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Mohini Giri, women’s rights activist and former chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Thursday gave up her Gymkhana Club membership to protest against the “”extreme class distinction“” visible at the elite club. “”I am proud to be an Indian where our constitutional entitlement is of equality. It is without any regret whatsoever that I am resigning from a club where I have been a member for the last 50 years. Life is always a learning experience. Now I know that we have to still walk a long path for true democracy,”” she wrote in her letter addressed to the Delhi Gymkhana Club Honorary Secretary Air Cmde (retd) Harjit S.Sassan.

Ms Giri along with the staff of her NGO Guild of Service had on January 18 been stopped by the Delhi Gymkhana Club staff from entering the Chinese Room saying that “”maids and drivers“” were not allowed inside the club. It was only after lot of persuasion that the staff was allowed inside. Ms Giri, daughter-in-law of former President V.V.Giri, had taken up the matter with media and it was widely reported. The Delhi Gymkhana Club management imposed a monetary fine on her for this action which she refused to pay. In her resignation letter Ms Giri said that the persons who were stopped from entering the Chinese Room were her guests and goes on to give the background of the guests with her. “”It shocks me to know that the Club is still suffering from a hangover of a colonial rule and carrying forward the unfortunate legacy of a class distinction in democratic country. At 78th year of my life I am learning that in India, despite democracy, to speak out against class bias and injustice invites punitive action. This is very clear from your action which smacks of petty revenge.””

“”I am afraid most Indian may not be able to meet the criteria of the Club. Clothes and general demeanor cannot be used as indicative of status. Had Mahatma Gandhi entered the club in his famous dhoti, he perhaps would have been thrown out too,”” she wrote.”

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640px-Pakistan_China_Locator.svg.pngTop echelons of the Indian security establishment have conveyed their concern to the government over the recent Pakistani move to raise three additional brigades to protect the 3,000-km long China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), passing through Pak-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), that will connect the Gwadar port near Karachi to China’s Xinjiang region.

The additional troops, equipped with artillery and chopper support, have been raised to give protection to the CPEC by securing the highway that will pass through Pak-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the Gilgit-Baltistan region, the area also claimed by India. It is here that China wants Pakistan to upgrade the Constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan region that would also bring the CPEC under some kind of a legal umbrella as Beijing does not want to put huge investments in a region also claimed by India. Top government sources say that India’s concerns stem from the fact the China’s People’s Liiberation Army (PLA) is ready for involving itself on a long-term basis in the region and would take up strategic positions to protect the CPEC. In the past also, India has voiced its objection over presence of Chinese troops in PoK.

“”At present, we are keeping a close watch on developments relating to CPEC as well as observing situation in Gilgit-Baltistan region””‘ top government sources told theindiasaga.com.

Islamabad’s decision to set up the special force of about 10,000 troops to protect Chinese personnel and enterprises along the CPEC was also conveyed by a senior Pakistani diplomat who had visited Beijing recently. Beijing has expressed its security concerns as China is involved in more than 200 projects in Pakistan and nearly 14,000 of its engineers and technicians are working there.

Gilgit-Baltistan Region

Of late, local population in Gilgit-Baltistan region has expressed apprehension about reaping benefits of development even if CPEC becomes fully operational. Protests in the region have been broken with strength and brutal crackdown on the people by the police and Pak army. The CPEC, being funded by China with massive investment of nearly 46 billion dollars, is likely to be completed in three years. The corridor would be used to transport petroleum products from the Gulf region into China.

It was during his visit to Islamabad in April last year that Chinese President Xi Jinping had displayed Beijing’s bold approach to go to any extent to put the Sino-Pakistan relationship on a firm footing and protecting Pakistan’s interests even in international bodies and forums. Describing Pakistan as its only genuine ally in the region, China has indicated it would not shy away from altering equations in the region as long as it suits and furthers its national interests. Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper had noted in January this year that Gilgit-Baltistan region was frequently in the news these days for the much-touted US $46 billion CPEC that will pass through this beautiful province in the north to reach Chinese-operated Gwadar port in the country’s south. While there is hope it will transform the economy and help bridge Pakistan’s power shortfall, CPEC has also triggered concerns that the local people might be left out of the gains, the newspaper had said.

The 3,218 kilometre corridor will connect Kashgar in China’s western Xinjiang region to the port of Gwadar. “”Currently, nearly 80 per cent of China’s oil is transported by ship from the Strait of Malacca to Shanghai, a distance of more than 16,000 km, with the journey taking between two to three months. But once Gwadar begins operating, the distance would be reduced to less than 5,000 km,” the newspaper wrote. However, it noted local concerns as well. Quoting a development consultant from the area, it said that there was a feeling that thke CPEC “”is nothing more than a “black hole” as far as the people of the region are concerned.”

