APARTHEID IN INDIA

 

 By K P PASWAN.

These days US is sanctioning many states on the basis of violation of human rights. India has been warned against violations of human rights. India unlike many neighboring countries is highly and dangerously polarized society. In 1947 India was divided on the basis of religion and a separate state for Muslim was formed but the problems of communalism remain in India and there is no end of communal tension in sight. Some of disgruntled politicians in power claim themselves as secular but once he fears losing his position he would not mind taking shelter in a communal party. This is happening in India from the date of its birth.

 But there is another type of human rights violation and few intellectuals have given even slight attention to the problems. India is the home of a large number of Dalits who are declared part of Hindu religion. From ancient times these Dalits who are also called Untouchables are facing worst type of apartheid. Thanks to the colonial rule and the impact of western education, these Dalits have been placed on equal footing with other people belonging to high caste. In services these Dalits along with Tribal enjoy reservation which are being opposed in the name of merit. The Merit has not been defined in any political set up of any nation of the world. Merit is a relative term and if reservation for Dalit is ended than there must be viable alternative, surprisingly a large number of educated Caste Hindus advocate special package for Dalits. This is welcome suggestion but special packages have bben misused by bureaucrats and politicians in power. This raises question whether Dalit lives matter in India and the final answer is NO. At the same time, we must acknowledge that reservation is not the final answer, there are hundred cases where an educated family of Dalit has availed reservation for Group one services denying the same to other Dalits.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.

The Colonial power tried to give separate identity to Dalits but was opposed by Mahatma Gandhi. This surprising as when Kemal Pasha abolished the tyrannical regime of The Ottoman empire in Turkey, Mahatma under the influence of Shaukat Ali and Rahmat Ali supported the demand for restoration of Ottoman power. In the entire world British India was the only country which supported the restoration of anarchy in Turkey. And when the British introduced the bill for separate system of representation for Dalits, Mahatma threatened to undergo fast.  There were many western educated freedom fighters but they supported the restoration of Ottoman empire. The Bill was withdrawn. But the freedom fighters failed to propose alternative. They accused the British of separating the Dalits from the Hindu religion. It is surprising as Dalits were identified with Vedic religion. Mahatma was aware of apartheid being practiced in South Africa. So, apartheid became an integral part of Indian society. It is not known that whether freedom fighters who opposed separate representation for the Dalits were Hindus or not, but surprising thing is that a separate sovereign country was carved out for a particular group of people, and Dalits were provided reservation in services annoying the entire Caste Hindu.

REASONS. Indian politics is caste ridden. Here election is fought in the name of castes. This started from the period when first general election was held. In a large number of places Dalits were prevented from exercising voting rights as the ballot papers were either snatched or there was massive rigging. In fact, these democratic elections were stolen. System somewhat improved with introduction of electronic voting machines.

 COMPLICATIONS. In reserved parliamentary constituency a Dalit has to depend upon some influential persons belonging to upper castes who always have their personal agendas in mind. For example, in a reserved constituency the Dalits may constitute 20 to 30 % of total votes so a Dalit candidate has to seek the support of persons belonging to upper castes to win the election. In that cast the winner has to toe the line of person who supported the Dalit to win the election. This defeats the purpose of reservation in legislature. Then there are the problems of reservation in educational institutions like medical and engineering.  Dalits and Tribal get reservation and we see Dalits and Tribal as doctors and technocrats. Questions are being raised pertaining to sound knowledge of medicines and technology. It is argued that patients shall go to a competent doctor and not to a less competent doctor selected on the basis of reservation. There is some logic in this argument If we accept the arguments than alternatives may be searched which is impossible; Dalits and Tribal admitted on the basis of reservation may annoy girls and boys belonging to upper castes.

 This type of Apartheid is found in almost every part of the country. In south part of India people vote in the name of castes and there is widespread agitation supporting and opposing reservation.  Fortunately, Caste war has not been noticed but the real reason is conversion of Dalits by people of other religion. We see agitations against conversion and the West accuse India of violating human rights. 

