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Vol. 74 No. 43 Ayodhya Verdict: Judges Missed Chance to November 17, 2019 Speak With Courage

What the Ayodhya Judgment Means Apoorvanand for the Future of the Republic Siddharth Varadarajan That unanimity hurt. It did. One Muslims had continued to offer 9 Million Jobs Lost in 6 Years, had hoped, or wished to have a hope, namaz at the mosque till 1949, that a First in Indian History that there would be a chink in the the mosque was desecrated by an Sinking MGNREGA Subodh Varma armour somewhere. An ambiguity. illegal act that year in which idols Dangerous Agreement to Sign The absence of it—the full glare of of Hindu deities were smuggled into Prabhat Patnaik a “unanimous” majoritarianism— its innermost part, that the mosque Thiruvalluvar in Saff ron, Strong came like a stab in the heart of the was demolished through a violent Backlash in Tamil Nadu idea of India. and illegal act in 1992. Bharathy Singaravel The Coup in Bolivia: Five Lessons To be frank, there was not much Notwithstanding all that, which Atilio Borón expectation from the top court after the learned bench itself records, it After Evo, the Lithium Question it had sped up the NRC process and felt compelled, when it came to the Looms Large in Bolivia delayed the hearing of petitions “balance of probabilities”, to make Vijay Prashad over the revocation of Jammu and a choice. And that was made. To do Lula is Free: Can Socialism Be Restored? Kashmir’s special status. When we that, the court asked the Muslims Ana Paula Vargas and Vijay Prashad saw the spirit behind a habeas corpus what were they doing before 1857. The Greatest Scam in History: How petition extinguished before our Though they opined that there was the Energy Companies Took Us All Naomi Oreskes eyes, we should have realised that a mosque there, and the court also not much could be expected. accepts this, the fi ve judges declared Editor : G. G. Parikh Yet, people kept thinking that that the Muslims could not provide there would be a voice within, which them conclusive evidence of their Associate Editor : Neeraj Jain would represent that “little voice” of exclusive possession of the inner Managing Editor : Guddi the Mahatma. With the courage to courtyard before 1857. speak gently to noise. That would be All we need do is read this Editorial Board : the lifeline which India’s drowning part of the 1,045 page judgment to B. Vivekanandan, Qurban Ali secularism would hold on to. We understand what the court is arguing: Anil Nauriya, Sonal Shah were mistaken. The Hindus and the Muslims Amarendra Dhaneshwar, Unanimously, it was decided that have contested claims to the offering Sandeep Pandey whatever the facts are, when it comes worship within the three domed to the “balance of probabilities”, structure in the inner courtyard. D-15, Ganesh Prasad, the Hindu side should win. The assertion by the Hindus of their Naushir Bharucha Marg, Notwithstanding the fact that it could entitlement to offer worship inside Mumbai - 400 007. not prove its exclusive possession has been contested by the Muslims. Email : [email protected] of the land, that the existence of As regards the inner courtyard, Website:www.janataweekly.org mosque was indisputable, that there is evidence on a preponderance 2 JANATA, November 17, 2019 of probabilities to establish worship to prove whether I had “exclusive with the burden on the bench. That by the Hindus prior to the annexation possession” of the inner courtyard it is impossible to maintain balance of Oudh by the British in 1857. The “before 1857” or not? under such heavy strain and that the Muslims have offered no evidence to As a retired Supreme Court balance has to tilt one way or the indicate that they were in exclusive judge, Justice A.K. Ganguly, has other. They ask for understanding. possession of the inner structure rightly observed, the court had no Even in these times of balancing, prior to 1857 since the date of business to turn its head so hard into the choice before us is to either live the construction in the sixteenth the far recesses of history. That is the a lie or to step out of the web of lies. century. land of probabilities, conjectures, When a consensus is being crafted, After the setting up of the grill- where courts should not venture. even one voice can break it. The fact brick wall, the structure of the There is no conclusive evidence that we could not hear this voice mosque continued to exist and there there. in the court does not mean we will is evidence to indicate that namaz But we all know that it was not hear it elsewhere. It is there that was offered within its precincts. diffi cult for the court to adjudicate India will live, hopefully. The report of the Waqf Inspector the matter in any other manner, given of December 1949 indicates that the political circumstances. So we (Apoorvanand teaches at Delhi Muslims were being obstructed from see our commentators sympathising University.) free and unimpeded access to the mosque for the purposes of offering namaz. However, there is evidence What the Ayodhya Judgment Means for the to show that namaz was offered Future of the Republic in the structure of the mosque and the last Friday namaz performed Siddharth Varadarajan was on 16 December 1949. The exclusion of the Muslims from The Supreme Court’s verdict government and ruling party have worship and possession took place in the Ayodhya matter has settled in their ranks individuals who have on the intervening night. the ‘title suit’ in favour of the actually been chargesheeted for “Preponderance of probabilities” main Hindu plaintiff —essentially conspiring to demolish the mosque. vs a standing mosque. What would the Vishwa Hindu Parishad—but For more than a quarter of you decide? Muslims are asked it is clear that there is much more a century, ‘Ayodhya’ has served to furnish proof of “exclusive at stake for the country than the as a metaphor for the politics of possession”, but the Hindu ownership of 2.77 acres of land on revanchism—one which combines claim is accepted on the basis of which a mosque stood for 470 years the deployment of a manufactured “preponderance of probabilities”. until it was demolished in an act of mythology around the figure When we say probability, the political vandalism unparalleled in of Rama, with mob violence, other words that immediately fl ash the modern world. majoritarianism and a spectacular before us are chance, likelihood, The Supreme Court has undone contempt for the rule of law. possible. So, when does a probability some of the dangerous ‘faith- The aim of this politics is to turn into certainty? based’ logic of the high court and upend the republic with its premise Muslims need to be acknowledged the manner in which of equality for all citizens and precise, exact, indisputable and Ram idols were planted in the replace it with a system in which unambiguous, whereas in the case mosque was illegal and that the India’s religious minorities, to begin of Hindus, probability—that too mosque’s demolition in 1992 was with, and then other marginalised a “preponderance” of it—would “an egregious violation of the rule of sections of the population, are forced suffi ce. law”. Yet, the forces responsible for to live in perpetual insecurity. When a mosque is there, how is the demolition now fi nd themselves If India’s democratic institutions it usually used? When you accept in legal possession of the land. The had been robust, the demolition that I continue to use it till 1949 for site will be managed by a trust that of the Babri Masjid on December my worship, why do you ask me the government will set up. And the 6, 1992 should have permanently JANATA, November 17, 2019 3 ended this politics instead of merely Investigation—has wilfully dropped to have even sought the exclusion marking the end of its fi rst phase. the ball. of individuals and organisations Today, that politics has reached a Justice S.A. Bobde was right in implicated in the 1992 demolition. new high water mark, presumably observing in his interview to India Even before the verdict, when not its fi nal one given the fi llip a Today—shortly after being named as there was a chance that court might large section of the national media the next Chief Justice of India—that uphold the Sunni Waqf Board’s and now the Supreme Court have there have been governments of all claim, there was never any question given it. Armed with the court’s political persuasions in power at the of the Babri Masjid being rebuilt at imprimatur, the Sangh parivar will Centre since the Ayodhya case fi rst the same site. Had they won, there do its best to erase the taint of emerged in 1949. Yet the fact that would have been enormous pressure mob justice—which has been the the case ended up being fast-tracked on the plaintiff s to give up their strength but also the weakness of its at a time when the party in power claim to the land. Indeed, in the fag movement. In August, BJP leaders today is one which openly asserts hours of the Supreme Court hearings, boasted of how they had used Article its partisanship on Ayodhya should the Waqf board chairman signed 370 to kill Article 370. Now they be reason enough to worry us about on to a controversial ‘mediation’ hope to use law to kill justice. happens next to the Republic. We proposal under which he consented We can pretend all we like already have a draft citizenship law to the withdrawal of the appeal that the Supreme Court was only which explicitly excludes Muslim against the high court judgment in adjudicating a civil dispute. In refugees. A law has been passed exchange for assurances that no reality, there was nothing ‘civil’ that criminalises the abandonment other Muslim places of worship about what a judge on the bench had of wives by Muslim men but not would be taken over thereafter. The called “one of the most important men of other religions. It is not other Muslim plaintiff s immediately cases in the world”. The dispute a coincidence that the only part cried foul. The fact that the main cannot be divorced from the politics of India where the constitutional ‘Hindu’ plaintiff s—essentially the which has driven it. protections of liberty and free speech Vishwa Hindu Parishad—were not The title suit in the Babri Masjid do not apply is a Muslim majority even prepared to sign on to such matter has been going on in one region, Kashmir. an assurance is a sure sign that this form or the other since 1949, mainly “most important case in the world” in the local courts of Faizabad, Possible scenarios will likely be followed by others. where Ayodhya is located. It took While legal analysts had The Supreme Court has asked on national salience in the 1980s, expected the five-judge bench to the government to allocate fi ve acres thanks to the cynical politics of deliver a nuanced verdict that would for the construction of a mosque at a Lal Krishna Advani, Atal Bihari not lend itself to shrill triumphalism suitable place in Ayodhya, forgetting Vajpayee, Rajiv Gandhi and now by either side to the dispute, the that the case’s signifi cance was not forgotten villains like Vir Bahadur clarity of the court’s ruling in favour about the availability of a mosque but Singh and Arun Nehru. of the temple will boost the morale whether it is permissible for anyone BJP leaders conspired to of the Sangh parivar. in India to use violence to dispossess demolish the mosque on December The fact that the ruling party— a person or a community. Sadly, 6, 1992 and a Congress prime and hence the government—is that question now appears to have minister, Narasimha Rao, allowed committed to the construction of a been answered, implicitly, in the them to get away with the crime. Ram temple at the site of the Babri affi rmative. Worse, the dispossession So did the Supreme Court judges of Masjid means the path is now clear is acknowledged and ‘compensated’ the day. Twenty-seven years later, for speedy implementation of the with fi ve acres elsewhere but those the demolition case continues to project. The court has asked for the who did the dispossessing are still linger. Even when all the evidence government to constitute a board allowed to enjoy the benefi ts of their is recorded and arguments made, but apart from insisting on the crime. the outcome is uncertain since it inclusion of a representative of the Bizarrely, the court has is no secret that the prosecuting Nirmohi Akhara—the third claimant declared that while there was some agency—the Central Bureau of to the title suit—it does not appear evidence of Hindus worshipping 4 JANATA, November 17, 2019 at the disputed site, there is no the Supreme Court’s insistence on “doesn’t exist any more”? documentary evidence of namaz mediation was so misplaced. The main benefi ciaries of the prior to 1857 so hence by the Supreme Court’s verdict on Saturday “balance of probabilities” it is giving Fate of criminal case are organically linked to the main the land to the Hindu side. It should Although the apex court chose to accused in the crime of demolishing be readily apparent that this logic prioritise the title suit, fast tracking the mosque. If the Ayodhya case is can also be applied to other mosques it to conclusion, it is not clear how really one of the most important which the Hindutva organisations the bench intends to firewall the cases in the world, it is so because claim. Once the Ayodhya temple demolition case from its verdict on of the violence it is associated with. has been milked of all political the ‘property dispute’. Can this case really be settled, mileage, the Sangh will up the ante In his interview to India Today, then, without punishing the leaders elsewhere. Justice Bobde denied the court was responsible for that violence? None of this should surprise us attempting to legislate on matters of The fi ve-judge bench represented since we were never dealing with faith. He agreed with the suggestion an impressive array of judicial a civil dispute between litigants that it is a “title dispute” but added: wisdom. Sadly, their judgment off ers operating on a level playing fi eld but “The only thing is, what is the no pointers on this fundamental a naked power play. One in which character of that structure, that is one question. the political agenda of the ‘cultural’ of the issues. But even that structure Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is doesn’t exist any more.” (Siddharth Varadarajan is journalist, not hidden and the biases of the Uttar Shouldn’t one of the issues political analyst and academic. He is Pradesh and Central governments then also have been why “that a Founding Editor of The Wire. He are on open display. That is also why structure”—i.e. the Babri Masjid— was earlier the Editor of The Hindu.)

