The Hindu Editorial Analysis In English | Free PDF Download

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➢Pardon: It removes both the sentence and the conviction and completely absolves the convict from all sentences, punishments and disqualifications.

➢Commutation: substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form.

➢Remission: It implies reducing the period of sentence without changing its character.

➢Respite: awarding a lesser sentence in place of one originally awarded due to some special fact, such as the physical disability of a convict or the pregnancy of a woman offender.

➢Reprieve: It implies a stay of the execution of a sentence (especially that of death) for a temporary period. Its purpose is to enable the convict to have time to seek pardon or commutation from the President.

Clemency question

Tamil Nadu has decided to invoke the Governor’s clemency power under Article 161 of the Constitution.
2014: Supreme Court which ultimately held that the Centre had primacy in according remission to life convicts in a case that involves consultation between the Centre and the State.

The Centre formally declined to concur with the State’s proposal in April 2018, saying it would “set a very dangerous precedent and lead to international ramifications”.
Supreme Court has in the past cautioned against its use for political considerations.
Decision of Governor will be subject to judicial review.

For instance, what happens to the four Sri Lankan nationals among the convicts?
Will they remain in India or be repatriated?
Also, shouldn’t there be a case-by-case evaluation for releasing those sentenced for life?

Cause for caution

A question being raised about the GDP estimates for the first quarter of this year (April-June) is: How should 8.2% GDP growth be interpreted in, or reconciled with, the overall context of some of the pronounced trends in the economy?

✓These include the depreciating Rupee,

✓Rising bank bad loans, or non-performing assets (NPAs),

✓A trade deficit that has shot up to a five-year high,

✓Retail fuel prices that are inching up every day.

Faster growth has come on a low base which has produced a statistical effect, making growth appear faster.

Services growth slowed.
Industries such as trade, hotels and transport, and the financial, real estate and professional services fall in this segment, as do public administration and defence services.
Private consumption expenditure growth has quickened.
Government salary and pension hikes including at the State level are feeding this consumption spree that is funded by taxpayer money and has remained unaffected by the sharp surge in retail fuel prices.
Consumer industries are also reporting robust rural sales growth. Pockets of the rural economy — land-owning large farmers, for instance — appear flush with disposable income.
The cause for caution is that the GDP growth continues to be powered by consumption, not investments.
The share of investments in GDP dropped from 32.2% in January-March to 31.6% in April-June this year.
To sustain the 8%-plus growth rate beyond the first quarter, through the rest of the year, will require a far more pro-active policy push than appears probable in an election year that is also fraught with global economic challenges and mounting macroeconomic pressures.

The one who reached out to China

India-China relations have come a long way from the period of enmity and bitterness that followed the 1962 war.
Vajpayee’s visit to China in February 1979 ended the chill created by the 1962 war. It was the first high-level political contact between the two countries after 17 long years.
His ice-breaking meeting with Deng Xiaoping, then China’s paramount leader, started a new chapter in India-China relations that has continued till date.
Deng told Vajpayee: “We do have some issues on which we are far apart. We should put those on the side for the moment and do some actual work to improve the climate to go about the problem. Our two countries are the two most populous countries in the world, and we are both Asian countries.

How can we not be friends?”

The creative solution that Vajpayee and Deng discussed to resolve the vexed border dispute was, in a nutshell, this: Do not let normalisation of bilateral relations become a hostage to the resolution of the border dispute. Develop bilateral relations in an all-round manner. Simultaneously, try to resolve the border dispute through dialogue and by ruling out the use of force to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Vajpayee’s visit to China in June 2003: During this visit, India recognised for the first time that the “Tibet Autonomous Region is an integral part of the People’s Republic of China”. Some foreign policy experts, including some serving diplomats, were not in favour of this recognition. On its part, the Chinese side recognised Sikkim as a State of the Indian Union. The visit also saw an important breakthrough in trade relations — bilateral trade started rising rapidly thereafter.

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