DailyWorld News - The First International Newspaper From India https://dailyworld.in/ Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:00:47 +0530 en https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/rivers-choking-due-to-silt-a-new-monsoon-reality-688737.html Every year monsoon arrives in Punjab arrives with a familiar irony We pray for rain to nourish our crops and recharge sub soil water aquifers to sustain the agricultural economy Yet ever more the rainfall brings concern of destruction and uncertainty due to floods Villages along river belts watch water levels nervously urban settlements brace fear inundation and governments jostle responding to flood alertsThe challenge before Punjab is no longer the flood management it is rather monsoon preparedness in the times of changing climate patterns reducing river capacities that have followed decades of ecological neglectThe states rivers particularly the Sutlej and the Beas are carrying a burden they were never had borne Years of unchecked silt deposition uncontrolled encroachments on floodplains and inadequate scientific river management have extensively the capacity to safely carry monsoon water flows As a result even moderate releases of water today can trigger flood threat in areas that were once considered safeRivers losing capacity to carry waterThe story of Punjabs floods begins upstream The Sutlej and Beas rivers bring enormous quantities of sediment from the fragile Himalayan catchments Traditionally rivers had sufficient width and depth to transport this material downstream However decades of silt deposition have raised riverbeds and narrowed channels Also unmindful mining of silt and gravel over river beds have given matter to madnessExperts have noted that riverbeds at several locations in Punjab have risen by as much as 5 to 12 feet because of sediment accumulation hence reducing the carrying capacity of rivers and drainage channels drastically In some stretches the effective capacity is estimated to have shrunk to nearly onethird of what it once wasThe consequences are visible Water that earlier remained confined within river channels now spills over embankments and inundates habitations What should have been manageable monsoon flows are increasingly translating into flood emergencies owing to lack of scientific preparednessDespite repeated warnings by the experts desilting of rivers has remained sporadic fragmented and not under the focus Mechanical removal of silt at isolated locations cannot substitute for a comprehensive basinlevel strategy The state needs a scientifically designed sedimentmanagement plan based on longterm data collection inflows studies and understanding river contoursThe issue becomes even more serious because many riverbeds and floodplains have been steadily encroached upon Urban settlements have emerged in areas that historically served as natural flood buffers so when rivers lose both depth and space floods become inevitablePunjabs flood vulnerability is also linked to what is happening inside the Gobind Sagar reservoir the lifeline created by the Bhakra DamOver six decades of operation massive quantities of silt have accumulated inside the reservoir Recent assessments indicate that nearly onefourth of the reservoirs original storage capacity has been lost to sedimentation Estimates suggest that more than 25 billion cubic metres of storage space have effectively been consumed by silt depositsThis is not a minor technical issue Reservoir storage acts as a safety cushion during heavy rainfall events As storage shrinks the ability to absorb sudden inflows diminishes increasing pressure on dam operations and downstream flood managementThe challenge is compounded by the fact that scientific desilting of large reservoirs remains technologically complex and financially an exorbitant affair Successive governments have discussed the issue committees have been formed and pilots proposed but the scale of intervention required is yet to materialize on the groundThe reality is that sedimentation is no longer a reservoirmanagement concern rather it has become a floodmanagement challenge affecting millions of people living in north Indian states Punjab Haryana Rajasthan and Himachal PradeshUncertainty demands urgent actionThis years monsoon arrives amid growing global concerns over climate variability and the continuing influence of largescale weather phenomena such as El Niño Weather systems are becoming increasingly unpredictable producing long dry spells followed by intense bursts of rainfallnbspSuch volatility places additional pressure on water infrastructure The Bhakra Dams catchment area extends across nearly 68000 square kilometres in the Himalayas while the Gobind Sagar reservoir spreads over approximately 164 square kilometres Any extreme rainfall event or a cloud burst across this vast catchment can generate enormous inflows within a short period And eventually might lead to a disaster downstream of the damReports indicate that reservoir levels this season are significantly higher than those recorded during the corresponding period last year A healthy storage is essential for irrigation and power generation over the year it also points towards the importance of maintaining adequate flood cushions before peak monsoon inflows arrivePunjab cannot afford to treat floods as seasonal emergencies that demand attention only after water enters villages Flood resilience must become a yearround governance priorityThis requires scientific desilting of rivers and reservoirs strict protection of floodplains from encroachment strengthening of embankments restoration of natural drainage systems realtime hydrological monitoring and improved coordination among states sharing river basinsnbspPunjab has always demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity but it cannot alon substitute for preparedness As climate risks intensify and river systems continue to degrade the state must shift from reactive flood relief to proactive flood preventionnbspThe monsoon will continue to test Punjab every year The question is whether we will respond to the disasters after they occur or finally invest in preventing them beforenbspthey arrive DAILY WORLD The writer is member Rajya Sabha and founderchairman Chandigarh University https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/rivers-choking-due-to-silt-a-new-monsoon-reality-688737.html Fri, 19 Jun 2026 14:56:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-cockroach-janata-party-a-meme-a-protest-or-a-warning-signal-677662.html A curious new phenomenon has entered Indias digital political landscape The socalled Cockroach Janata Party CJP initially dismissed as internet satire has rapidly gained traction among sections of young social media users triggering debate across political and institutional circles While the movement may ultimately prove transient its sudden emergence reflects something deeper and more consequential the growing disconnect between sections of Indias youth and traditional structures of political and institutional engagementThe trend appears to have gathered momentum following public reactions to remarks attributed to senior judicial observations that many young people interpreted as dismissive of unemployed youth and activists Social media users subsequently embraced the cockroach metaphor as a symbol of survival resilience and resistance Yet reducing the entire phenomenon to a reaction against one statement or one institution would be analytically inadequatePolitical expressions of this nature rarely emerge in isolation They usually draw strength from accumulated anxieties unmet aspirations and the perception that conventional systems are no longer adequately responding to emerging realitiesIndia today is one of the worlds youngest nations Its demographic profile is often celebrated as a strategic advantage capable of driving economic growth innovation and global influence However demographic potential does not automatically become a demographic dividend If aspirations consistently outpace opportunities demographic strength can gradually evolve into social frustrationMany young Indians today face a deeply competitive and uncertain environment Limited formal employment opportunities repeated examination controversies rising educational costs economic insecurity and widening perceptions of inequality have generated visible anxiety among sections of the youth Even highly educated young people increasingly encounter precarious employment delayed financial independence and declining faith in institutions that once symbolised stability and upward mobility The pressures are especially severe for economically weaker and socially disadvantaged groups whose vulnerabilities often remain underrepresented in mainstream discourseImportantly this frustration is not necessarily ideological in the traditional political sense Much of it is economic psychological and generationalSocial media has amplified these sentiments by creating platforms where millions of similarly disillusioned individuals can connect instantly In earlier decades dissatisfaction remained fragmented across campuses cities or social groups Today digital platforms can transform scattered grievances into collective sentiment within hours The rise of the socalled CJPwhether temporary or enduringillustrates this transformation in political communicationIts slogans and memes are humorous but humour in politics often reflects serious undercurrents Throughout history satire has emerged when sections of society feel unheard within formal structures of power Younger generations particularly Generation Z increasingly communicate politically through memes shortform videos irony and digital symbolism rather than through traditional party organisations or ideological platformsThe more important issue therefore is not whether the CJP itself evolves into a formal political movement Most viral digital trends fade quickly because online popularity alone does not create leadership organisational depth ideological coherence or electoral viability The more significant question is why such a platform resonated emotionally with so many young Indians in such a short period of time That question deserves serious attentionThe phenomenon also reflects a broader global transition Across democracies digitally connected youth populations are reshaping political discourse outside conventional institutional channels Political mobilisation today is increasingly driven by algorithms visibility and emotional resonance rather than by traditional organisational structures alone Influence no longer depends solely on rallies party offices or newspaper networks It increasingly depends on relatability narrative power and digital reachIndia is now experiencing this transformation at scale However balance restraint and caution are necessary Viral political movements can become vulnerable to misinformation emotional polarisation and opportunistic exploitation In an era of coordinated digital campaigns and anonymous online ecosystems every sudden political wave naturally invites speculation regarding hidden interests or engineered narrativesHowever it would also be inaccurate to suggest that governments in India have been entirely indifferent to youth aspirations Significant initiatives relating to skill development entrepreneurship startup promotion digital access educational expansion and employment generation have been undertaken over the years at both the Union and state levels Yet implementation gaps uneven outcomes regional disparities and the pace of opportunity creation continue to remain major challenges The government at the centre is however strong enough to meet these challenges headonEqually important no credible evidence has so far emerged to establish that the CJP is a covert operation backed by any political party foreign actor or organised destabilisation effort Much of its momentum appears to have emerged organically from online youth culture combined with growing social frustration At the same time as with many digital movements globally the possibility of political appropriation or manipulation in the future cannot be entirely ruled outThis distinction matters because democracies must learn to separate legitimate social discontent from deliberate destabilisation Treating every expression of criticism as antigovernment risks deepening alienation further Equally romanticising every viral movement as revolutionary can also lead to poor judgmentThe wiser response lies neither in panic nor dismissal but in democratic engagement and institutional responsivenessIndias democratic resilience has historically rested on its capacity to absorb dissent through dialogue adaptation and reform Every generation develops its own political vocabulary Earlier generations relied on student unions pamphlets protest marches and public meetings Generation Z relies on memes digital communities satire and networked communicationThe medium has changed but the underlying democratic impulse remains the same the desire to be heard respected and included For that reason the present moment should be viewed less as a threat and more as a wakeup callYoung Indians are not merely demanding jobs Many are also seeking dignity transparency participation and a greater voice in shaping policies that affect their future A growing section of the youth feels disconnected from decisionmaking processes and believes that meaningful engagement with younger citizens often remains episodic rather than continuous Systemic reforms are needed for constant engagement with the youth ensuring a deeper understanding and wider participationThe CJP phenomenon may disappear within weeks fragment into competing narratives or evolve into a broader conversation on youth participation and governance Regardless of its eventual trajectory it has already revealed an important reality a section of Indias youth is searching for a better future outside conventional structuresA confident democracy does not fear such uncomfortable voices It listens engages and reforms where necessary Because when a generation begins to feel unheard or disconnected it eventually creates its own political language The wiser course is not to dismiss that language but to understand what it is trying to say and respond emphatically DAILY WORLD The writer is a retired Punjab cadre IAS officer Views expressed are personal Suresh Kumar can be reached at sureshkumarnangiagmailcom https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-cockroach-janata-party-a-meme-a-protest-or-a-warning-signal-677662.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 14:18:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/from-family-to-individual-and-back-to-family-677483.html Groups in the human as well as the animal world start with the family and the family continues to be the core sustaining any group That was true at least till the Vietnam War It is recognised that this war which lasted 19 years and six months and altered not only the US and Vietnam but the entire world in many profound ways spawned the Hippie movement The cultural breakaway from the socalled mainstream was not a mere deviation but a fully developed counterculture which originated in Californias beatnik scene The Beatles had a profound musical personal and cultural connection with California and had a huge influence on the Hippie culture acting as the global catalyst for this counterculture John Lennon experimented with LSD the mindaltering acid creating a celebrity stampofapproval on drug use which usually ends in drug abuse for the lessselfcontrolled LSD trips were soon mainstream in Hollywood Peter Fonda said of the experience I know what its like to be deadThe Hippie culture was born out of a deathmushroom the Vietnam War killed more than 58000 Americans and some three million Vietnamese of which only about 13 million were combatants Scenes of the aftermath of the petroleum jellyfilled firebombs called Napalm showing children running as burnt skin peeled off their bodies and of vast areas laid desolate by herbicide and defoliant aerial sprays made pain and death an integral part of the hippie psyche Death not merely of an individual not merely of the heretofore idea of society that was supposed to be designed for individual protection but also of the entire cultural paraphernalia associated with it The hippie culture was an exit lock stock and barrel the hippies quit cutting off all bonds that had so far bound them to society and culture The earlier society was now a stranger and Elie Wiesels words were foretold The Holocaust surviving author who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize had famously said in 1986 in an interview The opposite of love is not hate its indifference The hippie was indifferent to self and everything around that self neither existed the hippie and the world were the living dead the zombies in George A Romeos contemporary movie series Night of the Dead and Living Dead The zombies had an insatiable hunger for the flesh of the living the hippies had the same drive for indifferenceOne immediate victim of the Vietnam War and the Hippie culture was the family the foundation of society once the superstructure crumbled the foundation was rendered redundant The Vietnam war separated families for prolonged durations and sometimes forever as news of the wardead kept pouring in While alive the soldier lived in constant fear of death in South Vietnam which hosted the Americans against the Communist Viet Cong guerrillas the enemy was everywhere indistinguishable from friends Restaurants blew up and so did military vehicles far away from the warfront The soldiers were in real danger of losing their mind Thailand was officially selected by the US military as a primary Rest and Recreation destination for soldiers to unwind their tightlywound springs The Thai government its King at that time was driving the traditional country towards Westernisation collaborated and allowed the development of Pattaya village into the hub which has not lost its notoriety till today The soldiers soon forgot about their families divorce became rampant and the family as the world had known it since the heavyclubbearingcavemannbspMCP was lostThe contagion spread all over America then to Europe and further on to the USs new Asian allies like Japan and South Korea Marriage and birth rates plummeted in a few decades of the counterculture and even the surviving families lived in a marriage only of convenience Love was only outside marriage and Gay Taleses 1981 book Thy Neighbours Wife laid it all bare Children were born but more of them outside marriage Some were abandoned some were raised by single parents The worst was the fate of the children of a single parent who subsequently had a livein relationship with another partner who had no bond with the child and instances of extreme cruelty and depravity continue to this day The traumatised children of such a society had less than a fair chance of becoming happy enlightened members of a healthy society much less of having a happy family of their own It all seemed so doomedNot everyone was a hippie or indifferent to this gradual dissolution of family and society Western society did not comprise the bulk of human society and in the postcolonial world had no monopoly over ideas Asia was where the large mass of humanity lived and that continent was stirring after the painful two centuries of colonialism were finally over Areas of US influence Japan and South Korea were small pockets in the large continent The rest was still traditional filial pietyuniverse where childbirth outside marriage was not acceptable parents had an obligation to bring up their children who in turn had an obligation to take care of parents and grandparents in their old age Marriage was socially compulsory and remains so to a large extent Having children was compulsory too because of the importance assigned to postdeath rituals which may be something the children must do throughout their lives Asia modernised at varying pace some countries moved fast others were slow but their culture survived the modernisationThere was no mass hippie movement in any Asian country not even in external culture influenced Thailand leave aside the hoary ancients like India and China Even Japan and South Korea fully Westernised politically retained the essential elements of their culture and while adopting external elements of the West like dress stuck to their language and food and more importantly to filial piety In India women stuck to the unstitched saree even though it is inconvenient in the work environment the bindi and even the health hazard of putting bright toxic chemical compounds of mercury or lead in their hair parting The bridal attire became more revealing but the rituals became longer and payment to performing priests much larger Barring the limited universe of socalled progressives children remain the necessary outcome of marriage If fertility appears to be going down because of various modern factors like pollution and stress the omnipresent fertility clinic is proof of the persistence of the idea that marriage should multiply and not divide the family When everything else fails even adoption is resorted to in many cases from within the extended family blood continues to be a thicker glue and the Hindu Undivided Family continues to be a legal institutionThe West having almost lost it never truly did The Chicago School of Economics always remained the point of reference for those looking to study familialism alternately spelled as familism Its founder Frank Knight by setting up this institution ensured that the idea of family would never be out of sight of the US Later followers of the idea like Louis de Bonald have used flowery language calling the family a miniature state the father is the power the mother is the minister the child is the subject divorce is the disorder in the state All of this certainly raised the hackles of the progressivesFor a time the progressives boosted the counterculture through instruments like the LGBTQ movement and Marxism that describes the twoparentfamily having at its foundation capital and private gain Engels criticised it as an institution for the division of labour Yet as an eternal institution it is getting revived even in the US without the burden of power state and minister The new US family is based on egalitarianism reciprocity worklife balance and even enduring livein relationships The churning goes on in ancient mythologies gods had families humans once again seem to be pivotingnbsptowards the idea DAILY WORLD R N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/from-family-to-individual-and-back-to-family-677483.html Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:42:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/not-an-ordinary-protest-in-pok-it-is-war-of-liberation-from-pakistans-occupation-677287.html It is increasingly clear that Pakistan cannot handle the turbulence in Pakistanoccupied Jammu and Kashmir And it cannot because it is a war of liberation against Pakistans armydominated establishmentPakistans newfound image of a mediator in the USIran conflict is also not helping it as the people in revolt never bother for such images at the international level What matters to them most is their survival with dignity The economic political and social indignities inflicted on them are beyond their patience level and they have come to challenge the system that exploited them for overnbspseven decadesIt is because Pakistan lives in a state of perennial denial It has always refused to look within at the troubles plaguing Balochistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and to a large extent Sindh but its attitude toward the occupied territories of Jammu and Kashmir including socalled GilgitBaltistan is worse It treats them as tools to befool the international community and consistently exploits them and their natural resources It also uses these territories as terror bases to launch an antiIndia campaign via Jammu and Kashmir hiding behind curtains behind which it commits all types of human rights violationsIn the immediate context a vital point is being missed The whole turn of events reveals that these were not ordinary protests against the betrayals of Islamabad that entered into several agreements and then went back Todays movement is about liberation from the decadesold political slavery imposed on them in the name of religious affinity The tag of Azad Kashmir or free Kashmir is not only a misnomer but a tag to mislead world opinionThe genesis of the ongoing protests in which several people have been killed and scores of others wounded in police action is not something that happened because of the anger of masses in the recent weeks or months The protests against economic social and political oppression are just the tip of the iceberg The issue is far larger and more complex The protestors are telling the world that they have lost their patience with Pakistan that has used them more as tools in its geopolitical calculations rather than treating them as human beings Their freedom is being curbed under the deceptive tag of Azad KashmirThe ongoing unrest is linked to the campaign by Joint Awami Action Committee JAAC a loose alliance of traders lawyers civil rights activists and other groups with the agenda of seeking economic and political rights of the people of the region This group is demanding the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees as that helps the Pakistani establishment in installing the government of Pakistani parties in their territory Pakistan has scheduled elections in the territory for July 27 The refugees dont live in the territory but in parts of Pakistan mostly in PunjabPOJK authorities last week declared the JAAC a proscribed organization under terror laws This has further worsened the situation The anger among the people has deepened for dubbing the JAAC leaders as terrorists By their experience the people in PoJK know that next these leaders will be eliminated in staged encounters or will disappear for the rest of their livesthat is they will be killed with no one ever knowing what happened to them and whenAt the moment the peoples movement is the realtime expression of unshackling themselves from the chains with which they were bound for over seven decades They were choked with the overdose of religious fundamentalism and the human and capital cost extracted from them with the perpetuation of an illusion that one day the whole of Jammu and Kashmir will become part of PakistanThe economic costs became unbearable They watched in sheer helplessness their resources being looted diverted to major provinces in Pakistan particularly Punjab Pakistan government unleashed several phases of oppression on them by charging them high electricity tariffs doing away with wheat subsidy and marginalizing them politically reducing them to fencesitters while the elections were manipulated and locals denied their say as they were forced to do what the army told them to do This was a compulsion of the situation as they were fed the misplaced theories that they have to sacrifice all this for helping their Muslim brethren in Kashmir fighting for their right to selfdetermination The philosophy of Jihad was used to exact sacrifices of all sorts from the people who felt pangs of hunger and deprivation beyond the limits of their toleranceAn indepth analysis is required to find out what exactly brought the situation to this pass as it is a mistake to assume that the protests started just one year ago Discontentment was brewing over the decades which has now been manifested in a fullfledged challenge to the armydominated establishment on the very same grounds that enabled Pakistan to annex the territories of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir through the use of force Pakistan had launched an invasion of the state when Maharaja Hari Singh did not join the newly founded country on the basis of religion He rejected the argument that the Muslimmajority region lying adjacent to Pakistan should join the theocratic country He was vindicated when his decision to accede the state to India was endorsed by one and all in Kashmir led by the most popular leader Sheikh Mohammad AbdullahFor the initial few years the people in PoJK were made to live in the illusion that one day India will be forced to vacate JampK and Pakistan will have the whole of it The argument was simple that India cannot hold on to the Muslimmajority territory for long Moreover it was repeatedly pointed out that India will have to hold a plebiscite in the disputed territory and the Muslimmajority character will merge it with Pakistan It is not without truth that a few elements on this side of the Ceasefire Line now the Line of Control also believed that the UN resolutions mandating India and Pakistan to hold the plebiscite would force India to do so The setback that this notion suffered when Pakistan lost its east wing in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War was overcome when the inner resentment in Kashmir gave it the opportunity to push arms ammunition and trained terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir This was not just a proxy war it was a statement made to the people in PoJK and Pakistan at large that the goal of JampK falling into the lap of Pakistan was around the corner Those designs have been defeated decisively by the Modi government after it abrogated Article 370 and launched intensified counterterrorism operations within JampK and beyond the bordersPoJK people had no idea what price they would be paying for all the terror campaigns that Pakistan launched in JampK The reality dawned on them when their land was converted into multiple terrorismproduction nurseries impinging on the sanctity of their lives privacy social and cultural values The terrorists had no regard for the local culture and values The locals witnessed the unIslamic acts of the Pakistan army and the terrorists that it brought from faroff places into the land The protests were quelled by the Pakistani army and the protestors were dubbed antinationalsThere was more irony in store for them Operation Sindoor launched by India in retaliation to the Pahalgam massacre made them increasingly aware that terrorists were hiding all over and that their land was an international terror hub polluting the minds of the younger generations and forcing them to live with the shame of losing their womenfolk to terrorists and their patrons The Pakistan army facilitated these crimes against the people because it has no interest in the welfare of the local population They were tools to be used and abandoned This is what is happening now and what is troubling Pakistan is that PoJK people have risen in revolt against Pakistan innbspone voicenbsp DAILY WORLD https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/not-an-ordinary-protest-in-pok-it-is-war-of-liberation-from-pakistans-occupation-677287.html Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:43:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/participation-without-deliberation-is-not-freedom-its-mental-slavery-676935.html This article is not about the political realm we may talk about it at some other time This is about the even more explosive subject of religion and religious ideology First a word of caution about freedom we all know but frequently forget that freedom is not absolute and that freedom can and is often abused Abuse of freedom comprises knowingly doing or saying what hurts another physically economically or mentally without a proportional epistemic gain of advance of knowledge and understanding We are not advocating abuse of any kind of freedom political or religious We do not support uninformed opinions or axiomatic truths in either of these realms Simultaneously we hold that opinion duly supported by facts and reason should not be suppressed as dissent that destroys the organic nature of both polity and religion and makes them syntheticA lot said to be based on science is aired to discredit religion the test should be simple if it is illogical based on todays knowledge it should be considered an open question that needs to be actively deliberated The debate between science and religion has been eternal even in 2013 Dawkins was arguing that Science works Planes fly Cars drive Computers compute If you base medicine on science you cure people Peter Medawar countered with unanswered questions What is the purpose of life To what use should scientific knowledge be put Both of these opinions were wellinformed and reasoned and both were right Simultaneously both were partial truths the former excluded what science has so far failed to understand including the critical issues of what is coming into existence and what is extinction the latter ignored so much that science has already answered The duty is cast on adherents of a religion to keep it within the bounds of facts and reasoning and keep it away from blind faith which is a close cousin of witchcraft Blind faith is the black art practiced by the lazy unenlightened priest who does not think diligently and analytically He distorts his supplicants religiosity by remaining a mere preacher instead of equipping himself for the role of a preceptorMuch before Dawkins and Medawar H G Wells and fourdecadeshisjunior George Orwell were engaging in the same debate Wells believed in the omnipotence of science and wrote about the selfdestruction of mankind that could only be averted by forgetting about religion and putting all eggs in the sciencebasket This was an era when Hitler was sending living humans to be asphyxiated in cyanidefilled gas chambers ostensibly because they professed a particular religion but perhaps even more so because the oncepoorpainter was too jealous of the Jews success in trade business and science and their devotion to their faith which was backsliding in the Christian world Orwell pointed out that the huge German scientific community had mounted very little resistance to Hitler and most of the scientists contributed to research to produce machines of war for him He reasoned that Hitlers eugenics was strengthened by many scientists swallowing the monstrosity of racial scienceCaught between these two extremes somewhere a golden mean waits to have its voice heard Science validly says Doubt till it is proved but then goes on to the extreme of believing in certainty once the proof is at hand Religion relies on the old dictum Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence and there can be no quarrel with it But then it goes on to say believe even when there is no evidence that being mostly the cause of friction between different religions One aspect of the golden mean now seems to be accepted by science we do not really know what reality is and hence doubt has to be perpetual not stopping with the proof at hand In India doubt has been fundamental to religious discourse during which every answer raises a fresh question Religious scholars like Shankara themselves visualised the question called shankaaa framed an answer or samaadhaan and in turn questioned that answer again this became an endless quest in search of the eternallyelusive truthThose who conflate religion and science sometimes ignore a fundamental difference between the two study and practice of science is optional that of religion is not Even atheists discourse is based on their denial of the existence of an entity called God For forming an informed opinion they have to study about Him though many atheists deny the truth of this statement Not many research papers are published on theism and not many reputed journals will accept these while published research on atheism is in plenty leaving a lessthanlevel playing field in such debates Arguments like that of Stephen Roberts generally leave believers without an argument I contend that we are both atheists I just believe in one fewer god than you do When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods you will understand whynbspI dismiss yoursThat brings us to the dilemma of having multiple faiths with each one of them calling itself and its god as true with most of them labelling the rest as false All religions claim to be monistic at their roots with the Rigveda going a step ahead denying not only the existence of God but even its nonexistence A hymn Naasadiya Sukta begins with When neither existence nor nonexistence was there and ends with the answer to the question about what was here before God was here and gives the stunning answer Does He know or perhaps even He does not know This questioning of the almost universallybelieved omnipotence of God has been recited for thousands of years without giving offence to any Indian and without shaking the faith of Hindus in the Vedas being eternal Could that be the benchmark for religious freedom and discourse bounded only by the limits of abuse of freedom In spite of the hymn appearing to be agnostic it continues to be recited as a prayer because in essence doubting and questioning have been part of the Indian discourse It appears to be an exposition of a principle with which Schrodinger revolutionised physics the observer creates the observed The universe including God himself was beyond observation before God as observer was there so how could He know about itMonism though touted by most of the faiths is followed more in breach Properties have been ascribed to what was essentially without properties Every property evolves into a deity and hence an object of worship Many of the learned men of science and religion know this but keep their counsel to themselves Ancient Indian sageking Bhartihari had said The knowledgeable are full of envy the powerful are full of arrogance others are buried under ignorance let wise thoughts remain unexpressed These two words envy of other faiths and arrogance about ones faith are fatal to the freedom of religious discourseThere has never been any human society without religion there has been none without religious strife some have had less strife and some more India where differences did arise between Hindu sects reconciled the differences because scholars knew the differences to be only on belief which was based on properties not on God without properties the Nirguna The incarnation born in the north was of a dark complexion with his major exploits in the south the one worshipped more in the south is of a fair complexion with his abode on the permanently frozen Kailash in the far north Such outcome can come only from discourse not tainted with abuse of freedom Let us remain free to deliberate about religion eternally let us do it without abusingnbspthat freedomnbsp DAILY WORLD R N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/participation-without-deliberation-is-not-freedom-its-mental-slavery-676935.html Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:19:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/condition-not-character-676170.html India keeps reading its governance failures as a problem of bad people The real driver is a structural condition that makes good officials afraid to decide and it can be fixedA protest that began with a remark and a hashtag has in a matter of weeks become a movement larger on Instagram than Indias established parties It has fastened on a real wound the cancelled and leaked National Eligibility cum Entrance Test NEET which has forced more than two million students to sit the examination again The demand is the oldest in politics that heads should rollA familiar flawed diagnosisBehind that demand lies a diagnosis so familiar it is rarely examined that government fails because the people running it are corrupt or incompetent and so the cure is to replace them Sometimes that is exactly right a venal official should be removed and prosecuted But as a general explanation of why the Indian state underperforms it is not so much wrong as incomplete and the missing part is the larger oneOur chronic failure is less the theft we occasionally prosecute than the decision that is never taken the rational choice of capable honest officials not to act This is not a failure of individual character so much as a structural condition good people responding sensibly to a system that makes deciding dangerous The distinction matters because you cannot punish your way out of a condition You can only redesign itThat choice has a logic and behavioural economists have mapped it People feel a loss more keenly than an equivalent gain and they judge harm caused by action far more harshly than identical harm caused by inaction an asymmetry the psychologist Daniel Kahneman spent a career documenting A bureaucracy turns that instinct into procedure It scrutinises the decision an officer made and almost never the decision she quietly withheldWhy good officers choose to do nothingWatch any desk in government An officer has a file before her the law permits the decision and the facts support it She also knows that if she signs and the outcome is later questioned the audit objection the inquiry and the vigilance case will attach to her while the officer who referred the file sideways sought one more clarification or simply let it age will face nothing at allThis is neither laziness nor stupidity It is intelligent selfprotection inside a system that punishes action and rewards stillness The rules deepen the reflex every new rule written to reassure us after the last scandal adds interpretive complexity complexity invites a reference for clarification each reference adds friction until the simplest decision crawls past a dozen desks before anyone will own itEven prodigious talent fails when it misreads this Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency launched in the United States in 2025 with the boldest mandate in a generation went after the symptoms the corruptionandincompetence lens makes visible headcount contracts the official footprint and folded within the year It shed the officers who knew how to move a file and kept those who had survived by moving none The operator changed the operating system wonThe hidden billThe cost of all this is enormous and it is invisible By data assembled from the governments own publications delayed projects unspent allocations the dead weight of clearance India forgoes something close to two per cent of its GDP every year roughly 6 lakh crore to decisions that were ready and never released That is several times the Union health budget lost annually to files that no one would signBehind the abstraction sit real people the contractor paid eighteen months late for a road already built the family whose acquisition compensation sanctioned and recorded in the file waits eleven weeks for a signature that nobody refuses and nobody gives The student made to sit her examination twice is only the most visible victim of a system that owns no outcome None of it registers as a scandal because the loss never appears on any balance sheet It is a value that was ready and quietly never deliveredThe fix already exists we need only scale itThe remedy is not better human beings it is a safer decision environment in which acting in good faith is the prudent course and sitting still is the costly one India has already built every part of itClear published standards turn judgement into compliance a Passport Seva Kendra now settles in minutes what discretion once dragged out for months and the Unified Payments Interface UPI moves billions of transactions on a single transparent rule Give every outcome a single named owner Allow deemed consent so that silence becomes assent rather than an indefinite veto Above all create a safe harbour a written assurance that an officer who decides honestly and to a published standard will be judged on the process she followed not punished for a result that hindsight finds wantingProtection alone would merely license drift so it must be matched by consequence Tie an officers annual appraisal to the deadlines citizens are already promised under righttoservice laws and track every files journey as the governments own PRAGATI dashboard tracks stalled projects so that delay is seen before it hardens into scandal None of this needs a new ministry a new law or a larger budget It needs only that someone own each outcome and be shielded while they deliver itTurn the anger into designThat leaves the street whose energy is too valuable to squander Movements that swell in days often lack the organisation to convert a moment into a mandate and disperse as quickly as formed outrage spreads because it is built to spread not because it is built to fix The answer is not less anger but betteraimed angerA citizen is not a customer of the state but a partowner of it A generation fluent in coordination could turn its fury into design convening a public contest to build a leakproof owned endtoendtracked examination and recruitment system and petitioning the government to adopt it Diagnose the problem correctly then design the fixThe lesson is narrow and unglamorous A state is not mended by changing the people at the top but by changing the conditions under which everyone beneath them decides To demand a new face is satisfying and it has seldom worked To rewire the office is dull and it is the only thingnbspthat ever has DAILY WORLD The writer is a former Director General of Police Haryana and the author of the forthcoming book Fear Tax Decision Velocity for Viksit Bharat https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/condition-not-character-676170.