Bhopal and Gulf: More than Spatial and Temporal Distance
Bhopal Gas leak was the world’s worst industrial disaster, Gulf oil leak is America’s worst environmental disaster. Bhopal gas leak in 1984 resulted in 5000 to 8000 casualties, including thousands suffering after-effects for several years. Gulf oil leak began in May 2010 with the death of 11 people and the impact on natural life is yet to be ascertained.
After 26 years, seven people accused in the Bhopal case were awarded two years of imprisonment and each was supposed to pay Rs.100,000 as fine. The convicted were released on bail the same day. The U.S. is preparing to launch criminal charges against the BP, including the highest ranking officials.
India’s Unique Identification (UID) Experiment
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was constituted in January 2009 as an attached office of the Planning Commission. The UID brand was renamed ‘Aadhaar’ meaning foundation in April 2010. The logo of ‘aadhaar’ (finger print within a rising sun) adopted after a nation wide contest, allegedly represents a new dawn of equal opportunity for each individual, a dawn which emerges from the unique identity the number guarantees for each individual.
Is ‘trust deficit’ the real issue between India and Pakistan?
Almost twelve hours after P.M. Manmohan Singh addressed a ‘rare’ press conference in New Delhi, I felt uneasy on reading the headline of the WSJ article, “Singh Seeks To Fix Pakistan ‘Trust Deficit.’” My first reaction was that WSJ had got it wrong. I logged on to the website of the Prime Minister’s Office to read the transcript of P.M. Singh’s press conference. Surprisingly, the P.M.’s responses to all questions relating to Pakistan did give an impression that the onus for improving bilateral relations was on India.
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Gujarat to Introduce On-line Voting Facility
Another surprise from Gujarat; albeit a pleasant one. On-line voting will be introduced for the first time in India during the Gujarat Municipal Corporation polls scheduled for October 2010.
“The purpose for introduction of online voting is to make affluent class people vote, who generally avoid going to polling booths and standing in long queues to vote. Besides, youths will be attracted to vote in this manner,” SEC Secretary, P H Shah told PTI.
As expected, Gujarat Congress is not pleased with the move. “We are not against online voting in municipal corporation elections but ruling BJP’s step is for the benefit of a class and not for the mass. They think that by doing this, they will be able to make the upper middle class vote which is generally considered to be a vote base of that party,” Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.
Nikhil Pahwa suggests that Common Service Centers (CSCs) could be utilized as e-polling centers to facilitate the process.
Though the initiative is still in the early stages, it is a welcome move to encourage the reluctant middle class voters to participate in elections. At the same time, issues of authenticity of voters and secrecy of ballot are far from settled. Moreover, disinterest and non-participation of voters arise not only from reluctance to physically go to polling booths but from disillusionment with governance. Nevertheless, municipal elections in Gujarat can be a test case for introducing e-voting across the country.
Faisal Shahzad or Rima Fakih: The Choice of Identity
Last week, I wrote a post on the micro effects of Faisal Shahzad’s failed terror attack in Times Square. Today, I came across another news item, which made me wonder about my observations in the last post. If Faisal Shahzad can make many American Muslims feel nervous about their religious identity, could Rima Fakih make them feel proud in any way?
Rima Fakih, who is of Lebanese Muslim descent, has been crowned Miss USA 2010.
Is Rima Fakih’s achievement a symbol of American liberalism or is she the face of ‘modern’ ‘American’ Muslims?
