tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/o-p-jindal-global-university-753/articlesO.P. Jindal Global University2024-03-06T13:23:20Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2245452024-03-06T13:23:20Z2024-03-06T13:23:20ZNigeria: botched economic reforms plunge the country into crisis<p>Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is facing an economic crisis. From a botched currency redesign to the removal of fuel subsidies and a currency float, the nation has been plunged into spiralling inflation and a currency crisis with far-reaching consequences. The question now is: how long before the inferno consumes everything?</p>
<p>On October 26, 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced a <a href="https://www.thecable.ng/breaking-buhari-unveils-redesigned-naira-notes">bold move</a> – that it had redesigned the country’s highest denomination notes (₦200, ₦500 and ₦1000) and would be removing all old notes from circulation. People were given a deadline of January 31, 2023 (a couple of weeks before a national election) to make this exchange, or all of the old notes would cease to be valid legal tender.</p>
<p>This initiative ostensibly aimed to curb counterfeiting, encourage cashless transactions, and limit the buying of votes during the elections. But, while the intention may have been sound, the execution proved disastrous. </p>
<p>Short deadlines, limited availability of new notes, and inadequate communication created widespread panic. It led to long queues at banks, frustration among citizens, and a <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2024/01/18/why-nigeria-s-controversial-naira-redesign-policy-hasn-t-met-its-objectives-pub-91405">thriving black market</a> for the new notes. </p>
<p>The confusion surrounding the currency redesign had an unintended consequence: the beginnings of a loss of confidence in the naira. People began to look to other mediums as a store of value and as a medium of exchange. The obvious choices were foreign currency like the US dollar and the British pound, as well as more stable cryptocurrencies like <a href="https://businessday.ng/business-economy/article/weak-naira-cross-border-payments-drive-nigerians-into-cryptos/">Tether’s USDT</a>.</p>
<p>The currency redesign was criticised at the time by the then-presidential candidate of the ruling party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who saw it as a move to <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/01/2023-fuel-scarcity-naira-redesign-ploy-to-sabotage-my-chances-tinubu/">derail his presidential campaign</a>. However, Tinubu won the contested election and, once in power, set out to reshape the economy immediately. </p>
<p>In his inaugural address in May 2023, Tinubu <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/601239-fuel-subsidy-is-gone-tinubu-declares.html">announced</a> that the “fuel subsidy is gone”, referring to the government’s longstanding subsidised petrol policy that ensured Nigerians enjoyed some of the lowest petrol prices in the world. Over the coming days, he would also announce the reversal of the currency redesign policy and the <a href="https://leadership.ng/tinubu-begins-monetary-policy-reforms-floats-naira/">floating of the Nigerian naira</a> on the foreign exchange market.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A compilation of Nigerian naira bank notes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579202/original/file-20240301-28-sej1lc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579202/original/file-20240301-28-sej1lc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579202/original/file-20240301-28-sej1lc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579202/original/file-20240301-28-sej1lc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579202/original/file-20240301-28-sej1lc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579202/original/file-20240301-28-sej1lc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579202/original/file-20240301-28-sej1lc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">When in office, Tinubu reversed the currency redesign policy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/naira-currency-nigeria-200751113">Pavel Shlykov/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fuelling the flames</h2>
<p>Other underlying economic conditions around the time of Tinubu’s inauguration included a large amount of foreign debt, dwindling foreign reserves and global economic headwinds. When the removal of the fuel subsidy was announced, it was met with a mix of surprise and elation by many Nigerians, and in particular by international donor agencies like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, who had long been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/nigeria-should-end-fuel-subsidy-speed-reforms-boost-growth-world-bank-says-2021-11-23/">advocating</a> for the removal.</p>
<p>But this was all before the effects began to bite. And bite hard they did. The price of Premium Motor Spirit (also known as gasoline or petrol), which used to retail for ₦189 (US$0.12) per litre, increased by 196% practically overnight and began to retail for <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-triple-petrol-prices-after-president-says-subsidy-end-2023-05-31/">₦557 per litre</a>. </p>
<p>One challenge with developing economies like Nigeria is that a rise in fuel price tends to cause the price of everything else to rise. Many industries, particularly those in manufacturing and agriculture, tend to rely heavily on fuel for powering machinery and equipment due to the poor supply of grid electricity nationwide.</p>
<p>Many Nigerian households were significantly affected by the increased prices. But they saw an opportunity in that the savings from the fuel subsidy regime would be redistributed to improve education, healthcare provision and the general welfare of the people, as was promised during the electioneering. The regime cost the country an estimated <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/582724-fuel-subsidy-now-above-n400bn-monthly-nnpcl.html">₦400 billion</a> a month at its height, after all. </p>
<h2>Enter currency devaluation</h2>
<p>Then, on June 14, 2023, the Tinubu government ended the policy of pegging the naira to the US dollar, allowing it to float and find its true market value based on supply and demand. The idea was to stop corruption and reduce arbitrage opportunities due to the difference between official and black-market foreign exchange prices. </p>
<p>Currency arbitrage happens when people buy a currency at the lower official exchange rate and immediately sell it at the higher black market rate for a profit. This practice often occurs where there are strict currency controls and black markets offer a truer reflection of a currency’s value based on supply and demand.</p>
<p>However, this was one policy change too many. The naira lost a staggering <a href="https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/nigeria/news/exchange-rate/central-bank-sets-the-naira-free-to-fall/">25% of its value</a> in one day, and the cascading effects now push the country to the brink.</p>
<p>Nigeria depends heavily on imported commodities, including essential goods like food, fuel and medicine. So the policy escalated the inflationary crisis, pushing inflation to almost 30% (the major driver being food inflation, which <a href="https://leadership.ng/food-headline-inflation-spike-to-35-4-29-9/">reached 35.4%</a>). </p>
<p>Imports in general have become significantly more expensive, and Nigerians are finding their purchasing power being eroded. Wages in Nigeria are pretty fixed. The current minimum wage in the country is <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1119133/monthly-minimum-wage-in-nigeria/">₦30,000</a> per month and the average monthly income is <a href="https://wagecentre.com/work/work-in-africa/salary-in-nigeria">₦71,185</a>. </p>
<p>Businesses are also feeling the pinch, facing difficulties accessing the <a href="https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/nigeria-market-challenges">foreign exchange</a> critical for importing raw materials and equipment. </p>
<h2>Pheonix or ash?</h2>
<p>The Central Bank of Nigeria has implemented measures to counter the crisis. It recently raised interest rates from <a href="https://punchng.com/just-in-cbn-raises-interest-rate-to-22-75/">18.75% to 22.75%</a> and is selling US dollars through auctions. </p>
<p>Recovery is a possibility and there are already signs of appreciation in the currency. The <a href="https://businessday.ng/news/article/naira-records-first-gain-at-official-market-after-rate-hike/">naira appreciated</a> by 6.89% a day after interest rates were raised. But it will be a long, hard road. </p>
<p>These strategies often come with trade-offs. Higher interest rates can stifle already struggling economic growth, while currency interventions might deplete already strained reserves of foreign currency. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that if the current cost of living crisis continues, civil unrest is likely. Should this happen, who knows what – if anything – will be left behind when the flames are done.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224545/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kunal Sen has received funding from ESRC and DFID. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chisom Ubabukoh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Africa’s largest economy is in crisis, and unrest is growing.Chisom Ubabukoh, Assistant Professor of Economics, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityKunal Sen, Professor and Director, World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), United Nations UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2195692023-12-10T15:48:22Z2023-12-10T15:48:22ZHari HAM Sedunia: melihat sikap tiga capres terhadap kebebasan berekspresi - optimis atau pesimis?<p>Dalam acara Mata Najwa pada September lalu, Najwa Shihab <a href="https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2023/09/20/11101451/menengok-pandangan-anies-ganjar-prabowo-soal-kebebasan-berpendapat">bertanya</a> kepada ketiga calon presiden yang maju dalam Pemilihan Umum (Pemilu) 2024–Anies Baswedan, Ganjar Pranowo dan Prabowo Subianto–tentang berapa skor kebebasan berpendapat di Indonesia dalam skala 1 sampai dengan 10. Saat acara tersebut berlangsung, ketiganya masih berstatus bakal calon presiden.</p>
<p>Anies memberikan skor 5 atau 6, Ganjar memberikan skor 7,5, dan Prabowo memberikan skor 8. Tentu saja pemberian skor dari masing-masing capres adalah hak mereka. Namun, berdasarkan <a href="https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/etd/113/">hasil penelitian disertasi saya</a>, yang sebagian isinya akan diterbitkan Routledge dalam buku berjudul “<em>Free Speech in Indonesia: Legal Issues and Public Interest Litigation</em>”, skor kebebasan berpendapat kita mungkin masih di bawah ketiga skor yang mereka berikan.</p>
<p>Perbedaan skor yang diberikan masing-masing kandidat tersebut mencerminkan bagaimana mereka memandang aspek perlindungan HAM di Indonesia dan bagaimana kira-kira sikap mereka terhadap penegakan HAM kedepannya ketika terpilih nanti.</p>
<p>Sudah sepatutnya kita mengkaji lebih dalam visi misi seperti apa yang ditawarkan oleh masing-masing capres terkait kebebasan berekspresi, dan terhadap perlindungan HAM secara umum. Pembahasan atas sikap para capres terhadap isu kebebasan berekspresi ini penting, karena akan berdampak pada praktik perlindungan atas kebebasan beragama, kebebasan berkumpul, dan kebebasan berserikat, yang merupakan elemen utama dalam negara demokratis seperti Indonesia.</p>
<p>Keseriusan para capres atas isu tersebut perlu diuji secara kritis.</p>
<p>Tulisan ini akan menggunakan terminologi “kebebasan berekspresi”, ketimbang “kebebasan berpendapat” yang umum digunakan. Merujuk pada <a href="https://www.komnasham.go.id/files/1480577941-komentar-umum-kovenan-hak-sipil-$XHHPA.pdf">Komentar Umum No. 34 atas Pasal 19 Kovenan Hak-Hak Sipil dan Politik</a>, kedua terminologi ini memang tidak bisa dipisahkan untuk mengidentifikasi manusia dan hak-haknya yang utuh, serta batu pijakan masyarakat demokratis. Namun juga akan terkait dengan bentuk hak dan kebebasan lainnya, seperti hak <em>voting</em> dalam pemilu serta kebebasan berkumpul dan kebebasan berserikat.</p>
<h2>Visi-misi capres terkait kebebasan berekspresi</h2>
<p>Faktanya, dan sayangnya, ketiga capres memiliki rekam jejak yang buruk dalam isu HAM.</p>
<p>Anies banyak dikaitkan dengan <a href="https://ejournal.mandalanursa.org/index.php/JUPE/article/view/677">politik identitas</a> saat maju pada Pemilihan Gubernur (Pilgub) Jakarta 2017, yang berdampak pada <a href="https://www.dw.com/id/anies-korbankan-demokrasi-demi-menangkan-pilkada-dki/a-42419515">diskriminasi berdasarkan SARA</a> (Suku, Agama, Ras, dan Antar Golongan). Ganjar lekat dengan citra isu <a href="https://eprints2.undip.ac.id/id/eprint/10228/1/Cover.pdf">penggusuran paksa di Desa Wadas</a> di Kabupaten Purworejo, Jawa Tengah, yang berdampak pada <a href="https://ylbhi.or.id/informasi/siaran-pers/ganjar-pranowo-harus-hentikan-pertambangan-di-desa-wadas/">terampasnya hak sosial, ekonomi dan lingkungan warga</a> setempat. Sementara Prabowo, seperti yang sudah diketahui secara luas, selalu erat dengan dugaan <a href="https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-44949790">penculikan dan penghilangan paksa sejumlah aktivis pada kerusuhan Mei 1998</a>.</p>
<p>Jika melihat rekam jejak tersebut, tampaknya masyarakat tidak punya pilihan sosok yang benar-benar bersih dari masalah HAM. Lebih jauh lagi, jika melihat apa saja isu prioritas, program dan visi-misi mereka terkait isu kebebasan berekspresi, belum ada hal konkret dan spesifik yang mereka tawarkan.</p>
<h2>Anies-Muhaimin</h2>
<p>Anies dan cawapresnya, Muhaimin Iskandar, <a href="https://mmc.tirto.id/documents/2023/10/20/1241-amin-visi-misi-program.pdf?x=2676">menegaskan</a> bahwa kebebasan pers dan media, sebagai salah satu dimensi kebebasan berekspresi, adalah tulang punggung demokrasi dalam visi misi mereka.</p>
<p>Anies-Muhaimin memang termasuk paslon yang cukup detail mencantumkan bahwa mereka berencana merevisi aturan-aturan yang menghambat kebebasan pers dan kebebasan sipil. Namun rekam jejak koalisi partai pendukung mereka–Partai Nasdem, PKB, dan PKS–tampaknya kurang sejalan dengan misi tersebut.</p>
<p>Nasdem dan PKB, beserta seluruh fraksi di DPR RI, ikut menyetujui pengesahan Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana (KUHP) baru yang <a href="https://theconversation.com/selain-mengkriminalisasi-seks-di-luar-nikah-kuhp-juga-mengancam-kebebasan-berpendapat-dan-beragama-196216">mengancam kebebasan pers</a>. PKS juga mendukung meskipun dengan <a href="https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20221124205851-32-878382/semua-fraksi-dpr-setuju-rkuhp-dibawa-ke-paripurna-pks-beri-catatan">beberapa catatan</a> terkait pasal penghinaan presiden.</p>
<h2>Ganjar-Mahfud</h2>
<p>Ganjar dan pasangannya, Mahfud MD, dalam “<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-olOvmrwXLJjjlE9B_oTnCMMRVQYSuse/view">8 Gerak Cepat Ganjar Pranowo dan Mahfud MD</a>”, mencantumkan penegakan hukum dan HAM, yang di dalamnya termasuk jaminan kebebasan berekspresi, sebagian bagian dari Demokrasi Substantif yang memprioritaskan demokrasi berdasarkan tujuan substantif dari masyarakat seperti <a href="https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/JSSH/article/view/11550/10398">kesejahteraan sosial, keadilan, keamanan dan kedamaian</a>. Mereka mencantumkan visi kebebasan sipil yang “menjamin kebebasan berpendapat, berekspresi, berserikat, dan menyebarkan informasi untuk dapat mewujudkan kehidupan sipil yang bebas dan bertanggung jawab”, namun tanpa spesifik menyebutkan misi macam apa yang akan digunakan untuk mencapainya.</p>
<p>Untuk masyarakat, mungkin masih ingat bahwa PDI-P merupakan salah satu <a href="https://kabar24.bisnis.com/read/20160216/16/519552/revisi-uu-kpk-pdip-anggap-kpk-perlu-pengaturan-agar-tak-abuse-of-power">inisiator</a> revisi UU KPK yang keseluruhan poin revisinya justru <a href="https://antikorupsi.org/taxonomy/term/445">melemahkan dan menjadi titik mundur pemberantasan korupsi</a>. Belum lagi PDI-P juga yang berada di garda terdepan dalam pengesahan UU KUHP baru.</p>
<p>Selain itu <a href="https://wartaekonomi.co.id/read495827/soroti-kendeng-dan-wadas-walhi-pertanyakan-keberpihakan-ganjar-pranowo-utamakan-rakyat-atau-korporasi">sikap Ganjar Pranowo</a> dalam kasus pembangunan pabrik semen di <a href="https://wartaekonomi.co.id/read495827/soroti-kendeng-dan-wadas-walhi-pertanyakan-keberpihakan-ganjar-pranowo-utamakan-rakyat-atau-korporasi">Pegunungan Kendeng, Kabupaten Rembang</a> dan <a href="https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/02/09/18264541/duduk-perkara-konflik-di-desa-wadas-yang-sebabkan-warga-dikepung-dan?page=all">Wadas</a> justru menunjukkan <a href="https://wartaekonomi.co.id/read495827/soroti-kendeng-dan-wadas-walhi-pertanyakan-keberpihakan-ganjar-pranowo-utamakan-rakyat-atau-korporasi">keberpihakannya kepada korporasi</a>, ketimbang memastikan jaminan hak atas lingkungan warganya. Khusus untuk Kendeng, <a href="https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2017/02/24/19222541/soal.penerbitan.izin.baru.pabrik.semen.di.rembang.ganjar.dinilai.membangkang?page=all">Ganjar bahkan mengeluarkan izin baru</a> yang bertentangan dengan putusan Mahkamah Agung yang membatalkan izin pembangunan pabrik semen dan mendahului proses Kajian Lingkungan Hidup Strategis oleh Kantor Staf Presiden dan Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan.</p>
<h2>Prabowo-Gibran</h2>
<p>Sementara, Prabowo dan Gibran, mencantumkan pengokohan Pancasila, Demokrasi dan HAM dalam <a href="https://mmc.tirto.id/documents/2023/10/26/1276-visi-misi-indonesia-maju-2024-final.pdf?x=2676">Program Asta Cita</a> mereka. Tetap saja, lagi-lagi, partai-partai pendukungnya tidak menunjukkan ketegasan atas isu kebebasan sipil dan pers dengan mendukung pengesahan UU KUHP. Memang, mayoritas partai pengusung Prabowo-Gibran merupakan partai koalisi pemerintah, kecuali Partai Demokrat. Ini bisa menjelaskan bagaimana keberpihakan mereka dalam kebijakan pemerintah yang ini.</p>
<p>Selain itu, isu HAM yang paling jelas melekat di pasangan ini adalah sosok Prabowo sendiri dan keterlibatannya dalam penculikan aktivis pro-demokrasi tahun 1998. Ditambah lagi, sejumlah eks anggota Tim Mawar kini <a href="https://wartakota.tribunnews.com/2023/11/01/eks-anggota-tim-mawar-ketuk-palu-dukung-prabowo-gibran-di-pemilu-2024">ikut bergabung</a> dalam tim pemenangan Prabowo-Gibran. Tim Mawar merupakan tim elit dari Kopassus TNI yang kuat diduga <a href="https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/01/07/15400401/deretan-eks-tim-mawar-yang-kini-tempati-jabatan-penting?page=all">menjadi dalang</a> dari operasi penculikan tersebut.</p>
<p>Pasangan Prabowo-Gibran diyakini <a href="https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1790258/jokowi-dukung-prabowo-gibran-setelah-gagal-bentuk-koalisi-pdip-dan-gerindra">mendapat dukungan dari Presiden Joko “Jokowi” Widodo</a>. Selama dua periode–10 tahun–kekuasaan Jokowi, <a href="https://politik.rmol.id/read/2023/12/10/600755/setara-institute-kekerasan-pada-jurnalis-paling-marak-di-era-jokowi">kekerasan pada jurnalis terus mengalami peningkatan</a>. <a href="https://advokasi.aji.or.id">Data dari Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI) sejak 2008</a> menunjukkan bahwa dari 1.030 kasus kekerasan terhadap jurnalis, tahun 2020 dan tahun 2016 memiliki angka kekerasan jurnalis paling tinggi dengan 84 dan 81 kasus.</p>
<p>Pasangan ini juga tengah disorot atas dugaan pembentukan <a href="https://theconversation.com/gibran-dan-politikus-muda-lain-yang-lahir-dari-dinasti-politik-pedang-bermata-dua-bagi-demokrasi-125720">dinasti politik</a> dengan dipilihnya Gibran, anak sulung Jokowi, sebagai cawapres Prabowo dengan cara <a href="https://theconversation.com/3-kejanggalan-putusan-mk-dan-bagaimana-lembaga-peradilan-ini-gagal-mempertahankan-independensi-215812">mengintervensi putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi</a> (MK).</p>
<p>Dan jangan lupa bahwa selama dua periode pemerintahan Jokowi, <a href="https://newsletter.tempo.co/read/1684146/janji-presiden-jokowi-tuntaskan-kasus-pelanggaran-ham-berat-basa-basi">belum ada upaya penyelesaian</a> yang konkret dan efektif terhadap kasus-kasus pelanggaran HAM berat masa lalu. Ini bertolak belakang dengan janji Jokowi yang ia lontarkan saat kampanyenya pada Pemilu 2014. </p>
<p>Pada dasarnya, bisa dikatakan bahwa sikap ketiga pasangan capres-cawapres serta para pengusungnya ini belum sepenuhnya tegas terhadap isu kebebasan sipil dan kebebasan pers.</p>
<p>Pada akhirnya, publik membutuhkan janji dalam bentuk visi-misi yang <a href="https://www.suara.com/lifestyle/2023/10/28/163838/adu-janji-capres-dan-cawapres-di-pilpres-2024-kayak-ada-manis-manisnya">lebih realistis</a>, karena kebanyakan yang dituangkan adalah ide dalam visi-misi mereka adalah ide, belum berbentuk rencana langkah konkrit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eka Nugraha Putra tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Sikap ketiga pasangan capres-cawapres serta para pengusungnya ini belum sepenuhnya tegas terhadap isu kebebasan sipil dan kebebasan pers.Eka Nugraha Putra, Assistant Professor of Law, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2195762023-12-10T15:42:09Z2023-12-10T15:42:09ZCek Fakta: benarkah skor kinerja pemerintah dalam penegakkan HAM adalah 6,2 dari 10?<blockquote>
<p>Rapor kinerja pemerintah dalam menegakkan HAM masih merah. Skornya 6,2 dari 10. Kita perlu memperkuat lembaga HAM.</p>
<p>– Calon presiden <a href="https://www.antaranews.com/berita/3858246/tpn-ganjar-mahfud-komitmen-dorong-supremasi-hukum-dan-ham">Ganjar Pranowo</a> saat menjadi pembicara dalam dialog terbuka “Muhammadiyah bersama Caores-Cawapres” di Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta (UMJ), Tangerang Selatan, Kamis 23 November 2023.</p>
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<p><em>The Conversation Indonesia</em> menghubungi Eka Nugraha Putra, <em>Assistant Professor</em> bidang Hukum dari O.P. Jindal Global University, India, untuk memeriksa kebenaran klaim Ganjar tersebut.</p>
<h2>Analisis</h2>
<p>Skor 6,2 dari 10 bukanlah penilaian pribadi Ganjar, namun mengutip <a href="https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Indonesia/human_rights_rule_law_index/">data dari The Global Economy</a>. Dalam presentasinya di UMJ, Ganjar memberikan tiga aspek terkait penghormatan HAM, yaitu kerugian negara dan HAM warga negara akibat bencana alam, indeks HAM periode 2017-2022, serta HAM bagi penyandang disabilitas. </p>
<p>Data The Global Economy tersebut memang menunjukkan bahwa skor indeks HAM Indonesia adalah 6,2, namun itu adalah skor untuk tahun 2022 saja, bukan skor lima tahun terakhir (2017-2022) sebagaimana dicantumkan dalam presentasi Ganjar di UMJ.</p>
<p>Berdasarkan data The Global Economy, data lima tahun terakhir skornya memang menurun tetapi sempat berada di angka 7,2 dan 7,3 pada 2017 dan 2018, sebelum kemudian terus merosot drastis pada tahun 2019 (7), 2020 (6,7), 2021 (6,4) dan 2022 (6,2).</p>
<p>Selain itu, walaupun data the Global Economy memang terpercaya dan <a href="https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/texts_new.php?page=aboutus">dikutip oleh beberapa riset</a>, sumber data yang digunakan adalah <a href="https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/downloads/TGE_sources_and_methods.pdf">aspek-aspek dinamis ekonomi</a>, antara lain level dan pertumbuhan produk domestik bruto (PDB), biaya tenaga kerja, tingkat pengangguran, penjualan ritel, dan suku bunga kebijakan bank sentral.</p>
<p>Bandingkan, misalnya, dengan sumber data yang digunakan oleh <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/human-rights#key-insights">Our World in Data</a> yang menggunakan tiga aspek sumber data untuk menilai isu HAM, yaitu hak-hak integritas fisik, kebebasan sipil pribadi, dan kebebasan sipil politik. </p>
<h2>Hasil analisis</h2>
<p>Angka skor yang disebutkan, 6,2 dari 10, sudah benar, tetapi menjadi salah interpretasi karena angka itu hanya untuk tahun 2022 saja, bukan sepanjang 2017-2022.</p>
<p>Data tersebut juga tidak sepenuhnya dapat menggambarkan kondisi HAM di Indonesia. Angkanya didapat dari perhitungan aspek-aspek indikator ekonomi yang dinamis, ketimbang aspek-aspek fundamental dalam isu HAM (hak hidup, kebebasan sipil, dan sebagainya) yang sebenarnya lebih cocok untuk menilai kinerja penegakkan HAM. Sementara baik Ganjar maupun Mahfud MD tidak mengelaborasi lebih lanjut tentang data yang mereka sebutkan itu.</p>
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<p><em>Artikel ini merupakan hasil kolaborasi program Panel Ahli Cek Fakta The Conversation Indonesia bersama Kompas.com dan Tempo.co, didukung oleh Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219576/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Rapor kinerja pemerintah dalam menegakkan HAM masih merah. Skornya 6,2 dari 10. Kita perlu memperkuat lembaga HAM. – Calon presiden Ganjar Pranowo saat menjadi pembicara dalam dialog terbuka “Muhammadiyah…Nurul Fitri Ramadhani, Politics + Society Editor, The Conversation IndonesiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2078182023-06-23T02:07:58Z2023-06-23T02:07:58ZChatGPT digugat pencemaran nama baik: menguji tanggung jawab hukum dan netralitas teknologi AI<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533110/original/file-20230621-17-b9948f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5982%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">ChatGPT.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/penang-malaysia-1-apr-2023-chatgpt-2285792643">TY Lim/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Untuk pertama kalinya di dunia, <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/walters-openai-complaint-gwinnett-county.pdf">sebuah gugatan pencemaran nama baik diajukan kepada teknologi Artificial Intelligence (AI)</a>. Gugatan ini diajukan Mark Walters terhadap OpenAI, perusahaan pemilik ChatGPT, di Georgia, Amerika Serikat (AS) pada 5 Juni 2023.</p>