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:30:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-iran-conflict-and-the-abraham-accords-peace-initiative-or-strategic-realignment-676018.html The renewed Iran conflict and the aggressive expansion of the Abraham Accords by former US President Donald Trump have once again placed the Middle East at the centre of global geopolitics Trumps recent statement that countries such as Pakistan Turkey Saudi Arabia and Qatar should mandatorily join the Abraham Accords has intensified debates across the Muslim world The issue is no longer confined to diplomatic normalization with Israel it has become deeply connected with questions of regional security the future of Palestine domestic legitimacy and the emerging global order To understand the present controversy one must revisit the historical evolution of Arab Israeli diplomacy Since the establishment of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in May 1948 the Arab world largely refused to recognize Israel insisting that the Palestinian question must first be resolved This position shaped decades of conflict including the Arab Israeli wars of 1948 1967 and 1973 Arab nationalism Palestinian solidarity and opposition to Israel became central pillars of regional political identityThe first major shift came through the Camp David Accords of 197879 Under the mediation of US President Jimmy Carter Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed a historic peace agreement Egypt became the first Arab country to formally recognize Israel while Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt Although the treaty ended the state of war between the two countries it also triggered enormous anger within the Arab world Camp David demonstrated that Arab states could pursue national strategic interests independently of broader Arab consensus The second major diplomatic breakthrough emerged through the Oslo Accords in 1993 The agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization facilitated during the presidency of Bill Clinton created the Palestinian Authority and generated hopes for a future Palestinian state under the twostate solution framework The iconic handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat on the White House lawn symbolized a rare moment of optimism In 1994 Jordan also signed a formal peace treaty with Israel becoming the second Arab state to normalize relationsHowever the Oslo process eventually collapsed Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank continued mutual distrust deepened and the Second Intifada shattered hopes for lasting peace The failure of Oslo created widespread scepticism across the Arab world regarding peace negotiations centred on Palestinian statehood Against this background emerged the Abraham Accords in 2020 Brokered by the Trump administration the agreements normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states beginning with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain followed later by Morocco and Sudan Unlike Camp David or Oslo the Abraham Accords represented a fundamental strategic shift The earlier Arab position had insisted that normalization with Israel would follow the resolution of the Palestinian issue The Abraham Accords effectively reversed that logic normalization first Palestine laterThis transformation reflected changing geopolitical realities The principal factor behind the Accords was the growing perception of Iran as a regional threat Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution Iran has projected itself as a resistance power opposing American and Israeli influence Through alliances with groups such as Hamas Hezbollah Iraqi militias and the Houthis Iran expanded its regional influence across the Middle East The United States Israel and several Gulf states increasingly viewed Iran not Palestine as the primary security challengeConsequently the Abraham Accords became more than peace agreements they evolved into a broader regional security architecture Intelligence sharing missile defense cooperation cyber security drone technology trade investment and energy coordination all became central components of the new alignment Israels advanced technological capabilities also appealed to Gulf states seeking to diversify their oildependent economies At the same time the Accords reflected Americas desire to maintain influence in a region where China and Russia are rapidly expanding their presence Chinas Belt and Road Initiative energy investments and infrastructure projects have strengthened Beijings role across the Gulf Washington views the Abraham Accords as part of a broader proAmerican strategic order designed to preserve US influence in a transforming Middle EastTrumps recent effort to compel additional Muslimmajority states to join the Accords must therefore be understood within this wider geopolitical framework It is not merely about Arab Israeli peace Rather it seeks to consolidate a regional bloc capable of balancing Iran and limiting Chinese and Russian influence In this sense the Accords are simultaneously diplomatic economic military and geopolitical instruments Yet the Gaza war has profoundly complicated this strategy The devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza has generated intense anger throughout the Muslim world Public opinion across the Middle East South Asia and beyond remains deeply sympathetic toward the Palestinians Images of civilian casualties destruction and displacement have transformed Palestine once again into a powerful emotional and moral issueThis creates a major contradiction Governments increasingly pursue pragmatic interestbased diplomacy focused on security technology investment and strategic alliances However public opinion continues to view Palestine through the lens of justice identity religion and historical grievance The gap between governments and societies is widening This tension is particularly visible in Pakistan and Turkey Pakistan has historically maintained that it will not recognize Israel until an independent Palestinian state is established Public sentiment in Pakistan strongly supports Palestine and any attempt to join the Abraham Accords could provoke severe domestic backlash from religious parties civil society and opposition groups For Pakistan the issue is not simply diplomatic but ideological andnbspemotionalTurkey presents a more complex case Although Turkey maintains diplomatic and trade relations with Israel President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has consistently projected himself as a vocal defender of Palestinian rights Turkish public opinion remains highly sensitive to Gaza making open participation in a proIsrael regional bloc politically risky The most consequential state however remains Saudi Arabia As custodian of Islams holiest sites in Mecca and Medina Saudi Arabia carries enormous symbolic weight in the Muslim world If Riyadh formally joins the Abraham Accords the regional balance could shift dramatically Yet Saudi leaders continue to insist that meaningful progress toward Palestinian statehood remains essential before normalization can proceed The Abraham Accords reflect a new Middle Eastern order shaped by strategic realism security interests and geopolitical competition rather than ideological unity Yet the unresolved Palestinian issue continues to challenge their legitimacy As long as Gaza suffers and a credible Palestinian solution remains absent normalization with Israel will remain controversial across much of thenbspMuslim world DAILY WORLD Prof Nehaluddin Ahmad LLD Professor of Law Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University UNISSA Brunei Email ahmadnehalyahoocom https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-iran-conflict-and-the-abraham-accords-peace-initiative-or-strategic-realignment-676018.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:15:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-european-crackdown-on-migration-vindication-of-victor-orbn-675846.html Expecting an alien culture that believes in its superiority to assimilate over all others would be a vain ambition Europe did harbour this ambition during the latter part of the 20th century Faced with falling birth rates European nations opened their countries to mass migration Lured by the relative prosperity of Western Europe hordes in Asia and Africa jumped at the opportunity Continuous instability in West Asia and North Africa meant that a majority of the migrants came from these areas As it happens none of these countries had a stable working democracy and most of them had declared themselves Islamic countries The cultural shock of moving to countries of Western Europe with their prosperity democracy and liberal socioreligious norms was too much for the impoverished migrants many of whom had been educated only in hardline religious seminariesEurope received this alien group with open arms and hoped that these migrants would gradually imbibe the European norms and assimilate in the local culture The religious preachers who had accompanied the migrants however had other ideas not the least of which being a duty they believed they owed to God to convert these European unbelievers to their true faith and thus have the hosts assimilate with the new arrivals The migrant leaders believed that till their faith became universally accepted everyone should accept multiculturalism the peaceful coexistence of diverse cultures within a single society There being no meeting ground between the two expectations conflict was inevitableThe Leftist ideology played an unusual role in the matrix of migration None of the countries ever ruled by Communists since the formation of the Soviet Union had encouraged migration The USSR China North Korea Vietnam Laos and Khmer Rouges Cambodia kept their doors closed In democratic countries however the Left was always in favour of open doors No Leftist party in any democratic country that faced the migration dilemma ever opposed unchecked migration The reason for this doublefaced behaviour of the Left is not far to seek like the religious ideology of the majority of migrants in Europe the Left also believes in the superiority of their political ideology over the rest and also in their duty to universalise that ideology Lenin the architect of the Soviet revolution had floated the Comintern or The Communist International with the goal of overthrowing the international bourgeoisie and having Communism as the sole political ideology in the world The fact that the Marxist ideology invariably resulted in the lack of freedom and unhappiness for the populations they ever governed did not deter the Left fromnbsptheir missionEuropean leaders however remained optimistic some like Germanys Merkel more than others till the exodus of 2015 Europe having constituted itself into the European Union and having made extremely liberal asylum laws mandatory for its members watched helplessly as trainloads of migrants descended into their countries straining the very liberal welfare and support model of these countries Ironically these welfare benefits had acted as a magnet for these migrants now the strain on welfare resources was one of the factors compelling the European leaders to do a rethink on the migration issueThere was one outlier in the ranks of EU leaders Victor Orbán of Hungary had taken a no migrant stand in the 2015 crisis He had sealed the borders with razor wire at record speed called migration a civilizational threat and criminalised illegal border crossing He made provision for criminal action against those who provided humanitarian assistance to migrants and he showed his defiance by rejecting the EU refugee quotas On the other extreme was Angela Merkel the hardheaded leader of Germany who was born and brought up in Communist East Germany and was a member of a Communist youth organisation during her student days It may be coincidental that as German Chancellor she was seen more often than not in a red jacket It may also be coincidental that during her 16year tenure she set the record for any German leaders visits to Communist China having visited that totalitarian country a total of 12 times The clash between Merkel and Orbán was inevitable but Orbán stood his ground even as Merkel made the EU pass one punitive order after another against Orbáns Hungary Post 2015 news frequently mentioned this clash Reuters published on September 15 2017 Merkel warns Hungary of financial consequences of defying EU on migrants and BBC said on July 5 2018 Migrants Merkel and Orbán clash over Europes humanityOrbán s survived not only Merkels and EUs angst but also his adulation of Putin and the consequent irritation of the US A BBC article of October 20 2022 US reminds proPutin Hungary its Western ally Fate however does not follow logic By 2024 Europe had woken up to the migrant crisis and was taking substantial steps in the complete vindication of Orbán s approach towards migration On October 14 2024 The Guardian had already declared Orbáns is no longer an outlier At that moment which should have been the glorious pinnacle of his political career his party lost in elections in April 2026 ending his 16year continuous rule During the last couple of years one European country after another has come down with a heavy hand not only on migration but also on migrants who are already in Europe and they are now offering even a golden handshake paying up to 40000 for every migrant who opts to leave Europe The EU and Italy have now cut deals with Tunisia paying it to intercept migrant boats and facilitate their return after having a similar arrangement with Libya This was Orbáns plea earlier in order to contain migration before it reached Europe The logic was simple if an asylum seeker has not reached Europe any action regarding that person does not trigger any measures under the European Convention on Human Rights The shift now is not merely in the processes it is in the paradigm The emphasis is on deterrence detention and deportation not on integration and assimilation In the new Fortress Europe the border gates do not have welcome signs the default state of the gates is closed and the razorwire fences at the borders are heavily securitised lines of exclusionThe ghost of Orbán is all over Europe and is not confined to the farright An article in the Heritage Foundation on April 12 2026 by Paul McCarthy brings out the fragility of the leftist ideology when confronted with populist demands in a democracy The title of the article says it all Viktor Orbán Lost the Election but He Won the Argument It says the oncederided policies of the Hungarian strongman have not only endured they have become the emerging consensus In March this year the EU members decided by a 389206 vote that the member states may deport rejected asylum seekers to offshore return hubs Only a few of the ayes were farright these very Europeans had pinched their noses in disgust when Trump had worked out an arrangement in 2025 to pay El Salvadore 6 million to deport Venezuelas notorious Tren de Aragua gang members to that country All the human rights groups who had widely criticised this action against dangerous gang members are now conspicuous by their silence at the EU decision to deport illegal migrants and their children under a similar deal with underdeveloped countries of AfricaAccepted norms in any society are usually considered sacrosanct In reality however these are so only as long as the power under which these were born endures As the political winds change so do the norms it appears that in the final analysis it is the norms that kowtow to the popular voice of the day and not the othernbspway aroundnbsp DAILY WORLD R N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-european-crackdown-on-migration-vindication-of-victor-orbn-675846.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/while-we-debate-cockroaches-the-termites-thrive-675364.html Public discourse in India has an unfortunate tendency to become trapped inside metaphors while quietly ignoring realities A recent remark comparing unemployed youth to cockroaches has generated outrage political reactions television debates and social media indignation The controversy travelled quickly because words especially from positions of authority carry symbolic weight Yet beyond the immediate reaction lies a more uncomfortable and important question who are the real destroyers of public life and national moraleA cockroach however unpleasant its imagery may be survives largely on leftovers It thrives in neglected spaces created by disorder and human carelessness It does not destroy the structure itself it merely inhabits what has already been allowed to decay Termites however are entirely different They work silently within foundations They hollow out structures from the inside while the surface continues to appear intact By the time cracks become visible the damage is often deep and irreversibleAnd if one were to extend this metaphor to contemporary India the real termites of society are not unemployed youth struggling for opportunities and dignity The real termites are uncouth politics institutional corruption bureaucratic apathy administrative inefficiency and the normalization of public irresponsibility that quietly eats away at the living fabric of the nationIndia today possesses one of the worlds youngest populations Millions of young citizens wake every morning carrying ambitions far larger than their circumstances They prepare endlessly for competitive examinations acquire degrees migrate to unfamiliar cities work temporary jobs attempt small enterprises and continue nurturing hope despite repeated setbacks For countless middleclass and lowerincome families education is not merely a qualification it is the only bridge between hardship and dignityYet this generation frequently encounters a system that tests endurance more than talent Recruitment examinations are postponed or cancelled Vacancies remain unfilled for years Administrative files move through corridors with painful slowness Merit often competes against patronage Entrepreneurs spend months navigating permissions instead of building businesses Public services that should function efficiently frequently become exercises in delay and frustration Citizens seeking ordinary entitlements are made to feel as though governance itself is a favour rather than a constitutional responsibility These failures are not created by unemployed youth They are produced by the termites within institutionsThe tragedy of termites lies in their silence They rarely arrive dramatically They survive through accumulation one compromised decision at a time one delayed file at a time one manipulated contract at a time one act of indifference at a time A corrupt official demanding a small bribe may appear insignificant in isolation A politician reducing serious governance issues into endless spectacle may seem merely opportunistic A department tolerating inefficiency may appear routine But together these habits erode public trust and trust is the invisible cement that holds nations togetherSocieties do not weaken only because of economic crises or external threats They weaken when ordinary citizens begin losing faith in fairness competence and accountability The damage caused by uncouth politics is particularly severe because it lowers the quality of public conversation itself When politics becomes excessively performative governance slowly turns into theatre Noise replaces substance Outrage replaces policy Serious national concerns such as education quality judicial delays employment generation healthcare agricultural sustainability environmental stress and urban planning are pushed aside by carefully manufactured controversies designed for immediate visibility rather than longterm solutionsThe result is a democracy constantly speaking but rarely listening Corruption deepens this decay further Corruption is not merely about stolen money it is the theft of opportunity time trust and dignity Every bribe extracted from an ordinary citizen is a reminder that influence is often valued more than integrity Every delayed pension manipulated tender or nepotistic appointment sends a silent message that systems can be negotiated rather than respected Perhaps the greatest danger of corruption is not financial loss but moral exhaustion Citizens gradually begin accepting inefficiency as normal dishonesty as inevitable and accountability as unrealistic That is precisely how institutional decay becomes cultural decayBureaucratic inefficiency adds another layer to this problem India undoubtedly possesses many capable and sincere civil servants but the machinery itself frequently rewards caution over innovation and procedure over outcomes Excessive paperwork overlapping regulations administrative centralization and feardriven decisionmaking often create a system where files move more securely than ideasIronically the very youth casually criticised in public discourse continue carrying much of the nations resilience upon their shoulders They adapt constantly to changing economic realities They support families despite uncertain incomes They build digital enterprises from small towns acquire new skills online and continue competing in overcrowded systems with extraordinary patience Their frustration is not evidence of weakness it is evidence of aspiration colliding with institutional stagnationA mature democracy must therefore exercise caution with language Citizens especially young citizens should never be reduced to dismissive caricatures Democracies grow stronger not by humiliating discomfort but by addressing its causes honestly The role of institutions is not to mock public anxiety but to respond to it with competence empathy and reform India does not need a politics of insult It needs a politics of repairThe national conversation must move beyond symbolic outrage toward structural introspection The challenge before India is not merely achieving economic growth figures but strengthening institutional credibility Efficient governance transparent systems timely justice accountable public offices ethical political conduct and dignity for ordinary citizens are the foundations upon which stable democracies are builtA society eventually becomes what it repeatedly tolerates If arrogance is celebrated corruption excused inefficiency normalized and accountability diluted the termites multiply quietly beneath the surface while the visible structure continues to appear strong The danger is that collapse when it comes rarely announces itself in advance The answer therefore lies not in anger toward struggling citizens but in discipline within institutions Indias real national cleaning exercise cannot remain confined to roads walls and public spaces alone The deeper task is institutional sanitation cleansing systems of corruption arrogance indifference and decayFor a truly Swachh Bharat to emerge the metaphorical termites within politics bureaucracy and governance must be firmly identified ethically restrained and institutionally managed Only then can the Republic evolve into not merely a large democracy but a just and functional one where citizens are treated not as burdens to be mocked but as partners in the nations future DAILY WORLD The author is a retired Indian Forest Service officer and former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Haryana The views expressed are personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/while-we-debate-cockroaches-the-termites-thrive-675364.html Wed, 27 May 2026 14:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/chinas-overcapacity-and-dumping-is-booming-foreign-investment-the-unintended-cure-675136.html Candid comments at the 19th May G7 finance ministers meet and the immediate angry response of China about the deleterious effect of Chinas overcapacity and dumping products at ridiculously low prices have once again drawn world attention to this issue The Chinese states role in encouraging the creation of surplus capacity to sustain its exportdependent economy is now finally drawing serious attention from advanced economies as well as substantive action to protect their manufacturing base and employment opportunities from Chinese economic depredationThere are some eternal causeandeffect relations in any economy one of those is that in the long run consumption centres expect investment countries would like their domestic consumption to be a source of employment too to prevent USlike debtbased consumption that is one reason imports are taxed and exports are encouraged Rich countries which were obviously large consumption centres however seeking lowerwage locations invested first in Japan and then in China shifting employment opportunities and wealth to those countries They have been paying the price for this greed in terms of loss of industrial base loss of employment and unwitting transfer of technology that was developed over decades with huge investmentIt was not an unmixed blessing for the producing countries either production involved pollution and wages had to be kept low to remain competitive Democratic Japan let the wages rise in response to prosperitydriven demand and lost its competitive edge The Chinese market being statecontrolled wages could be kept low resulting in the worlds production shifting there China however paid a price it has suffered perennial low domestic consumption and export dependenceStatesupport in China has contributed to the overcapacity situation The Chinese have been producing a lot but consuming a smaller part of it while dumping the rest on the world This is clear from the Chinese savings rate which has hovered between 45 to 50 percent of its GDP during the past 20 years Chinas GDP represents 18 percent of the global figure but its savings comprise 28 percent of global savings Chinas share in global manufacturing is more than 30 percent but its share in global household consumption is below 13 percent with the huge surplus in manufacturing capacity dedicated to exportsA study by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies found that China spends roughly 5 percent of its GDP on industrial subsidies the total amount representing 10 times the industrial subsidies of the US Brazil Germany and Japan taken together All this data shows that the situation where China produces more than the global demand and then resorts to dumping is not incidental to its economic growth but a geoeconomic strategy to destroy the industrial base in the rest of the world The problem is compounded by the lack of transparency in the Communist state yet such studies do indicate that since 2000 more than 15 trillion has been pumped in by the Chinese state in equity investments alone in industries that the Party considers important Simultaneously overcapacities created with government help lead to excessive competition and everfalling prices the unavoidable next step is compromises in qualityFaced with dumping the importing countries have started to look for ways to reduce dependence on China and to diversify their sources Everybody realises that the Chinese overcapacities cannot be wished away they cannot be expected to blow up their factories particularly when there is high youth unemployment Yet the frustration of the importing countries is apparent in the reported statement of Jens Eskelund president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China at a panel discussion EUChina trade relations partnership or sinking ship He blurted It is neither a sinking ship nor a partnership its a 400metrelong giant container ship loaded with 24000 containers going to Europe and coming back almost emptyAt the G7 finance ministers meeting in Paris on 19th May the US Treasury Secretary talked of his prescient warnings that a flood of Chinese exports would damage European economies Japan also blamed China for the trade imbalance and added that there is broad agreement about China being unwilling to correct itChina reacted strongly to these sentiments on the same day with an article in the Party mouthpiece Global Times It blamed the importing countries for their own weak industrial competitiveness insufficient investment and an imbalanced consumption structure and pointed to the American excessive consumption and large deficits and to European underinvestment and weak industrial competitiveness For its domestic situation China admits neijuan or involution the overcompetition that leads to excess capacity When it came to foreign trade however the article flatly said The China overcapacity does not exist and should not be used as a pretext for political manipulationNeither side will change China has tried to increase domestic consumption with repeated stimulus packages without success The West will not do anything to reduce its high consumption The only solution from the Western point of view is to increase investment China has a lot to spare and the high consumption in the West is providing the gravitational pullThe world is witnessing a neverbefore boom in Chinese investment in the West in 2025 there was an 18 percent increase over the previous year In the EU and UK the increase was spectacular a whopping 67 percent driven by mergers and acquisitions that witnessed 89 percent growth FDI in China has been falling continuously with a big drop of 247 percent in 2024 followed by a fall of 95 percent in 2025 and of 73 percent in Q1 this yearIt may be argued that Chinese investments may not be the silver bullet for the EUs Chinesesurpluscapacity problem Chinas foreign investments often result in an increase in Chinese exports of intermediate goods Moreover large investments abroad may weaken the Renminbi and boost Chinese exports Lastly it leaves the Chinese overcapacity untouched and the Chinese may be tempted to dump at an even lower priceThese doubts may not be wellfounded The increased imports of intermediate goods cannot match the import value of finished goods valueaddition making the difference The possibility of the Chinese currency weakening proportionately is also remote because unlike the West the value of the Renminbi is not fully determined by the market as the Bank of China oversees a managed floating exchange rate As for the surplus capacity in China remaining intact and resulting in increased dumping we are witnessing increased permanent closure of production units in China both due to lack of overseas demand as well as shifting of production to other countriesAn unexpected spinoff for the US could be that the fact of China getting more heavily invested in the West would work at crosspurposes with its efforts for dedollarisation These efforts as it is are not seeing much success particularly when 84 percent of Chinas external debt in foreign currencies continues to be in dollarsChinas foreign investment through official channels is only part of the story senior Party leaders and bureaucrats have been increasingly transferring their assets abroad because of Xi Jinpings penchant for purges even at the highest levels of the Party and the military and also because of economic uncertainties In 2023 13800 highnetworth individuals had left the country a 28 percent increase over the previous year the illegal annual outflow of wealth is estimated to be up to 4 trillion While it is true that some of this wealth is used to strengthen Chinese influence abroad a large part of it is invested in other countries but remains outside the official FDI dataThe spurt in Chinese foreign investments whether made legally or otherwise is following the gravitational pull of consumption prosperity and financial security and is likely to have the unintended effect of reducing Chinas trade balance with the West in the coming years DAILY WORLD R N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/chinas-overcapacity-and-dumping-is-booming-foreign-investment-the-unintended-cure-675136.html Mon, 25 May 2026 14:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/punjabs-moment-of-transformation-674907.html Indeed there is an unseen but definite movement occurring in Punjab Citizens are now discussing the future that would ensure development respect and hope for all families in the provinceToday what is observed is not just a new alignment in politics but a desire amongst the citizens of Punjab for an administration that delivers on its promises and works to provide an assured future for our offspringThe latest trend in West Bengal is a significant lesson for Punjab and even all of India This is because in the past the common assumption was that people will always vote according to their region But now the people of Bengal after years of suffering and chaos have placed their trust in a party that promises development and progressThe change in West Bengal did not come overnight It required hard work and reaching out to people personally listening to their problems and gaining confidence The voters of Bengal ignored all other factors and asked one straightforward question Which party will give us a brighter futureThis is an expression of maturity that has become characteristic of Indias democracy Every Punjabi must ask himself if Bengal is able to recreate its future politically what stops Punjab from doing the samePunjab Deserves BetterIn plain terms as a Punjabi speaking to a fellow Punjabi our state confronts problems that call for immediate solutions Our gifted youth finds itself being forced into exile due to unemploymentDrug addiction has been a curse for Punjab creating many a broken home and lost dreams The plight of our farmers who form the lifeline of Indias food security is worsening due to rising debts and uncertain profits Industrialization has halted and the spirit of entrepreneurship and enterprise of Punjab has become defunctThis is not an issue that has emerged overnight it has been plaguing Punjab for ages The patience of the citizens has reached its limit now and the fact is realized that political parties have come into power by turns but have failed to deliver anything substantial There is no scope for them to chart the course for the futureOne thing that has been proved by the experience of Bengal is the magic of synchronization between state and central governments When there is perfect coordination between a state government and the central government the results are phenomenal All schemes are implemented in the right way infrastructure is developed and investment pours in effortlesslyUnder the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi various initiatives have been taken by the central government which could change the fate of Punjab Ayushman Bharat initiative will provide health security to millions of people PM Kisan Samman Nidhi will be an income support program for farmers in Punjab Gati Shakti project will provide infrastructure facilities connecting Punjab with the rest of the worldStart Up India will channelize the innovative talent of our youths In addition StartUp India initiative will provide a distinct direction to the development of state as well as confidence of people when efforts would be made in a synchronized manner between the government in the state and at the centerThe potential of initiatives taken by the center becomes maximum if the government of state supports central policies wholeheartedly The frontier state deserves good governance which will welcome the help coming from the center Punjab is no way to be punished for confrontation instead of cooperationFearless Coexistence and StabilityBeing a border state Punjab has its own security challenges that need a firm government Drug trafficking through our border areas is not only a challenge to the law enforcement agencies but also an attack on our culture and future generations Gangsterism has polluted our society giving rise to a climate of fear where there should be confidenceTo overcome such security challenges the BJP government will exhibit utmost political will and coordinate with the central government agencies There would be no bargaining with the criminals to appease them politically in the election year The BJP governments commitment towards ensuring national security and strict law and order is not a mere sloganOur people deserve fearless living conditions Our traders need fearless business environment Our farmers need fearless farming atmosphere Our children should walk to school without fear of any danger These are some basic necessities which any government needs to provide to its citizensBJPs involvement with Punjab is not a new thing happening due to the need of votes in the coming elections It has long had its people working in every district and every village listening and building relationships based on trust with farmers youth women businessmen professionals and workers from every level Their message has always been clear To ServeThe youth of Punjab is full of life and pragmatic less bothered about the politics of yesteryears and more eager for opportunities in the coming days Their quest is for a good education good jobs internet access and an opportunity to make their lives in their own land rather than go abroad seeking success and wealth It is time they were governed by those who understand this aspirationWe are not concerned here with analyzing the past but giving hope for the future Our state holds great promises in agriculture industry services tourism and human resources All we need is leaders who can realize this promise policies that open opportunities and governance without discrimination of any kind in terms of race caste religion or regionBJP presents to Punjab its vision of prosperity through development security through good governance unity through equality and selfassurance through resolute leadershipThe time for transformation in Punjab has come and the path for our people is well definednbsp nbsp nbsp DAILY WORLD Satnam Singh Sandhu is a Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha Satnamsandhusansadnicin The views expressed here are personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/punjabs-moment-of-transformation-674907.html Fri, 22 May 2026 14:04:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-biology-of-balance-when-body-and-mind-work-together-674909.html As we come to the close of this exploration into the Science of Happiness one truth becomes unmistakably clear happiness does not live in any single system It does not reside solely in thought emotion chemistry or habit It emerges when the body and mind work together in balanceModern science rather than fragmenting happiness into parts quietly brings us back to wholenessAcross the past articles we have seen how the brain learns patterns how neurochemistry supports mood how stress alters perception how the nervous system governs safety how sleep restores balance how movement circulates energy how nourishment influences emotion how attention shapes experience and how biological rhythms anchor us in time Each system mattersbut none works in isolationHappiness it turns out is systemicBalance Is Not a Static StateA common misconception is that balance means remaining calm centred and steady at all times Biology tells a different story Balance is dynamic It is the ability to move between effort and rest stimulation and stillness engagement and withdrawaland return without strainThe body is designed for fluctuation Stress rises when needed Energy mobilises Focus sharpens Then just as importantly the system must be allowed to settle recover and integrate When this cycle is honoured resilience grows When it is ignored imbalance accumulatesHappiness depends less on avoiding disruption and more on recovering wellThe Cost of FragmentationOne of the challenges of modern life is fragmentation We treat sleep as separate from mood food as separate from emotion work as separate from wellbeing and technology as separate from attention Science shows that the body does not recognise these divisionsA tired brain interprets stress differently A dysregulated nervous system alters digestion Poor sleep amplifies emotional reactivity Fragmented attention reduces joy Each imbalance echoes across the systemThis is why happiness cannot be fixed in parts It must be supported as a wholeThe Intelligence of IntegrationBiology reveals a quiet intelligence at work When the body feels safe energy flows more freely When rhythms stabilise emotions soften When attention settles meaning deepens These are not psychological tricks they are biological responsesHappiness emerges not through force but through coherenceThis coherence does not demand perfection It responds to consistency Small repeated signals of safety rest nourishment movement and presence accumulate over time gently raising the baseline of wellbeingWhy the Middle Path WorksThe Middle Path aligns naturally with biological wisdom Extremes destabilise the systemwhether it is relentless striving constant stimulation excessive control or total withdrawal Balance restores itModeration is not mediocrity It is sustainabilityThe body thrives on rhythm not rigidity The mind settles when demands are proportionate Happiness becomes accessible when life is lived in a way the nervous system can trustHappiness as an Outcome Not a TargetOne of the most important lessons from the Science of Happiness is this happiness cannot be pursued directly When treated as a goal it often recedes When treated as an outcome of living wisely it quietly arrivesThis reframes the entire pursuit Instead of asking How can I be happy the better question becomes Am I living in a way that supports balanceWhen the answer is yesmost days imperfectlyhappiness follows as a byproductFrom Science to LivingScience does not ask us to become technicians of our own biology It invites awareness To notice when the body is overloaded To respect rest To honour movement To protect attention To align with natural rhythmsThese are not lifestyle hacks They are acts of selfrespectHappiness in this sense is not something we manufacture It is something we allow by removing unnecessary frictionCompleting the ArcThis completes the Science of Happiness arc We have moved from understanding patterns to recognising processes from inner experience to biological support Psychology helped us understand how happiness is felt Science helped us understand how it is sustainedWhat remains is integrationIn the next phase of this series we will move into the Art and Alchemy of Happinesswhere understanding becomes practice where wisdom meets daily life and where balance is lived rather than explainednbspBecause happiness at its deepest level is not a theorynbspIt is a way of being in rhythm with oneself and the worldnbsp nbsp DAILY WORLD Maninder is a seasoned BFSI industry executive strategic consultant and trusted advisor to leading MNCs and innovative FinTech startups He lives in Chandigarh https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-biology-of-balance-when-body-and-mind-work-together-674909.html Fri, 22 May 2026 14:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/europe-has-a-choice-strengthen-nato-or-be-swallowed-by-the-far-right-674295.html It is politically incorrect to say so but the essence of socialism is semiCommunism Many countries of Europe particularly the Scandinavian ones have seen the writing on the wall and are drifting to the right They had traditionally featured high taxes and robust welfare budgets that acted as magnets for migrants from poor countries of Asia and Africa They are gradually reducing market regulation and public spending to improve competitiveness Some of their neighbours like the Netherlands have shown even more prominent drift in the 2023 elections a rightwing government came to power dominated by the firespewing farright Geert Wilders The ambivalence is still very much present in the European mind and this government has suffered defections from its ranks in the current year The two largest countries of Europe France and Germany however continue to have centrist governments though they too are witnessing a farright surgeWhat has all this to do with Trumps China visit We have to go to the roots of NATO for an answer Though allied to the West after Germanys betrayal the Soviet Union even before the fall of Berlin had displayed clear signs of rivalry with the West and showed designs of spreading Communism across Europe Germany and Berlin were divided Stalin imposed a blockade on West Berlin and the city was sustained only because of a massive airlift of supplies Truman visualised that only a EuropeanAmerican alliance would ensure lasting US involvement in European security Thus arose NATO in 1949 its Charter does not explicitly mention Communism but it will be naïve to conclude anything except that the organisations raison dêtre was the threat of the westward expansion of Communism in Europe Yet over time many European countries forgot their history and drifted towards socialism took cudgels with NATO and reduced their defence spending Trumps recent nudges in this regard were derided by many though there has been grudging compliance too in terms of increase in defence spending Frances Macron and Germanys Merz however continue to confront and deride Trump while seeing their countries on the brink of descending into farright control Let us examine the German Chancellors recent broadside characterising the Iran War as humiliation for the US in this lightGratitude has no place in geopolitics although in some situations there is a reasonable expectation of this sentiment Germany for entirely its own fault suffered immense destruction during WWII The share of the Marshall Plan in its postWar recovery may be debatable but the USencouraged economic liberalisation did play a crucial role in Germanys rapid reconstruction as it did for many other countries of Europe By 1998 Germany had emerged as the third largest economy of the world That strength made it ready for the reunification of Germany it