’s cropland lies on the outskirts of cities. The paper states that this land is, on average, twice as productive as land elsewhere on the globe.
Africa and Asia will together bear 80% of the projected cropland loss due to rising urbanisation. The disappearance of this productive land will impact staple crops such as maize, rice, soya beans and wheat, which are cornerstones of global food security.
In South Asia, farmland can’t simply spread elsewhere because fertile land is already running out.
One of the paper’s authors, Felix Creutzig (currently, Professor of Sustainability Economics at the Technical University of Berlin), said at the time that, as cities expand, millions of small-scale farmers will be displaced. These farmers produce the majority of food in developing countries and are key to global food security.
However, what Creutzig says is not inevitable. Far from it. Urbanisation is being encouraged and facilitated by design.
According to the World Bank’s lending report, based on data compiled up to 2015, India was easily the largest recipient of its loans in the history of the institution. On the back of India’s foreign exchange crisis in the early 1990s, the IMF and World Bank wanted India to shift hundreds of millions out of agriculture: India was to embark on a massive rural depopulation/urbanisation project.
In addition, in return for up to more than $120 billion (accounting for inflation, this would be $269 billion in 2023) in loans, India was directed to dismantle its state-owned seed supply system, reduce subsidies, run down public agriculture institutions, facilitate the entry of global players and offer incentives for the growing of cash crops to earn foreign exchange.
The details of this plan appear in a January 2021 article by the Mumbai-based Research Unit for Political Economy (RUPE). In effect, it constitutes a massive urbanisation project and the opening of India’s agriculture sector to foreign agribusiness corporations.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, Felix Creutzig predicted the following:
As peri-urban land is converted, smallholders will lose their land. The emerging mega-cities will rely increasingly on industrial-scale agricultural and supermarket chains, crowding out local food chains.
The RUPE says that the opening of India’s agriculture and food economy to foreign investors and global agribusinesses has been a longstanding project of the imperialist countries.
Industrial-scale agriculture is key to the plan. And integral to this model of farming is genetically engineered food crops – whether first generation genetically modified (GM) crops based on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or newer techniques involving the likes of gene editing.
Glyphosate/GM crop approval
According to a recent report in the Chennai-based New Indian Express (NIE), the Indian government is likely to allow the cultivation of herbicide-tolerant (HT) GM crops. These crops have not been legalised but have been growing in India for some years.
The government is creating a pool of more than 4,000 ‘progressive farmers’ and ‘rural educated youths’ who can help farmers spray glyphosate on GM crops that have been genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide. These pest control officers are to spray glyphosate on behalf of farmers.
Glyphosate is carcinogenic and, in India, its use is officially restricted to tea crops and non-cropping areas like barren land and roadsides. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015.
The NIE quotes a source who implies that the drive to spray glyphosate on agricultural land seems like a precursor of legalising HT GM cotton (I would add – and HT GM food crops eventually).
At this time, only one GM crop – Bt (insecticidal) cotton – is legalised in India.
The legalisation of HT GM cotton would be a key step towards opening a multi-billion-dollar market for global agritech-agrochemicals firms which have a range of HT GM food crops waiting in the pipeline.
Much has been written on the devastating effects that glyphosate has on health and the environment. Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH)s formulas affect the gut microbiome and are associated with a global metabolic health crisis. They also cause epigenetic changes in humans and animals – diseases skip a generation then appear.
These toxic chemicals have entered the food chain and human bodies at harmful levels and are even in a range of popular children’s cereals.
An April 2023 study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute measured glyphosate levels in the urine of farmers and other study participants and determined that high levels of the pesticide were associated with signs of a reaction in the body called oxidative stress, a condition that causes damage to DNA and a cancer biomarker.
The study findings appeared after the US Centers for Disease Control reported in 2022 that more than 80% of urine samples drawn from children and adults contained glyphosate. Similar figures are found in the EU. GBHs are the world’s most widely used agricultural weedkiller.
There are dozens of academic studies that indicate the deleterious and disturbing effects of GBHs on human health. Rather than presenting them here, for the sake of brevity, many are listed in the online article Bathed In Pesticides: The Narrative Of Deception (2022).
Attorney Robert F Kennedy Jr and current presidential candidate has been involved with some of the ongoing court cases in the US that have been brought against Bayer regarding the human health damage of Monsanto’s Roundup GBH (Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018).
Kennedy concludes that there is cascading scientific evidence linking glyphosate to a constellation of injuries that have become prevalent since its introduction, including obesity, depression, Alzheimer’s, ADHD, autism, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, kidney and inflammatory bowel disease, brain, breast and prostate cancer, miscarriage, birth defects and declining sperm counts.
He adds that strong science suggests glyphosate is the culprit in the exploding epidemics of celiac disease, colitis, gluten sensitivities, diabetes and non-alcoholic liver cancer which, for the first time, is attacking children as young as 10.
Researchers peg glyphosate as a potent endocrine disruptor, which interferes with sexual development in children. It is also a chelator that removes important minerals from the body and disrupts the microbiome, destroying beneficial bacteria in the human gut and triggering brain inflammation and other ill effects.
So, why do GBHs remain on the market? It’s because of the power of the agritech/agrochemical sector and the don’t look, don’t see approach of compromised regulatory bodies: see Glyphosate: EU assessment report excludes most of the scientific literature from its analysis (2021) by GMWatch and Glyphosate in the EU: product promoters masquerading as regulators in a ‘cesspool of corruption’? (2016) in The Ecologist.
Consider what veteran journalist Carey Gillam says:
US Roundup litigation began in 2015 after the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Internal Monsanto documents dating back decades show that the company was aware of scientific research linking its weed killer to cancer but instead of warning consumers, the company worked to suppress the information and manipulate scientific literature.
Over the years, Monsanto mounted a deceitful defence of its health- and environment-damaging Roundup and its GM crops and orchestrated toxic smear campaigns against anyone – scientist or campaigner – who threatened its interests.
In 2016, campaigner Rosemary Mason wrote an open letter to European Chemicals Agency Executive Director Geert Dancet. It can be accessed on the academia.edu site.
In it, she sets out how current EU legislation was originally set up to protect the pesticides industry and how Monsanto and other agrochemical corporations helped the EU design the regulatory systems for their own products.
There is much at stake for the industry. According to Phillips McDougall’s Annual Agriservice Reports, herbicides made up 43% of the global pesticide market in 2019 by value. Much of the increase in glyphosate use is due to the introduction of glyphosate-tolerant soybean, maize and cotton seeds in the US, Brazil and Argentina.
GBHs are a multi-billion-dollar money-spinning venture for the manufacturers. But this latest development in India is as much about the legalisation of a wide range of proprietary HT GM seeds and crops as it is about glyphosate because both are joined at the hip.
Regulatory delinquency
In India, five high-level reports have advised against the adoption of GM crops: the Jairam Ramesh Report (2010); the Sopory Committee Report (2012); the Parliamentary Standing Committee Report (2012); the Technical Expert Committee Final Report (2013); and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment and Forests (2017).
Given the health and environmental issues surrounding GM crops, as well as the now well-documented failure of Bt cotton in the country, it comes as little surprise that these reports advise against their adoption.
This high-level advice also derives, in part, from GM ‘regulation’ in India being dogged by blatant violations of biosafety norms, hasty approvals, a lack of monitoring abilities, general apathy towards the hazards of contamination and a lack of institutional oversight.
The ‘Technical Expert Committee Final Report’ was scathing about India’s prevailing regulatory system and highlighted its inadequacies and serious inherent conflicts of interest. As we have seen with the push to get GM mustard commercialised, the problems described by the TEC persist.
The drive to get GM crops commercialised has been relentless, not least GM mustard. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the country’s apex regulatory body for GMOs, has pushed ahead by giving this crop the nod. However, the case of GM mustard remains stuck in the Supreme Court due to a public interest litigation lodged by environmentalist Aruna Rodrigues.
Rodrigues argues that GM mustard is being undemocratically forced through with flawed tests (or no testing) and a lack of public scrutiny: in other words, unremitting scientific fraud and outright regulatory delinquency.
This crop is also HT, which is wholly inappropriate for a country like India with its small biodiverse farms that could be affected by its application on nearby fields.
