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A Varanasi district court on September 12 dismissed an application filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee challenging the maintainability of the suit filed by five Hindu women seeking the right to worship Hindu deities within the Gyanvapi mosque premises all-year round.
District judge A.K. Vishvesha ruled that neither the Places of Worship Act, 1991, nor the Waqf Act, 1995, nor the U.P. Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act, 1983 bar the suit and that the “plaintiffs will have right to prove their averments by cogent evidence”, as the next hearing is slated for September 22.
The suit, filed by Rakhi Singh and four other women, claimed that Hindus had been worshipping Maa Shringar Gauri, Lord Ganesha and other visible and invisible deities daily at the said property till as recently as 1993, after which the Uttar Pradesh government restricted the worship to one day a year.
Based on this averment of the plaintiffs in their suit, the court rejected the arguments that the Places of Worship Act, 1991 barred the suit.
It ruled that to decide the challenge to the maintainability of the suit under Order VII, Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it only needed to consider the averments made by the plaintiffs and not the defence of those averments.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 does not operate as bar on the suit of the plaintiffs and the suit of plaintiffs is not barred by Section 9 of the Act.
The 1991 Act seals the religious character of all places of worship as it stood on August 15, 1947, and mandates that any case seeking the conversion of such a place into that of another religion should be abated.
The court noted that the suit filed by the Hindu women “is limited and confined to the right of worship as a civil right and fundamental right as well as customary and religious right”.
The court emphasised that the suit neither sought a declaration or injunction over the property in question, nor did it seek the conversion of the mosque into a temple.
The determination of religious character is a matter of evidence which can be laid by either of the parties. The plaintiffs have laid foundation to establish that the religious character of the property in dispute was of Hindu temple and deities were being worshipped within the property in dispute.
As for the acquisition of a mosque by the state, the court held that irrespective of the immunity mosques have from state acquisition in Islamic countries, its status and immunity from acquisition in the “secular ethos of India under the Constitution is the same and equal to that of places of worship of other religions”.
CAA petitions to be heard on Oct. 31 (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 1, Polity and Governance)
The Supreme Court fixed the hearing in 220 petitions challenging the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019 on October 31 and said it will refer the case to a three-judge Bench.
The petitions came up before a Bench of Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit and S. Ravindra Bhat on September 12 after a hiatus of many months. The hearing of the case was interrupted by the pandemic.
Chief Justice Lalit asked the parties, including the Centre, to draw a "road map" highlighting the issues involved in the case, their division into various segments and the formulation of questions of law.
Lawyers said petitions linking the CAA with the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) ought to be a different segment of its own and heard separately.
The CAA fast-tracks the citizenship-by-naturalisation process for "illegal migrants" from six religious communities, other than Muslims, who have fled persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The Act and its implementation had seen ordinary citizens, including students, professionals, and mothers, protest across the country. Police action on the protestors had drawn heavy criticism.
The government had maintained that the amendments made to the Citizenship Act of 1955 was meant to protect and welcome religiously persecuted people fleeing the three neighbouring countries where Muslims form the majority.
The apex court had earlier issued a formal notice admitting the petitions filed by people from all walks of life and faiths, from parliamentarians to retired High Commissioners and service officers to lawyers, students, activists, professional associations to Opposition political parties, cutting across regions and ideology and NGOs.
The petitions have argued that the law welcomes "illegal migrants" into India selectively on the basis of their religion and pointedly excludes Muslims. It has an "unholy nexus" with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise and is against principles of secularism, right to equality and dignity of life enshrined in the Basic Structure of the Constitution, the petitions said.
The petitions said the Act selectively agrees to grant citizenship benefits to illegal migrants from only three countries. Besides, the new law does not impose any requirement on illegal migrants to prove their claim of religious persecution or even a reasonable fear of it.
The petitions have argued that the legislation effectuates discrimination on the basis of the intrinsic and core identity of an individual, that is, his religious identity as a Muslim.
While Muslim migrants would have to show their proof of residency in India for at least 11 years, the law allows illegal migrants from the six communities to be naturalised in five years time.