could transfer Euro 2 trillion to the east to modernize the dilapidated Soviet era infrastructure US policies played a critical role in achieving the unification for securing Soviet leader Gorbachevs approval for the historic change as well as for keeping the unified nation within NATO by initiating the TwoPlusFour Framework two Germanies and the four WWII allies USA UK France and USSR Both France and Britain had concerns about Germany becoming dominant again and it was the US that assuaged those concerns emphasising the necessity of embedding the unified Germany in NATO as well as in European institutionsMerkel who grew up in Communistruled East Germany and was a member of the communist youth movement called Free German Youth was proud of her Schwarze Null or black zero budgets the term indicating abhorrence for deficit financing the consequent austerity measures and tax cuts made her popular among voters but seriously hurt periphery eurozone countries During her 16 years as Chancellor she liberally funded welfare but longterm infrastructure investments were neglected While she could say that the economy grew by a third during her period and she handled the 2008 economic crisis as well as the Covid pandemic well the infrastructure deficiency started showing its effects shortly after her departure German spending on migrant welfare doubled during Merkels time and attracted close to one million illegal migrants during the 2015 migration crisis Her socialist leanings endeared her to China and she officially visited that country 12 times Trade with China boomed to almost 200 billion as did German investments in China accompanied with a tapering down of domestic production The German industrial base is still suffering the impact of that declineThe economic and geopolitical path taken by Merkel had two consequences on the home front it helped the rise of the farright AfD and beyond the borders it led to souring of relations with the US which had started seeing China as a geopolitical strategic threat Now Merz has further dented Germanys relations with the US by saying that the latter has been humiliated by Iran this may not stand factual scrutiny The US has suffered losses as would any nation in a war but the losses suffered by Iran are undeniably huge While Iran retains to some extent its capability to produce and launch missiles and drones its navy air force and air defence systems have been decimated Trumps blockade has shut off its economic lifeline The fact that the US troops are boarding and seizing Iranian ships in Irans neighbourhood and the theocracy has not done much about it except issuing threats calls a lie to Merzs perceptionEven if the perception was true it was not expected of an important NATO ally to air the insult Trump had been right about NATOs lethargy and stingy defence spending which in Germany had been exacerbated during Merkels black zero budgets that cut defence spending by 94 billion between 2011 and 2014 It suffered further during the Covid pandemicTrump has a jumbosized ego and woe betide even an ally who tries to prick it He initially responded by saying that Merz doesnt know what he is talking about He cautioned that not only the US but the whole world will be held hostage once the Iranian clerics have a nuclear weapon He also mentioned that Germany is doing so poorly economicallynbspand otherwiseTwo days later Trump advised Merz to focus more on Ukraine and on fixing his broken country making a special mention of immigration on which he had already said a lot in the US National Security Strategy 2025 Both the statements that of Merz and of Trump look as if they were speaking for the AfD which wants Germany to steer clear of Putins war and wants not only to stop Asian and African migration into Germany but also wants to deport those who are already there It wants reassessment of Germanys membership of NATO a course now aired by Putin too Afd had earlier asked for withdrawal of US troops from Germany which is now the new threat from Trump Trump is in China to do something about the Communist dragons fireMerz had publicly vowed that he would not cooperate with the farright AfD After his latest outburst Germany may yet mend fences with Trump who has the habit of offending and then mollifying It is the farright buoyant after Merzs statement that may present him the real bill of the political cost of his unwise comments Trumps China visit is not only about the dragons threat to the US the Communist inferno has always been a threat for Europe too The prospects of the farright coming to power in Germany and France during the next elections make one thing absolutely clear The democracies in Europe face a nochoice situation more starkly than even the US if the European nations do not strengthen NATO to keep Communism at Bay they will be swallowed by the farright DAILY WORLD R N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/europe-has-a-choice-strengthen-nato-or-be-swallowed-by-the-far-right-674295.html Mon, 18 May 2026 14:09:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-turnout-in-bengal-was-it-defiance-and-a-new-wave-673844.html When the Election Commission of India confirmed a recordbreaking final voter turnout of 9247 across two phases representing the highestever poll participation in West Bengal since Independence surpassing the previous record of 8472 set in 2011 this figure is not merely a statistical achievementIt is a declaration of democratic will by a population that had been systematically suppressed intimidated and taken for granted at the polls for generations In previous elections there had been documented cases of highrise complexes being locked up by mobs linked to the ruling party during elections a practice observed since the Left era The TMC had continuously opposed the setting up of booths in such complexes by the Election Commission of India The 9293 turnout is therefore not simply enthusiasm it is defianceThe granular data from Muslimmajority constituencies tells a story that demands careful honest reading and Muslims across India need to read it without defensiveness and without the distorting lens of partisan allegianceAcross the 27 seats in the state assembly that the BJP won where the Muslim population exceeds 30 the partys average vote share jumped by 744 percentage points from approximately 389 in 2021 to approximately 463 in 2026 while the TMCs average vote share declined by 1079 percentage points from approximately 49 in 2021 to 382 in 2026 Let us walk through specific constituencies to understand the texture of this transformationIn Jangipur a constituency where Muslims constitute 56 of the electorate the result was nothing short of seismic The BJP exploded from just 2217 to 4290 gaining nearly 47000 votes while the TMC collapsed dramatically from 6882 to 3794 The Congress took a substantial 1469 share almost entirely drawn from Muslim voters who had previously backed the TMCIn Beldanga the highestMuslim seat on the list with a 63 Muslim population the story was one of extraordinary fragmentation The BJP rose only modestly from 2886 to 3188 But the TMC collapsed catastrophically from 5519 to 2610 a stunning fall of 29 percentage points The Aam Janata Unnayan Party took 2043 and the Congress took 1748 together accounting for nearly 38 of the total vote clearly representing the Muslim vote that deserted the TMC and crucially a vote that did not migrate to the BJPIn Kandi a constituency with 51 Muslim population the BJP won with 3678 while the TMC received 3160 the Congress took 1562 and the AIMIM polled 1152 Together the Congress and AIMIM accounted for nearly 27 of the total vote clearly representing the Muslim electorate that had broken away from the TMC In Nabagram the BJP rose from 3114 to 3554 while the TMC collapsed from 4818 to 3286 with the Congress surging to 2263 the bulk of the Muslim vote that deserted the TMC flowing not to the BJP but to the CongressIn the Murshidabad constituency itself the BJP held the seat with a massive swing surging from 4186 to 4818 while the TMC collapsed from 4078 to 3491 with the INC AIFB and smaller parties dividing the remainderThe districtlevel shift in Murshidabad was dramatic by any measure The BJP won nine of Murshidabads 22 seats up from just two in 2021 The TMC which had won 20 seats in the district in 2021 was reduced to nineNow a question that honest political analysis demands we address directly did Pasmanda Muslims vote for the BJP in significant numbers The data from the most rigorous available analysis is unambiguous Across all 27 Muslimmajority seats that the BJP won the final verdict of the analysis was that there was no evidence of significant direct Muslim support for the BJP In Beldanga the highestMuslim seat on the list the BJP rose only modestly and the Muslim vote that deserted the TMC went primarily to the Congress the AIMIM and regional formations rather than to the BJPThis finding far from diminishing the significance of what I am arguing actually deepens it The Pasmanda Muslims political message in Bengal 2026 was not or not primarily we choose the BJP It was we refuse to be your unconditional property The Muslim vote fractured across multiple formations namely Congress AIMIM the Aam Janata Unnayan Party and the Left Front in a conscious act of democratic assertionIn highMuslim seats such as Baisnabnagar Nabagram Kandi Beldanga Jangipur and Burwan the Congress captured substantial chunks of what had previously been the TMCs Muslim support base directly contributing to the TMCs collapse The message was unmistakable the Pasmanda Muslim community will distribute its votes according to its own calculus of interest grievance and aspiration not according to the instructions of selfappointed community custodiansThe consequence of this fragmentation in the mathematics of multicornered contests was the BJPs victory In a threeway contest one typically requires a minimum of 33 of the votes to secure a victory In a fiercely contested fourway battle one can potentially win with as little as 2829 of the voteThe Pasmanda Muslims by refusing to vote as a bloc for the TMC did not necessarily vote for the BJP but in refusing to serve as the TMCs captive constituency they enabled a BJP victory This distinction is critical and it carries within it the most important political lesson of our time the power of a community lies not only in whom it votes for but in whom it withholds its vote fromThe national context for this shift has been building for years By 2017 126 of general Muslims and 8 of Pasmanda Muslims in Uttar Pradesh reported support for the BJP in state elections By the 2022 UP state elections BJP support among general Muslims had fallen to 98 while support among Pasmanda Muslims had risen to 91 a significant convergence that signals the Pasmanda community making increasingly independent political assessmentsResearch from the Lokniti Network at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies suggests that appealing to the poor among Muslims has demonstrably helped the BJP in regional elections increasing its vote share among Muslims in states such as Gujarat and KarnatakaSurveys conducted ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections disclosed that Muslim voting behaviour was gravitating toward subcaste identities rather than consolidating around a monolithic religious bloc a trend with profound implications for every party that has depended on treating the Muslim electorate as anbsphomogeneous mass IANS The writer is National Working President All India Pasmanda https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-turnout-in-bengal-was-it-defiance-and-a-new-wave-673844.html Thu, 14 May 2026 14:01:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/urban-loneliness-indias-fastest-growing-flatmate-673701.html Flatmate There was a time in India when loneliness was nearly impossibleIf you wanted solitude your family considered it a symptom You could not sit quietly for five minutes without an aunt asking whether you had fever heartbreak or weak eyesight Homes were crowded neighbours were intrusive and privacy was considered a Western conspiracyToday however millions of urban Indians live in cities where they know their food delivery agent better than the person living next doorThis is progress apparentlyUrban loneliness has quietly become one of the biggest public health crises in modern India And because Indians deal with discomfort through humour denial or forwarding motivational WhatsApp messages we have not yet fully acknowledged it We still imagine loneliness as a dramatic cinematic condition involving rain cigarettes and sad songs In reality urban loneliness looks much less poetic It looks like a software engineer eating dinner while watching standup comedy on a laptop because silence feels too aggressiveThe modern Indian city is full of people but strangely empty of relationships We stand shouldertoshoulder in metros while emotionally living on separate islands Every café is crowded with customers who are simultaneously alone and pretending not to beThe average urban Indian today has approximately 4700 Instagram followers 82 muted WhatsApp groups three streaming subscriptions and absolutely nobody to help shift a refrigeratorThis is not merely sad It is sociologically fascinatingThe modern city has perfected what may be called highdensity isolation Human beings are packed into apartment towers like files in a government office yet meaningful social interaction is vanishing Most urban residents know the names of international coffee chains but not of their neighbours In fact many apartment societies now have WhatsApp groups where residents fight passionately over parking spots without ever introducing themselves in person Entire emotional lives are now managed through emojis selected under severe psychological pressureUrban loneliness is not simply about being physically alone Many lonely people are socially surrounded They go to offices malls gyms weddings and birthday parties They smile in photographs and react to memes Yet beneath this activity lies a persistent feeling that nobody really knows them beyond superficial transactionsSociologists have long warned that modern urban life weakens community bonds But Indian cities have accelerated this process with remarkable efficiency We have imported global consumer culture while simultaneously dismantling traditional support systems Joint families have shrunk into nuclear families which have further shrunk into singleperson rental apartments with one induction stove and severe emotional instabilityThe city promises freedom but often delivers exhaustionTake the average young professional in Bengaluru Gurugram Mumbai or Pune This person spends two hours commuting nine hours pretending to enjoy teamwork and another three hours recovering from teamwork By the end of the day social interaction feels less like pleasure and more like unpaid overtimeThis is why modern friendships now require the logistical coordination of military operations Adults in cities do not meet casually They schedule emotional intimacy three weeks in advance using Google CalendarBro lets catch up soon has become the urban equivalent of thoughts and prayersTechnology naturally has complicated matters further Social media gives us the illusion of constant connection while quietly intensifying emotional isolation We are now permanently available but rarely emotionally present People who cannot call their own parents for ten minutes can spend four hours debating strangers online about geopolitics and pineapple pizzaDating apps have also transformed loneliness into a subscriptionbased experience Urban Indians now swipe through human beings with the emotional attention span previously reserved for choosing ceiling fans on ecommerce websites Romance has become simultaneously hyperaccessible and deeply exhausting Many young people report being emotionally burnt out despite barely knowing anyone properlyEven friendship has become strangely performative We no longer simply spend time together we create content Entire brunches are now interrupted by photography sessions involving complicated hand gestures and food temperatures dropping at alarming rates One suspects that future archaeologists will conclude urban Indians survived entirely on café lighting and validationBut beneath the comedy lies a serious public health concernLoneliness is not just an emotional state it has measurable physical consequences Studies globally have linked chronic loneliness to anxiety depression cardiovascular problems sleep disorders weakened immunity and increased mortality Human beings are social creatures whether they use LinkedIn aggressively or not The brain interprets prolonged social isolation as stress Unfortunately modern urban culture often rewards precisely those lifestyles that produce isolation excessive work hyperindividualism relentless mobility and transactional relationshipsThe irony is extraordinary Cities were historically built to bring people together Instead they increasingly function as emotional transit lounges where everyone is temporarily present and psychologically unavailablePart of the problem is that urban India worships productivity while neglecting community We have mastered networking but forgotten friendship The modern city celebrates ambition but treats emotional dependence as weakness Asking for help now feels socially riskier than applying for a home loanYoung Indians are especially vulnerable because they are caught between two social worlds Traditional expectations still exist but traditional support systems do not Families continue demanding marriage success stability and grandchildren while simultaneously offering advice such as just dont stress Meanwhile the city offers freedom but little belongingAs a result many urban residents experience what sociologists call anonymous living You can disappear inside a city without anybody noticing This sounds liberating at twentytwo and mildly terrifying at thirtyfourEven public spaces have become less social Parks are shrinking local markets are disappearing and neighbourhood culture is weakening Older Indian cities once encouraged spontaneous interaction through courtyards tea stalls and community gatherings Todays urban architecture encourages isolation disguised as luxury Residents move from gated apartments to private vehicles to office cubicles to streaming platforms without accidentally encountering humanityThe pandemic intensified all this dramatically Lockdowns exposed how fragile many urban social networks actually were Millions discovered that their social life consisted mainly of office proximity and occasional birthday dinners Once these vanished loneliness surfaced with alarming clarityAnd yet despite its scale urban loneliness remains oddly invisible in public discourse We discuss GDP infrastructure startups and artificial intelligence but rarely discuss the emotional architecture of city lifePerhaps because loneliness still carries stigma Indians are culturally trained to associate loneliness with personal failure rather than structural conditionsIf someone admits loneliness society immediately offers either marriage proposals or spiritual podcastsWhat then can cities doFirst we must stop treating loneliness as an individual weakness It is often a social consequence of how urban life is organised Better public spaces community events walkable neighbourhoods libraries parks hobby groups and local cultural activities are not luxuries They are public health infrastructureSecond workplaces must recognise that burnout and loneliness are connected Offices increasingly dominate adult social life yet most corporate environments encourage competition over connectionMandatory fun Fridays involving cold pizza and trust exercises are not enoughThird we need to normalise emotional openness Indians are exceptionally skilled at discussing petrol prices cricket statistics and mutual funds while avoiding direct emotional conversation Entire friendships between Indian men in particular are often sustained through insults and forwarded reels Somewhere beneath all that sarcasm however there are genuine emotional needsFinally perhaps cities themselves need to rediscover slowness Not every human interaction must be efficient monetised or optimised Sometimes people simply need spaces where they can exist without performing successUrban loneliness is ultimately the paradox of our age never before have human beings been so connected technologically while feeling so disconnected emotionally The Indian city has become a place where millions search for opportunity while quietly longing for belongingAnd perhaps that is the real tragedyIn a country famous for community life we have somehow ended up eating dinner alone while watching strangers explain productivity hacks on YouTubeThe cities are growing taller The conversations are growing shorter And somewhere between food delivery apps and endless notifications urban India has begun to discover that loneliness too can become a mass phenomenonEven in a crowd DAILYWORLD Author is an IRS officer currently posted as Additional Commissioner Government of India He has two books to his credit When lonely he likes to play tennis chess and watch movies https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/urban-loneliness-indias-fastest-growing-flatmate-673701.html Wed, 13 May 2026 14:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/chinas-one-child-policy-impact-on-plas-fighting-capability-673302.html Chinas Peoples Liberation Army PLA is the worlds largest in terms of sheer numbers it has over two million soldiers half of whom are in the PLA Ground Force PLAGF and the rest are in the PLA Navy PLAN the PLA Air Force PLAAF the PLA Rocket Force PLARF and the PLA Strategic Support Force PLASSF Although there is provision for mandatory military service it has not been enforced because there have been enough volunteers attracted by perks and prestige All male citizens however have to register when they reach 18 years of age they can be called for active duty if necessary but it has not been done so far Earlier the soldiers came mainly from rural areas where the economic conditions have always been inferior to urban areas In recent times the PLA has prioritised recruiting graduates and those with hightech qualifications due to change in war machines and methods The technically proficient urban male from the onechild era however is not very keen on joining the military in spite of the perks and prestige that it offersChinas onechild policy rigorously enforced from 1980 till 2015 has created several dimensions of demographic crisis Because of a preference for sons female foetuses were regularly aborted and abortions were officially encouraged and supported to help in implementing the onechild policy This resulted in the maletofemale ratio rising from 1060 males per 1000 females in 1979 to 1170 in 2001 and about 40 million missing women This squeeze combined with tradition which expects women to be housewives has resulted in women making up less than 4 percent of the PLA for comparison the US military figure is 172 percentSoldiers are typically recruited when they are around 20 years of age which means that all soldiers recruited since 2000 are from onechild cohorts Thus virtually all the current two million soldiers of the various arms of the PLA are from that group Chinese society places a very high value on filial duties towards the living as well as dead ancestors including the annual tombsweeping ritual Due to the onechild policy and increasing life expectancy which stands at 80 with higher figures for urban areas every such soldier has two parents four grandparents and may have up to eight great grandparents to look after during their lifetimes to perform rituals when they die and also perform annual postdeath rituals for all of them throughout his lifeWhile this responsibility results in strain on the soldiers time and financial resources even a greater source of worry for both the ancestors and the young man is the possibility of his death in any hostilities The loss of a young soldier of the family in war is lamented everywhere and yet simultaneously there is also a pride in martyrdom The Chinese situation leaves no room for such pride the death of the onechild soldier being an unmitigated disaster for a large number of older individuals dependent on him for financial and ritualistic support Sadly even after the restrictions were abolished a decade ago the fertility rates have not only remained low but have actually declined even below the figure of 15 in the onechild era to less than 10 in 2025Thus Chinas onechild policy and the resultant permanent drop in the desire to have children have created a demographic and sociocultural environment that structurally undermines the longterm recruitment base resilience and combat effectiveness of the Peoples Liberation Army PLA even as Beijing pursues rapid military modernisation Its cumulative impact is visible in shrinking cohorts of draftage youth and a generation that many Chinese analysts themselves describe as less suited to the rigours of highintensity warfare It is not surprising that parents who complied with the draconian onechild policy are now reluctant to see their only child exposed to the dangers of the frontlineIt may be argued that future wars will be mostly fought with machines and fewer soldiers will be required Studies have shown that while a lesser number of soldiers will be required on the battle front the overall need for soldiers will actually increase due to the requirements of operating controlling and maintaining the war machines Moreover Chinas aggressive geopolitics will always mean physical occupation of contested territories and that will invariably requirenbspboots on the groundBeyond numbers the onechild policy has generated a qualitative challenge in the human capital feeding the PLA Research and PLAlinked commentary describe a little emperor generation of only children who grew up as the centre of attention for multiple adults often enjoying greater material comfort and less hardship than earlier generations Studies cited in defence analyses suggest that postpolicy single children tend to be less altruistic and trusting more timid less competitive and less conscientious compared to peers born just before the policyAlready there are complaints from field commanders that these little emperor soldiers from onechild families are less robust physically averse to discipline and more prone to buckling under stress They lack focus during training and are likely to listen to music on earphones during combat drills They are more likely to feign illness and also have real stressrelated health issues They are more likely to be overweight have eyesight degradation at an early age due to long hours on digital screens and are averse to selfdependence in simple tasks like laundryThe casualtyaverse behaviour inculcated into a single child will have serious implications for how China would weigh escalation duration and intensity of potential conflicts A force built around singlechild soldiers drawn from families with limited ability to absorb loss may be less politically sustainable in protracted highattrition campaignsparticularly if adversaries can impose early visible losses This arguably reinforces PLA emphasis on short decisive technologyintensive operations and coercive strategies that seek to deter without rather than risk grinding wars of attritionFaced with such daunting prospects the Chinese government increased PLA salaries by 40 percent in 2020 with an even higher raise for specialised jobs Divorce rates in China have been rising and there is even higher incidence among soldiers due to prolonged separation from families Now the PLA allows soldiers to live with families in military units Being in the family environment however subtracts from the bond with fellow soldiers which is very vital in combat situations Simple activities like soldiers eating with their families instead of spending their evenings together in the unit mess reduce the emotional bond with other soldiers as well as with the military unitChina has vastly increased physical areas of operational responsibility for the PLA which now go far beyond Taiwan The whole South China Sea as well as the East China Sea have become contested The huge border of Tibet with India is one of the most difficult highaltitude frontiers that has to be constantly safeguarded by the Chinese military Chinese borders with all of its neighbours are disputed and have to be manned Its involvement in conflicts like that in Myanmar creates additional responsibilities for its military The Belt and Road Initiative BRI requires substantial military presence for protecting the projects as well as the large number of Chinese employed there Chinas efforts at worldwide hegemony means that farflung military facilities like the base in Djibouti and the Chinese presence in various countries of South America and Africa have to be sustained by the PLA Finally its restive regions like Tibet Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia put additional strain on the PLAFor all its appearance of being a daunting behemoth the PLA is suffering the deleterious effects of the demographic strain created by the onechild policy and it has no easy solution DAILY WORLD nbspR N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/chinas-one-child-policy-impact-on-plas-fighting-capability-673302.html Mon, 11 May 2026 14:27:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-the-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-piracy-or-lawful-belligerency-672930.html Can a war end on paper while continuing at sea The unfolding crisis in the Strait of Hormuz suggests that in modern geopolitics law often yields to strategy The Strait of Hormuz a narrow maritime corridor linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas has once again emerged as the epicentre of global geopolitical tension Carrying nearly onefifth of the worlds oil its stability is not merely regionalit is civilizational The current crisis marked by reciprocal blockades imposed by the United States and Iran raises a profound legal question can the United States naval blockade and seizure of vessels be treated as piracy particularly in light of its own declaration that the conflict has effectively endedThe controversy is sharpened by President Trumps formal communication to Congress asserting that hostilities with Iran have terminated even as US naval forces continue to enforce a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz This dual posture declaring peace while maintaining coercive maritime measures creates a constitutional and legal inconsistency Under the War Powers Resolution such declarations aim to satisfy domestic legal timelines yet internationally continued interdictions signal ongoing hostilities If accepted this approach risks normalising a hybrid state of postwar coercion where force persists without formal war further blurring the already fragile boundaries between lawful enforcement and unlawful maritime control At the heart of this debate lies the distinction between piracy as a criminal act under international law and stateauthorised military or enforcement actionThe United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea UNCLOS the foundational framework of modern maritime law defines piracy as illegal acts of violence or detention committed for private ends by private actors on the high seas This definition is precise and restrictive excluding actions carried out by state vessels operating under official authority On a strict legal view US naval actions enforcing sanctions or a blockade may not constitute piracy which requires private actors and private gain aiming for ransom and keeping the resources as a profitable business The US forces have intercepted ships near the Strait of Hormuz While politically persuasive labeling them piracy may be a category errorHowever the legal clarity ends here and the controversy beginsThe United States defends its blockade as a lawful wartime measure under the law of armed conflict at sea where blockades are permitted if declared effective and nondiscriminatory even without formal war declarations However this justification weakens if the conflict is deemed over A blockade presupposes ongoing hostilities once they cease the legal framework shifts to peacetime law where coercive actions against foreign vessels are highly restricted rendering the continued blockade legally questionable The US signed the convention in 1994 but never ratified it with significant political opposition citing concerns over national sovereigntyThis creates a paradox if the war continues the blockade may be justified as a wartime measure if the war has ended the same blockade risks being characterised as an unlawful interference with freedom of navigation potentially violating customary international lawThe Strait of Hormuz is not an ordinary maritime zone it is an international strait Under UNCLOS and customary law all states enjoy an unrestricted right of transit passage through such straits The International Maritime Organization has consistently maintained that no state has the legal authority to block navigation through international straits though Iran has not ratified UNCLOSThus while the United States asserts that its blockade targets only vessels connected to Iranian ports the practical effect of interdictions warnings and seizures risks chilling broader navigation and undermining the principle of free passage With nearly 20 percent of global oil transiting this route even limited disruption reverberates far beyond the Gulf affecting energy markets trade flows and economic stability worldwideIran for its part has labelled US actions as piracy and state terrorism While this language is politically charged it reflects a deeper legal grievance that unilateral enforcement actions in international waters especially outside a clearly defined armed conflict violate the core principles of maritime law However equating such actions with piracy remains doctrinally problematic Even if the US blockade is unlawful or excessive it would more appropriately be characterised as a wrongful use of force or an illegal maritime interdiction rather than piracy in the strict legal sense The distinction is not merely semantic it is foundational to maintaining coherence in internationalnbsplegal categoriesThe Presidents own rhetoric reportedly likening US naval actions to piracy and even describing them as profitable further complicates the discourse While politically provocative such statements do not alter the legal classification International law is concerned not with rhetoric but with objective criteria the nature of the actors the purpose of the act and the governing legal framework Yet rhetoric matters in another sense it erodes legitimacy When state actors appear to blur the line between lawful enforcement and opportunistic seizure they risk undermining the very legal order they claim to defend The broader issue is not merely whether the United States is committing piracy but whether the current crisis represents a collapse of maritime legal discipline Both Irans attempt to control or tax passage and the US blockade of Iranian shipping challenge the integrity of the international legal regime governing the seasThis crisis also exposes a structural weakness the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms The United Nations Security Council paralysed by geopolitical rivalries has been unable to act decisively Without a neutral arbiter legal norms risk being subordinated to power politicsThe implications are farreaching If powerful states can unilaterally impose blockades or restrict navigation in critical chokepoints the precedent could extend to other strategic waterwaysfrom the South China Sea to the Black Sea The principle of freedom of navigation painstakingly developed over centuries may gradually erodeIn conclusion the United States cannot in strict legal terms be labelled as engaging in piracy under UNCLOS as its actions are stateauthorized and framed within naval warfare and sanctions enforcement Yet the legality of the blockade remains contested especially given claims that hostilities have ended The greater concern is the normalization of legal ambiguity where states operate in a grey zone between war and peace The Strait of Hormuz thus becomes not only a strategic chokepoint but a test of legal principles where the ultimate casualty risks being the credibility of international law itself DAILY WORLD Prof Nehaluddin Ahmad LLD Professor of Law Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University UNISSA Brunei Email ahmadnehalyahoocom https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-the-strait-of-hormuz-blockade-piracy-or-lawful-belligerency-672930.html Fri, 08 May 2026 14:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/a-year-after-op-sindoor-india-needs-new-strategies-to-fight-pakistans-new-tactics-672806.html There was a mood of extreme anticipation on this dayMay 6 2025 exactly a fortnight after the Pahalgam massacre of April 22 in which Pakistansponsored terrorists had snuffed life out of 26 civilians mostly tourists from other parts of the country It is also the night of Operation Sindoor launched initially to avenge the brutal act of terror in the serene valley of Baisaran admired as miniSwitzerland for its unmatched beauty near Pahalgam a worldfamous tourist resort in South KashmirOperation Sindoor a military action that served several purposes all at once though it is counted and hailed as a counterterrorism operation against the terrorists based in Pakistan It was an operation that stood out against the backdrop of the firm resolve of Indian leadership to inflict unimaginable punishment on the perpetrators and backers of the gruesome terror attack in Pahalgam where tourists were shot dead on the basis of their faith in front of their wives and other family members holidaying amid the cool and beautiful environ They committed an unnatural act in the region blessed by Mother NatureToday a year after the launch of Operation Sindoor it is very critical that what all has been achieved and what new challenges have surfaced What is done is done Pakistan is aware of the consequences of any Pahalgamtype misadventure it has started changing its strategy It is more in cyberspace and its terrorists coming from across the Line of Control and even via some foreign countries are trained in jungle and mountain warfare That poses a new challenge The Indian Army is now stretched to the borders and also high in the mountains That is a requirement of the situation but it also adds pressure Terrorists are carving out new enclaves like the ones they had before they went in for the Pahalgam massacre The Army is aware of these activities but mountain warfare within the Himalayan territory is a highrisk challenge which needs to be converted into opportunityImmediately after the Pahalgam attack there were many questions floating in the air The primary one being What will India do nowThis question dominated minds as they were looking back at previous crossborder counterterrorism operationssurgical strike after the terror assault on soldiers in Uri in September 2016 and aerial strikes after the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019The crossLoC surgical strikes were launched 10 days after the terror assault in Uri a border township very close to the Line of Control that divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan The Indian Air Force carried out aerial strikes against Pakistan on February 26 2019 12 days after the Pulwama terror attack of February 14 2019 This was one step ahead of the crossLoC surgical strike of 2016 because this time India had struck hard at terror camps in Balakot in the Pakistani province of Khyber PakhtunkhwaNumerically 14 days had passed and the wait was on for military action against Pakistan Though India had taken one of the greatest steps in history suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty on April 23 2025 itself yet the military action was what the nation was looking for In between Pakistanoccupied Kashmir government had declared emergency giving a firm indication of its anxiety about the Indian strikes That spoke of their guiltThen came the night of May 6 2025 This part of the world was sleeping when all hell broke loose on the terrorists and their infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistanoccupied Kashmir PoK Indian missiles had hit hard and fast decimating terror assets of Pakistan in the first 22 minutes of the launch of the military action against terror networks across the border and LoCThen came the big announcement that India had launched Operation Sindoor with a tagline Justice is servedAnd the wait was over India had done its act with finesse More than 100 terrorists were killed and all their infrastructure including that of LashkareTaiba and JaisheMohammadThe Indian Army had blown up the headquarters of JaisheMohammad in Bahawalpur Lashkar headquarters in Muridke also known as Markaz Taiba and JamaatudDawa hiding its real job of training terrorists and motivating them for jihad against India Other camps destroyed in the operation were Sawal Nala camp in PoK capital Muzaffarabad where LeT terrorists received training in mountain warfare Gulpur camp Kotli in PoK from where Jaish staged its terrorists for crossLoC infiltration and subversion on the Indian side of Jammu and Kashmir especially in the RajouriPoonch belt Abbas camp in Kotli PoK housing LeT terrorists again using it as a launching pad in the Pir Panjal region of Jammu divisionOther camps that were destroyed in PoK were Barnala camp in Bhimber a place where terrorists were trained to hide in jungles and rocky mountains Sarjal camp a key facility of JaisheMohammad Mehmoona Joya camp in Sialkot located just outside the Suchetgarh area of Jammu which was used by HizbulMujahideen for its terror training and motivation activitiesIndia had done its job and informed Pakistans Director General of Military Operations DGMO Major General Kashif Abdullah Indian DGMO Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai told his Pakistani counterpart that only terrorist camps had been targeted and destroyed no civilian military or government infrastructure was targeted in the first 22 minutes of the operation Pakistan failed to understand the message that India had only cleansed its soil of terrorists instead it chose to open fire and shell civilian areas in Jammu and Kashmir and military assets It succeeded in killing more than 30 civilians and damaging their homes schools and places of worship All its drones and missiles were intercepted by the Indian defense systemPakistans audacity in defending and avenging the loss of terrorists had to be responded to India did exactly that It also started targeting the military assets of Pakistan and this blitzkrieg opened after Pakistan started retaliation to the decimation of terror infrastructure Indian attacks that lasted till May 10 2025 destroyed and damaged Pakistans air defense system Its airbases at Nur Khan Bholari and Murid were targeted and damaged It was after all this that Pakistan beseeched for a ceasefireThat ceasefire is holding on But as has been stated by the Indian leadershipPrime Minister Narendra Modi Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singhthat the operation was suspended not halted permanently The operation as such is onThis does not mean that everything is quiet India is aware that Pakistan has not desisted from its terror plans directed against India particularly Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan has heightened its propaganda on air it is injecting bigger doses of radicalism into the daytoday curriculum of vulnerable minds in JampK and it is exploiting each and every incident to mislead the people Alongside it has increased drone droppings of arms ammunition cash and drugs That is sustaining narcoterrorism in JampK and also funding informal networks to fuel radicalismThe infiltration attempts too are being made Terrorists continue to trickle in The Indian Army has mounted strict vigil along the LoC and international border but the terrain of these border lines has many loopholes that neither the human eye nor high technology can detect That remains anbspbig challenge DAILY WORLD The writer is Consulting Editor Jammu amp Kashmir Daily World https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/a-year-after-op-sindoor-india-needs-new-strategies-to-fight-pakistans-new-tactics-672806.html Thu, 07 May 2026 14:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/praetorian-guards-inevitable-successors-of-theocracies-672158.html A theocracy like any other regime based on a totalitarian ideology does not have room for competing ideologies all of them go after any alternative ideology trying to crystalise and nip it in the bud In a democracy alternative ideologies thrive and wait in the wings to unseat the current dispensation at the next elections Totalitarian ideologies including those based on religion permit no possibility of a different ideology coming to power through constitutional means and can be unseated only through violent civil warsq One nonideological component of the state however is present in all states totalitarian democratic monarchical or any other This component is nurtured by every state and is made the ultimate coercive power of the stateIn democracies the armed forces protect the state and its constitutional structure from external threats and if need be they are ordered by the state to come to the