However, despite the ban on GM crops, in 2005, biologist Pushpa Bhargava noted that unapproved varieties of several GM crops were being sold to farmers. In 2008, Arun Shrivasatava wrote that illegal GM okra had been planted in India and poor farmers had been offered lucrative deals to plant “special seed” of all sorts of vegetables.
In 2013, a group of scientists and NGOs protested in India against the introduction of transgenic brinjal in Bangladesh – a centre for origin and diversity of the vegetable – as it would give rise to contamination of the crop in India. In 2014, the West Bengal government said it had received information regarding “infiltration” of commercial seeds of GM Bt brinjal from Bangladesh.
In 2017, the illegal cultivation of an HT GM soybean was reported in Gujarat. Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), a national farmers organisation, claimed that Gujarat farmers had been cultivating the HT crop.
As mentioned above, HT cotton is illegally growing in India.
In the 2017 paper – The ox fall down: path-breaking and technology treadmills in Indian cotton agriculture – Glenn Stone and Andrew Flachs note the tactic of encouraging farmers to abandon traditional on-farm practices, which coincides with the appearance of an increasing supply of HT GM cotton seeds.
This is a cynical attempt to place farmers on corporate seed and chemical (glyphosate) treadmills.
The authors write:
Although India’s cotton sector has been penetrated by various input- and capital-intensive methods, penetration by herbicide has been largely stymied. In Telangana State, the main obstacle has been the practice of ‘double-lining’, in which cotton plants are spaced widely to allow weeding by ox-plow… double-lining is an example of an advantageous path for cash-poor farmers. However, it is being actively undermined by parties intent on expanding herbicide markets and opening a niche for next-generation genetically modified cotton.
Stone and Flachs note the potential market for herbicide growth alone in India is huge. Writing in 2017, the authors note that sales could soon reach USD 800 million with scope for even greater expansion. Indeed, enormous expansion if HT GM crops become legal.
Friends in high places
Global agritech firms are salivating at the prospect of India being prised open for the introduction of GM crops. The industry has always had high-level supporters in India and abroad. And this leads back to what was stated earlier in the article – the plan to industrialise Indian agriculture at the behest of the World Bank and foreign agribusiness and the manoeuvring into position of compliant officials.
PM Modi proclaimed in 2014 that GM represents a good business-investment opportunity. Renowned environmentalist Vandana Shiva has highlighted the arm twisting that has gone on in an attempt to force through GMOs into India, with various politicians having been pushed aside until the dotted line for GMO open field-testing approval was signed on.
Back in late 2015, I co-authored a piece with then editor of The Ecologist Oliver Tickell – Rice, wheat, mustard… India drives forward first GMO crops under veil of secrecy.
Seventeen or more secret applications had been made to India’s GMO regulators for trials and release of GM crops, including rice, wheat, chickpeas, brinjal and mustard. In a violation of the law, regulators had released no information about the applications, raising fears that India’s first GMOs will be released with no health, safety or environmental testing.
It is not surprising then that calls have been made for probes into the workings of the GEAC and other official bodies, who seem to have been asleep at the wheel or deliberately looking the other way as illegal GM crop cultivation has taken place.
India’s first GM crop cultivation – Bt cotton – was discovered in 2001 growing on thousands of hectares in Gujarat, spread surreptitiously and illegally. Campaigner Kavitha Kuruganti said the GEAC was caught off-guard when news about large-scale illegal cultivation of Bt cotton emerged, even as field trials that were to decide whether India would opt for this GM crop were still underway.
In March 2002, the GEAC ended up approving Bt cotton for commercial cultivation in India. To this day, no liability has been fixed for the illegal spread. We could well be witnessing a rerun of this scenario for HT cotton and HT food crops.
The tactic of contaminate first then legalise has benefited industry players before. Aside from Bt cotton in India, in 2016, the US Department of Agriculture granted marketing approval of GM Liberty Link 601 (Bayer CropScience) rice variety following its illegal contamination of the food supply and rice exports. The USDA effectively sanctioned an ‘approval-by-contamination’ policy.
The writing could be on the wall for India.
Does India need GM?
A common claim is that GMOs are essential to agriculture if we are to feed an ever-growing global population. Supporters of GM crops argue that by increasing productivity and yields, this technology will also help boost farmers’ incomes and lift many out of poverty.
In a 2018 paper in the journal Current Science, eminent scientists P C Kesavan and M S Swaminathan (regarded as the ‘father of the Green Revolution’ in India) questioned the efficacy of and the need for GMOs in agriculture.
The performance of GM crops has been a hotly contested issue and, as highlighted in Kesavan and Swaminathan’s piece and by many others, there is sufficient evidence to question their efficacy, especially that of HT crops and their shocking, devastating impact in places like Argentina.
Kesavan and Swaminathan argue that GM is supplementary and must be need based. In more than 99% of cases, they say that time-honoured conventional breeding is sufficient. Too often, however, conventional options and innovations that outperform GM are sidelined in a rush by powerful interests to facilitate the introduction of GM crops.
Although India fares poorly in world hunger assessments, the country has achieved self-sufficiency in food grains and has ensured there is enough food available to feed its entire population. It is the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses and millets and the second-largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnuts, vegetables and fruit.
People are not hungry in India because its farmers do not produce enough food. Hunger and malnutrition result from various factors, including inadequate food distribution, (gender) inequality and poverty; in fact, the country continues to export food while millions remain hungry. It’s a case of ‘scarcity’ amid abundance.
Where farmers’ livelihoods are concerned, the pro-GMO lobby says that GM will boost productivity and help secure cultivators a better income. Again, this is misleading: it ignores crucial political and economic contexts. Even with bumper harvests, Indian farmers still find themselves in financial distress.
India’s farmers are not experiencing financial hardship due to low productivity. They are reeling from the effects of neoliberal policies, years of neglect and a deliberate strategy to displace most of them at the behest of the World Bank and predatory global agri-food corporations.
But pro-GMO supporters, both outside of India and within, along with the neoliberal think tanks many of them are associated with, have wasted no time in wrenching the issues of hunger and poverty from their political contexts to use notions of ‘helping farmers’ and ‘feeding the world’ as lynchpins of their promotional strategy.
The knowledge and many of the traditional practices of India’s small farmers are now recognised as sophisticated and appropriate for high-productive, sustainable agriculture. It is no surprise therefore that a 2019 FAO high-level report has called for agroecology and smallholder farmers to be prioritised and invested in to achieve global sustainable food security. It argues that scaling up agroecology offers potential solutions to many of the world’s most pressing problems, whether, for instance, climate resilience, carbon storage, soil degradation, water shortages, unemployment or food security.
Available evidence suggests that (non-GMO) smallholder farming using low-input methods is more productive in total output than large-scale industrial farms and can be more profitable.
It is for good reason that the FAO high-level report referred to earlier along with the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Professor Hilal Elver and numerous other papers and reports advocate agroecology call for investment in this type of agriculture. Despite the pressures, including the fact that globally industrial agriculture grabs 80% of subsidies and 90% of research funds, smallholder agriculture plays a major role in feeding the world.
In the introduction to a recent article, I wrote that the prevailing globalised agrifood model is responsible for increasing rates of illness, nutrient-deficient diets, a narrowing of the range of food crops, water shortages, chemical runoffs, increasing levels of farmer indebtedness, the undermining and destruction of local communities and the eradication of biodiversity.
Do Indian citizens want a GM/glyphosate-drenched, industrial food system that brings with it all of the above?
I also wrote that the model relies on a policy paradigm that privileges urbanisation, global markets, long supply chains, external proprietary inputs, highly processed food and market (corporate) dependency.
The solution lies in a paradigm shift that abandons the notion that urbanisation equates with ‘progress’. A shift that prioritises rural communities, small independent retail enterprises (instead of global giants like Walmart-Flipkart and Amazon) and smallholder farms, local markets, short supply chains, on-farm resources, diverse agroecological cropping, nutrient-dense diets and food sovereignty.
A shift that rejects the ecomodernist techno-dystopia of hyper-urbanisation, genetically engineered crops, biosynthetic food and farmerless farms and a ‘food transition’ all under the control of a big data-agritech cartel that wraps all of the above in a veneer of fake green.