9 Million Jobs Lost in 6 Years, a First in Indian History

A recent working paper government and private jobs. a decline of 3.5 million jobs. The published by the Centre for Though the share of regular share of manufacturing in total Sustainable Employment, Azim and formal employment increased employment has thus gone down Premji University has contested marginally overall, most jobs are still from 12.6 to 12.1%—in fact, official claims on employment, being generated by micro and small manufacturing jobs have fallen for showing an “unprecedented” fall in units of the unorganised and private the fi rst time in India’s history. It’s total employment from 2011–12 to sectors (68% of the total non-farm not just a decline in growth rate but 2017–18. employment during 2017–18), the in absolute numbers too. Written by Santosh Mehrotra study found. The share of informal The authors note that, “falling and Jajati K. Parida, the study says jobs has increased in the public manufacturing jobs is the opposite of employment dropped by 9 million sector as well, indicating a lack of the goal of ‘Make in India’, and the between these years—“for the fi rst decent government jobs. opposite of what is desirable if the time in India’s history”. process of structural transformation While these are not new Sector-wise decline is to be sustained”. observations, this is perhaps the The agricultural sector registered There’s a slowdown in fi rst such formal study to establish a decline in employment at the rate construction job growth. Non- through official data that total of 4.5 million per annum (about 27 manufacturing jobs (mostly employment is declining and a million in total) during 2011–12 and construction) which created about reserve army of unemployed youth 2017–18. The share of employment 4 million jobs every year from (both openly unemployed and in the agricultural and allied sector 2004–05 to 2011–12 created only disheartened) is rising “massively”. declined from 49 to about 44%. about 0.6 million per annum during The study also shows a trend of The labour-intensive 2011–12 and 2017–18. increasing contractualisation in both manufacturing sector registered The only sector to witness JANATA, November 17, 2019 5 sustained job growth (3 million per the prime minister”. This study had Himanshu, associate professor annum) was services. There has claimed that total employment grew at JNU’s Centre for Economic been a 17.3 million rise in regular from 433 million in 2011–12 to 457 Studies and Planning compared two salaried workers in this sector during million in 2017–18. Periodic Labour Force Surveys in 2011–12 and 2017–18. However, The latest study by Mehrotra 2014–15 and 2017–18 and found the quality of jobs in this sector are and Parida, however, says that that the consumption expenditure of mostly poor. employment fell from 474 million in rural and urban Indian households 2011–12 to 465 million in 2017–18. has been falling. “We know from The study says: A major reason for this diff erence macro data that private consumption “While falling total and youth could be because the estimates for as a proportion of the GDP has employment in agriculture is 2004–05 and 2011–12 in the study actually fallen in the last 6 years, and good news from the structural by Bhandari and Dubey (412 million household savings have fallen very transformation point of view, and 433 million respectively) are sharply. When you put that together, falling manufacturing employment much lower than that in Mehrotra it is very clear that stagnation in real and decelerating construction and Parida (459 and 474). Mehrotra wages is showing up in declining employment growth are bad news believes that it’s almost certainly expenditure and a fall in household for the economy, which moved up to because they have used only Usual savings,” Mehrotra says. lower middle income status just over Principal Status (UPS) and not Usual The study also shows that there a decade ago. To sustain the growth of Principal and Subsidiary Status has been some improvement in the income, improve standard of living, (UPSS) in their calculations. share of informal workers in the total and to reduce poverty, employment Under UPS, a person is workforce—it has gone down from opportunities in manufacturing and considered part of the labour force 93% to 90.7%. Informal workers construction (although a transitory if s/he works for 183 days or more are defi ned as those who have no sector) is necessary. Because this in a year. Under UPSS, a person who death and disability insurance and would not only sustain the structural has worked even for 30 days in a old age pension. The reasons for his transformation process, it would also year is considered employed. decline could be due to factors like help sustain growth of GDP over the However, for the 2017–18 fi gure, the government paying the workers’ long run.” both the studies seem to have used share of EPFO contributions for three Speaking to The Wire, Mehrotra both principal and subsidiary status years and increase in registration of said that the number of entrants into as the results are very close (457 and fi rms due under GST (which could the labour force has been increasing 465 respectively). have encouraged EPFO registration since 2011–12. It was very small Real wages, which were as well). between 2004–05 and 2011–12 (only increasing from 2004–05 to 2011–12 Within the organised sector, 2 million per annum); after that, the because of job growth (Mehrotra however, there is an interesting number has risen in the last six years says 7.5 million new non-agricultural paradox—the share of those who to roughly 5 million per annum. At jobs were being created at a time have social security has increased the same time, non-agricultural job when fewer people were entering in the organised sector, reversing growth has declined. When these the labour force), have stagnated an erstwhile trend, but the number facts are combined, it indicates or fell. “We have gone back to the of workers with short term contracts that there is an increase in the open period of 1996–2004 in terms of real has also gone up. unemployment rate. The supply wages, they’re fl at or they’ve fallen,” In conclusion, the authors suggest of labour is increasing while the Mehrotra says. a comprehensive employment policy demand for it is decreasing. Though the final conclusion combined with an industrial policy According to The Indian can only be arrived at when the “to address agrarian transformation, Express, this result is “in stark consumer expenditure survey is out, boost real wages in rural areas, ensure contrast to the recent study by the authors’ inference is that poverty industrial development, taking skill Laveesh Bhandari and Amaresh has not declined in the last six years. issues into consideration”. Dubey, which was commissioned by Even though the latest offi cial the Economic Advisory Council to consumption survey is not out yet, Courtesy: Th e Wire 6 JANATA, November 17, 2019 Sinking MGNREGA

