Table of Contents
A welcome retreat
• Centre has quietly withdrawn the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017.
• “Bail-in” clause
• The withdrawal of the FRDI Bill should therefore be used as an opportunity by policymakers to reappraise the existing framework for resolving bankruptcy scenarios among financial entities.
• Deposit Insurance and Credit
Questions of faith at Ayodhya
• “The essentiality of mosques” (The Hindu, August 7, 2018).
• It is also a misreading of the Constitution of India to state, as the writer does, that Articles 25 and 26 guarantee Muslims an unfettered fundamental right to pray in a mosque.
• Fundamental rights in our Constitution are not absolute, and are subject to reasonable restrictions of morality, health, and public order.
• The Supreme Court in 1994 had directed the Allahabad High Court to verify, by scientific methods, if the Babri Masjid was a structure constructed by invaders.
• That too after demolishing a pre-existing temple?
• Archaeological Survey of India (ASI): In 2002, B.B. Lal and K.K. Mohammed concluded that there was indeed an extensive temple complex in ruins under the site where the Babri Masjid structure had stood.
• The High Court accepted this finding and relied on the same in depth in its 2010 judgment of 1,000 printed pages, now available in three bound volumes.
• Before the Supreme Court today are two sets of petitions being considered.
1. A civil suit appeal against the High Court judgment, viz., on questions of who the “disputed” Ayodhya site belongs to.
2. Writ petition seeking enforcement of my fundamental right to pray at the site where Rama was born.
• Sri Rama was named poet Mohammed Iqbal called him ‘Imam-e-Hind’
• Babri Masjid, was put up by Babar’s commander, Mir Baqi in 1528.
Firm but gentle grasp
• 7, it had to be written as 7.00.
• This debate raises the philosophical question of what the role of education is.
• Is it to train students to follow rules or is it to stimulate them to ponder and deduce the sense behind the lessons?
• Science and scientific method suggest that the latter is closer to the true purpose of education, particularly because the appeal of accuracy and reproducibility far outweighs the power of rules.
• The obsession with conventions is not the only problem with the Indian attitude to education, but it is an issue that must be tackled if we wish to move ahead.
Perils of historical amnesia
• Article 35A, it was introduced in 1954 as part of a Presidential Order.
• The Article was introduced in May 1954 as part of a larger Presidential Order package, which made several additions to the Constitution (not just Article 35A).
• Article 35A of the Constitution: Its critics have argued that the Article affords Jammu and Kashmir undue powers, particularly by preventing non-State residents to own land in the State.
• For the first time, India’s fundamental rights and directive principles were applicable to Jammu and Kashmir and the State’s finances were integrated with India. Importantly, the Order also extended the Indian Supreme Court’s jurisdiction over certain aspects of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Order had come about only after the Jammu and Kashmir government had agreed to it and passed a similar legislation in its own Constituent Assembly, making it clear that these powers were Jammu and Kashmir’s to give, not India’s to take.
• Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1947 which brought the State into the Union of India gave New Delhi control only over Kashmir’s defence, foreign policy and communications.
• On all other matters, the State government retained powers.
• Sheikh Abdullah became “Prime Minister” of Kashmir; the State had its own Constituent Assembly and flag; there were customs checks between India and the State; the Supreme Court did not have jurisdiction over key issues in the State; Kashmir militia was constituted as a separate force; and Srinagar tried to send its own trade commissioners to foreign countries.
• With the coming into effect of the Indian Constitution in January 1950, New Delhi’s powers over Jammu and Kashmir were defined more clearly through a Presidential Order (a predecessor of 1954 Order).
• However, just in the areas of defence, foreign affairs and communications was Jammu and Kashmir put on the same footing as the rest of India. On issues of commerce, audit, judiciary, elections and finance, there were considerable modifications. India’s fundamental rights and directive principles were not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir at all.
The Delhi Agreement
• Only in 1952, after the international clamour for an immediate plebiscite had somewhat subsided, did Jawaharlal Nehru invite Abdullah to discuss how India and Jammu and Kashmir could be more closely integrated.
• Before the Delhi Agreement could be implemented, the situation was altered radically because of three factors. First, any plans for an immediate Plebiscite were abandoned in 1954, which strengthened New Delhi’s hand. Second, in 1953, Nehru faced a nationwide campaign from the Hindu right-wing demanding greater integration of Kashmir. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, in August 1953, Abdullah was arrested and replaced by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, who was far more amenable to integration with India.
• January 1954, New Delhi negotiated a new agreement with Bakshi, which was passed by the Kashmir Constituent Assembly in February, and eventually introduced through Presidential Order in May. However, it still left the State with enormous autonomy. Foremost, all “residuary powers” rested with the State legislature.
Front Page
• Opposition loses the battle for RS Deputy Chairman
• NDA candidate and JD(U) MP Harivansh was elected the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, defeating Opposition candidate and Congress MP B.K. Hariprasad.
• With 73 MPs, the BJP is now the largest party in the House.
• SC alters Lodha’s BCCI proposals
• 27 resorts in Nilgiris jumbo path to be shut
• SC sets 48-hour deadline for closure
• “elephants are our heritage.” “We are destroying our heritage,” Justice Madan B. Lokur
• ‘Will continue oil trade with India’
• Venezuela has been affected by U.S. sanctions. These are economic sanctions, aggression, against the people of Venezuela. As a result, production has come down. But we will continue our oil trade with India
• U.S. hits Russia with new sanctions
• At least 29 children killed in strike on Yemen bus
• Pence unveils plans to build U.S. Space Force
• President Donald Trump had ordered the creation of the Space Force in June, arguing the Pentagon needs it to tackle vulnerabilities in space and assert U.S. dominance in orbit.
• GoM may Decide Fate of RCEP Trade Negotiations Today
• Four top ministers are likely to discuss India’s participation in a regional trade pact on Friday, ahead of a key meeting of ministers from the 16 Asia-Pacific member-countries, including China, later this month to chart the way forward as the agreement is negotiated.
• Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu, finance minister Piyush Goyal, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and housing & urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri will consider whether India should continue with or withdraw from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement negotiations.
• The government decided last week to set up the group of ministers after the agriculture, defence and economic affairs ministries opposed the trade pact.
• The RCEP consists of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
• India is under pressure from the other members to commit to eliminate duties on at least 90% of the goods that it trades with them and conclude the RCEP this year, reasoning that it is the last window of opportunity before the nation gets into election mode.
• – Commerce Dept Makes Case for Ecomm Policy
• The commerce department has asserted that India requires a domestic ecommerce policy as there was pressure from developed countries on it to take part in WTO negotiations on online trade and also to counter China’s domination in the digital space.
• – EU Foreign Trade Body Maps Plan to Revive FTA Talks
• Europe’s foreign trade association Amfori has said that India and the European Union should focus on resolving differences over three crucial issues if they want to break the deadlock on the longstalled free trade pact.
• Slashing of import duty on European cars and alcohol by India, recognition of the country as a ‘data-secure’ nation to enable free flow of data between the two and easier visa norms for Indian professionals are the other sticking points.
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