There are alternative visions, potential outcomes and resistance that can challenge the ecomodernist agenda.
Instead of their eradication, creating land markets to amalgamate their land for industrial-scale mono-cropping or using vital cropland to build on, smallholder farmers and rural communities should be placed at the centre of development policies. Moreover, inspiration can be taken from the worldviews of indigenous peoples and, as anthropology professor Arturo Escobar says, the concept of Buen Viver: promoting ways of living that stress the collective well being of humans and nature and recognising the inseparability and interdependence of both.
For instance, India’s indigenous peoples’ low-energy, low-consumption tribal cultures are the antithesis of capitalism and industrialisation, and their knowledge and value systems promote genuine sustainability through restraint in what is taken from nature.
This entails a fundamental transformation in values, priorities and outlooks and a shift away from predation, imperialism, domination, anthropocentrism and plunder.
That’s what a genuine ‘food transition’ and Buen Viver would really mean.
• Many of the issues mentioned in the article above are discussed in the author’s free-to-read e-book.
This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Colin Todhunter.
By David Robie
New Zealand-adopted Fiji journalist, sports writer, national news agency reporter, anti-coup activist, media freedom advocate, storyteller and mentor Sri Krishnamurthi has died. He was just two weeks shy of his 60th birthday.
Fiji-born on 15 August 1963, just after his elder twin brother Murali, Sri grew up in the port city of Lautoka, Fiji’s second largest in the west of Viti Levu island. His family were originally Girmitya, indentured Indian plantation workers shipped out to Fiji under under harsh conditions by the British colonial rulers.
“My grandmother, Bonamma, came from India with my grandfather and came to work in the sugar cane fields under the indentured system,” Sri recalled in a recent RNZ interview with Blessen Tom.
“They lived in ‘lines’ — a row of one-room houses. They worked the cane fields from 6am to 6pm largely without a break. It was basically slavery in all but name.”
However, the Krishnamurthi family became one of the driving forces in building up Fiji’s largest NGO, TISI Sangam.
He made his initial mark as a journalist with The Fiji Times, Fiji’s most influential daily newspaper. However, along with many of his peers, he became disillusioned and affected with the trauma and displacement as a result of Sitiveni Rabuka’s two military coups in 1987 at the start of what became known as the country’s devastating “coup culture”.
Sri migrated to New Zealand to make a new life, as did most of his family members, and he was active for the Coalition for Democracy (CDF) in the post-coup years. He worked as a journalist for many organisations, including the NZ Press Association, the civil service, Parliament and more recently with RNZ Pacific.
Tana’s ‘sleepless nights’
His last story for RNZ Pacific was about Tana Umaga ”expecting sleepless nights” as the new coach of Moana Pasifika.
“A friend to many, he is best known in the journalism industry for his long-time stint at NZPA covering sport, and more recently for his work with the Pacific Media Centre,” said New Zealand Herald editor-at-large Shayne Currie in his Media Insider column.
“During his NZPA career, he covered various international rugby tours of New Zealand, America’s Cups, cricket tours, the Warriors in the NRL and was also among a handful of reporters who travelled to Mexico in 1999 for the All Whites’ first-ever appearance at Fifa’s Confederations Cup.”
His mates remember him as a generous friend and dedicated journalist.
“He enjoyed being a New Zealander, a true Kiwi if we can call someone that,” recalled Nik Naidu, an activist businessman, former journalist and trustee of the Whanau Community Centre and Hub, when speaking about his lifelong family friend at the funeral on Friday.
“Sri was one of the few Fijians and migrants over 30 years ago who embraced Māoridom and the first nation people of our land. It is only now in New Zealand that the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi is becoming better understood by the mainstream.
“Sri lived Te Tiriti all those years ago, and advocated for Māori and indigenous rights for so long.”
Postgraduate studies
I first got to know Sri in 2017 when he rolled up at AUT University and said he wanted to study journalism. I was floored by this idea. Although I hadn’t really known him personally before this, I knew him by reputation as being a talented sports journalist from Fiji who had made his mark at NZPA.
I remember asking Sri why did he want to do journalism — albeit at postgraduate level — when he could easily teach the course standing on his head. And then as we chatted I realised that he was rebuilding his life after a stroke that he had suffered travelling from Chennai to Bangalore, India, back in 2016.
Well, I persuaded him to branch out in his planned Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies and tackle a range of challenging new skills and knowledge, such as digital media. And I was honoured too that he wanted to take my Asia Pacific Journalism studies postgraduate course.
He wanted to build on his Fiji origins and expand his Pacific reporting skills, and he mentored many of his fellow postgraduates, people with life experience and qualifications but often new to journalism, especially Pacific journalism.
I realised he was somebody rather special who had a remarkable range of skills and an extraordinary range of contacts, even for a journalist. He seemed to know everybody under the sun. And he had a friendly manner and an insatiable curiosity.
From then he gravitated around Asia Pacific Journalism and the Pacific Media Centre. Next thing he was recruited as editor/writer of Pacific Media Watch, a media freedom project that we had been running in the centre since 2007 in collaboration with the Paris-based global watchdog Reporters Without Borders.
In spite of his post-stroke blues, he was one of the best project editors that we ever had. He had a tremendous zeal and enthusiasm no matter what handicap was in his way. He was willing to try anything — so keen to give it a go.
95bFM radio presenter
Sri became the presenter of our weekly Pacific radio programme Southern Cross on 95bFM, not an easy task with his voice issues, but he gained a popular following. He interviewed people from all around the Pacific.
Next challenge was when we sent him to the University of the South Pacific to join the journalism school team over there covering the 2018 Fiji General Election. We had hoped 2006 coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama would be ousted then, but he wasn’t – that came four years later last December.
However, Sri scored an exclusive interview with the original coup leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the man responsible for Sri fleeing Fiji and who is now Prime Minister of Fiji. Sri got the repentent former Fiji strongman to admit that he was “coerced” by the defeated Alliance party into carrying out the first coup.
He graduated from AUT with a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies (Digital Media) in 2019 to add to his earlier MBA at Massey University. Several times he expressed to me that his ambition was to gain a PhD and join the USP journalism programme to mentor future Fiji journalists.
At AUT, he won the 2018 RNZ Pacific Prize for his Fiji coup coverage and in 2019 he was awarded the Storyboard Award for his outstanding contribution to diversity journalism. RNZ Pacific manager Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor tells a story about how he had declared to her at the time: “I’m going to work for RNZ Pacific.” And he did.
However, the following year, our world changed forever with the COVID-19 pandemic and many plans crashed. Sri and I teamed up again, this time on a Pacific Covid and Climate crisis project, writing for Asia Pacific Report. He recalled about this venture: “The fact that we kept the Pacific Media Watch project going when other news media around us — such as Bauer — were failing showed a tenacity that was unique and a true commitment to the Pacific.”
‘Virtual kava bar’
It was a privilege to work with Sri and to share his enthusiasm and friendship. He was an extraordinarily generous person, especially to fellow journalists. I was really touched when he and Blessen Tom, now also with RNZ, made a video dedicated to the Pacific Media Watch and my work.
Nik Naidu shares a tale of Sri’s generosity with a group of West Papuan students last year when their Indonesian government suddenly pulled their scholarships and left them in dire straits. AUT postgraduate communications Laurens Ikinia was their advocate, trying to get their visas extended and fundraising for them to complete their studies.
“Many people don’t know this, but Lauren’s rent was late by a year — more than $3000 — and Sri organised money and paid for this. That was Sri, deep down the kindest of souls.”
During his Pacific Media Watch stint, Sri wrote several generous profiles of regional colleagues, including The Pacific Newsroom, the “virtual kava bar” news success founded by Pacific media veterans Sue Ahearn and Michael Field, and also of the expanding RNZ Pacific newsroom team with Koroi Hawkins appointed as the first Melanesian news editor.
But he struggled at times with depression and his journalism piece that really stands out for me is an article that he wrote about living with a stroke for three years. It was scary but inspirational and it took huge courage to write. As he wrote at the time:
“You learn new tricks when you have a stroke – words associated with images, or words through the process of elimination worked for me. And then there was the trusted old Google when you couldn’t be bothered.
