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DELHI THE HINDU 10 EDITORIAL TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2019 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Foreign policy challenges five years later  In an unpredictable global environment and with resource constraints, India needs to shape a domestic consensus would attract kinetic retaliation. step. We no longer have the luxury tiates its exit from Afghanistan Despite good planning there is al­ of distance to be non­aligned. At raise New Delhi’s apprehensions ways the risk of unintended esca­ the same time, the U.S. is a fickle about the Taliban’s return, consti­ Striking a balance lation as Balakot (this year) and partner and never has it been tuting another potential irritant. The RBI’s nuanced approach in the revised the downing of an Indian Air Force more unpredictable than at pre­ R akesh Sood (IAF) MiG­21 showed. In the ab­ sent. External balancing circular on stressed assets is noteworthy sence of communication channels In 2014, Mr. Modi displayed un­ How New Delhi manages its rela­ between India and Pakistan, it ap­ usual pragmatism in building tions with Washington will be he efforts of the Reserve Bank of India to clean up s Prime Minister Narendra pears that the U.S., Saudi Arabia upon a relationship that had stea­ closely watched in Beijing and the non­performing loans mess in the banking Modi begins his second and the United Arab Emirates GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO dily grown under the previous re­ Moscow, which have been moving Tsystem suffered a setback in April when the Su­ Aterm, the world looks more played a role in ensuring the quick alism because our bilateral rela­ gimes, after the nuclear tests in closer. It is reminiscent of 1971 preme Court shot down its circular of February 12, disorderly in 2019 than was the release of the IAF pilot, Wg. Cdr. tions provide us with significant 1998. The newly appointed Exter­ when China began moving closer 2018, terming it ultra vires. Version 2.0 of the circular, case five years ago. U.S. President Abhinandan Varthaman, thereby advantages. With all our neigh­ nal Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, to the U.S. to balance the then titled “Prudential Framework for Resolution of Stressed Donald Trump’s election and the defusing the situation. Unless the bours, ties of kinship, culture and had played a key role as the then USSR, with which its relationship Assets”, issued by the central bank on June 7, manages new dose of unpredictability in Modi government wants to out­ language among the people strad­ Ambassador in Washington. Later, was strained. Today, both see me­ U.S. policy pronouncements; the source crisis management to ex­ dle boundaries, making the role of as Foreign Secretary, he success­ rit in a common front against the to retain the spirit of the original version even while ac­ trade war between the U.S. and ternal players, it may be better to governments in S tates bordering fully navigated the transition from U.S., though for China the rivalry commodating the concerns of banks and borrowers. China which is becoming a tech­ have some kind of ongoing dia­ neighbours vital in fostering closer the Obama administration to the with the U.S. is all­encompassing The RBI has achieved a good balance between its objec­ nology war; Brexit and the Euro­ logue between the two countries. linkages. This means investing at­ Trump administration while keep­ because of its geography and Tai­ tive of forcing a resolution of stricken assets and giving pean Union’s internal preoccupa­ This could be low­key and dis­ tention in State governments, both ing the relationship on an upward wan. Russia has interests beyond, banks the elbow room to draw up a resolution within a tions; erosion of U.S.­ Russia arms creet, at whatever level considered at the political and bureaucratic le­ trajectory. in Afghanistan, West and Central set timeframe without resorting to the bankruptcy pro­ control agreements and the likeli­ appropriate, as long as no undue vels. Despite this, a number of issues Asia and Europe, and it is here that cess. Banks will now have a review period of 30 days af­ hood of a new arms race covering expectations are generated. A pol­ have emerged that need urgent at­ Mr. Modi will need to exploit new nuclear, space and cyber domains; icy in­between diplo­hugs and no­ Managing China and the U.S. tention. As part of its policy on opportunities to reshape the rela­ ter a borrower defaults to decide on the resolution stra­ the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Iran communication provides both China will remain the most impor­ tightening sanctions pressure on tionship. tegy, as compared to the one­day norm earlier. They nuclear deal and growing tensions nuance and leverage. tant issue, as in 2014. Then, Mr. Iran, the U.S. has terminated the In a post­ideology age of pro­ will also have the freedom to decide whether or not to between Saudi Arabia and Iran are Relations with countries on our Modi went along with the old poli­ sanctions waiver that had enabled miscuity with rivalries unfolding drag a defaulter to the insolvency court if resolution some of the developments that periphery, irrespective of how we cy since the Rajiv Gandhi period India to import limited quantities around