“The government has not engaged with us; we do not know exactly how much or what Gilgit-Baltistan’s role will be in CPEC or how we will benefit from it,” the consultant said, fearing when the region opens up, it will give short shrift to the locals.”

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Flag-Pins-India-Nepal_1Neighbors need to rework their positions. Implementing the provisions of the Constitution very difficult.Nepal PM says document progressive without discrimination.Madhesis claim Oli’s visit to India not successful.India and Nepal must have cordial relations with each other.Impartial observers believe Oli government unlikely to last long.Efforts are on to overcome the trust deficit between India and Nepal which had hit rock bottom following the economic blockade as the Madhesis or plains people demanded a more federal framework in the Himalayan nation’s new Constitution. Irritated by the economic blockade for nearly five months Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli contemplated visiting China rather than sticking to the tradition of coming to New Delhi first.At the end of it all Oli’s first sojourn overseas for a week after being four months in office was to this country. He made it clear that he had come to mend the ties and remove misunderstandings. In an interface with intellectuals and think tanks, Oli said the Constitution promulgated by Nepal is inclusive and that the document is progressive without any kind of discrimination.

He admitted the Constitution might not satisfy everyone since it was a compromise reached between divergent people and groups.His Indian counterpart and host Narendra Modi affirmed that India desires a strong, stable and prosperous Nepal for itself and the betterment of South Asia. Similarly, when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj called on Oli she made it clear that India considers itself Nepal’s elder brother and certainly not its “”big brother”” which is resented by the neighboring country.

No less than nine bilateral agreements were signed. Oli concluded his week long visit to India on a high in the third week of February. He specially acquainted himself with the reconstruction work connected with the massive earthquake in Gujarat and met captains of industry in Mumbai impressing upon them to invest in Nepal which will be mutually beneficial. After resisting the amendments to the Constitution, Oli relented to incorporate some of the demands of the Madhesis. This led to the easing of the blockade after the protesters backed by India called off the stir.

The standoff had an adverse effect on India’s goodwill which had rendered prompt assistance to Nepal in the wake of the devastating earthquake in 2015.Nevertheless, the Madhesis insist that Oli’s visit to India was not a success. The amendments to the Constitution leaves much to be desired in ensuring the rights of the Madhesis. On the other hand RJD’s vice president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh stressed that the Nepal government is trying to “”blackmail India”” by playing the China card. Kathmandu reacted promptly calling it a “”brazen interference in Nepal’s internal affaris.”” Most political parties including those critical of Oli ended up criticizing the Madhesi Front for taking their politics beyond the border.Impartial observers believe that the Oli government is unlikely to last long with New Delhi continuing to be seen as a destabilizing factor.

This has necessitated the two neighbors to re-calibrate their positions. Being a landlocked country Nepal’s economic dependence needs no elaboration. This stood out starkly during the economic blockade as 70 per cent of the supplies came from India. Â Kathmandu looked towards China which expressed its inability to bridge the gap because of the extremely difficult terrain by the land route to Nepal. Given the exigencies of the situation, Kathmandu and New Delhi must have cordial relations with each other which is in their own interest. In case of political instability in Nepal, the spillover effect is bound to have an adverse impact in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh having an open border with that country. At the same time India and Nepal have to reset their priorities encompassing the direly needed reconstruction assistance assured by India.

On his part Modi acknowledged that the conclusion of the Constitution writing process is an important achievement. At the same time New Delhi underlined the need for consensus through dialogue with dissenting Madhesis about their concerns on Federalism. The onus is clearly on Oli and his Communist party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) without alluding to any brinkmanship which which can have an adverse impact in the long run. New Delhi should learn lessons from the recent deterioration in bilateral relations. Tension between the two neighbours also reverberated in the United Nations. New Delhi should be well aware that Beijing will try to capitalize on every friction it has with Kathmandu to wean away the southern neighbor from India. Considering the deep historic and cultural ties, Kathmandu remains a more convenient neighbor economically and politically. Nepal and Oli have to come to terms with a Federal structure by taking India into confidence. Even as he had refused to visit India without the blockade being lifted, Nepal watchers assert that the Constitution is a problematic document in many ways even though it was voted in favor by 85 per cent in the Constituent Assembly which amounted to 78 per cent of the electorate being in favour. Â As the rights based Constitution has been drafted by politicians rather than a committee of jurists, it will be a difficult document to implement because of the promises it makes including expanding the scope of fundamental rights to cover a whole slew of economic, social and cultural rights. Any number of outstanding issues remain including the citizenship for foreign husbands of Nepali women. It was adopted on September 20 last year.Fortunately, the blockade ended before the much feared possibility of a hill-versus-plains communal flareup proving once again that the people have more sagacity than the overlords.