<p>Mark mengajukan gugatan ini setelah seorang jurnalis bernama Fred Riehl menggunakan ChatGPT pada 4 Mei 2023 untuk mencari rangkuman dari kasus <a href="https://dockets.justia.com/docket/washington/wawdce/2:2023cv00647/321634">The Second Amendment Foundation v Robert Ferguson</a>, tentang kebebasan sipil dari organisasi the Second Amendment Foundation. Hasil dari instruksi atas rangkuman kasus tersebut justru memunculkan nama Mark Walters, seorang penyiar radio di Georgia, dengan informasi bahwa <a href="https://ustimespost.com/openai-sued-for-libelous-chatgpt-hallucination-about-money/">Mark menggelapkan sejumlah dana dari The Second Amendment Foundation</a>.</p>
<p>Menurut Mark, seluruh informasi yang melibatkan namanya tersebut adalah salah, dan ia menganggap bahwa informasi yang ditampilkan merupakan “Halusinasi AI”.</p>
<p>Ini bukan pertama kalinya ChatGPT menuai kontroversi dan kritik terkait keakuratan informasi yang diolahnya. Pada April 2023, Brian Hood, seorang politikus Australia, berencana untuk melayangkan gugatan kepada ChatGPT setelah namanya <a href="https://gizmodo.com/openai-defamation-chatbot-brian-hood-chatgpt-1850302595">dicantumkan sebagai salah satu terdakwa</a> dalam kasus penyuapan Australia’s Reserve Bank tahun 2011. Brian memang terlibat dalam kasus tersebut, tetapi dia adalah <em>whistleblower</em>.</p>
<p>Pada bulan yang sama, Jonathan Turley, seorang dosen hukum di George Washington University Law School, AS, mendapati dirinya <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-ai-made-up-sexual-harassment-allegations-jonathen-turley-report-2023-4">dituduh melakukan pelecehan seksual kepada mahasiswinya dalam sebuah perjalanan studi ke Alaska</a>. Informasi tersebut merupakan olahan ChatGPT yang juga mencantumkan bahwa kasusnya dimuat dalam sebuah artikel di The Washington Post. Faktanya, Jonathan tidak pernah mengadakan studi lapangan ke Alaska dan <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/story/openai-chatgpt-falsely-accuses-us-law-professor-of-sexual-harassment-376630-2023-04-08">artikel di the Washington Post yang dimaksud tidak pernah ada</a>.</p>
<p>Rentetan kontroversi ketidakakuratan informasi yang diolah ChatGPT memang hanya tinggal menunggu waktu sampai akhirnya benar-benar ada gugatan kepada hukum terhadap teknologi mutakhir ini.</p>
<p>Gugatan terhadap AI oleh Mark Walters ini memunculkan diskusi-diskusi penting terkait netralitas teknologi dan pertanggungjawaban hukum oleh teknologi AI. Apakah mungkin AI sebagai sebuah teknologi bisa dianggap sebagai sebuah teknologi yang netral, atau justru memiliki nilai-nilai tertentu yang dipengaruhi penciptanya?</p>
<h2>AI dan netralitas teknologi</h2>
<p>Kontroversi terkait teknologi AI dalam ChatGPT <a href="https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/world/9-biggest-controversies-with-chat-gpt-so-far/">memang telah lama diperdebatkan</a> sejak perilisannya kepada publik akhir tahun lalu. Sebagian besar masyarakat memandang AI membawa pengaruh negatif karena masalah <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65139406">privasi</a> atau <a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-chat-gpt-ac4967a4fb41fda31c4d27f015e32660">penyalahgunaannya oleh mahasiswa</a>, tetapi tidak sedikit yang menganggap bahwa ChatGPT dapat <a href="https://theconversation.com/id/search?q=AI">digunakan secara maksimal untuk kebutuhan dan tujuan yang positif</a>.</p>
<p>Arthur Cockfield dan Jason Pridmore, dosen hukum dan sosiologi di Queens University, Kanada, <a href="https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1258&context=mjlst">berargumen</a> bahwa teknologi bisa dipandang dari dua sisi.</p>
<p>Pertama adalah dari sudut pandang instrumentalis, yakni ketika teknologi hanya sekadar alat. Artinya, teknologi bersifat netral, sampai penggunanya menggunakan teknologi tersebut untuk tujuan tertentu.</p>
<p>Kedua adalah dari sudut pandang substantif, yakni bahwa teknologi tidaklah netral. Sejak diciptakan, teknologi sudah memiliki nilai sosial, politik atau ekonomi, karena proses penciptaannya mengikuti nilai yang dianut oleh penciptanya.</p>
<p>Gagasan Cockfield dan Pridmore tersebut berujung pada sintesis kedua sudut pandang tersebut atas penggunaan teknologi. Namun, pada konteks teknologi AI sekarang tak lagi sekadar alat bantu, <a href="https://beyondexclamation.com/artificial-intelligence-making-machines-behave-like-humans/">melainkan juga sudah bertindak selayaknya manusia</a>, netralitas atas teknologi AI perlu diuji, khususnya apakah AI bisa bertindak selayaknya subjek hukum tersendiri.</p>
<p>Entitas buatan memang bisa berlaku sebagai subjek hukum tersendiri, sebagaimana badan hukum. <a href="https://business.gov.nl/starting-your-business/choosing-a-business-structure/legal-personality/">Asas personalitas hukum</a>, yang menjelaskan pihak yang dapat bertindak dan menjadi subjek hukum atas hak dan kewajiban hukum, sejauh ini hanya mengenali subjek hukum murni (individu) dan badan hukum (korporasi).</p>
<p>Pada kasus <a href="https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/the-sunday-times-v-united-kingdom/#:%7E:text=Case%20Summary%20and%20Outcome,violated%20its%20freedom%20of%20expression."><em>Sunday Times v. UK</em></a>, Pengadilan Hak Asasi Manusia Eropa memutuskan bahwa pelarangan publikasi artikel kepada koran <em>the Sunday Times</em> pada tahun 1972 melanggar hak dari media tersebut. Artinya, <em>the Sunday Times</em> sebagai badan hukum yang memiliki hak di mata hukum. </p>
<p>Pertanyaan lanjutannya kemudian adalah: apakah AI sebaiknya menjadi subjek hukum tersendiri karena <a href="https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=122946#:%7E:text=Artificial%20intelligence%20does%20not%20have,as%20a%20derivative%20legal%20subject.">karakteristik personifikasi hukumnya yang unik</a>, atau dilekatkan kepada subjek hukum yang sudah ada?</p>
<p>Mengingat adanya keterbatasan dalam hal pertanggungjawaban hukum yang tentu akan melekat kepada pembuat teknologi, maka menjadikan AI sebagai subjek hukum tersendiri adalah oversimplikasi atas masalah pertanggungjawaban hukum dari sebuah penyalahgunaan teknologi, <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-and-comparative-law-quarterly/article/artificial-intelligence-and-the-limits-of-legal-personality/1859C6E12F75046309C60C150AB31A29">setidaknya untuk sekarang</a>.</p>
<p>Atas dasar tersebut, AI belum bisa sepenuhnya dipandang sebagai sebuah teknologi yang netral. AI bekerja dengan algoritme yang dipengaruhi oleh <a href="https://medium.com/halobureau/beware-ais-hidden-biases-why-artificial-intelligence-is-never-neutral-9479cda09373#:%7E:text=As%20artificial%20intelligence%20(AI)%20becomes,our%20everyday%20lives%20and%20routines.">bias, perspektif, dan budaya dari para penciptanya</a>.</p>
<h2>Mungkinkah AI melakukan pencemaran nama baik?</h2>
<p>Informasi yang diolah ChatGPT dalam kasus Mark Walters jelas merupakan informasi yang tidak akurat. Namun, dalam klaim bahwa informasi tersebut telah mencemarkan reputasi Mark Walters, kelalaian OpenAI – sebagai pemilik ChatGPT – atas kekeliruan informasi yang dirilis tetap merupakan salah satu hal yang perlu dibuktikan kebenarannya dalam gugatan pencemaran nama baik.</p>
<p>Hal ini juga memperkuat fakta bahwa AI tidak bisa berdiri sendiri sebagai subjek hukum.</p>
<p>Fakta bahwa ChatGPT <a href="https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6783457-what-is-chatgpt">terkadang mengolah dan merilis informasi yang keliru</a> juga belum tentu menjadi dasar yang kuat dalam gugatan, kecuali <a href="https://reason.com/volokh/2023/06/06/first-ai-libel-lawsuit-filed/">terbukti ada kesengajaan</a> dari OpenAI untuk merilis informasi tentang Mark Walters tersebut.</p>
<p>Selain itu, prinsip kerugian atau kerusakan yang nyata (<em><a href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/889/actual-malice">actual malice</a></em>), seperti kehilangan pekerjaan atau bangkrut, juga belum terbukti apakah memang dialami oleh Mark Walters.</p>
<p>Hal-hal tersebut di atas menunjukkan bahwa untuk saat ini, AI tidak punya kapabilitas untuk melakukan pencemaran nama baik, pun sebagai subjek hukum tersendiri. Namun, bukan berarti AI tidak perlu diregulasi, mengingat <a href="https://theconversation.com/apa-aturan-yang-tepat-untuk-teknologi-ai-ini-jawaban-para-ahli-203500">banyak negara telah memulainya</a>. </p>
<h2>AI pada konteks Indonesia</h2>
<p>Kasus pencemaran nama baik di Indonesia juga merupakan isu hukum yang krusial dalam beberapa tahun terakhir ini, khususnya sejak Undang-Undang tentang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik (UU ITE) lahir. </p>
<p>Meskipun di Indonesia sejauh ini belum ada gugatan atas pencemaran nama baik yang dilakukan oleh AI dan tampaknya tidak ada landasan hukum yang mengaturnya, ada satu ketentuan dalam UU ITE yang mungkin bisa relevan. Pasal 27 Ayat 3 UU ITE yang berbunyi “<em>Setiap orang dengan sengaja dan tanpa hak mendistribusikan dan/atau mentransmisikan dan/atau membuat dapat diaksesnya Informasi Elektronik dan/atau Dokumen Elektronik yang memiliki muatan penghinaan dan/atau pencemaran nama baik</em>.”</p>
<p>Ketidakjelasan makna dari frasa “membuat dapat diaksesnya” tersebut menciptakan <a href="https://kema.unpad.ac.id/uu-ite-kelabilan-dan-ambiguitas-dalam-kebebasan-berekspresi/">ambiguitas dalam penerapannya</a>.</p>
<p>Ambiguitas tersebut bukan tidak mungkin akan memunculkan gugatan “salah alamat” kepada AI. Padahal, sebagaimana yang sudah dibahas di atas, AI tidak bisa menjadi subjek hukum tersendiri, karena statusnya yang lebih tepat sebagai <a href="https://law.ui.ac.id/pengaturan-hukum-artifical-intelligence-indonesia-saat-ini-oleh-zahrashafa-pm-angga-priancha/">agen elektronik</a>. Pertanggungjawaban AI masih berada pada subjek hukum orang atau badan hukum yang menaunginya.</p>
<p>Secara keseluruhan, perdebatan mengenai tanggung jawab hukum AI masih menjadi isu yang kompleks, terutama jika menyangkut privasi dan keamanan data serta diskriminasi dan bias.</p>
<p>Diperlukan peran dan kolaborasi banyak <em>stakeholders</em> untuk memastikan teknologi AI digunakan dengan bertanggung jawab agar penggunaannya dapat memberikan manfaat secara luas bagi kemajuan manusia dan perbaikan lingkungan.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207818/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eka Nugraha Putra tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Apakah mungkin AI sebagai sebuah teknologi bisa dianggap sebagai sebuah teknologi yang netral, atau justru memiliki nilai-nilai tertentu yang dipengaruhi penciptanya?Eka Nugraha Putra, Assistant Professor of Law, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1767972022-03-07T08:09:51Z2022-03-07T08:09:51ZIt’s still legal to rape your wife in India. That could be about to change<p>In late February, a court in Delhi finished hearing a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/bite-the-bullet-delhi-high-court-tells-centre-on-marital-rape/articleshow/89735039.cms">case</a> on married Indian women’s right to sexual autonomy, and now, a decision on the matter is awaited. </p>
<p>The Indian Penal Code, enacted by the British colonial state in 1860, exempts forcible sexual intercourse by husbands upon wives from the definition of rape. This means a man cannot be charged with rape if the victim is his wife. Although rape provisions in the penal code have undergone <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/cabinet-clears-ordinance-for-stricter-punishment-for-rape-here-are-the-key-features/story-hg4MpqLoPfY6ShZOcmlnQL.html">several changes</a> since then, the husband’s immunity has been <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/623254/">retained</a>.</p>
<p>In the current case, which began in 2015, two non-government organisations (the RIT Foundation and All India Democratic Women’s Association) challenged the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/marital-rape-exception-violates-fundamental-rights-hc-told/articleshow/89307955.cms">constitutional validity</a> of the marital rape exemption. According to the petitioners, the distinction that Indian rape law makes among women based on their marital status is unreasonable, and hence, in violation of the equality guaranteed by the <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/367586/">constitution of India</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-shocking-mythical-tales-that-underlie-attitudes-to-rape-in-india-27950">The shocking mythical tales that underlie attitudes to rape in India </a>
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<h2>Why does the marital rape exception exist?</h2>
<p>The original rationale for the exemption was derived from <a href="http://lawlibrary.wm.edu/wythepedia/library/HaleHistoryOfThePleasOfTheCrown1736Vol1.pdf">17th and 18th-century English jurists</a>. For Mathew Hale (chief justice of England between 1671-1676), consent to marriage itself implied consent to sex, which once given could not be revoked. </p>
<p>Similarly, English judge and politician, Sir William Blackstone <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30802/30802-h/30802-h.htm#Chapter_the_fifteenth">argued</a> that if the husband and the wife became one legal entity upon marriage – as was the law at the time – then, logically speaking, the husband could not be charged with a crime against his own self. In short, these jurists stressed the conceptual impossibility of marital rape.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/women-and-justice/resource/r_v_r">England</a>, where these ideas originated, and in <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/women-and-justice/resource/pga_v_the_queen">Australia</a>, where they travelled with colonialism, the exemption no longer exists. The courts in these countries have held the exemption was never part of the common law (unwritten body of laws based on judicial precedents), and that previous judges were mistaken in believing it was.</p>
<h2>Why is the Indian government against criminalising rape within marriage?</h2>
<p>However, the question before the Indian court is not about the historical validity of the husband’s immunity, but its <a href="https://lawandotherthings.com/2022/02/dismantling-the-marital-rape-exception-constitutionality-and-consent/">compatibility</a> with the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Indian constitution. Successive governments <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/new-anti-rape-law-comes-into-force-but-it-shies-away-from-making-marital-rape-an-offence/articleshow/18326007.cms">have avoided answering the question</a> directly.</p>
<p>As opposed to the “impossibility of marital rape” thesis taken by the English jurists, the Indian state’s attitude can be described as the “inconvenience of marital rape” thesis. </p>
<p>The Indian state does not invoke theories of the wife’s implied consent to sex with the husband or the merger of her personhood with that of the husband’s upon marriage. Nor does it deny sexual violence takes place within marriage.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-tackle-indias-sexual-violence-epidemic-it-starts-with-sex-education-114381">How to tackle India's sexual violence epidemic – it starts with sex education</a>
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<p>Instead, it refuses to recognise marital rape, citing a <a href="https://scroll.in/latest/1016251/criminalisation-of-marital-rape-could-open-floodgates-of-false-cases-centre-tells-delhi-hc">range of factors</a> that it claims pose practical difficulties in enforcing a criminal prohibition on non-consensual sex in marriage. In other words, the refusal to recognise marital rape is presented as a policy decision that seeks to balance competing considerations that are equally relevant.</p>
<p>In 2013, India had a <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/women-and-justice/resource/the_criminal_law_(amendment)_act_2013">reform</a> of its rape laws. And while they broadened the definition of rape in a number of ways, including to acts other than penile-vaginal penetration, the then-government <a href="https://www.academia.edu/14652392/The_Impossibility_of_Marital_Rape_Contestations_Around_Marriage_Sex_Violence_and_the_Law_in_Contemporary_India">refused</a> to <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/marital-rape-not-criminal-offence-mps-committee-backs-govt-514884">criminalise marital rape</a> on the grounds it would weaken the sanctity of marriage. As an alternative, a parliamentary committee <a href="http://164.100.47.5/newcommittee/reports/EnglishCommittees/Committee%20on%20Home%20Affairs/167.pdf">suggested</a> victim wives should opt for <a href="https://www.thequint.com/neon/gender/delhi-govt-marital-rape-exception-high-court-other-remedies-creation-of-new-offence">divorce</a> or seek remedies for domestic violence.</p>
<p>In 2017, in its response to the NGOs’ petition, the coalition government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stated that since it was not clear <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/marital-rape-delhi-high-court-central-government-clarifies-sexual-abuse-rape-men-vunerable-1033772-2017-08-29">what evidence could be used to prove</a> whether a sexual encounter between a husband and wife was consensual, marital rape should not be recognised. </p>
<p>It went on to argue that legally ending the husband’s immunity will not prevent the incidence of marital rape anyway, since legal changes were useless without “<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/criminalising-marital-rape-will-destabilise-marriage-govt-tells-hc/article19581512.ece">moral and social awareness</a>”. Given differences between India and western countries, owing to its poverty, illiteracy, and social diversity, validating non-consensual sex within marriage will not have the desired effect, the government argued.</p>
<p>The current BJP-led government’s position is no different. In the course of the recently concluded hearing, it requested the court <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/centre-seeks-to-defer-hearing-on-pleas-for-criminalising-marital-rape-101643888738868.html">defer</a> the hearing so it could consult the state governments on the issue. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gang-rape-exposes-caste-violence-in-india-and-the-limits-of-me-too-154623">Gang rape exposes caste violence in India and the limits of Me Too</a>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2022/feb/03/marital-rape-committed-to-protecting-womens-dignity-centretells-hc-2414886.html">government affirmed its commitment</a> to protect the rights and dignity of all women, but asked the court to not decide on the matter based on constitutional principles or legal arguments alone, given its <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/marital-rape-far-reaching-socio-legal-implications-consultative-process-needed-centre-to-hc-4731635.html">far-reaching social implications</a>. </p>
<p>However, the judges refused to accede to that request and continued with the hearing. Meanwhile, in response to a question about the government’s stance on the issue, a minister told the parliament <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/not-advisable-to-condemn-every-man-as-rapist-women-and-child-development-minister/article38364656.ece">comprehensive reform</a> of all criminal laws was being considered. This process begun during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been <a href="https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/criminal-law-reform-committee">criticised</a> by lawyers, legal scholars, and activists for its hurried and non-participatory nature.</p>
<h2>Do married women have a legal right over their bodies?</h2>
<p>The Indian state has never directly answered the question as to whether Indian women lose their rights to bodily integrity and sexual autonomy upon marriage. Instead, it has pointed to the inconveniences of recognising and enforcing these rights. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gang-rape-exposes-caste-violence-in-india-and-the-limits-of-me-too-154623">Gang rape exposes caste violence in India and the limits of Me Too</a>
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<p>But the long list of inconveniences cited by the state over the years are really not about the judges, the prosecutors, or the police. Concerns regarding the state’s intrusion into the private sphere, difficulties in proving rape, or, the potential misuse of the law are used to mask the fact the one person who will be inconvenienced the most if the marital rape exemption is struck down, is the husband. </p>
<p>We can only hope the Delhi High Court, in its much-awaited judgment, will put the spotlight on what the issue is really about – the husband’s unquestioned claim to the wife’s body.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176797/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saptarshi Mandal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The penal code of India still contains an exception for rape within marriage. A court case could be about to change that.Saptarshi Mandal, Associate law professor, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1607302021-05-13T13:53:53Z2021-05-13T13:53:53ZWhatsApp’s controversial privacy update may be banned in the EU – but the app’s sights are fixed on India<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400544/original/file-20210513-22-kl4znr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The May 15 deadline for users to accept WhatsApp's new privacy policy has also been extended by 'several weeks'. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/december-11-2019-this-photo-illustration-1598694583">rafapress/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The roll out of WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, which critics warn will lead to more data sharing with its parent company Facebook, received a blow on May 13 after German regulators <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2021/05/13/controversial-whatsapp-policy-banned-in-germany-and-the-eu-may-be-next-14573752/">temporarily banned</a> the update. The regulators are now said to be seeking an EU-wide ban by presenting their case to the European Data Protection Board.</p>
<p>WhatsApp users will have noticed a recent intensification of <a href="https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/security-and-privacy/what-happens-when-our-terms-and-privacy-policy-updates-take-effect/?lang=en">pop-ups</a> nudging them to agree to the app’s <a href="https://www.ghacks.net/2021/01/07/whatsapp-makes-data-sharing-with-facebook-mandatory/">new terms of service</a>. The cliff-edge deadline for users to accept these new terms – with WhatsApp announcing that those who failed to do so would <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/whatsapp-app-terms-lose-features-b1845440.html">lose functionality</a> on the app – had been set for Saturday, May 15. That deadline was recently moved forward by “<a href="https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/security-and-privacy/what-happens-when-our-terms-and-privacy-policy-updates-take-effect/?lang=en">several weeks</a>”.</p>
<p>This extension comes after WhatsApp was forced to scrap its initial <a href="https://www.gizbot.com/apps/news/whatsapp-extends-deadline-to-accept-new-terms-of-service-to-may-15-072118.html">February deadline</a> in response to a global backlash against the Facebook subsidiary’s take-it-or-leave-it policy change. Since then, WhatsApp has sought to <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/whatsapp-privacy-policy-explained-7149191/">reassure users</a> that its commitment to end-to-end encryption and user privacy is as strong as ever. </p>
<p>But while the German ban will be a blow to WhatsApp’s ambitions to monetise the app, the messaging platform may ultimately have its sights fixed elsewhere. WhatsApp’s largest market is India, with over <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/26/whatsapp-india-users-400-million/">400 million users</a>. That’s more than three times as many users as the app’s second-largest market, Brazil, which has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-whatsapp-brazil-payments/facebooks-whatsapp-brings-digital-payment-to-users-in-brazil-idUKKBN23M1MS?edition-redirect=uk">120 million users</a>. </p>
<p>That means the messaging app’s privacy changes – built around the introduction of WhatsApp Business – are expected to be particularly lucrative in India, where WhatsApp recently took out <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/whatsapp-respects-your-privacy-full-page-newspaper-ads-amid-row-2351692#:%7E:text=%2522WhatsApp%2520cannot%2520see%2520your%2520private,you%252C%2522%2520the%2520ad%2520said.">front-page adverts</a> in all the country’s daily newspapers in an attempt to placate disgruntled users. WhatsApp’s continuing resolve to pursue changes to its terms, despite widespread opposition, is best understood by looking at the opportunity for growth big tech firms see in India’s blossoming, less-regulated digital economy.</p>
<h2>Explaining WhatsApp’s changes</h2>
<p>Since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/19/facebook-buys-whatsapp-16bn-deal">acquiring WhatsApp</a> for US$19 billion (£13.5 billion) in 2014, Facebook has been exploring how to monetise the app. Determined not to introduce third-party banner ads, the company launched <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-business-2018-1?op=1&r=US&IR=T">WhatsApp Business and Business API</a> in 2018 to facilitate instant chat and payments between users and businesses, with the latter paying WhatsApp for access to the platform’s users. </p>
<p>The new terms and conditions are a crucial step in this move to make money from WhatsApp, because users who agree to them will consent to their information being shared between WhatsApp Business and other Facebook products. <a href="https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/security-and-privacy/what-happens-when-our-terms-and-privacy-policy-updates-take-effect/?lang=en">According to WhatsApp</a>, only those who use WhatsApp Business will be affected by its new terms.</p>
<p>Still, when WhatsApp’s privacy update was first announced, the <a href="https://www.cci.gov.in/sites/default/files/SM01of2021_0.pdf">Competition Commission of India</a> called for an <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/competition-commission-of-india-orders-probe-into-whatsapp-s-new-privacy-policy-101616594816949.html">investigation</a>, condemning the update’s compulsory nature. The commission also criticised WhatsApp and Facebook’s abuse of their network effect within the Indian market, which in practice means users have limited choice to change platforms. </p>
