News and Views

Days before Rajasthan votes, farmers are hitting the headlines and seem set to bang on the doors of the Indian Parliament. It’s a reflection of the depth of the agrarian crisis and the growing anger of farmers.

The key question is – how serious is the farmers’ plight in Rajasthan and will this issue impact the polls in the desert state? As in most parts of the country, farmers in Rajasthan are now restless and angry.

The meeting between US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the recent G20 meeting in Buenos Aires, was the first iteration of Japan-India-US (JAI) grouping at the summit level. In the words of Abe, the three countries share “fundamental values and strategic interests”.

Modi reportedly outlined five areas that the grouping could work on—connectivity, sustainable development, maritime security, disaster relief and freedom of navigation.

Rural Telangana, where almost 62 percent of the population lives, had played a crucial role in the formation of the new state in 2014\. As the Legislative Assembly goes to polls on 7 December, narratives of families of farmer suicides in the prosperous Nalgonda district, highlight how little their life has changed. Nalgonda has the highest number of farmer suicides, according to data available since the state’s formation.

6 December, 2018 marks the 26th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid. The Quint's Aviral Virk looks at the event from the very beginning of history that led to this shift in Indian politics.

On one hand, left parties led by the CPI (M) are planning to observe 6 December as ‘Defend the Constitution and Secularism Day’, on the other hand the Vishnu Hindu Parishad has planned events for 9 days straight starting from 18 December that will include religious programmes demanding the building of a Ram Temple.

Until the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, all eyes are on Ayodhya. 

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The Border Security Force, the largest border guarding force in the world, celebrated its 54th Raising day on 1 December. Tasked with guarding borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, the force has a vital role in ensuring the security and integrity of nation.

53 years ago, policy makers conceived of a force capable of guarding borders during peace, and to assist the army as the first line of defence during hostilities, because of the inability of the disparate State Armed Forces to stand up to even minor threats from Pakistani forces, and lack of uniformity in dealing with its counterparts.

Operational philosophy, organisation and training of the force was therefore militaristic, and the force performed extremely well during the 1971 war.

The Centre is in a stew over the recent fiasco regarding government formation in Jammu and Kashmir. Well-informed sources say there has been much criticism within the government, even at the highest level, of the way things have been handled.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh and some in the national security establishment are said to be most displeased. Governor Satya Pal Malik, who is in the eye of the storm, even said on Wednesday, 28 November, that he might be transferred. If that indeed happens, it would be the result of his frequent public statements. Malik’s stating that the Centre wanted him to install Sajjad Lone as the chief minister, has been damaging to both Lone and those in charge at the Centre.

Keeping his promise, Pakistan premier Imran Khan on Wednesday, 28 November, performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the proposed Kartarpur Sahib corridor.

On Monday, 26 November, Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh laid the foundation stone at the Indian side at Dera Baba Nanak, three kilometers from the Gurdwara where Guru Nanak spent the last 17 years of his life.

If this project reaches fruition by next November, the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, it could mark a seachange in relations between arch rivals India and Pakistan. It could also set a precedent for the role religion can play to bring peace among erstwhile enemy nations and become a clarion call for peace in South Asia.

Perhaps the most common critique of all religions is Karl Marx's phrase: opiate of the masses.

The Indian Army learnt its lessons in the conduct of counter terror (CT) operations required in the context of Jammu and Kashmir, very early. The essentials were first that large-scale operations tire troops and achieve little except area domination. To be successful, operations must be kept as small as possible, and be backed by quick response capability for contingencies.

Second, small-size operations are best done through reliable intelligence generation, as without actionable intelligence no force can succeed. While the Army itself has its internal intelligence entity, it realised very early that the best intelligence comes when you have local operatives and agencies.

Thus its dependence for intelligence has largely been on the J&K Police, which too has two main elements that play the intelligence game, the State CID and the Special Operations Group (SOG).

The pristine Andaman and Nicobar islands lie in splendid isolation over 750 kms in the Bay of Bengal, and have a chequered history. After lying unclaimed for centuries, they were colonized by the British for over 150 years and briefly by the Japanese during World War II.

But before all this, the islands have been the abode of six indigenous tribes, who have lived here since times immemorial. These tribal groups are in various stages of acculturation into the mainstream, and barring the Nicobarese, are classified as ‘Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups – PVTGs’.