“You learn to use bungee shoelaces or Velcro shoes because tying shoelaces just won’t happen. The right arm is bung and you are back to typing with two fingers – as I’m doing now. At the same time, technology is your biggest ally.”
Sri Krishnamurthi died last week on August 2 — way too early. He was a great survivor against the odds. Moce, Sri, your friends and colleagues will fondly remember your generous spirit and legacy.
Dr David Robie is a retired journalism professor and founding director of the AUT Pacific Media Centre. He worked with Sri Krishnamurthi for six years as an academic mentor, friend and journalism colleague. This was article is published under a community partnership with RNZ.
In India, recognition of the role of gender identities in preservation of human rights, both in the context of judicial interpretation and cultural acceptance, began to gain significance since the verdict of NALSA v. Union of India came out in 2014. However, India falls short in addressing the emerging intersectional tangents in the arena of human rights. Even though disability rights began to gain recognition internationally as early as in 1975, The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights And Full Participation) Act was passed in India in 1995. Several critiques cropped up against the Act, regarding the insufficient legal protection associated with, inter alia, public employment and the non-inclusion of specific rights to women with disabilities. However, the amended version of the same Act came into effect, after a delayed period of about 21 years, in the year 2016, with the title Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
Gender and disability were not considered as interconnected to each other until the culmination of the Mexico Report in the first World Conference of the International Women’s Year, 1975 (Bantekas, Stein and Anastasiou, 2018). Eventually, this conceptualization influenced the formulation of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which, in turn, formed the foundational basis for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016 in India. However, what we need to understand here is that gender is not limited to a binary connotation (Bantekas, Stein and Anastasiou, 2018).
World Health Organisation emphasizes that gender is shaped through cultural intervention and sex is a biological phenomenon limited to the natural laws (WHO). This has led to recognising gender as isolated from the confined parameters of sex. Some individuals who do not feel that their gender is aligned with their sex often experience distress and trauma while coming to terms with this reality (Buckwalter, 2017). There has been much debate on identifying gender dysphoria as a disability under the American Disabilities Act of 1990 but this move is still under contention (Levy and Barry, 2021). There have been similar discussions and contemplations in other places such as in Australia (Bell, 2015), Japan and China (Blom, 2016) with regards to the intersection of disability rights and gender inclusion. India has a long way to go.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWD) rightfully highlights ‘women and children with disabilities’ as a special class of disabled individuals requiring additional protection, but there is absence of any special provision signifying the need for addressing disability rights of persons who identify as genderqueer, transgender or intersex. They are regularly subjected to aggravated discrimination and violence (UCLA, 2021). Moreover, only the two prevalent sexes – male and female – have been identified by the Government of India for disability census (NSO, 2021). With the intersection of disability, gender non-conforming disabled people become one of the most vulnerable groups in Indian society. RPWD has followed the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which also address the intersection of gender and disability rights in the context of the two conventionally recognised genders: Men and Women. Therefore, the exclusion of a gender inclusive provision or terminology in RPWD seems to have a basis. .
However, as has been emphasised in the Act and the Convention, the responsibility to come out with effective legislation for preventing discrimination against all kinds of persons with disabilities vests with the State. The State has the duty to ensure a holistic implementation of the objective of the rules and regulations laid down in CRPD. Supreme Court cases of Rajive Raturi v. Union of India (2017) and Disabled Rights Group v. Union of India (2017) have rightfully highlighted the above-mentioned observation. This is where the Indian Government’s legislative conundrums come to the forefront.
One of the most problematic and flawed legislation of India finds its recognition in the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The Act provides erroneous definitions of the term, ‘transgender’, forming the very basis of the legislation. The definition of the term ‘transgender’ under section 2(k) of the Act defines transgender persons as not only those individuals who do not identify with the biological sex assigned at birth but also individuals with ‘intersex variations’. Individuals who identify as transgender are those who do not feel their sex is aligned with their gender but individuals with intersex variations are born with “a reproductive or sexual anatomy which doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male”. (Koopman, 2017). As discussed earlier, WHO’s premise of treating sex as the biological phenomenon and gender as the cultural one can be seen to have a distorted implementation in this legislation as it treats sex and gender under the same umbrella. Transgender people cannot be defined to have intersex variations as a matter of fact, but they may also have such variations. Furthermore, Section 15 of the Act, which specifically highlights the government’s responsibilities in provision of adequate health services to transgender individuals, does not cover provisions to transgender people with disabilities.
Apart from this, even though the Indian Domestic Violence Act of 2005 recognizes intimate partner violence against women, it categorically excludes similar instances of family and partner violence in cases of other individuals belonging to the LGBTQ+ community. Such individuals are, quite frequently, subjected to acts of violence by their partners and other family members. Furthermore, there are no provisions specifically addressing disability rights in the context of intimate partner violence even though that has been considered as an integral arena of concern in the field of disability rights (Smith, 2008).
The existing laws and policies surrounding disability rights in India are not equipped to deal with instances of violation of such rights in cases of individuals belonging to the LGBTQ+ communities. As highlighted earlier, the very legislative definition of the term ‘transgender’ in India is flawed. None of the above-mentioned legislation includes any provision holistically addressing the intersection of gender inclusivity and disability rights. The current legal scenario of this intersectional parameter seems to be lacking substantially in India. In a very recent and landmark judgment of Patan Jamal Vali v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2021), Justice D.Y Chandrachud, even though he emphasized the need for addressing intersectional parameters, in the context of women with disabilities, his observations apply to all. Every individual of any gender, with any kind of recognised disability, are entitled to special protection by the State for reasons stated above.
Bantekas, I., Stein, M. and Anastasiou, D., 2018. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 1st ed. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, pp.172-173.
Bell, F., 2015. Children with Gender Dysphoria and the Jurisdiction of the Family Court. University of Wallongong Law Journal, 32(2), pp. 426-454.
Blom, R. M., 2016. Body integrity identity disorder crosses culture:. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, p. 1419 to 1423.
Levi, J. and Barry, K., 2022. Embracing the ADA: Transgender People and Disability Rights. [online] Blog.harvardlawreview.org. Available at: <https://blog.harvardlawreview.org/embracing-the-ada-transgender-people-and-disability-rights/> [Accessed 24 July 2022].
Koopman, S., 2022. Intersex vs Transgender: Here’s What You Need To Know. [online] HuffPost UK. Available at: <https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2017/02/08/intersex-vs-transgender-heres-what-you-need-to-know_a_21709480/> [Accessed 24 July 2022].
Liang, T. 2017. An Analysis of Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble. London: Macat International Ltd.
Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Government of India, National Statistics Office. (2021) Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) in India – A Statistical Profile: 2021.
Pacific Standard. 2022. When Disability Rights Are Trans Rights. [online] Available at: <https://psmag.com/social-justice/next-frontier-fight-for-trans-rights> [Accessed 24 July 2022].
Smith, D., 2007. Disability, Gender, and Intimate Partner Violence: Relationships from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Sexuality and Disability, 26(1), pp.15-28.
WHO, n.d. Gender and Health. [Online]
Available at: https://www.who.int/health-topics/gender#tab=tab_1
Williams Institute. 2022. Transgender people over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crime. [online] Available at: <https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release/> [Accessed 24 July 2022].
This post was originally published on LSE Human Rights.
New York: Mournful processions and Majalis of Muharram-ul-Haram are being held across the world including the United States,with Muslim devotees paying homage to Imam Hussain (AS) and his loyal companions who rendered their lives in the soil of Karbala for the noble cause of humanity, justice and restoration of the glory of Islam.
The Muharram-ul-Haram gatherings and mourning processions are also being held with devotion and respect in Africa, Middle East, Iran, South Asia including Pakistan and India.
The main Muharram procession in Dallas and Houston will be held downtown on the 10th of Muharram, July 28, while the series of congregations will continue in various imambargahs and private residences.
A large number of Muslim devotees of Imam Hussain (AS), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, (the last messenger of Allah Almighty) participated in the Muharram gatherings at Houston’s Al-Ghadeer Imambargah, Dalles’ Imambargah Momin Center and Dar-e-Hussain.