<p>A complaint was also filed with the <a href="https://lawbeat.in/sites/default/files/Chaitanya%20Rohilla%20Writ%20Petition%20(1)_watermark.pdf">Delhi High Court</a> confronting the “clear attack on users’ personal data” which “has put a Damocles sword upon its users”, ultimately for Facebook’s gain. The next date for the court hearing is <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/privacy-row-delhi-high-court-seeks-cci-stand-on-facebook-whatsapp-appeals-101620284508421.html">May 21 2021</a>.</p>
<p>Like users in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/24/whatsapp-loses-millions-of-users-after-terms-update">the UK and Europe</a>, Indian citizens also protested the changes by downloading alternative messaging platforms, such as Signal and Telegram, in <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/whatsapps-privacy-policy-pushes-users-to-rivals/articleshow/80178485.cms">record-breaking numbers</a>. </p>
<p>But unlike Europeans, who enjoy the protection of EU privacy laws and <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2021/05/13/controversial-whatsapp-policy-banned-in-germany-and-the-eu-may-be-next-14573752/">assertive regulators</a> prepared to ban the update altogether, Indian users are protected by fewer privacy laws. India’s <a href="https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-personal-data-protection-bill-2019">Personal Data Protection Bill</a> has not yet been implemented, leaving WhatsApp with a diminishing window of opportunity to monetise the data of its Indian users. </p>
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<img alt="An Indian man checking his phone in an airport" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400515/original/file-20210513-14-jk61sk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400515/original/file-20210513-14-jk61sk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400515/original/file-20210513-14-jk61sk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400515/original/file-20210513-14-jk61sk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400515/original/file-20210513-14-jk61sk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400515/original/file-20210513-14-jk61sk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400515/original/file-20210513-14-jk61sk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">India’s soaring smartphone connectivity means it’s a tempting market for big tech firms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/matured-indian-male-airport-517186345">wong yu liang/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Privacy in India</h2>
<p>For India’s citizens, protests against WhatsApp’s privacy policy are informed by distrust in big tech and the Indian government. Their discontent is wrapped up in ongoing concerns about the limits of privacy on WhatsApp, and a wider understanding that the government is willing to sacrifice access and privacy for control and security.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/india-farmers-protests-internet-shutdown-highlights-modis-record-of-stifling-digital-dissent-154287">India farmers' protests: internet shutdown highlights Modi's record of stifling digital dissent</a>
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<p>Despite the messaging platform’s “<a href="https://www.brandinginasia.com/whatsapp-launches-its-between-you-campaign-in-india-emphasizing-privacy/">#ItsBetweenYou’</a>” campaign in India, which emphasised WhatsApp’s commitment to privacy, the platform feels less than private when the government targets its critics for <a href="https://www.thequint.com/news/india/government-clients-used-pegasus-spyware-on-people-nso-group-whatsapp-case#read-more">surveillance on the app</a>, when <a href="https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/leaks-whatsapp-rumours-add-to-quarantine-blues/articleshow/74854472.cms">private health data</a> is shared on neighbourhood WhatsApp groups during the pandemic and when police routinely <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20201012-how-private-are-your-whatsapp-chats-1727605-2020-10-03">seize smartphones</a> to access their WhatsApp chat histories. </p>
<p>This sense of encroachment on privacy has been further heightened by the Indian government’s expediting of its new <a href="https://time.com/5946092/india-internet-rules-impact/">internet regulations</a>, which will force platforms to hand over user information to law enforcement upon request.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-pressure-builds-on-indias-narendra-modi-is-his-government-trying-to-silence-its-critics-159799">As pressure builds on India's Narendra Modi, is his government trying to silence its critics?</a>
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<p>Critics argue that such moves are tantamount to “<a href="https://time.com/5946092/india-internet-rules-impact/">digital authoritarianism</a>” and that, while India’s forthcoming data protection laws may offer greater digital privacy, they may also enable further government misuse of citizens’ data – as we have <a href="https://www.csis.org/blogs/new-perspectives-asia/who-benefits-chinas-cybersecurity-laws">seen in China</a>. </p>
<h2>WhatsApp’s resolve</h2>
<p>Against this backdrop of weak privacy protections, Facebook bought a 9.99% stake in <a href="https://debugger.medium.com/what-is-jio-and-why-are-techs-biggest-players-suddenly-obsessed-with-it-231ea2d407e4">Jio Platforms</a> for US$5.7 billion in April 2020. The telecommunications company, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, runs the JioMart and JioMoney platforms - strategically important for Facebook’s expansion into India.</p>
<p>Then, in November 2020, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlypage/2020/11/06/whatsapp-payments-goes-live-in-india-after-facebook-gets-nod-of-approval/?sh=49eb5c98b2b2">WhatsApp Payments received government approval</a> after two years of regulatory pushback and protectionism – opening the door for WhatsApp to compete in India’s payments market. </p>
<p>This carefully orchestrated double move not only integrates WhatsApp and <a href="https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/payments/learn-more-about-participating-countries">WhatsApp Payments</a> with India’s increasingly dominant <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/news/ecommerce/2021/reliance-folding-jiomart-into-whatsapp-for-one-stop-shopping/">e-commerce platform JioMart</a> – it also provides Facebook with a valuable ally in India’s wealthiest businessman, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/mukesh-ambani/">Mukesh Ambani</a>.</p>
<p>Ambani previously warned Modi about the threat of “<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2841e327-12e7-4e82-95b1-5da63b6a111c">data colonialisation</a>” as foreign tech companies turn to India’s huge market as their next source of growth. Now he appears to have paved the way for US-based Facebook to enjoy the spoils, via WhatsApp Business and its new terms and conditions.</p>
<p>Since WhatsApp is regarded as a “<a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/geog/research/research-projects/socialmedia">bare necessity</a>” in everyday life, most of its users will eventually accept the new privacy policy in the absence of regulations to ban it. But as WhatsApp pivots its product from <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-update-encryption-end-end-messages-security-government-privacy-a6970101.html">protecting democratic life</a> through free speech to <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebooks-pivot-is-less-about-privacy-and-more-about-profits-113144">generating profit</a> from its new business platform, the data of Indian citizens is likely the primary target.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160730/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippa Williams has received funding in the past from WhatsApp. WhatsApp does not have editorial oversight of our research or publications. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lipika Kamra has received funding in the past from WhatsApp. WhatsApp does not have editorial oversight of our research or publications.</span></em></p>Accessing India’s digital consumers is seen as the key to future growth for big tech companies like Facebook.Philippa Williams, Reader in Human Geography, Queen Mary University of LondonLipika Kamra, Associate Professor in Politics and Anthropology, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1540302021-02-01T19:42:19Z2021-02-01T19:42:19ZEn Inde, les paysans aspirent à un renouveau démocratique<p>Le 26 janvier marque depuis 1950 la célébration de la République indienne, soit l’entrée en vigueur de la Constitution. Mais, cette année, les médias n’ont eu de cesse de diffuser les images d’agriculteurs indiens juchés sur le symbolique Fort Rouge, tandis qu’à quelques kilomètres, le premier ministre Narendra Modi prononçait son discours à la nation.</p>
<p>En effet, depuis deux mois, des centaines de milliers de paysans et agriculteurs arrivent du Pendjab, d’Haryana, du Rajasthan et d’Uttar Pradesh (États situés dans le nord-ouest du pays) et se massent aux portes de Delhi. Mardi, ils se sont invités à la parade militaire, un acte fort qui ponctue leur mobilisation. En dépit de heurts avec les forces de police et des efforts du gouvernement visant, selon le site indépendant Scroll.in, à <a href="https://scroll.in/article/985604/the-political-fix-how-modis-attempt-to-crush-the-farmers-protest-seems-to-have-backfired">réprimer les manifestants</a>, la mobilisation persiste.</p>
<p>Les agriculteurs réclament le <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/narendra-modi-farm-bill-protests-6604630/">retrait</a>, de trois lois adoptées sans discussion en septembre 2020, qui dérégulent le marché agricole et le livrent aux grandes entreprises de l’agro-alimentaire, mettant ainsi en péril le <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/271320/distribution-of-the-workforce-across-economic-sectors-in-india/">fragile équilibre</a> économique de ce secteur qui emploie 41,5 % de la population (contre 26 % pour l’industrie et 32,5 % pour les services).</p>
<h2>Question agraire et crise du monde agricole en Inde</h2>
<p>Ce mouvement social d’une ampleur inédite replace au cœur du débat public indien la question agraire, généralement abordée à travers le prisme de la crise profonde que traverse le monde agricole depuis trente ans.</p>
<p>86 % des paysans indiens sont ainsi concernés par le morcellement des terres car ils <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/k90ox8AsPMdyPDuykv1eWL/Small-and-marginal-farmers-own-just-473-of-crop-area-show.html">représentent</a> de petits et très petits exploitants, possédant moins de deux hectares (contre une moyenne de 61 hectares en <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/economie-francaise/article/2018/02/24/dix-chiffres-cles-sur-l-agriculture-francaise_5261944_1656968.html">France</a> par exploitation).</p>
<p>Il est aussi question de la non-rentabilité de l’activité agricole pour la majorité des paysans indiens, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/farming-agriculture-income-farm-distress-nabard-survey-nsso-5313772">obligés</a> de recourir au travail salarié dans le secteur informel en ville (chaque ménage rural gagne en moyenne 8 059 roupies, soit 91 euros par mois) ; d’un taux de <a href="https://thewire.in/agriculture/farmer-suicides-data">suicide</a> parmi les plus élevés au monde, à cause du fardeau d’une dette impossible à rembourser ; des dégâts écologiques liés à l’agriculture intensive et à l’usage massif de pesticides.</p>
<h2>Les effets à long terme de la révolution verte</h2>
<p>Cette situation de crise est paradoxalement le fruit du pari réussi de la politique agricole mise en place dans les années 1960 pour répondre aux famines qui frappaient encore le pays et l’obligeaient à <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/from-aid-to-gain-remembering-food-scarcity-of-the-past-the-green-revolution-and-the-pollution/cid/1771920">importer</a> massivement du blé des États-Unis.</p>
<p>À partir de 1965, l’État nehruvien lance la <a href="https://www.eyrolles.com/Sciences/Livre/agriculture-et-alimentation-de-l-inde-9782738010322/">révolution verte</a>, un ambitieux programme de modernisation de l’agriculture, avec de nouveaux modes de culture, le passage d’une agriculture vivrière de subsistance à une agriculture commerciale intensive, l’introduction de nouvelles variétés de blé et de riz à haut rendement (qui remplacent une grande variété de céréales locales, mieux adaptées à la sécheresse, et plus riches en minéraux et vitamines, <a href="https://journalofethnicfoods.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42779-019-0011-9#Sec7">comme le sorgho ou le millet</a>, la mécanisation de la production, l’électrification des systèmes de pompage pour l’irrigation et l’usage intensif d’engrais chimiques et de pesticides.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Réforme agraire en Inde : les petits agriculteurs à nouveau dans la rue à New Dehli.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Les États du Pendjab et de l’Haryana, à la pointe de la contestation actuelle, sont choisis comme laboratoires de la révolution verte, qui font d’eux aujourd’hui encore les greniers à riz et à blé de l’Inde, fournissant respectivement 26 % et 32 % de la <a href="https://eands.dacnet.nic.in/PDF/At%20a%20%20Glance%202019%20%20Eng.pdf">production nationale</a>.</p>
<p>Cette politique, si elle a eu sans conteste un impact positif sur la productivité agricole et a permis au pays d’atteindre <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt19dzdcp">l’autosuffisance alimentaire</a>, a principalement bénéficié aux gros exploitants et s’est traduite par des <a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/80-groundwater-in-punjab-s-malwa-unfit-for-drinking-60951">ravages écologiques</a> (érosion et pollution des sols, épuisement de la nappe phréatique…) et des problèmes de <a href="https://www.firstpost.com/india/cancer-ravages-rural-punjab-due-to-chemicals-in-pesticides-govt-assistance-fails-to-improve-situation-6228451.html">santé publique</a>.</p>
<p>Ainsi, dans le sud-ouest du Pendjab, à cause de l’usage massif de pesticides, 80 % de la nappe phréatique est polluée et les cas de cancers se multiplient : le Bathinda Cancer Institute traitait 10 648 patients en 2018 contre 6 233 deux ans plus tôt et tous les matins le <a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/cancer-train-9644">« train du cancer »</a> quitte la gare de Bathinda avec à son bord des malades allant se faire soigner au Rajasthan voisin.</p>
<p>Plus récemment, la libéralisation de l’économie indienne à partir des années 1990 a accéléré le phénomène de <a href="https://mulpress.mcmaster.ca/globallabour/article/view/1065">capitalisation et de marchandisation</a> de l’agriculture ; elle a également contribué à la <a href="https://anthempress.com/rural-india-facing-the-21st-century-pb">marginalisation</a> de la question agraire au sein des politiques publiques de développement, en la subordonnant aux programmes d’industrialisation et d’urbanisation.</p>
<h2>Dérégulation et fin de l’encadrement étatique du marché agricole</h2>
<p>Pour autant, le secteur agricole n’a pas été complètement livré aux lois du marché. Dans le souci d’assurer la sécurité alimentaire de plus d’un milliard d’habitants, l’État occupait – jusqu’à la récente réforme qui cristallise les oppositions – une place prépondérante dans le fonctionnement et la régulation de l’économie agraire.</p>
<p>Ainsi, le riz et le blé bénéficiaient d’un prix minimum d’achat (Minimum Support Price, MSP) garanti par l’État dans le cadre de l’Agricultural Produce Market Commitee (APMC), appelé plus communément <em>mandi</em>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1352133829159337984"}"></div></p>
<p>Au sein de ce <a href="https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/agrarian-crisis-punjab-and-making-anti-farm-law-protests">« marché-vendeur »</a>, les distributeurs de l’agro-alimentaire devaient négocier le prix d’achat sur la base de l’offre disponible avec les agriculteurs, par l’intermédiaire de courtiers.</p>
<p>Les nouvelles lois mettent un terme à ce monopole étatique en introduisant un nouvel espace d’échange, où le prix sera directement fixé par les investisseurs et l’agro-business sur la base de la demande et imposé aux agriculteurs, ce qui se traduira par une baisse générale des prix de vente et la fin programmée du système des <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2020/dec/12/how-farmers-view-the-existing-mandi-system-2235123.html"><em>mandis</em></a> et du MSP.</p>
<h2>L’enjeu : la survie des petits paysans et la propriété de la terre</h2>
<p>Ceux que nous avons rencontrés à Singhu border (un des trois lieux occupés par les manifestants à la frontière de Delhi) nous expliquent que leurs seuls revenus réguliers proviennent de la vente à prix garanti de leur récolte de blé et de riz, tandis qu’ils doivent attendre jusqu’à deux ans le paiement de leur récolte de canne à sucre, ce qui les oblige à emprunter de l’argent auprès des courtiers du <em>mandi</em>.</p>
<p>Surendettés et très précaires, tous sont d’accord pour trouver le système actuel insatisfaisant, mais la réforme, <a href="https://qz.com/india/1942448/indias-protesting-farmers-think-new-laws-benefit-ambani-adani/">disent-ils</a>, va les obliger à vendre leur lopin de terre aux grands groupes industriels proches du pouvoir, en particulier ceux des millionnaires Ambani et Adani.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Inde : la réforme de l’agriculture, coup de grâce pour les petits paysans.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Or, l’agriculture en Inde, bien plus qu’une simple activité économique, est source d’identité et la propriété foncière, une marque de <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4416240?seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents">statut social</a>, tout particulièrement pour les castes dominantes, d’où l’attachement viscéral des manifestants à la terre, réaffirmé par l’un d’entre eux, « la terre est notre mère », et leur détermination à tenir le siège jusqu’au retrait des lois.</p>
<p>Dans ce but, chaque groupe de fermiers est venu avec six mois de provisions stockées dans une remorque attachée à un tracteur, qui leur sert également de lieu de vie.</p>
<h2>À la pointe de la contestation : les sikhs</h2>
<p>Reconnaissables à leur turban et à leur barbe, les <a href="https://www.albin-michel.fr/ouvrages/les-sikhs-9782226182821">sikhs</a>, majoritaires au Pendjab, mènent la contestation. Né au XV<sup>e</sup> siècle et s’affirmant comme une troisième voie entre l’hindouisme et l’islam, le sikhisme constitue la cinquième religion au monde par le nombre d’adhérents (30 millions), mais il ne représente qu’une toute petite minorité de la population indienne (2 %).</p>
<p>Pour galvaniser les participants et leur faire supporter les froides nuits d’hiver de la capitale indienne (plusieurs paysans y ont succombé), le mouvement s’inspire largement de l’ethos martial des sikhs et de leur histoire faite de luttes contre ce qu’ils perçoivent comme les injustices du pouvoir central.</p>
<p>Les pratiques et les institutions socioreligieuses sikhes organisent la vie quotidienne des campements. Ainsi le <em>langar</em>, le réfectoire communautaire attaché à chaque lieu de culte sikh, sert-il en continu et gratuitement des repas, y compris aux policiers qui ont malmené les protestataires et à la population locale.</p>
<p>Le <em>langar</em> fonctionne grâce au <em>seva</em> (<a href="https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/seva">service volontaire</a>), un autre pilier de l’éthique sikhe, qui comprend dons de nourriture ainsi que préparation et distribution des repas par une armée toujours renouvelée de bénévoles.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">« Personne ne peut lutter le ventre vide », un vidéo sur le <em>langar</em> (Boom).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Le symbolisme omniprésent de la commensalité, la nourriture partagée en commun par-delà les barrières de caste et de religion, et la figure sociale du paysan qui nourrit la nation (annadata) ont fortement contribué à l’immense popularité dont bénéficie le mouvement bien au-delà de l’Inde rurale.</p>
<p>Enfin, les paysans sikhs s’appuient sur le soutien enthousiaste d’une diaspora prospère et influente, qui a su donner un écho international au mouvement, conduisant ainsi Justin Trudeau, le premier ministre canadien à s’exprimer sur le sujet, ce qui a provoqué des <a href="https://theconversation.com/la-crise-agricole-en-inde-provoque-un-imbroglio-politique-avec-le-canada-152596">tensions diplomatiques</a> avec l’Inde.</p>
<h2>Un large soutien populaire</h2>
<p>Ce répertoire culturel et religieux propre aux sikhs n’empêche cependant pas la participation des paysans majoritairement hindous des États voisins de Delhi, ni le soutien des <a href="https://theconversation.com/les-femmes-musulmanes-selevent-contre-le-nationalisme-hindou-en-inde-133114">musulmans</a> (qui n’ont pas oublié l’aide apportée par les sikhs lors du mouvement contre la réforme de la citoyenneté <a href="https://theconversation.com/violences-anti-musulmanes-en-inde-quelle-responsabilite-pour-le-gouvernement-modi-132884">l’an dernier)</a>, des milieux progressistes et sécularistes et de la gauche indienne, dont sont issus les syndicats paysans à l’initiative du mouvement.</p>
<p>L’unité et l’organisation sans faille dont ont fait preuve ces derniers ont permis au mouvement de déjouer les tentatives du parti au pouvoir, le BJP, de ternir son image, les médias à sa solde présentant tour à tour les paysans comme des <a href="https://scroll.in/article/981677/no-matter-how-hard-the-propagandists-try-protesting-farmers-wont-be-seen-as-anti-national">terroristes</a> ou des illettrés manipulés par l’opposition.</p>
<p>L’enjeu est de taille : outre la survie du monde paysan, le mouvement en cours se bat pour les libertés démocratiques des citoyens indiens, en réclamant la libération des opposants emprisonnés ; pour la préservation du fédéralisme à l’indienne, malmené par les visées centralisatrices du <a href="https://www.epw.in/journal/2020/41/commentary/bjps-farming-policies.html">parti au pouvoir</a> ; il affirme enfin sa solidarité avec le monde ouvrier, durement frappé par la <a href="https://thewire.in/labour/labour-laws-changes-turning-clock-back">suspension du droit du travail</a> depuis mai 2020 dans plusieurs États contrôlés par le BJP.</p>
<p>Cette solidarité entre le monde paysan et le monde ouvrier, qui s’est concrétisée le 26 novembre dernier par la plus grande <a href="https://scroll.in/latest/979506/ten-central-trade-unions-observe-bharat-bandh-today-transport-banking-services-to-be-affected">grève</a> de l’histoire de l’Inde, rassemblant 250 millions de personnes à travers le pays, pourrait bien constituer la plus sérieuse menace pour la droite nationaliste hindoue au pouvoir et sa politique autoritaire, national-populiste et ultra-libérale.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154030/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Andre Karnail Singh receives funding from University of East Anglia/University of Copenhagen. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Moliner ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Le mouvement social d’une ampleur inédite qui agite aujourd’hui l’Inde replace au cœur du débat la question agraire et le futur de millions de personnes.Christine Moliner, Associate professor, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityDavid Singh, PhD researcher, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1284792020-01-08T10:32:33Z2020-01-08T10:32:33ZBirkin bags, Swiss ski resorts and Louis Vuitton: how super-rich Delhi housewives strive to be part of a global elite<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308684/original/file-20200106-123368-1x59y70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C63%2C2481%2C1766&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The glacier express train in Switzerland: on the bucket list for rich Indians. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/zermattswitzerland05282019-photo-glacier-express-train-switzerland-1465008047">marlys grisson/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Akash Ambani, son of Mukesh Ambani, one of the <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/mukesh-ambani-is-13th-richest-in-world-forbes-1471001-2019-03-05">richest men in the world</a>, decided to host a pre-wedding event in February 2019, he chose <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/travel/inside-akash-ambani-shloka-mehta-s-luxurious-pre-wedding-celebration-destination-st-moritz-see-pics-videos/story-C8GIQKudbBq1XeufQvj5VK.html">St Moritz</a> in Switzerland. While St Moritz is a popular ski destination for the international jetset, it was not a prominent holiday destination for Indian elites. </p>
<p>But through my research with super-rich housewives of Delhi, I’ve discovered that since the Ambani winter gala, Swiss ski destinations such as St Moritz have become a part of the lexicon of the Indian elite. India’s cricket captain Virat Kohli and his wife, the actress Anushka Sharma, as well as other Bollywood celebrities, recently <a href="https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/virat-kohli-anushka-sharma-celebrate-new-year-with-kareena-kapoor-saif-ali-khan-varun-dhawan-2157057">celebrated new year</a> in Switzerland.</p>
<p>By choosing St Moritz, the Ambani family seemed to signal that they are at ease with the way of life of the international super-rich, and are comfortable with both an Indian way of being elite as well as a global one. This ambition, desire and anxiety to be a part of the global elite was clear among the subjects of my <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Money-Culture-Class-Elite-Women-as-Modern-Subjects/Bhandari/p/book/9780815358886">new book</a>, the super-rich women in Delhi who call themselves housewives.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/india-extreme-inequality-numbers">119 billionaires in India</a> and the top 1% of people took 73% of the wealth generated in the country in 2017. My research looks at how Indian business elites use their money and explains both how their life is structured around luxury and privilege and marred by anxieties of class, money and race. </p>
<h2>A global wedding</h2>