REMEDY. Only remedy is available to anti Reservationists is financial aid to Dalits and Tribal but no abolition of Caste system and Apartheid. In Jharkhand a lady I.A.S officer was found to grab nearly Rs which were allotted for MANREGA most of the labours are poor Dalits Tribal and other castes. In fact, fund given for development of Tribal and Dalits are vulnerable to grabbing by corrupt officers this is happening everywhere in India. In Bihar known for scams and caste census, a scam known as Srijan Scam is being investigated. A large amount  money meant for poor Dalits and Tribals were grabbed by officers, many I.A.S officers are involved and nothing is going to happen to culprits as money was meant for welfare of Dalits..

 CONCLUSION. WE have to revisit history. The Dalits and Tribal should be separated from the upper cast dominated religion. This was the proposal of the Colonial Empire. In the legislature only the Dalits and Tribal may be allowed to exercise the right of franchise. Spread of education and interfaith marriage have affected the great religion but this religion is declining. Grievances of upper castes and the sufferings of Dalits have to be attended with utmost care. At present the ruling party openly preach discrimination against Dalits. The PM of India emerged as a brilliant Statesman of international politics but he is showing symptoms of a Lame Duck PM, this is the greatest

EMERGING TREND IN UK POLITICS

K P PASWAN

Boris Johnson has resigned from the post of PM and either Liz Truss, British Foreign Secretary or Rishi Sunak, former Treasury Secretary is likely to replace Johnson.

Modern UK is no longer a major military power. Commonwealth of Nations which once glorified Great Britain as great colonial power has lost its relevance. Except parliamentary democracy and a popular monarchy, UK does not inspire world politics. Post Brexit Britain is facing the heat of Islamic radicalism and some of the most dreaded terrorists were brought up in UK. Ukraine crisis has left UK in wilderness as it happened to be a trusted friend of US but not respected by major powers of Europe like France and Germany. UK is a member of NATO but this organization has lost its strategic importance. There is a changing dynamic between France and Russia. So, UK has modified its politics as per changed international relations. UK continues to represent US interest in European politics. By diplomacy UK is trying to introduce new idea in Afghanistan and war-torn Middle East. It has changed its China policy in favour of US and is trying its best to stop China from bullying the neighborliness countries.

There is economic slowdown for some unknown reasons. However, it is presumed that crisis in Ukraine has also impacted British economy. But strong reason is the measures taken to control the brutal virus. UK has to spend billions of Dollars to purchase vaccines and lock down like restrictions slowed down the manufactured activities. But it is a fact that UK suffered owing to latest variants of Omicron.

There is a large number of immigrants Muslims in UK A They enjoy the status of refugees without contributing to growth of economy, on the contrary there are a large number of Indians with impressive contribution to national economy. These are mostly from former colonies. It is seen that barring exceptions majority of them are not contributing to the growth of British economy but they want their rigid religious scriptures to be introduced in UK. Labor party once a powerful opposition of radicals have suddenly turned to vocal support of these radicals.

UK, unlike US is not an oil producing state and has to import oil and gas from the oil rich middle east. Recent crisis has led to purchase of Russian oil and gas at discounted price on grand scale. UK was also convulsed by Coronavirus. Its economy was adversely impacted and still the pandemic is not over.  After Brexit  UK was given certain concessions by EU so that UK may not feel the sense of isolation but Germany continue to rule the EU and UK has right of fishing with France. Post Brexit UK is supposed to have robust political and economic tie with India which has not been materialized, the reason is that UK has been a traditional supporter of Pakistan but there is a definite shift of political landscape so far as Pakistan is concerned. Another headache for UK is Turkey. Erdogan the president of Turkey has successfully lifted Turkey from poverty stricken nation. Erdogan has given up western style of secularism but the Sharia has not replaced the western system of jurisprudence. Certain actions of Erdogan like its close proximity with Iran and Russia has infuriated US and UK is supposed to support US policy against the former Ottoman empire. Erdogan fears that US would try to carve out separate homeland for the Kurds and sympathy of UK towards Kurds can be seen.