Subodh Varma

It would have seemed natural— 10.71 crore were provided work. been aggravated by low releases indeed, imperative—that, as India This is the highest rate of refusal from state governments which grapples with a deadly slowdown, in recent years, as can be seen in contribute 10% of the funds. This with agricultural economy growing the accompanying chart. In fact, year, the Centre had released Rs only at around 2% and rural the sharp increase in refusals in the 51,950 crore till date out of the total joblessness hovering at a shocking current year is striking. It is almost Central allocation of Rs 60,000 8%, the government would infuse a 33% increase over last year. crore for MGNREGA in the Union some energy in the implementation A state by state analysis shows Budget. That’s about 86% of the of the rural jobs guarantee scheme that Andhra Pradesh (AP) and total budget kept for the scheme. (MGNREGA). This would put more Telangana lead all other states in Another fi ve months are left in the money in the hands of rural poor and refusing work. In AP, some 61 year and how the scheme is going not only help them survive this crisis lakh households were turned back, to be implemented henceforth is but it would also give a fi llip to the that is, 35% of all who applied. anybody’s guess. Remember that economy as a whole. In Telangana, nearly 24 lakh this year’s MGNREGA allocation However, quite the reverse refusals are recorded, 32% of all was Rs 1000 crore less than last seems to be happening. Latest data applicants. year’s Revised Estimate of spending. available on the offi cial MGNREGA Other states with such signifi cant So, this year, the scheme was website shows that till October turn-backs include Haryana (28%), handicapped from the start. this year, a staggering 2.51 crore Bihar (26%), Karnataka (21%), But the worrying part in the households were refused work under Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh fi nancial statement till date is this: the scheme despite having demanded (20% each), Punjab (24%) and states seem to have released much it. That means 19%, or about one in Gujarat and Rajasthan (18% each). less than would be expected and till fi ve of all those who came looking date, no opening balance is being for work in the scheme, were turned Funding Collapse shown for any of the states. All back. Over 13.2 crore households While Central fund releases are starting off with zero opening demanded work (which is a record are slightly less than usual till this balance. in itself) as per offi cial records while time of the year, this squeeze has Last year had ended with states together in the red for about Rs Chart: Households Refused Work Under MNREGA (till Oct each year) 3716 crore. That means liabilities or dues amounting to that much were pending last year. This happens every year because of the tight-fi sted policy of the Central government. So, this amount too would have been settled fi rst from this year’s releases, whether Central or State. But ‘zero’ opening balance (OB) is bizarre. Last year, the aggregate opening balance for all states put together was a hefty Rs 2064 crore. Either there is some accounting issue, like non-submission of utilisation certifi cates or some other imbroglio. JANATA, November 17, 2019 7 Unspent Funds & Pending Dangerous Agreement to Sign Payments But the real reason why money is Prabhat Patnaik not being spent—which is refl ected in high refusal rates—seems to be On October 24–25, there befalls them on account of it. that states are holding on to funds due were widespread peasant protests In India’s case, quite apart from to a general funds crunch emanating all over the country against the utterly undemocratic manner in from the economic slowdown. This the Regional Comprehensive which the government is taking the could be because the Centre has Economic Partnership (RCEP) country into this FTA, there is an advised them to be tight fi sted, or it involving sixteen nations which additional factor. Under the Seventh could be their own thinking. India is currently negotiating. As Schedule of the Constitution, Whatever be the case, all states negotiations near completion, such which demarcates the domains of put together have an unspent balance protests are escalating, with the jurisdiction of the centre and the of over Rs 12,546 crore and pending All India Kisan Sabha planning to states, agriculture belongs to the dues of Rs 5428 crore till date. organise a nation-wide protest on states’ domain. The RCEP, indeed Clearly, spending is being very tightly November 4, just before the RCEP any FTA of its kind, necessarily restricted. And, this is happening agreement is due to be signed. impinges on agriculture; and yet the whether it’s a BJP government or a And the Kerala government too is states are not even consulted about its Congress government or even one organising a protest. terms. It is a blatant and fundamental of the regional party’s government The sixteen nations involved violation of the Constitutional rights at the state’s helm. in the RCEP comprise the ten of the states that the centre acts This unfortunate state of aff airs ASEAN countries, and six others unilaterally in a sphere belonging to should be seen in the context of the with each of whom the ASEAN has the states’ domain . fact that this year, precisely because separate Free Trade Agreements, In the United States, any such of the slowdown, demand for work namely Japan, China, South Korea, international agreement has to has increased much more. Recent Australia, New Zealand and India. obtain Congressional approval, floods and destruction of crops These sixteen countries account for even after it has been signed by has also caused a spike in demand nearly half of the world’s population, the executive, before it becomes for MNGREGA work. Yet the 40 per cent of the world’s production eff ective; but in India, even though govt. is failing to step up. In fact, and 30 per cent of the world’s there is a strong legal opinion that motivated by the neoliberal dogma trade. If the agreement is signed the Indian Constitution too demands of squeezing government funding, it will be one of the biggest such such a course, successive central less funds are being spent. This agreements. This very fact makes governments have simply gone means more misery and distress for the “hush-hush” manner in which ahead and signed FTAs without common people—and the situation it is being negotiated all the more submitting them for parliamentary will worsen in the coming months. reprehensible. approval. Indeed the undemocratic manner In fact the FTA with the ASEAN (Subodh Varma is a senior Indian of its planned genesis is quite itself had been signed by the UPA-II journalist.) staggering. Negotiations are being government in an entirely unilateral conducted in utmost secrecy; and manner. The government of Kerala sometime in early November, if the had major concerns then about the governments agree, then the FTA eff ect of that FTA on the producers Janata will be signed, and will become a of edible oils in the state, and fait accompli. The people of all these an offi cial delegation led by V.S. is available at countries, including India, will not Achuthanandan, the chief minister have any say whatsoever on what at that time, had come to Delhi www.lohiatoday.com This article was written before the Indian government announced that it was not joining the RCEP. It continues to be relevant, as there is enormous pressure on the government to join the trade agreement– Editor. 