<p>I spent some time with a bride-to-be, Soha*, who returned from the UK aged 23 after completing a masters programme and was set to marry Akshay, a man from a renowned Delhi business family. The match had been suggested by a famous marriage broker.</p>
<p>Soha was excited about her wedding, especially because her university friends, most of them non-Indians, were going to attend and they were looking forward to what she called a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-big-fat-indian-wedding-conservatism-competition-and-networks-70678">big fat Indian wedding</a>”. Soha had promised them a gala affair, but also warned them that she was not a typical Indian bride. </p>
<p>She saw herself as a sophisticated Indian and wanted her wedding to incorporate Indian traditions – but also appeal to a <a href="https://scroll.in/article/904652/curated-to-be-globally-indian-from-virushka-to-nickyanka-a-sociologists-view-of-celeb-weddings">global palette</a>. This meant, she told me, that the aesthetics and ambience of her wedding would not be “too loud”, by which she meant ornate decor with bright colours of red and orange. Instead, the colour scheme would be pastel to exude a sophisticated vibe. In fact, for her bridal wear too, Soha chose a <a href="https://www.wedmegood.com/blog/5-brides-who-slayed-in-a-white-lehenga-on-their-wedding-day/">golden beige outfit</a> over red, a traditional colour for Punjabi brides. </p>
<p>With soft colour palettes, an international spread of food choices, afternoon teas, Spanish dancers and music, and a white-gold wedding outfit, Soha successfully communicated the international sensibility of her taste.</p>
<h2>The Hermès Birkin bag</h2>
<p>One symbol of global eliteness that has been embraced by super-rich Indian women is the Hermès Birkin bag. The competition among them does not end at owning a Birkin. It also centres around whether the bag has been purchased from the Hermès showroom in India or from a city abroad, its colour and whether it’s made of “regular” calfskin, or an “exotic” leather such as crocodile skin. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm09IcJBDZ-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>The level of this competition struck me when these women discussed the “thrill” and patience involved in buying a <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/hermes-celebrates-its-rich-heritage-through-a-fascinating-exhibition-in-delhi/">Rouge Hermès</a> Birkin. These red versions of the bag are available in limited Hermès showrooms around the world and there is a waiting list to buy one. These women assess who among them has the best fashion sense and is most “in” with international trends, based on who has the most number of Birkins, in which colour and leather, and bought from which cities of the world. Notwithstanding this sort of one-upmanship, they all agreed that Arab women are always a step ahead of them, buying not one but several Birkins, made of the most exotic leathers which are unavailable in the Indian subcontinent.</p>
<h2>Anxieties of travel</h2>
<p>For Indian super-rich families, a summer vacation abroad is a necessary signal of being part of the global elite. The super-rich women explained to me that since the middle class also travel widely nowadays, they need to develop strategies of distinction to set them apart from middle or upper middle-class Indians. </p>
<p>The first strategy is to avoid, what one super-rich woman, Reena called, “touristy” destinations such as Barcelona, Rome or Singapore. Instead, the super-rich look for more <a href="https://qz.com/india/1602059/crazy-rich-indians-enjoy-coldplay-porsche-ronaldos-yacht/">“exotic” or expensive destinations</a> such as St Moritz, St Tropez in France, or Bora Bora islands in French Polynesia. Reena explained that since these destinations are very expensive – with only five-star hotels and high-end restaurants – the Indian middle class are discouraged from visiting. Moreover, these destinations are also visited by the super-rich of other countries, so they offer a chance for the Indian super-rich to mingle with other global elites.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308685/original/file-20200106-123385-1fsamuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308685/original/file-20200106-123385-1fsamuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308685/original/file-20200106-123385-1fsamuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308685/original/file-20200106-123385-1fsamuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308685/original/file-20200106-123385-1fsamuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308685/original/file-20200106-123385-1fsamuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308685/original/file-20200106-123385-1fsamuv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Louis Vuitton in London: Indian elites fear being mistaken for less wealthy shoppers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-february-2018-louis-vuitton-shop-1019503132">Willy Barton/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A second strategy is to make sure they wear visible, high-end brands on holidays. Aarti, another super-rich housewife, recalled that a salesman at a luxury shop in London once mistook her for a middle-class Indian tourist – someone who cannot afford branded clothes and only window shops. As a result, she told me the salesperson responded halfheartedly and rudely to her queries and Aarti believed this was because she was dressed casually and not wearing clothes from any high-end brands. She thought she’d been treated in this way not only because of her race and nationality, but also because the salesman didn’t see her as a member of the global elite who buy high-end fashion products.</p>
<p>Since this incident, she makes sure that when she goes shopping anywhere in the world, she wears her Louis Vuitton or Gucci scarf, clothes from Burberry and carries her Louis Vuitton, Dior, or Chanel bag. She wants to be instantly recognised as wealthy. </p>
<p>Adorning high-end luxury products, then, is not just about conspicuous consumption but also a way to assuage anxieties about not being recognised as elite in a global context. In a way, it seems that high-end luxury consumption, for these women, is a “membership fee” to be a part of a global network of elites.</p>
<p><em>* All names have been changed to protect the anonymity of the research participants.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128479/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Parul Bhandari does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rich Indian women are anxious about being recognised as members of an international elite.Parul Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1116992019-02-28T15:27:45Z2019-02-28T15:27:45ZIndia’s WhatsApp election: political parties risk undermining democracy with technology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259729/original/file-20190219-43255-kwo3eg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/lidear21/AshTProductions/Dishant Shrivastava/Rawpixel</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>India’s 2019 national elections are widely anticipated to be the “WhatsApp elections”. Against a backdrop of rapidly improving <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/internet-users-in-india-expected-to-reach-500-million-by-june-iamai/articleshow/63000198.cms">internet connectivity</a> and <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/indias-smartphone-user-base-topped-300-million-in-2016/articleshow/56759056.cms">rising smartphone use</a>, the number of people using private messaging service WhatsApp has soared since its India launch in mid-2010 to more than <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/whatsapp-now-has-1-5-billion-monthly-active-users-200-million-users-in-india/1044468/">200m</a> – more users than in any other democracy. And now the country’s political parties are moving to capitalise on this mass communication channel.</p>
<p>But given WhatsApp has already been used to misinform voters in other elections and spread damaging “fake news” that has led to serious violence in India, there’s a danger this could also pose a threat to the democratic process.</p>
<p>Keen to extend the power of <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e347de5c-e088-11e3-9534-00144feabdc0">social media mobilised in the 2014 election</a>, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to target smartphone-owning voters at the grass roots. More than 900,000 volunteer “<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bjp-plans-a-whatsapp-campaign-for-2019-lok-sabha-election/story-lHQBYbxwXHaChc7Akk6hcI.html">cell phone pramukhs</a>” are creating neighbourhood-based WhatsApp groups to disseminate information about the BJP’s development achievements and prime minister Narendra Modi’s campaign activities. Meanwhile, the opposition Indian National Congress party is playing catch up with the launch of its “<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/delhi-congress-banks-on-digital-sathis-for-whatsapp-campaign-drive-1967195">Digital Sathi</a>” app and the appointment of their own volunteers to coordinate local digital campaigns.</p>
<p>But there’s good reason to think the widespread popularity of WhatsApp in India could have a damaging effect on the election. For one thing, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-jair-bolsonaro-used-fake-news-to-win-power-109343">2018 Brazilian elections</a> and recent <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/karnataka-is-indias-whatsapp-first-election-foreign-media-1852208">state-level elections in India</a> exposed how WhatsApp is being used to rapidly share messages intended to misinform voters for political gain.</p>
<p>But India also has specific conditions related to the use of WhatsApp. While parties across India’s political spectrum – as well as globally – increasingly seek to gain from fake news by <a href="http://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/cybertroops2018/">manipulating public opinion</a>, the Hindu right has been <a href="http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/duty-identity-credibility.pdf">far more successful</a> at mobilising a common socio-political identity through media like WhatsApp. In particular, invitation-only groups have spread virulent and vitriolic messages that have played a role in cultivating a strong nationalist identity.</p>
<p>The recent conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir, which is likely to play an <a href="https://theconversation.com/kashmir-india-and-pakistans-escalating-conflict-will-benefit-narendra-modi-ahead-of-elections-112570">influential role</a> in the election, has led to the spread of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/27/pakistan-pm-imran-khan-appeals-talks-india-war-kashmir">viral content</a> that has stoked public tension, as well as a reported <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/fake-news-misinformation-on-indo-pak-tension-flood-the-social-media/articleshow/68194093.cms">flood of misinformation</a>. </p>
<p>In some cases, when more sinister forms of misinformation have gone viral, the impact on everyday social life in India has been lethal. The misuse of WhatsApp has been connected with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/03/whatsapp-murders-india-struggles-to-combat-crimes-linked-to-messaging-service">at least 30 incidents of murder</a> and lynching, for example following the circulation of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-44856910">children abduction rumours</a>.</p>
<p>Anxious about the inadvertent dark side of its product, particularly within one of its biggest markets, WhatsApp has already launched its own public education campaign in India persuading its users to “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvne6vj7lc0">spread joy not rumours</a>”. It has also made simple alterations to its product design to encourage users to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/20/whatsapp-to-limit-message-forwarding-after-india-mob-lynchings">pause before forwarding messages</a> and limited the number of people you can send a message to at once and the number of times you can forward it, which has since been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jan/21/whatsapp-limits-message-forwarding-fight-fake-news">rolled out globally</a>. And it <a href="https://yourstory.com/2019/02/whatsapp-ban-accounts-misuse-elections-2019">has banned more than 6m apparently automated</a> and potentially harmful accounts in the past three months. </p>
<p>These steps are a <a href="https://scroll.in/article/912508/are-whatsapp-facebook-and-twitter-ready-for-the-indian-election">starting point</a> but may not be enough. For one thing, despite the forwarding limits, you can still send messages to 256 people at once and forward them five times – which means you can share something with 1,280 people in seconds.</p>
<p>Another challenge is that <a href="https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/duty-identity-credibility.pdf">research suggests</a> people care less about the validity of a message’s source and content, and more about the sender and its potential to entertain or reinforce a sense of identity. So, journalistic efforts to <a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/bbc-offer-reality-check-service-2019-elections-india-counter-fake-news-88887">fact check</a> reports circulating on WhatsApp will likely have a limited effect on media literacy and the detrimental impact of fake news.</p>
<h2>Blaming each other</h2>
<p>Part of the problem is that the question over who is at fault for the spread of misinformation is contentious and politically charged. Politicians have <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-whatsapp-fuels-fake-news-and-violence-in-india/">blamed WhatsApp</a> and called on it to trace and stop the source of hostile messaging. The company is resolute that it <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-seeks-access-to-private-messages-in-whatsapp-crackdown/story-u3xPyyL0fN9lh4vymjJjqM.html">can’t access</a> the encrypted messages sent via its app and, even if it could, sharing them with the government would be tantamount to state surveillance, a position <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/government-monitoring-of-citizens-whatsapp-messages-will-create-surveillance-state-says-supreme-court/1243156/">supported by India’s Supreme Court</a>. The firm has, in turn, blamed Indian political parties <a href="https://www.thequint.com/news/india/lok-sabha-elections-2019-whatsapp-will-target-bulk-messages-to-fight-fake-news#gs.zCP0zWOa">for “misusing”</a> the app during election times.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the role of WhatsApp in Indian politics needs to be understood through the interaction of technology with wider social and cultural issues. WhatsApp is a tool that amplifies certain tendencies that already exist in Indian society. For example, incidents of lynching might have much <a href="https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/6/insight/whatsapp-rumours-and-lynchings.html">more to do</a> with incitement to <a href="https://thewire.in/society/udikka-child-snatcher-rumours-lynching-dhule-assam">violence in a divided society</a> than with an app that potentially facilitates the spread of rumours. Similarly, messages that promote hatred on religious, caste and gender lines rely on prevailing social cleavages.</p>
<p>We need a more well-rounded understanding of the emerging links between digital politics and the public sphere. How is (mis)information circulated by messaging apps related to more traditional forms of political campaigns, such as door to door canvassing, rallies and speeches? And how do these different spheres influence political participation and allegiance in different ways? This knowledge needs to be the starting point of any intervention to address WhatsApp’s role in misinformation during elections.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111699/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippa Williams has received funding from WhatsApp. WhatsApp has no say over the editorial content of this article. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lipika Kamra has received funding from WhatsApp. WhatsApp has no say over the editorial content of this article.</span></em></p>India has more WhatsApp users than any other democracy – and a worrying history of ‘fake news’.Philippa Williams, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Queen Mary University of LondonLipika Kamra, Assistant Professo, Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/842152017-10-10T17:50:30Z2017-10-10T17:50:30ZRefugees in India have to fend for themselves – we’ve been talking to them about how they manage<p>Attempts by the Indian government to deport tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees have thrust the country’s laws <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-rohingyas-flee-myanmar-india-needs-to-drop-religious-criteria-in-its-refugee-law-79648">into the spotlight</a>. </p>
<p>Lawyers representing the Rohingyas have reiterated the constitutional right (of citizens and non-citizens alike) to equality, life and personal liberty in India. Meanwhile, the government has claimed such refugees may pose a security threat to the state. </p>
<p>Both sides have been making their case at the <a href="http://www.livelaw.in/rohingyas-fundamental-rights-like-indians-sc-jurisdiction-hear-plea-deportation-nariman-read-rejoinders/">Supreme Court</a>.</p>
<p>What effect does this legal precariousness have on the ground? For one thing, it means the majority of refugees in India head for cities – where there is the possibility of anonymity and opportunities for work. </p>
<p>Delhi is often the preferred destination for refugee groups that fall within the <a href="http://www.unhcr.org.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=134">UNHCR’s mandate</a>. In the capital, these groups have the possibility to get refugee certificates and access to certain support services, such as education, health, livelihoods, and legal counselling. </p>
<p>However, these services are limited in number, reach, and budget. They can also be curtailed at short notice. Often, refugees in urban India can only rely on themselves.</p>
<h2>Self-help groups</h2>
<p>Self-organised social safety nets look different for different groups. In the early 1990s, nearly <a href="http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?reldoc=y&docid=511ca9522">50,000 Sikh and Hindu refugees fled</a> Afghanistan following a spike in ethno-religious violence. In 1992, a group of them in Delhi set up their own organisation - the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/afghan-sikh-refugees-aspire-to-stay-back-in-india/story-aWELM9Fd1nldHTehv7sTnO.html">Khalsa Diwan Welfare Society</a> (KDWS) - dedicated to the support of their refugee community. KDWS is funded through membership fees, and helps other Sikh and Hindu Afghan refugees (<a href="http://thediplomat.com/2016/08/longing-to-belong-afghan-sikhs-and-hindus-in-india/">numbering around 15,000</a> in Delhi) struggling to receive the assistance they need from the Indian government. </p>
<p>It focuses on education and skills development, including teaching devotional music, language classes, stitching, and computer skills. More informally it offers reconciliation and support for domestic disputes and grievances. Because of their perceived resilience and community cohesion, they are viewed as a model refugee community. One of UNHCR’s NGO partners has even used their facilities to run other refugee services. </p>
<p>Chin refugees from Myanmar, too, have their own community support systems. A minority religious and ethnic group persecuted by the Burmese military, they have fled to India in waves over the last four decades and are settled primarily in <a href="https://www1.essex.ac.uk/armedcon/story_id/indiaclosethegap.pdf">Mizoram, Manipur and Delhi</a>. In Delhi they <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/delhi-s-refugees-in-quest-for-a-home-out-of-home/story-tI5z5w2KdQ9TWCfJsv0qSJ.html">number around 4,000</a> and are largely clustered in the west of the city. The community has a hired floor in an apartment block where – with the support of their church and some NGOs – they run <a href="https://jrssa.org/Assets/Publications/File/ChinRefugeesDelhi.pdf">language, computer, and stitching classes, and also previously, their own clinic with a Chin doctor</a>.</p>
<p>As a Christian community, the church is an important part of their urban social safety net. The same goes for Christian Afghans, who number a few hundred in India’s capital and live in the south of the city. “It’s good,” explained a young Christian Afghan to our research team, “because of the church I have some friends.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IiPocJ-GV2k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A football game between Rohingya and Indian youths.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some of the Rohingyas have also self-organised. A small number of prominent youths established a Rohingya Literacy Programme and women’s empowerment initiatives, as well as actively networking with the aid community to augment support and services. Their football team the <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/in-a-delhi-slum-rohingya-team-dreams-football-debates-ronaldo-or-messi-4614853/">Shining Stars</a>, is an important social initiative offering bridging opportunities to other groups in Delhi, as they play <a href="http://www.okhlatimes.com/football-match-rohingya-muslims/">solidarity matches</a> with other teams in the city. </p>
<h2>Challenges</h2>
<p>The existence of these community organisations speaks of the opportunities that exist in a city. Urban environments more readily provide enough working people in close proximity to enable a membership model (such as with KDWS). Cities also offer malleable spaces, for the transformation of apartments into community centres (such as for the Chins) or wasteland into a football pitch (for the Rohingya Shining Stars).</p>
<p>However, it would be a mistake to laud these community initiatives as solutions to the problem of ensuring adequate refugee protection in India. Many arise due to severe access gaps in Indian public services. </p>
<p>It was the <a href="https://jrssa.org/Assets/Publications/File/ChinRefugeesDelhi.pdf">discrimination they experienced in Indian schools and clinics</a> that led the Chins to establish parallel schools and a health clinic. Moreover, not only is sustainability precarious (the clinic run by a Chin refugee doctor had to close when he was resettled), it also reinforces segregation. The same Christian Afghan refugee who praised the support of his church network also spoke about such difficulties. He said: “It is unlucky to be stuck in such a situation [as a refugee] … the loneliness is different.”</p>
<p>The Rohingya youths have established their literacy and empowerment initiatives partly because of gaps in services and lack of staying power of many aid organisations. They describe a lack of funds as preventing sustainability and expansion. “The challenge with this job is that for me to help such people, it requires money,” one explained, “but in my community people are illiterate and poor. How will they pay?”</p>
<p>Moreover, these self-organised communities can exacerbate – or create – community hierarchies, discrimination and exclusion. As another refugee in Delhi explained: “The community leaders are selected on the basis of their connectivity with the NGOs.” This so often means men with a command of English.</p>
<p>While self-organised groups provide essential safety nets for refugees in Delhi, they are clearly not a replacement for governmental and NGO services. India not only urgently requires a robust, inclusive legal framework that protects refugees, the government and NGOs also <a href="http://pubs.iied.org/10852IIED/">need to re-approach how they can better support vulnerable communities</a> to access wider public and aid services. </p>
<p>This increased support requires the government to change its restrictive position on humanitarian and development NGOs. Too many, especially those with international connections, are being <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/24/india-modi-government-accused-muzzling-ngos-by-blocking-foreign-funding">weakened or closed down</a> with recent changes in laws regulating foreign funding. Many argue this is driven by ideological motives to quash dissent. </p>
<p>This is exacerbating the pressure on already vulnerable refugee communities to make their own safety nets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research is a part of a UK Department for International Development (DfID) funded project through the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and their Urban Crisis Learning Fund. Further details can be found at <a href="http://www.iied.org/urbancrises">www.iied.org/urbancrises</a>.</span></em></p>What effect does India’s legal precariousness and lack of institutionalised support have on the ground? Most refugee groups have to rely on themselves.Jessica Field, Assistant Professor, Jindal School of International Affairs, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/733262017-03-02T07:51:13Z2017-03-02T07:51:13ZStrychnine at the Savoy: was Agatha Christie’s Mysterious Affair at Styles inspired by an Indian murder?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159011/original/image-20170301-5514-wco3o2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Agatha Christie, here with husband Colonel Archibald Christie (left) and friends in 1922. Many stories she wrote were inspired by travels.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/British_Empire_Tour_1922_Belcher.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Agatha Christie’s first novel, <em>The Mysterious Affair at Styles</em>, was written more than a hundred years ago. It remains one of her most popular works. </p>
<p>In the novel, members of an estate in Essex wake up one night, during World War I, to find the proprietor, Emily Inglethorp, convulsing to death from strychnine poisoning. </p>
<p>The novel introduced readers to the punctilious detective, Hercule Poirot. It also introduced a new form of murder. Very rarely, until <a href="http://www.agathachristie.com/stories/the-mysterious-affair-at-styles">its publication</a>, had strychnine featured as a murder weapon in literature. </p>