aid of an overwhelmed civil administration They however remain an instrument of the state which remains the hand that holds the instrument and uses it as guided by the constitution and the laws In totalitarian regimes on the other hand the primary function of the armed forces becomes to protect the regime from internal challenges This enlarged role mostly necessitates that the head of the state wear a uniform on special occasions to indicate the fusion of civil authority and the military arm As long as the civil authority has an honourable social contract with the masses the military usually keeps the pretence of obedience unsure whether it can handle a mass upsurge and civil war as happened in Myanmar The civil administration de facto led by the Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi had given an unduly large role to the Buddhist clergy and instigated by them the people and the military had been attacking the Rohingyas It can be fairly said that the civil administration was drifting towards a theocracy with the military donning the uniform of a Praetorian guardIn 27 BC Roman Emperor Augustus set up an elite unit of troops to protect him Highly paid these Praetorian Guards soon became influential in the polity and played a role in imperial successions and even assassinations During the succeeding two millennia into the present every regime that was not based on the expressed will of the people felt the need to raise such an elite force Some flamboyant ones had theirs staffed by only women as were those of Libyas Gaddafi who were usually called the Amazonian Guard Ayatollah Khomeini who came to power through an Islamic Revolution in 1979 immediately felt the need of such a force which had to be under his command and not that of the regular armed forces of the country and the notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC was raisedAlthough even under the Islamic Constitution of Iran there is the legislature judiciary and a Prime Minister in addition to a President the IRGC commanderinchief is appointed by and reports only to the Supreme Leader an unelected religious cleric who for all practical purposes holds office for life Khamenei the successor of Khomeini was killed at the beginning of the current war leaving a power vacuum The Assembly of Experts a body of Clerics had the task of finding a new leader but killings had left this body in disarray That is when the Praetorian IRGC stepped in they wanted to thrust forward somebody not so strong politically and not so popular among the people Such a person could never assert authority over the IRGC and will become another figurehead like the president or the prime minister This was the classic playbook of leadership crisis in a totalitarian regime in general and in a theocracy in particularThe collapse of a theocratic regime rarely produces a stable vacuum Instead it often unleashes a contest over legitimacy coercion and institutional control in which the most organized and disciplined actor typically the military emerges as the decisive force In such moments praetorian dynamics take hold the guardians of the state transform into its rulers This is a recurring historical pattern in which religious authority once weakened or discredited is supplanted by military custodianship that claims to restore order while often reshaping the political system in its own imageUnderstanding this transition requires unpacking two core concepts theocracy and praetorianism A theocracy is a political system in which religious authority is either identical with or dominant over state power Its legitimacy derives from divine sanction sacred law or clerical hierarchy A praetorian system by contrast is one in which an elite component of the military rather than remaining subordinate to civilian authority becomes the principal arbiter of political power To feel the unbridled power of the Praetorian Guard we have to hark back to one of the most evil totalitarian regimes in history which has become a metaphor for such regimesHitlers Nazi Germany had the Schutzstaffel or the SS as it was commonly called which like Augustus had been created by Hitler to protect himself It swore unconditional loyalty to Hitler and to no one else Senior army commanders trembled in the presence of the dreaded SS which under Heinrich Himmler starting with less than 300 men in 1929 grew to almost 900000 by 1944 Much like Irans IRGC the SS developed its own combat wing the Waffen SS which had 38 divisions by the end of the Second World War It had its independent chain of command reporting directly to Himmler and Hitler ignoring local commanders of the Wehrmacht or the regular army It forced generals to hold impossible positions undermining their tactical decisions Numerous books including Why the Germans Lose at War The Myth of German Military Superiority The Death of Hitlers War machine and Waffen SS Hitlers Army at War put a substantial part of the blame for Germanys defeat on this friction between the WaffenSS and the WehrmachtHistory is repeating itself in Iran Last week an article in the Euronews Irans Revolutionary Guards tighten grip on power as civilian leadership sidelined said that the IRGC has evolved from a theocratic wartime force into a dominant militaryeconomic power It stands at the centre of a shifting political structure and appears to have seized control of the decisionmaking process with its hardline approach In the war numerous senior IRGC commanders have been killed including the intelligence chief Majid Khademi and naval commander Alireza Tangsiri Saeed Izadi senior Quds force Commander has also been killed he looked after Irans proxies in Palestine The present Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei successor of his father has been equally unpopular among the clerics the IRGC the army and the people at large He has not been seen and his voice has not been heard since his elevation and only written communication purporting to be from him has been releasedAll these facts about Mojtaba and the deaths of his own commanders suit the present IRGC chief Ahamad Vahidi who is now virtually autonomous During the parleys in Islamabad the Iranian delegation was for all appearances led by the Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi They were however chaperoned by a strong contingent of IRGC who remained constantly in touch with Vahidi It has been reported that the IRGC pushed a maximalist and uncompromising position leading to the failure of the talksTrue to the copybook development of the Praetorian Guards the theocracy has now been substituted by the IRGC the guardians raised by Khomeini have now become the rulers of that country In Rome alarmed by the rising power of the Praetorian Guard Emperor Constantine had disbanded them 400 years later In Iran nobody strong enough to do that has survived the war The IRGC will not let go of their power till starved into submission in the process Iranians at large will starve too DAILY WORLD nbspR N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/praetorian-guards-inevitable-successors-of-theocracies-672158.html Mon, 04 May 2026 14:36:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/food-gut-and-the-second-brain-671864.html We often think of happiness as a matter of thought and emotion shaped by mindset and circumstance Science adds a quieter often overlooked dimension digestion Long before we analyse a situation or name a feeling the body processes information through the gut What and how we eat influences not just physical health but mood clarity and emotional resilienceModern research now refers to the gut as the second brain This is not poetic exaggeration The digestive system contains millions of neurons and communicates constantly with the brain through nerves hormones and chemical messengers Together they form what scientists call the gutbrain axisa twoway conversation that shapes how we feelThe GutMind ConversationRemarkably nearly ninety per cent of serotoninthe neurotransmitter associated with emotional stabilityis produced in the gut This does not mean that food alone creates happiness but it does mean that digestion plays a supporting role in emotional balanceWhen the gut is irritated inflamed or overloaded the brain often reflects that disturbance as anxiety irritability or mental fog Conversely when digestion is calm and efficient the nervous system settles more easily Emotional balance becomes more accessibleThis explains why stress and poor eating habits often travel together reinforcing each other in subtle waysWhy Modern Eating Disrupts BalanceModern diets prioritise speed stimulation and convenience Highly processed foods excessive sugar irregular meals and distracted eating place a strain on the digestive system The gut responds with inflammation imbalance and discomfort Over time this strain quietly affects mood and energyEating in hastewhile scrolling worrying or workingsends mixed signals to the body The digestive system functions best when the nervous system is calm When meals are rushed or tense digestion becomes inefficient regardless of food qualityScience reminds us that how we eat matters as much as what we eatThe Microbiome and MoodWithin the gut lives a vast ecosystem of bacteria known as the microbiome These microbes assist digestion support immunity and influence brain chemistry A diverse balanced microbiome is associated with better mood regulation and reduced stress sensitivityThe microbiome responds not to perfection but to consistency Regular meals variety and moderation support balance Extremesrestrictive dieting or indulgent excesstend to destabilise itOnce again the Middle Path appears not as philosophy but as physiologyEmotional Eating and AwarenessFood is deeply emotional We eat not only for nourishment but for comfort celebration distraction and habit Science does not judge this it explains it Stress often increases cravings for quick energy because the body interprets stress as a threatThe problem arises when eating becomes the primary coping mechanism Over time this blurs the bodys natural hunger and satiety signals leading to cycles of guilt and dissatisfactionAwareness restores balance Eating with attentionwithout multitasking without hurryallows the body to regulate itself Satisfaction increases even when portions decreaseNourishment Over NutritionHappiness does not require dietary obsession Overoptimising food creates anxiety which undermines digestion and mood Science supports a simpler truth nourishment thrives on rhythm presence and moderationMeals eaten calmly regularly and with enjoyment support both gut health and emotional balance Pleasure when not excessive aids digestion rather than harms itHappiness here is not about discipline It is about attunementThe Bodys Quiet IntelligenceThe gut does not respond to rules it responds to patterns It notices regularity relaxation and respect When we listen to bodily signalshunger fullness comfortwe participate in a form of intelligence that predates thoughtThis listening is not controlled It is cooperationThe Middle Path PerspectiveThe Middle Path asks us neither to ignore food nor to obsess over it It invites us to eat in a way that supports steadiness rather than stimulation When digestion is supported energy stabilises When energy stabilises mood followsHappiness is not produced by food but it is quietly shaped by itLooking AheadIf food nourishes the body from within attention shapes the mind from moment to moment In the next article we will explore how attention dopamine and the digital world interactand why constant distraction has become one of the greatest challenges to modern happinessnbspBecause what we consume mattersnbspBut so does what consume usnbspnbsp DAILY WORLD Maninder is a seasoned BFSI industry executive strategic consultant and trusted advisor to leading MNCs and innovative FinTech startups He lives in Chandigarh https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/food-gut-and-the-second-brain-671864.html Fri, 01 May 2026 14:59:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/uaes-withdrawal-from-opec-geopolitics-markets-and-the-future-of-energy-671775.html The announcement that the United Arab Emirates UAE will withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC and OPEC from 1 May 2026 marks a pivotal shift in global energy politics After nearly six decades the exit signals more than an institutional change it reflects structural transformation in the oil economy and Gulf geopolitics OPEC has long shaped global oil prices through coordinated quotas with the UAE playing a key stabilizing role due to its spare capacity Its departure weakens collective discipline and reduces the cartels ability to manage supply effectively Amid rising regional tensions and an accelerating energy transition the move underscores a strategic shift toward national economic priorities production flexibility and revenue maximization Ultimately it highlights a broader transition from cartel coordination to competitive statedriven energy strategies raising questions about OPECs future relevanceWhat is OPEC and Background OPEC was established in 1960 at the Baghdad Conference by five founding members Iran Iraq Kuwait Saudi Arabia and Venezuela Its primary objective was to coordinate petroleum policies assert sovereignty over natural resources and stabilize oil prices in the face of dominance by Western oil majors Over time OPEC emerged as a powerful cartel capable of influencing global oil markets through production quotas The expansion into OPEC in 2016 bringing in major producers like Russia further enhanced its capacity collectively controlling around 4050 of global oil output Through coordinated supply cuts or increases OPEC has acted as a stabilizer in volatile markets especially during crises such as the COVID19 pandemic and the Ukraine warWhy Did the UAE WithdrawThe UAEs decision stems from a convergence of economic pragmatism geopolitical tensions and longterm strategic recalibration First OPEC quotas constrained the UAEs production capacity limiting output to approximately 335 million barrels per day despite heavy investments in infrastructure By exiting the UAE aims to increase production to nearly 5 million barrels per day by 2027 thereby maximizing revenue from its reserves Second there is a growing rift within the Gulf particularly between the UAE and Saudi Arabia Divergences over production policy regional influence and economic strategy have eroded the cohesion that once defined OPEC leadership Third the timing of the exit is closely linked to the recent USIsraelIran conflict in 2026 The war severely disrupted energy infrastructure across the region including attacks on UAE facilities and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz through which nearly a quarter of global oil supply passes These developments exposed the vulnerability of collective quota systems in times of crisis and pushed the UAE toward energy autonomy As noted in the attached analysis the UAE viewed OPEC membership as increasingly costly sacrificing revenue while possessing one of the largest spare capacities among membersPolitical Significance Fragmentation of Gulf Unity The UAEs withdrawal marks a geopolitical rupture within the Gulf and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries It signals erosion of Saudi Arabias leadership as members may increasingly pursue independent strategies The move reflects a rise in national energy sovereignty prioritizing domestic interests over collective discipline It also indicates shifting alliances with the United Arab Emirates strengthening ties with the United States and Israel Overall this fragmentation undermines OPECs cohesion and raises serious questions about its longterm political relevanceEconomic Significance The Core of the Decision The most critical dimension of the UAEs withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is economic As global energy systems shift toward renewables oil demand is expected to plateau The United Arab Emirates is therefore pursuing a produce more now strategy maximizing revenues while demand and prices remain viable reflecting a forwardlooking monetization of reserves Freed from OPEC quotas the UAE can expand output significantly This may increase global supply place downward pressure on oil prices and weaken OPECs capacity to manage markets It could also trigger competitive production responses particularly from Saudi Arabia intensifying rivalry within the GulfThe decision also enables better utilization of the UAEs massive investments in energy infrastructure OPEC restrictions had limited production below capacity exit allows optimization of output exports and returns ensuring more efficient recovery of capital invested in upstream and downstream sectors However in the short term the move may heighten market volatility Uncertainty over supply coordination combined with ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Gulf could unsettle oil markets before any longterm price stabilization emergesWas the Decision Driven by the USIsraelIran WarWhile the UAE officially frames its exit as part of an evolving energy profile the timing strongly suggests that the war played a catalytic role The conflict Disrupted oil flows and infrastructure triggered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and exposed vulnerabilities in collective energy arrangements However it would be reductive to view the withdrawal as solely wardriven The decision reflects a longterm strategic shift accelerated but not caused by the conflict The war merely acted as a tipping point in an already evolving policy trajectoryImplications for India A Strategic OpportunityFor India the UAEs exit presents strategic opportunities Greater output from the United Arab Emirates may ease global prices lowering Indias import bill and inflation As an independent supplier the UAE offers flexibility in contracts and pricing Planned pipelines bypassing the Strait of Hormuz could improve supply security during crises Additionally strong bilateral ties may deepen through longterm energy agreements and investments enhancing Indias energy diversification and resilienceThe Future of OPEC Decline or AdaptationThe UAEs exit raises fundamental questions about the future of OPEC While the organization still controls a significant share of global supply its influence has diminished from its 1970s peak The rise of nonOPEC producers renewable energy and nationalistic energy policies has eroded its monopoly The key challenge for OPEC is whether it can adapt to a changing energy landscape or face a gradual decline The possibility of further exits cannot be ruled out especially if internal divisions deepenThe UAEs exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries marks a shift from cartel coordination to marketdriven national strategies It exposes Gulf fragmentation and challenges Saudi Arabias dominance while reflecting urgency to monetize oil amid the energy transition Though accelerated by regional conflict the move is strategic For India it offers cheaper and more flexible supplies but adds volatility Ultimately it signals a more competitive global oil order where producers race to maximize value before demand declines DAILY WORLD Prof Nehaluddin Ahmad LLD Professor of Law Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University UNISSA Brunei Email ahmadnehalyahoocom https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/uaes-withdrawal-from-opec-geopolitics-markets-and-the-future-of-energy-671775.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 17:57:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/devi-suktam-part-7-671776.html Ved Darshan 102In continuing our meditation on the Devi Suktam we come to the core verses of the epiphanyaham eva svayam idaṃ vadāmi juṣṭaṃ devebhir uta mānuṣebhiḥ yaṃ kāmaye taṃtam ugraṃ kṛṇomi tam brahmāṇaṃ tam ṛṣiṃ taṃ sumedhām Rig Veda 101255Aham Eva I mine verily indeed svayam myself by my own volition personally idam this here where the demonstrative pronoun idam predicates thisness here at hand and accessible to consciousness as if partaking it vadami utter about speak of reveal through the word jushtam the possessed partaken been one with devabhir the deity deva uta and besides manushebhi man or human Yam Who which Kamayae desire love tamugram thishere mightyexpanded fierce krinomi do constructmake perform tam brahmanam this here brahman tam rishim this here seer tam sumedham thishere with beautifulgood or complete intelligenceHere Vaak Ambhrhni the seeress utters Aham Eva Svayam idam She enunciates that she is verily the goddess herself who impelled by her own volition has achieved completion or isness She is not a becoming and neither is the deity and creation for her a distant that She is both Being the subject and predicationidam A stage where the gap between consciousness and the deity is eliminated and therefore herself is thisness which is approved of by both the gods and men Whomsoever she wills she can create or render She utters these word that Gods and men alike own up to She is the humanness underlying the man her grace or love makes the loved mighty she is the divineness of the deityHere the seeressdevi dyad declares her absolute preeminence based on their oneness This apotheosis anticipates what Saktha termed the Sarvajagatiswari or the sole controller of all Its she alone who vouchsafes Brahmatva Rudratva or Vishnutva or the epiphany or tapas of Rishihood contd DAILY WORLD The writer is a 1993batch IRS officer who is presently posted in Punjab https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/devi-suktam-part-7-671776.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/no-ease-of-business-without-ease-of-exit-671777.html For past many years it has been governments endeavour to bring structural reforms through policy and legislative measures to ensure ease of doing business Prominent among these are Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 IBC and Industrial Relations Code 2020 IRC IBC was introduced to allow failed businesses a chance to restart or exit smoothly IRC was introduced to ensure industrial peace and harmony and to free majority 91 of industrial establishments from government control as threshold for governments prior approval before closing industrial establishment has been raised to 300 workers from the earlier 100 workers under the Industrial Disputes Act The impact of these structural reforms can be observed from the fact that more than two lakh private companies were reported as closed in the past five years due to mergers conversions inactivity formal strikeoff etcEase of closure refers to how quickly and efficiently a business can be closed through legal proceedings and it is measured mainly by time taken to close total cost of closing a business as a percentage of total assets of company and recovery rate for creditorsBased on the latest comprehensive World Bank Doing Business 2020 data the top ten performers in ease of resolving insolvency which an indicator of ease of closure are Norway Ireland Finland Japan New Zealand Belgium UK Singapore Canada and South Korea whereas India ranks at fifty two India is not the worst performer but it is definitely less efficient than advanced economies The closure proceedings are finished within a year in all these countries having a strong legal systemIn India businesses can be closed after following a procedure mandated under various applicable laws in each case like Companies Act Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Labour laws etc The IBC mandates maximum 330 days for legal proceedings However implementation is the real bottleneck and in practice cases often take 24 years due to regulatory procedures shortage of experienced insolvency professionals and multiple appeals up to the Supreme Court The procedural delay is indicative of less efficient legal system and low out of court settlements due to weak alternate dispute resolution mechanismThe delay caused by any factor whatsoever has indirect cost The cost of closure in India is roughly 10 of the total asset value as compared to 35 in other advanced countries The cost includes legal fees courttribunal fees fees of insolvency professional administrative costs auctionliquidation expenses and fees paid to accountants or valuers etcBanks in India recover between 2030 of the total credit The top countries perform better because their system is process driven and not litigation driven They have specialized bankruptcy courts minimal judicial interference strong creditor rights fast out of court settlements and digital case management Though IBC is a step forward however lack of institutional capacity and delays in judicial processes add to the poor overall efficiency leading to a magnanimous portion of assets wasted in the process and creditors recover less money In advanced economies there is a very low value erosion during closure proceedings due to system efficiencyThe closure delays cost businesses in terms of interest on credit maintenance of idle assets legal expenses and foregone opportunity costs due to the fact that some assets may remain idle for long periods during legal processes of winding up These costs are not compiled across all businesses as a nationwide single monetary value however these costs are captured in broader economic measures like NonPerforming Assets NPAs As per the economic survey 202526 Gross NPA is roughly 48 lakh crores The capital which is tied up in unresolved cases and cant be reused in productive ventures elsewhere slows growth in manufacturing or other sectors The pending taxes penalties and statutory dues continue to accumulate if closure is not finalized correctly Prolonged insolvency reduces the possibility of business revival recovery of debts and often reduces the market value of assets The Economic Survey 202526 warns that delay in closure weakens financial systems by locking up productive capital that could otherwise be used for growth The opportunity cost of locked up assets in unviable business has huge implications for the economy Therefore ease of closure is as important as ease of starting a new businessThe real estate alone accounts for approximately 22 of insolvency filings but has lower resolution rates compared to manufacturing due to complex creditor mixes ie banks and homebuyers who are as financial creditors Since real estate is capitalintensive delays in exit or resolution squeeze investment returns along with shrinking employment In the Noida housing market alone over 26000 crores in dues remain tied up due to insolvency or litigation restricting recovery of funds by authorities and creditors Long delay leads to deterioration of asset quality investors lose confidence and additional costs erode the recoverable value of assets Cross country studies suggest that economies with slower exit procedures tend to have fewer new investments technological upgradations and slower job creationIn this context the provision under Industrial Relations Code of no prior approval of government for industrial establishments employing less than 300 workers is a major step forward because the provision of prior approval leads to procedural delay The government is required to decide the application for approval of closure of establishment within a period of sixty days However competent authority may review its decision or refer the matter to Tribunal for adjudication Workers are a necessary party in this and they generally resist closure for the fear of losing employment However experts believe that delaying closure of unviable business doesnt lead to its revival rather workers lose in the long run as employer fails to pay their salary and other dues in time thus increasing financial liability on business and making it less lucrative for would be investors The prolonged uncertainty means more hardship for employees dependent on business The implementation of Industrial Relations code will make closure easier for a large number of MSMEs If all the laws affecting closure are implemented in the right earnest and delays are curtailed drastically it will free large amount of unproductive assets and infuse huge amount of money in the economy with great growth potential Early closure of inefficient businesses will also improve overall productivity and competitiveness It will also facilitate new investment as investors prefer economies where there is ease and predictability ofnbspentry and exit DAILY WORLD nbspThe author is a retired IAS officer reachable at nayarhyahoocomnbsp https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/no-ease-of-business-without-ease-of-exit-671777.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:12:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/theocracies-and-their-fall-671341.html Theocracy as a form of governance represents a fusion of religious authority and political power The legitimacy of theocracies is derived not from popular sovereignty or institutional rationality but from divine sanction interpreted through clerical elites and religious doctrine In spite of their claim of deriving power from an eternal and unquestionable sacred authority history demonstrates that they are neither immune to internal decay nor resistant to external pressuresTheocracies can last for surprisingly long periods in spite of the inherent contradictions and misuse of the putative divine authority Papal political authority was manifested as direct foreign rule over the European Catholic states it lasted for more than a millennium 1114 years to be exact from the 8th century to the 19th with real secular control over European kings lasting from the 11th to the 16th century The Ottoman Caliphate lasted for more than six centuries from the 13th till the 20th When it was under attack from the West surprisingly even the likes of Gandhi exhorted Indians to support it he tied up this cause with the obviously secular noncooperation movementThe fall of theocracies is rarely sudden rather it is the outcome of cumulative tensions between ideology governance economy geopolitical environment and societal change At the core of theocracies lies a fundamental paradox the attempt to impose static divine laws on dynamic evolving societies Religious doctrine particularly when codified into law tends to resist reinterpretation whereas societies continuously transform due to technological progress demographic shifts and global interactionsThe theocratic inflexibility and societys flux create a widening gap between state ideology and lived reality Over time citizensespecially younger and more urban populationsbegin to perceive the system as anachronistic or oppressive This dissonance often manifests in cultural resistance intellectual dissent and eventually political opposition The dissonance is amplified when governance failure becomes too stark to be ignored the masses raise the obvious question if this governance is by divine will is God failing or is the claim false Theocracies do not have the luxury of blaming failure on geopolitical economic or technical factors a comfort available to secular regimesIn spite of the claim of monotheism in major religions over time all religions develop factions The ShiaSunni schism in the very early years of Islam has lasted the entire existence of that religion with civilstrifelike attacks on religious processions and shrines as well as largescale wars being regular features in the Islamic world The 8year long IraqIran War the actions of Irans proxies in West Asia the civil war in Syria and the rise of the Islamic State were all grounded in the ShiaSunni conflict though sometimes triggered by external factors The rise of Protestantism resulted in similar hatefilled intraChristian conflicts in the West starting with the Thirty Years War in the 17th century and culminating in the UKIrish conflict including what is called the Troubles lasting 30 years from 1968 to 1998Such struggles always result in the hardening of theocratic regimes increased resistance from the masses and even fragmentation of the ruling structure For some time even India witnessed conflict between followers of Shiva and those of Vishnu but it appears that Indians were more sagacious they synthesised the two making each a devotee of the other and merging even the images as HariHara a compound word of the names of both Vishnu and Shiva Similarly the Hindu Buddhist conflict seems to have been quenched in its early stages by incorporating Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu and installing his images in the Navagrah panels in Hindu templesVery few religions in the world promote open societies that encourage questioning of every doctrine and questioning the doctrinal answers It is no wonder that theocracies fossilise into rigid systems where every dot and comma becomes sacrosanct there is no room for modifying and bringing it in line with changing times With the passage of time such belief systems become more and more anachronistic and detached from reality and the enforcement of such tenets on the new generation results in conflictAll theocracies go through this process of cumulative delegitimation The regime can no longer convincingly claim to represent the divine will deliver material wellbeing maintain internal cohesion or control the flow of ideas Its foundations begin to crumble The sacred aura that once shielded it from criticism becomes a liability as failures are interpreted not merely as political shortcomings but as moral and spiritual betrayals This transformationfrom unquestioned authority to contested legitimacyis the decisive turning point in the life cycle of theocratic systemsThe psyche of the present regime in Iran as well of the young protestors seeking to overthrow that regime has to be seen in this context The 1979 Islamic Revolution replaced the Pahlavi monarchy with a novel theocratic model built around velayate faqih Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist and institutionalised it by incorporating it into the new constitution It created the position of Supreme Leader with sweeping authority over the armed forces judiciary state media and key vetting institutions such as the Guardian Council creating clerical oversight over the presidency and the parliament and even the elections to these institutions The devastating IranIraq War instead of showing the follies of theocratic rule gave a mantle to the clerics of being the defenders of the nationsThe cumulative delegitimation of the regime has led to waves of protest not only against specific issues but also against the regime in general The 1999 student protest the 2009 Green Movement and the 20172019 protest brought into open the dissatisfaction with the theocracy When a young woman Mahsa Amini was killed by the moralpolice in 2022 protests erupted in the whole country loud and clear against the theocracy but also for the first time against the Supreme Leader Khamenei These protests called the Woman Life Freedom movement have not died out since then in spite of brutal oppression by the regime The protests gained new traction as the economy collapsed the value of the currency nosedived reaching absurd levels of 140 million rial to a dollar and water scarcity becamenbspever more acuteThe brutal response of the regime resulted in the deaths of more than 35000 civilians in just two days the US and Israel attacks on Iran have reportedly killed 15000 Iranians a majority of them members of the security forces over a period of 80 days No wonder some Iranians told a BBC reporter that they want the attacks on Iran to continue accepting some civilian deaths as collateral damage in the war against the theocracy The society is feeling suffocated with the internet blocked since February 28 and the IRGC and the Basij given a free hand to arrest anyone with an accusation of colluding with the enemyHow will this regime fall The unarmed Iranians are no match for a millionarmedmen available to the regime including the reserves The IRGC is politically and economically allpowerful and it snubbed even the President over his reconciliatory statement The IRGC has the most to lose if this regime falls The regime is a theocracy in name only now for all practical purposes it is a military dictatorship It has to be weakened before any talk of regime change will have meaning Democracies owe the destruction of this regime to the Iranians and to their own democratic ideals if they do not want to be judged by history as sham democracies who failed in their humanitarian duty of helping more than 90 million Iranians caught in the jaws of this brutal regime DAILY WORLD R N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personalnbsp https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/theocracies-and-their-fall-671341.html Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:55:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/making-india-innovation-hub-of-the-world-671117.html If India is to attain the status of Viksit Bharat by the year 2047 its foundation has to be laid on strong research and innovation in science technology artificial intelligence health education service delivery governance and solution of various social issues This way alone India can compete in global markets by producing world class goods and services for export and domestic markets which will benefit the economy National security is also dependent upon latest technology in defense which we import from other countries at a huge cost and increasing our vulnerabilities in critical times Without being selfreliant in technology the dream of Viksit Bharat cannot be fully realizedThe current scenario in innovation and research is far from satisfactory Numerically India is the third largest contributor of PhD thesis in the world with 4000050000 PhD theses every year while USA produces 5500060000 PhDsyear while China with 7000080000 PhDsyear is at first place The majority of research output 5060 in India is in science and engineering disciplines with social science contributing 1520 and humanities commerce and other fields contributing the remaining The thesis output has increased from 2500030000year since 201516 to 4000050000year due to government funding UGC regulations and mandatory PhD for faculty positions Majority of theses come from Central and State universities IITs and IISc However despite an increase in number of doctoral theses there is a lack of comprehensive analysis regarding quality The quantity of research output which is not matched by improvements in research standards and global relevance is not commercially useful Sweden Switzerland USA South Korea and Germany are innovation leaders and these countries invest more than 3 of GDP in RampD compared to 07 of GDP by India USA leads in research to patent linked output in science India on the other hand has low patent conversion The main reasons for India lagging in innovation conversion are weak industryacademia collaboration focus on quantity over quality limited funding for product development poor commercialization ecosystem etcThe research quality can be evaluated from the fact that no Indian has ever won the Nobel in Science since CV Raman 1930 while working in India Others like Har Gobind Khorana Subrahmanyan Chanrasekhar and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan pursued their Nobel winning research outside India In top innovation countries universities industry and government are interconnected whereas in India universities are often isolated without any industry or government involvement in researchA case in point is MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology which has strong industry collaboration with focus on applied and commercial research leading to 2530 research projects having commercialization potential 1015 leading to patents and 35 becoming startups More than 30000 active companies have been founded by the alumni of MIT aloneIn India majority of research is academic and repetitive Only a small fraction of research is for innovation and problem solving The financial or nonfinancial incentives were so framed that it facilitated quantity of research than high risk high impact research For instance earlier advance increments were given to lecturers if they completed PhD which involved huge financial implications in increased salary and pension benefits Promotion is also linked to the number of research papers published Therefore the focus is on volume of work done rather than the quality of work Similarly research scholars get fellowship for conducting research Although these research scholars are funded from public money there is no interaction with government or civil society for selection of research topic Majority of research scholars prefer academic topics due to structural and institutional challenges There is no support from government departments in data collection Even routine information is not provided There is trust deficit on both the sidesWe need to create an ecosystem of research in our universities for providing solutions to various problems faced by industry government and society Topic selection should be in close coordination with industry and government departments Health education agriculture water supply and sanitation environment justice delivery artificial intelligence science and technology and many social issues including drug addiction and rehabilitation of addicts after deaddiction should be prioritized areas of research so that meaningful policies could be framed on the basis of empirical dataIndia needs to increase spending on RampD to at least 2 of GDP Certain steps need to be taken to incentivize quality research in universities and research institutions for creating an environment of innovation and commercial use Universities should work in close coordination with the government and the industry for research and development and for third party evaluation of research work to ensure transparency and accountability of research Industry ought to be provided additional tax and nontax incentives for funding quality research leading to patents or startups The financial incentives to researchers by the government in the form of advance increments or otherwise should be linked with implementable solutions and implemented patents Financial incentives and career advancement opportunities should be provided to all the employees if research leads to implemented solutions of problems faced by government or society and leads to patents Policies should be so framed that these encourage qualitative research over quantitative one Once ecosystem of research is created India may become innovationnbsphub of the world DAILY WORLD The author is a retired IAS officer reachable at nayarhyahoocom https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/making-india-innovation-hub-of-the-world-671117.html Sat, 25 Apr 2026 14:05:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/rest-beyond-sleep-recovery-nsdr-and-restoring-energy-670941.html By now we understand that sleep is foundational to emotional balance We have seen how modern life disrupts it and what the body is trying to repair each night Yet many people experience a familiar frustration even after a reasonable nights sleep they still feel tired This points to a deeper realityWe are not only sleepdeprived We are often recoverydeprived Sleep is essential but in the rhythm of modern living it is no longer sufficient on its ownWhen Sleep Is Not EnoughConsider a typical day The mind remains engaged from morning to nightwork conversations screens decisions notifications Even when the body is still the mind continues to process The nervous system rarely shifts fully into a state of restBy the time we reach bed we are physically tired but mentally active Sleep then has to do more than its natural share of workrepairing not just the days effort but also the days accumulated tension This is why even a full nights sleep can feel incomplete The missing layer is not more sleep It is a deep rest during the dayUnderstanding Deep RestNot all rest is equal There is a difference between pausing and truly recoveringSleep restores the body and brain at nightLight rest offers a physical pauseDeep rest resets the nervous systemModern science has begun to describe this third state more clearly Often referred to as NSDR NonSleep Deep Rest it is a state where the body is deeply relaxed the mind is quiet and the nervous system shifts out of alert modewithout actually falling asleep In this state heart rate slows cortisol levels reduce and the brain begins to recover from continuous stimulation Simply put NSDR is conscious rest that restores the systemWhy This Matters TodayIn earlier times daily life naturally included pausesmoments of stillness silence or unstructured time Today those spaces are often filled We move from one activity to another without transition Attention remains fragmented The mind carries unfinished loops Over time this creates a steady drain on energy If there is no recovery during the day the night is asked to compensate And often it cannot fully do soSimple Ways to Restore Deep RestThe good news is that deep rest does not require complex techniques It requires intentional pausesOver the years I have found a few simple practices particularly helpfulnot as routines to perfect but as ways to reset the system1 Guided Deep Rest Yoga Nidra NSDRLying down for 1020 minutes with a guided body scan or simply moving attention gently across the body allows the system to slow down Even without sleep this can feel deeply restorative2 BreathBased ResetSlow breathingespecially with a slightly longer exhalationsignals the body to relax Practices like alternate nostril breathing or simple deep breathing even for a few minutes can shift the nervous system noticeably3 EyesClosed StillnessAt times simply sitting or lying down with eyes closed without engaging with a screen or thought creates a quiet reset It sounds simple but in a stimulated day it is surprisingly powerful4 Nature and Light ExposureSpending a few minutes outdoorsparticularly in natural lighthelps regulate both the nervous system and circadian rhythm A short walk without distractions often restores more energy than we expectThese practices are not separate from life They are ways of creating small islands of recovery within itEnergy Not Just SleepSeen through this lens sleep becomes part of a larger systemenergy management Energy is not only spent through activity It is also drained through constant thinking emotional load and digital overstimulation Without pauses these drains accumulateThe Middle Path PerspectiveThe Middle Path offers a simple approach Not extreme discipline and not neglectSleep well at nightCreate moments of rest during the dayReduce unnecessary stimulationAllow the system to resetRecovery in this sense is not an activityIt is a state we allowourselves to enterIf we step back a pattern becomes clear Sleep restores us at night Rhythm supports it Daily habits influence it And recovery completes itTogether they form a systemBut there is one more layer we often overlookhow we fuel and regulate this system from withinLooking AheadIn the next article we will explore The Middle Path Food Gut and the Second Brainand how what we eat digest and absorb influences not just physical health but mood energy and emotional balance Because happiness is not shaped only by how we think or sleep but also by how we nourish the system that sustains both DAILY WORLD Maninder is a seasoned BFSI industry executive strategic consultant and trusted advisor to leading MNCs and innovative FinTech startups He lives in Chandigarh https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/rest-beyond-sleep-recovery-nsdr-and-restoring-energy-670941.html Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:26:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/nifty-turns-30-still-bullish-no-midlife-crisis-yet-670740.html Happy 30th birthday to Indias favourite market benchmark the Nifty 50 Launched on 22 April 1996 with a base value of 1000 the index has grown into a powerful reflection of the Indian economy Today it hovers around the 24400 mark translating into roughly 24x growth in price terms over three decadesIf Nifty were a person it would be that annoyingly fit 30yearold who has survived every economic drama from the dotcom bust and the 2008 global meltdown to the COVID crash and still shows up looking fresh While the rest of us battle grey hair and rising EMIs Nifty has quietly compounded wealth for patient investors And yes it has done all this without needing expensive therapy sessionsThe journey hasnt been a straight highway There have been stomachchurning falls euphoric rallies policy surprises and global shocks Yet through it all Nifty has shown remarkable resilience Since inception price returns have averaged around 1112 CAGR while the Total Return Index including reinvested dividends has delivered approximately 12513 CAGR A modest 1 lakh invested at launch with dividends reinvested would have grown into several tens of lakhs today Thats the quiet magic of longterm compoundingWhat makes this milestone special is not just the numbers but the realworld lessons it offers to everyday investors salaried employees small business owners and firsttime market participants who form the backbone of Indias growing equity cultureFive Uncomfortable Truths from 30 Years of NiftyYou are not smarter than the marketLets get this out of the way The idea that you can consistently time the market is not ambition its delusion Niftys long history shows that staying invested beats jumping in and out based on gut feel TV debates or WhatsApp forwards The market doesnt reward brilliance as much as it punishes impatienceBoring strategies winSystematic investing isnt exciting It doesnt make for great dinner conversation But SIPs have quietly created far more wealth than adrenalinefuelled trading ever will The irony The more boring your approach the better your longterm outcome is likely to beDiversification is not optionalEvery cycle produces a new cant lose sector tech infra pharma PSU you name it Every cycle also humbles that belief Niftys sectoral spread is a constant reminder that leadership changes Betting everything on one idea is not conviction its concentration risk dressed up as confidenceVolatility is the price of admissionMarkets dont go up in straight lines and theyre not supposed to The crashes of 2008 and 2020 felt like the end of the world in real time They werent They were the fee investors pay for longterm returns If you want the reward you dont get to reject the discomfortActivity is not progressThe biggest enemy of compounding isnt the market its the investor Churning portfolios reacting to every dip chasing every rally all of it feels productive but usually destroys returns The difference between price returns and total returns is a quiet lesson wealth is built by sitting not fidgetingAt 30 Nifty isnt slowing down Indias economy remains young consumption is rising and global investors continue to bet on the countrys growth story The index itself has evolved becoming more representative and more relevant over timeSo the next time the market dips 510 and your heart rate spikes remember Nifty just turned 30 without a midlife crisis Retail investors could learn from that composureStay disciplined keep a sense of humour and let time do the heavy lifting Because in the end the market much like life rewards those who show up consistently and dont quit during the difficult phasesHeres to the next 30 years of Nifty and to all of us who hopefully stop checking our portfolios every single daynbsp DAILY WORLD The writer is a former DGP of Punjab Views expressed are his personalnbsp https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/nifty-turns-30-still-bullish-no-midlife-crisis-yet-670740.