us, the harsh reality is that does not take place within 180 days of default. Banks add to the complexity of India’s define our neighbourhood, will al­ that focussed on growing econom­ of Iranian crude till last month. India lacks the ability to shape had no such option earlier. By making an Inter Creditor principal foreign policy challenge ways be complex and need deft ic, commercial and cultural rela­ The Generalised System of Prefe­ events around it on account of re­ Agreement between lenders mandatory, the RBI has of dealing with the rise of China. political management. Translating tions while managing the diffe­ rences scheme has been with­ source limitations. These require ensured that they will speak in one voice, while the con­ India’s natural weight in the region rences on the boundary dispute drawn, adversely impacting about domestic decisions in terms of ex­ Redefining neighbourhood into influence was easier in a pre­ through dialogue and confidence­ 12% of India’s exports to the U.S., panding the foreign policy esta­ dition that dissenting lenders should not get less than As in 2014, in 2019 too Mr. Modi globalised world and before China building measures, in the expecta­ as a sign of growing impatience blishment though having a sea­ the liquidation value puts a floor on recovery from the began his term with a neighbour­ emerged in its assertive avatar. To­ tion that this would create a more with India’s inability to address soned professional at the top does resolution process. hood focus but redefined it. In day, it is more complex and play­ conducive environment for even­ the U.S.’s concerns regarding mar­ help. We need to ensure far more The RBI’s nuanced approach now is noteworthy. 2014, all South Asian Association ing favourites in the domestic pol­ tual negotiations. Underlying this ket access, tariff lines and recent coordination among the different There will be disincentives in the form of additional for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) itics of neighbours is a blunt was a tacit assumption that with changes in the e­commerce policy. ministries and agencies than has provision of 20% to be made by banks if a resolution is leaders had been invited for the instrument that may only be em­ time, India would be better placed A third looming issue, perhaps been the case so far. Our record in not achieved within 180 days and a further additional swearing­in. However, the SAARC ployed, in the last resort; and if to secure a satisfactory outcome. It the most critical, is the threat of implementation projects is patchy spirit soon evaporated, and after employed it cannot be seen to fail. has been apparent for over a de­ sanctions under the Countering at best and needs urgent attention. provision of 15% if this extends to a year. If that is the the Uri attack in 2016, India’s Since that may be difficult to en­ cade that the trajectories were American Adversaries Through The focus on the neighbourhood stick, the carrot is that they can write back half of the stance affected the convening of sure, it is preferable to work on the moving in the opposite direction Sanctions Act (CAATSA), were In­ is certainly desirable, for only if we additional provision once a reference is made to the in­ the SAARC summit in Islamabad. basis of generating broad­based and the gap between the two was dia to proceed with the purchase can shape events here can we look solvency court and the remaining half can also be Since an invitation to Pakistan was consent rather than dominance. widening. For Mr. Modi, the Dok­ of the S­400 air and missile de­ beyond. However, the fact that clawed back by banks if the reference is admitted for in­ out of the question, leaders from This necessitates using multi­ lam stand­off was a rude reminder fence system from Russia. Till the China too is part of the neighbour­ solvency resolution. This approach will give banks the the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Mul­ pronged diplomatic efforts and be­ of the reality that the tacit assump­ end of last year, then U.S. Defence hood compounds Mr. Modi’s fo­ freedom to explore all options before referring a defaul­ ti­Sectoral Technical and Econom­ ing generous as the larger econo­ tion behind the policy followed for Secretary James Mattis had been reign policy challenges in his se­ ic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) coun­ my. It also needs a more confident three decades could no longer be confident of India securing a waiv­ cond term. Employing external ter to the insolvency process. Instead of treating banks tries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and coordinated approach in han­ sustained. er — but times have changed. balancing to create a conducive re­ like truant schoolchildren who need to be disciplined Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand) dling neighbourhood organisa­ The informal summit in Wuhan Other potential tricky issues gional environment is a new game with the stick, the RBI has graduated to treating them with Kyrgyzstan, added as current tions — SAARC, BIMSTEC, the Ban­ restored a semblance of calm but could relate to whether Huawei, that will also require building a like responsible adults who know what is good for them Shanghai Cooperation Organisa­ gladesh, the Bhutan, India, Nepal does not address the long­term im­ which is currently the prime target new consensus at home. when it comes to handling defaulters. Of course, the tion chair, highlighted a new Initiative, the Bangladesh­China­ plications of the growing gap bet­ in the U.S.