Month: October 2019

And Now, J&K’s Political Disempowerment is Complete

The transition from a state with special status into two UTs will mean that Jammu and Kashmir will have little power to govern its own.

Srinagar: With Jammu and Kashmir officially becoming two Union Territories (UTs) the political disempowerment of the restive state has come a full circle after 70 years.

As a princely state, J&K enjoyed independent status for a short period of time. Other princely states in the Indian subcontinent were then choosing to be part of either India or Pakistan.

On October 27, 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh bargained a special position for this region within the Union of India which gave New Delhi control over the region’s defence, communication and foreign affairs alone. Everything else was exclusively under the jurisdiction of the state.

“That day in 1947 marked the beginning of disempowerment of Jammu and Kashmir and its people,” says political analyst Noor Muhammad Baba. “Since then it has been the history of betrayals and loss of power.”

The countdown for political disempowerment started with the arrest of the state’s first prime minister, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, in what is known widely as the “Kashmir conspiracy case”.

A low-rung police official carrying an arrest warrant for the state’s tallest leader walked into Gulmarg to arrest Abdullah, who was then kept behind bars for 13 years.

Also read: Radio Kashmir Renamed ‘All India Radio’ With Local Suffixes

A year after Abdullah’s arrest, New Delhi issued the 1954 Presidential Order that gave powers to the government at the Centre to extend provisions in the Indian constitution on matters other than the three agreed-upon subjects, to Jammu and Kashmir.

Since then, more than 45 Constitutional Application Orders have been issued, allowing New Delhi to extend laws and constitutional provisions to J&K, in violation of its state’s special position. The latest was the order that scrapped Article 370 and paved the way for the state’s bifurcation into two Union Territories (UT) of J&K and Ladakh under Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

One of the biggest setbacks, however, came in 1965 when the then state government amended the J&K constitution, at the behest of the Centre, and took away the positions of Sadr-e-Riyasat (president) and prime minister in J&K.

“The prime minister’s position was downgraded to a chief minister’s level and the Sadr-e-Riyasat was replaced by the governor, a man handpicked by New Delhi to be the constitutional head of J&K. The subsequent Indira-Sheikh accord and Rajiv-Farooq accord paved the way for the surrender of more powers to the Centre,” says Baba.

Members of the security forces patrol Srinagar on October 31. Photo: PTI

The state’s political class was accused of actively collaborating with the Centre to allow the erosion of J&K’s special position.

“The successive state regimes were used to undermine the autonomy of the state as the state government’s consent was a must to recommend the extension of provisions of the constitution of India to J&K through Presidential Orders,” says Baba, adding that a substantial part of J&K’s autonomy was taken away by 1975 and it was brought down to the level of other states.

According to Baba, during the past 70 years J&K had become less powerful compared to other states in India but the only area where it enjoyed supremacy over other states was in the continuation of Article 35A of the Constitution.

Under the provision, the J&K legislature was empowered to make laws describing the state subjects. The provision protected the citizenship, jobs and ownership of the property while keeping them exclusively for permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

With Article 370 gone, Article 35A too stands abolished automatically, which has led to fears about the “design” under which the government of India is operating to change the demography of Kashmir.

Also read: Modi and Shah Forget that Kashmir is No Tibet, India is No China

In one of his write-ups, constitutional expert A.G. Noorani observes that the special status of J&K in the constitution of India was “reduced to a husk; unconstitutionally and immorally.”

Another political analyst Ashiq Hussain sees the irony of the state’s mainstream parties being rendered powerless through New Delhi’s August 5 move.

“They were all demanding more autonomy for the state and even some of them were backing the restoration of pre-1953 position,” says Hussain.

“But the government of India has humiliated them all. In other places we have seen the transition and upgradation of a UT to the state level but in the case of J&K, not only was its special position taken away, but its statehood has also been snatched as well.”

With its transformation into a UT, the powers of J&K assembly to legislate on various subjects has been lost to a major degree. From the “most powerful house” in the words of former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, the J&K legislature now stands powerless.

Also read: While Kashmir Is Silenced, Jammu and Ladakh Are Muttering Anxiously

Under the J&K Reorganisation Act, the state of Jammu and Kashmir is downgraded to two UTs. While the Ladakh UT will function without an assembly, J&K will have a legislature.

J&K’s legislature has been reduced from bi-cameral to uni-cameral, described by many as the last nail in the coffin.

In the new scheme of things, J&K’s assembly would have no powers to enact laws on police and public orders, which fall in the state list under the Indian constitution.

The two are the most significant subjects and considered symbols of authority in Jammu and Kashmir which is in the grip of a 30-year-old conflict.

A jawan near Raj Bhawan on October 31,2019. Photo: PTI/S. Irfan

These subjects were looked after by state’s home the department, whose minister in-charge would be the chief minister.

Under the UT, the J&K chief minister and his cabinet’s position have been weakened further as well. The Lt. Governor will have the last say even in day-to-day matters.

The elected regime will have no powers even in matters related to promotion and transfers of officers of the All India Services like IAS, IPS and IFS. All the powers will be exercised by the Centre through its selected Lt. Governor.

“J&K’s transition to a UT means that it will have no powers of its own and will be directly governed by the parliament and the Center,” says Baba. “This is the ultimate of disempowerment of J&K.”

Besides, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) would be directly controlled by the Lt. Governor. The move has already triggered fears within the political class that the institution would be used as a weapon by the Centre to rein in J&K political actors.

From June 2018, the ACB has raided and served notices to several mainstream politicians and businessman in a drive which many see as the Centre’s tactic to pressurise the mainstream camp to maintain silence over reading down Article 370.


“The LG’s would be the most powerful institution in J&K UT while the chief minister will be like his advisor. He can’t even have a say in the appointment of his principal secretary,” said a senior bureaucrat.