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 22:24:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/op-sindoor-not-only-avenged-pahalgam-it-inspired-confidence-in-kashmirs-faith-in-indian-nation-670712.html When April 22 2025 unfolded in Pahalgammore precisely in the Baisaran meadowsit dealt a severe shock to the nation and very few saw a turnaround coming anytime soon The killing of 26 civilians 25 of them tourists from various parts of the country and one from Nepal numbed the nation It was the deadliest attack against tourists in the Kashmir Valleymade even more gruesome by the verification of the victims religious identity and the use of abusive antiIndia rhetoric by three Pakistani terroristsThree factors made the difference Today Pahalgamand by extension the whole of Kashmir and the countryhas emerged from the shadows of April 22 last year A new dawn has altered the course of events The revival of tourism is only a small part of the story the real transformation lies in the nations resolve and its manifestation in Operation SindoorOn the day of the attack when tourists were shot alongside a local Kashmiri pony ride operator Adil Shahwho bravely grappled with one of the terrorists to save the gueststhe Valley was emptied of visitors Tourists returned home Few expected them to come back anytime soon as Kashmir suddenly seemed to have reverted to being a dangerous destination after nearly five years of unprecedented normalcy That normalcyrooted in the abrogation of Article 370 and intensified antiterror operationshad given a renewed sense of life to the people of Kashmir but it suffered a temporary joltOf the three factors Operation Sindoor launched in the early hours of May 7 2025 made all the difference It not only avenged the loss of innocent lives in Baisaranthe pain and grief of their familiesbut also laid a solid foundation of trust between the residents of the Valley and the rest of the country India had launched surgical and aerial strikes after the devastating terror attacks on the Uri garrison in September 2016 and the Pulwama bombing in February 2019 However in both cases the victims were soldiers and CRPF personnelIn the Pahalgam attack there was only one Kashmiri among the victims but he stood as a symbol of the true values of Kashmir that decades of terrorism had sought to subvert Tourism and tourists are inseparable from Kashmir a special bond exists between themone that terrorists attempted to dismantle at the behest of Pakistan Pakistans Army Chief Asim Munir had effectively laid the groundwork for this gruesome attack in his speech to the Pakistani diaspora in Islamabad on April 15 2025 when he invoked the twonation theory and described Kashmir as Pakistans jugular veinOperation Sindoor in its essence was a massive counterterrorism exercise that targeted and neutralized terrorists their training centres and facilitators within the Pakistani establishment At the same time it instilled confidence among the people of Kashmir that the entire nation stood firmly with them It was not merely revengeit was a restoration of dignity for Kashmir which had felt humiliated by the attack in one of its most beautiful landscapesSignificantly on the very next dayApril 23 2025the people of Kashmir took to the streets calling for justice and demanding action against the perpetrators These protests were unprecedentedfar beyond routine statements of condemnation The clarity and intensity of their demand reflected a deep understanding of the attacks communal design and its external orchestration They had heard Asim Munirs speech and were perceptive enough to connect the dotsThe protests of April 23 and Operation Sindoor were intrinsically linked Chronologically the protests came first marking perhaps the first time that Kashmiris physically demonstrated against terrorism in such a unified manner When Operation Sindoor followed it validated their call for justiceIndias national leadership also sent a strong message Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and returned immediately after the attack Home Minister Amit Shah reached Srinagar and Pahalgam within hours These actions underscored a clear policy of zero tolerance for terrorism The Prime Minister promised unimaginable punishment for the perpetrators and their backers while the Home Minister assured that no one would be spared Operation Sindoor was the fulfilment of those promisesThe third crucial factor was the response of Kashmirs political leadership Often viewed with scepticism they unequivocally condemned the attack and demanded strict action against those responsible For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir a special session of the Legislative Assembly was convened to collectively express grief and anger and to call for justice The political leadership understood the public sentiment and stood aligned with it In doing so they passed a critical testToday Kashmir has turned a corner While tributes will continue to be paid to the victims this moment also calls for recognising the resilience of Kashmir and the renewed confidence it has found in the Indian nation through Operation Sindoorwithout any ambiguity DAILY WORLD The writer is the Consulting Editor Jammu amp Kashmir at Daily World httpsepaperdailyworldinDetailsaspxid104091ampboxid77828ampuidampdat20260422 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/op-sindoor-not-only-avenged-pahalgam-it-inspired-confidence-in-kashmirs-faith-in-indian-nation-670712.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:42:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/chinas-supply-chain-monopolies-brittle-as-chinese-rice-paper-670391.html During Covid years the world trembled it was dependent on Chinese supply chains and China was weaponizing that dependence Shortage of lowend chips had hurt car manufacturers Automotive parts electronics and IT components logistics and shipping active pharmaceutical ingredients you name it it appeared that the world was beholden to China for the very survival of mankind The cruellest cut was the personal protection equipment PPEs face masks gowns and surgical gloves needed to handle the Chinese pandemic In early 2020 China produced 83 of worlds PPE demand and the dragon turned the tragedy into profit The prices increased up to ten times almost overnight One Chinese manufacturer of face masks had gloated it is not a maskmaking machine it is a currency printing machineThe world was more resilient than Xi Jinping had thought in the US automakers like Ford and General Motors GM retooled factories to produce masks gown and ventilators On 21 March 2020 GM approached Esys Automation a Michiganbased integrator which is part of Hitachi specializing in advanced robotic systems and software for automotive assembly apparently oceans away from masks and surgical gloves Just a week later the first batch of masks rolled out Such stories remain unknown because the world has swallowed China byline that the Communists are efficient and capitalism is sluggish If that was true the USSR would never have collapsedNo Chinese monopoly has been natural before China emerged as the worlds factory most of the monopolies were with the West some like garments were in South Asia Subsidies stolen or robbed intellectual property rights for which the West had spent hundreds of billions reverse engineering and ignoring the pollution costs enabled China to offer goods at ridiculously low prices mostly below actual cost The factories outside China were either bankrupted or they relocated to China taking their IPRs with them one necessary condition for being in business in China The other was that all these large factories were required by law to have a Communist Party of China CCP module and its head was a necessary member of the board of directors effectively bringing all foreign manufacturers under state controlThose of the readers who have trekked in high mountains would know that if you take a shortcut it leaves you so tired that ultimately you are a laggard These shortcuts have brought China this farther but may not take it much further PPEs were not the only Chinese monopoly which crumbled in a short time PostCovid which may be called the era of world enlightenment to the dangers posed by China its other monopolies too proved equally fragileLithium was frequently mentioned as an absolute Chinese monopoly that would allow the dragon to hold the world in its claws In fact China had never enjoyed sourcemonopoly of lithium its toolkit merely enabled it to grab monopoly of processing from Chile the US and Australia US was the leading producer in the 1990s before yielding it under environmentalists pressure to Chile in the 2000s which surrendered it to China China offered the finished product at such a low cost that the processing centres around the world got closed Lithium processing is a highly polluting activity and the leftists Chinas lackeys around the world posing as environmentalists came in handy for shutting down these facilities outside China even as Chinese stateowned companies bought controlling stakes in lithium mines around the world Subsequently China found domestic lithium reserves but these are in difficult areas like Tibet and China continues to be dependent on imported lithium raw materialChinas wolfwarrior arrogance during the Covid years woke up the world to this lithium processing dependence and soon incentives were announced in various countries Australia and Canada collaborated with the US for setting up statesupported processing facilities and Europe soon followed suit Companies like GM adopted vertical integration from mining to processing The US and Europe are using friendshoring with India Japan and Canada to pool resources and align policies to neutralise Chinese market price manipulation The EU passed the Critical Raw Materials Act to ensure that by 2030 no single country supplies more than 65 of any strategic material The US passed the Defense Production Act for avoiding Chinese materials in Defence and for developing a Critical Minerals Ministerial to secure nonChinese supply chainsAn alarmed China worked at breakneck speed to shift the world to sodiumion batteries as of October 2025 China had produced 90 of global output of these batteries But now the democracies with all their slow deliberative decisionmaking were69 wiser to the Chinese monopoly threats The basic raw material for sodiumion batteries is sodaash and of the 25 billion tonnes reserves globally 23 billion tonnes are in the US which is now providing grants to promote local manufacturing Companies like Acculon Energy Bedrock Materials and Natron Energy have taken advantage of these incentives and will soon provide competition to Chinese battery makers Since Sodiumion batteries are heavy the US focus is on stationary gridscale storage to neutralise the infirmness of wind and solar energyRare earths and magnets made from these are another area in which China bared its fangs at the world The story however goes back to 2010 when Japan detained a Chinese fishing boat near Japans Senkaku Islands which China covets China retaliated by restricting rare earth exports to Japan That led to rapid investments in the sector The US however has remained in political turmoil during Trumps first term and then during Bidens term Then in 2025 when Trump imposed steep tariffs on China the latter blocked export of rare earths and magnets to the US forcing Trump to beat a hasty tactical retreatBeijing monopoly in this area has been described as an existential threat for the West as it has a stranglehold over manufacturing green energy as well as over national security Now the US is aggressively taking counter measures to ensure vertical integration of minetomagnet supply by investing billions in domestic mining processing and magnet production Up to 12 billion are being invested in project Vault creating critical mineral stockpiles while Chinese origin magnets are being banned from US defence systems US companies like MP Materials and USA Rare Earth have taken advantage of the loans and financial support to the tune of 500 million for stock acquisition being channelised through the Departmentnbspof DefenceOn a less techheavy front India which has always been strong in leather footwear is now focussing on growth in nonleather highperformance sneaker sector to match the Chinese Among others Tamil Nadu has emerged as a major footwear cluster which has attracted major brands like Nike Puma Crocs and New Balance In a story in April 2025 A revolution is under way in Indias trainer industry the BBC had said that Taiwans Hong Fu Industrial Group globally the second largest maker of sneakers which supplies to Nike Converse Adidas Puma and others was building a giant plant in Panapakkam in Tamil Nadu It will have a capacity for making 25 million pairs every year making a big dent in Chinas clout in this sectorChinas contrived monopolies proved brittle as Chinese rice paper when the world moved with determination and the weaponization of these monopolies has seriously dented Chinas soft power Xi Jinping has been exhorting the Chinese diplomats and diaspora to tell Chinas stories well His own shortsighted hegemonic geopolitics however tells a rather unpleasant story DAILY WORLD R N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/chinas-supply-chain-monopolies-brittle-as-chinese-rice-paper-670391.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:40:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/sleep-across-life-stages-adapting-rhythm-to-age-and-energy-669958.html If sleep is a biological rhythm it is not a fixed one It evolves with age lifestyle and changing energy patterns What works in one phase of life may not work in another Yet many of us continue to hold on to old expectationstrying to sleep the same way at 50 as we did at 25 or expecting the same depth and duration regardless of how life has changedUnderstanding sleep therefore also requires understanding where we are in lifeSleep does not become worse with ageIt becomes differentThe 20s and 30s Flexibility with a CostIn the earlier years the body is more forgiving Sleep cycles are deeper recovery is faster and irregular routines are often tolerated without immediate consequencesThis is also the phase where sleep is most easily compromisedlate nights social commitments digital overstimulation and career pressures The body absorbs the impact but the cost is not absent it is delayedOver time this pattern creates a habit of irregularity Sleep becomes something to adjust around life rather than something that supports itThe opportunity in this phase is awareness Establishing rhythm earlyconsistent sleep timing exposure to morning light and managing stimulationcreates a foundation that pays off laterThe 40s and 50s Pressure and FragmentationMidlife brings a different set of challenges Responsibilities increaseprofessional financial familial Mental load expands Stress becomes less episodic and more continuousSleep in this phase often becomes lighter and more fragmented Many people report waking up during the night difficulty returning to sleep or feeling less refreshed despite adequate hoursHormonal changes especially around metabolism and stress regulation also play a role The body becomes less tolerant of irregular routines late meals and overstimulationThis is often the stage where people begin to notice that sleep cannot be taken for grantedWhat helps here is not more effort but better alignmentreducing latenight stimulation managing stress during the day and creating clearer boundaries between activity and restThe 60s and Beyond Light Sleep Deeper WisdomAs we move into later years sleep patterns shift further Deep sleep is reduced and waking earlier becomes more common This is a natural biological change not necessarily a problemHowever it is often misinterpreted Many people expect the same sleep duration and depth as in earlier years leading to unnecessary concernThe focus at this stage shifts from quantity to qualityand from control to acceptanceShorter sleep if continuous and restful can still support energy and wellbeing Daytime rest if needed can complement nighttime sleep without disrupting itThis phase also offers an opportunity to align more closely with natural rhythmsearlier evenings earlier mornings and a simpler more settled pace of lifeEnergy as the Connecting ThreadAcross all stages one theme remains constant energySleep is not just about hours It is about how energy is restored conserved and used In younger years energy is abundant but often scattered In midlife it is stretched In later years it becomes more preciousThe relationship between sleep and energy becomes clearer with time Poor sleep drains energy but so do overcommitment constant stimulation and emotional overloadI recall Mr Subhash Mohindru once saying Energy changes with age Wisdom is knowing where to spend itand where not toThat insight extends to sleep As life evolves the way we manage energy must evolve with itAdapting Not ResistingOne of the most important shifts across life stages is moving from resistance to adaptationIn younger years the tendency is to ignore the need for sleepIn midlife it is to struggle against the disruptionIn later years it is expected to behave as it once didThe Middle Path suggests something different to observe understand and adjustSleep improves not when we hold on to past patterns but when we align with present realitiesThe Middle Path PerspectiveThere is no single formula for sleep that applies to everyone What remains consistent is the principle of balancebetween activity and rest stimulation and stillness effort and recoveryAcross life stages the question is not Am I sleeping like beforeIt is Am I sleeping in a way that supports my life nowA Closing ReflectionSleep evolves just as life does When we stop measuring it against fixed expectations and begin to understand it as a living rhythm it becomes easier to work with rather than against itSleep is not something to perfectIt is something to align withAnd when that alignment is foundeven imperfectlyenergy returns clarity improves and happiness begins to feel less effortful againManinder is a seasoned BFSI industry executive strategic consultant and trusted advisor to leading MNCs and innovative FinTech startups He lives in Chandigarh https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/sleep-across-life-stages-adapting-rhythm-to-age-and-energy-669958.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 16:37:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-from-aggregation-to-enterprise-accelerating-farmer-producer-organisations-in-punjab-669959.html A leading narrative facing agriculturists in India is the need for market participation or expanding the value chain of their produce This point however ignores the fact that in a country where over 85 percent of farmers are small and marginal individual market participation is often inefficient and economically unviable Farmer Producer Organisations FPOs provide a sustainable alternative in such a context FPOs aim to address this imbalance by facilitating collective procurement aggregation and marketing which in turn enhances scale and bargaining powerThe Government of India recognised the importance of FPOs in transforming the agri value chain and launched the Formation and Promotion of 10000 FPOs Scheme in 2020 The Government of Punjab has also introduced complementary measures to promote FPOs within the state While the expansion in numbers is notable the critical issue is whether these institutions have translated into viable and selfsustaining enterprises particularly in a structurally distinct state like Punjab Over the years the number of FPOs registered in Punjab has increased to 136 in 2024 Punjab despite traditionally being an agricultural state still lags behind other states like Andhra Pradesh 445 Tamil Nadu 414 and Rajasthan 533 Another linked issue is whether the expansion of FPOs has translated into viable and selfsustaining enterprises particularly in a structurally distinct state like PunjabA crucial lever in the performance of these institutions are the existing policy framework In this context the National Policy Framework roots itself in the understanding of the structural realities of Indian agriculture The applicability of the national framework however depends critically on local conditions Punjab presents a unique agricultural structure that diverges from the assumptions underlying the policy The states agrarian economy is deeply embedded in the Minimum Support Price MSP procurement where public agencies provide assured markets and stable prices Importantly the national framework misses on identifying pathways of establishing market linkages under thisnbsppathdependenceIn a MSPsecure system Punjabs farmers operate in a relatively secure market Against this background the advantage of the collective bargaining abilities of FPOs becomes inherently limited The growth of FPOs in Punjab has not produced many viable enterprises Most FPOs remain small underfunded and reliant on outside support Research assessing the performance of FPOs in Gurdaspur Punjab highlighted the lack of market awareness of members of FPOs absence of business skills and exposure to formal and complex contract based business transactions amongst farmers Singh etal 2022 Further surveys of FPO members across Amritsar Gurdaspur and Patiala reported nearly 16 increase in incomes of marginal farmers However gaps continue to persist Lack of storage facilities and external market linkages were major painpoints despite FPO membership Kaur and Singh 2021A deeper concern lies in the policy emphasis on numerical targets the number of FPOs formed rather than on enterprise viability This has resulted in a proliferation of organisations without corresponding economic strength In Punjab where farmers already benefit from relatively better incomes through MSP procurement the incentive to engage with weak or nonperforming FPOs is further diminishedThus the issue is not one of policy inadequacy but of policy misalignment Without adaptation the framework risks underperformance in states where its core assumptions do not fully applyThe future trajectory of FPOs in Punjab depends on a strategic shift from institutional formation to enterprise development This requires prioritising sectors where aggregation generates real economic value particularly horticulture pulses oilseeds dairy and highvalue crops Integration with value chains through partnerships with processors exporters and organised retailers is essential to ensure sustained market accessFinancial support systems must evolve from grantbased assistance to sustainable credit frameworks supported by risk mitigation instruments Institutional coordination at the state level must be strengthened to align central schemes with Punjabspecific priorities Equally important is the need to build professional management capacity within FPOs enabling them to function as competitive business entities rather than grantdependent collectivesThe experience of FPOs in Punjab highlights a fundamental principle of public policy uniform frameworks must be adapted to local contexts to achieve intended outcomes Too varied sectors like agriculture must be viewed with the lens of placebased policies Such policies can respond to the needs and potentials of diverse places while also contributing to national competitiveness and social cohesion OECD 2025In Punjab this alignment requires recognising both the strengths of the MSP system and the urgent need for diversification FPOs can play a pivotal role in facilitating this transition but only if repositioned as viable enterprises operating within appropriate value chainsnbsp Daily World Mr Suresh Kumar IAS served as Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2017 to 2021 and Sirjan Kaur is Senior Development Associate at PANJ Foundation The views expressed are personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-from-aggregation-to-enterprise-accelerating-farmer-producer-organisations-in-punjab-669959.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 16:41:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/going-bananas-why-my-new-financial-advisor-works-for-peanuts-669770.html Imagine a highpowered fund manager They have an MBA from an IIM a tailored suit and a Bloomberg Terminal that costs more than your car Now imagine a blindfolded chimpanzee with a handful of darts and a copy of the Economic TimesIf youre betting on who will make more money this year you might want to back the monkeyIt sounds like a punchline but its actually a cornerstone of economic theory In 1973 Princeton economist Burton Malkiel famously claimed in his classic A Random Walk Down Wall Street that a blindfolded monkey throwing darts at a newspapers financial pages could select a portfolio that would do just as well as one carefully selected by the expertsFifty years and 15 million book sales later the world has put this theory to the testand the results are not flattering for humansThe Great Animal UprisingIn 2012 Orlando the Cat chose stocks by dropping a toy mouse on a grid Orlando ended the year with a 42 return the team of professional fund managers he was competing against ended in the red Then there was Lusha the Monkey in Russia who picked a portfolio that outperformed 94 of the countrys mutual fundsThe Secret Behind the Ape AlphaWhy do monkeys win Its not because they understand pricetoearnings ratios Its because of smallcap biasnbspHuman pros often play it safe with giant slowmoving companies A monkeys dart however is just as likely to hit a tiny aggressive growth company as it is a massive bluechip stock By being random the monkey accidentally builds a diversified highgrowth portfolio that humans are often too smart or scared to touchnbspThe Indian Twist Why Desi Monkeys StruggleHowever the Monkey Hypothesis hit a speed bump when it reached Indian shores Vishal Khandelwal of Safal Niveshak tested this by creating monkey portfolios from the BSESensex BSE200 and BSE500nbspThe result The monkeys flopped Five out of six monkey portfolios underperformed the broader indicesnbspThe reason isnt a lack of primate talent its corporate misgovernance In the US a random dart usually lands on a company that follows the rules In India Khandelwal argues a random dart has a high probability of hitting a company involved in creative accounting or poor governance In India it seems you need a little human intuition to avoid the trash that a blindfolded monkey cant smellnbspThe Passive RevolutionThis hilarious realitythat humans often cant beat a chimphas fuelled a massive financial revolution The Index FundnbspIf the pros cant consistently beat a primate why pay them expert fees Investors are fleeing active managers who charge 15 for mediocre performance and are flocking to passive index funds that track the whole market for a fraction of the costnbspThe Shift For the first time in history passive funds now hold more assets than active fundsnbspThe Savings Switching from a 1 management fee to a 01 index fund fee can save you lakhs of rupees over your lifetimenbspEven Warren Buffettthe GOAT of investingproved this He bet 1 million that an SampP 500 index fund would beat a group of elite hedge fund managers over ten years Spoiler The index fund didnt just win it crushed themThe Bottom LineYou dont need a PhD to build wealthyou just need to stop paying for expert advice that a primate could provide for the price of a banana In the world of investing sometimes the smartest thing you can do is stop trying to be clever and just follow the marketThe Very Necessary DisclaimerDISCLAIMER This article is for entertainment and educational purposes only Please do not actually go to your local zoo and ask a primate for financial advice They are notoriously bad at explaining standard deviation and may attempt to eat your physical share certificates Past performance of cats and monkeys is no guarantee of future results Always consult a human professionalor at least a very sophisticated catbefore making major financialnbspdecisionsnbsp https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/going-bananas-why-my-new-financial-advisor-works-for-peanuts-669770.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/why-the-strait-of-hormuz-is-central-to-the-iran-war-669773.html Few geographical points on earth carry the strategic weight of the Strait of Hormuz In the ongoing IranUSIsrael confrontation this narrow maritime corridor has transformed from a commercial artery into a geopolitical fault line The crisis has revealed a stark reality control over Hormuz is not merely about navigation it is about energy security economic stability and global power projection As tensions escalated following the February 2026 strikes Irans ability to disrupt and selectively manage this chokepoint turned a regional war into a global economic emergencyGeographical Situation The Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran to the north and Oman and the UAE to the south forming the only maritime passage between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea At its narrowest it is barely 33 km wide with shipping lanes confined within even tighter corridors This geography makes it a classic chokepoint a location where even limited disruption can have disproportionate global consequences Every vessel leaving major Gulf producersSaudi Arabia Iraq Kuwait Qatar and the UAE must pass through this corridor Thus geography itself has made Hormuz a lever of power particularly for Iran which occupies the northern coastline and commands strategic vantage points along the straitEconomic and Commercial Utility The economic significance of Hormuz is unparalleled Approximately 20 of global oil and liquefied natural gas LNG flows through this strait translating into nearly 20 million barrels of oil per day and energy trade valued at hundreds of billions annually Beyond oil the strait is vital for LNG exports especially from Qatar fertilizer shipments heavily dependent on natural gas inputs and essential imports to Gulf states including food and medicines The recent conflict demonstrated how fragile this system is Within weeks of hostilities oil prices surged beyond 100 per barrel supply chains were disrupted across Asia and even European states began rationing fuel Indias decision to resume Iranian oil imports after seven years underscores how quickly strategic necessity can override political alignments When Hormuz is disrupted global markets do not wait to adapt often in ways that reshape longstanding alliancesHow Iran Effectively Blocked Hormuz Iran did not impose a formal total blockade Instead it employed a strategy of effective deniala combination of military signaling and selective enforcement Deployment of drones missiles and fast attack boats threats against tankers linked to adversaries use or alleged deployment of naval mines direct attacks or nearmisses on commercial vessels At least 24 commercial ships were struck or targeted while maritime insurance costs skyrocketed Traffic collapsed dramaticallyfrom roughly 135 vessels per day to a fraction of that number The result was not a legal closure but a functional paralysis of the strait More significantly Iran adopted a selective passage regime friendly or neutral states China India Russia etc were allowed passage adversarial or Westernlinked vessels faced restrictions or risks This selective control effectively transformed Hormuz into a negotiated corridor where access depended on political alignment rather than neutral international lawHormuz as Leverage Currency Control and Strategic Messaging The Strait of Hormuz matters not merely for its geography but as the intersection of energy law and power In the current Iran war it has become the decisive strategic variablebeyond the reach of military force or legal doctrine alone Irans capacity to control and selectively manage the strait including willingness to accept payments in Iranian currency or yuan challenges the dominance of the petrodollar and unsettles US economic interests At the same time global dependence exposes deep vulnerability The central lesson is clear Hormuz cannot be governed through coercion alone it demands cooperation trust and a broader rethinking of security beyond forceCan Energy Exporters Avoid Hormuz Limited Alternatives Despite decades of concern alternatives to Hormuz remain limited Saudi Arabias EastWest pipeline 5 million barrelsday capacity UAEs Fujairah pipeline 15 million barrelsday capacity Even if fully utilized these routes can only offset a fraction of the total flow Estimates suggest a potential shortfall of 810 million barrels per day if Hormuz is disrupted Moreover infrastructure is vulnerable to drone and missile attacks costs of rerouting are significantly higher LNG exports in particular lack viable alternatives Thus Hormuz remains irreplaceable in the short to medium term reinforcing Irans leverageWhy US Blockade Strategy Falls Short The US responsethreatening a naval blockade and enforcement against vessels engaging with Iranreveals the limits of military solutions Key challenges include distinction between blocking Iranian ports and ensuring free navigation risk of escalation if US forces engage Iranian assets lack of broad international support for enforcement Even historical precedents such as naval escorts during the IranIraq Tanker War required sustained multinational commitment Today geopolitical fragmentation makes such coordination difficult More importantly military force cannot eliminate geographical reality Irans proximity ensures that any attempt to secure Hormuz without its cooperation remains inherently unstableIrans View Trust Deficit and Strategic Necessity From Irans perspective the crisis is rooted in a profound lack of trust Iranian leaders argue that negotiations have been undermined by shifting US demands military strikes have violated sovereignty economic sanctions constitute longterm coercion Thus control over Hormuz is framed not as aggression but as a defensive measure a tool for ensuring national security a means of asserting sovereign rights Irans position reflects a broader doctrine security through control of critical geography In this view Hormuz is not merely a strait it is a shield against external pressureRisk of Escalation A Conflict Beyond Borders Any attempt to resolve the crisis through force carries grave risks closure or militarization of Hormuz could trigger a global energy shock Gulf states hosting foreign military bases may become targets spillover effects could destabilize the wider Middle East Given the interconnected energy markets even limited disruption can rapidly escalate into a global economic crisis as recent events have already demonstratedThe Strait of Hormuz matters not merely for its geography but as the intersection of energy law and power In the current Iran war it has become the decisive strategic variablebeyond the reach of military force or legal doctrine alone Irans capacity to control and selectively manage the strait has reshaped regional power dynamics while global dependence exposes deep economic vulnerability The central lesson is clear Hormuz cannot be governed through coercion alone it demands cooperation trust and a broader rethinking of security beyond the logic of force DAILY WORLD Prof Nehaluddin Ahmad LLD Professor of Law Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University UNISSA Brunei Email ahmadnehalyahoocom https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/why-the-strait-of-hormuz-is-central-to-the-iran-war-669773.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/new-bjp-samrat-on-bihar-throne-has-challenges-galore-669520.html Accession of Lalu Prasad Yadav on the Bihar throne on March 10 1990 had heralded the end of the Congress rule and beginning of the coalition era with the regional satraps and political outfits taking over the reins of BiharAfter little over 36 years a coalition government has come to power again but with a difference as a national level political party the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has succeeded in installing Samrat Choudhary as its own chief minister following resignation of Nitish Kumar on April 14Though the 85MLA strong Janata Dal U headed by former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the main ally and holds the key to the government it will play second fiddle to the BJP in future politics in Bihar Earlier the Janata Dal U leader Nitish Kumar used to be the senior coalition partner Bade Bhai of the fiveparty National democratic Alliance NDA in Bihar holding the post of the chief minister as well as key departments like Home and a major share in seats during the state assembly and the Lok Sabha electionsIt is for the first time that the BJP has snailed its way to power from the opposition benches to the position of second coalition partner Chhote Bhai during the rule of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar to installing its own chief minister in BiharIt is a dream come true for the BJP to have its own chief minister for the first time in Bihar It is a historical moment for all of us It was longawaited said former MLA Haribhushan Thakur BachoulBihar had witnessed coalition governments in the past as in 1967 and 1977 but both the governments fell due to administrative and leadership failures their own inner contradictions and ambitious attitude of the powerhungry leaders paving the way for the installation of the Congress governments again In fact the leaders or their political outfits lacked a consolidated and substantial vote bank that could rally behindNot surprisingly then when Lalu Perasad Yadav became the chief minister in 1990 the opponents and the people alike thought that the government would fall again due to internal bickerings and contradictions But Lalu Prasad Yadav survived and ruled for 15 years as he along with Nitish Kumar consolidated the social justice vote bank comprising the backward castes extremely backward castes EBCs Dalits and MuslimsIt was because of the consolidated vote bank that Lalu Prasad Yadav won the successive elections till 2000 But he had kept the BJP at a safe distance and even split the saffron outfit twice by including the backward caste legislators of the saffron outfit to his side He had stopped the Rath Yatra and arrested top BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani at Samastipur in October 1990 leading to the fall of the then V P Singh governmentAgain when Nitish sliced the social justice vote bank by taking to his side the nonYadav backward caste votes EBCs backwards among the Muslims and part of Dalits his combination turned formidable and impregnable with the support of the Upper Castes who had supported Nitish via the BJP So Nitish too continued to rule for over 20 years before putting his papers on April 14But both the regional satraps Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar provided stability to their respective governments keeping at bay the national parties like the Congress and the BJP as their secondary allies Therefore Bihars contemporary political history has been marked by the dominance of the regional parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD Janata Dal U Ram Vilas Paswans Lok Janshakti Party and other splinter outfitsThe BJP earlier known as Jansangh has been participating in electoral politics but it had never been a force to reckon with among the electorate It had played a second fiddle to the nonCongress political outfits especially the Socialists of all hues and even on the Leftists to thrive and survive in politicsThe BJP thrived in south Bihar districts now Jharkhand before bifurcation of Bihar in 2000 At present it has a substantial presence in northwestern districts of Bihar While the upper castes comprising little over 10 percent votes and Vaishyas are its core voters it has reaped electoral benefits due mainly to the substantial vote bank of Nitish Kumar comprising the Kurmis Koeris Kushwaha EBCs including the Dhanuks and Mallah backward Muslims called Pasmandas and part of the DalitsThe Kurmis and Kushwahas called as LuvKush combine form the fulcrum of Nitish Kumars vote bank around which the other castes revolve The Samrat Choudhary government will have to face a major challenge of keeping the social justice vote bank intact As Samrat inherits this vote bank from Nitish Kumar he will have to maintain a cordial relationship with the new JDU team headed by Nishant Kumar as well as the other socialiststrain outfits like LJP of Chirag Paswan RLM of Upendra Kushwaha and HAM of Jitan Ram ManjhiIt seems that the BJP has preferred Samrat Choudhary as its nominee for the post of the chief minister keeping in view his political umbilical cord attached to the regional parties Samrat began his career from the RJD and became the minister in the Rabri Devi government He traversed his way to the JDU and became a minister in the Nitish Kumar government before joining the BJP in 2018It appears to be a precondition laid down by the JDU leadership for a smooth power transitionBihar being a casteridden society with less number of upper castes and dominance of backwards and Dalits the BJP will have to develop its leadership from among the marginalised sections to survive as the Hindutva card will not fetch the desired electoral gainIn the absence of towering personalities like Lalu Prasad Yadav Nitish Kumar and Ram Vilas Paswan the vacuum of leadership has the potential of disintegrating the vote bank Moreover the fear of jungle raj will not be a votecatching slogan anymore because the new government will have to show the guts in handling the law and order situation the way Nitish did after coming to power innbspNovember 2005 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/new-bjp-samrat-on-bihar-throne-has-challenges-galore-669520.