Mr. T R Ramachandran is a senior journalist and commentator. Views expressed are personal.”

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Srimathumitha_getting_a_prize_From_M.S.Subbulakshmi_Amma””Who am I, a mere Prime Minister before a Queen, a Queen of Music,”” said India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru  about M.S. Subbulakshmi while Lata Mangeshkar called her Tapaswini (the Renunciate), Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan termed her Suswaralakshmi (the goddess of the perfect note), and Kishori Amonkar labelled her the ultimate eighth note or Aathuvaan Sur, which is above the seven notes basic to all music. The great national leader and poet Sarojini Naidu called her “”Nightingale of India””. But, right through she remained the simple Tamil lady with the shining diamond nose ring and which connoisseur of music can ever forget her many famous renditions of bhajans including the chanting of Bhaja Govindam, Vishnu sahasranama (1000 names of Vishnu), Hari Tuma Haro and the Venkateswara Suprabhatam (musical hymns to awaken Lord Balaji early in the morning).

The current year marks her birth centenary having been born on September 16, 1916, in Madurai  which was in the than Madras Presidency  to veena player Shanmukavadiver Ammal and Subramania Iyer. Her grandmother Akkammal was a violinist. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi  popularly known as M.S. was the first musician ever to be awarded the country’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna in 1998. Yet another honour bestowed on was that she was the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award, often considered Asia’s Nobel Prize  in 1974 with the citation reading “”Exacting purists acknowledge Srimati M. S. Subbulakshmi as the leading exponent of classical and semi-classical songs in the carnatic tradition of South India.”” Known affectionately as Kunjamma to her family, Subbulakshmi had her early training in Carnatic music under the tutelage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and subsequently in Hindustani music under Pandit Narayanrao Vyas.

Her musical interests were also shaped by regular interactions with renowned carnatic musicians like Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhagavathar and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. A child prodigy, Subbulakshmi gave her first public performance, at the age of eleven in  1927,  at the 100 pillar hall inside the Rockfort Temple, Tiruchirappalli. In 1936 she moved to Madras (now Chennai) where she made her film debut in Sevasadan in 1938 opposite F. G. Natesa Iyer who had introduced her as a child prodigy to the world of Carnatic music a decade earlier, in Tiruchirappalli. M.S. Subbulakshmi began her Carnatic classical music training under her mother Shanmugavadivu and later in Hindustani classical training under Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas. Subbulakshmi first recording was released when she was 10 years old.

Two years after her performance at Tiruchi, Subbulakshmi gave her first in Madras at the prestigious Madras Music Academy in 1929,when she was 13 years old which was a break from the tradition followed by the Music Academy and her  performance was described as spellbinding and earned her many admirers and the moniker of musical genius from critics. By the age of seventeen, Subbulakshmi was giving concerts on her own, including major performances at the Madras Music Academy. She travelled to London, New York, Canada, the Far East, and other places as India’s cultural ambassador. She was among the select Indian vocalist to sing at the UN General Assembly on UN day in 1966. After the death of her husband Kalki Sadasivam in 1997, she stopped all her public performances till she passed away on December 11, 2004 at the age of 88.”

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He was the man who introduced a new sensibility to many slowly and steadily cultivating a serious film culture. He had mapped Indian cinema with utmost precision. Paramesh Krishnan Nair, India’s film archivist and founder-director of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI),  who passed away on March 4 at Pune aged 83,  single-handedly salvaged and restored several films, including nine from Indian silent era, which would have never seen the light of the day. For Nair, films were dear to his heart. It was as if he was haunted by the sight of the negatives. He acquired over 12,000 films, including 8,000 Indian movies, and the rest foreign and began a task of preserving them, reel by reel. Nair, who won the epithet ‘celluloid man’  for his impressive work as founder of NFAI, always remained an eager student who visited and revisited the black and white reels of cinema history. The year was 1969. Nair traveled in pre-dawn in a tempo from Pune to Nashik that was to deliver newspapers to the mofussil region.

Nair hardly knew he was going to encounter history, He reached Nashik after midnight. Dadashaeb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema, showed him some print kept by the family in memory of the legend. Those were the prints of  Kaliya Mardan, a  1919  Marathi film, of Indian silent era. Back in the NFAI in Pune, Nair opened the can to find the print cut in several parts. Fortunately for him, the box also contained a worn notebook with sequence of the reels. Nair then began piecing the six reels together with the help of the notes. The rest was history in Indian cinema. Nair was determined to preserve some of India’s rich but totally ignored and lost film heritage that existed across the country with producers, distributors, the kabadi wallahs. Many stories are abound how, the archivist, collected rare films. A cow-shed in Kolkata, a kabadi-wallah in ‘chor bazaar’ at Mumbai, the family of a producer in Chennai– there was no place that was not visited by Nair if it could yield a fragment of the country’s film heritage. Nair was closely associated with critics and film luminaries like Marie Scton, Vijaya Mulay and Satish Bahadur.