Emerging trend of politics in UK needs through study. UK is the parents of parliamentary democracy in the world. Even in US find the imprint of UK political system In the entire world we find political system based on parliamentary democracy. Monarchy which still prevail in certain countries has to submit to the will of common people otherwise monarchy cannot survive.

Coming to UK, after WW2  UK was and still is an industrialized country, Once UK nearly colonized half of the world and besides spreading Christianity, education system of the colonized country led to better understanding of political system There are only two political parties, once Liberal Party was also a political party of importance. Labor Party is generally influenced by socialist ideology.. Conservative on the other hand is still believe in traditional political ideology which is neither left or right. With collapse of colonialism UK had to accommodate a large number of immigrants from the members of Commonwealth of nations, which is conglomerate of former colonies. Immigrants enjoy equal voting rights. Unfortunately free speech has led to emergence of radicals which exalt in glorifying terror and religion. These radicals mostly consist of Muslims immigrated from different Islamic nations

For political reasons UK is supporting Islams and most of the mosques follow Wahhabi system of religious ideology After formation of new government in UK we may witness UK in a new political roles,.

POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR RESEARCH IN TRIBAL POLITICS.

 BY K P PASWAN

Some of the tribes have disappeared from the world while a large number of them have joined the mainstream and are holding important positions in politics and civil administration. Disappearance of tribal may be attributed to encroachment of their territories by modern man. But there are still some tribes in some parts of the world who  preferred to live away from educated and modern society. These tribes are often subject to atrocities and are unable to merge with mainstream.

Several research papers and books written by famous writers are available in open markets. From these books we learn various things like their origin life styles, means of communications. Research is still going on to find something more important, like reasons for their alienation from mainstream..

   No particular topic can be picked up for the study of various aspects of Tribal. It is so because Tribal living in Latin America have different culture, means of communication and food habits. Some of them still like nudity while other may use forest related items to cover their bodies. In India Tribal use Arrow and Bows for hunting, this practice is almost common among all the tribes. Following topics may be considered to read the mind of tribal.

BEHAVIOR. Whether the tribes are willing to listen to non-tribal or indulge in violent methods to keep themselves from main stream. Precaution is necessary on the part of research scholars not to be provoked by tribal, who are generally soft in their behavior. It is said that when Columbus reached America, local tribes welcomed them as some kind of deities but Columbus enslaved a large number of tribes and when they reached Spain more than half of Tribal died as they were unable to withstand new environment.

 Aboriginal in different countries may have different social behaviors, they are not supposed to know the intricacies of modern politics. In Latin America and US aborigines have entered into modern age and are working in different fields but they have not given up their ancient social behavior, traditional ways of life and rituals based upon Black Magic. A study of their traditions may reveal startling facts of their lives. We may come to know whether they were animal hunters and if so whether still crave for human blood. Merciless Killing of non-tribal is reported throughout human history.

 In Andaman and Nicobar island belonging to India there are certain pockets being inhabited by tribes who migrated from Africa nearly thousands of years ago. Almost all of them are of African origin. A few groups of tribes have been tamed with modern education but there are two distinct tribes namely Jarawa and Sentinel who don’t like mixing with outsiders. They live in deep forests They are being protected by government of India so they are still surviving otherwise they might have met the fate of Australian Aborigines who were reduced to minority by immigrants. Tribal in Australia have almost disappeared and those remain alive are engaged in criminal activity.