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:39:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-practice-of-righteousness-and-just-leadership-669275.html Introduction The Khalsa as a Resource Centre of Cosmic Moral EnergyGuru Nanak Dev Jis four Udaasis were civilizational dialogues that planted the seeds of a universal consciousness Through successive Gurus this awakening was manifested and evolved into a disciplined moral community where devotion was organized defended and deepened through sacrifice What began as illumination of the human spirit gradually assumed collective ethical form This evolutionary arc culminated in 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh Ji formalised the Khalsa crystallizing universality into sovereign moral courage and regulated collective identityThe Khalsa therefore stands not merely as a religious institution but as a living architecture of cosmic wisdom It represents the application of cosmic energy into human conduct transforming divine consciousness into ethical governance and moral courageIf the universe operates through subtle harmonies the Khalsa may be understood as the cosmic hypothalamus of just leadership regulating moral temperature stabilizing ethical equilibrium and aligning human authority with divine order Just as the hypothalamus maintains balance within the body the Khalsa maintains balance within society by integrating spiritual illumination with disciplined actionIt functions as a resource centre of moral energy and human attention channelling consciousness toward justice compassion and fearless responsibility The Khalsa is not reactive power it is regulated power It is not emotional turbulence it is calibrated courageAt its core the word Khalsa means pure belonging directly to the Divine This purity is not isolation from the world but clarity within it Guru Gobind Singh Ji emphasized that identity is validated not by appearance but by conductRehni rahe soee Sikh mera oh sahib main us ka cheraSpiritual authenticity is ethical consistencyHistorical Consciousness and the Birth of Moral SovereigntyThe formation of the Khalsa occurred during intense political oppression and religious persecution The martyrdoms of Guru Arjan Dev Ji and Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji were not acts of defeat but luminous affirmations of freedom of conscienceHere emerges the sacred principle of Shahadat martyrdom not as mere death but as testimony Shahadat is the ultimate declaration that truth is greater than fear and justice worthy of sacrifice It is moral witness carried to its highest consequenceAt this juncture the insight of Maya Angelou becomes profoundly resonantCourage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage you cant practice any other virtue consistentlyThe Khalsa institutionalizes this truth Compassion without courage falters Probity without courage bends Justice without courage retreats Even faith without courage dissolves under pressure Shahadat therefore is not isolated heroism it is sustained virtue It is courage extended beyond fear beyond consequence beyond selfnbsppreservationYet within the Khalsa tradition Shahadat is never commemorated as sorrow alone it is remembered as awakened courage It is grief transfigured into moral resolveThis is why Sikh memory does not merely record martyrdom it reenacts it through collective consciousnessThe tradition of Nagar Kirtan particularly beginning from Chamkaur Sahib where Guru Gobind Singh Ji witnessed the martyrdom of his elder sons does not mourn defeat it celebrates steadfastness The site where temporal odds seemed overwhelming becomes a pilgrimage of moral invincibility Procession transforms geography into pedagogy teaching that courage is fidelity to truth despite vulnerabilityThe Shaheedi days of December recalling the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji in Delhi and the unparalleled sacrifice of the Sahibzadas at Fatehgarh Sahib are observed not with despair but with luminous remembrance The cold of December becomes symbolic external frost cannot extinguish internal fire Children bricked alive did not represent victimhood they embodied unyielding conscience Here courage becomes intergenerational not biological inheritance but ethical inheritanceThe episode of the Forty Mukte commemorated annually at Muktsar Sahib during the Muktsar Mela refines this principle further Those who once withdrew from battle returned reclaimed responsibility and attained spiritual liberation through renewed commitment Shahadat here is not perfection without error it is the courage to return to rectify to stand again Moral sovereignty includes the possibility of repentance transformed into sacrificeEven Vaisakhi observed as Khalsa Sirjana Diwas first manifested at Anandpur Sahib in 1699 embodies institutionalized courage The birth of the Khalsa was framed through the call for heads not followers The Panj Pyare stepped forward not in reckless emotion but in disciplined conviction Vaisakhi therefore celebrates not identity alone but voluntary moral offeringIn all these commemorations Shahadat is not deathseeking it is feartranscending It is the lived affirmation that without courage no virtue survives pressureGuru Gobind Singh Ji articulated this moral law with piercing clarity in the Zafarnama addressed to Emperor AurangzebChun kar az hama heelte dar guzasht Halal ast burdan ba shamsheer dast When all peaceful means have been exhausted it is righteous to draw the swordThis verse does not glorify violence it regulates it Courage here is ethically sequenced first dialogue then endurance and only when justice is suffocated does resistance become sanctified The sword is not ambition it is lastresort dutyElsewhere in the Zafarnama Guru Gobind Singh Ji asserts moral victory over imperial deceit that righteousness prevails even when worldly loss is immense Thus Shahadat becomes juridical testimony Even in loss moral law stands sovereignThe Sikh way of commemorating martyrdom through kirtan langar procession mela and collective remembrance ensures that sacrifice does not fossilize into trauma It transforms into Chardi Kala Courage becomes culture Memory becomes mandateShahadat therefore is not episodic history it is constitutional energy within the Khalsa psycheKhalsa Insular Cortex of ProbityIn neuroscience the insular cortex governs selfawareness moral perception and internal regulation Analogously the Khalsa functions as the Insular Cortex of Probity within the body politicProbity unwavering integrity is the internal compass that prevents leadership from collapsing into corruption Guru Gobind Singh Ji declaredKhalsa mero roop hai khaas khalsa mein hi karoon nivaasThis proclamation elevates responsibility to sacred embodiment If the Khalsa is the Gurus form dishonesty becomes not merely misconduct but spiritual dissonanceHere the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant finds profound convergence Kants categorical imperative to act only according to that maxim which one would will to become universal law demands that conduct be inherently universalizable One must act not from convenience nor fear nor expediency but from duty rooted in rational moral lawThe Khalsa ethic mirrors and deepens this principle A Khalsa does not ask Will this benefit me but rather Can this action stand before the Guru before history and before humanity as a just exampleIf deceit cannot be universalized without collapsing trust it must be rejected If injustice cannot be willed as universal law without destroying dignity it must be resistedThus the Khalsa operationalizes a lived categorical imperative not merely as rational duty but as sacred accountability Leadership under this discipline becomes predictable in integrity and transparent in intentionThe Five Ks reinforce this discipline externally but their true function is internal calibration Symbols without sincerity are empty discipline without conscience is dangerousKhalsa Amygdala of EmpathyIf the insular cortex symbolizes moral awareness the amygdala represents emotional responsiveness Yet in the Khalsa paradigm empathy is not uncontrolled emotion it is regulated compassionThe SantSipahi ideal ensures balance and within the Khalsa tradition this equilibrium finds one of its most visible embodiments in the Nihangs The Saint cultivates humility and prayer the Soldier protects dignity and justice In the Nihang discipline contemplation and combat readiness are not opposites but complementary expressions of awakened consciousness Their martial bearing is inseparable from spiritual remembrance illustrating that power must arise from prayer and action must remain accountable to conscience Power without empathy becomes tyranny Empathy without courage becomes impotence The Khalsa harmonizes both and the Nihangs stand as a living demonstration of this harmonized idealImmanuel Kants second formulation of the categorical imperative that human beings must always be treated as ends in themselves never merely as means finds resonance here The Khalsa refuses instrumentalization of human life whether through caste coercion or political exploitationEvery individual carries divine light To reduce a human being to utility is to violate cosmic orderEmpathy within the Khalsa framework is therefore disciplined compassion guided by moral lawNihangs Warriors of Elevated ConsciousnessWithin the broader Khalsa tradition the Nihangs stand not merely as martial figures but as warriors shaped by heightened spiritual awareness Their presence represents courage emerging from interior discipline action governed by consciousness rather than impulse In them the SantSipahi ideal assumes visible form contemplation and combat readiness unified within a single moral centerTheir distinctive blue attire towering dumala adorned with shastar and unwavering adherence to rehat are not external dramatizations of militancy They are embodied reminders of awakened vigilance The Nihang does not cultivate aggression he cultivates readiness rooted in spiritual clarity Courage in this sense is not reactive emotion but stabilized awareness a mind trained to remain composed in the face of provocationHistorically the Nihangs sustained martial discipline during periods of displacement persecution and political fragmentation They protected sacred spaces defended the vulnerable and preserved continuity of the Khalsa ethos when institutions were under threat Yet their resilience did not arise from mere defiance it arose from consciousness disciplined by faith Their strength was inseparable from remembrance of the DivineIn the philosophical architecture of just leadership the Nihangs symbolize elevated consciousness in action the capacity to respond without hatred to stand firm without losing moral proportion Their existence affirms a subtle but crucial principle sovereignty begins within Mastery over fear ego and impulse precedes mastery over circumstanceEven the martial principle articulated in the Zafarnama that force becomes righteous only after peaceful means are exhausted reflects this elevation of consciousness Action must be sequenced through discernment Conscience must precede confrontation Awareness must regulate powerThus the Nihangs embody not violence sanctified but awareness weaponized by duty and restrained by ethics They stand as warriors whose highest discipline is inward demonstrating that true courage flows from alignment with moral law and that elevated consciousness is the first safeguard of righteous authorityShahadat and the Will to RiseIf Friedrich Nietzsche spoke of selfovercoming the Khalsa tradition demonstrates communal selfovercoming The will to rise is not abstract aspiration it is rehearsed annually in Chamkaur Muktsar Anandpur and every Nagar Kirtan across the globeThrough remembrance courage becomes normalized Through celebration sacrifice becomes civilizational strength Through Shahadat the Khalsa internalizes the truth that sovereignty of righteousness does not depend on numerical strength but moral alignmentShahadat becomes not tragedy but transcendence the triumph of conscience over coercion It is the categorical imperative lived to its ultimate conclusion when universal moral law is threatened one stands even at personal costChardi Kala Perpetual Moral AscentChardi Kala represents everrising optimism grounded in faith It is not denial of suffering but refusal to surrender moral directionIn governance Chardi Kala becomes resilience In adversity it becomes composure In injustice it becomes sustained courageOptimism here is not psychological positivity it is metaphysical confidence in moral orderRaaj Karega Khalsa The Sovereignty of RighteousnessThe proclamationRaaj karega Khalsa aaki rahe na koeis often superficially read as political triumphalism Yet its deeper meaning transcends territorial ruleRaaj signifies sovereignty of ethical order the reign of disciplined conscience over chaos justice over arbitrariness and moral universality over sectarian dominanceIt does not imply theocracy it implies the sovereignty of character where divine principles govern human conduct before they govern institutionsThe proclamation is inseparable from the culture of Shahadat Sovereignty here is not inherited it is earned through sacrifice The right to moral leadership emerges from willingness to bear moral cost Courage precedes authorityThus the celebrations of Vaisakhi the Shaheedi gatherings of December the Muktsar Mela and the processions from Chamkaur are not cultural nostalgia they are civic pedagogy They cultivate citizens whose moral reflex is resistance to injustice and fidelity to truth Leadership remains accountable to sacrifice not intoxicated by powerRaaj Karega Khalsa therefore meansIntegrity shall prevail over corruptionCourage shall prevail over intimidationEquality shall prevail over hierarchyUniversal moral law shall prevail over arbitrary willAt this juncture the philosophical resonance with Immanuel Kant becomes deeply illuminating Kants categorical imperative teaches that true autonomy lies in the individuals capacity to legislate moral law for oneself to act only according to principles that one would will to become universal law Sovereignty in this sense is first inward before it becomes outward One must rule the self before ruling societyThe Khalsa institutionalizes this interior sovereignty through the discipline of the Five Ks They are not ornamental identifiers but embodied commitments daily reminders that freedom is inseparable from responsibilityKesh reflects acceptance of divine order over egoic manipulationThe Kangha symbolizes disciplined regulation within freedomThe Kara encircling the wrist becomes a silent tribunal before every action can this deed withstand universal scrutinyThe Kirpan affirms readiness to defend the dignity of every human being as an end in themselves never merely as a meansThe Kachera signifies restraint mastery of impulse through conscienceTogether they transform abstract moral philosophy into lived ethical architecture They ensure that Raaj does not begin with domination but with selfgovernance Authority is legitimate only when it emerges from disciplined interior lawThus Raaj Karega Khalsa does not announce the ascendancy of a community it announces the ascendancy of purified consciousness When individuals internalize universal moral law coercive power becomes unnecessary Governance becomes guardianshipThose willing to sacrifice for justice are fit to guide itThose who endure for conscience are entrusted with sovereigntyIn constitutional terms governance rooted in dignity and freedom of conscience will outlast regimes rooted in coercionIn spiritual terms divine order is selfsustaining Moral equilibrium may be disturbed but it cannot be permanently destroyedIt is civilizational not sectarian ethical not territorial cosmic not temporal It is the assurance that righteousness possesses ontological durabilityConclusion The EverLiving Regulator of RighteousnessThe Khalsa is not confined to history It is a living regulatory principle the cosmic hypothalamus of just leadership sustaining equilibrium between courage and compassion discipline and empathy sacrifice and sovereigntyThroughRehni rahe soee Sikh mera ethical livingKhalsa mero roop hai khaas sacred embodimentChun kar az hama heelte dar guzasht regulated courageRaaj karega Khalsa sovereignty of righteousnessit offers a complete moral neuroarchitecture for humanityShahadat teaches fearlessnessChardi Kala sustains ascentProbity anchors authorityEmpathy humanizes powerUniversal moral law disciplines actionUltimately the Khalsa is cosmic wisdom translated into conduct a perpetual reminder that just leadership is not manufactured by institutions alone but regulated by awakened conscienceIt is the still centre that governsnbspthe storm DAILY WORLD The writer is a Punjab cadre IPS officer Views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-practice-of-righteousness-and-just-leadership-669275.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:07:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/like-post-imperial-japan-can-post-theocracy-iran-also-be-democratic-669195.html Both Iran and Japan have their imperial histories The Persian empire covered large parts of Asia during the PreIslamic as well the Islamic era and even prevented the Ottomans from extending their footprint towards the east In modern times Irans imperial tendencies have worked through its proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi in Yemen The Japanese occupation of Chinese Russian Dutch and British Indian territories during WWII with confirmed stories of cruelty on civilians and PoWs had created a strong imperialistic image of that country Both the countries had entered the twentieth century as monarchies squeezed by the military and cultural weightnbspof great powersAfter being forced to open to the outside world in the 1870s for almost half a century Japan saw the rapid modernisation of the then quintessentially oriental country Thousands of kilometres away an ancient civilisation was also in the throes of modernisation In 1941 Irans 21yearold son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Westerneducated and inexperienced but with a zeal for modernisation twice arrested an emerging cleric Khomeini causing a mass uprising If the West had leaned on the king for creating a democratic dispensation Iran might have escaped the 1979 Islamic RevolutionIranians with one of the oldest cultures at their roots were never with the Shah or the Clerics Islamic rulers did try to destroy the original Zoroastrian faith but people at large continued to venerate Cyrus who founded Persia in the 6th century BC The majority of modern Iranians believe in God but one that allows womens modern dresses music and alcoholIn Japan faith and nationalism had sustained all the upheaval from the Shogunate to the Meiji to WWII and the atom bomb Japans defeat in WWII and its occupation by the US however had the effect of bringing in democracy and its being allied with the West In modern Japan people are functionally areligious while they remain committed to spiritual traditions Homes continue to have a washitsu or tatami room used for relaxation and meditationThe war has paused but here is a speculative question If some day the theocracy collapses what will Iran look like if democracy is imposed on it Many surveys indicate that atheism secularism as well as a softer approach to religion never totally absent are growing in Islam It is well known that the antitheocracy and promonarchy slogans were frequently raised during the protests The protestors theme since the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 has been zan zendegi āzādi or Women Life Freedom certainly not music to the ears of the clerics who focus mainly on obedience and the afterlifeIranian youngsters have a sport ammāmehparāni or turbantossing A young person will sneak behind a cleric knock off his turban and run away Women have been making a bonfire of the hijabs and the portraits of the supreme leader These very protestors however keep making pilgrimages to the shrines of saints much as the Japanese keep visiting their shrines In both cases the shrines wear a festive look during holidays indicative of a devotion which is enthusiastic and enjoyable rather than one driven by social compulsion and requiring a sombre moodA vast majority of Iranians have continued to maintain religious tolerance even during these long decades of hardline theocratic rule Even after being declared an Islamic Republic the Iranians biggest festival continues to be Nowruz the 3000yearold festival of spring with its roots in Zoroastrianism in spite of it colliding with the Islamic ideology There are hundreds of working Christian churches including the St Sarkis Cathedral and St George Church in Tehran It may sound unbelievable but in spite of the regimes rants against the Jews there are more than 25 working synagogues in Tehran Shiraz and Isfahan which hold regular services Vestiges of Zoroastrianism the faith of the preIslamic Persian empire remain in Iran with several working fire temples the most prominent being the Atash Behram in Yazd There are Hindu and Sikh places of worship too that have continued to work unmolestedDuring WWII the bulk of public opinion in the US about the future of Japan was sceptical and punitive The US administration was not however driven by public opinion and was working out the modalities of occupation of ending the occupation and of making Japan a democratic country as brought into sharp focus by Dayna L Barness 2017 book Architects of Occupation American Experts and Planning for Postwar Japan The US governments goal that the expected US occupation would result in Japan becoming a pacifist economic power supportive of a postwar American order was clearly achievedIran with every passing day of the war looked more like Japan near the end of WWII Its armed forces have been badly hurt though they continue to hit Israel and other countries in the region The US had free run of Japanese skies before the atom bombs were dropped the US and Israel had more or less the same freedom over Irans airspace with its air force and air defence systems substantially degraded Similar to the destruction of the mighty Japanese navy before the nuclear strikes the Iranian navy too has been rendered virtually dysfunctional Japanese leadership civil and military was by and large intact at the end of the war in contrast the Iranian leadership both of the clerical order and of the IRGC has been decimated a process that had started much before the war through selective targeting of leaders and nuclear scientists by IsraelThe comparison of two nations geographically far apart and culturally even farther apart can be misleading and yet some useful lessons can be drawn from the similarities and differences The Japanese military leaders had begged Emperor Hirohito not to surrender some had even tried to stage a coup against the emperor In Iran support for the theocracy is on the wane and a perception exists among the Iranians outside the ruling circle that the theocracy also bears some responsibility for inviting this war by its decadeslong rhetoric demanding the destruction of America and Israel This has frayed the Islamic in the Republic The present supreme leader and the rest of the clergy the IRGC and the Basij enriched themselves and stashed national wealth abroad These loyalists of the regime are today perceived as rats that will be among the first to abandon the sinking ship of the state to lead a life of comfort somewhere else on the stolen wealth The Nazis had done this on a large scale and there are reliable reports of some in Japan also having done this when the end was nearIt can be safely presumed that as they had planned for the anticipated occupation of Japan the US administration and its associated thinktanks are working out postregimecollapse scenarios for Iran too It is true that for serving its geopolitical interest the US has supported many autocratic regimes around the world For all the criticism on that score it can be said without fear of being contradicted that the US has so far not attacked any democracy which was untainted by unpopular monarchy totalitarianism or communism After its wars the US has attempted though not always successfully to establish democracy after weakening the autocratic regimes Today Iran presents such a fertile ground where a majority of people crave democracy Whether they get it through a civil war an unlikely scenario as they do not have the weapons to fight the heavily armed IRGC and the Basij or they do it with the help of other democracies is for the democratic world to ponder DAILY WORLD nbspR N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personalnbsp https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/like-post-imperial-japan-can-post-theocracy-iran-also-be-democratic-669195.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:20:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-debate-on-milk-offering-669179.html Gita AcharanA recent debate on offering milk into river has brought two opposing views into focus One perceives it as a sacred tradition worthy of respect while the other views it as a misuse of valuable resources The issue can be understood through the principles enshrined in the Bhagavad GitaGita says that when our senses meet sense objects the polarities of pleasure and pain arise 214 which ultimately lead to raag attachment and dwesh aversion 634 Though this process is natural and instantaneous the key question is how we respond to itOne response is to gather evidence to support the feelings of attachment or aversion which is akin to taking decision first and collecting evidence subsequently This often leads to endless debates inner agitation and social friction Arjuna faced a similar dilemma on the battlefield of Kurukshetra Overpowered by aversion at the thought of harming his own people he gathered many justifications for withdrawing from the battleAnother approach is to realise the second principle that these polarities are anitya transient and we should learn to tolerate them 214 The idea is to pause momentarily when these polarities arise allowing us to maintain inner balance This can be illustrated through the metaphor of the ocean which remains undisturbed even as countless rivers flow into it 270Krishna says that the best devotee is one who neither gets agitated nor agitates the world 1215 When we recognize that our actions may generate agitation it is wise to refrain from them This may include reconsidering whether to share such issues at all and how we choose to respond to themWhile there is no good or bad response the key is to perform our role with dedication 1845 like an artist in a drama with a rider that we dont agitate the world with our words or deeds DAILY WORLD K Siva Prasad is an IAS officer of Punjab cadre and these writings can be accessed at gitaacharanorg nbsp https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-debate-on-milk-offering-669179.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:14:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-safest-thing-to-do-is-nothing-669181.html Rational abdication the next frontier in good governance afternbspanticorruption training rule simplification and portalsIn 2011 Naseem Ahmad walked into my office at the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs in Haryana He was the athletic coach at the Panchkula academy He came alone which told me almost everything before he opened his mouth He had boys from Panipat who wanted to throw a javelin He had deliberately not brought them If I said no he wanted to spare them the disappointment of being turned away If I said yes he could return as the person who had opened the doorThe academy had no seat for javelin No precedent existed for funding it from my budget no prior sanction no file that had travelled through the system and received an approving notation The administrative default in such situations is well understood note the request seek a precedent raise a file refer upward wait for the committeeI had the financial authority to sanction one lakh rupees at my level I said yesOne of those boys from Panipat was Neeraj ChopraI tell this not to claim a share of the gold medal The throw was entirely his I tell it because of what I did not do I did not wait for the precedent I did not send the file upward I did not let the committee meet while the season passed and the boys grew older by another year The decision was mine to make at my level and I made it on the afternoon it arrivedBecause a new idea if not moved forward quickly wilts And merit however real is not sufficient protection against the institutional habit of deferralThat habit has a name I call it rational abdicationThe official who rationally abdicates is not corrupt not incompetent often genuinely committed to the purpose his position is meant to serve His institution however has taught him one lesson with perfect consistency deciding is more dangerous than deferring and the citizen waiting for the outcome will absorb the cost of his caution in a way that his career record never willConsider a singer who received a documented verified extortion threat the precise circumstance the arms licensing system exists to address He applied through the correct channel The station house officer verified the facts The Superintendent of Police recommended approval and put his name on the record The file moved to the District Magistrate who held the licensing authority The DM studied his two choices with the care a consequential decision deserves The official who approves is exposed to everything that subsequently happens to that weapon at any remove of time The official who denies is exposed to nothingHe denied the licence Nobody was corrupt Nobody was incompetent The portal had processed the application correctly What was missing was a system that made the right decision the safer one This is the gap rational abdication describes and it is the gap that the reforms preceding it for all their genuine achievements were never designed to closeAnticorruption measures training rule simplification and portals have each addressed a real cause of governance failure and each produced results that deserve recognition The passport process Direct Benefit Transfers Aadhaarlinked payments that removed the broker from the transaction these are measurable improvements in the citizens experience of the stateAnd yet a woman who needed her married name corrected in the government database waited two and a half years The official was not corrupt The rule was clear The portal existed What was missing was a decision made at the level where the authority and the facts both resided on the day it was neededRational abdication is what remains when the other causes have been addressed It is the residual failure that becomes visible precisely because the preceding reforms succeededWHY IT PERSISTS THE RESEARCHDaniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed that people feel losses twice as powerfully as equivalent gains The official who decides and is questioned has suffered a personal attributable loss The official who deferred has produced a cost borne by someone who cannot trace it to him The audit system makes this asymmetry the central feature of every officials daily calculationIlana Ritov and Jonathan Baron identified omission bias confirmed across fortynine studies the consistent finding that harm caused by action is judged more blameworthy than equivalent harm caused by inaction The audit system is omission bias made institutional It examines decisions Inaction generates nothing to examineWilliam Samuelson and Richard Zeckhauser documented status quo bias the most replicated finding in decision research the tendency to maintain the current position rather than move to a better one The rule that outlived its crisis persists The better procedure is noted with interest and filed without adoptionThree independent findings One conclusion the accountability architecture most governments have built exploits all three biases and corrects for none of them The result is not a failure of character It is the predictable output of a system pointed in the wrong directionFOUR CHANGES NO NEW INSTITUTIONS NO NEW BUDGETSEvery month of unjustified referral is a month the citizen pays for the officials cover Make referral as costly as the wrong decision When a file is passed upward without genuine justification that referral should carry consequences equivalent to a challenged decision Loss aversion currently makes deferral feel safe Change the arithmetic and it makes deferral feel exposedThe woman who waited two and a half years never appeared in anyones performance review Make inaction visible in the career record Track decisions deferred and files pending beyond stipulated time with the same rigour applied to decisions that attracted audit scrutiny Omission bias persists because inaction is invisible Make it visible and the advantage it currently enjoys is goneThe building permit that needed two signatures in 1975 needs seven today not because buildings are more complex but because five crises added five signatures and none were ever removed Rules made in crisis should carry sunset clauses The question must be asked at a fixed interval does this rule still serve the citizen or does it now serve only the institution that administers itRwanda asked what conditions would make drone blood delivery safe to permit That question produced a service saving lives in remote hospitals while comparable systems elsewhere were still deliberating Make the status quo expensive to maintain Rejecting a new idea should require a written explanation filed in a record reviewed at the next promotion assessment Change the default question and you change what officials spend their energy onGood governance reform has followed a logical sequence Anticorruption addressed the bad actor Training addressed the unprepared official Rule simplification addressed procedural weight Portals addressed friction Each was right for its moment Rational abdication is the next step not because the preceding steps failed but because they succeeded well enough to reveal what they were not designed to addressWhen Naseem Ahmad walked into my office he had no file and no committee He had a story and the sense to tell it simply I had the authority and the obligation to decide I decided because the rules in that office gave me enough room to make the right calculation Building that room into every desk for every official on every ordinary Tuesday that is the work that comes nextnbspThe boy from Panipat could not wait for the committee Neither can the next one DAILY WORLD OP Singh served thirtythree years in the Indian Police Service rising to Director General of Police Haryana He is the author of the forthcoming book Fear Tax The Price of Playing it Safe 2026 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/the-safest-thing-to-do-is-nothing-669181.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:22:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/petty-power-real-harm-668493.html Why the constable and the clerk behave the way they do and what the state can actually do about itThere is a particular kind of humiliation that most Indians have experienced but few can name You walk into a police station or a government office educated taxpaying perhaps betterdressed than the person behind the desk and within thirty seconds you are made to feel small The constable does not look up The clerk waves you away midsentence You wait You return You wait again You say sir to a man who earns a third of what you do And somewhere in the exchange you understand wordlessly that he knows exactly what he is doingBut here is what I also know Last year at the North India InterState Council meeting at Surajkund several senior IAS officers told me something that surprised them While driving through Gurugram they had been stopped at police nakabandis The constables had addressed them respectfully requested permission to search the vehicle apologised for the inconvenience and thanked them for cooperation These were not anecdotes of exception They were evidence that change when it comes from the top with genuine intent can reach all the way to the roadside barrierMany states have tried softskills training It has not worked and it will not work because training addresses manner without touching cause The cause is structural and it has a nameIndias constables and government clerks occupy one of the most psychologically volatile positions in any society They sit at the very bottom of their organisational ladders yet they face the public armed with enormous discretionary authority Constables make up eightyfive per cent of the Indian police Most will retire at or below the rank of SubInspector regardless of qualification or years of service The clerk in the revenue office is no different overworked underpaid invisible to his superiors and yet the sole gatekeeper between a citizen and whatever the citizen needsIn 1954 the American sociologist Gerhard Lenski gave this condition its name status inconsistency When a persons social dimensions are out of alignment when power is high but rank is low when authority is real but recognition is absent the psychological strain does not stay internal It turns outward The constable who makes you stand while he sits the clerk who loses your file and blames you for it they are not simply being difficult They are asserting over you the dominance that the rest of their working lives deny them Their uniform gives them power the institution gives them no dignity to match That gap is the engine of every unpleasant encounter at the thana gate and the government counterPowerlessness also breeds something darker A landmark 2021 study by Swaab and colleagues published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes found across five controlled experiments that low power not high power reliably increases paranoia which in turn drives aggression The clerk who suspects every applicant of trying to bypass him the constable who treats every complainant as a potential troublemaker these are not personality defects They are predictable responses to structural vulnerability When you spend your working life uncertain whether your superiors notice you whether your rank will ever change the citizen at the counter perhaps wealthier perhaps bettereducated becomes the most convenient target for that accumulated anxietyThe architecture of this problem is colonial and deliberate The Police Act of 1861 written to govern a subject population still governs in most states the terms under which a constable meets a citizen in 2025 Michael Lipsky whose 1980 work StreetLevel Bureaucracy remains the foundational text on frontline public workers argued that these men and women hold the keys to a dimension of citizenship The constable and the clerk are not minor functionaries In that moment of encounter they are the entire republic The republic however has spent a hundred and sixty years treating them as instruments of control tools pointed at the citizen rather than toward themWhen I took charge as Director General of Police Haryana I asked myself where to begin Training programmes existed Sensitisation workshops had been held Behaviour had not changedI started with status I told the constabulary directly and in writing that they were the most important rank in the Indian Police They receive the lowest pay take the maximum risk and work the longest hours I wanted them to hear that from their head before they were asked for anythingI then wrote to every rank in Hindi in two hundred words starting with the jawans We work for the people at their cost Meet citizens where they are Be gentle with those who obey the law willingly Take no coercive action for a bonafide inadvertent violation Citizens who come to a police station are having a difficult day Offer them a chair Offer them a cup of tea Look at your thana through their eyes does the gate say come in or keep outThe response was not what sceptics predicted These are in the main good people inside a broken system They respond when leadership speaks to their dignity rather than merely demanding their compliance The problem has never been the constables character It has been the silence of those above him a silence that over decades becomes permissionBut goodwill from the top has a shelf life Durable change requires something the state has so far declined to provide a redesign of what gets rewardedThe proof that incentive redesign works comes from an unlikely place After Georgias 2003 Rose Revolution President Saakashvili inherited a police force so corrupt that citizens considered contact with it a hazard He fired thirty thousand officers and rebuilt from scratch dramatically raising salaries and tying retention to conduct and merit Within six years documented by Princeton Universitys Innovations for Successful Societies programme that force ranked as the third most trusted institution in the country behind only the Church and the Army The salary hike mattered But what mattered more was that officers were given something to lose by behaving badly and something to gain by behaving well The incentive geometry changed So did the behaviourIndias departments must follow the same logic A clerk who clears files without harassment a constable who treats a marginalised complainant with dignity these acts must be formally cited tangibly rewarded and systematically celebrated Lenskis insight was that status inconsistency poisons behaviour The corrective is not a workshop It is to align what the institution rewards with what it claims to value Constables must be trusted with roles in investigation not just physical presence Promotion must be linked to performance A man who serves thirty years and retires at the rank he entered is not a professional He is a labourer in uniformLenski showed us why the gap between status and power corrupts Lipsky showed us that frontline workers are the state in practice Swaab showed us that powerlessness without recognition or support turns outward onto whoever is standing at the counter What all three were really saying is what a good police chief knows on the first morning of his posting you cannot ask people to give dignity they have never been shownnbspGive the constable and the clerk something to gain by being good That is the reform Everything elsenbspis noisenbspThe writer is a former Director General of Police Haryana Fear Tax The Price of Playing it Safe is his forthcoming book https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/petty-power-real-harm-668493.