The Indian Express Analysis – 10th August 2018

Table of Contents

Why Article 35A must stay

The major ethnic groups –

The Kashmiris live mostly in the main valley of Kashmir and Chenab valley of Jammu division with a minority living in the Pir Panjal region.
The Pahari-speaking people mostly live in and around the Pir Panjal region with some in the northern Kashmir valley.
Nomadic Gujjars and Bakerwals practice transhumance and mostly live in the Pirpanjal region.
The Dogras are ethnically, linguistically and culturally related to the neighboring Punjabi people and mostly live in the Udhampur and Jammu districts of the state.
The Ladakhis inhabit Ladakh region

Historical context is lost in current debate about Art. 35A
Kashmir acceding to India was a testament to the secular credentials of India/its leaders?
An exciting experiment – defied the logic of partition
Constitutional guarantees were given to the people of Kashmir
1927 – Maharaja Hari Singh – ‘’state subject law’’
Dogras, pandits, Punjabi Muslims – dominant
This law became the only tool of residents of J&K to safeguard their identity after acceding to India
Repeated judicial challenges – stood the test of time
In J&K, non-Muslims outnumber Muslims in the elite Kashmir Administrative Service
Dards, Pushtos, Baltis, Hindu Gaddis, nomadic Bakarwals, Buddhists of Ladakh – all occupy a seat in government offices
Removing 35A – Flood gates that could open with an influx from the mainland will definitely wipe these small entities out.

Dear Prime Minister

Common man is grappling with skyrocketing fuel prices while ambiguous policies and untested technology is being laid out
2003 – Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme (EBP) started with 5% blending of molasses based ethanol with petrol.
2008 – 10% blending target
2009 – National Biofuel Policy (NBP) proposed a target of 20 per cent blending for ethanol and biodiesel by 2017.
Implementation – QUESTIONABLE In Odisha – the fuel blending rate is 0%
In Australia 85% blended petrol
In Brazil UPTO 100% blended petrol blending mandate is 27 per cent (E27).
India has an abysmal 2-4 per cent blending rate
The priorities of the government in implementing the NBP were finding a solution to air pollution, maintaining affordable fuel prices, cleaner fuel options, energy self-sufficiency, and reduced crude oil imports.
But there is no clear defined roadmap for India
National Biofuel Policy, 2018 is silent about octane.
Octane assists in proper combustion of fuels and thereby impacts vehicular emissions
Petrol is blended with cancer-causing imported aromatics to boost octane rating right now .
In NBP 2018 “a viability gap funding (VGF) scheme for 2G (second generation) ethanol bio refineries of Rs 5,000 crore in six years is provided, in addition to additional tax incentives.
2G refinery – Untested technology
Status of multiple bio refineries – not clear.
Government is willing to spend thousands of crores on building colossal statues
The government needs to roll back the increase of central taxes on fuel, which has more than doubled after 2014.
The government also needs to increase ethanol imports to reduce oil imports , reduce current account deficit and to curb the pollution created by fossil-fuel burning.

Conclusion

• Ethanol Is a cost-effective and less harmful oxygenate
• Ethanol can be a substitute for expensive and harmful imported aromatics like BTX.

• The domestic production of 1G should be increased while the technology to produce 2G ethanol is still developing and proving its commercial viability.
• These corrections in the policy will lead to lower fuel prices, cleaner air, foreign currency savings and efficiency in the oil economy.

Mind the gap

The digital divide is one of the biggest challenges facing developing economies.
India celebrated the mobile internet boom and an ever-widening broadband network
If every panchayat was connected – the force of rapid telecom growth would sweep over inequalities

A recent report by LIRNEasia (policy think tank) – The digital divide is still here, and inequality is deeper than was anticipated.

Ironically, the divide is deepest precisely where the internet was supposed to bridge it
Internet access was expected to be a great equaliser between the sexes, giving women access to knowledge and connections that they could not get offline.
Fewest number of women online, and the highest gender gap in mobile phone ownership
The gap is 34% in urban areas and rises to 52% in rural areas.
Rural, economically backward and educationally weaker sections – not benefitted either The revolution is real enough, improving the lot of huge populations, but it has not been a great equaliser.
If a family owns only one phone, it is likely to be in the hands of a man.
64% People did not even know about the internet
Internet and mobile boom — ????
Internet usage in India remains lower than in Ghana and Cambodia.
Millions of citizens, especially women, still need a helping hand to join the revolution.

Promise of Moreh

The opening of the Friendship Bridge at Moreh, on the India- Myanmar border.
Moreh, a town 110 km from Imphal, is expected to be the gateway to Myanmar.
Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, is a 10-hour drive from the Manipur town.
This pathway offers direct land connectivity to both China and Southeast Asia.

Citizens of both countries were allowed to cross the border and travel upto 16 km inland

The easing of travel restrictions at Moreh transforms Manipur from a land-locked, frontier state to a trade and transit hub connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia.

From 1990s, India has recalibrated its Myanmar policy with the Look East and Act East visions.
China has been successful in judiciously investing in the region and also turning it into political capital.
The promise of Moreh will be fulfilled only if New Delhi invests in back-end projects and also completes ongoing road and railway projects that ease travel to the border town.

Sharia courts in fact

Sharia courts are the norm and not an exception.
Different kinds of adjudicatory bodies including sharia courts, caste councils, sect councils, civil society organisations etc, do adjudicate in family disputes – Rate of litigation in family courts is quite low and cases across religious groups are resolved in private forums
Sharia courts in Mumbai follow a procedure that is standardised, informal, inexpensive and, above all, consensual
They have played a proactive role in helping women
They have harmonised religious and state laws – by combining principles of Islamic jurisprudence and progressive state laws and judgments
Supreme Court had said about the sharia courts: “It is an informal justice delivery system with an objective of bringing about amicable settlement between the parties. It is within the discretion of the persons concerned either to accept, ignore or reject it.”
There is a distinction between public law and private law. Thus, if parties wish to go to the sharia court, no one can force them to use civil courts.

Reasons for Sharia to flourish/be accepted – The civil justice system is dying in India.

▪ Number of judges

20,558 sanctioned posts

15,540 filled posts

▪ Poor judge-population ratio

USA – 107 judges for 1 million people

India – 10 judges for 1 million people

**CJI T S Thakur “access to justice is illusionary”.