­China technology war, RBI was forced to wield the stick originally only because neighbourhood emphasis. India­Myanmar Forum for Region­ ween the two countries. Mean­ is allowed to participate in the 5G R akesh Sood is a former diplomat and banks resorted to evergreening loans and pushing NPAs Yet Mr. Modi will find it difficult al Cooperation, the Indian Ocean while, there is the growing trials (telecom) in India. The re­ currently Distinguished Fellow at the to ignore Pakistan. A terrorist at­ Rim Association . This should be strategic rivalry between the U.S. conciliation talks between the U.S. Observer Research Foundation. E-mail: under the carpet. It is to be hoped that they will now tacks cannot be ruled out and it preferably in tandem with bilater­ and China unfolding on our door­ and the Taliban as the U.S. nego­ [email protected] uphold the trust placed in them by the RBI. The central bank, anyway, retains the right to direct banks to in­ itiate insolvency proceedings in specific cases by draw­ ing on its powers under Section 35AA of the Banking The script writer of culture Regulation Act. Meanwhile, the government has to as­ sess what ails the insolvency resolution process, which Through his plays and their performances, Girish Karnad’s work interrogated our deepest beliefs about the idea of India has got bogged down in the case of several high­profile ment when we first read it in 1961,” jan, U.R. Ananthamurthy and oth­ seems? These are the central con­ defaulters, beginning with Essar Steel. The delays in re­ remarked U.R. Ananthamurthy fa­ ers. But in my opinion his mar­ cerns of Karnad’s work. solution are not good optics, and the gaps that defaul­ mously. In 1971, he wrote the intro­ riage to Saras was his greatest In a long career spanning over ters typically use to subvert the process must be duction to the Oxford University creative collaboration. A paediatri­ six decades, Karnad also directed plugged. Ultimately, the RBI’s efforts will be negated if Press translation of Karnad’s se­ cian with a deep commitment to several award­winning feature banks, put off by the long delays in the resolution pro­ cond play, Tughlaq (1964). working in public health, it was films and documentaries, worked cess, choose not to refer cases to the insolvency court. U ma Mahadevan-Dasgupta Those were the exciting years of she who encouraged him to follow as a culture administrator, and a new and modern Indian theatre, his calling and write. went to Chicago as an academic. with Badal Sircar writing in Benga­ His acting debut was in the film A dozen in one was twenty­one when I li, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and PRAKASH K. BHAGYA Layers and threads Samskara (1970), directed by Pat­ came to Daulatabad first, Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. doctor. As a child, Girish grew up And write he did. In 1970, Karnad tabhirama Reddy, based on U.R. Nadal burnishes his greatness in an era of “Iand built this fort,” says Mu­ Both through the pages of his watching Yakshagana performanc­ left his publishing job to write full Ananthamurthy’s novel. The film greats with a record at the French Open hammad Tughlaq to a young plays, and through their powerful, es in the hill town of Sirsi, in Kar­ time. Intricately plotted, and with won the first President’s Golden guard in Girish Karnad’s play of unforgettable performances nataka’s wet and forested Malnad razor­sharp dialogue, Karnad’s Lotus Award for Kannada cinema. oy Emerson’s record for most Grand Slam titles the same name. “I supervised the staged by legendary directors such region. Perhaps it was here that greatest plays have drawn from A later generation will remember won by a male singles player stood for a good 33 placing of every brick in it and I as Alkazi, B.V. Karanth, Satyadev his theatrical sensibility was born; mythology and history, while him as the strict and distant father Ryears. It was in the summer of 1967 that he won said to myself, one day I shall build Dubey, Vijaya Mehta and Prasan­ perhaps it was this early expe­ some of his later plays have dwelt of Swami, the little boy, in the tele­ the last of his 12 trophies and only in 2000 did Pete my own history like this, brick by na, Karnad’s work interrogated rience that made him choose on more contemporary issues. His vision adaptation of R.K. Na­ Sampras surpass it. But little did anybody expect a man brick.” our deepest beliefs about the idea playwriting, rather than poetry, themes have ranged from the 12th rayan’s Malgudi Days. Intermit­ to rack up an equivalent number at just one Major, let But the fundamental lesson of of India. fiction or art. century reform movement in tently, through it all, he had stints alone in a span of just 15 years. On the Parisian clay on Karnad’s work, and its tragic vi­ Karnad’s death, at the age of 81, After obtaining his degree from northern Karnataka, to stories in commercial cinema, which he sion, is that individual histories is a loss to the world of modern In­ Karnatak University, Dharwa d in drawn from the Mahabharata. But regarded as a way to achieve finan­ Sunday, Rafael Nadal