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The Assam government is celebrating at a national level the 400th birth anniversary of Lachit Barphukan, the iconic hero of Assam, on November 23, 24 and 25 in New Delhi.
Son of the great warrior-statesman Momai Tamuli Barbarua, Lachit was born on November 24, 1622, and grew up during a turbulent period of Assam’s history. Mir Jumla, the Governor of Bengal, ordered by the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, had invaded Assam, overwhelmed the Assamese forces, and captured Garhgaon, the capital of the ruling Ahom Dynasty, on March 17, 1662.
The Ahom king Jaydhwaj Singha was forced to sign on January 23, 1663, the treaty of Ghilajharighat, whereby he was required not only to cede Ahom territory in central and lower Assam, pay war indemnities as well as an annual tribute, but also send his only daughter to the imperial harem at Delhi.
This treaty dealt a huge blow to Assamese nationalist pride. Chafing under the ignominy of having to pay annual tribute, meant to underline the assumption that the Ahom king was a vassal of Delhi, Chakradhwaj Singha, who succeeded Jaydhwaj Singha, was determined to oust the invaders from the Ahom kingdom and retrieve the lost territory.
Under the guidance of another great warrior statesman Atan Burhagohain, the king began training soldiers so that they would be ready for battle.
The armament industry too was in full swing, as was boat-making. By 1667, the king was satisfied that war preparations were complete and he could make his move against the occupying Mughal forces. He chose the relatively young Lachit to command his army, investing him with the Barphukan (commander) rank.
The ideas page
Cost of brevity (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
In seeking to deliver on the promises when withdrawing the Data Protection Bill (2019) this week, the Ministry of Electronics and IT released the Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022.
At the time of withdrawal, on August 3, 2022, as per a note circulated in Parliament by Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister at the Ministry of Electronics and IT, said it was done to ensure “a comprehensive legal framework”.
This was substantiated by Rajeev Chandrashekhar, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Electronics and IT in his public statements that the new proposal must be as per “global standard laws”.
Have the government’s objectives been achieved with the Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022? The Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022 has now shrunk previous proposals that covered over 90 clauses to 30, phrased in plain English.
This is a drafting style that is also present in the Telecommunications Bill, 2022 and seems to be the current fashion of setting legal proposals that as per the government serve the values of brevity and comprehensibility.
After all, the laws should just not be there for lawyers, but “a person with basic understanding”. While there is little to quarrel with this principle they have been achieved at a considerable cost to established legal standards.
First, when the Supreme Court in the Justice Puttaswamy judgment reaffirmed the fundamental right to privacy it contained specific legal standards as a three-part test.
This includes words such as, “necessary”, “reasonable” and, “proportional” which are terms of art and exist as legal doctrines. As per Justice D Y Chandrachud’s majority opinion, the data protection law should have, “due regard to what has been set out in this judgment”. However, it seems the judgment and such legal standards have largely been ignored.
The sustainable development boost (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Groupings)
India’s G20 presidency, which starts from December, provides a historic opportunity to promote inclusive development across countries and people.
At the recent meet at Bali, it has been recognised that war is not a solution and we should concentrate on economic and social issues.
This is particularly important in the context of global challenges like low economic growth, increasing inflation, disruption of supply chains, rising concerns about food and energy security and debt problems.
Focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is important as that will benefit all sections of society. The SDGs are interconnected and cover all-inclusive issues like poverty, food and nutrition security, health, education, women empowerment, employment and climate change.
India can showcase some of the country’s achievements at G20 meetings in the next one year and also learn from the best practices in other countries. Both “Sherpa” track and “finance” track would be useful for this purpose.
A new working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister shows that on current trends the world will reach its 2030 promises almost half a century too late in 2078.
It says that India stands out because of all G20 countries it has the fastest trend growth from 2015-19, and is moving faster than even lower-middle income countries.
On current trends, India is likely to achieve SDGs by 2059. According to this report, we have to prioritise the indicators as developing countries have limited resources. India can suggest these priorities at G20 meetings.
The report suggests 12 different policy interventions which will have a very high social, economic and environmental return on investment. The UN has recently released the SDG report of 2022.
It says that the confluence of crises dominated by Covid-19, conflicts (indirectly referring to Ukraine-Russia war), and climate change are creating spin-off impacts on food and nutrition, energy, health, education, the environment and affecting all SDGs. The pandemic had pushed 93 million more people into extreme poverty in 2020.
Banking on New Delhi (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Climate negotiations have a tendency to get entangled more in words than in enabling action. But sometimes reality hits you in the face.
A devastating year of heat waves, droughts, lost crops, extreme floods made it impossible to ignore climate-related damages to lives and livelihoods. The latest round of discussions (COP27 in Egypt) began with little hope and ended (two days beyond schedule) with a faint glimmer.
All 197 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed to enable financing for loss and damage to those that need it the most. But the goal of keeping temperature rise to levels that could minimise loss and damage continued to slip away.
Loss and damage (or L&D) refers to the adverse impacts that vulnerable communities and countries face as a result of a changing climate, including the increased incidents and intensity of natural disasters and extreme weather as well as slow-onset temperature increase, sea-level rise, or desertification.
Rich countries had resisted L&D payments for years, worried that their historical emissions would impose large calls for compensation. Under pressure, they could no longer duck their responsibility.