The nine Indian slient films now extinct were salvaged by Nair. In a country, where 1.700 silents movies were made in 31 years, from 1899 to 1930, nine may seem like nothing but without Nair, the country might not have even those. Nair is the man responsible for managing the NFAI. Having joined the Films and Television Institute in Pune as Research Assistant in 1961, from 1965, when he was appointed Assistant Curator till 1991, when he retired nearly a decade as its Director, Nair acquired 12,000 films. The movies included, the works of legendary film maker, such as Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mirnal Sen, V Shantaram, Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt. Then there were films of international stalwarts like Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosava and Miklos Janeso.

Nair stood on top of the pyramid of the cinema of the country which produces the largest number of films in the world. Nair, who lived his work, legendarily, screened and watched films from the late to the wee hours. He was never found in the theater without his small torch and a notebook, in which he meticulously recorded reel by reel the content and condition of every single film print.”

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jsa-logoThe Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) has described as disappointing Rajasthan’s budgetary allocations for health sector in the State Budget for 2016-17 presented last week. The Budget has few things to be happy about and more things to be worried about. The CM in her opening statement about health budget stated “”Healthcare to all at affordable rates”” and if this is true then it is highly problematic and diametrically opposite to what the Union Finance Minister said, the health activists have said.

The Union Finance Minister talked of “”Health Protection”” which is completely missing from the budget speech of the CM Rajasthan. It is the sovereign duty of the government to provide health protection to all the citizens through several measures including free health care services as a measure to reduce out of pocket expenditure on health care, therefore, an emphasis on “health care at affordable rates” means that the government does not intend to provide health protection to people and patients would be forced to shell out money and continue to be trapped into poverty, a statement issued by the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan said.

“”The Chief Minister laid good deal of emphasis on Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojana and there’s a whopping amount of fund which has been allotted to the scheme this year, almost double as compared to last year. Such great emphasis on health insurance is a clear sign that the government is only going to upscale its strategy of insurance/PPP in health care by bringing about more and more private hospitals at State’s expenses. This is quite unfortunate that the funds which could have been used to strengthen the public health  system, are being diverted to strengthen private public health institutions. It should be noted that already 60% of the inpatients and 80% of the outpatients are seeking care from the private health facilities and these schemes would further enhance this trend much to the discomfort of the majority of the citizens. There is also an issue of the capacity of the private health system which has very haphazard growth. In reality, private health system does not exist in areas where it is required most which are remote and difficult areas,”” Chayya Pachauli of JSA said.

The very crucial free medicines and free diagnostics schemes already operational in the state hardly had any mention in the budget speech. While the budget for free medicines scheme remains almost the same as last year (Budget estimate 2015-16 – 367 Crores, 2016-17 – 360 crores), there’s a slight reduction noted in budget allotted for free diagnostics scheme (Budget estimate 2015-16- 117 crores, 2016-17 – 105 crores). But, it seems the focus of the government is to push health insurance as a vehicle of health care delivery which has been an issue under intense debate among public health experts and the government.

The budget of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has also been marginally slashed this year (from an budget estimation of 1810 crores in 2015-16 to 1598 crores for 2016-17). This essentially means that all the community based health processes including strengthening of Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNC), Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHNDs) etc are going to be affected. Overall there is hardly any increase in health budget this year as compared to last year (from a budget estimate of 9416 crores in 2015-16 to 9537 crores for 2016-17). The per capita expenditure on health care remains the same and reduced in real terms after adjusting for inflation, the statement further said. Increasing reliance of the government on private health care sector and health insurance model as saviours of public health system is a dangerous sign. In a nutshell, an analysis of the health budget clearly indicates that the health care in the state would continue to function with the same dearth of resources and an increasing dependency on private providers to meet all the health care needs of the 7 crore population.”