did just that, capturing his 12th are not built in this way. Individual dian theatre and literature. It is al­ 1958, he went to Oxford as a across all his work, from Yayati to cial security. French Open and 18th Major overall. This is an era in histories are directed both by so the loss of a towering public in­ Rhodes Scholar between 1960 and Taledanda, from Nagamandala to Above all, what Karnad will be which along with Nadal, Roger Federer, the all­time heart and mind, by the desire to tellectual who was not afraid to 1963, where he became President Agni Mattu Male, is the deep, re­ remembered for is his commit­ leader in Majors (20), and Novak Djokovic (15), have ta­ leave a legacy — but also, inevita­ speak his mind, whether about the of the Oxford Union. Unlike others lentless concern with power imba­ ment to liberalism, and to the idea ken turns to relentlessly redefine the limits of greatness. bly, by the desire to hold on to prejudices of fellow writer V.S. of the period who chose to go lances: between the central and of India. When Saraswathy Gana­ But even by those exalted standards, Nadal’s achieve­ power. Naipaul, or to attend a public prot­ westward, he chose to return to the marginal, the rich and the pathy set up a trust that worked ment is unparalleled. His record at Roland­Garros is a est, carrying his oxygen cylinder, India, working in Chennai for the poor, man and woman, king and among poor women in Kanakapu­ Set in a vibrant age after the killing of Gauri Lankesh. Oxford University Press, where he priest, man and god. ra, outside Bangalore, it was Kar­ whopping 93­2, and he has bagged more trophies there Karnad’s first play, Yayati (1961), Karnad was born in Matheran, met his future wife, the paediatri­ How can power be handled nad who gave it the name “Bela­ than any man or woman has at a single Grand Slam. The written when he was in Oxford, near Bombay, in 1938. His mother, cian, Saraswathy Ganapathy without going to an individual’s ku”, meaning light. Deepest victory didn’t come easy; he had to overcome a spirited was about the theme of responsi­ Krishnabai, was a pathbreaker (Saras). head? How is a better world possi­ condolences to Saras, as well as to Dominic Thiem, widely touted, and quite rightly, as the bility. “Those of us writing in the herself: a young widow with a Much has been written about ble? How to be good in a world full their children, Raghu and Radha. Spaniard’s heir apparent on the surface. The 25­year­ Kannada Navya movement of the child who trained as a nurse and Karnad’s creative collaborations of disillusionment and despair, a old Austrian had in fact beaten Nadal on dirt in each of time can still remember the excite­ eventually married Raghunath, a with B.V. Karanth, A.K. Ramanu­ world where nothing is as it U ma Mahadevan-Dasgupta is in the IAS the last four seasons and was a much improved player from the time he lost the 2018 final. But the challenge of LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials. mastering a physically fit and mentally sharp Nadal is beyond most. Anti­terror strategy and law. (Editorial page, insecure lives in this ‘intolerance’ and the right time, and with two media, occupies minuscule The triumph also came on the back of a testing few The euphoria in India over “Inhumane, and utterly country. Submitting a ‘partisanship’ are more like victories in as many space in contrast to what it is months for Nadal. The 33­year­old ended 2018 under the UN Security Council’s undemocratic”, June 10). people already leading it. If he continues in the matches, it has become a for soccer. An Englishman the cloud of injury and had to endure a deflating loss to listing of Masood Azhar as a There appears to be an precarious lives to the same vein, it will only take strong contender for a had an explanation: cricket is Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open this January. global terrorist will last increasing tendency even demands of a brutal him down the ‘chowkidar place in the top slot; the slow and also consumes a lot In the lead­up to the French Open, he was on the cusp until, god forbid, another within public institutions to bureaucratic exercise is chor hai’ road and damage momentum must continue. of time and resources, while of not making a final on his beloved clay for the first terror attack (Page 1, bypass the established dicta punishing them twice over. his image even more. It’s no In the match against soccer is alive and is thrilling “Terrorism is a joint threat: of justice, such as The judiciary must stand up secret that a lot of people Australia the team did right every moment. It appears time since 2004, until he put together a winning streak PM”, June 10). The terrorist ‘presumption of as the guarantor of are not happy with the in all areas with the that Asians are the only one at the Italian Open. But once in Paris, he was a trans­ might well be from the innocence’, ‘burden of fundamental and human supercharged atmosphere batsmen and bowlers all patronising cricket if one is formed man and turned in what could arguably be his same Masood Azhar stable proof’, ‘a hundred guilty rights in the face of a state in the country. Speaking coming good. While to go by the spectators in the most complete performance. From the backcourt he but under a different name may go free but not a single and society fast turning against partisanship can be Shikhar Dhawan was the stands at the India­Australia displayed the kind of athleticism and shot­making that altogether. The elimination innocent should be away from the contained only by initiating pick of the batsmen, the match, at the Oval. belied his age. Federer bore the brunt of it as he suc­ of Osama bin Laden and punished’, etc. This is Constitution’s humane a more balanced and fair pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Sivamani Vasudevan, Chennai cumbed in straight sets in the semifinals. His play in the other top leaders of al­ leading to the construction values. approach. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Qaeda appears to have had of a regime of civil lynching Firoz Ahmad, Preetha Salil, turned in tidy spells to forecourt, an underrated part of his game, was lethal, no significant impact on where the violation of N ew Delhi N ew Delhi outfox the Aussie batsmen. On contentment coming in only for the assured kill, as the 23 out of 27 terrorism, which continues fundamental rights and C.V. Aravind, Most of us are unaware of points won at the net against Thiem indicates. Even as to flourish. Terrorism is civil liberties of the most Rahul’s line From the field B englauru what our true purpose in life Nadal established himself as a near constant among indeed a threat that needs vulnerable enjoys complete Congress president Rahul The Indian cricket team is, more so when most us are men, the women’s game threw up yet another surprise the collective attention of impunity. On the other Gandhi is at it again — came out with all guns ■ I was in the United keeping up with the Joneses winner, this time in Australia’s Ashleigh Barty. The 23­ all countries in the region. hand, making it mandatory hitting out at the Prime blazing against the mighty Kingdom/London recently in every sphere of life. The year­old’s style is delightfully old­school, with a beauti­ Kangayam R. Narasimhan, for people to prove their Minister for spreading Australians and notched up and happened to watch a few contentment in ones’s life is Chennai identity claims, including hatred. Sure, he has every a highly creditable win of the ICC Cricket World Cup left to others to judge (‘Open fully constructed point preferred to murderous first­ the one of nationality, on reason to feel bitter but this which should do a world of matches. One thing I found Page’, “Finding contentment strike tennis. Combined with a ruthless calm, she com­ Judiciary’s role the basis of a well­ordered is not the time to give good to the morale of the striking is that cricket does whereever you are”, June 9). pletely unnerved the 19­year­old Marketa Vondrousova It is disconcerting how the chain of documents is expression to his Indian players (Page 1, not enjoy the same popular Deepak Singhal, on Saturday to end her nation’s long wait for a new slam fundamental principles of symptomatic of a total disappointment in such “Clinical India prevails in a patronage it once enjoyed in Noida champion. justice are being subverted disconnect with the grim strong terms. ‘Hatred’ is too high scoring affair”, June England. Even this time, more letters online: in the working of the state realities of people’s extreme a term; 10). The team is peaking at cricket in the English print www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

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THE HINDU DELHI TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2019 OPED 11 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Why language matters Artificial Intelligence, As the particular language we learn constitutes us and our world, our relationship with it has to be deep the law and the future in our own particular languages. Because the particular language AI­driven tech will become counterproductive if a legal we learn constitutes us and our world, our relationship with it simply framework is not devised to regulate it has to be very deep. And we all feel a special bond with all those who loping a law on self­driven cars. R ajeev Bhargava speak the same language. Just ima­ In India, NITI Aayog released a policy pap­ gine the alienation of, say, a rural Ta­ er, ‘National Strategy for Artificial Intelli­ mil speaker who lands unprepared gence’, in June 2018, which considered the The recent emotional outburst by Ta­ in American English­speaking Texas, importance of AI in different sectors. The mil speakers against the perceived and imagine equally his relief and Budget 2019 also proposed to launch a na­ threat of Hindi being imposed on elation if he ever finds a Tamil­speak­ G .S. Bajpai & Mohsina Irshad tional programme on AI. While all these de­ them compels us to ask: why does er there! Fifty years ago, Tamilians velopments are taking place on the techno­ language matter so much to us? Why probably felt similarly in Punjab! logical front, no comprehensive legislation