8 JANATA, November 17, 2019 to express those concerns to the like demonetisation, the RCEP’s addition, it will also compound the central government. Prime Minister potential for damaging the economy recession that the economy is rapidly Manmohan Singh who met the is immense. plunging into, via the multiplier delegation along with several of But that is not all. There is an eff ects of the reduced incomes of his cabinet colleagues, had given insistence reportedly under the the peasantry and the other working his personal assurance that Kerala RCEP on an IPR regime which will people. would be consulted before the not only make it more restrictive Those who are supposed to agreement was fi nally signed. Yet but also make it impossible for become better off because of cheap when the delegation arrived back peasants to use their own seeds imports, must be persons whose in the state capital, it heard that the without inviting legal action. The money incomes remain unchanged FTA had already been signed! The greater restrictiveness of the patent despite the destitution of the BJP government, which has scant regime will certainly affect the peasantry. But if the destitution of regard for federalism anyway, has pharmaceutical sector and makes the peasantry is going to aff ect the simply carried this wilful violation drugs more expensive for consumers. entire economy, then there will be of the constitutional rights of the Such a prospect contradicts the hardly anybody among the working states further forward. argument usually advanced in favour people with unchanged incomes. Even though the exact terms of the RCEP, that it would result in The fate of the peasantry in other of the agreement are shrouded in a cheapening of goods to the benefi t words aff ects the people’s fate at secrecy, the peasantry has every of consumers, owing to cheaper large, and its destitution aff ects a reason to oppose it, because any imports. Besides, this argument is very wide segment of society. such free trade agreement which exactly similar to the one advanced True, this fact may get has agriculture within its ambit will by the colonial regime during the camouflaged under certain be necessarily anti-peasant. The days of the British Raj to justify circumstances by other phenomena, prospect of subsidised dairy exports the deindustrialisation that had such as the boom in the economy from Australia and New Zealand occurred in India in that period. The engendered by asset-price bubbles. undercutting Indian producers has emergence of mass unemployment Indeed it has remained camoufl aged already attracted attention; and so and mass poverty, which had been until now as the agrarian crisis has has the prospect of cheap edible caused by the import of cheap hardly impinged on the middle class; oil exports from Indonesia and machine-made manufactured goods but in the current situation when the Malaysia which will particularly at that time had been sought to boom is over, no such camoufl aging hurt producers in Kerala. be justifi ed by the claim that such is possible, so that any further True, the Indo–ASEAN FTA cheap imports improved the living agrarian destitution will now have a already allows such exports of edible standards of the consumers of such pervasive eff ect on society, with very oils into India but it also permits goods. few being left solely as benefi ciaries the imposition of tariff s; under the But it is not just a question of of cheap imports. proposed RCEP there will be little asserting that as against the mass The RCEP moreover will aff ect scope for that. In fact, precisely for unemployment and destitution not just the agricultural sector, this reason, the prospects of other caused by cheap imports, the fact that but also manufacturing, where crop imports like wheat and cotton some people will have a better living India will be flooded by imports also loom large, which will have standard as a result of such cheap from East Asia. Iron and steel, a pervasive impact on the Indian imports is quite inconsequential. marine products, chemical products, agricultural sector. There is a more subtle point involved electronic products and even textiles, Since the agricultural sector here. are sectors that are worried about employs nearly half the total work- The destitution of the peasantry the eff ect of tariff reductions under force in the country, and has already that cheap imports will bring about, the RCEP. been witnessing a severe crisis, which will swell the reserve army of labour But then, some may say, if has arisen because of neoliberalism which will adversely affect the India is so uncompetitive across the but which has been compounded entire working people, by reducing spectrum, wouldn’t it be better to by the BJP government’s follies, their wage-bargaining strength. In have a shake-down by closing all JANATA, November 17, 2019 9 these ineffi cient units anyway? This will consumption, with no necessary destitution). The Indo–ASEAN FTA question however betrays a lack of prospects of any revival. The “free has already widened our current understanding of economics. If the trade” and “effi ciency” arguments in defi cit with the ASEAN bloc; this goods produced by any society, no other words are a pure ideological will widen further under the RCEP, matter how “expensive” in terms legacy of capitalist economics which as will our deficit with China. of resources they may be, are all have no general validity; the sooner Signing the RCEP in short will mean used by that society, then there will we forget them the better. borrowing a larger amount (to pay be a high level of employment and So far we have only seen for the wider current defi cit) purely consumption within it. But if the the unemployment-causing or for the sake of causing destitution in people in that society demand goods destitution-causing eff ects of RCEP. the country! other than what is produced within Alongside such destitution however (Prabhat Patnaik is Professor it, then not only will employment there will be a widening of the Emeritus at the Centre for Economic and output fall (unless off set by an country’s current account deficit Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal equivalent amount of exports), but so (which in fact is a refl ection of this Nehru University, New Delhi.)

Thiruvalluvar in Saff ron, Strong Backlash in Tamil Nadu

Bharathy Singaravel

On Saturday, November 2, the Tamil culture. Perhaps because of M. Karunanidhi. Under the DMK’s Tamil Nadu BJP posted a couplet the thorough routing the party faced auspices, the 133ft tall Thiruvalluvar by the legendary Tamil poet, in Tamil Nadu during the General Statue at Kanyakumari was fi nally Thiruvalluvar. The chosen verse Elections and the unpopularity unveiled in 2000. was taken from the Kadavul Vazhthu of the Prime Minister, evidenced Thiruvalluvar’s couplets (In Praise of the Creator) chapter of in the black-flag protests and continue to be memorised in Tamil Valluvar's Tirukkural—the famed #GoBackModi that erupts during Nadu schools. They cover a wide compilation of 1330 kurrals (as the his visits to the state, the BJP appears range of topics from the divine to couplets are known). Gopalkrishna to be making attempts to change love to advise for rulers. In Tamil Gandhi in his 2015 translations their regional approach. Modi met culture, he is hardly viewed as a of the text “The Tirukkural – A the Chinese President Xi Jingping in religious fi gure. New English Version” interprets Mamallapuram clad in a white veshti Speaking to the Indian Cultural the verse: “Your learning’s idle, and shirt. He quoted the Tirukkurral Forum, political analyst and writer incomplete. If you haven’t placed it in Thailand. These overtures do Arunan Kathiresa called the BJP’s at the source’s feet”. The TN BJP’s not seem to be making much of an representation “ideological fraud”. Twitter handle along with quoting impression on the people. “Firstly, it needs to be noted that the original Tamil text added that Unsurprisingly, the tweet in Thiruvalluvar’s time, Hinduism, the “education of those who profess set off a storm of backlash. as we know it today, did not even atheism and spurn the faithful is #BJPInsultsThiruvalluvar was used exist. Jainism, Buddhism and Vedic pointless”. Further, it claimed that over 10,000 times. Thiruvalluvar doctrines existed” he said. “The the Dravida Kazhagam (DK), the has conventionally been depicted in Tirukkurral was a direct opposition DMK and the CPI (M) were the sort an ascetic white robe and with no to Vedic doctrine. It opposes the of forces that Valluvar had warned religious markings on his body. The varna system. Those in the BJP who against. Lastly, attached to the tweet celebrated poet who probably lived are quoting portions to suit their was a picture of Valluvar dressed in and wrote sometime between 2 BCE representation, need to read the text saff ron robes, holy ash smeared on and 5 CE has long been a towering and understand its essence properly.” his forehead and wearing rudraksha icon of Tamil culture. In the 1970s, He added, “the BJP is trying to co- beads. Valluvar Kottam commemorating opt Thiruvalluvar. They are trying This is not the first time the the poet was commissioned by then to forcibly convert him to their BJP has attempted to appropriate Chief Minister and DMK Leader, religion. They have no great leaders 10 JANATA, November 17, 2019 of their own, so they co-opt Sardar Thiruvalluvar. We must speak out (Bharathy Singaravel is a member of Patel, a Congress leader. They have against this betrayal of rationality the Editorial Collective of the Indian no great literary fi gures or thinkers and historical evidence.” Writers Forum and a writer.) of their own, so they try to co-opt The Coup in Bolivia: Five Lessons