Faisal Shahzad’s Impact on Policies and Perceptions
Much has been written about the impact of Faisal Shahzad’s failed attack in New York City’s Times Square. Most Indians thought that Faisal’s links to Pakistan would increase U.S. pressure on the ‘epicenter of terrorism’, thereby validating India’s perspective. It was hoped that Faisal would help India to get where Kasab and David Headley could not: terrorist groups within Pakistan which act as auxiliary units for the Al-Qeada against the U.S. and India. Indian media is replete with quotations like “U.S. warns Pakistan of severe consequences.” However there is little evidence to show that the nature of U.S.-Pakistan Partnership will change much in the coming days. Views of Bruce Riedel and General Petraeus also validate this contention. Click to continue…
Discussion on New Social Media at Kaboo Community Radio
A tourist visa to Pakistan costs Rs.15 (33 cents) and the distance between Amritsar and Lahore is 48 km (29.8 miles) but few Indians have ever visited Pakistan. The movement of Indian journalists in Pakistan is restricted to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Interactions between India and Pakistan are largely confined to the realm of diplomacy, politics and military strategy. The celebrated civil society dialogue between Indians and Pakistanis is limited to social elites from the two sides.
Interactions between the common people of India and Pakistan are challenged by several obstacles. Lack of air connections, absence of road and rail links, endless harassing over visa issues, heightening of political tensions, censorship of movies and blackout of news channels are the commonly encountered hurdles. For young educated Indians and Pakistanis, communication across the Line of Control (LOC) has been more difficult than contact with counterparts in other continents. Media reports, memoirs and ancestral stories have been the only way for gathering information about life across the LOC.
The medium of electronic communication is allowing Indians and Pakistanis a rare opportunity to conduct genuine and open dialogue. Blessed to be born at a time when the web rules the world, a large segment of middle class Indians and Pakistanis can talk to each other. Exchange of e-mails, expression of views through blogs, participation in on-line discussion forums, and sharing of information through social networking sites provides myriad avenues for Indians and Pakistanis to communicate. They can instantaneously discuss about the Marriott attacks in Islamabad or the Mumbai terror siege; comment on U.S. strategy in Af-Pak or implications of the Kerry-Lugar Bill, send live updates of lawyer’s protest march in Karachi or voice concern over the ban on Jaswant Singh’s book praising Jinnah in India. Flow of information across the border is now direct, instant and constant. This new form of popular interaction, referred to as social media, between Indians and Pakistanis is re-defining the contours of inter-state civil society dialogue.
APA Compass on Kaboo Community Radio invited me to speak on how electronic communication, especially New Social Media, was impacting interactions between Indians and Pakistanis. The podcast to the program can be accessed here.
Tale of Two Terrorists in Two Democracies
Ajmal Kasab and Faisal Shahzad are familiar names for most Indians and Americans. Kasab was the only terrorist in the gang of ten who was arrested alive during the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. Shahzad was arrested early this week for planting a car bomb in the Times Square in New York City. Kasab was arrested while operationalizing a terror strike; Shahzad was nabbed following the cues from the car which he had planted. Kasab’s connection to Pakistan was established, Shahzad Pakistani connection is evident and under scrutiny.
16th SAARC Summit at Thimphu
The 16th SAARC Summit concluded in Thimphu, Bhutan last week. Two characteristics of South Asians strike me when leaders of SAARC nations meet. First, South Asians feel more comfortable in big crowds. Second, South Asians are highly entrepreneurial. The Thimphu Summit reaffirmed the impressions. Even though the SAARC Charter prohibits discussions on contentious bilateral issues, leaders of India and Pakistan feel most comfortable in conversing at sidelines of SAARC Summits. Despite slow progress of previously agreed cooperative projects, SAARC members do not shy away from undertaking new ventures at each summit meeting.
Naxal Attack at Dantewada
On April 6, in the Mukrana forests of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district in India, 72 members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and one member of the District police force were killed in a gruesome attack by the Naxalites. In addition to the number of causalities, the planning and precision of the Naxal operation stunned the country. India’s Home Minister P. Chidambaram accepted full responsibility for the attack and offered to resign.
In a rare display of solidarity, the BJP has expressed support in favor of Home Minister P. Chidambaram. According to BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy, “Chidambaram deserves the support of the government, the support of all political parties”. Though Minister Chidambaram appears resolute, the Government faces many challenges for drafting and implementing a strategy to counter the naxal violence. Some of these concerns are discussed here.