While series of Majalis also being organized wherein Zakirs and religious scholars are describing the incident of Karbala.
Azadar echoed like Labbaik Ya Hussain everywhere, participating in these gatherings organized in memory of the great sacrifice of the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.
Mourning events are ongoing in many other cities of Texas, the largest state of America, including Houston and Dallas.
Men, women and children are actively participating in these meetings.
The post Muharram processions, Majlis being held across the world including the US with religious reverence first appeared on VOSA.
This post was originally published on VOSA.
Safran Helicopter Engines and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) have decided to set up their new joint venture company in Bangalore, India. It will be dedicated to the design, development, production, sales and support of helicopter engines, with first objective to build the most adequate propulsion solution for the Indian Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) future 13-ton […]
The post Safran and HAL to form joint venture company to co-design and produce new generation helicopter engines in India appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Growth in global demand for electricity is expected to slow down in 2023 due to falling electricity consumption in advanced economies, while strong growth is observed in developing and emerging economies like China and India, a report released by a Paris-based energy watchdog said Wednesday.
The increasing global electricity demand is being driven by the electrification of energy systems gaining momentum as part of the ongoing efforts to decrease global emissions, the International Energy Agency said in its latest Electricity Market report.
Additionally, with rising temperatures, there is a notable surge in the adoption of air conditioning, further straining world power systems, especially since summers with extreme temperatures are becoming more frequent in many regions.
“The world’s need for electricity is set to grow strongly in the years to come,” Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA’s director for energy markets and security, said in a statement.
“And we’re encouraged to see renewables accounting for a rising share of electricity generation, resulting in declines in the use of fossil fuels for power generation.”
Electricity demand is set to drop to the lowest level in 20 years in the European Union, while it will slow down in the United States and Japan, largely due to the ongoing effects of the global energy crisis and an economic slowdown, the report said.
The IEA said renewable energy’s contribution to global electricity generation will surpass one-third by next year. Moreover, if favorable weather conditions persist, 2024 might be the first year when renewables outpace coal in worldwide electricity generation.
Growth and drought pressures Chinese grid
Following a modest 3.7% yearly rise in electricity demand in 2022, China is projected to experience a 5.3% surge in 2023, according to the IEA.
Despite the economic recovery not matching some initial expectations after the relaxation of strict pandemic measures, electricity demand is expected to receive an additional boost due to rising cooling requirements during the summer of 2023.
In 2024, China’s electricity demand will grow at 5.1%, the IEA said.
As of 2022, 30% of the world’s hydropower generation was in China but the country suffered from droughts in 2022 and 2023, which decreased hydropower output by 23% in the first half of 2023.
That means more coal-fired generation to fill the gap, estimated to have increased by almost 8% in the first half of 2023 amid significant growth in demand.
The IEA said coal-fired output will likely increase by 4.5% over the rest of the year and then stay roughly flat in 2024, as strong growth in renewables and nuclear power help tackle reliance on coal.
Wind generation grew by about 20% in the first half of this year, supported by installed capacities and favorable weather growth.
According to the China Electricity Council, peak electricity demand is projected to reach 1,370 Gigawatts in 2023, an 80 GW increase compared to 2022, with the maximum power load expected to rise by an additional 20 GW in the event of extreme weather.
To prepare for potential large-scale power outages, China conducted its first emergency drill in collaboration with the National Energy Administration and regional governments from East China in June 2023, with various stakeholders participating, including energy regulators, power grid and generation companies, the Shanghai subway network, hospitals and the chemical industry.
India sees rising demand due to cooling requirements
In 2022, India experienced a remarkable 8.4% surge in electricity demand due to a robust post-pandemic recovery and intense heat waves.
The strong growth trend is projected to continue in 2023, at 6.8% and 6.1% in 2024, when India’s electricity consumption is expected to surpass that of Japan and South Korea combined.
According to the IEA, the rising usage of household appliances, a growing reliance on electrical machinery, increasing adoption of electric vehicles, and the expansion of cooling systems all contribute to the sustained growth in India’s electricity needs.
In March, India’s Central Electricity Authority said that certain sub-regions might face power supply deficits ranging from 4% to 11.3% of their respective peak demand, which could be balanced to some extent since the regions are expected to experience this at different times.
India is anticipated to possess a slim 0.7% surplus to fulfill peak electricity demand, which is estimated to be around 230 GW. This indicates a precarious supply situation. Notably, in June 2023, there was already a peak demand of 223 GW, driven by escalating temperatures.
Though India installed robust solar generation capacity, it is not enough for evening peaks when the sun is not shining, but temperatures remain high.
The IEA said India recorded a 3.8% increase in coal-fired generation in the first half of 2023 due to strong demand growth and reduced hydropower output, which decreased by 8%. It is likely to continue increasing until 2024.
With heat waves expected to cause surges in peak demand due to increased cooling, the government ordered coal plants to run at full capacity from mid-March until the end of September to increase the security of supply.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
From today readers of rnz.co.nz will see a change to the home page, and a new initiative to tell the stories of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Asian community.
RNZ.co.nz has added a lineup of four sections which focus on the growing communities of Aotearoa and are placed right at the top of the home page.
Elevated links have been added to RNZ’s existing Te Ao Māori and Pacific sections.
RNZ has also launched two new sections for Chinese and Indian New Zealanders and added them at the top of the home page as well.
The sections are part of a new initiative to speak to and report on issues in the growing Asian communities of New Zealand.
The new Indian section features original stories in English by specialist reporters.
The Chinese section has stories in the simplified Chinese script. Original stories are there as well as translations of RNZ news stories of interest to the Chinese community.
NZ On Air survey
RNZ is starting with the simplified script and will then scope whether it is feasible and useful to translate using the traditional script as well.
The different approaches are a response to a NZ On Air survey which found the Indian and Chinese communities had different language needs and approaches to seeking out news.
This is one of RNZ’s first steps into daily translated news. Before the launch, RNZ put systems in place to make sure it is getting translations right. The stories are double, and triple checked.
RNZ is also asking for feedback to make sure it is getting it right on each story and will conduct regular independent audits to make sure our translations are on track. RNZ is keen for feedback.
The new Indian and Chinese sections are a result of a two-year collaboration with NZ On Air. The unit of reporters and translators is being funded for the first year through the Public Interest Journalism Fund; the second year will be funded by RNZ, with a right of renewal after that.
Stories from the Asian unit will also be made available to more than 40 media organisations across the country and the Pacific.
RNZ believes that it is vital that RNZ supplies news to many different communities within Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Asian population in New Zealand is growing fast, particularly in Auckland.
In 2018, Asian New Zealanders made up 15 percent of the New Zealand population. The two largest groups are the Chinese and Indian New Zealanders, with about 250,000 people each.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Again, he was at it, that charming show on two legs, playful and coy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been burning the charismatic fuel of late, making the necessary emissions in visiting friendly countries. Each time, he seems to be getting away with more and more, currying (pun intended) favour with his hosts and landing the necessary deals.
For all the excitement of going to a fellow cricket loving state such as Australia, no one was under any illusion about the prize. Easy gains there on matters of commerce, education and security: a pliant PM, a pliant Cabinet, a political and business class hungering for access to a country which recently passed China as the most populous on the planet. In all of this, Modi had the audacity to urge Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to do something about reported acts of vandalism against Hindu temples in Melbourne.
In scale, nothing was going to compare to courting the superpower that, for all its might, teeters. On his June visit to the United States, Modi was building on earlier efforts to show India as a viable partner in a number of areas.
The Modi visit exemplified the calculations of the moment. The US has been rather clumsy of late, engaging in a foreign policy described by former US Secretary of the Treasury, Lawrence Summers, as “a bit lonely”. US foreign policy makers have tended to miss a bit or two, not least understanding the value Indian officials place on their military relationship with Moscow. The Indian political establishment is also mindful about how useful New Delhi is seen in Washington, the traditional counter to Beijing. That counter, however, is seen as subordinate to maintaining US supremacy under the lecturing guise of the “rules-based order”.
Such poses are simply not acceptable in either the Modi worldview or those of Indian policy makers. As India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has opined with a tart frankness, Washington’s power can be described as “a transient moment of American unipolarity”. To assume, arrogantly, that history was at its end at the conclusion of the Cold War was a “Eurocentric analysis” jettisoned by nationalism. It is exactly such nationalism that Modi brims with.