“The government of India never respected the decisions taken by J&K assembly, not even the autonomy of the resolution that was passed by the house in 2000 with a two-third majority. Whatever little powers were left now have been taken away,” Hussain adds.

J&K will also function without a legislative council which not only acted as an institution to keep checks and balances on the decisions taken by the assembly, but also witnessed fierce debates and discussions in its past six decades of existence. The council stands abolished from October 31.

In the UT, the size of the J&K council of ministers has been trimmed to nine from 24, which makes the position of political parties more awkward.

According to Sidiq Wahid, a noted political commentator based in Srinagar, J&K has been a “tale of deprivation of democracy.”

“Now what is there to worry about?” asks Wahid, denoting that the deprivation is complete.

Life of Labour: BMS Rejects Draft Social Security Code, 16,000 Doctors on Strike in TN

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Minimum wage hiked in Delhi: Traders’ body demands roll back, unions welcome move but say its insufficient

Following the Supreme Court’s order on October 14 in favour of the Delhi government’s notification on revised minimum wages, workers in the capital will be entitled to one of the highest minimum wages in the country. “The enhanced minimum wages for unskilled workers have been fixed at Rs 14,842 per month, for semi-skilled workers at Rs 16,341 per month and for skilled workers at Rs 17,991 per month,” PTI reported.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has claimed that around 55 lakh contractual workers in the National Capital Region (NCR) will benefit from the increased wages and that it will reduce poverty and help in dealing with the current economic slowdown.

Also read: The Life of Labour: TSRTC Workers Intensify Strike, Cabinet Approves Merger of BSNL, MTNL

However, traders’ organisations are annoyed with this decision. In a letter to CM Kejriwal, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said that increasing minimum wages has put a “high financial pressure” on traders and employers in Delhi.

Trade unions have welcomed the decision but are not pleased with the delay. “The tactics of employers to delay notification of minimum wages has already caused much loss to workers. Many workers including those of Delhi Transport Corporation had to resort to strike as well,” Abhishek, general secretary of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) Delhi told The Wire. Read more about it here.

RSS-linked trade union rejects draft labour code on social security

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), trade union wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has “rejected” the latest fourth draft on Social Security Code, 2019 calling it “totally disappointing” for the workers of the country. The labour ministry had released the draft on September 17 and invited comments from the public by October 25.

Since the publishing of the column, the labour ministry has taken down the draft labour code. The Wire is therefore producing the draft code in full below:

The Code on Social Security, 2019 by The Wire on Scribd

While submitting its detailed comments to the ministry, the BMS has called it “a weak cut and paste” of eight existing laws on social security. “This is contrary to the objectives of Codification. Unlike the Wage Code, it is not universal, i.e. it did not aim the last worker to be benefitted by all the benefits. It creates a class division of privileged ’employees’, ‘workers’ and unfortunate ‘wage workers’ with different sets of benefits,” a press release from the BMS said.

BMS demanded that the eligibility for gratuity be reduced from five years to one year as about 80% of workers employed in organised sector units are contract labour. On the proposal of opting out of Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and shifting from Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) to National Pension System (NPS), it says that no health insurance scheme for workers in comparable to ESI and the EPS is more beneficial to the workers than NPS.

The statement alleges that flaws in the existing social security laws that were raised by trade unions have also not been taken care of in the draft.

TSRTC strike enters day 27, high court intervenes to allow union to hold public meeting

The indefinite strike by employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corp (TSRTC) entered its 27th day on Thursday, making it the longest strike by transport workers in the region since 2001 when employees of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation had gone on strike for 24 days.

After the much anticipated court hearing on Tuesday, the Telangana high court directed the state government to allow TSRTC unions to hold a public meeting at the Saroornagar stadium. “The police had earlier denied permission for the meeting to union leaders, who have formed a joint action committee (JAC),” Livemint reported.

Also read: The Life of Labour: 24 Dead in Punjab Cracker Factory Blast, Zomato Lays Off 540 Employees

“We founded TMU with KCR eight years ago. Without the TSRTC, there would have been no Telangana, and he would have not become chief minister. The people who stood in the frontline during the protests was us. He promised us something, and forgot it. He is trying to destroy the TSRTC, that is why we are fighting today. This issue is not about us and the state government, it is an issue between the public and the government,” Telangana Mazdoor Union (TMU) working president Thomas Reddy told Livemint. TMU is leading the strike.

As a mark of protest, TSRTC employees rubbed their noses on the ground saying they made a mistake in voting for Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s government. There have been reports of at least four deaths of protesting employees during the strike. The protests started when around 48,000 TSRTC workers went on an indefinite strike with a list of 26 demands, the major one being merger of the corporation with the state government. The KCR government has refused to negotiate with the workers and dismissed all of them for failing to report to work. Here’s a detailed explainer by the News Minute on the demands of the workers.

Nearly 16,000 government doctors in Tamil Nadu on indefinite strike

Nearly 16,000 government doctors in Tamil Nadu, organised under the banner of Federation of Government Doctors Association (FOGDA), have been on an indefinite strike since October 25. The doctors had launched a state-wide token strike on August 27, but deferred it after the state government’s assurance and setting up of a committee to look into their demands. The government had requested six weeks’ time but hasn’t yet responded.

“The doctors have listed four key demands from the government – periodic salary raise and promotions from the state health department; rectification of all inconsistencies in GO 4(D)2 (the government order implementing the staffing pattern to the hospitals so as to strengthen the health care delivery systems. The posts are sanctioned as per the Medical Council of India guidelines) and hiring people according to patient strength; 50% state-wise reservation for PG speciality and super speciality courses; and fourth, transparent counselling while appointing those who have completed their PGs,” the News Minute reported.

