DELHI THE HINDU 8 EDITORIAL THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE The saviour’s burden The SP-BSP combine has willy-nilly emerged as the strongest opposition to the BJP the behemoth. stered by the unexpected induc sion that tensions had cooled bet Though the SP and the BSP tion of Congress general secretary, ween Jats and Muslims and the ma- Power shift teamed up to a collective rhetoric Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, into the houl (atmosphere) had improved of national interest, the truth was U.P. campaign. considerably from the time of the Inspired by the ruling on Delhi, the Madras HC that Ms. Mayawati and Mr. Yadav Undoubtedly piqued by the 2013 Muzaff arnagar communal bats in favour of elected regime in Puducherry needed a way out of the existential Congress’s exclusion from the Op confl agration. One often heard re crisis they faced. Yet today, the position alliance, Congress presi frain was that the RLD had made a Vidya Subrahmaniam he Madras High Court verdict that the Lieutenant rhetoric has got invested with an dent Rahul Gandhi had declared at political compromise and there Governor of Puducherry should not interfere in urgency, a larger meaning beyond the time that the Congress wasn’t a had been no real change of heart. Tthe daytoday administration of the Union Terri t’s a wonder of this Lok Sabha the borders of U.P., more so in the pushover and would play on the This is a warning sign equally to tory is a serious setback to the incumbent Administra election that the most unex context of the Congress irresponsi front foot. This was clearly not an the SPBSP pact. The alliance’s fu pected of alliances, between bly wrecking alliance possibilities PTI idle boast as could be seen from ture depends upon a lasting un tor, Kiran Bedi. She has been locked in a prolonged dis I the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the in other S tates. With Opposition date from Kannauj, and the adopt the Congress choosing to fi eld can derstanding between the partners pute over the extent of her powers with Chief Minister Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar unity in shameful disarray across ed “daughterinlaw” sealed the didates who could cut into the al and a seamless transfer of votes V. Narayanasamy, who says she has been disregarding Pradesh, is holding up against the country, the SPBSP partner deal by touching the senior wo liance votes, especially where the between their respective consti the elected regime and seeking to run the Union Terri multiple challenges while elsewh ship has willynilly become the man’s feet. There was a time when party’s candidate was a Muslim, as tuencies. The alliance has been tory on her own. The court has laid down that “the de ere in the country, the national sole stumbling block between the Ms. Mayawati and Mr. Akhilesh Ya in Saharanpur, Moradabad, Ba helped in this election by a con cision taken by the Council of Ministers and the Chief Opposition presents a fragmented BJP and its ambition to wrest a se dav were buabhatija (aunt and ne daun, Bijnore and so forth. The fl uence of factors, among them Minister is binding on the Secretaries and other offi picture. cond term via a bounty of seats in phew) to their opponents who obvious gainer from this would be farmer distress across communi cials.” Inspired by the Supreme Court’s appeal to consti U.P. The SPBSP combine is a spec used the term as a taunt, to indi the BJP, unless Muslim voters were ties, and a feeling, among Muslims Overcoming the odds tacular force capable of infl icting cate they were a quarrelsome pair. able to muster extraordinary acu and Dalits, of being overrun by the tutional morality and trust among high dignitaries, the Indeed, the responsibility of shor heavy losses on the BJP. And consi Surreally, the BSP chief has now men and decide overwhelmingly Yogi Adityanath Government. High Court has also reminded the Centre and the Admi ing up the Opposition against the dering 71 of the BJP’s 2014 Lok Sab not only appropriated the insult in favour of the alliance. Past data Farmers, both Jats and Muslims, nistrator that they should be true to the concept of de powerhouse combination of ha seat share of 282 came from but made the Yadav family her shows that a united Muslim vote is are facing the triple whammy of mocratic principles, lest the constitutional scheme Prime Minister Narendra Modi U.P, the signifi cance of a reversal own. a myth. A split Jat vote across west delayed payment for sugar cane, based on democracy and republicanism be defeated. and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here cannot be overemphasised. ern U.P. posed a similar threat to mounting debt and an inability to The judgment is based mainly on the principles that chief Amit Shah has come to rest As the Lok Sabha election en Specifi c challenges the alliance. dispose of their unproductive cat were laid down in last year’s Constitution Bench deci on the shoulders of Akhilesh Ya ters midpoint in U.P., the alliance Will the bonhomie last? For all the When I travelled in the same tle. This commonality is one rea dav and Mayawati who helm the looks in no hurry to unravel. On serial photoops by the mintfresh