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thelostgeneration.pngStreets in ancient cities are suspended in a time warp. Nostalgia lingers in these old neighbourhoods. The lost generation encompasses Geneologists of Hardwar, ‘bhisti walla’ or water carrier, a mid-wife or dai, the ‘rudalis’ or the professional mourners, the letter writers of Bombay and the  kaboortwallahs Old Delhi among others. Travelling to different parts of the country along with locating and chronicling India’s dying professions is by no means an easy task. Even though there are remnants of an India which might still exist in its old streets and neighbourhoods, author Nidhi Dugar Kundalia narrates the unforgettable stories of eleven professionals from the Geneologists of Hardwar to the letter writers of Bombay, the Kabootarbaaz of Old Delhi, the street dentists of Baroda, the Urdu scribes of Delhi, the Ittar wallahs of Hyderabad and the Rudalis of Rajasthan among others. The streets in the ancient cities of this country are suspended in a time warp — not the lofty, shiny lanes of the city but the old faded, deceived-to-be-pulled-down-any-time-now.

Nostalgia lingers in these old neighbouhoods, a sense of belonging to a time you were not born in. There was the ‘bhisti wallah’ — the water carrier before the corporation taps. Suspended between the old and the modern, waiting to fill his animal-skin bag with water. His ancestors will fill the water from the banks of the Ganga and freshwater springs, serving Mughal troops in the war fields, the Nawabs of Bengal and then the British. They were crucial for machinery as well as ordinary peoples’ everyday lives too – watering the gardens, filling pots of water for nautch girls, offering cool water to worshipers at mosques on the days of Jum’ah (Friday) and filling cups for wary travellers and thirsty lepers. As the century turned, they quickly became mere spare parts, only delivering mashqs to those whom the government pipelines had failed to reach. Like the old, abandoned palatial homes of the noblemen dotted the congested market, this solitary bhisti wallah is a testament to the significant events and feats of importance from decades ago.

The hapless last generation of these ancient professions have been left wondering about the bleakness of their futures. A scribe teaching calligraphy at an academy in Delhi says “”we struggle to make Urdu survive, let alone Urdu calligraphy, in this digitised world.”” In travelling to different parts of the country the author found the new and old worlds intersecting in unpreditable ways even as modernisation spread. In Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, a midwife or dai, provides training to other women in midwifery practices because of her distrust in modern birthing practices at today’s hospitals. She limits her teaching to traditional castes, which were essentially a lower caste. ‘It is to preserve our ancestral professions’ she told the author defiantly. In villages it is not uncommon for affluent families to bestow land grants to a dai’s family and give her the sole rights to deliver babies in their household. India’s professions have also been interlined with caste practices that dictated the professions of caste. In Hardwar priests double up as geneologists. They are incharge of the family register, of updating the family’s geneological tree with details of marriages, births and deaths and so on. Over time these dynastic records have also become a particularly important way of sorting out all the inheritance squabbles that arise for wealth and power in India.

Occupations were meant to be passed on from father to son, and the option of transitioning from one profession to another was generally outlawed. The Kayasth class, who comprised the upper layer of Hindu society, occupied high governmental positions, often serving as administrators or advisers. The lower castes such as the nais or the chamars performed the menial jobs of barbers and tanners respectively, while their wives doubled up as masseuses or pedicurists for the women of the aristrocratic families. The ‘rudalis’, or the professional mourners whom Nidhi interviewed for this book are caste inducted professions too. It is customary in Rajasthan for upper caste women to not mourn in public and so the rudalis — mostly helpless, impoverished women caught in web of caste heirarchy – step in to mourn for them, representing their sorrows for the traditional twelve-day mourning period. But changing times and automation are slowly eliminating these mourning practices, consigning them as some sort of an athropological curiosity.

No caste exists for a call centre employee or a computer operator. Those who belong outside caste bound practices – the calligraphers, the kabootarbaaz, the ittar wallahs – their professions have suffered because they lost their patrons in the kings, noblemen and moneyed zamindars of pre-inpendence India. The author caught up with naxalites, activists,  thugs and ruffians, who rather than obstructing the story in any way helped her understand the complex social fabric of this vast country. Through their conversations she saw that their paradoxes provided for a deeper understanding of issues rather than cause moral obstructions – all contributing to appreciating the frailty of the human condition.

In the early 1970s visiting Calcutta for the first time on an assignment, shocked me. It was very different from Delhi and had a very distinct character because the British imperialists based themselves in Calcutta. The then national capital was more of a enlarged village capturing the myriad culture of this country. People from the north and the hills along with others from different parts the country made Delhi their home. I spotted a lone ‘bhisti wallah’ in the backlanes of Chowringhee and Park street in the Eastern metropolis carrying water hung from his shoulder. A weather beaten, wiry person he supplied water to some of his customers and anyone who hailed him quenching their thirst.