Also read: The Life of Labour: Migrant Workers in Kashmir Leave, 5 Die in Ghaziabad Sewer

Health minister C. Vijayabaskar had warned the doctors to return to service on Thursday or face ‘break in service’ following which their posts would be declared vacant, but the doctors continued their strike as it entered its seventh day.

“At least 10 of our district-level leaders have received transfer orders from the government. Charges have also been framed on us. The government is trying to dilute the momentum, but many doctors are taking part in the strike defying the government’s threat,” A. Ramalingam, convenor of FOGDA, told The Hindu.

International news

Chicago teachers’ strike enters day 11

A strike by teachers in Chicago for better pay as well as “teacher demands for contract language to reduce class size and increase staffing levels for support professionals, including nurses and social workers,” entered it 11th day on Thursday, news agency Reuters reported. The 25,000-member Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has accepted a tentative deal but is pushing for a final demand of extension of the school calendar to make up for instructional days and pay lost during the walkout.

Also read: The Life of Labour: MTNL Workers Unpaid for 2 Months, 2 Lakh Auto Sector Jobs Cut

According to Alan Maass, editor of Socialist Worker, the strike is significant as it presents a labour vision of “bargaining for the common good”. Barbara Ransby, a historian, professor, and activist in Chicago, credits the CTU for helping build “a kind of social justice unionism”.

Most of the students enrolled in Chicago’s public schools are African-Americans and Hispanics, and this movement is also for racial justice, Maass says. In his article published in Jacobin magazine called “Chicago Teachers Strike for the Common Good,” he examines the nature of the movement.

Extra reading

We checked 100 years of protests in 150 countries. Here’s what we learned about the working class and democracy.

Don’t be fooled – the EU is no defender of workers’ rights

The ‘risk to democracy’ in Chile isn’t from protesters. It’s from Piñera and the 1%

Yale study shows class bias creeps into the hiring process in just a matter of seconds

Crushing job: Study points out risks for migrant workers at stone quarries

B’luru migrant Bengali labourers convert garbage to ‘gold’, get paid nothing

‘Will Suffer Losses But Won’t Open Shops’: Street Vendors’ Unique Protest in J&K

Subaltern Historiography, the Working Class, and Social Theory for the Global South

South Asian University: A Success Story That Can’t Be Allowed to Fall Prey to Apathy

An ad by the Ministry of External Affairs, inviting applications from Indians for the post of the SAU president, has triggered controversy.

The South Asian University (SAU) – an international university established in 2010 by the eight South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries – is a unique experiment that demonstrates cooperation in the south Asian region, which is otherwise marred by regional conflicts and differences. 

In a short span of less than a decade, SAU has brought together students from all the eight SAARC countries to study under one roof.

When the university started its operations, only a few hundred students applied. But this number has increased significantly over the years, touching around 7,000 for 180 seats in the various Masters courses in 2019. This increasing number of applicants is testimony to the university’s success, and its academic reputation. 

Also read: JNU: The Story of the Fall of a Great University

The success of any university is generally measured by the performance of its alumni. The SAU alumni are doing very well. Some teach in leading universities in the south Asian region, some have gone abroad for higher studies in prestigious universities like Oxford, Cambridge, European Central University, and so on. Yet others work in leading think tanks, while some are serving their governments and judiciary.    

The mainstay of SAU is its highly qualified faculty who have inspired and motivated students to do well.

SAU has been able to attract talented faculty members who have been trained at leading international and national universities in India and south Asia and have an impeccable research record. SAU faculty members are well known for their research work.  

However, a recent advertisement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) inviting applications for the post of the SAU president from Indian nationals has triggered some controversy.

The university’s rules say “the first President of the University shall be nominated by the host country. Subsequent Presidents…shall be nominated by the respective Member States of SAARC on the principle of alphabetical rotation.”

Also read: At South Asian University, India Finds it Takes Hard Work to Exercise Soft Power

The advertisement is thus being seen as an example of Indian hegemony in the south Asian region.

I do not wish to speculate on the reasons for this advertisement.

However, it is a fact that at a time when the SAU campus is still under construction, it might be prudent to have an Indian as the president. Any other SAARC national may find it difficult to deal with various levels of government and regulatory agencies that are needed for the construction of the campus.

Students celebrate at the first South Asian University convocation. Photo: PTI

While the rotational principle for the selection of the president would help cement the university in the academic life of all south Asian nations and not just India, it is more essential that an accomplished academician with an impeccable track record who can take the university to greater heights should lead SAU at this stage.  

In any case, the principle of rotation for the post of president has already been violated when it came to the first and second presidents of SAU – G.K. Chadha and Kavita Sharma are both Indian.

Moreover, the argument that all-important positions in SAU are occupied by Indian nationals is also misleading.

A Sri Lankan national held the position of one of the vice-presidents of SAU for almost three years. Likewise, a Pakistani and a Sri Lankan have held the positions of director finance, a very important administrative post, in the past.

Also read: As SAARC Faces Unprecedented Setback, Time to Rethink the Rigid Boundaries of Its Nation States

In the current administration, the position of two deputy registrars, one assistant registrar and assistant director (infrastructure) are held by a Pakistani, a Bhutanese, a Nepali and a Sri Lankan respectively. SAU’s small but useful library is very well managed by a librarian who comes from Bangladesh.

The current dean of the Faculty of Mathematic and Computer Sciences is also from Bangladesh. Of course, SAU needs to do more to have greater diversity in its faculty and staff.  

It is also a fact that India is the biggest financial contributor in running SAU.

It is bearing 100% of the cost for the construction of the SAU campus and has contributed more than 50% of the university’s operating expenses. It has been learnt that for the current funding round of the university, only India has paid its share. Other SAARC countries are yet to pay their dues. Pakistan has still not paid its full share even for the previous funding cycle of the university. 

SAU is a dream university that has served and is serving all the eight SAARC countries really well.

