Editorial

After years of somnolence, ensconced deep in the arms of Morpheus as the central government was on Kashmir, one sees frenetic activity over the last 48 hours. Now, I am just wondering whether it is the Sochi/Wuhan effect. PM Modi recently conducted one on one informal deliberations with Xi Jingping and Vladamir Putin. The agenda of these talks was not specified. The fact that the government has moved with great alacrity on Kashmir since suggests a linkage and connection even if it is tenuous at this stage. This is a clear volte face by the BJP and that is what makes it monotypical.

Are both the BJP and Congress reading the tea leaves wrong for the battle of 2019? In their visceral hatred for one another, they continue to obsess about each other and perhaps this will allow both to be blindsided by the ragtag bobtail army of federal chieftains who are waiting to bushwhack them. Lying as they are in wait to ambuscade them, driven into the ground due the BJP’s heft of majoritarianism over the last four years.

The developmental efforts initiated by Indian government in the state of Jammu and Kashmir are a welcome measure for the state as well as for the country. These have been preceded by controversial measures of amnesty to stone pelters, and declaration of ‘Non Initiation of Combat Operations’.

HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony at Bengaluru was expected to be a watershed moment in millennial politics of India for two reasons. One, for the first time, constituents of the much discussed “United Opposition” showed up on political stage. Two, despite being the major alliance partner, by acquiescing to JD(S) and settling for a deputy chief minister, the Indian National Congress (Congress) has politically ceded to regional forces across the length and breadth of India.

The recent extradition hearings in the UK of alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla and liquor baron Vijay Mallya have highlighted the violence and overcrowding in Indian prisons. These, being directly linked with the abysmal prison conditions and violation of prisoners’ rights, had prompted one of the defendant’s counsels to remark that “the conditions in Indian jails are far from satisfactory.”

The Mulaperiyar controversy, so often reported in the papers is about the height of the dam, which is a colonial dispensation between the Travancore Raja and the British administration. Kerala’s plea has been that Tamil Nadu should perceive the danger that it presents to its inhabitants, as it is a 19th century construction, and the land leased to Tamil Nadu is now problematised by both climate change, and the fear factor of something imposed by colonial law.

Secure in the belief that under Westphalian sovereignty rules, or state sovereignty, which is the principle of international law articulating that each nation-state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory and that external powers should not interfere in another country's domestic affairs; the BJP government is ring fencing its policy of drift in Jammu & Kashmir. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast bullish GDP growth for India at 7.4 per cent in 2018 as against 6.7 per cent in the previous year. It forecast a better 7.8 per cent GDP growth for 2019, making India the fastest growing economy again overtaking China, which is expected to slow down to 6.6 per cent GDP in 2018 and 6.4 per cent in 2019.  Of course India and China growth figures are not comparable in absolute term. India is a mere $2.5 trillion economy while China is a huge $11 trillion economy.

With cricket being the flavour of the season, it is apt to put everything in cricketing milieu.  Sadly, the governments (states and Central) are not realising that it is actually a Twenty20 match — literally! Governments opting for the time out is leading to iron ore miners getting hit wicket and steel mills getting run out.

In a major decision, the Centre on Wednesday asked security forces not to launch operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan. The security forces, however, reserve the right to retaliate if attacked or if essential to protect the lives of innocent people.  The announcement by the Home Ministry came two days ahead of prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.