The joint statement from the two countries made familiar, and predictable assumptions. Much of it was frothy. Both Biden and Modi “affirmed a vision of the United States and India as among the closest partners in the world – a partnership of democracies looking into the 21st century with hope, ambition, and confidence.” Naturally, there is no mention of Modi’s nationalistic sectarianism, the Hindutva brand of policy that tolerates, or at least gives a rather generous nod, to communal violence, the repression of Muslim protesters, and an overall atmosphere of terror that has seen journalists murdered for rebuking the BJP government.
Cutthroat business remains business, and the parties see technology as the aphrodisiac to their newly bloomed relationship, manifested by the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) announced in January 2023. “The leaders recommitted the United States and India to fostering an open, accessible, and secure technology ecosystem, based on mutual confidence and trust that reinforces our shared values and democratic institutions.”
In his second address to Congress, Modi spruiked the notion that New Delhi and Washington had forged “a defining partnership of this century”, glorifying in the advances made by the Indian economy and technology, including strivings in healthcare. “A lot has changed since I came here seven summers ago but a lot has remained the same – like our commitment to deepen the friendship between India and the United States.”
Various remarks followed, many sitting uncomfortably with the truth. “India’s democratic values (are such that) there’s absolutely no discrimination neither on the basis of caste, creed, age or any kind of geographic location.” The same theme is repeated regarding women. “India’s vision is not just the development which benefits women – it is of women-led development where women lead the journey of progress.”
In all this foamy self-celebration, it was hard to forget that Modi was banned from travelling to the United States in 2005 while he was still Gujarat Chief Minister. The decision was based on Modi’s failure to prevent particularly vicious riots in his state in 2002, leading to over a thousand deaths. The US State Department’s reasoning for denying a visa lay in the International Religious Freedom Act, a 1998 law passed by Congress designed, in principle, to combat religious persecution.
On getting wind that the then Chief Minister was going to be visiting the US, a number of Indian-American groups, including the Indian American Muslim Council, began a lobbying campaign with some zeal and ultimate success. Katrina Lantos Swett, Vice Chairwoman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a body created by the 1998 statute, explained at the time that Modi would not be “granted the privilege of a US visa because of the very serious doubts that remain and hang over Modi relative to his role in the horrific events of 2002 in Gujarat.”
On this occasion, the opposition was present, though less effective. Democratic House Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush and Kweisi Mfume chose to boycott Modi’s address to Congress. A statement by Tlaib, Bush, Omar and Jamaal Bowman, in noting the Indian PM’s role in the bloody Gujarat riots, mentioned his government’s appetite for targeting “Muslims and other religious minorities”, enabling “Hindu nationalist violence”, undermining democracy, targeting journalists and dissidents, and suppressing criticism through using internet shutdowns and censorship.
In 2023, Modi had little reason to fear either rebuke from the Biden administration, or censure from Congress. India is now seen as more useful than ever, and its canny leader does not need lecturing about his own band of dangerous religious authoritarianism. Best, then, to drop the democratic values act, a show that is becoming increasingly absurd.
This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Binoy Kampmark.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
Spanish shipbuilder Navantia will team up with India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to offer the Isaac Peral (S-80)-class diesel-electric submarine (SSK) design for India’s Project-75 (India) or P-75(I) programme, it was announced on 10 July. Under this arrangement, Navantia would carry out the design of the Indian Navy’s P-75(I) submarines based on S-80 SSK design […]
The post Navantia eyes Indian SSK requirements appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.
The concept of human rights predates the current system, which was established in 1945 with the creation of the United Nations (Mende, 2019). “Universal human rights theory holds that human rights apply to everyone simply by virtue of their being human” (Nasr, 2016), but cultural relativism maintains that these rights are neo-imperialistic. “They originated in the West, reflect Western interests and are, therefore…a new form of imperialism” (Shaheed & Richter, 2018). For the sake of this essay, I will answer ‘Are human rights universal?’ through a simple yes/no dichotomy. If one takes the perspective that, whilst human rights principles cannot be applicable to all state behaviour, the general idea of justice transcends cultural boundaries and is not solely confined to Western society (Sundaramoorthy, 2016), then we can take human rights as “standards that recognise and protect the dignity of all human beings” (UNICEF, 2015). Any culturally relativistic narrative, one could argue, thus rejects how injustices are familiar to all cultures, and it is this collective experience which constitutes an authoritative foundation on which to define ‘human rights’ (Shaheed & Richter, 2018).
But post-colonialist readings transcend the mere definition of human rights. As Barbra Heron (2007) indicates, post-colonialism is an appropriate framework for this study because it traces the ‘colonial continuities’ of contemporary movements, namely ‘human rights’. If we believe that human rights are more than a Western abstraction, they should have a universal application, that is indivisible and inclusive. Critical accounts, however, point to a propensity to overemphasise human rights abuses in the Global South and construct a non-Western ‘other’ that requires saving by Western states (Mende, 2019). I will examine British colonialism’s contemporary consequences on the human rights of marginalised communities (including women and LGBTQ+ people), arguing that a tendency to impose imperial laws, cultures and norms on colonised nations has created generations with oppressed rights (Conklin, 1998).
After the British Monarchy colonised India in 1858, an ambition to ‘civilise the barbaric natives’ motivated many legal and social reforms. Post-colonial feminists have insisted that an emphasis on the interests of colonial rulers, native elite males and British women only frustrated the interests of Indian women, who are still arguably oppressed two-fold, first by imperialist legacies and second by patriarchal norms. Many scholars have deemed this ‘civilising’ mission as a way of emasculating Indian men by claiming that they were incapable of caring for their own women, and this struggle for political dominance was being waged on the backs of Indian women (Wright & Chitnis, 2007). With Victorian notions of womanhood (including chastity, innocence and passiveness) came patriarchal and protectionist policies, persisting in modern society. While possible to make the compelling case that Western enlightenment contributed to the abolishment of child marriages, sati, purdah and other patriarchal customs including prohibition of the remarriage of widows, this colonial saviourism still permeates contemporary ‘human rights’ thinking, stifling the rights of previously colonised people. “The British had set themselves the noble task of reforming the barbaric Indian male, a fictional character that they had, in large part, created” (Wash & Lee, 2007). But British imperialists were not all men. According to Antoinette Burton, middle-class British feminists referred to Indian women as “a helpless, degraded victim of religious custom and uncivilised cultural practises” (2000) who were in need of imperial saviours’ intervention.
The feminist movement needs to be decolonised in order for women in the Global South to achieve the ‘human rights’ that Western women enjoy. During colonial times, “it was the ‘White Man’s Burden‘ to protect Indian women from ‘uncivilised and barbaric practices‘, and Indian men wanted to protect their women from foreigners” (Bhattar, 2022). Women have been seen as “unresisting, inert and passive objects” (Bhattar, 2022) for generations as a result of these historical struggles, and this thinking has modern consequences, with the first waves of feminism monopolised by white women in the West, excluding the ‘submissive, uneducated’ women of colour from the East. Saris were traditionally worn bare beneath due to India’s hot humid climate. However, the British (viewing Indians through an oriental lens) considered this indecent and introduced blouses. While the blouse liberated white women from corsets in Europe, it also forced its standard of public decorum on and institutionally sexualised Indian women. When considered alongside neo-liberal ‘white feminism’, with liberation attitudes leading numerous hijab and burqa bans across Europe, we can see that colonialism has contributed to an inherently oppressive structure of ‘saving’ women of colour by imposing Western attitudes on them (Ezaydi & Chalabi, 2021). As Cole (2012) finds, “the white saviour complex is not about justice” but “validat[ing] privilege.” In order for women in formerly colonised nations to protect their human rights, we must promote the intersectional feminism of Crenshaw that rejects saviourism, respects cultural difference, and moves towards true solidarity. The White Saviour Complex is a “colonial continuity” which has survived the demise of colonialism and is restated in human rights activism, particularly women’s rights.