are we deeply attached to a particu­ C. VENKATACHALAPATHY So, the constitutive theory ex­ In February, the Kerala police inducted a ro­ to regulate this growing industry has been lar language? Why do we identify plains the deep attachment people bot for police work. The same month, Chen­ formulated in the country till date. with it so strongly? a simple example from the English a standard, which desires are worthy have to particular languages. It ex­ nai got its second robot­themed restaurant, According to one theory of the na­ language, when we sit at a table, we and which among all worthy entities plains why, when a particular set of where robots not only serve as waiters but al­ Legal personality of AI ture and importance of language, it is use a material object with a flat top are of even higher worth. This recog­ language­speakers fear a threat to so interact with customers in English and Ta­ First we need a legal definition of AI. Also, gi­ an instrument by which we describe with one or more legs that serves a nition of a standard, of the distinc­ their language, they respond with in­ mil. In Ahmedabad, in December 2018, a car­ ven the importance of intention in India’s the world outside it. We have ideas in range of purposes such as eating, tion between correct and incorrect, dignation. They fight to defend it. diologist performed the world’s first criminal law jurisprudence, it is essential to our heads, and language, consisting writing, meeting, and so on, and dif­ morally right and wrong, a specifical­ What does not follow, however, is in­human telerobotic coronary intervention establish the legal personality of AI (which of signs — marks or sounds — is need­ ferent from, say, a bench or a stool ly human characteristic, is also con­ that languages are self­contained en­ on a patient nearly 32 km away. All these ex­ means AI will have a bundle of rights and ed only to communicate these ideas that might look similar but fulfils dif­ stituted by language. In sum, unlike tities. Instead, they are, as the sociol­ amples symbolise the arrival of Artificial In­ obligations), and whether any sort of inten­ to others. Our mental representa­ ferent purposes. These particular the purely physical, chemical or bio­ ogist Steven Lukes puts it, “clusters telligence (AI) in our everyday lives. AI has tion can be attributed to it. To answer the tions are private, but become public purposes and activities are part of logical world, the human world is or assemblages of heterogeneous ele­ several positive applications, as seen in these once words are used to designate the meaning of the term ‘ table’, cru­ word­laden, shot through with lan­ ments with varying origins”, dynam­ examples. But the capability of AI systems to them. We convey our thoughts to cial to learning how to use it. None of guage. We are, as Professor Taylor ic constellations in a moving galaxy, learn from experience and to perform auto­ others in and through words. If this is this is possible without a certain kind puts it, language animals, living in a intermixing, borrowing from one nomously for humans makes AI the most dis­ the only function of language — to de­ of reflective, focussed awareness dimension in which other animals do another, being shaped and in turn ruptive and self­transformative technology signate, describe and communicate which literally brings into existing a not, the linguistic dimension. shaping one another. The demand of the 21st century. things and thoughts that exist inde­ piece of wood as a table. So, the for purity is an enemy of language If AI is not regulated properly, it is bound pendently of it, in order to make word ‘table’ brings a new thought, a The attachment to one language growth and innovation. Consider the to have unmanageable implications. Ima­ them public — why would anybody new social object and a new set of ac­ Another feature of language to which Sanskrit term ‘puja’. It has been sug­ gine, for instance, that electricity supply be attached to a particular language? tivities into being. Without that term the constitutive theory draws our at­ gested that it may have not Indo­Eu­ suddenly stops while a robot is performing a Can’t this job be performed by any or its equivalents, the sociocultural tention is its strong communitarian­ ropean but Dravidian roots deriving surgery, and access to a doctor is lost? And language? object, table, would not exist. It is in ism. Word­meaning is created and from the Tamil word ‘pu’ for flowers. what if a drone hits a human being? These

So, this account fails to explain this sense that words, thought and recreated in speech, in conversation How many of us know the Sanskrit questions have already confronted courts in BIJOY GHOSH our deep attachment to a particular the world are constitutively linked. and dialogue with others. It follows word ‘Veda’, or ‘vid’, is linked to ‘wit’ the U.S. and Germany. All countries, includ­ language, our mother tongue. It Just as the objects that surround that a language would not exist or and ‘witness’, the English ‘daughter’ ing India, need to be legally prepared to face question on liability, since AI is considered doesn’t explain the emotional inten­ us are linguistically constituted, so grow without a speech community, a to dugdha (milk), or ‘free’ linked such kind of disruptive technology. to be inanimate, a strict liability scheme that sity with which people fight for their too are our relations with one anoth­ community of language users. So, etymologically to Sanskrit ‘ preeta’ holds the producer or manufacturer of the own language. Is there an account of er. For instance, learning the use of Tamil is sustained by and grows with­ (love)? Languages which now seem Challenges of AI product liable for harm, regardless of the