UN report on atrocities on Muslim minorities in Xinjiang (GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Why in news?
Recently, China has responded furiously to a United Nations report on alleged human rights abuses in its northwestern Xinjiang region targeting Uyghurs and other mainly Muslim ethnic minorities.
What is the report all about?
- The report has been in the works for years and was released despite Chinese efforts to delay or block it, aware of how it could validate claims that more than one million ethnic minority members were forcibly sent to centers it says were for vocational training.
- Those who were held, their relatives and monitoring groups describe them as prison-like reeducation centers, where inmates were forced to denounce Islam and their traditional culture, while swearing fidelity to the ruling Communist Party.
- The camps have been part of a widespread campaign of repression in Xinjiang, allegedly including involuntary sterilisations of women, forced labour, the demolition of mosques and other religious sites, the separation of Muslim children from their families and the harassment of minority members living abroad.
Where is Xinjiang and why is it important to China?
- Xinjiang is a vast but sparsely populated region of mountains, forests and deserts in far northwestern China that borders Russia, Pakistan and several Central Asian nations.
- The ancient Silk Road ran through parts of it and various nationalities and Chinese empires controlled its cities and oases over the centuries, with the Communist Party taking complete control following its 1949 victory in the Chinese civil war.
- The region contains a wealth of natural resources, including oil, gas and rare earth minerals, but perhaps its most important value is as a strategic buffer that extends China’s influence westward.
- While China and Russia have largely aligned their foreign policies in recent years, Xinjiang was on the front line of their Cold War rivalry and remains important as an assertion of Chinese influence in Russia’s backyard.
Who are the Uyghurs?
- Uyghur, mostly Muslims, live in China’s Xinjiang, officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
- About 12 million, the Uyghurs constitute about half of the population in the region. They speak a language which is similar to Turkish and consider themselves close to Central Asian nations.
- In 1953, the Uyghur population was more than 75 per cent of the region, according to a census cited in the UN report.
- However, the last few years have seen the Han Chinese migrate to Xinjiang in large numbers. Their numbers have gone up from seven per cent more than six decades ago to 42 per cent now.
What prompted China’s crackdown on minorities?
- Xinjiang’s Uyghurs, along with the closely related Kazakh and Kyrgyz, are predominantly Turkic Muslims who are culturally, religiously and linguistically distinct from China’s dominant Han ethnic group.
- Repression under Communist rule, particularly during the violent and xenophobic 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, stirred deep animosity in Xinjiang toward the government, aggravated further by the migration of Han to the region and their domination of political and economic life.
- Uyghurs established two short-lived independent governments in Xinjiang before the Communist Party seized power, and the desire for self-rule endured and was nurtured by resentment against heavy-handed Chinese rule.
- A protest movement began in the 1990s and remained at a relatively low level until simmering anger exploded in a 2009 riot in the regional capital of Urumqi that left an estimated 200 people dead.
- More violence followed within Xinjiang and as far away as Beijing, prompting Chinese leader Xi Jinping to order a massive crackdown starting in 2014.
What is the basis of the UN’s accusations?
- With Xi’s support, Xinjiang’s hard-line leader, Chen Quanguo, who took office in 2016, began sending Uyghurs and others into a vast network of fortified camps without legal due process.
- It remains unclear what criteria were used to determine if a person needed to be sent for what the authorities called retraining or de-radicalisation, but those who showed religious tendencies, the well-educated and anyone with foreign connections were especially susceptible.
- Conditions in the camps have been described as overcrowded and unhygienic, with those inside forced to renounce their religion and culture and praise Xi and the Communist Party. Harsh punishments were meted out for those who refused to comply and the length of sentences was indeterminate.
- While China says it has closed the camps, many of those held have since received lengthy prison terms within a system that remains overwhelmingly opaque. The United States and others have labelled China’s policies against Xinjiang minorities as “genocide”.
How has China responded to the report?
- China has always denied targeting Uyghurs and others for their religion and culture, denouncing the accusations as a confection of lies by the West and saying its crackdown was aimed at quashing separatism, terrorism and religious extremism.