parts in February 2017, ahead of son for the reduction of JatMuslim sion on the confl ict between the elected regime in the SP and the BSP, respectively. His the contrary, the partners have extended family, the alliance is in the A ssembly election, it was to tensions. National Capital Territory (NCT) and its Lt.Governor. tory and conventional wisdom stunned audiences at their joint fact extremely fragile and stalked fi nd the community still trapped As against this there is the loom The fi vejudge Bench had ruled that the LG has to eith suggested that the alliance was an rallies with a crackling chemistry at every stage by myriad challeng in the spell cast by Mr. Modi in ing Modi factor, and the mesmeric er act on the ‘aid and advice’ of the Council of Minis impossibility, and if it happened, it that might have appeared scripted es. On a recent tour of Western 2014. The assumption that Jats felt pull of toxic Hindutva, now repre ters, or refer to the President for a decision any matter would collapse under the weight were it not for the fact that at least U.P, I found that the formidable remorse for betraying the RLD and sented by the likes of terrorac on which there is a diff erence with the Ministry, but has of its contradictions. The bitter one of the actors, the mercurial arithmetic of the alliance wasn’t their leader Ajit Singh, was not cused Pragya Singh Thakur. The no independent decisionmaking powers. The High past between Ms. Mayawati and Mayawati, is too much of her own necessarily making its fi ght easy. borne out. Two years on, it was alliance has to hold strong, and Mulayam Singh Yadav (Akhilesh person to perform to command. Each seat was hotly contested and evident that community loyalties prove that it is an alliance of sub Court also says the Administrator is bound by the ‘aid Yadav’s father and founder of the In itself it was a surprise that the prognosis in local parlance had not fully returned. Jat vote stance and not merely a oneoff and advice’ clause in matters over which the Assembly SP) aside, the SP and the BSP had Ms. Mayawati agreed to campaign was 5050 — meaning the BJP and consolidation was visible only on arithmetical wonder. It needs to is competent to enact laws. The LG’s power to refer any also to contend with decades of for Mulayam Singh Yadav. But she the alliance were equally placed the two seats contested by Mr. do this for itself, and even more matter to the President to resolve diff erences should debilitating hostilities between did more. A quarter century of en for a victory. Two factors ap Singh and his son, Jayant Chowd because failure is not a option. not mean “every matter”, the court has cautioned. their core voters, the Yadavs and mity got erased as she shared the peared to have complicated what hary. The vote was split vertically Against all expectations, the SP Justice R. Mahadevan, who delivered the Madras the Jatavs. That all this baggage stage with him and lavished praise on paper was a walkover. First, the on other seats despite the three and the BSP have come to repre High Court judgment, is conscious of the diff erence in was overcome, and a big push for on Yadav senior’s stellar leader Jats, a community that had voted way alliance between the SP, the sent the only viable Opposition to the alliance came surprisingly ship qualities. At another rally, a nearly en masse for the BJP in 2014 BSP and the RLD. The Jat attrac the BJP and it is a responsibility status between Delhi and Puducherry. The Puducherry from the rank and fi le of the two charming scene between Ms. and 2017, were not fully on board tion to Mr. Modi was strong, and that cannot be carried lightly. legislature is the creation of a parliamentary law, based parties, speaks to the survival im Mayawati and Dimple Yadav attest with the alliance despite its seat distressingly, most conversations on an enabling provision in Article 239A of the Consti peratives confronting the partners ed to the blossoming of new rela sharing deal with the Ajit Singhled with community leaders and vo Vidya Subrahmaniam is Senior Fellow at tution, whereas the NCT legislature has been created by and their cadre. The BJP had dri tionships and the wellbeing of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). The pitch ters, deceptively cordial in the be The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public the Constitution itself under Article 239AA. The Su ven each party to ruin and they alliance. The BSP chief embraced was queered further by the pre ginning, ended in a tirade against Policy. E-mail: vidya.subrahmaniam@ preme Court had described the NCT as sui generis. At had no choice but to unite against Yadav junior’s wife, also a candi sence of the Congress, now bol Muslims. This despite an admis thehinducentre.com the same time, the NCT Assembly is limited in the ex tent of its legislative powers, as it is barred from dealing with the subjects of public order, police and land. Ho Standing up for Julian Assange wever, looking at the Business Rules as well as other statutory provisions on Puducherry, the judge has Ensuring his freedom is essential to uphold free speech and media freedom on a global scale sought to give greater credence to