Atilio Borón

The Bolivian tragedy eloquently that, as the unpresentable Vargas acted in Ukraine, in Libya, in Iraq, teaches several lessons that our Llosa wrote a few days ago, that is in Syria to overthrow, or try to do so peoples and popular social and a “demagogue who wants eternalise in the latter case, annoying leaders political forces must learn and record in power. ” I suppose he will be for the empire—and thus intimidate in their consciences forever. Here, a toasting with champagne in Madrid the population, the militancy and brief enumeration. seeing the images of the fascist the government fi gures themselves. First, no matter how much the hordes looting, burning, chaining That is, a new socio-political fi gure: economy is managed in an exemplary journalists to a post, shaving a military coup “by omission”, letting way as the Evo government did, woman mayor and painting her in the reactionary gangs, recruited growth, redistribution, flow of red and destroying the minutes of and fi nanced by the right, impose investments are guaranteed and the last election to fulfi ll the gift their law. Once the terror reigns all macro and microeconomic mandate Mario and free Bolivia and before the defenselessness of indicators are improved, the right from an evil demagogue. I mention the government the outcome was and imperialism will never accept a his case because it has been and is inevitable. government that does not serve its the immoral standard bearer of this Fifth, security and public order interests. vile attack, of this limitless felony should never have been entrusted Second, we must study the that crucifi es popular leaderships, in Bolivia to institutions such as manuals published by various US Fourth: the “security forces” the police and the army, colonised agencies and their spokesmen enter the scene. In this case we are by imperialism and its lackeys of disguised as academics or journalists talking about institutions controlled the indigenous right. When the to be able to perceive the off ensive by numerous agencies, military off ensive against Evo was launched, signals in time. These writings and civil, of the United States a policy of appeasement and not invariably highlight the need to government. They train them, responding to the provocations of destroy the reputation of the popular arm them, do joint exercises and the fascists was chosen. This served leader, which in specialised jargon educate them politically. I had the to embolden them and increase the is called character assasination as a opportunity to verify it when, at the bet: fi rst, demand ballot; later, fraud thief, corrupt, dictator or ignorant. invitation of Evo, I inaugurated a and new elections; next, elections This is the task entrusted to social course on “Anti-imperialism” for but without Evo (as in Brazil, communicators, self-proclaimed senior offi cers of the three forces. without Lula); later, resignation of as “independent journalists”, who On that occasion I was embarrassed Evo; fi nally, given his reluctance to in favor of their quasi-monopoly by the degree of penetration of accept blackmail, sow terror with the control of the media drill the the most reactionary American complicity of police and military and brains of the population with such slogans inherited from the Cold force Evo to resign. From manual, defamations, accompanied, in the War era and by the undisputed all from manual. Will we learn these case at hand, by messages of hate irritation caused by the fact that lessons? directed against native peoples and an indigenous was president of the poor in general. his country. What those “security (Atilio A. Borón is a researcher Third, once the above has come, forces” did was to withdraw from and writer on politics, economics, it is the turn of the political leadership the scene and leave the fi eld free for international relations and and the economic elites claiming “a the uncontrolled performance of the imperialism, with a primary focus on change”, ending Evo’s “dictatorship” fascist hordes—such as those that Latin America and the Caribbean.) JANATA, November 17, 2019 11 After Evo, the Lithium Question Looms Large in Bolivia

Vijay Prashad

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales Morales government vulnerable. government of Justin Trudeau—as was overthrown in a military coup It had walked into the new Cold part of a broader pushon behalf on November 10. He is now in War between the West and China. of Canadian mining companies in Mexico. Before he left office, The coup against Morales cannot South America—put an immense Morales had been involved in a be understood without a glance at amount of pressure on Bolivia. In long project to bring economic this clash. August 2019, TriMetals struck a and social democracy to his long- deal with the Bolivian government exploited country. It is important Clash with Transnational Firms for $25.8 million, about a tenth of to recall that Bolivia has suff ered When Evo Morales and the what it had earlier demanded as a series of coups, often conducted Movement for Socialism took compensation. by the military and the oligarchy power in 2006, the government Jindal Steel, an Indian on behalf of transnational mining immediately sought to undo decades transnational corporation, had an companies. Initially, these were tin of theft by transnational mining old contract to mine iron ore from fi rms, but tin is no longer the main fi rms. Morales’ government seized Bolivia’s El Mutún, a contract that target in Bolivia. The main target several of the mining operations was put on hold by the Morales is its massive deposits of lithium, of the most powerful fi rms, such government in 2007. In July 2012, crucial for the electric car. as Glencore, Jindal Steel & Power, Jindal Steel terminated the contract Over the past 13 years, Morales Anglo-Argentine Pan American and sought international arbitration has tried to build a different Energy, and South American Silver and compensation for its investment. relationship between his country and (now TriMetals Mining). It sent a In 2014, it won $22.5 million from its resources. He has not wanted the message that business as usual was Bolivia in a ruling from Paris- resources to benefi t the transnational not going to continue. based International Chamber of mining fi rms, but rather to benefi t Nonetheless, these large fi rms Commerce. For another case against his own population. Part of that continued their operations—based Bolivia, Jindal Steel demanded $100 promise was met as Bolivia’s poverty on older contracts—in some areas million in compensation. rate has declined, and as Bolivia’s of the country. For example, the The Morales government seized population was able to improve its Canadian transnational fi rm South three facilities from the Swiss- social indicators. Nationalisation of American Silver had created a based transnational mining firm resources combined with the use of company in 2003—before Morales Glencore; these included a tin and its income to fund social development came to power—to mine the Malku zinc mine as well as two smelters. has played a role. The attitude of the Khota for silver and indium (a The mine’s expropriation took place Morales government toward the rare earth metal used in fl at-screen after Glencore’s subsidiary clashed transnational fi rms produced a harsh televisions). South American Silver violently with miners. response from them, many of them then began to extend its reach into Most aggressively, Pan American taking Bolivia to court. its concessions. The land that it sued the Bolivian government for Over the course of the past few claimed was inhabited by indigenous $1.5 billion for the expropriation of years, Bolivia has struggled to raise Bolivians, who argued that the the Anglo-Argentinian company’s investment to develop the lithium company was destroying its sacred stake in natural gas producer Chaco reserves in a way that brings the spaces as well as promoting an by the state. Bolivia settled for $357 wealth back into the country for atmosphere of violence. million in 2014. its people. Morales’ Vice President On August 1, 2012, the Morales The scale of these payouts is Álvaro García Linera had said that government—by Supreme Decree enormous. It was estimated in 2014 lithium is the “fuel that will feed the no. 1308—annulled the contract that the public and private payments world.” Bolivia was unable to make with South American Silver made for nationalisation of these key deals with Western transnational (TriMetals Mining), which then sectors amounted to at least $1.9 firms; it decided to partner with sought international arbitration billion (Bolivia’s GDP was at that Chinese firms. This made the and compensation. Canada’s time $28 billion). 12 JANATA, November 17, 2019