- It has said camp attendance was voluntary and no human rights were abused, although internal Chinese documents have frequently contradicted such claims.
- China has also cited carefully choreographed visits by journalists, diplomats and, most recently, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, as validating its claims.
- Some observers say the tide of criticism may have prompted China to wind down the detentions earlier than planned to salvage its reputation among Muslim nations and in the developing world.
- In a note accompanying the UN report, China’s diplomatic mission in Geneva registered its strong opposition to the findings, which it said ignore human rights achievements in Xinjiang and the damage caused by terrorism and extremism to the population.
What will be the outcome for China?
- China’s authoritarian leaders have outwardly defied criticism of their policies in Xinjiang, but have been unsuccessful in thwarting international sanctions on officials who were involved and bans on cotton and other commodities from the region.
- The report’s release comes despite China’s growing influence within the UN and its pressure campaign against critics in the human rights community.
- China has maintained its defiance and appears to believe its policies have been effective and should continue, despite any costs to its international reputation.
Rule Curve for Mullaperiyar
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Why in news?
- The Mullaperiyar is the first reservoir to have Rule Curve implemented, in India.
What is the Rule Curve?
- Rule Curve is a tabulation whichspecifies quantum of storage of water or empty space to be maintained in a reservoir during different times of a year, based on the rainfall data for 35 years.
It is a ready-reckoner in decision-making for officials in charge of the dam, for smooth operation of shutters, especially for moderation of flood, during monsoon times without having to seek permission from the top hierarchical ladder.
Why Rule Curve for Mullaperiyar dam?
- Water of the Mullaperiyar dam, has remained a bone of contention between Tamil Nadu and Kerala for over four decades. After a long legal battle, the Tamil Nadu Government was allowed by Supreme Court to raise the water level from 136 feet to 142 feet in 2014.
- However, Kerala insisted urged the Supreme Court to insist that Tamil Nadu, which maintains and operates the dam, prepare a Rule Curve for flood control and flood management.
- It had earlier alleged that sudden and unannounced release of flood water through Mullaperiyar dam caused severe damage to Kerala.
- Though Tamil Nadu Government delayed it with various reasons, it prepared the draft Rule Curve for the reservoir in consultation with Hydrology Wing of the Central Water Commission.
- And it was first implemented in October 2021. Water was released from the dam much before it could touch 142 feet, raising a huge hue and cry among the farmers and politicians of the State.
Restriction of water level:
- The Rule Curve comes into effect between June 10 and November 30, during which the dam gets maximum inflows from the South West Monsoon.
- The upper limit of the water level has been fixed for every block period of 10 days of each month based on 35 years of data on water inflow and irrigation pattern. It has been fixed between 136 feet starting June 10 to 142 feet in September 20. Then again, the upper limit is reduced from September 30 and then gradually raised to the maximum permissible level of 142 feet by November 30.
- The fear of Tamil Nadu is that Kerala was indirectly trying to restrict it from maintaining the water below the maximum level of the 142 feet permitted by the Apex Court, in the reservoir which has 152 feet as the full reservoir level and to dissolve the sub-committee formed under the Supreme Court’s direction to monitor the dam safety.
- As a result of implementation of the Rule Curve, Tamil Nadu will have to keep the water level below the permitted maximum level of 142 feet for 150 days in a year, the period when the dam gets heavy inflows.
Unique problem:
- Mullaperiyar dam has the unique limitation of lesser head sluice discharge (withdrawal of water from the dam through tunnel towards Tamil Nadu side) with a maximum discharge capacity of 2,300 cusecs.
- This is minimum in comparison to the dam’s maximum flood design of 1.24 lakh cusecs. In 2017,the dam received 30,000 cusecs of inflow.
- Surplus water is released towards Idukki district of Kerala through shutters.
- Eventually, the Rule Curve implementation over the years would be used by Kerala Government, citing the age of the reservoir, in disallowing Tamil Nadu’s efforts to further increase the water level to 152 feet upon taking up strengthening works of the Baby dam.