States
Mud games bring curtains on Onam in Kerala hamlet (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 1, Art and Culture)
A village named Alukkal near Areekode witnessed a unique sporting event that brought curtains down on the Onam celebrations of the region. The event named Chalikkalam 2022 beckoned the holiday crowds to witness several unique games conducted in mud.
The newly opened Perunkadavu bridge at Kuniyil brought the villagers of Areekode and Keezhuparamba panchayats to witness some of the hilarious games over the weekend. The spectators laughed their heads off as the contestants slipped and fell in the mud, smearing themselves in mud.
Among the games that evoked maximum cheer from the crowds were blind-folded duck catching in the mud, pillow fighting in the mud, running in the mud, and tug of war in the mud. None of those games was unfamiliar to the crowd, but it was their first experience in the mud.
The YMSA Club has been functional for about 40 years. “But this was our first experience in mud for Onam,” said Mr. Fazil.
Abhinav, a polytechnic student from Alukkal, won the first prize in the duck catching competition. Blind-folded, Mr. Abhinav took more than five minutes to catch the duck placed in an enclosure in the mud. Spectators laughed as the contestants went after a lone duck in the muddy water. The winner got the duck as a gift.
The pillow fight by sitting on a slippery pole erected in the mud provided a funny and memorable experience both for the participants and the spectators. Rashad from Alukkal emerged the winner by beating all other contestants with his pillow.
Another individual contest that evoked much laughter was a 50-metre race through the mud after being made to go round a stool many times. Contestants appeared disoriented after rotating and they fell invariably in the mud.
The tug of war conducted in the mud stole the show as several village teams vied for the first prize. Unlike the usual tug of war performed on terra firma, none was in control as they pulled each other in mud. “In mud, getting a firm grip or stand is nearly impossible.
YMSA Club officials said that they were planning to conduct the Chalikkalam event in a larger fashion in the next season.
Editorial
India has lost its way in the use of international law (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
Seventy-five years of India’s Independence is an occasion to not just rejoice in our accomplishments but also to introspect on our failings.
While a wide variety of issues have been discussed from this vantage point, an analysis of India’s tryst with international law has not been undertaken.
Despite international law being ruler’s law and its euro-centric character, India did not jettison it at the time of its independence.
India’s Constitution makers saw the value of international law and thus provided in Article 51 that the state shall foster respect for international law.
At the same time, under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, India made it abundantly clear that the emergence of post-colonial States has transmuted the ‘geography’ of international law.
India asserted its sovereignty and championed the principle of self-determination in international law including by playing a key role in organising the first Asian-African Conference at Bandung in 1955, proclaiming that colonialism should “speedily be brought to an end”.
Since those days, India has remained steadfastly committed to the UN Charter and has always advocated the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
Over the years, India’s engagement with international law norms in multiple fields such as human rights, trade, investment, environment, ocean, space, etc. has expanded vastly. India has played an active role in shaping international law on terrorism by proposing a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), and recently initiated the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a bold attempt to influence international environmental law.
Notwithstanding these achievements, India’s engagement with international law has been marginal, especially in articulating its national interests internationally.
Unlike their western counterparts who justify the conduct of international relations by embedding it in the language of international law to gain legitimacy for their actions, India’s generalist diplomats and policy-makers rarely employ the international law vocabulary extensively.
The most obvious example of this is India’s failure to use the international law vocabulary to call out Chinese transgressions of India’s sovereignty.
Three to tangle (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
India is understandably upset with the U.S.’s decision to refurbish the F-16 fighter fleet of Pakistan. The fleet has been the backbone of the Pakistan Air Force since the early 1980s, upgraded, and replenished periodically.
As the partnership between the two countries grew over the years, including and particularly in the defence sector, India continuously raised its concerns on this account with U.S. interlocutors.
Successive U.S. administrations have maintained that the defence partnership with Pakistan, which is a major non-NATO ally, is a critical component of its global war on terror — a point contested by India.