<p>Two prominent Victorian novels had earlier featured scenes of death by strychnine. Alexandre Dumas’ <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=RyEEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA448&dq=the+count+of+monte+cristo%2Bstrychnine&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj07c2r5aHSAhULRI8KHUDzAJ8Q6AEIHzAB#v=onepage&q=the%20count%20of%20monte%20cristo%2Bstrychnine&f=false"><em>The Count of Monte Cristo</em></a> (1844) and Arthur Conan Doyle’s <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=4Pk5-Tf5Zp0C&pg=PA30&dq=the+sign+of+four%2Bstrychnine&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI07u65aHSAhWJRI8KHSWXDosQ6AEILTAD#v=onepage&q=the%20sign%20of%20four%2Bstrychnine&f=false"><em>The Sign of Four</em></a> (1890). </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157932/original/image-20170222-6406-15eggu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157932/original/image-20170222-6406-15eggu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157932/original/image-20170222-6406-15eggu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157932/original/image-20170222-6406-15eggu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157932/original/image-20170222-6406-15eggu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157932/original/image-20170222-6406-15eggu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157932/original/image-20170222-6406-15eggu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157932/original/image-20170222-6406-15eggu7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=951&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Agatha Christie, in 1925.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hitherto, strychnine was more often seen <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=3HRMAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA10&dq=hard+cash%2Bstrychnine&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiB39jN5aHSAhWLL48KHfUNDLkQ6AEIKDAD#v=onepage&q=hard%20cash%2Bstrychnine&f=false">poisoning mice</a>, as in Charles Reade’s <em>Hard Cash</em> (1864), or being a used as <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=GoAUn74q-k4C&pg=PA201&dq=the+invisible+man%2Bstrychnine&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2yoTi5aHSAhUGtI8KHWsbDpIQ6AEITzAJ#v=onepage&q=the%20invisible%20man%2Bstrychnine&f=false">sleep-inducing “grand tonic”</a> in H G Wells’ <em>The Invisible Man</em> (1897). </p>
<p>In Arnold Cooley’s <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=ppMvAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA34&dq=strychnine%2Bspirit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU7_y25qHSAhVCv48KHaJyDJIQ6AEIGTAA#v=onepage&q=strychnine%2Bspirit&f=false"><em>A Cyclopædia of Practical Receipts</em></a> (1846) and Robley Dunglison’s <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=qgtVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA427&dq=strychnine%2Bspirit&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU7_y25qHSAhVCv48KHaJyDJIQ6AEITDAJ#v=onepage&q=strychnine%2Bspirit&f=false"><em>New Remedies</em></a> (1839), strychnine is said to be extracted from the rectified spirit of wine. Both the Invisible Man and Emily Inglethorp suffered from insomnia. An admixture of diluted strychnine compounds acted as a cure for sleeplessness, in both cases, and thus as a spirit. </p>
<p>However, strychnine may not be the only spirit that inspired Christie’s first novel.</p>
<h2>Death by strychnine</h2>
<p>Strychnine was first isolated from the plant <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=GoAUn74q-k4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=strychnine&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false"><em>Strychnos nux vomica</em></a> in 1818, by French chemist <a href="https://global.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Bienaime-Caventou">Joseph Bienaimé Caventou</a>. </p>
<p>Its career as a poison is much shorter than that. “Having strychnine in your house today would be suspicious,” writes <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=FK2FCAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=agatha+christie%2Barchitecture&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEhdSs8Z7SAhXDqo8KHbDOBN4Q6AEIHzAB#v=onepage&q&f=false">Kathryn Harkup</a>, but it would not have been so back in 1920.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157961/original/image-20170222-6451-12iopbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157961/original/image-20170222-6451-12iopbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157961/original/image-20170222-6451-12iopbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157961/original/image-20170222-6451-12iopbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157961/original/image-20170222-6451-12iopbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157961/original/image-20170222-6451-12iopbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157961/original/image-20170222-6451-12iopbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157961/original/image-20170222-6451-12iopbx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jack the Ripper suspect Dr Thomas Neill Cream.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABC</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Strychnine acquired early celebrity in the hands of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Trial-Thomas-Neill-Cream-Cream/dp/1240074859">Dr Thomas Neill Cream</a>. Cream was executed in 1892 for the serial-strychnine-murders of women in Canada and Britain. Allegedly, his <a href="http://www.beachwoodreporter.com/people_places_things/meet_doctor_cream.php">last words</a> were, “I am Jack the…”</p>
<p>Inglethorp’s death was not so different from any of Cream’s victims. Christie writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The convulsions were of a violence terrible to behold … A final [one] lifted her from the bed, until she appeared to rest upon her head and her heels, with her body arched in an extraordinary manner.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>During her nursing-tenure at the <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=OFI7AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11&dq=agatha+christie%2Bdispensary%2Bnurse&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiE_J7Csp_SAhULNY8KHWVNAs8Q6AEIHzAB#v=onepage&q=agatha%20christie%2Bdispensary%2Bnurse&f=false">Torquay War Hospital</a>, at the time of the Great War, Christie had learned a great deal about chemicals, and conceived fabled prescription that led to Inglethorp’s death. </p>
<p>Accordingly, a mixture of potassium bromide added to strychnine sulfate left a <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=FK2FCAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=agatha+christie%2Barchitecture&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEhdSs8Z7SAhXDqo8KHbDOBN4Q6AEIHzAB#v=onepage&q&f=false">precipitate of the free alkali</a> to crystallise at the bottom of the container. Anyone consuming the crystallised grains of strychnine without shaking the contents ran the risk of instant cyanosis and asphyxiation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157922/original/image-20170222-6406-uvk9cx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157922/original/image-20170222-6406-uvk9cx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157922/original/image-20170222-6406-uvk9cx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157922/original/image-20170222-6406-uvk9cx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157922/original/image-20170222-6406-uvk9cx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157922/original/image-20170222-6406-uvk9cx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157922/original/image-20170222-6406-uvk9cx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Torquay War Hospital, Devon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">'The War in Agatha Christie’s Words,' BBC</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Did Christie really pick up the idea from a pharmacy textbook as her hero Hercule Poirot does in the novel? Or did she gather it from the <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=8bqEzPPp8xIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=empire+and+information&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjWn4Ll7rDSAhWCerwKHQGiAn4Q6AEIGTAA#v=onepage&q=empire%20and%20information&f=false">British Empire’s</a> “autonomous networks of social communicators”?</p>
<p><a href="http://archive.li/R1H6h">Ruskin Bond</a>, the Anglo-Indian author, believes she was inspired by the story of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ghosts-of-a-literary-indian-hill-station-that-haunt-the-writers-of-the-present-72852">British spiritualist</a>, murdered in India.</p>
<h2>‘S’ is for strychnine (and Savoy)</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/1040425/asp/look/story_3164476.asp">In the summer of 1911</a>, two British female spiritualists arrived in Musssoorie – <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ghosts-of-a-literary-indian-hill-station-that-haunt-the-writers-of-the-present-72852">an Indian hill-station</a> founded by the British in 1820s. </p>
<p>They stayed at the Savoy Hotel. Opened in 1902, the hotel had been built by an <a href="http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/savoy-brings-back-mussoories-lost-glory.html">Irish barrister from Lucknow</a>, Cecil D Lincoln. He gave the Savoy its spires, lancet-windows and Gothic architecture. The dining hall was varnished with flooring made of oak trunks. Billiard tables, grand pianos, cider and wine barrels, crates of champagne and Edwardian fixtures were <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1-s8AAAAMAAJ&q=savoy+hotel+oak+billiard+table+piano&dq=savoy+hotel+oak+billiard+table+piano&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y">lumbered up the mountain roads</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157929/original/image-20170222-6451-1jq243o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157929/original/image-20170222-6451-1jq243o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157929/original/image-20170222-6451-1jq243o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157929/original/image-20170222-6451-1jq243o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157929/original/image-20170222-6451-1jq243o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157929/original/image-20170222-6451-1jq243o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157929/original/image-20170222-6451-1jq243o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157929/original/image-20170222-6451-1jq243o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Savoy Hotel, Mussoorie, India.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ITC Fortune, Savoy, Mussoorie</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One of the two guests was a 49-year-old spinster, <a href="http://www.dailypioneer.com/vivacity/murder-at-savoy.html">Frances Garnett-Orme</a>. The other, Eva Mountstephen, her friend from Lucknow. Garnett-Orme was once engaged to a British officer from the United Provinces, who died before the wedding. In later life, she became a practitioner of séances and crystal-gazing, and sought to communicate with the dead. </p>
<p>One day Garnett-Orme was found dead upon her bed. The door of her room was locked from inside. Mountstephen had left for Lucknow that morning, but the facts of the case made her the prime suspect. Garnett-Orme’s autopsy revealed traces of prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) in her blood. </p>
<p>The poison was believed to have been administered through her bottle of sodium bicarbonate, possibly tampered with by someone close to her. Mountstephen was brought to trial at the <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/1040425/asp/look/story_3164476.asp">Allahabad High Court</a>, before Justices Rafiq and Tudball. Due to a lack of evidence against her, she was exonerated. Within a few months of the acquittal, the doctor who had carried out the deceased’s post-mortem was found poisoned to death by strychnine.</p>
<h2>The Ghosts of Savoy</h2>
<p>Today the hotel is a heritage property and is <a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030614/windows/site.htm">believed to be haunted</a>: the spirit of Garnett-Orme is said to still linger in the mansion.</p>
<p><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2003/may/11/news/adfg-indiahill11">Savoy’s Writer’s Bar</a>, which the <em>LA Times</em> describes as “where Britain’s colonial elite once toasted their empire in Victorian splendour,” was the setting for the unforeseen intertwining of histories. The bar hosted writers from Jim Corbett, to Lowell Thomas, to John Masters (the writer of Bhowani Junction, who served for the Gurkha Regiment at Dehra Dun) to the Nobel Laurate, Pearl S Buck. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157933/original/image-20170222-6413-9wkifb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157933/original/image-20170222-6413-9wkifb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157933/original/image-20170222-6413-9wkifb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157933/original/image-20170222-6413-9wkifb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157933/original/image-20170222-6413-9wkifb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157933/original/image-20170222-6413-9wkifb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157933/original/image-20170222-6413-9wkifb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157933/original/image-20170222-6413-9wkifb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ruskin Bond.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aleph Book Company</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The hotel’s guests, including Garnett-Orme, have left behind their echoes in the lobbies of the hotel. Their spirits are said to <a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/hotels/spirit-of-the-place/">haunt the place</a> in supernatural manifestations. Apart from historical personalities, the hotel is haunted by tourists throughout the year.</p>
<p>The real ghosts, <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=ryFl-XM8TJcC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=are+those+who+manage+to+slip+away+without+paying+for+their+drinks&source=bl&ots=nLzzUiFPtF&sig=dSvbZaz_C1s6UBzPaU1zhLxT7RU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjejZnj6qHSAhWMRo8KHQPvA8EQ6AEIHzAC#v=onepage&q=are%20those%20who%20manage%20to%20slip%20away%20without%20paying%20for%20their%20drinks&f=false">says Bond</a>, “are those who manage to slip away without paying for their drinks.” Garnett-Orme or Inglethorpe were certainly not those.</p>
<h2>The man who would be Poirot</h2>
<p>In 1913, when the trial in the Garnett-Orme case was underway, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/kipling_rudyard.shtml">Rudyard Kipling</a>, another Anglo-Indian author, came to know of it. Although Kipling had left India, by 1890, he continued to have his sources. He had acquaintances in one <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=7v-dBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT41&dq=doyle%2Bkipling%2Bmussoorie&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNnsb84LDSAhWDTbwKHZVzB_4Q6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=doyle%2Bkipling%2Bmussoorie&f=false">Allen family</a>, who told him about the case. They were owners of respectable newspapers and publications in which Kipling’s stories had appeared. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157930/original/image-20170222-6426-15dlh3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157930/original/image-20170222-6426-15dlh3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157930/original/image-20170222-6426-15dlh3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157930/original/image-20170222-6426-15dlh3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157930/original/image-20170222-6426-15dlh3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=852&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157930/original/image-20170222-6426-15dlh3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1070&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157930/original/image-20170222-6426-15dlh3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1070&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157930/original/image-20170222-6426-15dlh3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1070&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Portrait of Rudyard Kipling, by Joseph John Elliott & Clarence Edmund Fry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Kipling, by now a Nobel Laureate, pitched the idea to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/conan_sir_arthur_doyle.shtml">Sir Arthur Conan Doyle</a>, the creator of the resident of 221B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes. The scene is said to have occurred in the billard’s room of Doyle’s house, in Windlesham, Surrey, as confirmed by Peter Costello, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/conan-doyle-detective-peter-costello/1103235042">in the book</a> <em>Conan Doyle, Detective</em> (1991). </p>
<p>The sources Costello cites are the India Office documents and a <em>Times</em> report from October 1912. In some interpretations of the case, it appears that a <a href="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reviews-essays/murder-she-wrote/2">lover-doctor had administered the poison</a> into the lady’s bottle of cough-pills. </p>
<p>Bond later wrote a <a href="https://archive.org/stream/PotpourriRuskinBond/Potpourri%20-%20Ruskin%20Bond_djvu.txt">fictional narrative of the account</a>, <em>In a Crystal Ball: A Mussoorie Mystery</em> (2007). In the story, Kipling writes to Doyle, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There has been a murder in India … A murder by suggestion at Mussoorie … one of the most curious things in its line on record. Everything that is improbable and on the face of it impossible is in this case.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157931/original/image-20170222-6436-1x5vx8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157931/original/image-20170222-6436-1x5vx8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=792&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157931/original/image-20170222-6436-1x5vx8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=792&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157931/original/image-20170222-6436-1x5vx8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=792&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157931/original/image-20170222-6436-1x5vx8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=995&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157931/original/image-20170222-6436-1x5vx8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=995&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157931/original/image-20170222-6436-1x5vx8d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=995&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Portrait of Arthur Conan Doyle, by Walter Benington.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In real life, Doyle took great interest in India. A part of <em>The Sign of Four</em> was set in the Andaman Islands. Yet he refused to write a story on the case from Mussoorie, for “<a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=7v-dBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT41&dq=doyle%2Bkipling%2Bmussoorie&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNnsb84LDSAhWDTbwKHZVzB_4Q6AEIJTAC#v=onepage&q=doyle%2Bkipling%2Bmussoorie&f=false">the risk of libel</a>.” </p>
<p>And here a new theory intervenes. </p>
<p>Bond claims that the case was then passed on to Christie, who used the details for <em>The Mysterious Affair at Styles</em>, changing the setting to Essex. If this is true, the question arises whether the man who became Poirot, could well have been Holmes himself, had Doyle not declined the case.</p>
<p>Around the same time, Christie’s friend and neighbour, Eden Philpotts, had offered to help her with her novel, <em>Snow Upon the Desert</em>. He showed it to his literary agent. But Christie had no luck then. </p>
<p>Philpotts who was born in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, was familiar with the India that Kipling knew. <a href="http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reviews-essays/murder-she-wrote/2">Philpotts was also a friend of Doyle</a>. It is likely that he may have played the envoy for the passage of the case to Christie. </p>
<p>In the novel, Poirot tells Hastings, “a lady in England lost her life by taking a similar mixture,” as that which had poisoned Inglethorp. Poirot’s words are not his own, nor Christie’s. They were taken verbatim from Joseph Price Remington’s legendary treatise, <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=oahcEDJohIcC&pg=PA937&dq=a+lady+in+England+lost+her+life+by+taking+a+similar+mixture&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjExYiO46HSAhUhR48KHbW_DLoQ6AEIGzAA#v=snippet&q=lady%20in%20england&f=false"><em>The Practice of Pharmacy</em></a> (1886). </p>
<p>Remington’s book had been in circulation for over a decade and half, when Garnett-Orme was murdered. There is uncanny similarity in the way she died and the death that Remington’s describes. Later, Christie devised nearly the same death for Inglethorp. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157911/original/image-20170222-6426-16fjtxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157911/original/image-20170222-6426-16fjtxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157911/original/image-20170222-6426-16fjtxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157911/original/image-20170222-6426-16fjtxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157911/original/image-20170222-6426-16fjtxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157911/original/image-20170222-6426-16fjtxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157911/original/image-20170222-6426-16fjtxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157911/original/image-20170222-6426-16fjtxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">J.E.C.F. Harper & Co. Strychnine Advertisement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Life and Health</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Did Christie conceive the fatal formula in Torquay, indeed? Or was it after hearing of Garnett-Orme’s case from Philpotts? Did Remington’s book only serve to provide her the chemical solution to a murder that she had already plotted in her mind? </p>
<p>These questions are clouded beneath the mist of the Mussoorie hills. And they will remain so, until more details about the death of Garnett-Orme are unearthed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73326/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arup K Chatterjee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Hearing of a murder in an Indian hill station, Kipling discussed the case with Arthur Conan Doyle. Arguably, the case was passed on to Agatha Christie.Arup K Chatterjee, Assistant Professor of English, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/728522017-02-17T07:16:00Z2017-02-17T07:16:00ZThe ghosts of a literary Indian hill-station that haunt the writers of the present<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156842/original/image-20170214-19609-81hl6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The lychgate of the Camel's Back Road Cemetery.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/anne1/15280702594/">Anne_nz/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“All hill-stations have their share of ghost stories” writes journalist <a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/doon-dont/236310">Sheela Reddy</a>. “But the Doon must be the only spot that can boast of so many writers, living and dead, who have turned their home into their muse.”</p>
<p>The Doon is a quiet valley of hamlets in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is home to a nearly 200-year-old English literary tradition and many Victorian styled decaying structures. Of all its little townships, Mussoorie and Landour comprise what is <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/shikha-tripathi-on-the-mussoorie-writers-literary-festival/article7823049.ece">arguably the most fertile literary territory in the country</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/authors-bizmen-stars-idyllic-landour-is-home-to-them/story-09hhhoMJFm6Y9Afp2cYw8H.html">Well-known writers</a> from the valley include the legendary octogenarian author <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/250037">Ruskin Bond</a>; historian <a href="http://niyogibooksindia.com/portfolio-items/ganesh-saili/">Ganesh Saili</a>; Stephen Alter with his <a href="https://www.amazon.com/All-Way-Heaven-American-Himalayas/dp/0140285520">warmhearted recollections</a> of an American boyhood in the Indian hills and intrepid romances; the travel writer and spiritualist <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/book-review-bill-aitkens-seven-sacred-rivers/1/306467.html">Bill Aitken</a>; and the thespian-turned-essayist <a href="https://www.telegraphindia.com/1130120/jsp/calcutta/story_16463266.jsp#.WKMt6W997IU">Victor Banerji</a>.</p>
<p>Around the mid-1820s, Mussoorie became of the first sanatorium <a href="http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft396nb1sf&chunk.id=d0e6129&toc.id=&brand=ucpress">in British India</a>. It was established by <a href="http://mussooriegram.com/history-of-mussoorie-captain-frederick-young-east-india-company-1823/">Captain Frederick Young</a>, founder of the Sirmour Rifles regiment, who also <a href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/uttarakhand/community/malaria-potatoes-drove-british-to-this-unknown-place/170467.html">sowed the first potato seeds in the valley</a>. </p>
<p>While Rudyard Kipling seemed to be more partial towards <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/india/articles/Rudyard-Kiplings-India/">his beloved Simla</a>, Victorian writers such as Emily Eden, Fanny Parkes, John Lang and Andrew Wilson gave us numerous <a href="http://coldnoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Arup_K_Chatterjee_Mar13.pdf">literary and epistolary writings on Mussoorie</a>. </p>