In 2014, even the Financial Muerto. More technical solutions YLB. It was being said that China’s Times agreed that Morales’ strategy are needed for Bolivia, which means Tianqi Lithium Group, which was not entirely inappropriate. that more investment is needed. operates in Argentina, was going to “Proof of the success of Morales’s The nationalisation policy of make a deal with YLB. Both Chinese economic model is that since coming the Morales government and the investment and the Bolivian lithium to power he has tripled the size of the geographical complexity of Salar company were experimenting with economy while ramping up record de Uyuni chased away several new ways to both mine the lithium foreign reserves.” transnational mining fi rms. Eramet and to share the profits of the (France), FMC (United States) and lithium. The idea that there might Lithium Posco (South Korea) could not make be a new social compact for the Bolivia’s key reserves are in deals with Bolivia, so they now lithium was unacceptable to the main lithium, which is essential for the operate in Argentina. transnational mining companies. electric car. Bolivia claims to have Morales made it clear that any Tesla (United States) and Pure 70 percent of the world’s lithium development of the lithium had to Energy Minerals (Canada) both reserves, mostly in the Salar de be done with Bolivia’s Comibol— showed great interest in having a Uyuni salt flats. The complexity its national mining company—and direct stake in Bolivian lithium. of the mining and processing has Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos But they could not make a deal meant that Bolivia has not been able (YLB)—its national lithium that would take into consideration to develop the lithium industry on company—as equal partners. the parameters set by the Morales its own. It requires capital, and it Last year, Germany’s ACI government. Morales himself was a requires expertise. Systems agreed to a deal with direct impediment to the takeover of The salt flat is about 12,000 Bolivia. After protests from residents the lithium fi elds by the non-Chinese feet (3,600 meters) above sea level, in the Salar de Uyuni region, Morales transnational fi rms. He had to go. and it receives high rainfall. This canceled that deal on November 4, After the coup, Tesla’s stock rose makes it diffi cult to use sun-based 2019. astronomically. evaporation. Such simpler solutions Chinese fi rms—such as TBEA are available to Chile’s Atacama Group and China Machinery (Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, Desert and in Argentina’s Hombre Engineering—made a deal with editor and journalist.) Survival Crisis As the Most Critical Issue of Our Times

Recent Books (2019) by Bharat Dogra on Survival Crisis 1. Protecting Earth for Children - Crucial Role of Next Decade - Social Change Papers, Pages 216, Price Indian Rs. 550. 2. Earth Without Borders - One World for Protecting All, Pages 88, Rs. 250. 3. Survival Crisis - Planet in Peril - People’s Response Only Way Forward – Vitasta, Hardbound, Pages 270, Rs. 850 4. Man Over Machine—A Path Towards Peace (Gandhian Perspective on this Issue)-Vitasta—Paperback, 315 pages, Rs. 495 5. Hindi book--Dharti Ki Raksha Ke Liye Nirnayak Hoga Agla Dashak, Pages 232,Rs. 350. Earlier Books 6. One Decade to Protect Life- Justice, Equality and Peace Based Path for Resolving Urgent Survival Issues – 2015, pages 112, Rs. 220. 7. Earth History And The Next Century (Including A Plan To Link Reduction of GHG Emissions With Meeting The Basic Needs of All) – 2010, Pages 112, Rs. 100. These books also provide the base for Campaign for Protecting Earth Now and Its Save the Earth Decade (SED) 2020-30 Demand (see web-site bharatdogra.in for campaign statement and catalogue of over 350 books and booklets) [email protected] Postal address C-27 Raksha Kunj Paschim Vihar N.Delhi-110063, India. Phone 011-25255303. Other 2019 books by the author in Hindi— 8. Kathin Daur Mein Ummeed (Collection of poems and songs)- Rs.100 9. Behtar Duniyan Ke Liye Azadi Ke Deewano Ki Kahani-Profi les of freedom fi ghters by team of four writers, Vitasta—Rs.395 JANATA, November 17, 2019 13 Lula is Free: Can Socialism Be Restored?

Ana Paula Vargas and Vijay Prashad

Just before 5 p.m. on Friday the greeted not by shouts of solidarity, both from the positive aspects of his 8th of November, Brazil’s former but in person. presidency (when his government president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva The solidarity campaign drew in abolished poverty and expanded walked out of his prison in Curitiba, jurists and intellectuals, politicians educational opportunities) and from Brazil. Lula went to prison in April and celebrities, a range of people his leadership against the neoliberal last year on a 12-year sentence. who felt that the imprisonment and neofascist governments of Five-hundred and eighty days of of Lula was unjust. What had Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro. prison are now over, as the Federal become very clear was that the legal Out of prison, Lula’s voice will once Supreme Court ruled that inmates mechanisms had become a political more sharply turn on the hideous who have not yet exhausted their instrument of the elite to attack the politics of Bolsonaro. appeals should not be held in prison. left politicians and left movements. Over the course of the Free In addition to Lula, about The collaboration between the Lula struggle, it became clear that 5,000 Brazilians—mostly poor government prosecutor and Judge Lula was bigger than his political and black—can be released based Sérgio Moro indicates that there was party—the Workers’ Party (PT)— on the Supreme Court’s decision. a weaponisation of the law—what and even bigger than Brazil’s left. He Many of them have not been is known as lawfare—to prevent represents the Brazilian people—the previously aff orded the presumption the Workers’ Party from winning people who are now struggling to of innocence, and large numbers of elections, and to make sure that the maintain their homes in the favelas them have been in prison without Brazilian elites hold power. What and in the encampments and in the proper legal defense. “Free Lula” meant was not only the settlements, struggling to hold onto The Supreme Court verdict freedom of Lula, but also an end to the Amazon, struggling to study and was not directed at Lula, but at the lawfare as an instrument against the heal, eat and smile. undemocratic nature of the judicial people. It must be chilling for Bolsonaro system that had held people in prison Lula walked out of his cell, but to watch the television and see before they had exhausted their the case against him—a case with Lula walk confidently out of his appeals. Lula’s situation mirrored little evidence—remains. Popular prison and into the political domain. that of these thousands of other pressure will continue to completely Elections have brought the left back prisoners. It was as part of a judicial annul this persecution of Lula. to power in Argentina. The left criticism of the unjust system that There is little doubt the Free Lula retained power in Bolivian elections, Lula was able to be free. campaign will continue to mobilise only to be overthrown by a coup, But as Lula walked out of his cell support so that the courts declare that but the people are fighting back. and into the Free Lula encampment Lula is innocent and allow him his Even in Colombia, the left has made across the road from the prison, full political rights. The Operation signifi cant gains. Mass protests in he signaled the importance of the Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash) was Chile and Ecuador suggest the tide Free Lula (Lula Livre) campaign not just used to put Lula in prison, has turned in those two countries. of international solidarity that went but to make sure that he—who Bolsonaro must know that the turn from Curitiba across Latin America, is supremely popular in Brazil— to the left in Brazil is imminent. The and indeed across the world. From cannot run for offi ce again. left now has its champion out on the the Free Lula encampment opposite Lula emerged as a central fi gure streets. his prison, comrades would hold of the Brazilian people during vigils and wish him thrice a day the historic strikes of 1978 and (Ana Paula Vargas works at the greetings of “good morning,” “good 1979, which played a key role in Tricontinental: Institute for Social afternoon,” and “good evening.” On ending the military dictatorship in Research. Vijay Prashad is an Indian November 8, Lula was able to be Brazil. Lula’s popularity comes historian, editor and journalist.) 14 JANATA, November 17, 2019 The Greatest Scam in History: How the Energy Companies Took Us All