The COP27 decision includes the development of a Transition Committee dedicated to L&D, with equal representation across rich and poor countries.
In order to operationalise the funding arrangements, this committee has been tasked with configuring institutional arrangements, identifying and expanding sources of funding, and coordinating with existing funding arrangements — all by COP28 in the UAE next year.
The sticking points of negotiations, thus, remain. India can speak — and act — on behalf of the Global South, to ensure that the new L&D financing facility delivers.
Explained
A general in Pakistan (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
The wait has finally ended. Lt Gen Syed Asim Munir Shah is the new chief of the Pakistan Army. He will take charge on November 29, when the incumbent, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, steps down after six years in the post, which included a three-year extension in 2019.
The appointment of the new chief had become more contentious than at any other time in the last three decades of the country’s troubled military-civilian relations.
The announcement ends months of speculation on whether Bajwa would seek another extension. But it may not end Pakistan’s political uncertainty.
Lt Gen Munir, who graduated in 1986 from the Officers Training School, Mangla, belongs to the Frontier Force Regiment, one of the six infantry regiments of the Pakistan Army. At present, he is the QuarterMaster General at GHQ, Rawalpindi.
Munir is said to be close to Bajwa, with whom he worked both as Director-General Military Intelligence from December 2016 to October 2018, and later as Director-General Inter Services Intelligence from October 2018 to June 2019.
Earlier in his career, he commanded a brigade of the Force Command Northern Areas, a component of X Corps, at a time when Bajwa was the corps commander.
He is reported to be an “outstanding officer” and was recently described by the writer Shuja Nawaz (Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army and the Wars Within), as “a straight arrow”.
He was earlier not considered to be in the race for the top job as his four-year tenure as Lt General was ending on November 27, and he was set to retire two days before Bajwa’s tenure ends. But that minor hurdle has become irrelevant as his appointment as chief gives him a three year tenure.
It is also rare for someone who has served as ISI chief to become the Army chief. General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who was Army chief from 2008 to 2013 is perhaps the only other.
Munir is also one of only three other officers to have headed both MI and ISI, the other two being Lt Gen Asad Durrani and Lt Gen Hamid Gul.
Tugher draft law against cruelty to animals: what is in it and why it's needed? (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The Centre has proposed to overhaul The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, introducing 61 amendments in the law, which includes three years’ imprisonment for committing “gruesome cruelty” including “bestiality” with animals.
A draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Bill, 2022, prepared by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, has been opened for public comments until December 7. Once the draft is final, the Bill could be brought either in the Winter Session or the Budget Session of Parliament.
Essentially, the law is proposed to be made tighter, with more stringent punishments. Several offences have been made cognizable, which means offenders can be arrested without an arrest warrant. The draft Bill has proposed to include “Bestiality” as a crime under the new category of “Gruesome cruelty.”
The proposed subsection describes “gruesome cruelty” as any act involving animals which leads to “extreme pain and suffering” and is “likely to leave the animal in life-long disability”.
The draft proposes fines from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000 “or the cost of the animal…whichever is more or with the imprisonment of one year which may extend up to three years or with both” for the offence of gruesome cruelty. For killing an animal, the draft Bill proposes a maximum punishment of five years in jail.
In September, a doctor in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur allegedly tied a dog to his car and dragged it across the city. The dog had a fractured leg and suffered bruises. An offence such as this — fairly common in India — would currently attract charges under Section 428 (mischief by killing or maiming animal) IPC and Section 11 (treating animals cruelly) of The PCA Act, 1960.
First-time offenders under the PCA Act are punished with a fine of Rs 10-50. If it is found that this is not the offender’s first such crime in the past three years, the maximum punishment would be a fine between Rs 25 and Rs 100, a jail term of three months, or both.
In short, the penalty is ridiculously light in the law as it exists now, and is incapable of acting as any deterrent for potential offenders.
Economy
Unemployment rate dips to 7.2% in July -Sept: NSO (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas declined to 7.2 per cent during July-September 2022 from 9.8 per cent a year ago, the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Joblessness or unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons among the labour force. Joblessness was high in July-September 2021 mainly due to the staggering impact of Covid-related restrictions in the country.
The latest data based on a periodic labour force survey, underlining a decline in the unemployment rate amid an improved labour force participation ratio, point towards a sustained economic recovery from the shadow of the pandemic.
The unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in April-June 2022 was 7.6 per cent in urban areas, the 16th Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) showed.
It also showed that the unemployment rate among females (aged 15 years and above) in urban areas declined to 9.4 per cent in July-September, 2022 from 11.6 per cent a year ago. It was 9.5 per cent in April-June, 2022.
Among males, the unemployment rate in urban areas dipped to 6.6 per cent in July-September 2022 compared to 9.3 per cent a year ago. It was 7.1 per cent in April-June 2022.
Labour force participation rate in CWS (Current Weekly Status) in urban areas for persons aged 15 years and above increased to 47.9 per cent in the July-September quarter of 2022, from 46.9 per cent in the same period a year ago. It was 47.5 per cent in April-June 2022.
Labour force refers to the part of the population which supplies or offers to supply labour for pursuing economic activities for the production of goods and services and, therefore, includes both employed and unemployed persons.NSO launched PLFS in April 2017.