On another occasion as a teenager on a holiday in Hyderabad I met some friends of my cousins much older than me who were animatedly discussing matters which upset them a great deal. They said the poor people in the villages were always being harassed and manhandled by the law and order machinery for no fault of theirs. I learnt later they were angry young men with ultra Left leanings who had decided to fight the establishment for the rights of the peasants. Each of these dying professions has its lessons and poignancy unique to itself. The letter writers of Bombay hailed from different parts of the country and could read and write several Indian languages including English, Hindi, Sanskrit and some even learnt Marathi. Dilip Pandey hailed from Varanasi and came to Bombay because of an ailing father and dwindling finances. “”I was fascinated by this city,”” he told the author “”as Bombay tells you a new tale everyday. The people have learnt to talk its talk but nobody learns to breathe here.”” His friend Gourishankar with whom he stayed in Bombay taught Dilip to “”understand the deep, dark underbelly of Bombay.””

As advised he wrote two lines for one word and never forgot to saying “”missing you”” at the end of the letter. It makes wives and lovers happy and the senders in turn happier. For the letter writers of Bombay things became bad in 2002 with the mobile communications market making incoming calls free. With mobile phones priced at a few hundred Rupees letter writers were pushed out of business. The narration is fascinating and gripping about the professions and professionals left behind.

TR”

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The 60th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will focus firmly on the implementation of the ambitious agreement on Sustainable development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 adopted by UN Member States in September 2015. The SDGs are a universal roadmap for people and planet, addressing the key challenges of the 21st century, such as poverty, inequality and climate change. Gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is a goal in itself, and recognized as a central means to achieving the SDGs. The high-level meeting from 14-24 March underlines the determination of governments and activists to move the needle on women’s rights and gender equality.

This year over 1,000 NGOs have pre-registered more than 8,100 of their representatives for the meeting. More than 200 side events will be hosted on the UN premises by Member States and UN entities, many of them in collaboration with civil society, about 150 of them in the first week of CSW alone, alongside 450 parallel events by NGOs, in the vicinity of the UN. The Commission is the single largest forum for Member States and other stakeholders to commit to new actions for advancement of women and their empowerment. This year’s CSW is the first after the adoption of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The session thus will build on the momentum garnered in September 2015 when, in conjunction with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, more than 90 governments answered UN Women’s call for action to “Step It Up for Gender Equality’’. World leaders pledged measurable actions to tackle structural barriers and remaining challenges to the achievement of gender equality in their countries.

Civil society and businesses leaders complemented these pledges committing to combat stereotypes and shift practices towards fostering greater equality and opportunity, a press release issued by the UN Women said. “This gathering of so many of the key partners in the implementation of Agenda 2030 makes this a crucial opportunity to combine our strengths and align decisively around the central issues for action,” said UN Women Executive Director PhumzileMlambo-Ngcuka. The priority theme for the 60th session will be women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development. Discussions by governments will focus on creating a conducive environment for gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through actions to ensure enabling laws and policies, solid institutional infrastructures, adequate financial resources, strengthening of participation mechanisms, and investment in sex-disaggregated data, to guide national action. Research underlines the benefit of women’s empowerment and gender equality for societies everywhere: for instance, if women played an identical role to men in labour markets, as much as USD 28 trillion could be added to global annual GDP by 2025. When women are at the peace tables, their participation increases the probability of a peace agreement lasting at least two years by 20 per cent, and 35 per cent over 15 years. And a child born to a mother who can read is 50 per cent more likely to survive.

Yet, global reviews undertaken in 2015, during the 20 years’ commemoration of the historic Beijing Conference, revealed while there has been progress on women’s rights and gender equality, it has not been enough. Today, only one in five parliamentarians is a woman and women continue to earn less, have fewer assets and bear the burden of unpaid work and care, the press release said. Violence against women continues to affect one in three women, making it one of the most widespread human rights violations. The Commission will evaluate progress in the implementation of its agreed conclusions of 2013, on ending violence against women and girls, a pandemic that also comes with enormous economic costs to society.”

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As Kerala braces up for assembly elections on May 16, the stage is set for what many are calling the electoral exercise a “game changer” election in the Southern state. Not only the two traditional alliances­ –­ the ruling Congress­-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist)­led Left Democratic Front (LDF)­­ have dominated the political landscape in this state since the 1970s but the BJP­ led-National Democratic Alliance is gearing up to set its foot in the electoral arena this time. The coming assembly polls in Kerala are crucial for the BJP as it comes after a severe drubbing of the saffron party at the hustings in Bihar in November last year. Will the lotus finally bloom in Kerala? That is the question many are asking. The BJP has been a cipher in electoral politics in “”God’s Own Country””‘ so far. However, the winds of change appear to be finally blowing in Kerala.