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:22:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/guru-granth-sahibs-illumination-counters-selective-conscience-rejects-abdication-668146.html Introduction Shabad as Inner Light and Ethical ForcenbspDeeprooted faith when anchored in the larger goodboth of the individuated self and thenbsp collective societal consciousnessarises not from abstraction but from the everawakenednbsp radiance of the Divine Light the Jaagat Jot expressed through Shabad the eternal Divine VoicenbspThis light is not inert it is selfrevealing and selfguiding When human consciousness suratnbsp aligns with this living current faith ceases to be a passive belief and becomes an active luminousnbsp force It finds its natural expression in community service public life and the ethical conduct ofnbsp daytoday governancenbspMoments of administrative decision often generate a subtle interior voida suspension betweennbsp what is expedient and what is right That void can become a space of confusion or it can becomenbsp a receptive stillness When illumined by Shabad it transforms into a receptive void a disciplinednbsp interior openness in which reaction subsides and discernment matures This is a pregnantnbsp emptinessnot absence but preparationnbspIn such alignment intellect intuition and reason are no longer fragmented They operate asnbsp harmonised instruments of higher awareness Action ceases to be merely procedural It becomesnbsp principlednbspThe Jotthe divine light that flowed through the ten Gurus and was vested eternally in Gurunbsp Granth Sahib Ji by Guru Gobind Singh Jiis not sectarian It is Vishav Jot the universal lightnbsp permeating all beings In that sense Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji represents not onlynbsp spiritual authority but also the illumination of consciencenbspIt is this illumination that helps shun selective conscience and rational abdicationespecially innbsp spheres where power fear ambition and convenience cloud moral claritynbspShabad and the Enlarged Capacity for JusticenbspTo acquire a greater capacity for justice through Shabad for We the People an officer must treatnbsp Shabad not merely as piety but as an inner discipline of truthfulness Gurbani is meant to benbsp surrendered to not selectively quoted Its precision of language and layered meaning do notnbsp permit casual manipulationIn governance injustice often arises not only from open illegality but also from rationalnbsp abdicationwhen silence is dressed up as prudence caution as wisdom and compromise asnbsp practicality It also arises from selective consciencewhen one is strict in safe matters andnbsp evasive in difficult ones bold before the weak and accommodating before the powerfulnbspShabad enlarges the capacity for justice because it first unmasks these evasions within the selfnbsp Since the Shabad is the Guru authority shifts from fluctuating personal comfort to the steadinessnbsp of the Divine Word In this alignment conscience emerges not merely as a subjective feeling butnbsp as a sourceboth the mechanism and the standardfor moral judgement The officer standingnbsp before a file is not merely confronting an administrative choice he is confronting himselfnbspFor a public servant the Constitution provides the outer framework of justice Shabadnbsp strengthens the inner fibre required to uphold it The Constitution declares that authority is heldnbsp in trust for the citizen Shabad asks a deeper question whether the mind exercising that authoritynbsp has become clouded by fear vanity ambition fatigue resentment or convenience Withoutnbsp inward cleansing even a legally trained officer may rationalise what he ought to resistnbspThe Inward Pause Shabad as Moral InterrogationnbspThe first step is to let Shabad create an inward pause before actionnbspGurbani experienced as a living soundcurrent disciplines impulsive reaction In daytodaynbsp administration many wrongs occur not through dramatic conspiracy but through hurriednbsp compliance oral instructions habitual silence and the wish to avoid frictionnbspThe inward pause created by Shabad allows the officer to asknbsp Is this course lawfulnbsp Is it fairnbsp Does it serve the citizen or merely institutional conveniencenbsp Am I agreeing because it is right or because it is easynbspThis interrogation is not theatrical It is silent It is interior It is the alignment of surat with dhunnbsp In that moment conscience operates as both the mechanism through which moral questions arenbsp processed and the standard against which they are judged That moment is the beginning ofnbsp justicenbspA disciplined mind possesses certain quiet strengths the capacity to think independently to waitnbsp without agitation and to restrain its appetites These capacities were once described succinctlynbsp by Hermann Hesse as the abilities to think to wait and to fast Beyond literary phrasing theynbsp reflect essential psychological disciplines To think is to resist reflex and examine substance To wait is to endure uncertainty without surrendering judgement To fast is to detach from thenbsp hunger for immediate validation approval or advantagenbspThe contemporary psyche increasingly struggles with these disciplines Speed is mistaken fornbsp efficiency immediacy for effectiveness visibility for accountability Citizens shaped bynbsp accelerated systems understandably yearn for predictable and tangible access to the State clear procedures timely decisions visible responsiveness Such expectation is legitimate in anbsp constitutional democracy Yet when impatience overtakes reflection both demand and responsenbsp risk becoming shallow Decisions may be rapid yet insufficiently examined procedurally correctnbsp yet ethically unsettlednbspIn such an atmosphere the inward pause cultivated through Shabad becomes indispensablenbsp What initially feels like emptiness is not absence but suspensiona space between impulse andnbsp decision If endured without premature reaction it becomes a receptive void a disciplinednbsp interior openness in which egodriven impulse subsides In time that stillness becomes pregnantnbsp emptinesscharged not with anxiety but with discernment The void between expediency andnbsp rightness is no longer filled by convenience it is clarified by consciencenbspHistory offers an instructive example During solitary confinement Sri Aurobindo did not descendnbsp into resentment or despair In enforced isolation he experienced an expansion of consciousnessnbsp and articulated what later became Integral Yogaa discipline that does not reject life butnbsp transforms it through inward awakeningnbspHis confinement became a field of clarity because he did not rush to fill silence with agitationnbsp The external void became interior awakeningnbspFor a public servant such confinement rarely appears as prison It appears as a moral moment standing alone before a difficult file without reassurance approval or visible support In thatnbsp moment the temptation is either hurried compliance or defensive rigidity But if the officer cannbsp endure the receptive stillness without collapsing into fear or convenience the emptinessnbsp becomes generative It becomes pregnant with discernmentnbspThis is not withdrawal from duty It is the strengthening of integrity before actionnbspAn officer anchored in such interior steadiness does not frustrate the citizens need fornbsp predictability On the contrary he honours it through reliability grounded in reflection He thinksnbsp before he writes He waits before he concludes He detaches from impulse before he decidesnbsp Patience here is not delay It is directionnbspThrough Jaagat Jot the scattered impulses of the mind gather into coherence and administrativenbsp authority becomes both responsive and responsiblefirm without haste deliberate withoutnbsp paralysisnbspConscience Expressed Through Reasoned WritingnbspThe second step is to convert conscience into reasoned writingnbspJustice in administration cannot rest on emotion alone The SantSipahi idealdeep spiritualitynbsp balanced with the responsibility to stand against injusticedoes not call for impulsive defiancenbsp It calls for disciplined couragenbspIf an officer believes that a proposed course is improper legally doubtful or contrary to the publicnbsp interest his duty is neither to resign nor to create a spectacle It is to place his considered viewnbsp on record in clear courteous and precise language He should identifynbsp the legal issuenbsp the procedural concernnbsp the possible consequencesnbsp and respectfully suggest reconsideration or reviewnbspSuch disciplined articulation reflects not only administrative propriety but also the deeper ethicalnbsp demands of public life When an officer records his reasoning with clarity and fairness henbsp embodies objectivity ensuring that decisions rest on merit rather than influence By placing hisnbsp view on record he upholds accountability making himself answerable to law institution andnbsp citizen alike The transparency of reasoning reflects openness inviting scrutiny rather thannbsp avoiding it In this manner what are often described as the Nolan Principlesselflessnessnbsp integrity objectivity accountability openness honesty and leadershipdo not remain externalnbsp codes but emerge as natural expressions of an awakened consciencenbspHere Shabad and constitutional duty meet Shabad disciplines tone purifies motive andnbsp removes ego The Constitution and service rules shape method and contentnbspJustice must be pursued not only in substance but also in mannerthrough fairness restraintnbsp dignity and proper processnbspOvercoming Selective ConsciencenbspThe third step is to overcome selective conscience Selective conscience is a divided self Shabadnbsp does not permit such division Gurbani layered and complete in each verse calls for inwardnbsp wholeness One cannot be spiritually reflective in private yet morally evasive in officenbspIf principle is invoked only where the cost is low or silence is chosen where the stakes are highnbsp justice becomes convenience The capacity for justice increases when the officer becomesnbsp inwardly integratedwhen the same conscience operates in routine files sensitivenbsp investigations unpopular notes and politically inconvenient decisionsThe Jot within does not flicker according to hierarchy Since Guru Granth Sahib Ji embodies thenbsp universal Jot it reminds the officer that moral worth does not vary with power The vulnerablenbsp complainant and the powerful authority stand equally within that lightnbspTo overcome selective conscience is to become inwardly undivided This wholeness restoresnbsp conscience to its proper rolenot as a convenient justification but as a consistent source ofnbsp moral judgement where both the mechanism and the standard remain aligned with truth Whennbsp this alignment stabilises conscience ceases to fluctuate with circumstancenbspWe the People and the Universal JotnbspThough associated with Sikhism the wisdom of Guru Granth Sahib Ji transcends boundaries ofnbsp religion culture and identity It would be unjust to narrow its universality to a sectarian claimnbsp The same Vishav Jot permeates all beingsnbspThe fourth step is to remember that We the People is not a slogan It is the constitutionalnbsp reminder that power ultimately belongs to the citizen Shabad deepens this understanding bynbsp dissolving pride and softening the bureaucratic instinct to value authority over personsnbspIn practical governance this means seeing beyond files to human consequences the vulnerable complainant without influencenbsp the wrongly targeted individualnbsp the honest subordinate under pressurenbspJustice is measured not by the satisfaction of hierarchy but by fairness to those who cannotnbsp command powernbspSteadiness Over HeroicsnbspThe fifth step is to understand that justice in governance often requires steadiness rather thannbsp heroicsnbspNot rebellion Not selfdisplay Not dramatic resistancenbspRathernbspnbsp a properly worded notenbsp a recorded reservationnbsp a request for reconsideration an insistence on written instructionsnbsp a refusal to distort factsnbsp a respectful reminder of due processnbspIn a culture of rational abdication these modest acts constitute real moral courage Leadershipnbsp here is not the assertion of authority but steadiness of characterthe ability to remain anchorednbsp in principle without spectacle or defiance It is the strength to persist quietly guided by integritynbsp rather than recognition Such leadership is not an assertion of authority but a moral steadinessnbsp through which the Nolan ideal of leadershipgrounded in integrity and guided by example finds its quiet but enduring expressionnbspThis steadiness is not dryness of temperament It is Chardi Kalathe rising spirit that does notnbsp collapse under pressure It emanates from Jaagat Jot When the inner light remains aligned withnbsp Shabad the officer does not become cynical bitter or defeated even when resistance is slownbsp and recognition is absentnbspThe Final Equality of ConsciencenbspOne further truth must always be remembered Civil servants retire Rank convoy office andnbsp deference fade Eventually all return to being ordinary citizens After the game of chess is overnbsp the king and the pawn go into the same boxnbspWhat remains is consciencenbspJaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji reminds us that the Jot within is the only enduring light Tonbsp protect that light is to protect oneself By safeguarding the integrity of the Word one safeguardsnbsp ones own spiritual existencenbspConscience however does not justify recklessness The manner of action matters as much as thenbsp substance Justice must be lawful reasoned restrained and dignifiednbspConclusion Inner Illumination Constitutional ActionnbspThe path described above reveals a deeper unity between inner illumination and public dutynbsp Shabad purifies the inner instrument the Constitution provides the outer framework and ethicalnbsp principles of public life serve as the bridge between the twonbspWhen these are not treated as external codes but as expressions of an awakened consciencenbsp governance itself becomes a form of disciplined ethical practice The Nolan Principles in this light do not stand apart as procedural expectations they emerge as the ethical articulation of innernbsp illumination in public life Conscience thus grounded functions as a reliable source of moralnbsp judgementguiding both the method and thenbspnbspmeasure of actionnbspLet Shabad prevent inward surrender to fear vanity and selective morality Let the Constitution guide the outward form of actionnbspThen the officer neither escapes his duty nor dramatises it He serves truthfully writes carefullynbsp seeks reconsideration respectfully and leaves within governance a living trace of conscience onnbsp behalf of We the PeoplenbspIn aligning surat with dhunconscience with Jaagat Jotselective conscience dissolves rationalnbsp abdication recedes and justice becomes not an occasional act but a disciplined way of being DAILY WORLD nbspnbsp The writer is a Punjab cadre IPS officer Views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/guru-granth-sahibs-illumination-counters-selective-conscience-rejects-abdication-668146.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:35:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/it-took-decades-to-stop-venom-spewing-by-the-dukhtaran-667497.html On 24 March 2026 a Delhi court sentenced Syeda Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment under the UAPA Two of her female associates were also sentenced to long terms of imprisonment Their lawyers had claimed that they only exercised freedom of speech and there was no instance of harm arising out of the womens action Obviously the court was not convinced After conviction the women were defiant the youngest of them Sofia Fehmeeda the Press Secretary of the organisation questioned the judge Why did I get only thirty years and why did Asiya get lifeThe present writer has been a witness to the times when Andrabis outfit DukhtaraneMillat though banned in 1987 was in full bloom By 2001 the separatists task of ethnic cleansing of Pandits from Kashmir had been largely completed Then the Islamists turned their attention on the Muslims themselves and on their somewhat liberal Kashmiri culture Political correctness held sway in 2001 and it was taboo to talk of the plight of the Pandit refugees to some extent it is so even today and they are largely forgotten Lalit Koul had started a web journal Kashmir Herald to highlight their plight its archives show that the monthly venture lasted just four years from June 2001 till May 2005 I had written a few opinion pieces for this journal one of these was about Asiya AndrabiThe politicallyincorrect editorial Soft State Fickle Political Morality had appeared in the November 2001 issue The prompt was Andrabis outfit DukhtaraneMillats burqa diktat which clearly threatened violence for those who did not obey The tenor of the diktat can be best appreciated from Andrabis own words during an interview given to Bilal Bhat Undoubtedly girls of our organisation used hard methods to force Kashmiri women for observing purdah During the initial phase of our activities we started throwing colour on the nonpurdah observing women She went on to say that she approached ulema for permission for this and they gave their consent If it is considered a minor matter in Delhi a young man was lynched recently for the offence caused by Holi colour falling on a woman who was not participating in the revelriesAndrabi did not stop at the burqa In an interview to The Guardian she was asked if she supported the killing of Indian police and army men Her enthusiastic response was Not only the police but all the Indian politicians too To the question about her supporting the assassination of Indias Prime Minister Vajpayee she said We would be very happy inshallahUnlike other separatists this hardcore supporter of Kashmirs merger with Pakistan detests any talk of freedom for Kashmiris She said Islam does not believe in geographical boundaries and accession to Pakistan will strengthen Muslim brotherhood She wrote in AlSafa Your land Islam you tribe of Mustafa creating any platform for nationalism Kashmiriyat tantamounts to paving the way for furthering the interests of infidels If any doubt is left in the minds of Kashmiris about her approach to their culture she had told The Guardian I oppose traditional Kashmiri culture We want to return to Islamic cultureHardliner Kashmiris may think that if Kashmir becomes part of Pakistan there will be no cause for strife left Andrabi has other ideas as she revealed to the New York Times I believe the whole universe should be governed by the laws of Islam and Allah says all Muslims should be united as one She expressed her deep dissatisfaction about the state of Islam in Pakistan and said that after merger with Pakistan It will be our first and foremost duty to Islamise PakistanAsiya Andrabi was finally arrested in April 2018 thanks to Indias liberal democracy and even more liberal judiciary she freely spewed her hateful bigotry for three decades and the trial dragged on for another eight years Her conviction is still open to an appeal to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court Meanwhile closet separatists like Mehbooba Mufti who had opposed the construction of toilets and other facilities for Amarnath pilgrims at Bal Tal saying it would disturb Kashmiriyat and had talked of a second partition of India on this issue have jumped to her defence Mehbooba has demanded that Andrabi should be released on humanitarian groundsIn 2016 Andrabis nephews were arrested in Pakistan with a cache of weapons She had told The Hindu that I spoke to the highestlevel officials in Islamabad They said they have highest regard for me and my relatives valuable sacrifices for Pakistan I told them we were staunch Pakistani patriots Andrabis husband had changed his name from Faktoo to Qasim so that their two sons could be called bin Qasim in celebration of the eighth century butcher of Sindh Faktoo is serving a life sentence for murdering a Kashmiri Pandit activist H N Wanchoo Andrabis sons have been studying abroad while she with monetary support from Pakistanbased terrorist Hafiz Saeed instigated Kashmiri youth to become stone peltersAndrabi has enough support outside the country Americas Muslim Network TV has bemoaned her sentencing saying that no Kashmiri civilian was produced during the entire trial to testify that these women had harmed them or their community The emphasis is civilian in their view harm caused to the uniformed Indians is irrelevant to their trial In the face of all the utterances of Andrabi against freedom for Kashmiris this outlet says that Andrabi spent decades advocating for Kashmiri selfdeterminationAnother sympathiser is Turkeys Anadolu Ajansi AA a staterun global news organisation which claims on its website that it delivers news across the world 247 in 13 different languages In the report on Andrabis conviction it lamented the conviction of Yasin Malik too under similar charges AA does not mention the US State Department Report of 1995 which had held a DukhtaraneMillat activist responsible for a parcel bomb blast at the BBC office in Srinagar which had killed onenbspand injured twoThe world has moved away from political correctness in which it was mired in 2001 Terrorists are no more described as misguided youth and threats to the lives of the security forces or the Prime Minister are not treated as freedom of speech Kashmiri Pandits however remain mostly untouched by this change in mores Originally about 400000 less than 4000 remain in the Valley Widespread killings burning of houses rapes and destruction of their religious places were tools for this ethnic cleansingRepeated plans for the Pandits return to their birthplace have been thwarted The cruel Bechirag scheme euphemistically titled the 2001 Roshni Act or The Jammu and Kashmir State Lands Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants Act passed under the Farooq Abdullah government facilitated transfer of ownership of the Pandits properties to the persons who had illegally occupied these after the owners escaped with their lives Most of the grabbers were persons linked to Farooqs National Conference and Mehboobas PDP In 2018 the JampK High Court declared the Act as ultra vires of the Constitution and ordered the restoration of the properties but the order is unimplemented so farSomeday when the owners are long dead the properties may be restored to their descendants Someday some of the Pandits may return to their homeland Someday it will not take eight years for the sentencing of the likes of Andrabi 39 years if we count the time since DukhtaraneMillat was banned The Pandits live on hope R N prasher is a former IAS officer The views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/it-took-decades-to-stop-venom-spewing-by-the-dukhtaran-667497.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/modi-8-931-the-enduring-arc-of-namo-governance-667501.html As Narendra Modi becomes Indias longestserving head of government his journey reflects continuity reform and scale reshaping governance empowering citizens and positioning India as a resilient fastgrowing global force anchored in inclusive development and national purposeWhen history measures leadership it often looks beyond rhetoric to the durability of vision and the consistency of delivery With 8931 days in public office first as Chief Minister of Gujarat and now as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has etched a rare record in Indias democratic journey Surpassing the tenure of former Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling this milestone is not merely numerical but emblematic of sustained public trust continuity in governance and a relentless commitment to nationfirst serviceThe significance of this moment lies not only in longevity but in the transformation that has accompanied it Over more than two decades Modis governance model has evolved from statelevel innovation to nationalscale execution marked by a blend of administrative decisiveness policy reform and mass outreach His tenure shows a leadership style that prioritizes delivery accountability and the integration of technology with governanceAt the heart of this journey is Indias economic resurgence Today India stands among the worlds fastestgrowing major economies underpinned by robust domestic demand a resilient services sector and sustained public investment in infrastructure Structural reforms ranging from taxation to insolvency resolution have strengthened economic fundamentals and enhanced the ease of doing business Indias emergence as the fourthlargest economy globally is a testament to thesenbspsustained effortsAmong the most transformative reforms has been the Goods and Services Tax GST which unified a complex web of indirect taxes into a single destinationbased system Since its rollout in 2017 GST has simplified compliance reduced cascading taxes and fostered a common national market Continuous refinements such as rate rationalization digitized compliance mechanisms and expansion of the tax base have further strengthened its impactIndias rise as a manufacturing and investment destination has also gained traction Initiatives like Make in India and ProductionLinked Incentive PLI schemes have generated output worth Rs 14 lakh crore and created over 115 lakh jobs Meanwhile the banking sector has strengthened significantly with nonperforming assets declining to 26 per cent reflecting improved financial discipline and regulatory oversightBeyond macroeconomics the Modi governments focus on welfare and inclusion has been unprecedented in scale According to official data nearly 81 crore people receive free food grains under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana Over 12 crore toilets have been constructed under Swachh Bharat while 15 crore households now have tap water connections Housing initiatives under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana have resulted in more than 4 crore homes significantly improving living standards for millionsFinancial inclusion has been another cornerstone More than 52 crore loans have been sanctioned under the Mudra Yojana empowering small entrepreneurs while 68 lakh street vendors have benefited from the PM SVANidhi scheme During the COVID19 pandemic direct cash transfers reached 20 crore women highlighting the governments ability to leverage digital infrastructure for targeted welfare deliveryAgriculture often described as the backbone of Indias economy has received sustained attention The agriculture budget for 202526 is five times higher than in 201314 Under the PM Kisan scheme Rs 37 lakh crore has been directly transferred to farmers while Rs 175 lakh crore has been disbursed under crop insurance claims Additionally nearly 25 crore soil health cards have been issued to promote scientific farming practices and 1473 mandis have been integrated through the eNAM platform to improve market accessWomens empowerment Nari Shakti has emerged as a transformative pillar Over 1033 crore households have benefited from the Ujjwala Yojana transitioning to clean cooking fuel More than 35 crore Mudra loans accounting for 68 per cent of total disbursement have been extended to women Selfhelp groups now connect over 10 crore women while initiatives aim to create 3 crore Lakhpati Didis fostering grassroots entrepreneurship and financial independenceIndias youththe Amrit Peedhihave also been central to this vision Over 16 crore individuals have been trained under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana and more than 16 lakh startups have been officially recognized generating over 176 lakh jobs Educational reforms under the National Education Policy coupled with the expansion of institutions 23 IITs 21 IIMs and a tripling of AIIMS reflect a longterm commitment to building human capitalInfrastructure development has proceeded at an unprecedented pace Highway construction now averages 34 km per day while the rural road network has reached 99 per cent connectivity covering 396 lakh km Metro rail networks have expanded from 248 km in 2014 to over 1000 km in 2025 The operationalization of 86 airports and the rollout of 400 Vande Bharat trains further underscorenbspthe scale of transformationIndias digital revolution stands out as a global benchmark With 116 crore mobile subscribers and 693 lakh km of optical fibre laid under BharatNet connectivity has reached deep into rural India Data costs have dropped dramatically from Rs 308 per GB to just Rs 934 making internet access affordable for millions In April 2025 alone UPI transactions touched Rs 24 lakh crore illustrating the scale and efficiency of Indias digital ecosystemNational security and global positioning have also seen decisive strides Defence exports reached Rs 23622 crore in 202425 marking a 34fold increase since 2014 Strategic decisions and successful operations have reinforced Indias commitment to safeguarding its citizens and asserting its sovereignty on the global stage A combination of assertive diplomacy economic resilience and strategic autonomy has positioned the country as a key player in an increasingly complex world orderThis journey however did not begin in Delhi As Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi laid the foundation of his governance philosophy through initiatives like Vibrant Gujarat Jyotigram Yojana and largescale water conservation projects The rapid reconstruction of Kutch after the devastating earthquake demonstrated an ability to turn crisis into opportunity a trait that has continued to define his leadership at the national levelCritically what distinguishes this long tenure is the ability to sustain momentum Governance over two decades often risks fatigue or policy inertia Yet the Modi era has been characterized by continuous reform adaptive policymaking and a willingness to take bold decisionsfrom economic restructuring to administrative overhauls This dynamism has ensured that governance remains responsive to both domestic aspirations and global challengesAs India looks ahead the significance of these 8931 days lies in the foundation they have created Ultimately leadership is measured not just by tenure but by transformation Narendra Modis journey from Gandhinagar to New Delhi reflects an arc of governance that has combined scale with intent reform with continuity and ambition with execution As India stands at the cusp of new possibilities this milestone serves as both a moment of reflection and a reminder of the enduring power of sustained purposedriven leadership The writer is a senior BJP leader and member of partys National Executive Council The views expressed are strictly his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/modi-8-931-the-enduring-arc-of-namo-governance-667501.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:32:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-anti-sacrilege-law-must-be-stringent-not-draconian-666697.html Sacrilege is not limited merely to physical damage to a sacred text it also includes acts of disrespect insult or any diminution in reverence Any act of desecration of sacred forms is an extremely sensitive matter in Punjab as Punjab thrives and survives in the name of the Gurus The historic proclamation by the tenth Guru Shri Guru Gobind Singh ji designated the sacred Adi Granth as the eternal Guru for all SikhsnbspGuru Granth ji Manyo Pargat Guran Di DehThe Supreme Court of India has also accorded the Guru Granth Sahib Ji a distinct and exalted status recognizing it as a living entitywhere each part is considered a sacred limb not merely a page For the Sikh community Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji regarded as the eternal living Guru and each ANG page is revered as sacred akin to the Gurus physical form Any act of desecration therefore is not merely symbolicit is experienced as a direct violation of the sacredIt is imperative to mention that emotions teach mankind how to reason understand and broach the subject of common sense and wisdom Our most complex thoughts are often triggered by emotional experiences Human logic and decisionmaking are not independent of feelings but rather refined by them Empathy and compassion enable us to perceive the suffering of others forming the basis of ethical reasoning In this sense laws Acts and rules are nothing but crystallized expressions of collective common sense shaped over timeAccordingly the issue of sacrilege and the resentment arising therefrom must be examined through the prism of the collective emotional consciousness of society Punjab has witnessed in recent times a noticeable increase in incidents of sacrilege which has led to deep anguish and resentment as it has stirred the ethos pathos and logos of Punjabiat in general particularly the ethos of the Sikh community Incidents of sacrilege not only disrupt religious and social harmony but also prick the collective conscience of society giving rise to tension and unrest This disturbance of peace is especially critical in a sensitive border state like Punjab where stability is nonnegotiableThe ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once wrote Anybody can become angrythat is easy But to be angry with the right person to the right degree at the right time for the right purpose and in the right waythat is not easy This idea of righteous anger provides a powerful lens through which we can understand modern Sikh experiences regarding various incidents of sacrilege particularly events like the Nakodar Saka 1986 and the Bargari 2015 sacrilege incidentIn both cases anger did not arise in a vacuumit emerged from deeply felt concerns about respect dignity and the sanctity of faithThis moral grounding of anger is not alien to Sikh thought Within Sikhism the ideal of the SantSipahi SaintSoldier first articulated by Guru Hargobind and later institutionalized by Guru Gobind Singh offers a disciplined framework for understanding such emotions It envisions an individual who is spiritually anchored yet resolute in confronting injustice In this tradition anger is neither dismissed nor allowed to descend into chaos rather it is refined guided and directed towards the defence of righteousness and the protection of human dignity The SantSipahi thus embodies a balance between compassion and courage ensuring that even in moments of deep provocation the response remains ethical proportionate and anchored in a higher moral purpose The State must ensure that speedy and fair justice is provided before this controlled anger becomes uncontrolled chaotic and violentThe Nakodar Saka of 1986 began as a dispute over a religious gathering but escalated when police intervened in what many Sikhs saw as an internal religious matter The subsequent police firing that killed four young Sikhs transformed a localized protest into a symbol of injustice The anger that followed was not random it was rooted in a perceived violation of religious autonomy and dignity In Aristotelian terms many believed they were angry at the right causebut were denied the right channel of justiceNearly three decades later the Bargari sacrilege incident in 2015 reignited similar emotions The sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahibthe living spiritual authority of Sikhismwas not merely an act of vandalism it was seen as a profound assault on Sikh identity itself When justice appeared delayed and accountability unclear protests erupted again and once more the state response led to confrontation and loss of life Here too anger was directed towards a moral wrong but the absence of timely decisive and effective legal action allowed it to intensifyThese incidents reveal a crucial pattern when deeply sacred values are violated and when institutions fail to respond swiftly credibly and effectively anger can escalate into unrest and tragedy Delays and gaps in resolution reinforce perceptions of ineffective justice and contribute to public frustration and unrestThis is precisely where Aristotles philosophy becomes relevant He does not condemn anger instead he emphasizes the need for it to be guided proportionate and purposeful But for citizens to express anger in the right way there must exist systems that recognize grievances and deliver justice effectively Without such systems even righteous anger risks turning destructiveThis pattern of recurring unrest following sacrilege incidents reflects the idea often attributed to Mark Twain that history doesnt repeat itself but it often rhymes The events of Nakodar 1986 and Bargari 2015 though separated by decades reveal similar sequences of religious hurt delayed justice and public anger This rhyming of history highlights the urgent need for strong and timely legal frameworks to prevent the repetition of such cyclesThis is why there is a compelling need for stringent but not draconian clearly defined and effectively enforced laws against sacrilege Such laws serve multiple objectives They acknowledge the seriousness of religious desecration and recognize it as an attack on faith and identity They act as a deterrent against deliberate provocation through clearer provisions and stricter more proportionate punishmentespecially in light of the perceived inadequacy and weak enforcement of existing laws They provide a legal structured and effective path for timely justice and accountability ensuring proper investigation and conviction while reducing the likelihood of public unrest They help address loopholes in existing legal provisions that often allow offenders to escape or receive lighter punishment They respond to strong public demand for stricter legal measures thereby reinforcing public confidence in the justice system Most importantly they help ensure that anger remains within the bounds of law and morality rather than spilling into confrontationIn the absence of strong and credible legal frameworks communities may feel compelled to seek justice through protest whichespecially in emotionally charged contextscan escalate unpredictably as seen in the cases aboveThe lesson linking Aristotles wisdom with these historical events is clear righteous anger is not the problemunaddressed injustice isThus safeguarding sacred values through robust legal protection is not just about punishmentit is about preserving social harmony by ensuring that justice arrives before anger overwhelms itThe protection and preservation of this deeply rooted faithembedded in the vibrant culture of Punjabthrough a new and stringent legal framework is not coincidence but a necessary and timely evolutionnbsp The writer is a Punjab cadre IPS officer Views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/-anti-sacrilege-law-must-be-stringent-not-draconian-666697.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:34:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/why-citizens-demand-freebies-666297.html The fear Tax behind Indias cash transfer escalationIn rational abdication we have found why good officer dont try hard for outcome Blame it on the system visible failure is more reliably punished than invisible inactionOn February 19 the Chief Justice of India heading a threejudge bench of the Supreme Court observed that states are running into deficit while continuing to distribute freebies called the trend disturbing and warned that the nations economic development would be hampered by this kind of largesse The matter a petition against preelection cash transfers pending since 2022 is expected to be heard again this month Assembly elections have since been announced in Tamil Nadu West Bengal Kerala Assam and Puducherry The Model Code of Conduct is in force And the question the bench left open why do governments keep doing this remains openThe usual explanation is that parties offer cash transfers to secure votes and the usual critique is that states cannot afford to keep offering them Both observations are accurate as far as they go which is not very far at all They describe the transaction from one side of the counter the side that writes the cheque without asking what is happening on the other side where the citizen who accepts the transfer is making a calculation of her own That calculation is not passive It is not gratitude and it is not gullibility It is the political engagement of a person who has spent five years dealing with the state and has arrived at a precise experiencebased assessment of what she received and what she was owedTo understand that assessment you have to begin where the citizen begins not at the election booth but at the government window The woman who needs her ration card corrected the farmer whose land record requires updating the young man whose business licence application has been pending for four months the pensioner whose file has moved between three offices and is in each of them awaiting a decision that no one is willing to take Each of them has a legitimate claim on the state Each of them is experiencing something that has no name in governance literature and therefore no solution in governance practice They are paying what might be called the Fear TaxThe Fear Tax is not a bribe No money changes hands There is no demand no receipt no transaction It is the invisible cost of dealing with a state that is institutionally present but substantively disengaged the cost in time lost income foregone rights and unresolved entitlements of interacting with a system that is technically processing a file while systematically avoiding a decision on it It accumulates silently across the years of a governments term appearing in no budget measured by no ministry but felt in every queue in every district of every stateIt accumulates because the officer across the counter is operating within an incentive structure that makes nondecision the rational choice He is in many cases neither corrupt nor incompetent He can see what the file requires and has the authority to decide it What he also sees correctly is that deciding carries a professional risk he is not required to take If he decides and is later found wrong there will be an inquiry If he does not decide if he sends the file upward requests one more document refers the matter to a committee or lets the clock run out nothing happens to him The system punishes the visible wrong decision and rewards the invisible nondecision So the capable officer engages at the minimum level that keeps the process alive without taking the risk of genuinely resolving it Referral deferral minimum skin in the gameThis behaviour call it Rational Abdication is the third and least acknowledged driver of governance failure alongside corruption and incompetence Its cost is the Fear Tax And unlike corruption which at least delivers a service at an inflated price Rational Abdication delivers procedure without outcome The file moves The citizen does notBy the time an election approaches the Fear Tax has compounded into something the citizen feels viscerally even if she cannot name it analytically She knows the gap between what was promised and what she received She knows the queue that resolved nothing the document that required another document the grievance portal that generated a reference number and no resolution She does not call it the Fear Tax She says this government has not delivered And when the next government or the same government seeking reelection offers a cash transfer she does not receive it as charity She receives it as a partial settlement on an account she has been running in her head for five years an account of services delayed entitlements unresolved and time that was taken from her and never returnedThis is political engagement in its most concrete and consequential form The citizen is using the only instrument the democratic calendar gives her the period before an election when parties are responsive to her needs in a way the permanent bureaucracy has not been to extract what the permanent bureaucracy failed to provide during its term When Madhya Pradesh credited Rs 1250 monthly to 125 crore women for eight months before the 2023 election and those women voted as a bloc that transcended caste and community loyalties they were not being purchased They were responding to a government that had however belatedly acknowledged a debt When Bihar credited Rs 10000 to women voters before the 2025 assembly polls and Delhi saw rival formations bid Rs 2100 against Rs 2500 per month citizens were setting the price of a settlement that the formal machinery of governance had failed to deliver on its own termsThe numbers confirm that this is a debt dynamic rather than a simple transaction State subsidies have surged two and a half times since 201819 crossing Rs 47 lakh crore Outstanding state liabilities stand at 285 percent of GDP against a prudential ceiling of twenty percent If the cash transfer were a stable political transaction a fixed price for a fixed outcome it would stabilise at the level required to produce the desired result It is not stabilising The escalation is the signature of a compounding debt the longer the Fear Tax accumulates without being addressed at source the higher the settlement the citizen demands when the electoral window opens and the more every party seeking power must bid to meet that demand The citizen is not being outbid She is raising her price because the underlying invoice has grownTamil Nadu which votes on April 23 is the state where this cycle is oldest and most legible colour televisions in 2006 mixers and grinders in 2011 cash transfers today The Supreme Court examined Tamil Nadus freebie practices in 2013 and did not prohibit them Over a decade later the Court is back before the same phenomenon now scaled nationally across five states going to the polls simultaneously The Chief Justices question is it not high time for states to revisit these policy frameworks is exactly the right question But the answer it requires is not about capping the transfer or regulating the manifesto It is about reforming the machine that makes the transfer the citizens only available mechanism for collecting on what the state owes herThat machine runs on Rational Abdication Change the officers calculation make it professionally safer to engage genuinely with the citizens need than to abdicate procedurally distinguish between the file that was correctly closed and the grievance that was actually resolved build a performance architecture that measures delivery rather than process compliance and the Fear Tax begins to fall As it falls the citizens unresolved account falls with it As the account falls the settlement she demands at the next election begins to moderate because she has less to collect on The solution is not electoral regulation It is institutional reform a different signal from the top of the administrative hierarchy that serving the citizen and filing clean are not the same achievement and that only the first one countsUntil that signal is sent the Fear Tax will keep accumulating The citizen will keep arriving at the election with a longer invoice and a higher price And every party that wants her vote will keep bidding to meet it because the citizen is not confused about what she is owed She has been keeping the account for five years at every counter in every district and the election is the only window in which anyone is willing to payThe machine that generates the invoice has never been named It has one nowOP Singh is a former Director General of Police Haryana and the author of Fear Tax When Caution Costs More Than Corruption https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/why-citizens-demand-freebies-666297.