Naomi Oreskes

It’s a tale for all time. What UNFCCC will meet for the 25th scientists. These activities are might be the greatest scam in history time. documented in great detail in How or, at least, the one that threatens to Scientists working on the issue Americans Were Deliberately Misled take history down with it. Think of have often told me that, once upon a about Climate Change, a report it as the climate-change scam that time, they assumed, if they did their I recently co-authored, as well as beat science, big time. jobs, politicians would act upon the in my 2010 book and 2014 film, Scientists have been seriously information. That, of course, hasn’t Merchants of Doubt. investigating the subject of human- happened. Anything but, across A key aspect of the fossil-fuel made climate change since the late much of the planet. Worse yet, industry’s disinformation campaign 1950s and political leaders have science failed to have the necessary was the mobilisation of “third-party been discussing it for nearly as impact in signifi cant part because allies”: organisations and groups long. In 1961, Alvin Weinberg, the of disinformation promoted by with which it would collaborate director of the Oak Ridge National the major fossil-fuel companies, and that, in some cases, it would be Laboratory, called carbon dioxide which have succeeded in diverting responsible for creating. one of the “big problems” of the attention from climate change and In the 1990s, these allied world “on whose solution the entire successfully blocking meaningful outfi ts included the Global Climate future of the human race depends.” action. Coalition, the Cooler Heads Fast-forward nearly 30 years and, Coalition, Informed Citizens for in 1992, President George H.W. Making Climate Change Go Away the Environment and the Greening Bush signed the UN Framework Much focus has been put Earth Society. Like ExxonMobil, Convention on Climate Change on ExxonMobil’s history of such groups endlessly promoted a (UNFCCC), promising “concrete disseminating disinformation, public message of denial and doubt: action to protect the planet.” partly because of the documented that we weren’t really sure if climate Today, with Puerto Rico still discrepancies between what that change was happening; that the recovering from Hurricane Maria company said in public about climate science wasn’t settled; that humanity and fi res burning across California, change and what its offi cials said could, in any case, readily adapt at we know that did not happen. Despite (and funded) in private. Recently, a later date to any changes that did hundreds of scientifi c reports and a trial began in New York City occur; and that addressing climate assessments, tens of thousands of accusing the company of misleading change directly would wreck the peer-reviewed scientific papers, its investors, while Massachusetts American economy. Two of these and countless conferences on the is prosecuting ExxonMobil for groups—Informed Citizens for the issue, man-made climate change is misleading consumers as well. Environment and the Greening Earth now a living crisis on this planet. If only it had just been that Society—were, in fact, AstroTurf Universities, foundations, churches, one company, but for more than organisations, created and funded and individuals have indeed divested 30 years, the fossil-fuel industry by a coal industry trade association from fossil fuel companies and, and its allies have denied the but dressed up to look like grassroots led by a 16-year-old Swedish girl, truth about anthropogenic global citizens’ action organisations. citizens across the globe have taken warming. They have systematically Similar messaging was pursued to the streets to express their outrage. misled the American people and so by a network of think-tanks Children have refused to go to school purposely contributed to endless promoting free market solutions on Fridays to protest the potential delays in dealing with the issue by, to social problems, many with ties loss of their future. And if you need among other things, discounting to the fossil-fuel industry. These a measure of how long some of and disparaging climate science, included the George C. Marshall us have been at this, in December, mispresenting scientific findings, Institute, the Cato Institute, the the Conference of Parties to the and attempting to discredit climate Competitive Enterprise Institute, JANATA, November 17, 2019 15 the American Enterprise Institute Hughes, Ray Bradley, Katharine 1) The misleading claim that and the Heartland Institute. Often Hayhoe and, I should note, myself, climate change will be “mild their politically motivated contrarian have been subject to harassment, and manageable.” There is no claims were presented in formats that investigation, hacked emails, and scientifi c evidence to support this. make them look like the scientifi c politically motivated freedom-of- On the contrary, literally hundreds reports whose fi ndings they were information attacks. of scientifi c reports over the past contradicting. few decades, including those US In 2009, for instance, the Cato How to Play Climate Change for National Climate Assessments, have Institute issued a report that precisely a Fool affi rmed that any warming above mimicked the format, layout and When it came to industry 2 degrees Centigrade will lead to structure of the government’s US disinformation, the role of third- grave and perhaps catastrophic National Climate Assessment. Of party allies was on full display at effects on “health, livelihoods, course, it made claims thoroughly the House Committee on Oversight food security, water supply, human at odds with the actual report’s hearings on climate change in late security, and economic growth.” science. The industry also promoted October. As their sole witness, the The UN’s IPCC has recently noted disinformation through its trade Republicans on that committee that avoiding the worst impacts associations, including the American invited Mandy Gunasekera, the of global warming will “require Legislative Exchange Council, founder and president of Energy45, rapid and far-reaching transitions the American Petroleum Institute, a group whose purpose, in its own in energy… infrastructure… and the US Chamber of Commerce, words, is to “support the Trump industrial systems.” the National Black Chamber energy agenda.” Recent events surrounding of Commerce and the National Energy45 is part of a group Hurricanes Sandy, Michael, Harvey, Association of Manufacturers. known, bluntly enough, as the CO2 Maria and Dorian, as well as the Both think-tanks and trade Coalition and is a perfect example devastating wildfi re at the ironically organisations have been involved of what I’ve long thought of as named town of Paradise, California, in personal attacks on the reputations zombie denialism in which older in 2018 and the fi res across much of scientists. One of the earliest players spouting industry arguments of that state this fall, have shown documented was on climate scientist suddenly reappear in new forms. that the impacts of climate change Benjamin Santer at the Lawrence In this case, in the 1990s and early are already part of our lives and Livermore National Laboratory who 2000s, the George C. Marshall becoming unmanageable. Or if showed that the observed increase Institute was a leader in climate- you want another sign of where in global temperatures could not change disinformation. From 1974– this country is at this moment, be attributed to increased solar 1999, its director, William O’Keefe, consider a new report from the radiation. He served as the lead had also been the executive vice Army War College indicating that author of the Second Assessment president and later CEO of the “the Department of Defense (DoD) Report of the UN’s prestigious American Petroleum Institute. The is precariously unprepared for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Marshall Institute itself closed in national security implications of Change, or IPCC, responsible for 2015, only to re-emerge a few years climate change-induced global the 1995 conclusion that “the later as the CO2 Coalition. security challenges.” And if the balance of evidence suggests a The comments of Republican Pentagon isn’t prepared to manage discernible human impact on the committee members off er a sense climate change, it’s hard to imagine climate system.” Santer became of just how deeply the climate- any part of the US government that the target of a vicious, arguably change disinformation campaign might be. defamatory attack by physicists from is now lodged in the heart of 2) The misleading claim that the George C. Marshall Institute the Trump administration and global prosperity is actually being and the Global Climate Coalition, congressional Republicans as 2019 driven by fossil fuels. No one who accused him of fraud. Other draws to an end and the planet denies that fossil fuels drove the climate scientists, including Michael visibly heats. Consider just six