the concept of a re presentative government. He has set aside two clarifi ca across the worldon the diplomatic refused to allow WikiLeaks to seek Even in Sweden, there is no lon cables. These include The Guar- donations using the service. ger a case against Mr. Assange. The tions issued by the Centre in 2017 to the eff ect that the dian, The New York Times, Der So what is the crime that Mr. As fact is the international arrest war LG enjoys more power than the Governor of a State Spiegel, Le Monde, El Pais and The sange has actually committed? His rant over allegations of sexual as and can act without aid and advice. In view of the Con Hindu. lawyer Barry Pollack says: “The sault and rape that Sweden had stitution Bench judgment on Delhi, he has diff ered with WikiLeaks has thrown light on factual allegations … boil down to put out against Mr. Assange was another Madras High Court decision of 2018 in which Subhash Rai how war can dehumanise people encouraging a source to provide suspended by Swedish prosecu the LG’s power to act irrespective of the Cabinet’s ad with the release of footage of the him information and taking eff orts tors. They suspended the investi vice was upheld. In the event that the latest judgment is 2007 ‘Collateral Murder’ video to protect the identity of that gation and applied to revoke the taken up on appeal, a key question may be how far the he arrest of Julian Assange, that showed U.S. soldiers in Iraq source... Journalists around the European arrest warrant way back the publisher of WikiLeaks, laughing at hapless civilians and world should be deeply troubled in May 2017. Sweden is, however, decision of the fi vejudge Bench on the limits of the Del Tin early April in London, is journalists from a military helicop by these unprecedented criminal considering reopening the hi LG’s powers would indeed apply to Puducherry. an attack on free speech and me ter even as they continued raining charges.” investigation. dia freedom on a global scale. Ex bullets on their victims. This riled Closer home, in early March, At His complex legal issues conti The cost of resistance cept for a statement by some pro the U.S. administration, as did the AFP torney General of India K.K. Venu nue. A British court, on Wednes minent Indians condemning his other exposés by WikiLeaks, be it grappled with the aftermath of a gopal told the Supreme Court that day, May 1, sentenced Mr. Assange India must brace for the economic shocks arrest and few other voices of con with the Iraq or the Afghanistan failed military coup. the Rafale documents that were to 50 weeks in jail for jumping bail from uncontrolled antimicrobial resistance demnation, reaction in India has war logs. These ‘benign’ wars The couple of expos és around published by this newspaper had when he took refuge in the Ecua been muted. were proven by WikiL eaks to not the Democratic Party in the U.S. in been “stolen” from the Defence dorian Embassy. On Thursday, ven though antimicrobial resistance is acknow The near silence could well be be so benign after all, and this ob 2016, as a tranche of emails sent Ministry. Mr. Venugopal had May 2, the U.S. will also begin its ledged by policymakers as a major health crisis, the result of the lack of informa viously didn’t go down well in and received by U.S. presidential sought an investigation to fi nd out attempt to extradite him, which is Efew have considered its economic impact. Now, a tion about Mr. Assange and the Washington. contender Hillary Clinton, and, if their publication should be said to be a protracted process. report from the Interagency Coordination Group on kind of journalism WikiL eaks has But it has not always been about then emails of Mrs Clinton’s cam deemed a crime, and a violation of But it is encouraging that British Antimicrobial Resistance (IACG) puts the fi nancial fall spearheaded since its inception in the U.S and the wars. The story on paign manager John Podesta, had the Offi cial Secrets Act. The Edi Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has out in perspective. Titled “No Time to Wait: Securing 2006. It is equally possible that the Daniel Arap Moi , former Kenyan a signifi cant impact not only on tors Guild, separately, and the unequivocally said: “The extradi The Future From Drug Resistant Infections”, it says in Indian public too has fallen prey, President and his family’s corrup U.S. domestic politics, but also ex Press Club of India, the Indian Wo tion of Julian Assange to the US for hook, line and sinker, to the veno tion was the antisecrecy website’s posed the faultlines in the Demo men’s Press Corps and the Press exposing evidence of atrocities in about three decades from now uncontrolled antimicro mous and disingenuous disinfor fi rst big story, which received in cratic Party’s ruling clique. But Association said his statements Iraq and Afghanistan should be bial resistance will cause global economic shocks on the mation campaign unleashed ternational attention when Mr. As some of these exposé s which had “the potential of sending out a opposed by the British scale of the 200809 fi nancial crisis. With nearly 10 mil against Mr. Assange even before he sange gave the story to The lacked editorial