As an alumnus of this unique, diverse and cosmopolitan university, I only hope that this university goes from strength to strength.

India’s role is critical in ensuring the continued success of this wonderful project. India has to play the role of a regional leader in ensuring that SAU’s unique international character is fortified.

True to its neighbourhood first policy, it is critical for India to continue supporting this project with greater enthusiasm in building academic excellence that would have a generational impact in the south Asian region.             

Pushkar Anand is assistant professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, and an alumnus of the South Asian University, New Delhi, from where he obtained his LL.M. in 2015.

By Banning Political Ads, Twitter Has Only Waded Deeper Into Troubled Waters

The act of fact-checking could become a weapon of censorship in the wrong hands – and Twitter has opened itself up to this mistake now.

Note: This article was updated at 12:13 pm on November 1, 2019, to include the case of Srinivas Kodali’s suspension from Twitter.

In June 2014, Elon Musk announced he would be releasing patents that his company Tesla owned pertaining to the electric vehicles (EVs) it manufactured. At first, this decision was hailed as a show of confidence and as an invitation to enthusiasts to work on EV technologies. But it was also clear right away to a few that Musk had released the patents because he wanted to promote hardware standardisation and amplify investment in EV manufacturing, which in turn could invite the crucial government support he needed to expand infrastructure.

So colour me a cynic when I extend this courtesy to Twitter’s new decision to ban all political advertisements on its platform, and find cynicism not unwarranted.

Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, rationalised the new policy saying, “While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions.” This is unbelievable for the same reason Musk’s claim to altruism was unbelievable: profit.

Moreover, the problem Twitter is trying to get rid of isn’t going to go away.

Ads aren’t unique

Dorsey’s first reason to ban political ads is that political messaging must be earned, not bought – but who will decide what is political and what isn’t? It is seldom as straightforward as looking at a poster for Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump and asking for it to be torn down. For example, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections this year, over 150 scientists from around India signed a statement asking their fellow citizens to “vote against inequality, intimidation, discrimination and unreason”. They didn’t name any party in their statement but described a variety of incidents that had transpired over the last few years under the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rule, and theirs was a plea to vote against this party. If they had advertised their statement on Twitter today, would Twitter reject them for taking a side or accept the ad for the statement’s reasonable demands?

The CEO washing his hands off his company’s difficult but necessary responsibility to regulate instead of eliminate is also apparent in the explanation he advanced: “A political message earns reach when people decide to follow an account or retweet. Paying for reach removes that decision, forcing highly optimised and targeted political messages on people. We believe this decision should not be compromised by money.”

This is nearly laughable. Ads aren’t the only way to boost political propaganda. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell maintains a well-oiled army of bots and trolls on the platform that it often mobilises to create the impression that there is overwhelming popular support for its policies. Many of these trolls are also discreetly dispatched to harass members and supporters of opposing parties. Second, by getting rid of ads altogether, Twitter has squandered an opportunity to take charge of an influential medium, assuming that with the medium will go the messages as well.

But Twitter has only waded further into this logjam. It was already knee-deep in it when last week, it suspended the account of lawyer Sanjay Hegde after he shared a picture of August Landmesser refusing to raise his hand for the sieg heil at one of Adolf Hitler’s rallies, amidst a sea of people performing the infamous salute. Hegde’s account was later reinstated (although it seems to have been removed now). The same thing happened to Srinivas Kodali, an internet and governance researcher who has derided the government for not protecting citizens’ privacy: the services on his account were disrupted on October 31 and reinstated, with some limitations, on November 1 based on – get this – a tweet he published last year.

Pleasing everyone

By banning ads, Twitter looked to one-up Facebook, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a newly common mistake: assuming the rightwing and the leftwing are opposed to each other the same way two equal choices in a binary setup are, instead of seeing it as the clash of reason and unreason. As a result, Facebook’s complaints-monitoring team had been instructed to judge viewpoints from both ends of the spectrum on the same footing.

One prominent result was the ThinkProgress censorship episode. In an effort to appease the right, Facebook had inducted The Weekly Standard, a right-leaning news publication, into its fact-checking team without subjecting it to the same evaluation standards as other members of the team. The Weekly Standard promptly flagged an article in ThinkProgress, a liberal news outlet, as ‘false news’ on Facebook when in fact it had a poor headline. The incident highlighted how the act of fact-checking could become a weapon of censorship in the wrong hands – a mistake Twitter has opened itself up to now.

Finally, it’s frustrating to note the absence of any penitence on Dorsey’s part after he and his peers in Silicon Valley took their own sweet time to reach conclusions that “numerous academics, scholars, and activists – from major universities to the ACLU to lone voices in the digital wilderness”, in the words of Jacob Silverman, have been shouting hoarse for years.

The knowledge Dorsey required to arrive at the conclusion he did has been around for a long time, yet here we are, in October 2019, having waited for something else to catch up – either the math of its financial implications or the opportunity to slip out from under the pall of scrutiny looming over Facebook, or both.

Indeed, the lack of external scrutiny has allowed Silicon Valley’s tech giants to operate without having to reconcile their strategies with democratic principles. This opacity is just as harmful as what it cloaks. Just yesterday, news emerged of a piece of software that hackers used to break into the WhatsApp accounts of some prominent individuals. As important as this intrusion is the fact that activists had known of the software since at least 2016 and that end-to-end encryption isn’t the protection guarantee it’s often advertised to be.

Radio Kashmir Renamed ‘All India Radio’ With Local Suffixes

Neither the culture of renaming, nor the fast-tracked necessity to subsume all that is Kashmiri into the mainland national trope is new for the current dispensation.