In 2016, the U.S. Congress stalled the Obama administration’s move to give more F-16 fighters to Pakistan. New Delhi’s apprehensions came true in February 2019, a day after the Balakot air strike by the Indian Air Force, when Pakistan deployed its F-16s to target Indian military bases close to the Line of Control.
The Indian Army recovered debris of the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile fired by the F-16s. On September 7, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified a possible Foreign Military Sales worth $450 million for engine, electronic warfare and other hardware and software upgrades and spares for Pakistan’s F-16s.
Though it said that the proposed sale does not include any new capabilities, weapons, or munitions, the move clearly marks a thaw in the U.S.’s attitude towards Pakistan.
The External Affairs Ministry has chosen to maintain its silence on the issue, unlike its public expression of summoning the U.S. Ambassador in 2016. The U.S. move strains its relationship with India which has been making great strides, though it is not without obstacles.
New Delhi and Washington have been skilfully managing their differences over Afghanistan, the crisis in Ukraine, and the lingering threat of U.S. sanctions under its Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
Washington’s new warmth with Islamabad also comes amid a flurry of India-U.S. diplomatic and military engagements. India and the U.S. have committed to deepening defence and security cooperation, but the indulgence of Pakistan dampens that spirit.
The Trump administration had tried to hold Pakistan accountable for duplicity in its approach towards terrorist groups operating from its territory, which amounts to running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.
OPED
Great G20 power, great responsibility (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
September is a hectic month in India’s diplomatic calendar. On September 5-6 in New Delhi, a ‘Senior Officers Meeting’ was held of the Quad, which comprises India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S.
On September 8, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and their Japanese counterparts held the second India-Japan ‘2+2’ Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo to take forward strategic cooperation in areas such as joint exercises, defence manufacturing and emerging technologies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 15-16.
This will be the first in-person summit of the SCO since the COVID-19 pandemic. This visit will be watched closely by the West and by India’s Quad partners for India’s engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as the Russian war in Ukraine has completed more than six months.
This will also be the first time that Mr. Modi will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping face to face, since the transgressions of the People’s Liberation Army at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) began in April 2020.
The Indian government has said India and China will take up remaining issues along the LAC when the disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 in Gogra-Hot Springs is completed; therefore, any contact with the Chinese leader will be significant.
India will be assuming rotational presidency of the SCO at the end of the Samarkand summit and will hold it for a year until September 2023. It will host the SCO summit next year. It will also preside as President of the United Nations Security Council for December 2022.
But before that, in November, the 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place in Bali. After Indonesia, India will assume the presidency of the G20 from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023.
It is slated to host several ministerial meetings, working groups, and events before the G20 Head of State summit next year.
By hosting the summit of the G20, the world’s most influential economic multilateral forum, India will have the opportunity to assume centre stage in proposing and setting the global agenda and discourse.
The G20 holds a strategic role in securing global economic growth and prosperity. Together, its members represent more than 80% of the world’s GDP, 75% of international trade and 60% of the world’s population.
Text & context
Of a female knight and the Begums of Bhopal (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 1, History)
As the capital of one of the largest States, Bhopal has flown under the radar. It has little of the financial muscle associated with Mumbai, even less historicity to rival that of Kolkata.
It has neither the earthiness of Patna nor the niceties of Lucknow. Yet, Bhopal in its own understated way has enough accomplishments to fill up a mantelpiece. Among all the States, cities and towns of imperial and modern India, Bhopal has done more for women empowerment than probably all States put together.
True, back in the 13th century Delhi had a woman ruler, Raziya Sultan, who ruled from 1236 to 1240, but little else. Bhopal has been ruled by four Muslim women for 107 years. The Begums of Bhopal did not shy away from calling themselves the Nawabs of Bhopal.
Shaharyar Khan, Shobhan Lambert-Hurley and Vertul Singh have authored or edited books on the city, which on the one hand capture its history, and on the other reveal the streak of women dominance for more than a hundred years.