discretion did lead chilling eff ect to one and all in the government.” lion people estimated to die annually from resistant in was granted asylum in the Ecua Guardian. to some erosion of support for Mr. media”. If therefore Mr. Assange should fections by 2050, healthcare costs and the cost of food dorian Embassy in London seven WikiLeaks also published a Assange and WikiLeaks around It is precisely this “chilling ef be a free man, there is need to production will spike, while income inequality will wi years ago. cache of emails of the Syrian go the world. fect” that the U.S. is hoping to have build an international campaign den. In the worstcase scenario, the world will lose 3.8% vernment and its opponents. The on every single journalist across against his continued incarcera Incisive breaks release of emails sent by the top Multiple attacks the globe by attempting to have tion. It is after all to ensure that of its annual GDP by 2050, while 24 million people will Mr. Assange, the latest inmate of echelons of the government and Mr. Assange is a veteran of some Mr. Assange in solitary confi ne journalism, free, fair and courage be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030. Nations must Belmarsh Prison (also known as even its opponents has caused a bruising battles against organised ment in a maximum security pri ous, cannot be allowed to be tram acknowledge this eventuality, the IACG says, and act to the “British version of Guantána lot of embarrassment to both war attacks, institutional, technologi son in the U.S. for years. For the pled upon by the U.S. and the U.K., fi ght it. For high and midincome nations, the price of mo Bay”) is, for his supporters, the ring parties. cal and propaganda. That the web exposés that Mr. Assange has two democracies, which other prevention, at $2 per head a year, is extremely aff orda “fi rst media hero of the 21st Centu The website, in 2016, released site has been the target of relent spearheaded, the U.S. intends to wise claim to be the best of the ble. For poorer countries, the price is higher but still ry”. In its daring attempts to hit at almost 300,000 emails of Turkish less attacks would not come as a make him an example, asserting breed. modest compared to the costs of an antibiotic the powerful, WikiLeaks has col President Recep Tayyip Erdoğ an’s surprise, but it has also weathered its prosecutorial authority over a apocalypse. laborated with some of the best and his ruling Justice and Develop boycotts and a denial of service by person who is not even a U.S. citi Subhash Rai is Digital Editor, The India mainstream media organisations ment (AK) Party, even as Ankara companies such as PayPal, which zen. Forum India fi rst published almost nine years ago the broad contours of a plan to fi ght antimicrobial resistance. The diffi culty has been in implementing it, given the twin LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials. challenges of antibiotic overuse and underuse . On the one hand, many Indians still die of diseases like sepsis Apologise, says court Gandhi but I feel it is dead horse? issue. Rather than take 1950s, professor M.S. Mani, a environment. We must learn and pneumonia because they don’t get the right drug at By insisting that Congress strangely convenient for the Vidhya B. Ragunath, refuge under the argument famous zoologist (also not to endanger species that the right time. On the other hand, a poorly regulated president Rahul Gandhi Bharatiya Janata Party to Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu that the case was dismissed founder of the school of have been living and pharmaceutical industry means that antibiotics are should off er a clearcut have suddenly woken up to earlier, Mr. Gandhi should entomology, St. John’s surviving in the lap of nature. apology, the Supreme the need for him to provide ■ It was the very same BJP come clean on his College, Agra and former Some things are best left freely available to those who can aff ord them. The IACG Court has made it crystal the “factual position” on that had raised objections citizenship. deputy director of the alone. report acknowledges these obstacles, and calls for ef clear that it will not tolerate his citizenship, and in the when Sonia Gandhi began to Raghavendran Ragothaman, Zoological Survey of India), M. Pradyu, forts to overcome them. Some steps can be initiated irresponsible behaviour middle of the general make her presence felt in Udhagamandalam established that the “large Thalikavu, Kannur, Kerala right away, it says, such as phasing out critical human (Page 1, “SC insists on election (Page 1, “MHA politics, citing her foreign footprints” sighted in the use antibiotics in the animal husbandry sector, such as apology from Rahul”, May raises issue of Rahul’s origin. Now, the BJP appears The elusive snowman higher reaches of the Exam fi asco quinolones. But these steps cannot be driven by regula 1). Mr. Gandhi should have citizenship”, May 1). If this to be resorting to the same I was amused by the report, Himalaya and attributed to The serious errors tion alone. A multistakeholder approach, involving put the matter to rest by complaint goes back to trick. The BJP’s greed for “Army claims its