New Delhi: As Jammu and Kashmir transitioned from a state into two Union Territories, 88 days after the Centre suddenly announced its decision, radio stations in Jammu, Srinagar and Leh were renamed ‘All India Radio, Jammu’; ‘All India Radio, Srinagar’; and ‘All India Radio, Leh’.

All India Radio’s Kashmir stations, at Srinagar and Jammu, had until now been called ‘Radio Kashmir’. They have, however, been a part of the AIR since the 1950s.

The move has garnered support from several on social media, while others pointed out the explicit note of erasure in such a renaming.

Journalist Rahul Pandita wrote on Twitter that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had, in as early as 1966, asked why AIR’s station was called ‘Radio Kashmir’.

Pandita’s tweet was retweeted by Prasar Bharati’s official account.

Neither the culture of renaming, nor the fast-tracked necessity to subsume all that is Kashmiri into the mainland national trope is new for the current dispensation.

Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was taken away with the reading down of Article 370 on the same day when the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, was brought and passed in parliament.

Also read: The ‘Amateur’ Tech That Could Penetrate the Kashmir Blackout

ThePrint had reported in August on Prasar Bharati mulling such a name change.

Rajesh Bhat, a former employee of Radio Kashmir and author of the book Radio Kashmir: In Times of Peace & War, told the news portal that the radio stations in Kashmir had a strategic cause — “to counter Pakistan’s propaganda and broadcast Indian information.” The report further says:

“…The first station was set up on 1 December 1947 in Jammu by the state government soon after the Instrument of Accession was signed. Its purpose was to counter malicious anti-India propaganda launched from radio stations based in PoK — such as Azad Kashmir Radio Trarkhal and Azad Kashmir Radio Muzaffarabad, among others.”

Incidentally, in the unprecedented communication clampdown that followed the Centre’s announcement in August 5, Kashmiris had to largely resort to the age-old radio in order to remain aware of goings on.

This is the first time a state has been downsized into Union Territories in India.

Girish Chandra Murmu in Jammu and Kashmir and Radha Krishna Mathur in Ladakh have become the first lieutenant governors of the new UTs.

Lobby Group Warns of Telecoms Catastrophe, Reliance Disagrees

Jio began operations in late 2016 and is least affected by the Supreme Court ruling because it has only $2 million in charges to clear.

New Delhi: India’s telecoms sector and leading players Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will face an “unprecedented crisis” if the government refuses to relax its demand for $13 billion in outstanding dues, a lobby group says.

Bharti and Vodafone Idea have been spooked by the Indian Supreme Court’s decision last week to uphold a government demand that will force the companies to pay the bulk of Rs 920 billion rupees ($13 billion) in overdue levies and interest.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) lobby group has joined the fray, seeking the intervention of India’s telecoms minister in a letter dated October 29, arguing that such payments will lead to a crisis at the companies and cause distress for the sector as a whole.

“Investments could be curtailed, services could deteriorate, jobs could be lost and investor confidence will most definitely be shattered,” COAI director general Rajan S. Mathews said in the letter seen by Reuters.

“The impact of this crisis could exacerbate the stress in the industry and potentially be catastrophic for the nation.” The government’s telecoms department did not respond to a request for comment.

Also read: Reliance Industries Appoints Former CVC K.V. Chowdary to Board of Directors

A person with direct knowledge of the matter said Bharti and Vodafone both backed COAI’s views in the letter. But Reliance Industries-owned rival Jio, a COAI member, said the lobby group‘s letter does not represent industry views.

Reliance “completely disagrees with the intent, tone, contents, and connotations of the COAI letter,” it said in a letter to COAI, which was released to the media.

Jio began operations in late 2016 and is least affected by the Supreme Court ruling because it has only $2 million in charges to clear.

The COAI letter also said that the $13 billion demand could also place in jeopardy the Rs 600 billion ($8.5 billion) of annual payments Bharti and Vodafone Idea make to the government and threaten their ability to service existing debt.

“Such an adverse outcome will trigger a chain of events which will result in disruption to the entire business chain,” the letter said, with the COAI seeking a two-year moratorium on payments for the airwave spectrum from 2020 to 2022.

India’s crowded telecoms sector once had more than a dozen mobile operators but consolidation has resulted in only three private players – Bharti, Vodafone and Jio – and two other debt-ridden state companies.

A government source said on Monday that a panel of bureaucrats had been formed to suggest ways to alleviate financial pressures on the sector.

(Reuters)

Facebook Contractor Cognizant to Exit Some Content Moderation Businesses

A spokesman said the move reflected the company’s new strategy and that Cognizant was not completely exiting content moderation.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, one of Facebook Inc’s content review contractors, said on Wednesday it would shut some content moderation business, including those focusing on identifying objectionable content, resulting in about 6,000 job cuts.

The information technology services provider will also eliminate up to 7,000 jobs in its other units to invest in growth areas such as cloud and internet of things to cushion the impact from a decline in spending by its financial customers.

The exit from some parts of the content moderation business will hurt financial performance in the coming year, Cognizant said. CEO Brian Humphries said on a call with analysts the company had decided that work focused on determining whether content violated client standards was not part of its strategic vision. The work “can involve objectionable materials,” he said.

Cognizant had about 500 workers in India’s southern city of Hyderabad looking for sensitive topics or profane language in Facebook videos, Reuters reported in May. The Verge also reported that some Cognizant employees scouring potentially objectionable content for Facebook faced difficult conditions.

A Cognizant spokesman did not say whether the Verge story led to the decision described on Wednesday. The spokesman said the move reflected the company’s new strategy and that Cognizant was not completely exiting content moderation.

Also read: Mark Zuckerberg Grilled by US Congress Over Libra

“We’ll work with our partners during this transition to ensure there’s no impact on our ability to review content and keep people safe,” said Arun Chandra, vice president of scaled operations at Facebook. Facebook works with at least five outsourcing vendors in at least eight countries on content review, according to a Reuters tally. In response to this change, Facebook will increase the number of reviewers at a review site in Texas, which is operated by a different partner, Chandra added. Facebook‘s spokesperson said the company’s current plan is to move some work to another content review site operated by Genpact Ltd in Texas.