According to Human Rights Watch, “more than half of the world’s remaining ‘sodomy’ laws criminalising consensual homosexual conduct are relics of British colonial rule” (Whitehead, 2017). Before British colonisation, homosexuality was not illegal in India – up until September 2018, it was illegal under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. This was part of the British reform mission, superimposing Victorian ideas of sexual morality on India. Section 377 served as a political tool to reassert colonial authority after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, especially over ‘deviant’ groups within society (Reddy, 2010). “While the hijras have been part of South Asia for thousands of years, their identity stood at odds with Western morality and conception of gender” (Hunter, 2019), and the intolerance of the state and society towards transgender people has persisted to this day. Transgender discrimination ranges from impediments in accessing education, employment and healthcare, to harassment, arbitrary arrests and sexual violence (Banerjie, 2018). Evidence of a culture accepting of sexual fluidity dates back to the ancient Sanskrit texts of 8th BCE and the Mughal erotic canon in 17th CE (Benton, 2002). According to Foucault, “bodies are controlled through discipline over centuries, by repressing…sexuality” (Young, 1995), seen in the body policing imposed by colonial rule, which pathologized non-heteronormative behaviours. We must also recognise that colonial legacies are not simply undone by reversing these laws. Despite Hindus embracing diverse gender and sexual identities as far back as the Vedic period (around 4000 BC), sexual and gender minorities in India face constant discrimination. In ‘Orientalism’, Said examines how the West constructed ideas about the East as inferior to create these power relations which still disempower previously colonised populations today. Just as they created societal conventions of Indian women as meek and unassuming, to justify imperial interventions, they imposed Western, Judeo-Christian sexual norms on India’s fluid gender and sexual conventions. Most ironic, perhaps, is that twenty years after granting India independence, Section 377 was overturned in Britain, a move that was applauded by human rights activists despite its criminalising of homosexuality in 42 former colonies.
Enze Han, author of “British Colonialism and the Criminalization of Homosexuality,” said that the British “had this conception that the ‘Orient’, the non-Western subjects, were overly erotic” (2018), the same Victorian morality that contributed to the subjugation of Indian women. The conservative attitudes of former colonies are illustrative of the long-term effects of British prohibitions on local opinions, including opinions on gay sex which have contributed to a rise in hate crime in the Global South. Indian LGBT activist, Jyoti, argued that same-sex communities loathed the law because it was “alien” and had not “organically developed in [Indian] society” (Westcott, 2018) but was imposed by colonial powers, inviting discrimination, harassment and assault that harmed the human rights of gay Indians. But others argue that homophobia predates the British empire, with Robert Meyers saying “Saudi Arabia, Iran and Ethiopia were never colonised, and are virulently homophobic countries” (Hinton, 2022). More striking is how political leaders (including India’s ‘Hindutva’ government) have, in recent decades, “defended those laws as citadels of cultural authenticity, with homosexuality coming from the colonizing West” (Human Rights Watch, 2008), despite the fact that the West brought in the first laws enabling governments to forbid and repress it. A stronger perspective, therefore, is that homophobia and sexism are primitive systems that were not created by colonialism but rather exacerbated by it. This has wide-reaching consequences on the ability of these groups to fight for their human rights, manipulating societal norms, laws, and conventions.
Unemployment, famine, poor sanitary conditions, lack of access to education and healthcare, caste-based oppression, religious violence and gender-based violence are all a part of the legacy of colonialism. In 40 years, between 1880 and 1920, British colonialism killed 100 million Indians and, according to research by economic historian, Robert Allen, extreme poverty in India increased under British rule, from 23% in 1810 to more than 50% in the mid-20th century. Allen and other scholars argue that prior to colonialism, Indian living standards may have been “on a par with the developing parts of Western Europe” (Sullivan, 2022). British colonial policies facilitated the exploitation of India’s wealth and resources, which resulted in widening socioeconomic disparities. The economic inequality in India today can be traced back to the colonial period, “affecting access to basic services, education, and healthcare, and impeding the realization of economic and social rights” (Oxfam, 2022). Gaps have widened between the propertied and the property-less, with British India’s institutional and commercial policy making the rich Indians richer and the poor poorer, something that has persisted to this day.
This is especially true for India’s rural poor, whose human rights are increasingly vulnerable. The introduction of the Zamindari system, where “peasants were often forced to pay exorbitant rents and taxes to zamindars” (Balaji, 2023), often led to oppressive practises and increased poverty among peasants, with an emphasis on cash crops and commercial agriculture causing populations today to be susceptible to rural shocks as well as exacerbating contemporary cycles of poverty and debt. Deindustrialisation and an emphasis on British manufactured goods contributed to this unemployment and poverty. India’s rural poor “are vulnerable…marginalized, voiceless, and victim of multiple social circumstances” (Bhadra, 2021). Today, the top 10% of the Indian population holds 77% of the total national wealth, making it one of the most unequal countries in the world, with economic inequality adding to a society that is “already fractured along the lines of caste, religion, region and gender” (Himanshu, 2018). This increases laborers’ risk of falling victims to poverty traps, stifling their basic human right to liveable wages, safe working conditions, and basic services. However, research by economic historian, Roy, found inconclusive evidence for this claim, stating that the fortunes of the propertied class actually fell (Kwatra, 2018). Nevertheless, one cannot deny that colonial societies entailed huge inequalities in political agency, as well as in social and economic opportunities, if only along the racial divide between European and autochthonous populations.
Arguably one of the gravest forms of human rights violation is the deprivation of a people’s right to self-determination (to freely choose their sovereignty), as it affects a whole nation. In 1960, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, which proclaimed that all people had a right to self-determination. This specifically emphasised the connection between the right to self-determination and peoples of colonised territories, as both self-determination and the existence of colonial continuities cannot be mutually inclusive. Jammu and Kashmir, the land between India and Pakistan, has been subject to dispute since the partition of 1947, where British viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, stated that a referendum would take place to decide where Kashmir should accede to; this referendum never took place. A UN plebiscite in 1948 left out the right of Kashmiris to become an autonomous state and numerous human rights violations have taken place in the region, including over 100,000 people dead, 3,400 people missing, sexual violence and armed insurgency. Third World advocates, like Georges Abi-Saab, tend to see the right to self-determination as the most fundamental right and “a prerequisite for individual minority rights” (Abdullah, 2006). According to the uti possidetis principle, colonial borders ‘freeze’ at the time of independence, in the absence of a treaty. While convenient for colonising powers to acquit themselves and grant independence quickly, this has created political instability and bloody conflict in previously colonised nations. In Kashmir, it has also given rise to a new type of colonialism – settler-colonialism – with the new Domicile Order granting half a million non-Kashmiris residency status, with the aim of fostering a new Kashmiri identity through displacement and exploitation. Colonialism has thus given rise to new human rights violations, sparking new rivalries for power and upholding oppressive social structures.
It is obvious that colonialism – specifically, the British Empire – has had severe consequences for contemporary human rights. Given the fact that there are, with a few exceptions, no colonies left in the world, one might question why a colonial context is even relevant. However, “the laws, economic structures and cultural basis for European colonialism didn’t disappear when nations gained independence in the mid-20th century” (Ross, 2019). Decolonisation is the complete rejection of the outdated idea that “civilized Europeans” were entitled to dominate the “uncivilized”. The effects of colonialism not only still exist but are as grave as ever, not only in the case of self-determination and territorial integrity, but looking at a nation’s wealth and resources, and the economic, social and cultural human rights of its people. Everything (poverty, human rights violations, ethnic conflicts and minority issues) is connected to colonial heritage and, thus, a postcolonial resistance is taking place. Great injustices happen when people grow accustomed to them; decolonisation is changing this.
Abdullah, M. (2006). THE RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW.
Alvaredo, F., Cogneau, D. and Piketty, T. (2021). Income inequality under colonial rule. Evidence from French Algeria, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Vietnam and comparisons with British colonies 1920–1960. Journal of Development Economics, [online] 152, p.102680. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102680.
Balaji (2023). Zamindari System- Introduced By, Abolition, In Mughal Period. [online] BYJU’S Exam Prep. Available at: https://byjusexamprep.com/upsc-exam/zamindari-system-in-india [Accessed 31 May 2023].
