The Hindu Editorial Analysis | 13th Jan’20| PDF Download

Table of Contents

Man-made disaster

What is the most tragic outcome of the recent spike in S.-Iran tensions?

Ukraine International Airlines says the flight took off after clearance from the airport.
Tehran: its soldiers fired the missile, mistaking the jet for an enemy aircraft.
1988: U.S. Navy warship shot down an Iran Air flight over the Gulf, killing all 290
In both incidents, innocents, who did not have anything to do with the conflict, became victims.
Iran should carry out, along with international investigators, a thorough probe into what led to the “accident”, and punish whoever is responsible for the “human error”.
Such mistakes are unacceptable even in war.
Both Iran and the S. should also ask themselves whether the confrontational path they have chosen was worth the risk.

There were widespread dissent and protests in different parts of Iran for various different economical reasons.
Soleimani united the several political factions in Iran through his martyrdom.
This unprecedented emotional display has its roots in Iran’s history and faith.
Iran is a civilisation state, not just a nation state.

Safavid dynasty adopted Shia Islam as the official religion of the empire.
1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy.
2 key pillars that carried the revolutionary state were political Shiism and nationalism.
In Iran, martyrdom is one of the central tenets of both.
Shias revere their martyrs, starting from Imam Ali.

After Prophet Mohammed’s death, his followers were divided on who should be his successor as the rightful leader of the ummah (the Muslim community).
Some supported Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law
Some supported Abu Bakr, a companion of the Prophet.
Abu Bakr became the 1st Caliph. Ali eventually became the 4th Caliph.
The supporters of Ali became Shias and the followers of the Rashidun Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali) became Sunnis.
Ali’s was killed amid the Sunni-Shia power struggle, becoming the first martyr of Shia Islam.
Hussein, Ali’s second son, refused to pledge loyalty to the Umayyads ruler, Yazid.
In 680, Hussein and 72 of his followers were killed in Karbala, in today’s Iraq, by the army of Yazid.
Hussein, who is the third Shia Imam, was beheaded and his head was brought to Damascus for Caliph Yazid.
The Battle for Karbala holds enormous significance in both Shia faith and political Shiism.
For the Shia believers, the Imam who refused to compromise on his beliefs even at the expense of his life, was the epitome of sacrifice.
In 1970s, Ayatollah Khomeini had invoked both sacrifice and courage to mobilise the public against the rule of the Shah, Reza Pahlavi.
Within a year of the revolution, then Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, launched an invasion. Saddam was the new Yazid.
Trump may not have realised that he has just scored an own goal.

National Crime Records Bureau’s 2018 report was unveiled last week.
Crime records and statistics are only as good as their reporting.
Some States are better than others in tracking and registering crimes.
Kerala and the National Capital Region having the highest crime rates in the country.
The finding in the 2017 NCRB report that northeastern States such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya have a relatively higher murder rate compared to most States bears itself out in 2018 as well.
Other States which have a worrisome record here include Jharkhand (4.6 murders per one lakh population, the highest in the country) and Haryana (3.9).
Cases related to caste and communal/religious riots, political violence and agrarian conflicts registered a dip while there was an increase in industrial rioting and other personal disputes.

Violations becomes common: weak enforcement of environmental laws + corruption + undue political influence
11-12 Jan 2020: four high-rise luxury apartment complexes in Maradu municipality in Kochi were demolished as they violated Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules
The violations cannot be lightly

Following the court order, residents, about 350 families, started to protest.
The rising demand for waterfront apartments.
The crime branch found that the builders had constructed the apartments after conspiring with panchayat officials in 2006.
The court ordered that a compensation amount of ₹25 lakh be paid to to each household.

‘Journalism, Media, and Technology: Trends and Predictions 2020’: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford
The study focusses mainly on the K. elections and the narratives surrounding Brexit.
The findings are not encouraging: politicians have played with facts, avoided journalistic scrutiny, and succeeded in denigrating the media.
The report points out that politicians are increasingly trying to bypass the media and convey messages directly via social media.
There is some indication that rigourous and relentless journalism sometimes leads to disengagement.
Explainers, contextual essays, increased space for data journalism, long-form reportage and analysis of difficult policy decisions are some of the journalistic means to confront the scourge of misinformation.

Gautam Bhatia termed “sealed cover jurisprudence”
Court applied the proportionality doctrine to reason that “complete blocking/prohibition perpetually cannot be accepted”.
The order directed the government to change them and placed a time limit of 7 working days for periodic review.
Even when it comes to the court’s direction to conduct a periodic review of such shutdowns every seven days, it needs to be noted that the review committee will lack independence and real power to overturn the initial Internet shutdown orders.
The committee will be principally composed of bureaucrats and no independent members.

500-year-old ritual performed at the Kukke Subramanya Temple in Karnataka.

The relationship between the right to freedom of religion and the rights of individuals to dignity and equality.

The Court will be faced with a difficult question of balance.
Articles 25 and 26 of our constitution.
It is only those practices that are “essential” to religion that enjoy constitutional protection.
When the hearings begin today, therefore, the nine-judge Bench will face a difficult and delicate task of constitutional interpretation.