climbers the socalled snowman/yeti, committed in the Telangana admitting his mistake and 2015, why didn’t the Home power has also been proved spotted Yeti footprints” are actually those of the State Board of Intermediate private industry, philanthropic groups and citizen acti off ering an unconditional Ministry highlight it till by the Prime Minister’s (Inside pages, May 1). The brown bear. He was a Education results this year vists is needed. Private pharmaceutical industries must apology. Instead, the now? Is the ruling statement in West Bengal statement by an Indian Army pioneer in the fi eld of should be an eye opener to take it upon themselves to distribute drugs in a respon attempt to be clever by half dispensation running out of recently when at an election offi cial who says the claims research on ‘high altitude all policymakers and sible manner. Philanthropic charities must fund the de in his affi davit, by having better issues? rally he said “that 40 have evidence and that this insects’. There is no scientifi c bureaucrats in all velopment of new antibiotics, while citizen activists the word “regret” in Kshitij Mani Tripathi, Trinamool MLAs” could be will “excite scientifi c temper evidence on the snowman. educational boards must drive awareness. These stakeholders must appre brackets has only landed Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh with him. Have we ever and rekindle interest” in the The Indian Army should (Editorial, “Off the mark”, ciate that the only way to postpone resistance is him in a soup. The top heard any of our Prime subject seems strange. have checked itself from May 1). These inexcusable court’s stand will also act as ■ It is strange that the ruling Ministers making such “Exciting scientifi c temper” spreading misinformation. errors not only aff ect through improved hygiene and vaccinations. It is a for a deterrent against being party is resorting to every distasteful statements? about a mythical subject S.K. Kulshrestha, students but also jeopardise midable task as India still struggles with low immunisa irresponsible. trick in the trade to retain D. Sethuraman, issue is not only funny but Dehradun, Uttarakhand the hard work put in by their tion rates and drinking water contamination. But it Preetham K., power. After having accused Chennai also stretching things a bit teachers throughout the must consider the consequences of a failure. While the Gajanur, Shivamogga, Karnataka the Congress of working in too far. Many ■ Even is there is solid academic year. 200809 fi nancial crisis caused global hardships, its ef favour of Pakistan, it appears ■ There cannot be smoke mountaineering expeditions evidence to “prove” that the S. Anantharaj Abraham, fects began to wear off by 2011. Once crucial antibiotics ‘Prove citizenship’ to resurrected the issue of without fi re. There are have claimed to have sighted being is the elusive Yeti, let Chennai are lost to humankind, they may be lost for decades. I do not intend to advocate “citizenship”. Why is the records to show some such evidence in the past. In us, for Nature’s sake, not more letters online: the candidacy of Rahul Home Ministry fl ogging a evidence and it is a sensitive a research paper back in the disturb a pristine www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/
CM A ND-NDE YK THE HINDU DELHI THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 OPED 9 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE The smokescreen of an infi ltratorfree India Fighting polio in Pakistan The real aim of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is to segregate noncitizens on the basis of religion Instead of insisting on the oral polio vaccine, using the inactivated polio vaccine along with other vaccines will help tan and presentday Bangladesh. Though it has not taken any offi cial OPV and has excluded the alternate inactiv position on reviewing the Assam Ac ated polio vaccine (IPV) to eradicate WPVs. cord for fear of antagonising the As The OPV is cheap and easy to give to chil samese, it has been pushing the cam dren, but it has to be given to them again and paign in a desperate bid to make again in pulse campaigns since its effi cacy is Sushanta Talukdar them accept religion as the basis in poor. On the other hand, the IPV is highly ef place of language, culture and eth T . Jacob John & Dhanya Dharmapalan fi cacious and needs to be given just two nicity for construction of an Assa three times as part of routine immunisation. The BJP’s poll promise to implement mese identity. the National Register of Citizens The Assam government recently Last month, the polio eradication pro Risk of polio outbreaks (NRC) in a phased manner in other informed the Supreme Court that it gramme in Pakistan was in the news for all The OPV has another problem. If coverage parts of the country is only a smoke has submitted a ₹ 900 crore proposal the wrong reasons. On April 22, a govern declines (as is bound to happen in Pakistan), screen to hide its real agenda of using to the Ministry of Home Aff airs for ment hospital in Mashokhel in Peshawar dis vaccine viruses will spread to children who the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to sanctioning 1,000 