The social network said in December it has about 15,000 people, a mix of contractors and employees, working on content review and had over 20 content review sites around the world. Cognizant had come under pressure after activist investor Elliott urged the company to boost shareholder value after disclosing a more than 4% stake in November 2016. The hedge fund exited the stake last year.

The company said it expects to save between $500 million and $550 million in 2021 and record restructuring charges of between $150 million and $200 million by the end of next year. The New Jersey-based company said revenue from its financial services segment rose from 1.9% to $1.49 billion while that from healthcare services dropped 1.2% to $1.18 billion. The two segments make up more than half of the company’s total revenue.

Cognizant has warned of lower spending by its banking sector clients in the second half of the year.

The company said it now expects full-year revenue growth of between 4.6% and 4.9%, compared with its earlier guidance of growth of between 3.9% and 4.9%.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.08 per share, above estimates of $1.05 per share.

(Reuters)

US to Renew Waivers Allowing Non-Proliferation Work With Iran

Although the US abandoned its nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018, this move may bring diplomacy back to the table.

Washington: The United States plans to allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to continue work at Iranian nuclear facilities to make it harder for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The Trump administration, which last year pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, will let the work go forward by issuing waivers to sanctions that bar non-US firms from dealing with the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), said the sources on condition of anonymity.

While the waivers‘ renewal would allow non–proliferation work to continue at the Arak heavy water research reactor and the Fordow fuel enrichment plant, which AEOI oversees, it may also signal that Washington is leaving the door open to diplomacy.

Under the 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US – Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions that had crippled its economy.

When US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the deal in May 2018, he re-imposed US sanctions in a “maximum pressure” campaign designed to force Iran to return to the negotiating table.

Trump wants a broader deal that would also limit Iran‘s missile program as well as its regional activities; Iran has demanded the US first resume complying with the 2015 deal called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

France, in particular, has sought to bring the two into a wider dialogue but has so far failed, suggesting neither is yet willing to abandon core elements of policy: the US belief that pressure will bring Iran to its knees, and Iran‘s refusal to capitulate to US duress.

Under the 2015 deal, the Arak reactor was to be redesigned to render it unable to make bomb-grade plutonium under normal operation, while the Fordow plant was to stop enriching uranium and be converted into a nuclear, physics and technology centre.

Chinese state-owned China National Nuclear Corp has done non–proliferation work at Arak, and Russia’s Rosatom has done it at Fordow. Rosatom has also provided uranium fuel for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant.

The US State Department had no immediate comment. Rosatom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A China National Nuclear Corp spokesman told Reuters on Thursday by email that it was “starting to cooperate with the Iranian side under guidance from Beijing on seeking a positive solution to the Iran nuclear problem”. It did not provide further details.

(Reuters)

While Kashmir Is Silenced, Jammu and Ladakh Are Muttering Anxiously

While the media has sold the story that Jammu and Ladakh are happy with the abrogation of the special constitutional status and state reorganisation, there are many concerns and apprehensions in these regions as well.

On October 31, the 173-year-old state of Jammu and Kashmir has been dissolved and replaced by two union territories – J&K, and Ladakh. How are people in each of these two newly-nominated UTs responding to the change, as well as to the August 5 evisceration of Article 370 giving special constitutional status to J&K?

There is a general impression that while this has generated a lot of resentment in the Kashmir Valley, in Jammu and Ladakh there is a celebratory mood. The reality on the ground is much more complicated.

It is true that there are political differences within J&K. Article 370 emanated from the logic of Kashmiri identity politics, and therefore the sentiments around this Article are very strong in the Valley. Over the years, despite the compromises with the ‘autonomy’, ‘negotiability’ and ‘popular consent’ that Article 370 symbolised, Kashmiris were psychologically attached to it, seeing it as linked to their dignity and identity.

However, in Jammu and Ladakh, Article 370 had no similar symbolic importance. On the contrary, in the context of the binary politics that had been voiced by dominant groups in Jammu, where everything ‘pro-Kashmir’ had come to be seen as ‘anti-Jammu’, the Article was seen purely as a Kashmir issue with no implications for popular aspirations in Jammu. Similarly, within the dominant politics of Ladakh there was a strong feeling of antipathy towards Article 370.

The news that the special constitutional status was withdrawn and the state had been ‘constitutionally integrated’ was, therefore, initially received with approval in these two regions. There were street celebrations in Jammu city, Leh and many other towns of Jammu region.

However, both in Jammu and Ladakh, there were pockets of difference. There were some voices of protest (as in Kargil in Ladakh) or significant silences (as in the Doda belt and Poonch district of Jammu).

Also read | Euro MPs In, Indian MPs Out – and Democracy Down the Drain in Kashmir

The change came in a package. Besides the reading down of Article 370, and the downgrading of the state into two UTs, there was a withdrawal of Article 35A which restricted sales of land to non-state residents, and gave preference in government jobs and educational places to state residents. Once the implication of all these changes started sinking in, anxiety has begun to replace celebration.

Article 35A by the backdoor?

Surprisingly, in Jammu’s mainland where there was a vociferous demand for the repeal of Article 35A, there is now suddenly fear of outsiders flooding the region, of a growing land mafia, of competition with job seekers from outside and small traders and business people being subsumed by big corporate houses. Maharaja Hari Singh introduced the law originally defining ‘State Subjects’ in 1929 in response to the ‘Kashmir for Kashmiris’ agitation led by Kashmiri Pandits. Later on, this was protected by Section 6 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Article 35 A in the constitution of India.

