The Hindu Editorial Analysis | 20th July ’21

Table of Contents

NEWS

3-yr-old, 4 of her family killed as landslide buries hutment
- In the last 48 hours, at least 38 people have died in incidents linked to heavy rainfall.
Raj Kundra held in porn video racket
Sebi, DRI probing Adani Group cos, govt tells LS
Rahul, Prashant Kishor, ex-EC Lavasa on list of spyware targets

Why were curbs relaxed for Bakrid, SC questions Kerala
Amid protests, Parliament session off to a turbulent start
‘T.N. will face Mekedatu issue legally’
Raise issues but allow govt. to respond, Modi tells Opposition
Modi conveys ‘best wishes’ to new Nepal PM Deuba
Gehlot seeks SC probe in snooping case
A wake-up call for security on the Internet: WhatsApp CEO
Pakistan accuses India of ‘using’ FATF for political ends
Speedy trial a fundamental right: HC
Rain deficit may hit oilseed farmers
Gotabaya Rajapaksa to seek second term as President
Global call for ‘end’ to Taliban offensive
- Over a dozen nations say ‘offensive is in contradiction to their claim to support a negotiated settlement’
U.K. lifts curbs as scientists warn of pandemic surge
Climate change has added over 1,000 lakes in Swiss Alps: study

What Beijing wants to tell the rest of the world | Ind Exp

Yan Xuetong and Wang Jisi, considered to be two of the high priests of the Chinese foreign policy community, have written recent pieces in the Foreign Affairs.
Xi Jinping’s speech for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), on July 1, 2021.
Wang and Yan start by acknowledging that recent changes in US policy mean that relations are unlikely to grow any less tense or competitive.
The US-China relationship has always revolved around two ideas:

The idea that the US will respect and not de-stabilise China’s internal order
The idea that the Chinese will not intentionally weaken the US-led international order

America is plagued by political dysfunction, socio-economic inequality, ethnic and racial divisions and economic stagnation.
Wang, in particular, stretches the argument by describing gun violence and urban unrest in America as “a degree of chaos and violence without parallel in China” and by drawing comparisons between the political chaos of the 2020 presidential election “especially compared with the order and predictability of the Chinese system.”
The new challenge for Beijing is how to be seen to be championing the cause of multipolarity while actually striving for a duopoly with the US or, as Yan cleverly phrases it, “a multipolar order with US-Chinese relations at its core.”
Yan refers to China’s “dual identity”, claiming that there is no contradiction between China seeking global co-hegemony and, at the same time, continuing to be a “developing country”, as a demonstration of its geo-political alignment.
America exports its value system (democracy) as part of its foreign policy, while China does not.
The argument is unconvincing when President Xi has, on more than one occasion, referred to the Chinese model as an alternative for developing countries who wish to be independent.
Their main message to the Americans is to give up on pressuring China to change its political system as this will be futile, and to return to accommodating the Chinese Communist Party as a legitimate global player.
Is it because they still need a few years more of co-habitation before they have the power to topple America from its global perch?
Or, is it the deep sense of vulnerability that the party feels despite the claim that time and momentum are on China’s side?
How does one explain the stepped-up campaigns for “political education” among cadres and the restrictions on “politically incorrect” information its citizens can access if, according to Wang, the leadership is immensely popular?
From India’s perspective, three points might deserve attention.

The statement that there is a paradigm shift in post-Covid Chinese foreign policy.
Yan’s forthright statement that Beijing views America’s so-called “issue-based coalitions” (he presumably includes the Quad) as the most serious external threat to its political security and the biggest obstacle to national rejuvenation.
China is still offering accommodation if Washington just respects Beijing’s internal order and acknowledges China’s regional dominance.

Facebook claimed in 2019 that a spyware, Pegasus, developed by Israeli cyberweapons company, was used to target Indians, lawyers and rights activists among them.
This Sunday, Pegasus surfaced again, reportedly targeting another group of Indians, including journalists, rights activists, politicians and presumably a sitting judge.
The Government has emphatically denied any role in the affair.
Amid disruption of Parliament by the Opposition, Home Minister Amit Shah said the snoopgate report was by “disrupters for the obstructers”
Only a thorough probe can set at rest a lot of wild speculation the snoop report raises.
The process of a Government agency acquiring the spyware will reveal which agency wanted it and for what reason.
Finally, the international community can set up a transparent process of countries acquiring such spyware in future.
The world is already witnessing the growth of the surveillance and interception industry.
In Israel itself, there are several companies involved in this business.
In India, legal mechanisms to place people under surveillance and intercept information in an authorised manner already exist and that makes the Pegasus affair that much more alarming and intriguing.