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:17:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/revoking-wangchuks-detention-opens-door-for-trust-and-stability-in-ladakh-665221.html nbsp nbsp nbsp Arun Joshi DW Bureau JammunbspThe Union Home Ministrys decision to revoke the detention of Sonam Wangchuk with immediate effect is in line with the Centres commitment to peace development and security in one of the most sensitive regions of the country This decision may also have a longlasting impact on Kashmir It reflects the considerate attitude of the Centre toward sensitive border regions and in particular for Ladakh it has been hailed as a welcome developmentnbspThe first to hail the decision was the new Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena He described it as a positive step by the Centre towards fostering an environment of peace stability and mutual trust in LadakhThis decision has revived hopes of meaningful dialogue between the highpowered committee of the Home Ministry and the stakeholders of the Ladakh region who have been demanding statehood Sixth Schedule status and several other constitutional safeguards for the past more than three years The revocation of Sonam Wangchuks detention under the National Security Act NSA is being seen as opening the door afresh for dialogue and reconciliation on these issuesThis became clear in the announcement made by the Ministry of Home Affairs While reiterating its commitment to fostering an environment of peace stability and mutual trust in Ladakh so as to facilitate constructive and meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders the government said it had decided to revoke the detention of Sonam Wangchuk with immediate effect by exercising the powers available under the National Security Act NSA At the same time it emphasized that dialogue would receive top priorityIt was in the backdrop of a serious law and order situation that arose in the peaceloving town of Leh on September 24 2025 that Sonam Wangchuk was detained on September 26 2025 under the provisions of the National Security Act pursuant to an order issued by the District Magistrate Leh with a view to maintaining public order Sonam Wangchuk has already undergone nearly half of the period of detention under the Act the government stated while justifying the revocation of the detention under the NSA at this point in timeA look back at the September 24 2025 incidents reveals that Leh town had witnessed unprecedented violence in which police and a large group of youth protesting against the deteriorating health condition of two elderly persons sitting on a hunger strike clashed This resulted in the killing of four youth and several others were injured This was the kind of incident Leh had never witnessed before It also became a subject of mutual blameThe government accused the protestors of taking the law into their hands and making murderous attempts on the lives of policemen guarding vital installations including the police station and the BJP office The protestors on the other hand accused the law and order machinery of firing at them killing four people and injuring more than 160 othersSonam Wangchuk who was leading the protest hunger strike demanding statehood and constitutional safeguards for the Ladakh region was accused of inciting the youth to resort to violence His speeches the administration stated were provocative and asked the youth to stage Nepallike protests to topple the system He was detained on September 26 2025 and shifted to Jodhpur jailThe whole issue rests on the status of Union Territory for Ladakh Initially Buddhists in Ladakh celebrated the grant of this status when it was announced on August 5 2019 almost simultaneously with the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A that ended the special rights and privileges of Jammu and Kashmir However later when the people realized that the status would be nothing more than a Chandigarhtype Union Territory with no political empowerment and no Assembly apprehensions developed that this could open the doors for outsiders and dilute their culture and rights over landUnion Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly assured that the Government of India would protect all the rights and privileges of the people in matters of jobs and land He also paved the way for dialogue with the stakeholders the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance to cement these assurances However during the course of dialogue the demands kept multiplying and a whispering campaign against the government gathered ground This created space for unrest in the region which ultimately culminated in the violence of September 24 2025Now the Government of India appears keen to set at rest all doubts in the minds of the agitated people and has taken a significant initiative to invest in peace and stability in the region It does not want any anxiety in the region because of misplaced ideas That is why it has linked the release of Sonam Wangchuk with the process of dialogue and peacenbspThis particular decision has to be understood in the context of the overall approach of the Government of India In part it acknowledges the sensitivities of the region and also opens a broader roadmap for the development and security of the region and its people It is in line with its commitment to remove all irritants however small they might be in order to create an environment of lasting peaceThe decision also shows that the Government of India is considerate when it comes to meeting the concerns of people especially when these arise in sensitive border areas Ladakh is a hypersensitive region sharing borders with China Pakistan and Pakistanoccupied Kashmir and is also home to the worlds highest battlefieldnbspWhat todays decision reflects is that the Government of India is not sitting on prestige For it the aspirations of the people and the strategic importance of the region are more important than anything elsenbspThe move will also help assuage the feelings of those who were hurt by the detention of Sonam Wangchuk and had made his release one of the talking points during their discussions with the Home Ministry on issues concerning the Ladakh region https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/revoking-wangchuks-detention-opens-door-for-trust-and-stability-in-ladakh-665221.html Sat, 14 Mar 2026 18:44:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/what-led-to-dera-chiefs-acquittal-665225.html After the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the killing of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati Arvind Chhabra Consulting Editor Daily World examines the judgment the evidence and the questions it raisesDera chief acquitted in journalist murder case after 17 yearsTHE PUNJAB and Haryana High Court has acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 murder of Sirsabased journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati holding that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he conspired to have the journalist killedDelivering its judgment on March 7 the High Court set aside the life sentence imposed on Ram Rahim by a CBI court in 2019However the court upheld the convictions of three other accusednbspKuldeep Singh alias Kala one of the shootersnbspNirmal Singh associate involved in the attacknbspKrishan Lal linked to the firearm used in the crimeThe court held that the murder of Chhatrapati had been clearly established through medical and ballistic evidence but the evidence linking the Dera chief to the alleged conspiracy was insufficientThe case dates back to October 24 2002 when two gunmen shot Chhatrapati outside his residence in Sirsa after he published reports based on an anonymous letter alleging sexual exploitation of women followers at the DeraChhatrapati later died of his injuries in a Delhi hospital The case was eventually handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation CBIWhy Dera Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was acquittedCourt says prosecution failed to prove conspiracy key witness found unreliableThe acquittal of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh hinged on the High Courts finding that the prosecution failed to prove the charge of criminal conspiracy against himKey reasons cited in the judgment include1 Case depended heavily on one witnessThe allegation that Ram Rahim ordered the murder relied largely on testimony from Khatta Singh presented as a witness to the conspiracy2 Witness statements were inconsistentThe court found that the witness gave different versions at different stages undermining his credibility3 No independent corroborationInvestigators could not produce supporting evidence such asnbsprecords of meetingsnbspcommunications between the accusednbspfinancial or logistical links4 Magistrate statement not sufficient proofThe prosecution relied on a statement recorded before a magistrate under Section 164 CrPC but the court held that such statements cannot by themselves establish guilt5 Alternative explanation not ruled outThe court said the possibility that followers of the sect may have acted independently could not be ruled out6 Benefit of doubtSince criminal law requires proof beyond reasonable doubt the court held that the Dera chief was entitled to the benefit of doubtWhy HC found key witness Khatta Singh unreliableHigh Court points to contradictory statements and lack of corroborationThe testimony of prosecution witness Khatta Singh formed the backbone of the conspiracy case against Ram Rahim but the High Court found it unreliableThe court pointed to several problemsnbspContradictory versionsThe witness changed his statements multiple times during the investigation and trialnbspLate emergence in investigationThe court noted that the witness came into the case years after the murder investigation began raising questions about credibilitynbspAllegations of pressureAt one stage he filed an application alleging that CBI officials had pressured him to implicate the Dera chiefnbspCourts conclusionThe High Court classified him as a witness not wholly reliable observing that his testimony lacked independent corroborationThe curious case of the revolverWeapon evidence confirmed the murder but could not link the Dera chief to the conspiracyInvestigators said the attack on journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati was carried out with a 32bore revolver traced to one of the accusedThe weapon was linked to Krishan Lal who held a licence for the firearm Investigators later recovered the revolver during the probeBallistic analysis helped establishnbspthe type of weapon usednbspthe involvement of the shootersnbspthe link between the firearm and the attackBut the High Court said the weapon evidence did not establish any connection between the firearm and Ram RahimSince the allegation against him was conspiracy rather than direct participation in the shooting the revolver evidence did not affect the question of his guiltBullet size controversy defence raised forensic doubtsDefence questioned whether bullets recovered from the body matched the alleged weaponOne of the arguments raised during the trial related to the calibre of the bullets recovered from the victims bodyThe defence argued that the bullets did not correspond with the firearm allegedly used in the attack raising doubts about the prosecutions caseQuestions were also raised aboutnbspthe recovery of bullets during the postmortemnbsphow one bullet was found in the victims clothingnbspwhether forensic procedures were properly followedHowever the High Court held that the ballistic evidence did not undermine the prosecution case against the shootersThe court concluded that the forensic evidence still supported the finding that the attack was carried out with a 32bore weaponCourts observations on the CBI investigationHigh Court flags concerns over handling of key witnessThe High Court also made notable observations about the conduct of the investigation by the CBIThe court noted that the key witness had alleged pressure from investigators and said such claims were a matter of concernThe judgment observed that investigating agencies must focus on discovering the truth rather than securing a convictionThe remarks could revive debate over how the highprofile investigation was handledThis is what the court said This Court will not hesitate in holding that on the contrary it appears that he was coerced by CBI into making a statement as CBI was under pressure to conclude the investigation It was so stated by Khatta Singh in many of his applications It is a matter of grave concern that a premier Investigating Agency adopted this kind of methodology with a view to succeed in the matter The endeavour should have been to go to the bottom of the matter and bring out the truthWhat next CBI may move Supreme CourtAgency likely to challenge the acquittal of the Dera chiefLegal experts say the Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to challenge the High Court verdict in the Supreme Court of IndiaThe agency can file a special leave petition asking the Supreme Court to examine whether the High Court correctly evaluated the evidenceIf the apex court admits the petition it couldnbspuphold the acquittalnbsporder a fresh evaluation of evidencenbsprestore the convictionFor now the High Court judgment has overturned the life sentence imposed on Ram Rahim in the Chhatrapati murder case TIMELINETHE CHHATRAPATI MURDER CASE2002 Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati shot in Sirsa2003 Case handed over to CBI2017 Ram Rahim convicted in rape cases2019 CBI court convicts Ram Rahim and others in Chhatrapati murder2026 Punjab and Haryana High Court acquits Ram Rahim upholds convictions of other accused DAILY WORLD https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/what-led-to-dera-chiefs-acquittal-665225.html Sat, 14 Mar 2026 20:28:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/nitish-era-ends-in-bihar-664483.html The decision of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to go to Rajya Sabha heralds the end of the Nitish era in Bihar politics It is also a precursor of emergence of a new political equation that will shape the politics of Bihar in days to come The immediate beneficiary of course is the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP that has been craving to form its own government in BiharIf everything goes well according to its strategy the BJP will have its chief minister for the first time in Bihar Though the BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 89 legislators in the state assembly it had conceded the post of the chief minister to Nitish Kumar under whose leadership the NDA had fought the 2025 assembly electionsIt was imperative since the Janata Dal U too had garnered 85 assembly seats thus becoming the second largest party closer to the BJP tally But the BJP strategy to have its own chief minister was apparent as like the previous elections the BJP had not declared before the 2025 state polls that Nitish Kumar would be the chief minister if NDA comes to powerAfter the government formation the BJP loyalists in the JDU like party working president Sanjay Jha union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lallan Singh and a couple of others in the state council of ministers were working on the exit plan of Nitish Kumar The Rajya Sabha biennial polls came as an opportune time to implement the plan which entails Rajya Sabha nomination to Nitish Kumar and the post of the Deputy Chief Minister to his son Nishant Kumar under a BJP chief minister Nishant was formally launched in politics on Thursday thus sullying the antipariwarwad image of Nitish Kumar The Deputy Chief Ministers post for his son seems to be a concession extracted due to his position of diminished leverageBarring a brief interregnum of over nine months Nitish has been ruling Bihar with élan since November 2005 He earned a sobriquet of an able administrator and a visionary by virtue of his resolute decisions on improving the law and order situation and ushering in the process of development within the limited financial resources he had inherited from the erstwhile LaluRabri regimeThe wily politician that he is Nitish also made independent Machiavellian political moves to keep his main ally the BJP at a safe distance maintaining his secular credentials while keeping his vote bank among the nonYadav backward castes extremely backward castes EBCs Dalits and Pasmanda Backward Muslims intactBut due to his failing health after early 2023 his grip over the state administration started weakening and it seems to have slipped into the hands of a coterie of bureaucrats His political decisions also appear to have been influenced by a caucus of the JDU leaders seemingly loyal to the apex BJP leadershipConsequently after the 2025 assembly elections wherein the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 assembly seats the command of the National Democratic Alliance NDA changed hands Now the big brother Nitish Kumar doesnt wield the wand anymore Instead it is the central BJP leadership that now calls the shots in matters pertaining to the NDAThe first sign of the BJP dominance over the JDU was apparent when the crucial Home Department was snatched from the Chief Ministers quiver and handed over to the Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary The change is historical as barring Ramanand Tiwary who was made minister of state for home affairs during the Karpoori Thakur regime the home department portfolio has always remained with the Chief MinisterFor nearly two decades Nitish had held the home department and used it as his tool to control the administrative and law and order machinery and also build his image as Sushasan Babu of Bihar Nitish had retained the home department even in 2020 when the JDU had won only 43 assembly seatsIt is also an indicator of the structural shift in the social base of the ruling clique While as chief minister Nitish Kumar holds control over General Administration Cabinet Secretariat and Vigilance the authoritative law and order machinery the state police paramilitary forces and the investigating agencies is now controlled by Samrat Choudhary who is a Kushwaha Koeri the third dominant caste among the triad of Yadavas Kurmis and KushwahasSince 1990 the Yadavs under Lalu Prasad ruled Bihar for 15 years followed by 20year rule of Kurmis under Nitish Kumar The Koeris only second in terms of numerical strength among the backward castes have got an opportunity now under the leadership of Samrat Choudhary Though the de jure head of the Bihar government still is Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister the de facto head is Samrat Choudhary as the home ministerThis move is indeed the promise fulfilled by the BJP leadership During the state poll campaign union home minister Amit Shah had promised to give Samrat an important role in governance if voted to powerWith Samrat at the helm of affairs in Bihar the political gameplan of the BJP apparently is to rope in the numerically preponderant Kushwaha vote bank into the party fold and spin the states politics in a bid to grab power in Bihar with the help of the JDU caucus loyal to it But it runs the risk of alienating Upendra Kushwaha whose Rashtriya Lok Morcha RLM is part of the ruling NDA in Bihar with five MLAsIn fact a feeling whether Nitish Kumar is turning into a liability for the BJP gained ground during the campaigns for the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 assembly elections in Bihar It emanated from his unpredictable conducts gaffes and incoherent speeches at the election ralliesThere is no official version about his failing health but the missing sharpness of his speeches bloomers and forgetfulness suggest that Nitish who turned 75 five days ago does not enjoy the optimal mental health anymore The BJP leaders have been alleging that he has reached a stage where he faces the possibility of becoming the target of scorn and cynicismCalled as Chanakya for his political acumen Nitish has been winning the elections through his deft political moves blending his carefully crafted secular image with pragmatic politics His unassuming persona and a dignified aura around him have always singled him out among the political personalities of BiharHe had taken a myriad of steps to rid Bihar out of the state of callousness and financial stress His social schemes for uplift of women by giving 35percent reservation in government jobs uniform and cycle to girls at school level and free education to girls has earned him accolades He assiduously created a force of Jeevika Didis who turned out to be a potent force in social change He also enhanced the budget to a staggering Rs 35 lakh crore from the meager Rs 25000 crore in 2005 with focus on infrastructure like roads highways and bridges besides maintaining nearly 24hour power supply across the stateA strong votary of regional parties committed to certain principles Nitish had taken head on the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi when he was projected as the prime ministerial candidate Due to Nitish Kumars aversion Narendra Modi had not campaigned for the BJP or NDA in any election after the Godhra riots of 2002 and before the 2014 Lok Sabha electionsAs Nitish has been consistently trying to woo the Muslims he had strongly opposed Modis visit to Bihar during the 2005 state assembly elections 2009 Lok Sabha elections and 2010 state assembly elections He had categorically told the BJP leadership that campaigning by Modi in Bihar might cast a negative impact on the electorate due to his hardline HindutvaNitish also nourished Prime Ministerial ambitions and he considered him to be superior to Modi In 2010 he took strong exception to his photograph with Modi on an advertisement in which he was shown holding Modis hand aloft This iconic photograph taken in Ludhiana at a rally in 2009 appeared in the advertisements in Bihar dailies with Nitish Kumar thanking Modi for Rs 5 crore floodrelief aid The occasion was the national executive meeting of the BJP in Patna An infuriated Nitish cancelled the dinner scheduled for the BJP leaders and returned the aid amount forthwithWith the change in guard the politics in Bihar is bound to change and chances of a political upheaval and formation of new social combinations are palpable as the hitherto LuvKush KurmiKoeri and EBC equation may be altered due to the high political ambitions of their leaders The JDU may undergo a change in the absence of Nitish Kumar and the new leadership may abandon the hackneyed political path and go for new realignmentIt may throw up the emergence of new political leadership cutting across party lines as was visible during the churning years of 19891990 But one thing is apparent that the Kurmi Sultanate nourished by Nitish Kumar since November 2005 has fallen https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/nitish-era-ends-in-bihar-664483.html Mon, 09 Mar 2026 14:21:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/kashmirs-new-turning-point-anti-pakistan-street-protests-start-in-big-way-661248.html Arun Joshi SrinagarKashmir was rocked by antiPakistan protestsnbsp last weekend following a devastating blast in a Shia mosque in Pakistani capital city of Islamabad on Friday February 6 2026nbsp which left 31 worshippers dead and at least 170 others wounded This was something newnbsp in Kashmir where Pakistan is viewed in a differentnbsp perspective The Shia dominated areas in north Kashmir Sumbal Sonwari and adjoining areas reverberated with antiPakistan slogans and the demonstrators particularly targeted Pakistans army chief Asim Munir who now doubles asnbsp Chief of Defence Forces in the country Their outrage was over the killing of their community members innbsp Islamabad mosque blast Placards in their hands read Pakistan Muradabd Pakistan stop killing minorities In Kashmiri they raised slogans Pakistanan nu beol Khdiyon gol which when translated means that very seeds of Pakistan be destroyed bnbsp God AlmightyKashmiris came out on the streets on Friday nbsp February 6 2026 the day ofnbsp blast itselfnbsp because they suspected that Shias were deliberately targeted by the militant groups in Islamabad because of the overall antiShia sentiment advanced by the establishment They said that the Pakistani government and military were unable to protectnbsp the minorities and it was deliberate Kashmiris gathered the couragenbsp to give vent to their pent upnbsp nbspantiPakistan feelingsnbsp in noisy street protests to be heard and seen because they felt that they can do so AntiPakistan feelings are piling up Somewhere the protestors were also giving expression tonbsp what Pakistan had been doing to the people in the Valley killing them andnbsp clouding their future Pakistannbsp has been home tonbsp killing ofnbsp Shia Muslims in their mosquesnbsp ever since its inception ShiaSunni sectarian conflict often carried out by Sipahe Sahiba Pakistannbsp and its latter day formations like LashkareJhangavi TehreekeTaliban Pakistannbsp TTP LashkareTaibanbsp and JaisheMohammadThe antiPakistan protestsnbsp need to be seen in wider perspective and what happened in the Valley last weekend is a turning point in history AntiPakistan sentiment had started gathering storm over the years but it wasnbsp for the first time it manifested in fullthroated slogans The protestors werenbsp aware that what they were saying andnbsp how would it be taken in Pakistan but theynbsp did not care lessItnbsp is a turning point because Kashmir has woken up to the new reality in which it can easily understand the difference betweennbsp Pakistans real intentions and rhetoric The Valley had seennbsp how Pakistan sponsored trained armed and funded terrorists had killed 26 civilians mostly tourists in Pahalgam in April last year puttingnbsp their economynbsp and image in jeopardy Kashmir wasnbsp made to pay a heavy price for the doing of Pakistan Thatnbsp anger continued to pilenbsp upnbsp and now it is finding an outletKashmir has sensed the protection that has come to them with the abrogation of Article 370 in which Pakistan has beennbsp expelled from the landnbsp of Kashmir It has been told that it has no role whatsoever in Jammu and Kashmir neither defining its geography nor the sovereignty The Modi government put all Pakistani plans to naught The idea behind the bifurcation of the state ofnbsp Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories of Ladakh and JampK was to say it loudly and clearly that the whole of the territory and the people were part of India All the UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir and the plebiscite that these proposed were irrelevant Indianbsp rejected the resolutions and their appendages on either side of the Line of Control This instilled confidence among the people and they felt emboldened tonbsp call spade a spade Pakistan is not being blamed only fornbsp all the wrong doings but also targeted for what is happening within the neighbouring country It is establishment of new ideas in Kashmir based on reality and a rebuff to what all Pakistan had been saying about Kashmir till dateWhy this is a turning point needs to be understood in its historical perspective Until 1960s Kashmir streets used to reverberate with proPakistan chants hailing Pakistani military rulersnbsp Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan both of whomnbsp launched wars against India in 1965 and 1971 Anbsp lull followed only after Pakistan was squarely defeated in 1971 war that had also resulted in creation of Bangladesh replacing East Pakistan from the mapBut Pakistan gained in perception when it started terror activities in Kashmir It worked on a very wellthoughtout strategy inciting and involving Kashmir youth innbsp antiIndia plansnbsp The arms and ammunition was Pakistani but Kashmiri youth was used to fire the weapons It sought to give a local colour and profile to its terrorism in Kashmir but soon it realized that Kashmiri youth were not willing tonbsp bite Pakistani bait for long so it started sending Pakistani terrorists into JampK That generated a lot of anger against Pakistan but that did not manifestnbsp because there was all pervadingnbsp fear of Pakistani terrorist groupsnbsp known for their murderous brutalitiesAnother disturbingnbsp fact was that the political narrative of Kashmircentric partiesnbsp was not different from the secessionists The separatist groupsnbsp All Parties Hurriyat Conference and other splinter groupsnbsp were expandingnbsp Pakistans interests in Jammu and Kashmir They wouldnbsp criticize India andnbsp challenge countrys human rights record while praising Pakistan The bigger problem emanated from Delhi which alternated between reaching out to militant groupsnbsp andnbsp Pakistan as it had made Pakistan a pivot in Kashmir solution During the course of second round table conference on Kashmir in Srinagar in May 2006nbsp then Prime Ministernbsp Dr Manmohan Singh hadnbsp invoked to dimensions of Kashmir issue internal in which he suggest dialoguenbsp with thenbsp stakeholders within Jammu and Kashmir including both factions f Hurriyat Conference and separatist leaders out of the conglomerate Second it placednbsp emphasis on involving Pakistan in talksnbsp to address external dimensions Pakistan was made a party to the crisis according credibility to Islamabads claim that it had a role to play in realizing aspirations of the Kashmiris struggling for their rightnbsp of selfdetermination Analysts felt that the Congress government of the day gave official entry to Pakistan in Kashmir affairs instead of building firewalls for IslamabadRawalpindi combine https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/kashmirs-new-turning-point-anti-pakistan-street-protests-start-in-big-way-661248.html Mon, 09 Feb 2026 23:34:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/indias-aviation-turbulence-a-test-of-capacity-not-policy-654973.html Indias civil aviation sector is passing through a phase of visible turbulence Recent flight disruptions triggered by operational challenges at the countrys largest airline have inconvenienced passengers and disrupted schedules across major airports Yet it would be a mistake to view this episode as a failure of policy or regulation Instead it is best understood as a stress test for an industry that has grown faster than almost any other in the worldand is now being required to institutionalise that growthIndia today is the worlds thirdlargest domestic aviation market Passenger volumes have rebounded sharply postpandemic fleet sizes are expanding and airport infrastructure is being modernised at an unprecedented pace Against this backdrop tighter safety and fatiguemanagement norms introduced by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA were both necessary and inevitable Aviation after all is a sector where regulatory compromise is not an optionSafety First by DesignThe immediate cause of the recent disruptions lies in the full enforcement of revised Flight Duty Time Limitations FDTL which were notified well in advance and are broadly aligned with international standards These rules are intended to reduce pilot fatigue enhance operational safety and ensure longterm reliabilityThe regulations themselves are not in question What the episode highlights is the uneven readiness of airlinesparticularly those operating highutilisation lowbuffer modelsto adapt staffing and rostering practices in time That this led to shortterm cancellations reflects execution gaps at the operator level rather than regulatory excessIt is to the governments credit that safety considerations were not diluted in the face of disruption Mature aviation markets are defined not by the absence of turbulence but by the consistency with which safety norms are upheldeven when inconvenientA Measured State ResponseThe government and the regulator responded with restraint and clarity Rather than resorting to adhoc interventions the focus was on stabilisation rationalising schedules ensuring alternate capacity monitoring fares and strengthening passenger grievance redressalOther carriers were encouraged to step in helping absorb demand Fareoversight mechanisms were activated to prevent opportunistic pricing Airlines were directed to expedite refunds and rebookings The objective was clearto protect passengers while allowing the market to rebalanceThis approach avoided the twin risks of regulatory panic and policy paralysis It reinforced the states role as an enabler and stabiliser not a micromanagerWhat the Disruption RevealsBeyond the headlines the episode exposes three structural realitiesFirst scale needs redundancyIndias aviation growth has been led by efficiency and consolidation While this has delivered affordability and connectivity high market concentration means disruptions at one large carrier can have systemwide effects This is not an argument against scale but for parallel capacity creation A resilient aviation market needs multiple airlines of meaningful sizeSecond workforce planning must keep pace with fleet growthAircraft induction has outstripped the expansion of trained pilots engineers and airtraffic management capacity This gap becomes visible when regulatory thresholds tighten Longterm workforce planning is now as critical as aircraft ordersThird institutions are catching up to demandAirport infrastructure airnavigation systems and safety oversight are being rapidly upgraded but synchronisation across these layers remains a work in progress The present disruption underscores why institutional capacity building must accompany physical expansionGlobal Context MattersComparable aviation markets offer perspective In the US strict dutytime norms coexist with large carriers because of deep staffing pools and flexible operational buffers In Europe competition ensures that no single airlines difficulties cripple the network In the Gulf and East Asia aviation policy is treated as strategic infrastructure supported by longterm planning and cost stabilityIndia is moving in this direction Temporary disruptions are a sign of regulatory maturation not retreatThe Reform OpportunityIf anything the episode strengthens the case for targeted reformEncouraging the emergence of multiple strong carriers will dilute systemic risk Expanding pilottraining capacity and streamlining licensing will futureproof workforce availability Regulatory implementation can be further refined through phased rollouts and closer industry coordinationwithout compromisingnbspsafety standardsCrucially none of this requires a rethink of policy direction It requires deeper alignment between ambition execution and institutional capacityA Strategic Sector at a Strategic MomentCivil aviation is no longer a discretionary service it is national infrastructure It connects markets supports tourism enables trade and underpins Indias integration into global value chains The governments sustained investment in airports regional connectivity and regulatory modernisation reflects an understanding of this realityThe current turbulence is a reminder that rapid growth brings new responsibilitiesfor airlines regulators and policymakers alike Indias challenge is not demand it is discipline preparedness and coordination at scaleHandled well this moment can strengthen the sectors foundations rather than weaken confidence in it That is the hallmark of a maturing economyand a maturingnbspaviation marketnbspnbspThe writer is a senior IAS officer in Punjab Views expressed are his personal https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/indias-aviation-turbulence-a-test-of-capacity-not-policy-654973.html Sun, 21 Dec 2025 17:08:00 +0530 https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/when-seconds-countthe-operational-case-for-emergency-preparedness-654368.html Hospitals are the backbone of any health system They are expected to remain functional when everything else fails Whether it is a fire a mass casualty incident a chemical spill or a natural disaster the public expects hospitals to save lives amp not become victims of the emergency themselvesThis makes emergency preparedness not just an operational responsibility but a public health imperative a moral obligation and a national priority India with its diverse geographic and demographic challenges has witnessed several largescale tragedies where inadequate preparedness worsened the impactThe High Cost of Unpreparedness A Modern CrisisHistory and recent headlines serve as grim teachers While we often look to the past the current decade has exposed colossal cracks in healthcare safety that prove readiness is never fixed but a moving targetIndias Recent Tragedies 20242025The Jaipur Hospital Fire October 2025 A suspected short circuit at the staterun Sawai Man Singh SMS Hospital killed 6 ICU patients This tragedy highlighted the danger of toxic gas release in enclosed medical spaces and the difficulty of evacuating critically ill patients on life supportClimateInduced Infrastructure Collapse 20242025 During this period massive flooding in Punjab damaged medical infrastructure worth Rs 780 crore rendering over 100 community health centres inaccessible exactly when waterborne disease outbreaks peakedThe Jhansi NICU Fire November 2024 A devastating blaze in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College claimed the lives of at least 10 newborns Investigations revealed functional gaps that mirror past failures blocked emergency exits nonfunctional fire extinguishers and a slow response to an electrical short circuitThe Delhi Baby Care Disaster May 2024 Seven infants perished in a private neonatal centre in New Delhi The fire was exacerbated by the explosion of oxygen cylinders underscoring the lethal risk of improper hazardous material storage in small healthcare settingsHistoric amp Global BenchmarksHurricane Helene USA 2024 Even in a developed nation the 2024 hurricane caused critical IV fluid shortages across the United States after a major manufacturing plant was flooded proving that hospital preparedness is deeply tied to supply chain resilienceThe Nepal amp Bhuj Earthquakes Both the 2001 Bhuj India and 2015 Nepal disasters showed that when hospitals are not built with structural retrofitting they crumble leaving the injured with nowhere to turnBhopal Gas Tragedy 1984 Remains the worlds worst industrial disaster where a lack of chemical triage meant hospitals were overwhelmed by 500000 exposed victims within hoursLessons Learned or Learnings LostThese incidents reveal a reactive rather than preventive culture Modern failures are rarely about a lack of equipment they are about maintenance accountability and overcrowdingMaintenance Expired extinguishers and outdated wiring are silent killersOvercrowding NICUs operating at 200 capacity make safe evacuation nearly impossibleAccountability Legal frameworks often fail to penalize negligence leading to safety audits becoming mere paperworkThe Immediate Benefits of ReadinessEmergencies strike without warningfires stampedes earthquakes terrors outbreaksEffective preparedness enables hospitals toSave Lives amp Reduce Morbidity Swift action prevents preventable deathsMaintain Continuity of Care Ensuring patients already in the hospital arent neglected during a crisisManage Resources Efficiently using limited beds blood and oxygenReduce Chaos Implementing a clear Chain of Command to replace panic with protocolCore Pillars of Response Fire Crowd and CasualtiesModern healthcare institutions must adopt structured frameworks to handle specific threats1 Fire Safety Beyond functional extinguishers hospitals must conduct annual fire audits Staff should be experts in RACE Rescue Alarm Confine Extinguish and PASS Pull Aim Squeeze Sweep protocols2 Crowd amp Surge Management Highdensity areas require access control and diversion protocols to prevent stampedes and maintain hospital security3 Mass Casualty Incident MCI Hospitals must be ready to double their capacity instantly This relies on the START Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment system for adults and JumpSTART for childrenBy categorizing patients into Red Immediate Yellow Delayed Green Walking and Black Deceased medical teams can do the greatest good for the greatest number of peopleThe longterm survival of a healthcare institution depends on the Science of Preparedness This involves benchmarking against global standards and building systems that can withstand the invisible threats of the 21st centuryThe Hospital Incident Command System HICSA crisis cannot be managed by a standard administrative hierarchy Hospitals must adopt the Hospital Incident Command System HICS which breaks roles into specific functionsCommand Staff Incident Head Safety Officer and Public Information OfficerGeneral Staff Operations Planning Logistics and FinanceBenchmarking with the WHO Hospital Safety Index HSIThe World Health Organization WHO provides the Hospital Safety Index a tool to evaluate a facilitys Functional Safety It moves beyond just checking if the walls are strong Structural Safety to assessing if the hospital can actually provide care during a flood or power outageThe Modern Frontier Digital amp Supply Chain ResilienceIn todays era of telemedicine and Electronic Health Records EHRs cybersecurity has become a frontline safety priority A ransomware attack on a hospital is no less dangerous than a fireit can paralyze critical systems endanger lives and erode trustThe recent ransomware attack on AIIMS New Delhi illustrates this stark reality Sensitive patient data was compromised hospital operations were disrupted and hackers demanded nearly Rs 200 crore in cryptocurrency ransom The inability to access patient records crippled daytoday functioning raising urgent concerns about the adequacy of cybersecurity safeguards in healthcare This incident underscores the existential threat posed by digital vulnerabilities in modern medicineResilience however is not only digitalit is also logistical Just as hospitals must defend against cyberattacks they must also ensure supply chain continuity Buffer stocks of essential medicines diversified vendor networks and contingency planning for lifesaving drugs are vital A break in the supply chain can be as catastrophic as a system breach jeopardizing patient care and institutional credibilityTogether digital resilience and supply chain continuity form the twin pillars of modern healthcare preparedness Protecting data and ensuring uninterrupted access to critical resources are no longer optional as they are the new frontier of safety and trust in healthcareThe Human Element Training and Mental HealthMuscle Memory amp Mental ResilienceMuscle memory means the brain and body working together With repeated practice actions become automaticboth neurologically quick signals in the brain and physiologically the bodys ability to act fast and preciseMock drills build this memory In a Code Blue cardiac arrest or Code Red fire drills expose gaps and prepare staff to respond without hesitationBut resilience is not only physical Mental health support is vital Programs for staff wellbeing and posttrauma care prevent burnout and protect against longterm stressTogether muscle memory and mental resilience make healthcare teams strong ready and able to save livesEmerging Considerations Climate and AccountabilityAs we look toward the future three new challenges emergeClimate Change Extreme heat floods and new disease outbreaks demand advance resilience buildingLegal amp Ethical Frameworks Systems must ensure fairness and equity in resource allocation during crisesIntegration No hospital is an island Institutions must align with the NDMA National Disaster Management Authority and global WHO frameworks to share data and resourcesConclusion A Cycle of ImprovementEmergency preparedness is not a destination but a continuous cycle of improvement A prepared hospital saves more lives protects its staff and maintains public trust As India strengthens its healthcare infrastructure preparedness must remain the central pillarnbspof patient safetynbspThe writer is the former President AIIMS Bathinda Dean R Medical Superintendent amp Professor PGIMER Chandigarhnbsp https://dailyworld.in/daily-world-special/when-seconds-countthe-operational-case-for-emergency-preparedness-654368.html Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:51:00 +0530