Khan’s The Begums of Bhopal is the most detailed work. Like an artist fills his canvas with colour, Khan fills his pages with details of the city, its illustrious history, and its formidable Begums, now reduced to a faint memory.
Khan’s Bhopal was founded by Dost Mohammed Khan. As the author reminds us, “In 1707, before Dost Mohammed Khan arrived in Malwa, central India, Bhopal was a small village on the banks of the River Banganga. An old fort, lying in ruins, was a testimony to Bhopal having known more prosperous times in the distant past.”
The earliest reference to Bhopal though dates back to 640 AD when it was ruled by the Parmar dynasty. Its name is derived from that of Raja Bhoj who, as legend has it, contracted leprosy and was advised to build a lake with water from 365 rivers and bathe in it.
Raja Bhoj did as advised. The lake was called Bhoj Tal (or Bhoj’s lake). Over time, it got corrupted to Bhojpal, then Bhopal. The State was formed in 1715.
It was the second largest Muslim princely state in pre-Independence India, wherein 90% of the population was Hindu. Interestingly, the Begum of Bhopal, Nawab Sikandar Begum, as Lambert-Hurley writes in the introduction to A Princess’s Pilgrimage, supported the British during the Revolt of 1857.
After the Revolt had been suppressed, this loyalty was rewarded in the Queen’s Proclamation of 1858 in which Sikandar was granted the title of Nawab to rule over Bhopal in her own right as well as given a 19-gun salute, the return of territory lost to a neighbouring prince and the Grand Cross of the Star of India.
News
India raises Sri Lankan Tamil issue in UN (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
India on Monday voiced concern over the “lack of measurable progress” in Sri Lanka’s promised political solution to the long-pending Tamil national question, while making an unusual reference to the crisis-hit island nation’s “debt-driven” economy in the context of its current crisis.
In its statement at the 51 st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, India said it has “always believed in the responsibility of States for promotion and protection of human rights and constructive international dialogue and cooperation” guided by the U.N. Charter.
In this regard, the Indian delegation notes with concern the lack of measurable progress by Government of Sri Lanka on their commitments of a political solution to the ethnic issue — through full implementation of the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, delegation of powers to Provincial Councils and holding of Provincial Council elections at the earliest.
The terms of Sri Lanka’s nine provincial councils expired about three years ago, and they have remained defunct since. India’s statement comes ahead of a resolution on Sri Lanka that will likely face a vote at the Council.
Since 2009, India has voted thrice in favour of the U.N. resolution on Sri Lanka — two were critical — and abstained twice, in 2014 and 2021.
Irrespective of its vote, India has consistently underscored the need for a political settlement “within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, ensuring justice, peace, equality and dignity for the Tamils of Sri Lanka.
Over 13 years since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, in which tens of thousands of civilians were killed and disappeared, survivors continue demanding justice and accountability for war-time crimes. In the post-war years, Sri Lanka’s human rights defenders have frequently flagged concerns over persisting militarisation, especially in the Tamil-majority north and east; repression, and the shrinking space for dissent.
In her latest report on Sri Lanka, the U.N. Human Rights Chief said “embedded impunity for past and present human rights abuses, economic crimes and corruption” was among the “underlying factors” that led to the country’s “devastating” economic crisis.
India has extended nearly $ 4 billion crucial assistance to Sri Lanka this year but has not made any public remark on the island’s economic choices so far.
SC rejects petition linking pornography to sex crimes (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The Supreme Court did not entertain a plea advocating a link between watching internet porn and sex crimes, including child abuse.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit and S. Ravindra Bhat said child sex abuse is a crime by itself. Investigation into individual cases by the police would reveal whether or not viewing of pornography had triggered the crime. That aspect would be part of evidence of each individual case.
Seeking a judicial declaration from the Supreme Court that porn on the Internet has led to child sex crimes would be equal to giving a go-ahead to online surveillance.”
The court said the government, if necessary, has enough material in its arsenal to ensure that criminal material is not uploaded on the Internet. It may be "unmanageable" for the court to do so.
The court made it clear that it was worried where such surveillance of the Internet, if allowed, "may lead to".