Banerjie, A. (2018). Trans*forming the Constitution. [online] Himal Southasian. Available at: https://www.himalmag.com/transforming-the-constitution-transgender-persons-protection-rights-bill/ [Accessed 31 May 2023].
Bhadra, S. (2021). Vulnerabilities of the Rural Poor in India during pandemic COVID‐19: Social Work perspective for designing sustainable emergency response. Asian Social Work and Policy Review. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/aswp.12236.
Bhattar, N. (2022). Women In Colonised And Partitioned India: Resistance In Everyday Life. [online] Feminism in India. Available at: https://feminisminindia.com/2022/03/08/women-in-colonised-and-partitioned-india-resistance-in-everyday-life/#:~:text=Women%20were%20burdened%20and%20confined [Accessed 31 May 2023].
Chalabi, S.E., Hayfaa (2021). Why is white feminism propping up hijab bans in Europe? [online] Shado Magazine. Available at: https://shado-mag.com/opinion/why-is-white-feminism-propping-up-hijab-bans-in-europe/.
Conklin, A.L. (1998). Colonialism and Human Rights, A Contradiction in Terms? The Case of France and West Africa, 18951914. The American Historical Review, [online] 103(2), pp.419–442. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/2649774.
Human Rights Watch (2008). This Alien Legacy. [online] Human Rights Watch. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/report/2008/12/17/alien-legacy/origins-sodomy-laws-british-colonialism.
Hunter, S. (2019). Hijras and the legacy of British colonial rule in India. [online] Engenderings. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/gender/2019/06/17/hijras-and-the-legacy-of-british-colonial-rule-in-india/.
Imran, Y.S. (2023). The Othered Woman: A quest to debunk white feminism. [online] https://www.newarab.com/. Available at: https://www.newarab.com/features/othered-woman-quest-debunk-white-feminism [Accessed 31 May 2023].
Kwatra, N. (2018). Income inequality in India: Is the British Raj to blame? [online] mint. Available at: https://www.livemint.com/Politics/sg0ZDsmKPz1Ht7wbDGJE5N/Income-inequality-in-India-Is-the-British-Raj-to-blame.html.
Liotta, J.M. and Szpiga, A. (2022). Unsettling the regime of human rights: Decolonial reflections beyond the law . Oñati Journal of Emergent Socio-legal Studies, 12(1), pp.153–169. doi:https://doi.org/1988-0847.
McPhee, S.A.E. (2020). Saved by grace: toward an interdisciplinary understanding of the White Savior Complex through the lenses of race and gender. [online] Available at: https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3494.
Mende, J. (2019). Are human rights western—And why does it matter? A perspective from international political theory. Journal of International Political Theory, [online] 17(1), p.175508821983299. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1755088219832992.
Nasr, L. (2016). Are Human Rights Really ‘Universal, Inalienable, and Indivisible’? [online] LSE Human Rights. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/humanrights/2016/09/14/are-human-rights-really-universal-inalienable-and-indivisible/.
Ross, E. (2019). The past is still present: why colonialism deserves better coverage. [online] The Correspondent. Available at: https://thecorrespondent.com/32/the-past-is-still-present-why-colonialism-deserves-better-coverage.
Shaheed, A. and Richter, R.P. (2018). Is ‘Human Rights’ a Western Concept? [online] IPI Global Observatory. Available at: https://theglobalobservatory.org/2018/10/are-human-rights-a-western-concept/#:~:text=The%20debate%20often%20hinges%20on.
Sullivan, D. and Hickel, J. (2022). How British colonialism killed 100 million Indians in 40 years. [online] www.aljazeera.com. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/12/2/how-british-colonial-policy-killed-100-million-indians.
Sundaramoorthy, L. (2017). Is the idea of human rights a universal concept? Merici – Ursula Hall Academic Journal, [online] 2(2016), pp.23–29. doi:https://doi.org/10.22459/m.02.2016.03.
Westcott, B. (2018). The homophobic legacy of the British Empire. [online] CNN. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/11/asia/british-empire-lgbt-rights-section-377-intl/index.html.
Whitehead, S. (2022). LGBT History in India: A Colonial Legacy. [online] Retrospect Journal. Available at: https://retrospectjournal.com/2022/11/13/lgbt-history-in-india-a-colonial-legacy/.
Wright, D. and Chitnis, V. (2017). The Legacy of Colonialism: Law and Women’s Rights in India. Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1315, 64(174).
On 6 July 2023 UCA News reporter reported on efforts at the second death anniversary of the Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, who was falsely charged with terror-related laws, See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/10/11/the-indomitable-father-stan-swamy-defending-the-adivasis-and-the-dalits-a-cause-of-arrest/
A group of rights activists in India have urged President Droupadi Murmu to withdraw terror-related cases against late Jesuit Father Stan Swamy and 15 other accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.
“It is a false case registered against Father Swamy and others and it should be withdrawn,” said Father Antony P.M, a social activist at a gathering to mark the second death anniversary of the priest, on July 5 in the eastern Jharkhand state. Tributes were paid to the Swamy across the country.
He said a group of activists is appealing to the president, who hails from an indigenous community in eastern India, to use her good office to withdraw “the totally false case registered against right defenders,” Antony told UCA News on July 6.
The activists had gathered in front of the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Jharkhand governor, in the state capital Ranchi. It was organized by the Shahid Father Stan Swamy Nyaya Morcha (Martyer Stan Swamy Justice Forum).
“Father Swamy, who fought for the rights of indigenous people in Jharkhand finally had to die for want of medical care as a prisoner,” said Antony, the director of Bagaicha, a Jesuit social center in Jharkhand, where Swamy lived and worked.
Murmu served as the governor of Jharkhand when Swamy’s residence in Ranchi was raided twice and the federal terror investigative agency arrested him in 2020.
He was accused of having links with outlawed Maoists along with 15 well-known human rights activists accused in a case linking them to a violent clash in Bhima-Koregaon village in western Maharashtra state in 2018.
The late priest and others including rights activists, lawyers, academicians, and writers, were also charged under the provisions of a draconian anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), alleging they had conspired to unleash violence in Bhima-Koregaon.
The priest was also accused of sedition and conspiring with Maoist rebels to overthrow the federal government.
The 85-year-old activist priest died as an under trial prisoner in a private hospital in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra.
“We hereby request Your Excellency to take cognizance of the entire Bhima-Koregaon case wherein the intention of the state and the investigation agencies is highly suspicious and does not inspire any confidence in common citizens,” they said in a memorandum.
“Several independent investigations, including by US-based Arsenal Consultancy, have exposed how the case, based on fabricated evidence, is just a witch-hunt by the state,” it said.
“We request that all the human rights activists be immediately released on bail, the case and prosecution be withdrawn and criminal proceedings be initiated against those responsible for fabricating and planting evidence,” the memorandum added.
It also briefly provided details of the findings from Arsenal Consultancy, a digital forensic lab, that said digital evidence was planted on the computer of Father Swamy and others, leading to their arrest and incarceration.
Antony further demanded the scrapping of the draconian UAPA, under which Swamy was arrested.
“Once a person is charged under the UAPA, he/she is not treated well in jail even if there is no connection with the case remotely,” the priest said, citing the example of Swamy.
Despite suffering from Parkinson’s and other age-related diseases, Swamy was denied bail by both the trial court and the high court before his death.
“If the jail authorities cared for him well or the courts had granted bail in time, I think he would have been with us,” Antony, also a Jesuit, observed.
“The investigating agency has still not filed the charge sheet and activists are languishing in jail. This is a gross violation of human rights,” the priest said.
Indian Jesuits have approached the Mumbai High Court seeking “to clear his name from the false cases” that led to his arrest, imprisonment and death in custody.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/activists-urge-indian-president-to-clear-stan-swamys-name/101875
Israel Aerospace Industries has signed a deal to acquire HELA Systems Private Limited, an ‘Indian subsidiary’ of ELTA Systems Ltd. IAI’s investment in Aerospace Services India is a strong demonstration of IAI’s support for the Indian government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (Make in India) vision. The current deal also shows IAI’s commitment to its strong partnership with […]
The post Israel Aerospace Industries has acquired India’s HELA Systems Private Limited appeared first on Asian Military Review.
This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.