Health above faith | TH

Considerable risk to public health during massive religious gatherings in the midst of a pandemic.
Yet, it took some prodding by the Supreme Court for Uttar Pradesh to cancel the annual Kanwar Yatra.
The yatra, in which Kanwarias, devotees of Shiva, make a pilgrimage to collect water from the Ganga, was not held last year due to COVID-19.
The Court had reiterated a principle that is being observed in most places: the idea that the health of the public and their right to life are paramount. “All other sentiments, albeit religious, are subservient to this most basic fundamental right,” the Court had observed on July 16, while giving the State government time till July 19 to call off the gatherings on its own.
We know what happened in and after Kumbh Mela
Relaxations aimed at economic revival and restoration of normality
The easing of lockdown restrictions for three days in Kerala to help people celebrate Bakrid is a case in point.
Kerala is one of the States whose daily numbers are causing concern, and the easing of restrictions defies logic and flies in the face of science.

Making India a sporting nation | TH

There are many factors which are important in determining the performance of a nation in various sports.
Beyond a threshold level, the average standard of living in a nation and the country’s population size may be important determinants for its performance at the Olympics.
A person of poor health can never be a good sportsperson.
The U.S., Australia and the Netherlands are powerhouses in swimming, but not China. Perhaps, taller people have an advantage in swimming or basketball but height is not important in shooting or gymnastics.
China excels in shooting along with the U.S. and Germany. East Asian nations do better at table tennis than Western nations.
Russia, East European nations and Central Asian countries do well in amateur boxing whereas China and Central Asians countries do better in weightlifting and wrestling.
Mobilising resources in world-class training provides an edge to sportspersons.
Such infrastructure makes the U.S. the superpower in athletics and gymnastics, Germany in equestrian, and the U.K. in diving, sailing and cycling.
For poor nations, creating such infrastructure is a luxury.
In contrast, Jamaica does well at the Olympics in sprinting and Kenya gets medals in long-distance running.
They perform better than India though they are not great sporting nations.
In recent years, India has shown promise in shooting, amateur boxing, wrestling, gymnastics and badminton.
We need to concentrate more on sports where the physical build of an average Indian will not stand as a disadvantage.
Can we not develop different States as centres of excellence for different sports?
People of different States have different food habits and build.
t’s not impossible to develop training infrastructure for different sports in different parts of the country depending on the inclination of people of that area and their habits and build.
Unless we start grooming our children, who show potential, for international sports, India can hardly succeed at the Olympics.
Individual talent alone cannot take us ahead.
The policy of “One State, One Sport” can be a game-changer in India.
India’s best performance at the Olympics was in London (2012) where it won two silver medals and four bronzes and ranked 56th in the medal’s tally. At the Rio Olympics (2016), with one silver and one bronze, India’s rank came down to 67.

A more humane police force | TH

While improvements in pay scale and promotions are necessary aspects of police reforms, little has been spoken about reforms needed at the psychological level.
Why do citizens fear going to a police station or dealing with the lower ranks of the police force?
Between April 1 and November 30, 2015, 25,357 cases were registered under police category which included 111 deaths in police custody, 330 cases of custodial torture and 24,916 in others.
These numbers were shared by the former Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, in the Lok Sabha in response to a question.
In comparison, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology, from 1989-90 to 2010-11, the deaths in police custody and custody-related operations were 700.
In the U.K., England and Wales, the total deaths in police custody or following contact with the police (1990 to 2015) was 1,542.
In the U.S., according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of state prisoners’ deaths between 2001 and 2007 was 21,936 although one could argue that an unaccounted number of political prisoners from the U.S. disappear into privately maintained black holes called the supermax prisons both on and off U.S. soil.
How can a human being inflict so much pain on another without the slightest remorse?
Milgrim’s experiment on obedience to authority showed that people obey if they are coerced.
In the Indian police force, the lower ranks of police personnel are often verbally abused by their superiors.
Many are not considered as individuals, are not shown compassion by the senior ranks, and work in inhuman conditions.
There is no concept of welfare and this manifests in their improper behaviour with the citizenry.
The Police Act of 1861 was legislated by the British right after the revolt of 1857 to bring in efficient administration of police in the country and to prevent any future revolts.
This meant that the police were to always comply with those in power.
Thus, political will is seen as an essential component in bringing about any major reform in the Indian police force.

ANS

Q.) Meteorologists were stunned this week when three successive thunderstorsm swep across the icy Arctic, unleashing _________ in an unsual phenomenon that scientists say will become less rare with global warming.