The performance of the BJP in the Aruvikkara by elections held in June last year, where the party finished third behind the Congress and CPI (M), did give a jolt to its rivals by increasing its vote share Also, it was the performance of the BJP that became a topic of discussion among the political observers as well as the public. The party also managed to make inroads into the UDF and the LDF bastions in the elections to the local self institutions held in November 2015. BJP won about 1,100 of the 21,871 seats across the three­-tier local body structure in Kerala. The BJP is now the main opposition in the Thiruvanthapuram Corporation beating the traditional Congress party to the third place.

The saffron party shocked the Congress and CPI (M) in Palakkad municipality winning 24 seats to become the largest party there. In what is being seen as tough elections owing to the history of Kerala of not voting back the incumbent, an imponderable in BJP has raised expectations of a turnaround. A pre-­election survey conducted by C­Fore for Asianet News has predicted that the BJP would open its account for the first time in the May 16 assembly elections. The survey, conducted between February 1­12, said the BJP may get its highest ever­ vote share of 18 per cent in Kerala and is likely to get 3 to 5 seats. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party was close to winning a seat when veteran leader O Rajagopal narrowly lost to Congress’ Shashi Tharoor in the Thiruvanthapuram The party has now made plans to coming assembly elections and it involves weaning the voters from both the principal blocs especially the Ezhva section aligned with the Left.

The BJP joined hands with Vellapally Natesan, General Secretary of the Sree Naryana Dharma Paripala Yogam (SNDP) on March 10, a powerful organization of backward Ezhava community. After the stupendous mass support it gathered in the Kerala Panchayat elections, there is a kind of confidence in the BJP and its immediate task is to make the assembly tally from zero in 2011 to double digit in the coming assembly elections. Going all out, the state BJP unit has complied a list of 100 candidates which indicates the party could be contesting all or most of the 140 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP seems to have been successful in what the Marxists in Kerala have been desperately trying in vain, wooing the influential Syrian Christians clergy which always stood by the Congress-­led UDF. What began as a trickle few years ago seems to have gained considerable momentum of late with heads of different sects of the Syrian Christians either praising Modi or refusing to criticise him. BJP is also egging on the Muslims. Despite the Opposition accusations of scams, the Oommen Chandy­-led government is expecting to create history by retaining power in the state and if it does that, it would be the first time the incumbents retain power in Kerala.

On the other hand, the Left Opposition is equally determined to ensure that power in the state alternates between the Congress and the Left. Chandy is going to face the heat during the elections for his controversial steps of shutting down more than 700 bars with permission to sell liquor accorded only to five star hotels, which has led to the loss of revenue and his alleged involvement in multi­-crore solar scam. Chandy is likely to fight from Puthupally, his home town in Kottayam district. The state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, will be looking to get re-­elected from Harippad, a largely rural constituency in Aleppy district. Among the giants to watch for are VM Sudheeran, the state Congress President, known for his staunch endorsement of Kerala liquor policy that aimed to bring down phase wise prohibition of alcoholism in the state, he will contest from Manalur in Thrissur district. In the event of CPI (M) coming to power in Kerala, the state CPI (M) Secretary, could very well end up as the Chief Minister. But there are hurdles in the way most prominently in the form of VS Achuthanandan, the fiery former Chief Minister. KM Mani, Congress (Mani) leader, who resigned as Finance Minister from the Chandy-­led UDF in November last year, in the wake of charges that he pocketed bribe from bar owners, will contest from Pala seat, from where he has fought elections since 1965. Former Union Minister O Rajagopal, 86, seniormost BJP elder in the State, is pitching from Nemom seat. Kummanan Rajasekharan newly­appointed Kerala BJP president is most likely to contest from the Vattiyoorkavu seat in Thiruvanthapuram, Former Chief Minister and CPM veteran V S Achuthanandan, 93 is raring to contest from Malampuzha in Palakkad district. (ENDS)”

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The global community is legitimately worried about the rising influence of what appears to be one of the world’s most impactful terrorist outfits- the Islamic State (IS). The influence of IS is increasing rapidly in the region, with Afghanistan, Pakistan having become the main bastions of this terrorist outfit in South Asia. While Indian Muslims, who have been moderate in their views are least likely to be ensnared by radical passions, but misguidance of the Muslim youth in the name of religion by the IS has been witnessed, nevertheless. Having arrived on the western flank of South Asia almost a year ago, the IS is now trying to make inroads into the other parts of this volatile region, with Bangladesh appearing to be its recent catch. The influence of IS is accelerating rapidly in Bangladesh, which as a country is composed of 160 million Muslims, with majority of them belonging to the Sunni sect.