language that can? the word ‘teacher’ and ‘student’ is to in the specific community of Tamil radically distinct from each other Predicting and analysing legal issues and fault, might be an approach to consider. learn a whole gamut of social rela­ speakers, so also Bengali or Hindi. have evolved together over a long, in­ their solutions, however, is not that simple. Since privacy is a fundamental right, certain Objects and relations tions crucial to the practice and insti­ And it is not just the speech com­ terconnected global history. For instance, criminal law is going to face rules to regulate the usage of data possessed The ‘constitutive theory’ by the great tution of education. It also helps con­ munity which shapes and creates One must remember the ease and drastic challenges. What if an AI­based dri­ by an AI entity should be framed as part of philosopher Charles Taylor does. Ac­ stitute how those performing these language, but language which consti­ dedication with which people born verless car gets into an accident that causes the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018. cording to this theory, pre­linguistic roles (teachers and students ) may tutes and sustains the speech com­ in one linguistic community em­ harm to humans or damages property? Who Traffic accidents lead to about 400 deaths humans had already begun to ex­ stand in relation to each other — for­ munity. Since thousands of languag­ brace languages different from their should the courts hold liable for the same? a day in India, 90% of which are caused by press themselves, but when they be­ mal or informal, friendly or with­ es exist and are nourished by its own. Indeed, we can be attached to Can AI be thought to have knowingly or care­ preventable human errors. Autonomous came language users, they changed drawn, casual or serious, and so on. speakers, different linguistic vocab­ more than one language. Just think of lessly caused bodily injury to another? Can vehicles that rely on AI can reduce this signif­ fundamentally. Language helped Furthermore, language constitutes ularies imply different ways of consti­ the Hebrew/English­speaking Indol­ robots act as a witness or as a tool for com­ icantly, through smart warnings and preven­ them articulate explicitly what was not only a web of power­laden or tuting and experiencing the world; ogist David Shulman’s love for Tamil mitting various crimes? tive and defensive techniques. Patients so­ earlier somewhat vague and in­ power­free social relationships but each having different feelings, con­ and Telugu. Not to speak of the pas­ Except for Isaac Asimov’s ‘three laws of metimes die due to non­availability of choate. It changed the nature of their also new emotions. For example, an­ cerns, sensibilities, aspirations and sionate bilinguality of good transla­ robotics’ discussed in his short story, ‘Runa­ specialised doctors. AI can reduce the dis­ thought. Language makes certain ger experienced by non­linguistic so on. Language makes us what we tors. So, while deep attachment to round’, published in 1942, only recently has tance between patients and doctors. But as features of an entity more salient animals is different from indignation are. Specific languages make us the one’s language is understandable, there been interest across the world to deve­ futurist Gray Scott says, “The real question than others, pushes some into the which depends on a grasp of what is specific creatures that we are. the pathological obsession with lop a law on smart technologies. In the U.S., is, when will we draft an artificial intelligence background, while foregrounding just and unjust. To admire someone So, our own language matters to which people defend its purity, un­ there is a lot of discussion about regulation bill of rights? What will that consist of? And others. As we fix our attention only is more than just being attracted to us because it constitutes us and our iqueness and superiority is unwar­ of AI. Germany has come up with ethical who will get to decide that?” on some features, we draw boundar­ her; it is to see her as having excep­ world, our own specific way of being ranted, pathetic and unforgivable. rules for autonomous vehicles stipulating ies, make distinctions, no matter tional virtues or achievements. We in the world. Language makes us at that human life should always have priority G .S. Bajpai is Chairperson, Centre for Criminology & how rough, fluid or porous. We con­ don’t just desire things or are re­ home in the world. In a manner of R ajeev Bhargava is Professor, Centre for the over property or animal life. China, Japan Victimology, National Law University, Delhi and trast them with other things. To take pulsed by them but also evaluate, by speaking, we dwell comfortably only Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi and Korea are following Germany in deve­ Mohsina Irshad is a research scholar at NLU, Delhi