Foreigners Tribu trict was set on fi re after many children alleg are not vaccinated, backmutate, deatten segregate noncitizens on the basis of nals to decide the cases of those to be edly fell sick after being given the antipolio uate and become virulent. Such viruses are religion and subjecting only the Mus excluded from the fi nal NRC list. The vaccine. On April 23 and 24, in called circulating vaccinede lims among them to antiimmigra State has a hundred Foreigners Tri two separate incidents, two police rived polioviruses (cVDPV). tion laws of the country. bunals at present. offi cers guarding vaccinators They can cause polio out At present, Assam is the only State were shot dead. On April 25, in breaks. Thus Pakistan will in the country to have an NRC, which A legal shield Chaman, which borders Afghan soon be at risk of polio out was compiled way back in 1951. The The BJP, however, needs the Bill to be istan, a polio worker was shot breaks by both WPV1 and process of updating the 1951 NRC in fi rst enacted as a legal shield for the dead and her helper injured. cVDPV. Assam has been on since 2015 under large number of Bengali Hindus in Since December 2012, nearly 90 It is to avoid the emergence constant monitoring by the Supreme Assam, in other northeastern States, people have been killed in the of cVDPV that India strives to Court. The complete draft of the up and in West Bengal, who migrated country for working to eradicate maintain high OPV coverage AFP dated NRC in Assam published on Ju from erstwhile East Bengal and after polio. Due to recurrent threats through routine immunisa ly 30, 2018 excluded the names of ov the creation of Bangladesh. to workers, the Pakistan government has tion, Mission Indradhanush and annual na er 40 lakh of the total 3.29 crore The BJP pushed the Citizenship now suspended the antipolio drive. tional pulse campaigns. In 2018, Papua New applicants. The Supreme Court has At present, Assam is the only State in the country to have a National Register (Amendment) Bill, 2019, notwith Guinea developed a cVDPV polio outbreak fi xed July 31 for publication of the fi of Citizens. Villagers whose names were left out in the NRC draft list in their standing widespread protests in the Cases of wild poliovirus type 1 as OPV coverage fell to 60%. In 2017, as OPV nal NRC list after disposal of all village in Howly block, Barpeta district, Assam in August 2018. * RITU RAJ KONWAR northeastern States and got it passed This is the worst time to take this decision. coverage fell to 53%, Syria had an outbreak of claims and objections. in the Lok Sabha. But it did not push This year alone, eight paralysed children cVDPV polio. dropped Parsis from the list. “Hin Assam Accord for implementation of it in the Rajya Sabha for lack of with wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) have been There is yet another problem in Pakistan. No defi nition of infi ltrators dus, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs and the core clause, Clause 5, which calls numbers. found in Pakistan. Environmental surveil With the OPV being identifi ed as the weapon The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Christians escaping persecution for identifi cation, deletion of names To prevent its poll arithmetic go lance by testing sewage samples has shown in the war on polio and with some in Pakis corporates the BJP’s articulated ideo from India’s neighbouring countries and expulsion of “illegal migrants” ing haywire in the Northeast on ac 91 WPV1positive samples, in the provinces tan believing that the aim of eradication is to logical position visàvis undocu will be given citizenship in India,” the from Bangladesh, irrespective of count of apprehensions that the Bill of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Pun reduce fertility, a vaccine is given only three mented immigrants in respect of manifesto promises. their religion. The Accord facilitated would make the NRC infructuous jab and Sindh. In the past week alone, 13 or four times, not 1520 times. three countries — Bangladesh, Pakis Prime Minister Narendra Modi acceptance of undocumented mi and trigger an infl ux of more “illegal sewage samples were found to be positive for Hope is not lost for polio eradication pro tan and Afghanistan. The ideological and BJP president Amit Shah have grants from erstwhile East Pakistan migrants” from Bangladesh, the BJP WPV1. vided that the GPEI relents on its insistence position of the ruling party is that un been harping on updating the NRC in who came until this cutoff date as In in its manifesto promises “to protect This is a worrying sign. With suspended on the OPV and uses the IPV along with oth documented immigrants belonging their election rallies “to identify the dian citizens, except in respect of the the linguistic, cultural and social immunisation activities, WPV1 will spread er common vaccines. IPVcontaining vac to Hindu and other religious minori infi ltrators”, and on the Bill. This is stream of people who came in 1966 identity of the people of Northeast.” fast and the number of polio cases could in cines could be included in the routine immu ty groups in these three countries an attempt to manufacture consent 71 