<p>Most of them became characters in the ever-expanding folklore of the valley. Some turned into the endeared ghosts that are said to haunt the region.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156843/original/image-20170214-19598-a7vsge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156843/original/image-20170214-19598-a7vsge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156843/original/image-20170214-19598-a7vsge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156843/original/image-20170214-19598-a7vsge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156843/original/image-20170214-19598-a7vsge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156843/original/image-20170214-19598-a7vsge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156843/original/image-20170214-19598-a7vsge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rokeby Manor Gate in the snow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Hamilton/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The past and its apparitions</h2>
<p>From time to time, the Doon’s literary and historical legends emerge to posthumously assume the mantle of the guardian of the valley’s innermost secrets. And current-day writers have ensured that these secrets are well-preserved in the splurge of literature that the hill-station has produced in the past two decades.</p>
<p>In 1964, <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/books/mussoorie-remembers-first-australian-novelist-john-lang-who-stood-against-british-rule/story-OkaxIndRCikGX9baeGg0jI.html">Ruskin Bond discovered</a> the grave of John Lang in the Camel’s Back cemetery. Lang was an Anglo-Australian-Indian barrister, who had opposed the <a href="http://www.dailyo.in/arts/john-lang-the-lawyer-who-defeated-the-east-india-company/story/1/775.html">Doctrine of Lapse</a> in the Indian courts. </p>
<p>The Doctrine of Lapse was a policy of annexation promulgated by Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor General of India, which decreed that any Indian state whose ruler had either died without a male heir or was ruled by an incompetent leader would be annexed by the British Empire. Since the discovery of his grave, Lang has been a standard feature in the Doon’s literary musings.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156839/original/image-20170214-19589-1afnhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156839/original/image-20170214-19589-1afnhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156839/original/image-20170214-19589-1afnhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156839/original/image-20170214-19589-1afnhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156839/original/image-20170214-19589-1afnhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156839/original/image-20170214-19589-1afnhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156839/original/image-20170214-19589-1afnhp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">John Lang with Nana Saheb.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Illustration from Lang's book 'Wanderings in India and other sketches of life in Hindostan' (1858).</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another legendary character was Frederick (Pahari) Wilson, also known <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15835764-the-raja-of-harsil">as the Raja of Harsil</a> and his second wife, Gulabi. They are among the hill-station’s most recurrent ghosts. </p>
<p>In 1883, Wilson’s obituary in <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=qPfSCQAAQBAJ&lpg=PP1&dq=The%20Raja%20of%20Harsil%3A%20The%20Legend%20of%20Frederick%20%22Pahari%20Wilson%22&pg=PT263#v=onepage&q=pioneer&f=false">The Pioneer</a> described how he came to the valley:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Wilson] started from Calcutta, armed with five rupees and a gun on his long march to the Himalayas … He lived for many years by the sale of what he shot, and finally embarked on timber contracts in the forests … until he amassed a considerable fortune.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although he was not an author, he built the Wilson bridge over the Jadganga river, traces of which remain today. Kipling came in contact with Wilson, took a fancy for the legends surrounding him, and used his <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/an-english-raja-of-garhwal/article7018866.ece">biographical details</a> for his story, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/103086.The_Man_Who_Would_Be_King">The Man who Would be King</a>.</p>
<p>The ghosts of Gulabi and Pahari Wilson are said to still lurk in the Doon, largely owing to one of Bond’s supernatural stories, <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=a0cTje7jGXkC&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=pahari+wilson+gulabi+ghost&source=bl&ots=BhPN-m9Xjs&sig=-O7rRUE-WMCW1nOzeDsbBirYWRk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixwOz6ro3SAhXIPo8KHUyRATgQ6AEIOTAF#v=onepage&q=pahari%20wilson%20gulabi%20ghost&f=false">Wilson’s Bridge</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156768/original/image-20170214-25995-lersqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156768/original/image-20170214-25995-lersqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156768/original/image-20170214-25995-lersqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156768/original/image-20170214-25995-lersqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156768/original/image-20170214-25995-lersqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156768/original/image-20170214-25995-lersqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156768/original/image-20170214-25995-lersqx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sisters Bazaar in today’s Mussoorie.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Sisters_Bazaar_%285275305385%29.jpg">Paul Hamilton/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Young’s <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Mussoorie-founder-lies-forgotten-on-his-142nd-death-anniversary/articleshow/52429225.cms">ghost</a> is also an alleged regular at Mullingar flat. Today, Ganesh Saili and his family reside there. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mussoorie-Medley-Yesteryear-Ganesh-Saili/dp/8189738593">According</a> to Saili:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Young] astride a white horse arrives at the old Mullingar lodge, ties his steed to the remnants of the old wrought iron railing and … waits for the parade of Redcoats to begin.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Young, too, was an author of sorts. He may not have written anything but he helped build St. Peter’s Church and the area around the Sister’s Bazaar in Mussoorie, shaping the literary personality of the town.</p>
<h2>An unlikely architectural heritage</h2>
<p>Aside from ghosts, the other formal aspect of Doon’s literature is architecture. Writing about India’s hill-station buildings, <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=TNpeJWBT0fwC&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq=A+good+number+of+historical+monuments+are+famous,+more+because+of+the+proper+expositions+of+hoary+romance&source=bl&ots=ifmlobwB30&sig=sAfjS5LG8s1ihps8MniOSeUB7ME&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwipnYqqoo3SAhVLrI8KHQ1NAYQQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=A%20good%20number%20of%20historical%20monuments%20are%20famous%2C%20more%20because%20of%20the%20proper%20expositions%20of%20hoary%20romance&f=false">Giriraja Shah explains</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A good number of historical monuments are famous, more because of the proper exposition of hoary romance, antiquity and myths … than the visible splendour of art and architecture.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Buildings in the region’s writings seem to embody the ghosts themselves, a kind of <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=XxoiBQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=hauntology%2Bderrida&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiMoty4s43SAhWIKo8KHUM1C6kQ6AEIHjAB#v=onepage&q=hauntology&f=false"><em>hauntology</em></a>: where the literary landscape is a ghostly simulation of the lived space.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156771/original/image-20170214-25962-1d9jkww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156771/original/image-20170214-25962-1d9jkww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156771/original/image-20170214-25962-1d9jkww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156771/original/image-20170214-25962-1d9jkww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156771/original/image-20170214-25962-1d9jkww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156771/original/image-20170214-25962-1d9jkww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156771/original/image-20170214-25962-1d9jkww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Savoy Hotel, an iconic landmark in the Doon Valley, with its haunted corridors, and famed Writer’s Bar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/zedzap/14591171294">Nick Kenrick/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although Mussoorie’s buildings are offshoots of the Swiss-Gothic form - <a href="http://www.academia.edu/3671001/Picturing_Mountains_as_Hills_Hill_Station_Postcards_and_the_Tales_They_Tell">a style praised during colonial era in the Himalayas</a> – it certainly is not a place replete with architectural intricacies. The Savoy Hotel, the Mussoorie Library, Skinner’s Hall, and some other old buildings and the churches of the township do exhibit the usual spires, gables, dormers, balustrades, pilasters, Glasgow-built lampposts, and colonnades. But these features are not as architectural as the state of disrepair itself in which the buildings find themselves.</p>
<p>The renowned architect-turned-scholar Bernard Tschumi, once gave an “Advertisement for Architecture” with an old photograph of the Villa Savoye, <a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=4dCOAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA25&dq=The+most+architectural+thing+about+this+building+is+the+state+of+decay+in+which+it+is&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5g5brtY3SAhXKtI8KHSQaC0AQ6AEIHjAB#v=onepage&q=The%20most%20architectural%20thing%20about%20this%20building%20is%20the%20state%20of%20decay%20in%20which%20it%20is&f=false">with the caption</a>: “The most architectural thing about this building is the state of decay in which it is.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156844/original/image-20170214-19609-cjg1vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156844/original/image-20170214-19609-cjg1vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156844/original/image-20170214-19609-cjg1vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156844/original/image-20170214-19609-cjg1vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156844/original/image-20170214-19609-cjg1vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156844/original/image-20170214-19609-cjg1vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/156844/original/image-20170214-19609-cjg1vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Above Bothwell Bank.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Hamilton/Flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In literature, as also in reality, Mussoorie and Landour live in a state of aesthetic decay. </p>
<p>The names of their houses invoke a landscape set in a parallel timezone. Mullingar, Zephyr Lodge, Companybagh, Cloud End, Tipperary, Killarney, Shamrock Cottage, Scottsburn, Connaught Castle, Hampton Court, or those borrowed from Sir Walter Scott’s novels such as Kenilworth, Ivanhoe, and Rokeby (the last now converted into a pleasure resort, keeping intact the stony façade of a castle).</p>
<p>Landour preserves the memory of those Anglo-Indian spirits that refuse to acknowledge their extinction. Tourists are seduced by the town’s literary ghosts. And every once in a while, an ordinary night’s peace is disrupted by the purportedly paranormal interventions of a dead <em>memsahib</em> such as the spiritualist, Frances Garnett-Orme. </p>
<p>Her ghost is said to linger in the valley or the corridors of the Savoy Hotel, where she was <a href="https://scroll.in/article/812971/the-ghosts-of-the-savoy-the-mussoorie-murder-mystery-that-inspired-agatha-christies-first-novel">allegedly poisoned to death, over a hundred years ago</a>.</p>
<p>We might wonder whether the hauntings at Landour have any experiential element or are simply practical fictions conceived amid the solitude of the hills. As <a href="http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/-i-m-a-writer-without-regrets-/1039045/0">Ruskin Bond candidly stated</a>, “when I run out of relatives, I invent ghosts.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arup K Chatterjee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Are the the hauntings at Landour just practical fictions amidst the solitude of the hills?Arup K Chatterjee, Assistant Professor of English, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/727142017-02-15T23:48:19Z2017-02-15T23:48:19ZCan the United Nations adapt to Donald Trump?<p>On January 1, 2017, Antonio Guterres began his <a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/01/01/Guterres-calls-for-peace-on-first-day-as-new-UN-secretary-general/3731483303428/">five-year term</a> as United Nations Secretary-General; 19 days later, Donald Trump began <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/16/happens-next-donald-trumps-inauguration-first-100-days-new-us/">his own term</a> as President of the United States. </p>
<p>Guterres got off to a smooth start – professional and low-key, almost invisible in the media. The beginning of Trump’s term has been dogged by scandal, making front pages every day in <a href="http://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/donald-trumps-first-100-days">every newspaper</a>. </p>
<p>That’s not the only difference. The new American president’s isolationism and protectionism goes against everything that the UN is about: <a href="https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/thinkpieces/22_thinkpiece_trade.pdf">openness, free trade, international cooperation</a>. Some of Trump’s <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/30/british-dual-citizens-will-now-allowed-travel-us-boris-johnson/">statements</a> – that torture works, that refugees should be denied entry, that Muslims should be subject to extreme vetting – contradict principles globally accepted by the United Nations 70 years ago. </p>
<p>Trump has called the UN an organisation where people “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/12/28/trump-re-ups-criticism-of-united-nations-saying-its-causing-problems-not-solving-them/?utm_term=.7feabb3490e4">just talk and have a good time</a>”, like a businessman who eschews one big corporation and switches his deals to its competition. </p>
<p>This isn’t how international relations works, and Trump’s oft-changing, emotion-driven statements have not only raised eyebrows – they are also deteriorating US relations with various countries, including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/15/china-warns-trump-that-taiwan-policy-is-non-negotiable">China</a>, <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/30/512438879/7-targeted-countries-react-to-trumps-ban-on-immigration">Muslim and Arab nations</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-enrique-pena-nieto-mexico-phone-call-humiliating-threatening-2017-2">Mexico</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/us/politics/us-australia-trump-turnbull.html?_r=0">Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Concerns about the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/russia-intelligence-communications-trump.html">close relationship</a> between the Trump administration and Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and Trump’s changing views on the need for NATO have produced <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38014997">waves of anger and fear</a> in Ukraine, the Baltic States and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. </p>
<p>After only a few weeks the “America first” policy has put America last in terms of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/demonstrationsand-apprehension-mark-worlds-response-to-trumps-inauguration/2017/01/20/6f1f2dc2-dce4-11e6-918c-99ede3c8cafa_story.html">global respect</a>. </p>
<p>Donald Trump in the White House might be the biggest challenge the UN has ever faced, and it puts Guterres in a very delicate position. A cozy relationship with Trump will make Guterres seem a spineless Secretary General, mocked by many member-states. But confrontation with the US will impoverish and isolate the UN, upsetting both the international civil service and UN member-states. </p>
<p>What’s a secretary-general to do?</p>
<h2>A difficult relationship</h2>
<p>Guterres is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/world/americas/united-nations-un-antonio-guterres.html">an experienced and diplomatic dealmaker</a> who previously ran the UN’s High Commission on Refugees. He was prime minister of Portugal from 1995–2002.</p>
<p>These prior posts give him confidence in his leadership and ensure that he not only knows the world very well but is also fully aware of what it takes to efficiently manage a large international organisation. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/after-trashing-the-un-trump-has-a-very-positive-talk-with-un-secretary-general-guterres-2017-1">Both Trump and Guterres</a> would like to see a more efficient, better managed and less costly United Nations. So if Guterres can create an image of himself as <a href="http://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/syndication/think-tanks/877-huge-challenges-ahead-for-new-un-chief-antonio-guterres">a reformist</a>, open to do business differently and non-ideologically, he may find a way to work with Trump. </p>
<p>Cutting unnecessary expenditures, reducing the number of special representatives and working quietly on issues such as anti-corruption, action on <a href="https://theconversation.com/leaked-report-details-un-peacekeepers-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-39004">sexual abuse by peacekeepers</a>, the protection of whistle-blowers and independent oversight will earn sympathy from Washington. </p>
<p>The new US Permanent Representative to the UN, Nikki Haley, met Guterres twice in her first week in office, and <a href="http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/21100/why-guterres-and-haley-are-set-to-become-the-u-n-s-odd-couple">her appeal for peacekeeping reform</a> – a major plank in Guterres’ own campaign for the job – may get support. </p>
<p>Guterres is also operating from a position of relative strength vis-a-vis the US president. His victory as UN chief was <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-37566898">solid and steady</a>, without serious competition from any other candidates. As a result, he managed to avoid making deals with member states to support him in exchange for economic aid and or high posts. </p>
<p>It is important to note that Guterres has won applause for immediately appointing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/15/next-un-chief-names-three-women-to-senior-posts">three women</a> to top posts (appeasing many who protested the fact that the UN would again be led by a man).</p>
<p>Such widespread support will allow Guterres to remain relatively free from internal pressures. This means he does not really need to kow-tow to Donald Trump. </p>
<p>By the time Guterres begins thinking about a second term in five years – effectively his only reason to be beholden to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, which includes the US – there may well be a different American leader.</p>
<p>And bowing to Trump may lead Gutteres to lose face in front of some of those whom he will need votes from to be re-elected. </p>
<h2>Bon ton and understanding</h2>
<p>Instead, Guterres can capitalise on his wisdom, knowledge and experience, filling the gaps in global governance that Trump creates with <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/31/trumps-grand-strategic-train-wreck/">his antagonistic and ill-advised foreign policy</a>. In contrast to Trump, who might shout and offend, Guterres can offer what the French call <em>bon ton</em>, understanding and reasonableness in the coming years. </p>
<p>This scenario is nearly opposite to that of 25 years ago, when US president Bill Clinton acted as <a href="http://millercenter.org/president/biography/clinton-foreign-affairs">an intelligent global mediator</a> to UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s <a href="http://observer.com/1999/06/the-undiplomatic-diplomat-boutrosghalis-un-memoir/">narcissism and arrogance</a>. </p>
<p>Already, Guterres has set up <a href="http://blogs.ft.com/the-world/2016/10/guterres-has-a-delicate-path-to-tread-at-the-un/">a plan of action</a> for his mandate. He will support the efforts of the Security Council’s permanent member on counter-terrorism and ISIS, on sanctions, non-proliferation and North Korea while he, as secretary-general, will lead efforts to prevent conflicts, mitigate climate change, eliminate poverty and pursue other items from <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld">the 2030 Agenda</a>. </p>
<p>This is a good division of labour, in which the UN focuses on prevention and the kind of “soft” security issues it is well suited to, while Trump, Putin, Theresa May and the next French president deal with “hard” security issues such as Syria, Iran and North Korea. </p>
<p>It may also help the world better understand what the UN <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/world/africa/un-peacekeepers-south-sudan-massacre.html">can and cannot do</a> and stop <a href="https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmdfence/writev/intervention/int10.htm">blaming it inappropriately</a>, for the Syrian catastrophe, for example, and also make clear what the major powers can and should do. </p>
<h2>The climate change and human rights challenges</h2>
<p>Two major tests for Guterres during the Trump presidency will be climate change and human rights. </p>
<p>Climate change is a serious concern, which <a href="http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/09/15/unpolluted-of-world-citizens-rank-climate-change-dead-last-as-concern-16th-out-of-16/">many, including Donald Trump, still fail to take seriously</a>. In the 21st century, climate change has taken<a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/77"> many more victims</a> than headline-grabbing terrorist attacks. </p>
<p>It is disturbing that the most powerful office in the world is in the hands of someone who considers global warming to be a <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/03/hillary-clinton/yes-donald-trump-did-call-climate-change-chinese-h/">Chinese “hoax”</a>. He has also installed as head of the US Environmental Protection Agency a <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-picks-top-climate-skeptic-to-lead-epa-transition/">well known climate sceptic</a>, threatened to withdraw from <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/01/30/donald-trump-paris-agreement-climate-change-withdraw/">multilateral climate agreements</a> and <a href="http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/31100/20161103/trump-administration-cancel-billions-payment-uns-green-climate-fund.htm">cancelled</a> payments to the Green Climate Fund. </p>
<p>If Trump follows through on these threats, he will almost certainly provoke a backlash from China and other developing countries, including India, which ratified <a href="http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php">the Paris climate agreement</a> with the understanding that they would receive financing and technology from rich nations. </p>
<p>Guterres has to mobilize UN member-states to fill the gap left by Trump. Paradoxically, the Chinese, so unfairly accused by Trump of “inventing” climate change, are the ones who can show <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/11/15/china-is-now-the-global-leader-in-climate-change-reform/">a global example</a> on how to mitigate the CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and invest in renewable energy. They may prove a strong partner in UN’s efforts to save the environment.</p>
<p>Human rights is <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/314329-human-rights-org-lists-trump-as-threat-to-human-rights">the other potential big victim</a> of the Trump presidency. </p>
<p>Trump’s assertions that “<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/donald-trump-torture-waterboarding/">torture works</a>” have not only put America back 250 years before the <a href="http://oll.libertyfund.org/quote/208"><em>Cesare Beccaria</em></a> pronounced torture to be cruel and barbaric. They also serve as green lights for tyrants and torturers around the world <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2017/01/05/watching-trump-many-fear-leap-backward-torture/wQv1dDdk4jNTL6Yn0lrt1O/story.html">to violate human rights</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, the proposed (but thus far <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/09/politics/travel-ban-9th-circuit-ruling-immigration/">constitutionally blocked</a>) ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries entering the US is not just an American problem. It recalls the dark ages of religious discrimination, stokes <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-executive-order-immigration-reaction/">enormous global tensions</a> and creates grounds for xenophobia, terrorism and more conflicts. </p>
<p>Women’s and girls’ rights are also now in jeopardy around the world. Trump and his vice-president have taken a strong anti-abortion stance and even re-issued <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/23/opinions/global-gag-rule-backlash-garrett/">a global gag rule</a> prohibiting international health providers that receive US funding from even talking to patients about abortion. </p>