Criticism by farmers:
- While the FRL of the reservoir is 152 feet, calculating the Rule Curve with 142 feet as the base has reduced the maximum water storage in the dam during monsoon time.
- Normally, water yield from the rainfall would fill up Mullaperiyar dam three times in a normal year and five times in a good year. Consequent to implementation of Rule Curve, the limitation in head sluice would force Tamil Nadu to part away with a huge quantity of water to Kerala during floods.
- The preparation of Rule Curve was not done in consultation with the stakeholders, claimed the farmers of Tamil Nadu who benefit from the waters for irrigation.
Deficit Periyar-Vaigai basin:
- Periyar-Vaigai basin being a rainfall deficit basin is able to produce foodgrains making use of Mullaperiyar dam water.
- Any attempt to reducing the quantum of water flowing to Periyar-Vaigai basin through implementation of Rule Curve will be a great disservice to the nation, the farmers of the region say.
- In contrast to general fact that the width of rivers widen as they progress towards the sea, the width of Vaigai river shrinks in Ramanathapuram district as it goes closer to the Bay of Bengal. This only indicates the hard truth of Periyar-Vaigai basin being a rain deficit basin.
Conclusion:
- Under the Rule Curve method, water is not allowed to be stored to the permissible maximum level at the time when the reservoir receives huge inflows.
- And permitting Tamil Nadu to maintain it at 142 feet after the monsoon, when there will be little or no inflow, would defeat the very direction of Supreme Court allowing Tamil Nadu to increase the water level to 142 feet, farmers argue.
Effecting the ban on single-use plastics
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Context:
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 on August 12, 2021.
- In keeping with the spirit of the ‘AzadikaAmritMahotsav’, the country is taking steps to curb littered and unmanaged plastic waste pollution.
Plastic ban:
- Since July 1, 2022, India has banned the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of single-use plastic (SUP) items with low utility and high littering potential.
- India is a party to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).
- In all, 124 nations are party to the UNEA, and India has signed a resolution to draw up an agreement in the future that will make it legally binding for signatories to address the full life cycle of plastics, from production to disposal.
Why are single-use plastics harmful?
- The purpose of single-use plastics is to use them once or for a short period of time before disposing of them.
- Plastic waste has drastic impacts on the environment and human health. There is a greater likelihood of single-use plastic products ending up in the sea than reusable ones.
- India has taken resolute steps to mitigate pollution caused by littered single-use plastics.
- A number of items are banned, including earbuds with plastic sticks, balloon sticks, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol) for decorations, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery such as forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packing films around sweet boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron, stirrers, etc.
What is the impact on the environment?
- Littered single-use plastic items have an adverse effect on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. All countries face a major environmental challenge due to pollution caused by single-use plastic items.
- India piloted a resolution on single-use plastics pollution at the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019, recognising the urgent need for the global community to address this issue. This resolution was adopted at the UN Environment Assembly as an important step forward.
- In the recently concluded 5th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022, India engaged constructively with all member states to develop a consensus on a resolution to drive global action against plastic pollution.
- However, India is not the first country to ban single-use plastics. Bangladesh became the first country to ban thin plastic bags in 2002; New Zealand banned plastic bags in July 2019. China had issued a ban on plastic bags in 2020 with a phased implementation.
What are the plastic waste management rules in India?
- With effect from September 30, 2021, the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibited the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of plastic carry bags whose thickness is less than 75 microns. From December 31, 2022, plastic carry bags whose thickness is less than 120 microns will be banned.
- It means that the ban does not cover all plastic bags; however, it requires the manufacturers to produce plastic bags thicker than 75 microns which was earlier 50 microns. As per the notification, the standard shall be increased to 120 microns in December 2020.
- The notification clearly mentioned that plastic or PVC banners/ hoardings should have more than 100 microns in thickness, and non-woven plastic (polypropylene) must be more than 60 GSM (grams per square metre).
- Non-woven plastic bags have a cloth-like texture but are counted among plastics. Still, plastic or PET bottles, counted among the most recyclable types of plastic, have been left out of the scope of the ban.