 Coming to Tribes in Andaman and Nicobar, all attempts to know their language and behavior have failed. They are hunters but not human eaters, they are regularly given food items and cloths, they accept these items. But they are still hostile and would not mind killing tourists with their bows even without slight provocation. How they survived the Tsunami is a great mystery. A few foreign missionaries tried to contact these Sentinel Tribes but they failed. It appears that they don’t have any religious belief and in absence of modern drugs their population is gradually delining.  However, population of Jarawa is increasing is so because that a few Jarawa have received modern education and they are encouraged to contact and encourage their fellow Jarawa to accept new ways of life,

In Asia we take the tribal of Waziristan in modern Pakistan which is throwing serious challenge to military rulers. These Tribal are violent and they don’t obey government’s order. Religion belief is very strong, they are fanatic Muslims and even a tribe of  80 years of age shall fight and die for religion. Bloody conflicts among themselves are not uncommon. A study of their behavior reveal that they are very fond of narcotics and are dead against empowering women.  They quarrel among themselves and would not mind to kill their relatives if they disobey the elder of the tribe or family. In the past they fought with British army inflicting heavy damage to them. Even in modern times Pakistan has badly failed to tame them.

 Black magic is common among all the tribes in the world, this may be another topic to understand behind strange ideology.

  In India Tribal mostly live in forest but with deforestation they are finding it difficult to live in plain areas with non-tribal. Their language is a different and it requires to understand their dialect. They are mostly poor and are being exploited by moneylenders.  Animal hunting is common but attitude towards women is not unfriendly they give proper respect to women folks. They observe certain traditional rituals with great fun. Women in colorful dress participate in dance and at the time of celebrating Tribal festivals, Effects of foreign missionaries is visible. Their exploitation has turned them to become dreaded Naxalites who are indulged in wanton killing. With passage of time they are being assimilated into mainstream.

 There is a tribal dominant state in India named Jharkhand. The land is rich in natural resources but tribal are poor Non tribal cannot grab or purchase their land, it is for these reasons that tribal of Jharkhand are safe. The Govt has taken several measures to improve their living conditions. Modern health centers are being established  These tribes are known for distinct type of dance and song

SURVIVAL INSTINCT. It is surprising that tribal survives despite of severe disease. In absence of modern drugs, it is common knowledge that they survived on herbal drugs and sometimes they practiced occultism. It will be a interesting topic as we may know the name of certain herbs which have proved effective medicines for severe disease. In the past they must have suffered from illness for which there was no cure despite of this it, is not a miracle that they survived. Herbal drugs must have driven them to obtain methods and ways of treatments. Herbal treatments are still being preferred by a large section of the non-tribal people.  When the British reached Leopoldville in Africa, a few British men survived. Malaria and tuberculosis were rampant and even the colonial troops used herbal drugs for ultimate cure.

LANGUAGE. Language spoken by Tribal differ and may be one of the important topics.  There are different groups of tribal who by intermixing with other tribal may have develop special kind of communication. In ancient times in absence of any language it must have been very hard to intermix. There are certain type of scripts including scripts found in Indus Valley Civilization which are yet to be deciphered. We still do not how they communicated with others before coming into contact with modern civilization.

 FINAL THOUGHT.

Every Aborigine has different type of problems. They need to be studied separately.

 

PRESENT AMERICAN POLITICAL SITUATION EFFECT ON INDIA.

 .

By K P Paswan.

Present American political system is a mixture of extreme form of liberalism and and opposition of the same by the opponents, Despite of best vaccines available in US more than one million Americans have lost their lives and President is helpless as he cannot enforce even mask mandate by an executive order because of  judiciary 's interference.

India is following the principles of open democracy. US has a different system of democracy in which sovereignty lie with common Americans, There is Gun Cultures in US which are going to stay and executive order to limit damage is not going to work unless both Republicans and Democrats sit together and amend the constitution. Indian political system is based upon parliamentary of government. Here sovereigntyalso lie with people and the parliament cannot amend basic structures of the constitution. Like US. Parliament, Judiciary and the Executive are pillars of strong democratic principles but open democracy as seen in US is not applicable to the entire world. It is wrong to say that unity lies in diversity, bloody sectarian conflicts are common in a diverse society, every groups try to safeguard its interest.