<p>China will not come to the rescue on human rights. Guterres will probably have to rely on European and Latin American member states to keep the UN machinery working and find a way to act as the global guardian of the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/">international norms and principles</a> that have sought to safeguard human rights around the world since 1948.</p>
<p>On both climate change and human rights, strong leadership by Guterres could irk Trump, who would see him posing as a moral global leader. Guterres will also need to work with the US to secure funding and support. Still, it is likely he will have to confronts Trump at times when the president’s statements or policies undermine international law and order. </p>
<p>Failure to speak truth to power when necessary will lose Guterres, and the UN, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/27/donald-trump-existential-threat-united-nations">the respect of much of the world</a>. </p>
<h2>Mutual concern</h2>
<p>To avoid confrontation and seek constructive cooperation, Guterres could pursue issues of mutual concern, for example peacekeeping, combating drug trafficking and human trafficking.</p>
<p>He should also try to properly frame critical issues in ways that resonate with reasonable people in Trump administration. On climate change, for instance, Guterres can attempt to formulate opportunities that renewable energy would present for job creation and innovation, including in the US.</p>
<p>Guterres may search for a cooperative approach to peacekeeping and conflict prevention, presenting them as burden-sharing exercises in line with, rather than in opposition to, US national interests. Because UN peacekeeping is <a href="http://psm.du.edu/media/documents/congressional_comm/house_foreign_affairs/us_house_foreign_affairs_hearing_june_13_2007.pdf">eight times less expensive</a> than the comparable US forces needed to do the same job, there’s a good economic argument to be made to the businessman sitting in the Oval Office for his continued UN investment.</p>
<p>Even if the US <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/28/opinions/us-un-relations-patrick-opinion/">delays</a> paying its budgetary contributions to the UN, Guterres can use this as a leverage to push for reducing bureaucracy and structural reforms.</p>
<p>It is in Guterres’s interests to learn to adapt to Trump. Boutros-Ghali could not work with Washington even when the administration was multilateralism-friendly. He <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/07/24/un-controversy-over-boutros-ghali-heats-up/cce7b9fc-d9cc-4f3a-ad6b-72bf2b2bdb57/?utm_term=.0f96142cc74c">lost</a> his second term, but more importantly, the weakened UN was unable to respond to the massacres in <a href="https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/201/39240.html">Rwanda</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/16/world/un-details-its-failure-to-stop-95-bosnia-massacre.html">Srebrenica</a>. Those failures continue to haunt the instituion today.</p>
<p>Kofi Annan, on the other hand, proved able to survive the time of US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, and will be remembered for standing up for the norms and principles of his organisation. Ban Ki-Moon was “lucky” with Obama and the made did some good progress, for example on mobilising global efforts during <a href="http://www.law.georgetown.edu/oneillinstitute/resources/documents/Briefing10Ebola2inTemplate.pdf">the Ebola crisis</a>, and reaching global agreements on <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/09/27/remarks-president-sustainable-development-goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/us/politics/obama-climate-change.html">climate change</a>. </p>
<p>Will Guterres be remembered one day as the saviour of the UN during Trump? Only time will tell, but one thing is sure: his task won’t be an easy one.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72714/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vesselin Popovski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most of Trump’s positions go against the principles accepted by the United Nations. The new Secretary-General will have to try to find areas of mutual concern to work with the new US administration.Vesselin Popovski, Professor and Vice Dean and Executive Director, Centre for the Study of United Nations, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/661762016-10-03T06:07:28Z2016-10-03T06:07:28ZThe unfinished reform of selecting the United Nations secretary general<p>The impending appointment of a new United Nations secretary general provides an excellent opportunity to address some of the shortcomings in current processes – but the Security Council may not be totally on board. </p>
<p>First, the good news: the selection of a new UN secretary general in 2016 has proceeded in a much more transparent manner than ever before. </p>
<p>But by rejecting two important proposals – that it recommend more than one final candidate to the General Assembly, and consider a single non-renewable term of seven years – the Security Council has effectively nullified the effect of all the other innovations. This part, as you will see, is not so good.</p>
<h2>A campaign for a better selection process</h2>
<p>In early 2015, a highly respected group known as <a href="http://theelders.org/">The Elders</a> issued a document titled <a href="http://theelders.org/un-fit-purpose">A UN fit for purpose</a> at the Munich Security Conference. </p>
<p>It suggested, among other things, that the choice of the next secretary general should not be made behind closed doors by the five permanent members of the Security Council. Instead, it recommended an open search for the most qualified candidates, irrespective of region or gender. </p>
<p>The Elders’s document also suggested that the new secretary general would be more independent if the Security Council chose more than candidate and extended her or his term. Citing <a href="http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/">the integrity provisions of the UN Charter</a>, it condemned the practice of offering member-states high-level posts in return for selection support, noting that it seriously undermined the UN’s reputation. </p>
<p>This triggered the launch of a campaign called <a href="http://www.1for7billion.org/">1 for 7 Billion</a>, which developed seven proposals to improve the selection: a dialogue with the candidates; clear selection criteria; more than one candidate to be recommended by the Security Council to the General Assembly; a longer non-renewable term; gender equality; a formal and clear timeline; and no bargaining for posts.</p>
<p>Many UN states supported these proposals, most notably the <a href="http://centerforunreform.org/sites/default/files/FACT%20SHEET%20ACT%20June%202015.pdf">Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group</a>, which comprises 27 small and mid-sized countries, and <a href="http://csstc.org/">the Non-Aligned Movement</a>, which has 120 members and 15 observers. </p>
<p>In December 2015, the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly sent a letter to all member states requesting that they nominate candidates with: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>proven leadership and managerial abilities, extensive experience in international relations, strong diplomatic, communication and multilingual skills. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the end, 12 candidates – six women and six men – were nominated, and their CVs and vision statements were <a href="http://www.un.org/pga/71/sg/">posted on the UN website</a>. Between April and June 2016, the General Assembly conducted informal dialogues with all of them. </p>
<p>Today, out of the initial 12 nominees, three have dropped out and another has joined, leaving <a href="http://www.1for7billion.org/candidates/">ten candidates in the race</a> (five men and five women).</p>
<h2>Gender and regional rotation</h2>
<p>The nomination of an equal number of men and women for the post was a significant milestone. Over the past 70 years, only three times have women ever been proposed as candidates. </p>
<p>In 1952, the Soviet Union put forward <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vijaya-Lakshmi-Pandit">Lakshmi Pandit</a> of India among four candidates from developing countries. In 1991, the Norwegian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gro-Harlem-Brundtland">Gro Bruntland</a> was proposed, but all agreed that it was time for an African to lead the UN. </p>
<p>In 2006, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vaira-Vike-Freiberga">Vaire Vike-Freiberga</a>, ex-president of Latvia, was nominated by the Baltic states, but she also fell victim to regional rotation, as Asian countries demanded to have a go. </p>
<p>By the logic of the informal principle of regional rotation, it’s now Eastern Europe’s turn. Not surprisingly, eight out of the 12 candidates in the original selection period came from that region. But the candidate who is coming first so far is not Eastern European. The former Portuguese prime minister and UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/29/antonio-guterres-united-nations-secretary-general">won a set of straw polls</a> between July 21 and September 26, without behind-closed-doors deals. </p>
<p>Guterres presented a very strong vision statement and addressed the General Assembly in April confidently. Having experience of UN circles, he knows the system well and has the right contacts in New York and, critically, in most of the capitals of the 15-member Security Council.</p>
<p>Non-permanent members of the Security Council have supported Guterres, at the same time as discouraging the favourite candidates of the five permanent members. If he wins the secretary general race, it may well be welcomed by the rest of the world as a symbolic victory against the tricks and intrigues of the Security Council’s permanent members. </p>
<p>More clarity will come on October 5 with the introduction of colour-coded ballots, with the permanent council members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — using one colour. If any candidate receives a “discourage” from a permanent member, that will clearly signal lack of support.</p>
<h2>More than one</h2>
<p>Even if 2016 marks a first step in the right direction – having resulted in some clearer criteria on, for example, gender equity in candidate lists – the UN still has a long way to go in modernising the process leading to the nomination of the secretary general. </p>
<p>The Elders’ more-than-one-candidate proposal is the most important innovation to have emerged in this cycle. The argument against it is that a vote in the General Assembly could be divisive, and that if the new secretary general won 55%-45%, she or he would end up starting the job with support of only 55% of member-states. </p>
<p>This is preposterous. In the past, the secretary general has started day one in the role not with 55% support, but considerably less: only the 15 states on the Security Council have historically even known who he was.</p>
<p>There’s no need to cheer a new secretary general in the way North Koreans cheer their leaders. And indeed, new Secretaries General would feel more confident of their mandate if selected by 100 member states in the General Assembly, rather than by the five main Security Council members (the ten rotating members usually obey the permanent ones). </p>
<p>A vote in the General Assembly may be divisive, but it will allow the new secretary general to act as a unifier. She or he can ameliorate the situation by, for example, appointing the runner-up as deputy. </p>
<p>Most importantly, the more-than-one-candidate idea would have brilliantly solved all other issues, such as gender, regional rotation and bargaining for posts, thus perfectly materialising the dreams of the Elders. It could have left the General Assembly to decide between a woman and a man as final candidates from two different continents, safeguarding the Security Council from criticisms of having neglected a good candidate due to gender or region. </p>
<p>Nor would proposing two candidates to the General Assembly reduce the Security Council’s powers. Its five permanent members can still exercise all vetting options, remove unwanted candidates, and end up with two names that are equally acceptable to them. </p>
<p>Most importantly, the more-than-one-candidate idea would make unsavoury bargains more difficult. If candidates need to offer favours to 193 states instead of 15, they would probably eschew bribing altogether, and focus instead on quality. </p>
<h2>Single, longer term</h2>
<p>The opponents of the single, longer, non-renewable term also make a flawed argument saying, if we end up with a good candidate, why should we limit to seven years? They often raise the example of Kofi Annan, considered by many to have been a great secretary general who was selected through the old methods. </p>
<p>Well, first of all, one cannot be lucky every time. And I would question why, in the opposite scenario, the five permanent Security Council members were so cynical in not only keeping <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/14/world/europe/14iht-waldheim.3.6141106.html?_r=0">Kurt Waldheim</a> for two terms as secretary general, but also in strongly supporting him for an unprecedented third term in 1981, despite global opposition. </p>
<p>The Chinese, who opposed his second term in 1976, had to use their veto <a href="http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/03/Kurt-Waldheim-repeatedly-blocked-by-Chinas-vetoes-asked-Thursday/4809376203600/">16 times</a> to finally remove him from the UN Headquarters as his Nazi past was exposed.</p>
<p>At this point, the Security Council should not be worried about finding a replacement seven years from now. Precisely because the new selection process is so open and allows for the consideration of a long list of strong candidates, there will always be a similarly well-qualified, if not better, candidate to choose from in 2024. </p>
<p>But it’s worth noting that longer non-renewable terms have been applied with remarkable success in various international organisations and tribunals.</p>
<p>The chance that the Security Council will adopt the recommended changes is, at this point, minimal. </p>
<p>What the General Assembly can do next time, though, is take a stand against favours and reiterate the progress made towards transparency. The General Assembly should inform the Security Council that it will refuse to approve anybody, if given only one name to rubber-stamp.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66176/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vesselin Popovski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The UN has adopted a more transparent process to select its new Secretary General. But it does not go far enough.Vesselin Popovski, Professor and Vice Dean and Executive Director, Centre for the Study of United Nations, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/426802015-06-02T20:04:08Z2015-06-02T20:04:08ZModi diplomacy a clarion call for Australian state premiers<p>Since he took office in May 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he favours Indian states partnering with those in the international arena in order to promote India’s interests abroad.</p>
<p>While this is a new approach in India’s foreign policy, Modi cannot be credited for inventing this wheel.</p>
<p>Promotion of “local interests” overseas by sub-national units has become a global phenomenon. Sub-national governments – both state and municipal - in the Western world have long fostered sister-city and sister-state ties. Japanese and Chinese sub-national governments have vigorously pursued their economic and cultural interests through trade linkages, cultural exchanges and scientific cooperation through sister-state relationships.</p>
<p>Australian states too have pursued their own economic interests overseas. Just last week, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-26/substantial-deals-struck-during-sa-trade-mission-to-china/6499302">led a 200-plus delegation</a> to China.</p>
<p>Some sub-national governments even pursue policies independently of their national governments such as Quebec in Canada. Others have represented their local interests by taking a different stance from their national governments. Okinawa Prefecture in Japan, for example, has pursued its own local position in Washington independent of the policy stance held by the national government on the deployment of US troops in Japan.</p>
<p>In contrast, Indian states have been largely inactive in their international engagement, even in non-controversial areas such as trade and cultural exchanges.</p>
<h2>Made in India, by the states</h2>
<p>As the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi was only a handful of chief ministers who recognised the importance of connecting states to foreign countries in the pursuit of trade and investment. Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh has been another internationally active chief minister in India. Both reportedly succeeded in attracting trade and investment to their states from foreign sources, adding to their states’ prosperity. Hard statistical evidence is difficult to obtain but visits to these states by leaders such as President Bill Clinton and President Xi Jinping suggests they’re regarded as important destinations for trade and investment.</p>
<p>The successful <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrant_Gujarat">“Vibrant Gujarat”</a> biennial investors summit has seen states such as Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal follow suit with summits aimed at acquiring foreign investment.</p>
<p>Modi is now trying to institutionalise and strengthen such Centre-State partnerships, leveraging states to promote his “Make in India” vision, which also stands to benefit their economic development. Prior to Modi’s recent China visit, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was chosen by the Ministry of External Affairs to lead an Indian delegation, a move previously unthinkable.</p>
<p>Two chief ministers – Anandiben Patel from Gujarat and Devendra Fadnavis from Maharashtra accompanied Modi to China. The <a href="http://www.ndtv.com/cheat-sheet/24-agreements-signed-between-india-and-china-during-pm-modis-visit-763246">chief ministers met Chinese provincial leaders</a> and potential investors, but also joined the India-China State and Provincial Leaders Forum, which act as a dialogue forum between governors of Chinese provinces and chief ministers of Indian states. Beyond simply enhancing economic ties, the forum aims at strengthening people to people contact and establishing cultural and educational ties.</p>
<p>Similar sub-national linkages were made when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India in September 2014, including an agreement for a sister state-province partnership between Gujarat and Guangdong, and a sister city partnership agreement between Ahmedabad and Guangzhou.</p>
<h2>Australian opportunities</h2>
<p>While Australian states have pursued their own interests overseas, their engagement with Indian states remains rather weak. It’s time for Australian states to think seriously about linking themselves with Indian states, as they have done with Japan, China and a number of European and North American states and provinces.</p>
<p>Diplomacy in the twenty-first century no longer starts and ends in national capital cities, nor is it the sole preserve of national leaders and national diplomats. Modi is the first Indian prime minister to recognise it and has taken the first few steps to partner with Indian states and cities in promoting his global engagement agenda.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Read the other articles in our “Modi one year on” series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/modi-one-year-on">here.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Purnendra Jain receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tridivesh Singh Maini does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Following in the footpath of China, India is seeking new state to state tie-ups. Australia should answer the call.Purnendra Jain, Professor, Asian Studies, University of AdelaideTridivesh Singh Maini, Senior Research Associate, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/421772015-05-31T20:06:35Z2015-05-31T20:06:35ZModi’s politics of hope: aligning democracy with relentless growth<p>Before Narendra Modi swept to power a little over a year ago, there had never been such excitement about the formation of a government in India, nor an eager anticipation of its anniversary. </p>
<p>Indeed, there was a lot at stake. Modi’s campaign was not only about setting expectations for sweeping economic policy change, lifting the country out of the proverbial policy paralysis. It was also an opportunity to test various hypotheses about Indian politics, morality and society, and the new model of the politics of hope. </p>
<p>After the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Gujarat_riots">Gujarat riot</a>, accusing fingers were pointed at Modi. The <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303380004579520041301275638">denial of a visa</a> by foreign countries, including the US, added to his humiliation. He would soon launch a campaign to makeover his tainted image: the new Modi was a man of action and delivery, growth and governance. </p>
<p>What this PR campaign actually experimented with is whether Indians would accept the proposition that personal welfare and national development are more important than the ethics of coexistence and the security of human life. It was a call to erase certain elements of the past, and march towards a future where particular social identities would be irrelevant. </p>
<p>The political commentators of liberal and critical ilk secretly longed for such a possibility and imported the concept of “aspirational society”. The more critical ones might have added the caveat of risk to it. Nevertheless the diagnosis was universal. The bane of India was its identity politics — the politics of affirmative action and appeasement, which perverted the modern norms of efficiency and merit. The institutional structure was corrupt and moribund, with layers of intermediate rent seekers, which distorted the rational allocation of social and economic resources. Bottlenecks along the chain of production and distribution led to the scarcity of resources and jacked up the base prices. If aspirations guide us, then we would agree to the expansion of the market and the smooth supply of inputs, which would create opportunities to fulfil those aspirations. It was a call to change our orientation to the future. </p>
<p>The massification of Indian democracy over the last three decades was predicated on the recognition of historical fault lines of society and the consequent discrimination, exclusion and humiliation of marginalised groups. The leitmotif was participation in politics, making institutions inclusive and becoming empowered in that process. The Left sought distribution of land and welfare goods, whereas the Dalits and Other Backward Classes wanted to use the instrumental power of the state to change the institutional arrangement, exit from traditional occupations and seek amity in social relationships, which formed the foundation of social justice. Taken together, these were demand-driven, here-and-now politics, with a historical rear-view mirror in the front. </p>
<h2>Capturing the aspirations of the people</h2>
<p>The parallel liberalisation of the Indian economy in early 1990s put a spanner to this democratic development. It created a condition where these distributive demands looked less attractive than sharing the spoils of economic growth. The instrumentality of the state became much more powerful in distorting the market and creating cronyism than re-aligning social relationships and changing institutional practices. Instead of widespread distribution, a section of the backward groups or certain dominant groups within the marginalised benefited from the expansion and distortion of the market, creating new internal fault lines. Many smaller groups on the wrong side of these fault lines were successfully drafted onto Modi’s ship.</p>
<p>This lure of economic growth perfectly converged with the logic of electoral democracy. </p>
<p>Elections are an exercise in weighing the collective strength of a group, but it is also a frame for fantasising collectively and offering promises. The politics of hope is assembled around this frame. Unlike the older conservatism, this is a politics without any enemy. Its adversaries are the institutions and policies which impede the movement of the capital and mobility of the individual. It is a politics based on the individual, who would be liberated from the number game of coalition politics and the attendant Shylockian bargains that India had seen in the recent past. It displaced the concept of merit by competency, a more pedestrian and tangible concept. If merit has a ring of inherited privilege or divine gift, then competency is something that accrues through learning and perseverance – a chaiwala (tea seller) can aspire to become the prime minister. </p>
<p>The new egalitarianism would be based on universalising the opportunities for becoming competent, which develop capacities to participate in the market. Modi’s campaign projected such a “positive” and youthful program. At the strategic level, it not only drafted the rebel and dismayed marginalised groups, but surreptitiously continued with its communal politics and deployed its orthodox religious wings to mobilise its traditional voters. The emphatic electoral victory of Modi has proved the hypothesis that identity politics is under stress and a new pan-Indianism has emerged. </p>
<h2>Hope floats</h2>
<p>One year into Modi’s five-year term the dominant feeling is “meh” rather than “wow”. The turbo reboot of the economy never took place, rather older policies are being repackaged and recycled. But it would be wrong to read this disappointment as despair. If Modi’s accelerationist politics of hope looks implausible with the continuation of global economic gloom and internal resistances, then it would survive in its populist form. </p>