Steps taken for adoption of alternatives:
- The Indian government has taken steps to promote innovation and create an ecosystem for accelerated adoption and availability of alternatives across the country.
- To ensure the effective enforcement of the ban, national and State-level control rooms will be established, as well as special enforcement teams for the purpose of checking the illegal sale and use of single-use plastics.
- To prevent the movement of banned single-use plastic items between States and Union Territories, border checkpoints have been established.
- In an effort to empower citizens to help curb the plastic menace, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has launched a grievance redressal application.
- The Government has been taking measures for awareness generation towards the elimination of single-use plastics The awareness campaign has brought together entrepreneurs and start-ups, industry, Central, State and local Governments, regulatory bodies, experts, citizen organisations, R&D and academic institutions.
What is the role of the manufacturer?
- In addition, the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2022 on February 16, 2022.
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is the responsibility of a producer for the environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life.
- The guidelines provide a framework to strengthen the circular economy of plastic packaging waste, promote the development of new alternatives to plastic packaging and provide the next steps for moving towards sustainable plastic packaging by businesses.
What are the challenges?
- The ban will succeed only if all stakeholders participate enthusiastically and engage in effective engagement and concerted actions.
- However, earlier almost 25 Indian States previously banned plastic at the state level. However, these bans had a very limited impact in reality because of the widespread use of these items.
- Now the challenge is to see how the local level authorities will enforce the ban in accordance with the guidelines.
- Banned items such as earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for balloons, etc., are non-branded items and it is difficult to find out who the manufacturer is and who is accountable for selling because these items will be available in the market even after the issuing of guidelines.
Way Forward:
- The consumer needs to be informed about the ban through advertisements, newspaper or TV commercials, or on social media. In order to find sustainable alternatives, companies need to invest in research and development.
- The solution to the plastic pollution problem is not the responsibility of the government alone, but of industries, brands, manufacturers and most importantly consumers.
- Finding alternatives to plastic seems a little difficult, however, greener alternatives to plastic may be considered a sustainable option. For example, compostable and bio-degradable plastic, etc., may be considered as an option.
- While the total ban on the use of plastic sounds a great idea, its feasibility seems difficult at this hour, especially in the absence of workable alternatives.
India's first indigenous vaccine for cervical cancer
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- Recently, India introduced its first indigenously developed vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.
Details:
- Dubbed quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (qHPV) vaccine, it has been developed jointly by the Serum Institute of India and the Department of Biotechnology to prevent the development of the deadly disease in both men and women.
The vaccine was launched after the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted market authorisation to the Serum Institute of India (SII) for manufacturing.
What is Cervical Cancer?
- Cervical cancer is a form of gynecologic cancer that affects a woman’s reproductive organs.
- It begins in the cervix, which is the lower, narrow end of the uterus with early symptoms, being bleeding or discharge from the vagina that is not normal.
- Cervical cancer is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a group of more than 200 related viruses, some of which are spread through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. The virus can infect both men and women, leading to cancer if the infection is long-lasting.
- The cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the country and is mostly caused due to HPV infection from poor genital hygiene, which includes unprotected sex, and multiple partners.
- HPV plays a major role in cancer and almost 90 per cent of cervical cancer is caused by it.
How does Hpv Cause Cancer?
- Once the HPV invades the cell, it strikes at the mode in which cells communicate, causing the infected cells to multiply faster. While these infected cells are to be stopped by the immune system, they tend to grow quietly.
- This unchecked growth leads to the development of tumourous cells that end up causing cancer over time.
What is India's First qHPV Vaccine?
- The quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (qHPV) vaccine is India's first homemade vaccine against cervical cancer and has demonstrated a robust antibody response.
- The response is nearly 1,000 times higher than the baseline against all targeted HPV types and in all dose and age groups.
- The vaccine will be administered in two or three doses depending on the age. The HPV vaccine is normally recommended for girls and boys aged 11-12.
While children who get the dose before turning 15 need two jabs, others need three. The vaccine is recommended up to the age of 26.