Justice S. Ravindra Bhat, on the Bench, referred to how the U.S. Supreme Court had in the 1990s dealt with a question of banning the Internet to a certain class in order not to give them access to porn.
Mr. Kohli, who withdrew the petition, had sought a direction to the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) to study the link between free access to internet pornography and child sexual abuse cases as well as rape.
The petition had also asked for data to be collected in a time-bound manner from State Police of cases which had disclosed a direct link between porn and sex crimes.
World
‘Prolonged Rohingya stay impacts Bangladesh’s stability (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
Bangladesh's Prime Minister said that the prolonged stay of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in crowded camps in the country has become a serious security and stability concern.
“Apart from their own miseries, their prolonged presence is causing a serious impact on the economy, environment, security and sociopolitical stability of Bangladesh,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at the opening ceremony of a three-day meeting of military officials from 24 countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
The United States is the co-host of the gathering, called the Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar, along with the Bangladesh army.
While the militaries of the participating countries are discussing disaster management, transnational crime, security issues and women's empowerment, Bangladesh is using the platform to highlight the issue of Rohingya refugees who have fled from violence in Myanmar.
Participants in the meeting, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, India, China and Vietnam, will visit the sprawling Rohingya refugee camps to see their plight firsthand, said General S.M. Shafiuddin Ahmed, chief of Bangladesh army.
Mr. Ahmed said the military leaders are being taken to the camps in Cox's Bazar district to give them “a clear perception” of the gravity of the refugee crisis and why their repatriation to Myanmar is necessary.
Last month, the refugees marked the fifth anniversary of a mass exodus of more than 700,000 Rohingyas into Bangladesh who were fleeing a harsh crackdown by Myanmar's military. In total, Bangladesh is hosting more than 1 million Rohingya refugees.
Ms. Hasina has said that repatriation is the only solution to the crisis, but that Bangladesh would not force them to go back to Myanmar.
Bangladeshi officials have expressed frustration after at least two attempts to repatriate the refugees failed under a bilateral agreement brokered by China.
The Muslim Rohingya have said that conditions remain too dangerous in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where they face extensive discrimination.
Business
‘India may need up to 28 GW in new coal fired plants by 2032’ (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India may need additional up to 28GW of coal-fired power generation capacity by 2032 apart from the 25GW thermal projects that are under construction, said a report by advisory body Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
“It is seen that apart from under construction coal-based capacity of 25GW, the additional coal-based capacity required till 2031-32 may vary from 17 GW to around 28 GW.
The CEA has put up the ‘Draft National Electricity Plan (Vol-I Generation) ‘for feedback of stakeholders on September 8, 2022.
As per the Electricity Act, 2003, CEA has to prepare the National Electricity Plan once in five years. The Act stipulates that CEA, while preparing the National Electricity Plan (NEP), shall publish the draft and invite suggestions and objections thereon from licensees, generating companies and the public. The inputs on the draft can be given latest by December 5, 2022.
It is also seen that the BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) requirement in 2031-32 is varying from 51GW to 84GW, stated the document.
It also said that in the event of delay in achievement of hydro-based plants, which are in concurred/under construction stage, there is additional requirement of coal of around 4 GW in capacity mix in 2026-27.
In the event of non-availability of the base load nuclear capacity, the (study) model opts for cheaper coal candidates available to provide base load support.
When the peak demand and energy requirement increases, both the coal-based capacity and storage requirement — PSS (Pumped Storage Schemes) and BESS — increases along with marginal increase in hydro-based capacity, it found.
The projected all-India peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement is 272 GW and 1,874 BU (billion units) for the year 2026-27 and 363 GW and 2,538 BU for the year 2031-32 respectively, as per the preliminary estimates of demand projections, it stated.
The average PLF (Plant Load Factor) or capacity utilisation of the total installed coal capacity of 239.3 GW was found to be about 55% in 2026-27. The average PLF of the total installed coal capacity of 248.9 GW was found to be about 62% in 2031-32.