<p>The populist politics of hope shares the same egalitarian thrust — moving away from problematising historic social identities. It propounds a new and paradoxical social justice. Instead of focusing on the individual, it brings back the “social” in the calculation of justice, but does not promise to change social relationships. It promises the dream of a dignified life, in whose search people migrate to the cities. At the minimal level, it assures survival in the city with impunity. The populist politics of hope shares the same urban-as-the-future imagination with its accelerationist big brother. A few radicals might still dream of encircling the cities with villages, but the urban has already become omnipresent.</p>
<p>This range of politics of hope is powerful. If the accelerationist variant tries to actualise a fantasy, the populist one creates a realistic possibility.</p>
<p>For the new populism, it is no longer true that the basic needs of the people must be secured first, and after that distribution of affluent goods can be considered. For populists, people are not poor, they need not gradually come out of the waiting room of history. They are “common”, a simulated sense of equality is created, and from that position, they have equal right to claim colour televisions, laptops, and free wifi along with subsidised rice, water and electricity. </p>
<p>The politics of hope returns a flickering sense of humanity, a sense of belonging, by making available a range of goods. It considers consumerism as a reality and does not make a value judgement on commonly lived life; hope touches desire. This then forms the ground to extract the consent to expand the market economy. </p>
<p>Once the accelerationist and populist politics of hope propels the country on a futuristic plane, they make the Left and the radicals look like a melancholic, rear-guard and stagnant force, denying them a possibility to represent the nation as such. The latter are strategically pushed to become localised and site-specific resistance mobilisations, converting them into a moral voice against underconsumption and underdevelopment. Can there be a counter politics of hope? Can hope be countered?</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Read the other articles in our “Modi one year on” series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/modi-one-year-on">here.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42177/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Swagato Sarkar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By turning the focus to an aspirational society, Modi has championed the democratic case for economic growth at all costs.Swagato Sarkar, Associate professor, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/410362015-05-26T20:10:06Z2015-05-26T20:10:06ZIndia’s development debate must move beyond Modi<p>One year on from Narendra Modi’s swearing in as India’s Prime Minister, the mood of the country is less buoyant.</p>
<p>Some say Modi’s much-touted “development” agenda has been <a href="http://www.firstpost.com/politics/rss-hijacked-modis-development-agenda-muslim-board-members-2166689.html">waylaid by the noxious partisans of Hindu nationalism</a>. Modi’s apparent appeasement of their regressive social agenda is corroding the allegiance of his development-oriented flock of supporters. Such a zero-sum approach posits that a focus on divisive social issues eclipses the real agenda of development.</p>
<p>This narrative oversimplifies the debate.</p>
<p>That Modi wants development is not the issue – every politician will claim to champion the cause of development including Modi’s opponents. The problem is the way the word “development” is employed in public discussion. It is used with little qualification or elaboration. Throwaway references to, say, coal and mining reform constitute the extent to which the development agenda is specified. Why the changes to the coal and mining industries are bestowed with the appellation “reform” is more often than not left unanswered.</p>
<p>Modi’s development agenda itself does not lack merit. The point is that our public debate does not even extend to an analytical interrogation of the elements contained within it. Instead, we fall prey to generalisations and empty slogans such as “Acche Din” (good days are coming) and “Swachh Bharat” (Clean India).</p>
<p>Our failure to go beyond a superficial engagement with the government’s development agenda leaves us acutely uninformed about what development is actually taking place. In a recent poll, respondents were asked what they thought of Modi’s Swachh Bharat initiative. Unsurprisingly a plurality of voters supported it. Why wouldn’t they? Virtually everyone wants the country to be cleaned up.</p>
<p>However, such a poll and the general discussion surrounding the issue of public hygiene are not very informative about the actual content of the PM’s initiative. The vacuous nature of the discussion thus renders opaque the nature of the program to clean India. As a result there isn’t sufficient public debate about the concrete steps needed to bring about an improvement in public hygiene and sanitation levels and to evaluate the progress being made by the government.</p>
<h2>Simplicity makes for inconsistency</h2>
<p>The lack of clarity concerning Modi’s vision for development means the discussion is mired in a web of inconsistencies. Take growth. Modi wants rapid economic growth but also seeks to significantly pare down the role of government in the economy. These two goals are vigorously at odds with each other.</p>
<p>A plethora of studies show that rapid GDP growth has been achieved in the industrial world through significant government intervention in the economy. The pioneering technological breakthroughs in say, computers and satellites, would not have occurred without years of extensive government support and intervention in the US economy. How is Modi’s growth vision of less government going to buck this historical trend? Only a deeper analysis of the government’s development narrative can bring to light satisfactory answers.</p>
<p>Further cracks in the “more governance, less government” edifice become evident upon scrutiny. The claim of reducing the role of government cannot be reconciled with the numerous bans that have been instituted in the country over the past year. Infringement of free speech achieved via a ban constitutes a classical embodiment of big government wherein the government decides on your behalf that something is not to be seen.</p>
<p>The government’s decision to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32747649">suspend Greenpeace</a> India’s Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act [FCRA] license also exposes the gap between rhetoric and reality. Here the government is claiming, among other charges, that Greenpeace is retarding India’s economic development. In doing so, the government is propounding a narrow view of development. As Greenpeace’s notion of development falls outside these parameters, it has run afoul of the government. Such a punitive approach is fundamentally at odds with the “more governance, less government” paradigm associated with Modi.</p>
<p>The limited prism through which the actions of the Modi government are viewed also results in a stymied understanding of the tension in the Modi - RSS relationship. The media is right to suggest that Modi does not see eye to eye with the Hindu nationalist group. But their concentration on the social agenda of Hindu nationalists causes them to overlook Modi’s clashes with the Saffron brigade on the development front. One fault-line splitting Modi and the RSS over development is the issue of land acquisition.</p>
<p>Here too there is a gap between the narrative of “less government, more governance” and the reality of the changes Modi has pushed for in the Land Acquisition Act [LAA]. Modi wants less government. But removal of the LAA provision for consultations with affected people empowers the government to ignore the wishes of key stakeholders. Such unilateralism is redolent of big government intervention in the economy.</p>
<p>That’s the problem with the current state of debate concerning the Modi government. The emphasis is on Modi’s problems with the Hindu Right’s social agenda, whereas the problematic issues of development are sorely neglected.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Read the other pieces in our Modi one year on series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/modi-one-year-on">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sachin Dhawan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One year on from his swearing in, Modi’s “more governance, less government” mantra is coming unstuck, and simplistic public debates are not helping.Sachin Dhawan, Assistant Professor and Assistant Director, Centre for Law and Humanities, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/313042014-09-30T19:48:33Z2014-09-30T19:48:33ZUse your illusion: how to trick yourself and others into eating less<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59773/original/w7v3dxhn-1411457466.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We know that bigger portions lead us to eat more but portions that appear bigger have a reverse effect.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stephen Holden</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Science has <a href="http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/outreach/large-plates.html">a simple and incredible trick</a> that will help you lose weight. The idea, it seems, is to make portions <em>appear bigger</em> because this leads people to serve and eat less.</p>
<p>While <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-ftc-just-shut-down-all-those-fake-news-websites-hawking-diet-products-2012-3?IR=T">many such fat-fighting claims</a> are fake, <a href="http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/outreach/color_plate.html">this idea</a> is that a fiction can have a real effect. We know that <a href="http://journals.ama.org/doi/abs/10.1509/jm.12.0303">bigger portions lead us to eat more</a> (bite-sized <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-do-bigger-portion-sizes-make-you-eat-more-23193"> version here</a>), but portions that appear bigger have a reverse effect.</p>
<p>Visual illusions have long fascinated humans but mostly they are viewed as problems to be explained. <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/perception-problem/">Philosophers</a> study them for the challenges they offer to the nature of being (ontology) and of knowledge (epistemology). </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59548/original/ftp4wr4p-1411107742.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59548/original/ftp4wr4p-1411107742.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59548/original/ftp4wr4p-1411107742.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59548/original/ftp4wr4p-1411107742.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59548/original/ftp4wr4p-1411107742.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59548/original/ftp4wr4p-1411107742.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59548/original/ftp4wr4p-1411107742.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1139&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nouvelle cuisine is often criticised as providing tiny portions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rossap/3411006488">Ross Pollack/Flcikr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-knowledge/201305/perception-and-perceptual-illusions">Psychologists</a> study them for the light they throw on our understanding of how the human brain works and its limitations. </p>
<p>Consumer scientists such as <a href="http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/outreach/large-plates.html">Brian Wansink</a> and <a href="http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/outreach/color_plate.html">Koert van Ittersum</a> have been exploring how optical illusions can be used to help reduce consumption and tackle the growing prevalence of obesity.</p>
<p>Using smaller plates is a fairly obvious solution to limit portion sizes. But there’s more to it than simply providing less space. <a href="http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/20/4/A618-c">Research shows</a> that a portion served on a small plate will look bigger than it is, so people tend to under-serve on small plates and consume less. </p>
<p>The use of bigger plates leads to the reverse effect – the portion looks smaller than it is. This may underlie the common criticisms of <em>nouvelle cuisine</em> as providing “tiny portions” that are <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/simonheffer/8408157/Its-hard-to-find-food-in-a-British-restaurant.html">more art form than food</a>.</p>
<p>The illusory effect of plate size on portion size is explained by the <a href="http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/cog-Delboeuf/index.html">Delboeuf illusion</a>, and the related <a href="http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/cog-Ebbinghaus/index.html">Ebbinghaus</a> illusion. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59549/original/3tf2n5m4-1411108193.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59549/original/3tf2n5m4-1411108193.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59549/original/3tf2n5m4-1411108193.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59549/original/3tf2n5m4-1411108193.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59549/original/3tf2n5m4-1411108193.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59549/original/3tf2n5m4-1411108193.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59549/original/3tf2n5m4-1411108193.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Delboeuf illusion is one of the reasons for the effect of plate size on portion size.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADelboeuf_illusion.svg">Washiucho via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Delboeuf and Ebbinghaus illusions are thought to critically depend on the contrast in size between the target (the circle in the centre) and the surrounding context. </p>
<p>A portion of food appears smaller when served on a bigger plate, encouraging us to over-serve. But the size contrast is complicated by the issue of colour contrast.</p>
<p>The tendency to over-serve on big plates is amplified when there’s <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/662615">not much of a contrast</a> in the colour of the food and the plate, such as pasta with a creamy sauce served on a white plate. Over-serving on bigger plates is also more likely if there’s <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/662615">high contrast between the plate colour and the tablecloth colour</a>. </p>
<p>So, if you are using large plates, choose plates of a colour different from the food and similar to the tablecloth.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59550/original/d3rd443p-1411108986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59550/original/d3rd443p-1411108986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59550/original/d3rd443p-1411108986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59550/original/d3rd443p-1411108986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59550/original/d3rd443p-1411108986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59550/original/d3rd443p-1411108986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59550/original/d3rd443p-1411108986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1068&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People drink less from a tall, thin glass than a short, wide glass with the same volume.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/luciano_meirelles/2101770450">Luciano Meirelles/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You can also use these illusions with beverages. If you want to reduce your intake of sweetened drinks or alcohol, for instance, use tall, thin glasses in place of short, wide glasses.</p>
<p>People drink less from a tall, thin glass than a short, wide glass with the same volume. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/378621">This effect</a> is displayed by adults and is even stronger among children. It also holds for pouring drinks – even after training, and even among <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7531/1512">experienced bar-tenders</a>. </p>
<p>Indeed, this illusion is so persuasive that many people are surprised to find the volume of large sizes is often little different from the next size down. </p>
<p>Sports fans in the United States recently revealed how a <a href="http://business.time.com/2011/01/13/seattle-stadium-beer-scandal-same-amount-of-beer-whether-you-pay-7-25-or-8-50/">Seattle stadium</a> and an <a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/03/10/3072815_centurylink-o-change-beer-cups.html?rh=1">Idaho stadium</a> have sold small and large cups of beer holding <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94-FTyjjwBA">roughly the same volume</a>, even though the larger one costs more.</p>
<p>Similar claims have been made about more mainstream food retailers such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orDuFOH4CiE">McDonald’s</a> and the Canadian coffee shop chain, Tim Hortons. Hortons <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/06/tim-hortons-cup-size-scam-video_n_5760976.html">has responded</a> with its own clip <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgXbhQWwr90">showing there is a difference</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/orDuFOH4CiE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">McDonald’s medium and large cups hold the same volume.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The reason that the illusion works is not clear although it may be related to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042698910001227">orientation anisotropy</a>, the <a href="http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/sze_t-illusion/index.html">well-known tendency</a> to perceive a vertical line as longer than an equivalent horizontal line.</p>
<p>What all this shows is that to encourage yourself and others to serve less, and to eat less, you should:</p>
<ul>
<li>use smaller plates<br></li>
<li>use the same colour plates and tablecloth, and maximise the colour contrast with the food being served if using big plates </li>
<li>use tall, thin glasses, such as wine-tasting glasses.</li>
</ul>
<p>To use the over-serve bias to encourage more consumption of healthy foods, use big green plates for vegetables and short, wide glasses for water.</p>
<p>Many claims about reducing consumption and losing weight hold little truth, but the illusions described here present little fictions that might actually help.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31304/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen S Holden does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Science has a simple and incredible trick that will help you lose weight. The idea, it seems, is to make portions appear bigger because this leads people to serve and eat less. While many such fat-fighting…Stephen S Holden, Associate professor, O.P. Jindal Global UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/231602014-02-13T06:01:37Z2014-02-13T06:01:37ZRadical reform of India’s higher education sector will open the door for British universities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41395/original/n6h6sbtz-1392225138.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New opportunities beckon.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> parth joshi</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Universities are being urged to seize the opportunity of expanding into India where reforms will radically change the country’s higher education sector in the next decade.</p>
<p>In a new report, the <a href="http://ihe.britishcouncil.org">British Council</a> said India’s tertiary-age population will be the world’s third largest largest by 2020, behind only China and the United States. Ambitious plans by the government to expand university enrolment from 18% to 30%, means India needs to provide 14m extra university places by then.</p>
<p>The report comes after the latest figures on <a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/overseas-student-total-falls-for-first-time-as-indian-numbers-collapse/2010576.article">UK university admissions showed the number of Indian students</a> heading to the UK halved in the last two years. The UK has registered its first drop in international students, of 1%, for courses starting in 2012-2013. <a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/anglo-indian-ties-have-been-butchered-by-may/2010735.article">Universities have blamed</a> the fall on a restrictive immigration policy.</p>
<p>The British Council’s researchers interviewed a range of Indian academics and higher education professionals for their report. Many said the UK should broaden its horizons when considering ways to partner with Indian higher education institutions, or risk losing out. </p>
<p>“Historically, we’ve been able to forge a deeper and more substantial relationships with many American universities,” said Professor C. Raj Kumar, vice chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University in India. “I’ve always felt that there is a case for this kind of engagement to be deepened with British universities.” </p>
<h2>Don’t forget the states</h2>
<p>At the moment, India’s higher education sector is highly regulated, with foreign universities restricted from setting up campuses. Until now, much of the research collaboration between the UK and India has been with “tier 1” universities and Institutes of National Importance, through programmes such as the <a href="http://www.ukieri.org/">UK-India Education and Research Initiative</a>.</p>
<p>But these top level institutions only represent 2.6% of the students who enrol in India. The vast majority come through either private, or state institutions, in particular through a system of “affiliated colleges” which are linked to state universities. </p>
<p>Quality control of these colleges has been a constant problem, although it has stepped up since the <a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130305/jsp/nation/story_16634387.jsp#.UvujzPl_uH4">government made accreditation mandatory in 2013</a>. The report recommends UK universities would do well to start partnering with these state institutions, which educate the bulk of Indian students.</p>
<h2>Legislative changes ahead</h2>
<p>Ongoing reforms to devolve higher education budgets from central government to the states are also set to reshape the higher education landscape. So far, 19 states have signed up to the reform programme, called <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=99841">Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan</a>, with the first round of funding due to begin in October 2014. Some states, such as Gujurat and Tamil Nadu, are likely to make progress quicker than others.</p>
<p>The report points to two pieces of legislation which could help open up the higher education system to more foreign partnership. It looks unlikely that the <a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/foreign-varsities-to-soon-get-admission-to-india/article5113221.ece">Foreign Educational Institutions Bill</a> – which would regulate the entry of foreign universities and allow them to award degrees in India – will be passed any time soon. </p>
<p>But Indian academics are more hopeful of progress in a second Innovation and Research Universities Bill. This could allow new education hubs to be established that would be free to recruit foreign faculty members – currently very restricted in India.</p>
<p>Still, the report warns UK universities not to wait for the legislation to pass in order to form partnerships with Indian institutions, particularly as elections in April 2014 may push legislative timetables back even further.</p>
<p>The report’s authors also point to a problem with the poor research output in India as an important opportunity for UK universities. There is a “chronic shortage of undergraduates and postgraduates choosing to pursue academic careers”, the researchers found. Understaffing is a big problem, with 30-40% of teaching posts left vacant. India also has a low output of PhDs compared to other emerging economies.</p>
<h2>Bricks and mortar</h2>
<p>“Even though India has a long history of higher education, we’ve not been able to develop leading institutions of excellence which are promoting research, scholarships and publications,” said Kumar. </p>
<p>He said it was “a mistake” to assume the future of foreign higher education institutions in India would be in “brick and mortar” buildings. Instead, he pointed to more partnerships based on research and innovation. </p>
<p>The jury remains out on whether building new campuses abroad is a profitable venture for UK universities. “Start-up costs are high, as are reputational risks,” explained Simon McGrath, professor in International Education and Development at the University of Nottingham, which has campuses in Malaysia and China. “Often the current branch campuses are public-private partnerships with limited scope for profit generation and subject to legal constraints on repatriation of income.”</p>
<p>The British Council report also found Indian academics are keen for UK students to study in India, rather than just continue the one-way street the other way. Other countries, such as France and Germany, have been more active at sending students to India, than the UK.</p>
<p>McGrath says that for the most part, programmes with compulsory years abroad have concentrated on Europe, although some networks such as <a href="http://www.universitas21.com/">Universitas 21</a> are now encouraging more global mobility.</p>
<p>“The reality is that take up is far less than hoped for at the moment,” he said, pointing to a variety of cultural, linguistic and practical reasons such as cost and quality and parity of institutions. </p>
<p>The problem remains the same for China too. While there are around 150,000 Chinese students in the UK, but only around 5,000 UK students in China.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23160/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Universities are being urged to seize the opportunity of expanding into India where reforms will radically change the country’s higher education sector in the next decade. In a new report, the British…Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly PodcastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.