However, with Article 35A and the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) gone, Jammu and Ladakh residents are also becoming nervous. With limited job opportunities, state employment has been the most sought after, a reality that explains not only the disproportionately overloaded state employment sector but also the inter-regional friction over the distribution of state jobs. Educated youth are now especially nervous about outside competition.

Therefore, a demand for a special domicile law has come up. The Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party has been the most vocal about this demand but many other local groups have joined them. Gulchain Singh Charak, a prominent Congress leader and one-time cabinet minister, has demanded that some kind of arrangement under Article 371 should be made for the new UT of Jammu and Kashmir, involving restrictions on outsiders getting jobs. Others are seeking to invoke the Himachal Pradesh model to provide job security and protect the local culture.

Downgrading the state into UT

In Jammu, there has been no public outpouring of popular sentiments against the idea of UT status. Much of this has to do with the political impasse that has captured the whole state, including Jammu. Except for the BJP, which is appreciative of all the changes, other political actors are still constrained in their responses. A common refrain in conversations, however, is that while it was fine to abrogate Article 370, what was the need to downgrade the state into two UTs.

In Jammu’s Dogra heartland, this is also a sentimental issue since the state was established by Gulab Singh, the Dogra ruler, and this development has hurt their ‘Dogra pride’. Many point out that the state was one of the largest princely states during British rule and had succeeded in maintaining its autonomy even during that time.

In Jammu, residents feel that they were treated unfairly in comparison to Ladakh in the reorganisation. While both regions claimed ‘neglect’ and ‘discrimination’ vis-à-vis the ‘Kashmir-centric politics’ of the state it is only Ladakh that got separate UT status. Jammu residents therefore continue to feel neglected, and now feel additionally betrayed, with their nationalism yielding nothing.

Also read | Doval’s Dog and Pony Show for MEPs Is a Disaster for Indian Diplomacy

Following an interactive session of intellectuals organised by the All Jammu and Kashmir Kisan Union, a statement was issued: “downgrading of state into two UTs is a matter of great concern and award of punishment to the people of Jammu province against their continued loyalty towards the nation and working as a bridge between the volatile Kashmir and Indian Union.”

As against ‘autonomy’ from India, the demand in Jammu has been for ‘regional autonomy’ and political parity vis-à-vis Kashmir. This demand has been more or less accepted by all the political parties. It was in acknowledgement of this demand that in 1996 the National Conference government constituted a Regional Autonomy Committee under the chairmanship of Balraj Puri.

What was important about the constitution of this committee was that it was formed parallel to the State Autonomy Committee and its recommendations could have led to empowerment of the regions within the overall context of state autonomy. However, even before the Regional Autonomy Committee could complete its tenure, its chairperson was removed and a new Committee came up with a report that negated the very existence of Jammu as a ‘region’ by suggesting the division of Jammu into three regions.

Post-reorganisation, the demand for regional autonomy has resurfaced in the form of demands for a Regional Council for Jammu, or division of all the funds and powers between the Kashmir and Jammu regions. Yet others have asked for the separation of Jammu from Kashmir and making it a full-fledged state. Although the politics of ‘trifurcation’ in Jammu were never as strident as the demand for UT status in Ladakh, the issue has now returned.

The idea of a ‘Jammu state’ has been floated from time to time as it appeals to the middle class urban Hindus of the region. In the early 1990s, a small organisation of Jammu intellectuals, the ‘Jammu Mukti Morcha’ was formed, and in 2000 an RSS supported organisation Jammu State Morcha (JSM) was established. Both these organisations were proponents of the idea that Jammu be separated from Kashmir and organised as a separate state.

While they could never elevate the issue to the level of a movement, the idea was quite popular at the level of middle-class drawing room discussions. Now, the constituency for this seems to be expanding, with people like Manjit Singh, the former minister and Congress party district President, Samba, or Choudhary Lal Singh, the Dogra leader who formed Dogra Swabhiman Sanghathan after leaving the BJP, voicing demands for a separate state.

In the period of transition, the people of Jammu have a lot of concerns, but no way to articulate them. Apart from the fact that the expression of dissent is problematic at the moment, there are also self-imposed restrictions. There is a regional pressure on the people not to take a position which would be seen to be ‘pro-Kashmiri’ or ‘anti-national’. Jammu feels it has the burden of being ‘nationalist’ and people here do not want to be clubbed with Kashmiris on any major issue.

Not in a position to delink the decision of bifurcation and downgrading of the state from the abrogation of the special constitutional status, they have generally maintained silence. Only once in a while, a statement coming from one or the other member of Jammu’s political class reflects the undercurrent of dissatisfaction.

There are also other ways to read this dissatisfaction.  For instance, a Toll Plaza in the Sarore area of Jammu, established soon after the August 5 decision, has crystallised resentment in the region. Almost every political party has had to take a stand on it, including the BJP. Harshdev Singh and other leaders of the Panthers party have blamed the BJP for its ‘deceptive’ policies and adding to the woes of common people. The Shiv Sena has described the plaza as the first gift to the people by the BJP government after abrogation of Article 370 and threatened that if the plaza is not removed, they would come to the streets and protest against the conversion of the state to a UT.

Another indication that things are not smooth for the government is the result of the recently held Block Development Council elections. Of the 148 blocks in Jammu, the BJP could win only 53 blocks, despite having an open field after the Congress and National Conference boycotted the election and only the Panthers Party and independents remained. Its performance in its predominantly Hindu strongholds – Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur and Reasi districts – was disappointing.

Ladakh’s response

Ladakh is apparently the only gainer in the process of reorganisation, with its long-standing demand for UT status having been accepted. People celebrated on the understanding that Ladakh will be able to enjoy the fruits of development without any interference or dependence on Jammu and Kashmir.