While Bangladeshi Muslims are certainly less fundamentalists than their Pakistani counterparts, but several Islamic terrorist organisations including Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B), Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have either joined IS or are ready to accept its allegiance. Not a long ago, the United States had claimed that IS is looking to penetrate into Bangladesh and is intensifying its presence in the country through various means and measures. Bangladesh, which has the third largest Muslim population in the world, had dismissed the information and proclaimed that few terror incidents here and there do not indicate strong presence of IS.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed who has been ruling the country for more than 7 years now, rejected these claims and observed that all the allegations about the presence of IS are nothing but a part of a smear campaign which has been launched against her by those in the opposition. Nonetheless, it is important to note that despite these dismissals by the government of Bangladesh, the IS had taken the responsibility of several terrorist attacks, including murder of an Italian aid worker, attack on a Japanese agriculturist, murder of a few bloggers and the attack on a large gathering of Shias, as its doings. Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) which was established in 2007 as a unit of al-Qaida changed its allegiance to IS and Muhammad Aminul Islam Baig, an important IS operative who has recruited more than 25 Bangladeshis for IS, was arrested in Dhaka in May 2015. JMB, ABT and a few other terrorist outfits aspire to establish an Islamic State based on the Sharia law.

There are reports that JMB is running training camps and owe their loyalty to IS, indicating that the influence of the terror outfit is widening rapidly in Bangladesh. JMB has the capacity of carrying out terrorist activities and it may again indulge in terrorist activities on the behest of IS if not stopped at this stage itself. IS which uses social sights vigorously for recruitment and propagation of Islamic extremism, has put jihadist literature and training manuals on the internet to pollute the minds of young Bangladeshis. The radical ideology, the desire of establishing the Islamic Caliphate, its strong financial status, powerful network and brutal acts have managed to sway educated, semi-literate and deprived Muslim youths towards this terror outfit alike. Large numbers of Bangladeshis are working in the Middle East and people of Bangladeshi origin are residing in the United Kingdom, France, Australia and several other developed countries.

There are reports that few of these people of Bangladeshi origin have joined the IS and have gone to Syria to join its ranks. People of Bangladeshi origin settled in European countries also allure Bangladeshis to join IS. In the view of increasing fundamentalism in Bangladesh, the prevailing acute animosity among various political rivals, rampant corruption, polarization of security personnel, apathy towards law and order, weak judicial system, presence of several terror outfits and their splinter groups, Bangladesh looks like an ideal country for the IS to take its fight to. The execution of a few Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leaders for their offenses committed during the 1971 war of independence has also united extremists against the present regime, making it all the more possible that their vendetta becomes a medium for the IS and its sympathizers to penetrate further into the country. A newly constituted terrorist outfit, Jund al-Tawheed wal Khilafah (JTK) that has launched a recruitment drive in Bangladesh, has announced that it will help in establishing the Islamic Caliphate in the South Asian region, with Bangladesh being integral to that territorial expanse. The formation of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) is also significant as it will enhance the terrorist activities in the region, especially in Bangladesh.

Ansar al Islam Bangladesh which is an associate of al-Qaeda has also threatened to carry out terrorist activities. In the view of above, Bangladesh must accept the reality and should adopt measures to counter increasing influence of IS before it becomes late. IS has already issued its expansion plan for the South Asian region and while the plan excludes Bangladesh, according to the analysts however, it is only a deception and that Bangladesh is a perfect country where IS can find for itself a secure ground. Sheikh Hasina has launched a de-radicalization campaign under which the security agencies have closed training camps run by terrorist outfits, arrested the probable extremists and prohibited access of foreign terrorists to them by putting them under detention. The administration has also removed IS page and IS literature from internet, including Facebook and You Tube.

These mechanisms of defense should also be supplemented by proactive measures such as those that can enable the Bangladesh security agencies to counter the malicious propaganda of the IS with active advocacy for de-radicalization. After all, in the time and age for soft power, biting the bullet would not do much. The government should chalk out a detailed plan to counter the terrorist organisations, especially the IS. The IS is an international terrorist outfit hence, Bangladesh should seek help from other countries especially neighbouring countries, including India. Signing a counter terrorism initiative with United States in 2013 is a good beginning. The security forces should also be strengthened and should be equipped with latest electronic gadgets. The capability and accessibility of intelligence organisations should also be enhanced so that they can provide prior and actionable intelligence. The plan should include mass awareness drives, prompt investigation and early punishment to real culprits. The counter terrorism plan should also incorporate the rehabilitation of reformed misguided youths. Bangladesh is progressing well economically and the government should strive to maintain and even enhance its growth and expand employment opportunities so that they can keep its youth from getting misdirected and exploited at the hands of a terror outfit that has been barbarous to say the least.

This article first appeared in South Asia Monitor on March 9. Being reproduced here with the permission of the author

Jai Kumar Verma is a Delhi-based strategic analyst”