Above the law
Meeran Chadha Borwankar | IPS officer
The Indian Express
Borwankar writes that when she heard about Delhi police’s “altercation with local lawyers over the parking of vehicles”, she was “aghast”. She questions the judicial enquiry issued against the policemen and also asks why the enquiry was not about the incident. She adds that she felt a “seething anger against an unjust system that has decided against the uniform without giving it a chance to defend itself”.
She writes that she was “shocked” at the “near-unanimous opinion” of policemen who felt that the “uniform and police discipline” do not “allow them to air their views, but it is also a fact that the use of even minimal force leads to disciplinary action against them.”
The incident reminds Borwankar of a law class in her academy where the instructor spoke about “natural justice”, which meant that “both sides deserved to be heard and must be given an opportunity to present their case”. She wondered if the “law instructor in the judicial academy” had “skipped this chapter on the due process of law”.
MEPs visit not a diplomatic disaster
Swapan Dasgupta | Rajya Sabha MP
Hindustan Times
The opposition termed the European parliament members’ visit to Srinagar as a “diplomatic blunder” but Dasgupta suggests that it “may be prudent to look at some of the larger questions”.
On the “role of MEPs in influencing decisions” of the EU, he argues that “all the crucial decisions regarding international trade and internal regulations governing member-states are taken by a bureaucracy that is not accountable to the elected MEPs”. He adds that “foreign policy does not come under the purview of the EU” and therefore, the “role of MEPs in influencing the positions of the EU is minimal.”
On the “political composition of the MEPs”, Dasgupta states that India, as a sovereign country “should not have any official position on internal politics of individual EU member-states”. Additionally, “the politics of Europe, including the attitude of member-states to EU, is deeply contested”.
In conclusion, Dasgupta maintains that the MEPs visit “is neither a triumph nor a grave diplomatice disaster”, it is a “modest initiative based on recognition that Europe cannot be viewed as a homogenous entity.”
Manage stubble to control air pollution
Chandrajit Banerjee | Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
The Times of India
On the “recent spike in air pollution levels across northern India”, Banerjee states that a “significant proportion of air pollutants arises from burning of crop residue across the agricultural heartland”. There is a “lack of clarity among farmers about the likely cost versus potential benefits of alternative approaches,” he adds.
Banerjee writes that their project at CII has helped in “making 75% of the land stubble burning free” with “four of five farmers taking up alternative practises”. He notes that a “lack of knowledge among farmers is a key deterrent” and “it is critical to strengthen farmer advisory services to provide the right knowledge inputs at the right time”. Also, “effective communication and outreach to farmers is essential”.
The government “launched a scheme for agricultural mechanism in 2018” which provided “subsidy for purchase of required machinery”. Banerjee argues that the subsidy scheme must include “all reform machines” and should “popularise the Super Straw Management System through a strict quality control system”.
India’s delicate balance
Prabhat Patnaik | Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
The Telegraph
Patnaik observes that “anti-colonial nationalism had sought to be inclusive” as it was “necessary for uniting a diverse people to fight an imperial power” who derived its relative strength “precisely from this diversity”. However, this required “discussions and negotiations between” anti-colonial, pan-Indian nationalism and other regional linguistic communities and the “promise of federal structure” was a “key outcome” of these discussions, he writes.
Patnaik argues that provisions like Article 35 A, 370 and 371 were other key outcomes. A “delicate balance” had to be maintained between “a pan-Indian consciousness” and a linguistic one if the “nation was to survive”. He writes that the BJP has “upset” this balance after the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Amit Shah’s “plan of imposing Hindi across the country” is another example of this disruption.
This “concept of nation” put forth by the BJP“is not just anti-minority”, it is “also anti-federal and anti-democratic”, writes Patnaik. This agenda “not only runs counter to that of anti-colonial nationalism” but also permits “tactical concessions to this or that social group”. He maintains that these “tactical manoeuvres must not be confused with an accommodative nationalism”.
In Through The Out Door
Ajit Ranade | Economist
Economic Times
In view of India’s decision not to sign the RCEP, Ranade discusses a “successful export strategy” that must first address “domestic handicaps” like electricity duties, mining royalties and inflexible labour laws. He adds that India’s decision is hopefully a “temporary respite” as it cannot afford “to miss the RCEP bus”.
Before the formal signing takes place in March 2020, India must improve its competitiveness via domestic reforms, writes Ranade. Indirect tax regime should be lowered given the large proportion of unutilised tax credits, he suggests. The inverted duty structure and overvalued exchange rate that hurt investment need to be evaluated. Also, “export incentive schemes” like Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) have to be “dismantled” as they are illegal. Trade liberalisation will also benefit the agricultural sector and raise farmer incomes, he adds.
Ranade suggests India be less defensive when it comes to free trade agreements and look forward to tapping into Chinese markets, especially since China plans to import “nearly $12 trillion worth of goods and taxes in the next five years.”
Greed, not fear, will remove Delhi smog
Somasekhar Sundaresan | Advocate practising as an independent counsel
Business Standard
Indian policy-making depends excessively on “leveraging fear…as opposed to leveraging greed, with an incentive and disincentive structure nudging desirable behavioural outcomes”, writes Sundaresan. This is why tackling Delhi’s smog requires an incentives-based approach for farmers in neighbouring states to stop stubble burning. These incentives could be fertilisers or even direct cash transfers, he adds.
While Diwali firecrackers also contributed to severe air pollution in the national capital, crop burning is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently, he writes. Sundaresan notes that the “petty finger-pointing” by the state governments indicate that “so long as no political cost has to be paid, politicians will merrily exhort violation of vehicular restrictions, and indulge in denial of crop burning being the cause.”
He recommends that policy-makers look towards snow leopard conservation in the Indian Himalayas where villagers in the state were provided with light sticks and insurance was offered against the cattle killed by leopards. This discouraged the villagers from killing the snow leopards. Sundaresan writes that this anecdote shows how “imaginative thinking, applying local intelligence, creating solutions based on perception of benefits” and not using fear to legislate can solve the problem.