and who are to remain disenfran Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah’s promises crease and cause an outbreak. If Pakistan nisation programme and given without cannot be treated as “illegal mi of the people on the defi nition of “in chised for a period of 10 years from on the Bill cannot be discounted as cannot eliminate polio, the global eradica attracting the attention of militants. The grants” in India and need to be grant fi ltrator” according to the ideological the date of their registration as fo mere poll rhetoric as the Ministry of tion programme is sure to stall. false propaganda about polio vaccination in ed citizenship, while the Muslims lexicon of the saff ron party. reigners. Home Aff airs on October 18, 2018 When India eliminated WPV1 in January Pakistan will then lose its sting. While among them are “infi ltrators” must Updating the NRC in Assam on the notifi ed the Citizenship (Amend 2011, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative near100% coverage with the OPV is neces be identifi ed and driven out. The problem of cutoff date basis of this core clause led to a broad ment) Rules, 2018 making it manda (GPEI), a publicprivate partnership led by sary, 8590% coverage with the IPV given in a The BJP introduced the Bill in Par However, the NRC smokescreen has political consensus in the State that tory for a person applying for Indian national governments with fi ve partners, did routine schedule would be suffi cient. liament in 2016 when the NRC was thickened as the BJP has not spelt out the updated register will be a critical citizenship to declare her or his reli not ask if Pakistan would be able to follow If the GPEI insists on the OPV as the only being updated in Assam. The objec in its manifesto the cutoff date for document for implementing this gion. However, the smokescreen of suit; it simply assumed it would. This was un weapon against polio, we have hit the end of tive of the Bill is very clear: to remove the proposed NRC for the entire clause and addressing the apprehen an infi ltratorfree India without expli realistic. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, oral po the road in Pakistan. But the world cannot af the “illegal migrant” tag on members country. If the cutoff date is going to sion of the Assamese and other eth citly defi ning an infi ltrator will not be lio vaccine (OPV) coverage of 9899% was ford to lose this war on polio. India could of six religious groups — Hindus, be diff erent from that taken for up nic communities in the State of losing able hide the real threat posed to the sustained with an average of 15 doses per show the way forward by giving the IPV in its Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, dating the NRC in Assam, what will their linguistic, cultural and ethnic country’s secular fabric. If the Bill is child from 2003. There was full cooperation universal immunisation programme (at least and Parsis — from these three coun be the legal status of those included identities due to unabated migration made into an Act, it poses the threat from the health workers and the public. The two doses and preferably three) and then tries and reduce the requirement of in the updated register in Assam in from Bangladesh. of abusing the NRC to divide people war on polio requires such intensity and cov discontinuing the infectious OPV altogether. residency in India to six years to the rest of the country, and vice The BJP has been pushing the on religious lines. The country can ill erage and it is unrealistic to expect this in Pa make them eligible to apply for In versa? campaign in Assam that 1951 should aff ord such a divisive agenda. kistan, where polio eradication is falsely T . Jacob John, a retired professor of Clinical Virology, dian citizenship. The cutoff date for updating the have been the cutoff date in the As depicted as a Western agenda with the sinis taught at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, and However, in its manifesto for the NRC in Assam is March 24, 1971, sam Accord for identifi cation of “in S ushanta Talukdar is the editor of Nezine, an ter motive of reducing fertility. Dhanya Dharmapalan is a Paediatric Infectious 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the party has which is also the cutoff date in the fi ltrators” from erstwhile East Pakis online magazine focusing on the Northeast The GPEI has pinned all its hopes on the Disease Specialist in Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai
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FIFTY YEARS AGO MAY 2, 1969 Beyond Khalistan Three killed in police fi ring in Hyderabad By focussing only on this issue, New Three persons were killed and 12 others were injured accord ing to offi cial sources when police opened fi re at three places Delhi risks alienating the Sikh diaspora in the city [Hyderabad] today [May 1] to disperse violent crowds which indulged in stoning and arson. The Telengana Tridivesh Singh Maini Praja Samithi, which has been spearheading the separate Te lengana State agitation, however, claimed that besides the IndiaCanada ties have deterio three killed, 15 persons including a woman had received bullet rated in recent years, especial injuries. According to them, over 30 persons had been admit ly given the view that the cur ted in various hospitals with lathiinjuries. An unspecifi ed rent Justin Trudeau number of persons, including policemen and some offi cers, administration is soft on indivi were injured in lathicharges and stonethrowing at several duals and organisations that places. A number of vehicles, including a military van and Go support the demand for Khalis vernment jeeps, a police station and a post offi ce were set tan, a separate Sikh homeland. ablaze by mobs in various localities of the city. The Telengana Members of Mr. Trudeau’s Ca Praja Samithi and the Students’ Action Committee had given a R.V. MOORTHY binet, especially Defence Mi call for observance of “Telengana Demands Day” today all ov nister Harjit Singh Sajjan, have er the region to press their demand for a separate Telengana. been accused of having links with Sikh separatists. When Mr. Sajjan visited India in April 2017, Punjab Chief Minister A HUNDRED YEARS AGO Captain Amarinder Singh refused to meet him for this rea MAY 2, 1919. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC son. Similarly, Mr. Trudeau received the cold shoulder dur Rice in Bombay. ing his India visit in February 2018. When Mr. Singh met Mr. D ATA POINT Trudeau, their discussion was on the Khalistan issue, rather than on areas of mutual cooperation. Recently, Mr. Trudeau A notifi cation in today’s [May 1] ‘Gazette’ states: The Gover drew the ire of the Indian government when a report on ter norinCouncil is pleased to declare that rice, an article of com ror threats avoided the words ‘Khalistani extremism’. merce which in city of Bombay is being unreasonably with There is no doubt that some overseas Sikhs support a sep held from the market. The GovernorinCouncil is pleased to arate Sikh homeland, and that there is not much appetite for empower the Hon’ble Mr. Keatinge, Director of Civil Supplies, the same in Punjab. However, it is important to not link crit and any person specially authorized in writing by Mr. Keatinge icism of India on human rights issues, such as the Sikh po in that behalf to take possession of any supplies of rice, which grom of 1984 and extrajudicial killings in the 1980s and may be found in the city of Bombay on paying the owner of 1990s, with Sikh separatism. The Indian media, the govern such supplies such compensation as may be determined by an ment and even politicians in Punjab need to realise that agreement between the person herein before empowered and Sikhs based in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. may have diff e such owner, or in default of agreement on payment or tender rent political views. Similarly, nonviolent support for a of payment of such compensation as the person so empo cause cannot be labelled as a militant activity. wered considers reasonable.
If there is evidence of support for any violent activity, CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC New Delhi and Canada must work together to tackle the pro blem. By focusing only on the Khalistan issue, New Delhi P OLL CALL risks alienating the Sikh diaspora. India should instead reach out to the Sikh diaspora in a year when Sikhs and all I ndependent candidate other followers of Guru Nanak will be commemorating his An independent candidate is one who contests polls without 550th birth anniversary. being affi liated to any political party. Independents often sup Critics of the Canadian government must also bear in port policies that are diff erent from major political parties. mind that like all relationships, this is a multilayered one. More and more independents have been contesting Lok Sab While New Delhi may be uncomfortable with the Canadian ha elections since the fi rst general election of 195152, but the government’s approach towards the activities of certain number of winners has been decreasing. The vote percentage Sikh hardliners, it is important to bear in mind that for the polled by them has also been decreasing. It is diffi cult for in year 2017, Indian students received well over 25% (over dependent candidates to campaign and infl uence large num 80,000) of the available study permits. In 2017, well over bers of voters in India with little money and infl uence. In its 40% of the 86,022 people who received invitations for per 255th report, the Law Commission of India sparked a debate manent residency were Indians. During 2018, this rose by a when it recommended that independent candidates be staggering 13% to 41,000. barred from contesting elections as “they are either not se It is important to handle ties with Canada with nuance. rious or contest elections just to confuse the voters.” First, members of the Sikh diaspora and Sikh politicians who are vocal on human rights issues shouldn’t be labelled CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC Khalistani sympathisers. Second, it should be remembered that the New DelhiOttawa relationship goes well beyond the MORE ON THE WEB 3 Khalistan issue. Remembering Ayrton Senna on his 25th death anniversary The writer is a New Delhi-based policy analyst associated with O.P. Jindal Global University http://bit.ly/AyrtonSenna25
CM A ND-NDE YK