FLUCTUATING RELATIONS. US and India share fluctuating relations ever since India was declared as republic. There were only two superpowers and both of them divided the world as per their sphere of influence but India maintained neutrality even at the height of cold war. India received food stuffs from US and also received financial assistance for its economic progress. But US remained closer to Pakistan for its strategic importance.  In !970 when India fought Pakistan, Richard Nixon sent war ships in the Indian ocean to keep pressure upon India which was neutralized by Russian warships. Pakistan an Islamic state remained as a potential rival of India. Pakistan continued to receive massive military support from US.

Pakistan lost its importance with collapse of USSR.  Russia before disappearance of communism created chaos in Afghanistan and suddenly Pakistan once again came closer to US. American fought in Afghanistan the longest battle and withdrew suddenly. Pakistan was at the receiving end because of its proximity with China. After collapse of Communism and opening of Indian economy there was increased partnership and changing dynamics between Indian and US in various fields. This is seen in the field of autos, exploration of oil and gas. purchasing Boeing air plane and above all in information technology. At government level India purchased defense related goods and strengthened its defense against any external aggression.

PRESENT POSITION.

Both India and US suffered the brutality of Coronavirus. it was a different kind of disaster. There was no medicines but there was death in the worst possible manner. The pandemic broke out in Jan2020 and the PM Modi had to impose lock down. Using mask cleaning hand and maintaining social were preventive measures but not the curative treatment. Both the countries were sincerely trying  to manufacture vaccines and within short period US manufactured three most effective vaccines while a little later India introduced two vaccines. But US suffered much because of opposition of vaccines.

 Than war erupted in Ukraine.. It is not proper to elaborate the nature and cause of war. Ukraine crisis is nothing but a show of strength between two superpowers. India suffered because there was economic sanctions against Russia and India could not buy defense materials and oil from that country. It is a double blow to Indian economy but India somehow managed to avert the economic catastrophe, if the war is prolonged than India is going to suffer. In that case weakening of  Indian economy is not in the interest of US.

 US has become the largest producer of oil and natural gas  Saudi Arabia and other oil rich kingdoms of Central Asia cannot dictate the oil policy of the world. Iran is also under sanctions but US has not opposed India for importing  oil from Iran but not beyond certain points. In the latest development India has emerged as a perfect neutral power. US is expected to honor the sovereignty of India. India is a member of QUAD, an Asian version of NATO but it is the cardinal responsibility of US to see that Ukraine like situations are not created in South Pacific.

 A friendly regime for US has emerged in Pakistan which is bent upon creating chaos in India in the name of religion and human right violations. But the rogue nations is a theocratic state and certainly will seek US assistance in carrying terror activities in India. Fortunately present situation in US is such that strategic importance of India is more apparent than Pakistan. But strategic convergence between India ans US is not possible. India has border dispute with China, in a recent border skirmishes India lost nearly 20 soldiers but according to a journal published from Texas in US , China lost more than 100 lives . US knows the actual position but its closeness with China precludes Pentagon from revealing actual causalities from Chinese side. From present administration, India expects US to play important role in arriving at border settlement with China. In the past US supported Pakistan and China against India and this needs rectification as the situation in international politics demands closer relations between India and US.

SECURITY THREAT. Whenever Indian sovereignty was in danger US never supported India, it is so because, pressure by Pakistan. This is against the democratic principles followed by US. Pakistan is a self proclaimed theocratic state committed to glorify religion and terrorism.  India is facing threats from the Radicals. Just to ensure peace India joined QUAD which has been declared as anti China by XiJinping.  US is not pressurizing China to settle border dispute with India by dialogue. American’s silence has emboldened China.

 Ukraine war is nearing its end, US may badly need the Indian help in giving a new dimension to  balance of economic power. Russia and China cannot be ignored but they must be convinced that world peace cannot be guaranteed by any particular country and every country has to take the responsibility for maintaining peace

FINAL THOUGHT. US is a superpower it needs to understand nature of Indian politics and culture of Indian society, then India may feel the positive impact of American political philosophy.