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The merits of a free ride FIFTY YEARS AGO JUNE 11, 1969 The Delhi government’s proposal Secret of P.M.’s freshness encourages the use of public Mrs. Indira Gandhi told Afghan journalists here [Kabul] to­day [June 10] that she derived her strength to carry the heavy bur­ transport and is gender­inclusive dens of office as Prime Minister from two sources, the moun­ tains and the people. The Prime Minister had been asked by a Akriti Bhatia correspondent here about the secret of her “astounding fresh­ ness” despite the fact that she had to carry the heavy burdens The Delhi government’s proposal of a vast country like India. Mrs. Gandhi replied: “I have to make metro and bus travel free known no other life. I have been involved from the earliest for women not only encourages stage in the freedom struggle. I think what we are doing in In­ women to use public transport dia is a continuation of that struggle because we have to safe­ more, but also allows them to oc­ guard that freedom against both external and internal dan­ cupy public spaces more and ex­ gers. When one wants to do something and feels very strongly ercise their right to work and about it, one always derives strength to do it.” After a pause commute much more freely. she said she was a “child of the mountains” and derived

R.V. MOORTHY According to various studies, strength from them. She also drew energy from the people. women’s choices (and often those of their spouses and families) about work are determined by their commuting experience, including the availability of A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JUNE 11, 1919. modes of transport, distance of the workplace from their re­ sidence, presence of other women during commute, and sa­ CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC Bengal Jails. fety of the overall route. For many families, it is the cost of DATA POINT commute that determines their choice of work. To­day [June 11] the Calcutta ‘Gazette’ contains the resolution A recent report by Deloitte revealed that female labour on Bengal Jail Administration for last year. 83,207 prisoners force participation fell to 26% in 2018 from 36.7% in 2005 were admitted to the Bengal jails during last year, being less by amidst the larger unemployment crisis. A move like this 1,500 admitted the previous year. The general health condi­ could therefore increase productivity and women’s partici­ tions were unfavourable, 3,426 cases of influenza having oc­ pation in the economy. curred. The manufacture of quinine tablets continued to be More importantly, this move could make the Delhi metro the important industry in jail and [Rupees] 3 ½ lakhs worth of (a state­of­the­art, air­conditioned public mode of transport) quinine was sold. Juvenile jail at Alipore continues to do excel­ accessible to working­class women for whom the metro has lent work. Further improvements have been made in the always been an aspirational vehicle. Given that the principal school where reading, writing arithmetic and freehand draw­ logic of any public service is that it should be inclusive, free ing are now taught by a complete staff, while the physical (or at least inexpensive) access to metro trains and buses training has produced an excellent effect on the health and must also necessarily extend to the urban working poor, stu­ spirits of the boys. dents, the differently abled, and senior citizens — albeit with an option of self­exclusion for those who can afford it. Post CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC metro fare hikes in 2017, ridership dropped by over three CONCEPTUAL lakh passengers per day, owing to increased unaffordability. Ecologically too, in a polluted city like Delhi, universalis­ V ote trading ing cheap access to public transport and disincentivising private vehicles as much as possible is the need of the hour. Politics Finally, those arguing that this move would reinforce the This refers to any manner of voting where people agree to idea that women are the ‘weaker sex’ often turn a blind eye vote in certain ways in which they would not have voted oth­ to the notion of equality when it comes to acknowledging erwise in exchange for immediate or future benefits. A certain large gender pay gaps, how women rampantly indulge in political party that is in Opposition, for instance, may decide unpaid labour, or how public spaces are visibly gendered to support a certain legislation that it would not have support­ (there is a near absence of women on the streets of Delhi af­ ed otherwise in exchange for favours it expects to receive ter a particular time). from the ruling party. Vote trading is considered to be uneth­ This is not to say that the government’s proposal will au­ ical by some political observers who have a problem with the tomatically lead to safer environments for women. It must purely transactional nature of such voting. While common in be supplemented with efforts towards greater capacity the political arena, vote trading is also present in other places building, increased frequency of metros and buses, provi­ like big businesses and other large organisations. sion of all­women’s coaches and buses, street lighting, step­ ping up last­mile connectivity, deployment of women CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC guards, and so on. And most important is the need for rad­ ical attitudinal shifts. Discussing the merits of a proposal like MORE ON THE WEB 3 this and learning from examples around the world is impor­ tant rather than attacking it the minute it is announced. Yuvraj Singh | Career timeline

A kriti Bhatia is a PhD Research Scholar at the Delhi School of Economics http://bit.ly/YuviTimeline

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