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From plate to plough: Tall tales for farmers{Agriculture}

Source: Indian Express.

News:

• In his Independence Day speech, the prime minister referred to farmers 12 times. He talked about several achievements in agriculture — providing soil health cards to nine crore farmers and the enhanced crop insurance scheme.

Beyond News:

• He also mentioned that 99 projects under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana will be completed by 2019, FDI in food processing will be encouraged, supply of inputs to farmers will be ensured and they will be assisted in marketing their produce.
• The PM concluded by saying, “Together we will build such an India where the farmers can sleep without worry. In 2022, they will earn double of what they earn today”.
• Initially, it was not clear if the government intended to double the real income of farmers or their nominal income.
• It is now evident that the government’s aim is to double the real income — recent reports of the Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income spell out this goal.

Saving little rhinos in flooded Kaziranga{Ecology}

Source: Hindu

News:

• On the morning of August 13, when floodwaters in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park suddenly rose by several feet, a rhino calf which was swept away got stuck in vegetation near the Haldibari forest camp.

Beyond News:

• The forest guards and the team from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) found that the animal’s umbilical cord was still attached and the calf was in severe trauma.
• Six rhino calves had been rescued in the second wave of the floods between August 11 and August 18 which had left 85% of the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) submerged. This was one of the biggest disasters to have affected the KNP in the recent time.
• Being prone to floods, the animals in Kaziranga were familiar with the situation and move to higher grounds.
• But in the second wave, there was only a moderate rainfall in Kaziranga but the water rose by about eight feet on August 12 evening giving the animals little time.

‘Indian plan is to surround Tibet’{International Relations}

Source: Hindu

News:

• Citing Sikkim as a precedent, a blog on the popular micro-blogging site WeChat has alleged that the India’s decision to move troops into the Doklam plateau is part of New Delhi’s bid to “surround” Tibet, with Nepal and Bhutan as its partners.

Beyond News:

• The blog titled ‘Fengye Kun’ says India’s so-called encirclement of Tibet began first with Sikkim’s “annexation” in 1975.
• The standoff at Doklam, which has Bhutan as the focus, is therefore an extension of New Delhi’s Himalayan grand strategy.
• The post stresses that there is “every reason to worry that in view of its police, defence and security forces being long controlled by India, Bhutan will soon become a second Sikkim, and emerge as an Indian state.”

Anarchy in Panchkula {Governance}

Source: Hindu

News:

•  In allowing tens of thousands of followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect to gather for a show of strength when their leader, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was awaiting a judicial verdict in a rape case, the Haryana government abdicated its responsibility of maintaining law and order, and protecting life and property.

Beyond news:

• Prohibitory orders were not enforced, with the government evidently viewing the looming protests as pressure relief valves instead of as trigger points for violence.
• In the absence of preventive detention where appropriate, and of restriction on movement and assembly in public spaces, matters spiralled out of control once the court pronounced the cult leader guilty of rape.
• True, mob violence is difficult to control without resort to extreme force, but in this case the government seemed to rely entirely on the good sense of the sect’s followers.
• It failed to foresee violence on such a large scale, and no viable security plan was in place until after several hours of lawlessness.
• Neighbouring Punjab and Delhi also witnessed violence, but the preparedness of the law enforcers were of a higher order in both those areas.
• Punjab saw better coordination between the Army and the police, with action being taken at least ten days in advance.

Welcome CJI Misra {Judicial System}

Source: Indian Express.

• Chief Justice JS Khehar’s last week in office marked a series of watershed moments in the history of the republic.
• In the triple talaq verdict, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court struck down, through the majority opinion, a regressive practice on the grounds that it violated Article 14 — the constitutional guarantee of the fundamental right to equality — but a significant opinion on the bench also reiterated the constitutional protection to personal laws.
• Forty-eight hours later, the apex court stood up unequivocally for the right of the individual to privacy.
• As Justice Dipak Misra takes over as CJI, the court, through its verdicts, has also set up the debates for the future.
• The idea of the private individual that the higher judiciary has affirmed must now be actualised. Going forward, the lower courts must also uphold the principles the apex court has outlined in specific cases that come before them.
•  The apex court has, provided the tools for individuals to assert their rights, to stand up against any attempts to deny them.
• By testing and deploying these for the rights of homosexuals, women, the poor and vulnerable, the idea of citizenship will be made bolder and deeper.
• How CJI Misra shapes the contentious debate on judges’ appointments and protects the judiciary’s independence will also define the balance between the executive and the court.

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