However, even Ladakh’s story has another side. Of the two districts of Ladakh, it is the district of Leh, which has been raising the demand for Union Territory status. The politics of Kargil, however, is about the relative backwardness of this district within the region of Ladakh. Leh is seen to be the dominant and powerful partner in Ladakh and therefore the politics of Kargil has been defined by the struggle to attain parity with Leh.

Political actors in Kargil have been quite vocal that they were never part of the UT politics and that they were quite happy to be part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hence, Kargil is protesting rather than celebrating. A Joint Action Committee comprising political actors across party lines was formed, which gave a call for shut down. It was only on the assurance of the governor, Satyapal Malik, that Kargil will be treated at par with Leh that the agitation was withdrawn. However, apprehensions continue to be voiced and even on the day of formation of the UT, there is a call for bandh.

Also read | A ‘Normalcy’ of Compulsion in Kashmir

Meanwhile, even in Buddhist Leh, there have been concerns linked to the withdrawal of Article 35A. Similar concerns about the land mafia are expressed as in the Jammu region. There are also concerns about the environment, heritage and culture of Ladakh getting affected due to the influx of outsiders. This is why the demand for some kind of protection to the area on the lines of the Sixth Schedule in the Northeast has been raised.

Besides these, certain concerns about political representation have also been raised. Since the UT of Ladakh has been designed without a Legislative Assembly and will be more like a centrally administered territory under the Lieutenant Governor, there is a feeling of loss regarding their representation in the state legislature and state ministry.

Till now, Ladakh sent four MLAs to the state legislature, had some representation in the Legislative Council and inevitably had a minister in the state government. This gave Ladakhis a lot of political leverage. With this leverage lost, people are concerned about the remoteness of Delhi and their lack of access to it.

In terms of representation, Ladakhis are left only with the district level Autonomous Hill Councils, one each in Leh and Kargil. They are not sure of the powers of these councils. So far these Hill Councils have had limited powers and cannot be seen as a replacement for the Legislative Assembly.

Political demands after the reorganisation

After October 31, all of these concerns will form the basis of politics of the two new UTs. Although it is going to be a long journey for Kashmir before electoral politics gets restored, in Jammu and in the UT of Ladakh, political demands are going to be articulated soon. The restoration of statehood is going to be the major political demand for every political party in Jammu; in Ladakh it is going to be the demand for a Legislative Assembly; in Kargil for parity with Leh. Meanwhile, in all these places there would be a demand for some kind of domicile law.

This will be an interesting phase of politics because for the first time in the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir there will be two common demands – the restoration of the state and a special domicile law.

Rekha Chowdhary, formerly professor of political science, University of Jammu, is currently Fellow, IIAS, Shimla. She is the author of Jammu and Kashmir 1990 and Beyond: Competitive Politics in the Shadow of Separatism (Sage, 2019) and Jammu and Kashmir: Politics of Identity and Separatism (Routledge, 2016).

How Drug Resistance Spreads in Cities

Scientists, policymakers and medical practitioners must act to control the use and disposal of antibiotics.

Cuttack: Chemical residues released from pharmaceutical and personal care products are not only becoming a major contaminant of water bodies in urban areas but are also becoming a source of drug resistance in the environment, a new study has warned.

The study, which evaluated vulnerability and resilience of urban water bodies in Guwahati city, found the presence of viruses and multidrug resistant Escherichia coli in samples collected from the Brahmaputra. Deepor Beel, a freshwater wetland,- was found to be the least polluted in comparison to the Brahmaputra river and Bharalu, the tributary turned urban drain.

Researchers analysed occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, intestine occurring virus, antibiotic resistant bacteria, metal, faecal contamination and antibiotic resistance genes, as well as the long term changes in precipitation and temperature of water. Some microbes displayed 100% resistance to major antibiotics, such as levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, kanamycin monosulphate and sulfamethoxazole.

Also read: Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Are in Deep Shit – and So Are We

“The Brahmaputra due its high diluting capacity through enormous discharge is providing resilience to urban water and all the pollution added by the city drains gets diluted in the downstream,” Manish Kumar, a researcher at IIT Gandhinagar who led the study, told India Science Wire. His team included scientists from Sri Lanka and Japan as well.

They collected water samples from the Brahmaputra before it entered the city as well as before its water mixed with Bharalu. They collected another set of samples after the water mixed downstream, and then from a location 10 kilometres downstream of Guwahati. Finally, they picked up three more samples upstream from the confluence point of Bharalu.

They found that the concentration of pharmaceutical and personal care products were high in drain samples and very low in lake and river water. Researchers said it was clear that pharmaceutical and personal care product residues were directly associated with raw sewage and hence not detected in upstream or downstream of the Brahmaputra, or in the Deepor Beel wetland.

The study further reports contamination of drain water by toxic metals like arsenic, cobalt and manganese correlates with water quality parameters such as acidity and appear to be inducing antibiotic resistance in E. coli bacteria.

“As there are not much new antibiotics discovered all over the world, the existence of superbug, resistant to several antibiotics is alarming,” Ryo Honda, a member of the team from Japan’s Kanazawa University, said. Tushara Chaminda, the researcher from Sri Lanka’s University of Ruhuna, added, “Hundred percent resistances for all six antibiotics that we have tested is the result – [which] we never expected.”

Also read: If It Stinks To Be Greater Adjutant Storks, It Must Mean We’re Neck-Deep In Filth

Scientists, policymakers and medical practitioners must act to control the use and disposal of antibiotics. “It is time to adopt a holistic approach for vulnerability and resilience evaluation of water systems and to revise the ambient water quality guidelines by including new age parameters”, added Manish Kumar.

This work was funded under the India-Japan Cooperative Science Programme of the Department of Science and Technology. The results of the study have been published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Sanghamitra Deobhanj writes for India Science Wire and tweets at @CtcSangham.