of Industrial Revolution and, in doing Mann, Jonathan Overpeck, Malcolm their “facts”: so, contributed substantively to 16 JANATA, November 17, 2019 rising living standards for hundreds is a tale being heavily promoted by assertions about the allegedly high of millions of people in Europe, ExxonMobil, among others. The costs of renewable energy. According North America and parts of Asia. idea that ExxonMobil is suddenly to Bloomberg News, however, in But the claim that fossil fuels are concerned about the plight of the two-thirds of the world, solar is the essence of global prosperity global poor is, of course, laughable or already the cheapest form of newly today is, at best, a half-truth because its executives wouldn’t be planning installed electricity generation, what is at stake here isn’t the past (as they are) for signifi cant increases cheaper than nuclear, natural gas but the future. Disruptive climate in fossil-fuel production between or coal. Improvements in energy change fueled by greenhouse gas now and 2030, while downplaying storage are needed to maximise emissions from the use of oil, coal the threat of climate change. As the penetration of renewables, and natural gas now threatens both Pope Francis, global justice leader particularly in developed countries, the prosperity that parts of this planet Mary Robinson and former UN but such improvements are have already achieved and future Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon— happening quickly. Between 2010 economic growth of just about any as well as countless scientists and and 2017, the price of battery storage sort. advocates of poverty reduction and decreased a startling 79% and most 3) A misleading claim that global justice—have repeatedly experts believe that, in the near fossil fuels represent “cheap emphasised, climate change will, future, many of the storage problems energy.” Fossil fuels are not above all, hurt the poor. It is they can and will be solved. cheap. When their external costs who will first be uprooted from are included—that is, not just the their homes (and homelands); it is Science Isn’t Enough price of extracting, distributing and they who will be migrating into an And by the way, when it comes profi ting from them, but what it will increasingly hostile and walled-in to the oil companies, that’s just cost in all our lives once you add in world; it is they who will truly feel to start down a far longer list of the fi res, extreme storms, fl ooding, the heat, literal and fi gurative, of it misinformation and false claims health eff ects and everything else all. A fossil-fuel company that cared they’ve been peddling for years. that their carbon emissions into about the poor would obviously not In our 2010 book, Merchants of the atmosphere will bring about— be committed, above all else, to Doubt, Erik Conway and I showed they couldn’t be more expensive. pursuing a business model based that the strategies and tactics used The International Monetary Fund on oil and gas exploration and by Big Energy to deny the harm of estimates that the cost to consumers development. The cynicism of this fossil-fuel use were, in many cases, above and beyond what we pay argument is truly astonishing. remarkably similar to those long at the pump or in our electricity Moreover, while it’s true that the used by the tobacco industry to deny bills already comes to more than poor need aff ordable energy, it is not the harm of tobacco use—and this $5 trillion dollars annually. That’s true that they need fossil fuels. More was no coincidence. Many of the trillion, not billion. Put another than a billion people worldwide lack same PR fi rms, advertising agencies way, we are all paying a massive, access (or, at least, reliable access) and institutions were involved in largely unnoticed subsidy to the oil, to electricity, but many of them also both cases. gas and coal industry to destroy our lack access to an electricity grid, The tobacco industry was fi nally civilisation. Among other things, which means fossil fuels are of little prosecuted by the Department of those subsidies already “damage use to them. For such communities, Justice, in part because of the ways the environment, cause… premature solar and wind power are the only in which the individual companies deaths through local air pollution, reasonable ways to go, the only coordinated with each other and and exacerbate congestion and ones that could rapidly and with third-party allies to present other adverse side eff ects of vehicle aff ordably be put in place and made false information to consumers. use.” available. Through congressional hearings 4) A misleading claim about 5) Misleading assertions about and legal discovery, the industry poverty and fossil fuels. That the costs of renewable energy. was pegged with a wide range of fossil fuels are the solution to the The cheap fossil fuel narrative is activities it funded to mislead the energy needs of the world’s poor regularly coupled with misleading American people. Something similar JANATA, November 17, 2019 17 has occurred with Big Energy and repeating the oft-cited contrarian the harm fossil fuels are doing claims that climate science is still to our lives, our civilisation, our a highly unsettled subject and Janata Subscription planet. that, even if climate change were Still, a crucial question about occurring, it “would probably not Annual Rs. : 260/- the fossil-fuel industry remains be harmful.” Of this booklet, the Three Years : 750/- to be fully explored: Which of its director of the National Center for companies have funded the activities Science Education said, “It’s not Demand Draft / of the trade organisations and other science, but it’s dressed up to look Cheque third-party allies who deny the facts like science. It’s clearly intended about climate change? In some to confuse teachers.” The National on cases, we already know the answers. Science Teaching Association has Mumbai Bank In 2006, for instance, the Royal called it “propaganda” and advised Society of the United Kingdom teachers to place their copies in the in favour of documented ExxonMobil’s funding recycling bin. of 39 organisations that promoted Yet, as much as we know about JANATA TRUST “inaccurate and misleading” views the activities of Heartland and other of climate science. The Society was third-party allies of the fossil-fuel D-15, Ganesh Prasad, able to identify $2.9 million spent to industry, because of loopholes Naushir Bharucha Marg, that end by that company in the year in our laws we still lack basic Grant Road (W), 2005 alone. That, of course, was just information about who has funded Mumbai 400 007. one year and clearly anything but the and sustained them. Much of the whole story. funding at the moment still qualifi es Nearly all of these third-party as “dark money.” Isn’t it time for allies are incorporated as 501(c) citizens to demand that Congress (3) institutions, which means they investigate this network, as it and must be non-profi t and nonpartisan. the Department of Justice once meceepeJeeoer efJe®eej Often they claim to be involved in investigated the tobacco industry mebkeÀuHe yeoueeJe keÀe education (though mis-education and its networks? would be the more accurate term). ExxonMobil loves to accuse me meceepeJeeoer meceeiece But they are clearly also involved of being “an activist.” I am, in fact, 12-13 pegueeF&, 2019, efouueer in supporting an industry—Big a teacher and a scholar. Most of the kesÀ DeJemej Hej ÒekeÀeefMele Energy—that couldn’t be more time, I’d rather be home working on mebHeeokeÀ ë kegÀjyeeve Deueer for-profi t and they have done many my next book, but that increasingly ÒekeÀeMekeÀ ë jceeMebkeÀj efmebn things to support what could only be seems like less of an option when ueeiele cetu³e ë 200 ªHe³es ceW GHeueyOe~ called a partisan political agenda as Big Energy’s climate-change scam is well. After all, by its own admission, ongoing and our civilisation is, quite mebHeke&À ë pevelee ì^mì - 7738082170 Energy45, to take just one example, literally, at stake. When citizens (Heesmì keÀe Ke®e& Deueie) exists to support the “Trump Energy are inactive, democracy fails—and Agenda.” this time, if democracy fails, as I’m an educator, not a lawyer, but burning California shows, so much as one I can say with confi dence that else could fail as well. Science isn’t Spectre of Fascism the activities of these organisations enough. The rest of us are needed. Contribution Rs. 20/- are the opposite of educational. And we are needed now. Published by Typically, the Heartland Institute, Janata Trust & Lokayat for instance, has explicitly targeted (Naomi Oreskes is professor of the D-15, Ganesh Prasad, schoolteachers with disinformation. history of science and affiliated Naushir Bharucha Marg, In 2017, the institute sent a booklet professor of earth and planetary Grant Road (W), Mumbai 400 007 to more than 200,000 of them, sciences at Harvard University.) 18 JANATA, November 17, 2019

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