The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Wife-beating quite common
Nail the perpetrators of domestic violence

In a country where wife-beating enjoys a perverse social sanction, here is yet another proof of how widespread it is. According to a study by the United Nations World Population Fund and the Washington-based International Centre for Research on Women, six out of 10 Indian men admit to domestic violence. If this is not startling enough, here is a more abysmally shocking revelation that 50 per cent men believe it's no big deal and women must endure the same to keep the family together. Equally telling is the finding that it's not men alone but women too feel that it's well within a man's right to punish her.

In fact, many women not only tend to condone the despicable acts of their intimate partners but also often go to ridiculous extents to hide it. Not surprisingly, fewer women report the crime as compared to men, who seem to have no qualms in admitting that they are the perpetrators of violence against their partners. Since domestic violence in India is entrenched in patriarchal values and convoluted notions of male superiority, concerted social and media campaigns must find new progressive paradigms of masculinity. Mercifully, some movement in this direction has begun. Yet for well-meaning campaigns to have any meaning, women too must shed their squeamishness over the issue and come out in the open against it. Domestic violence is not a trivial domestic issue but a serious crime which can have disastrous consequences. While in extreme cases physical violence can lead to murder, verbal and emotional abuse has many psychological and damaging ramifications.

It would not be erroneous to see these reprehensible crimes against women as a social malaise. Yet that does not absolve the law-enforcing agencies of their responsibility. While efforts must be initiated to make more women aware of the far-reaching provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005, women who are seeking justice under the Act must be provided protection within 60 days as stipulated under the law. Their demands such as one-stop crisis centre need to be looked into. Both society and law have to work in tandem to ensure that women get due regard and status within the social structure in which home is the starting point.

Thought for the Day

I am a kind of paranoid in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy. —J. D. Salinger

On this day...100 years ago

Lahore, Tuesday, november 17, 1914

Infant mortality and licensed midwives

THE recent report of the Health Officer of the Madras Corporation gives the following death rates of children under one year of age. Europeans 147, Anglo-Indians 137, Indian Christians 271, Hindus 290 and Mahomedans 353 per 1,000 children. The very high rate of infant mortality among Mahomedans and Hindus has induced the Health Officer to make certain suggestions which are indeed worth considering in the Punjab. It would appear that there are about 220 women in Madras who practise midwifery but only 17 of them have any kind of qualification. The rest are ignorant and it is proposed that midwives should be duly licensed to practise and they should obtain a minimum qualification. It is doubtful whether the ignorant and unqualified women who now practise as midwifes, not merely in Madras but also in other Indian towns, would readily undergo a training.

Preventive measures

WITH the advent of winter raids and dacoities have re-commenced. The raid recently reported from the Lyallpur district once more brings the fact into prominence that even local raiders are well armed with guns and revolvers. Doubtless the police department is adopting the usual preventive measures and is encouraging villagers to present a united front to the raiders. But a more effective way of doing so is by supplying fire arms to Sahukars, contractors and other leading men who are generally marked for victims and by training them in the use of such weapons which might otherwise fall into the hands of the raiders. We hope that efforts will be put forth to train a few leading men in the villages in the effective use of firearms and in other methods of self-defence.

ARTICLE

India, US patch up at WTO
The US change of stance will facilitate the signing of the TFA
Jayshree Sengupta

India and the US have temporarily resolved their disagreement regarding the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at the WTO. The US has consented to give India an indefinite 'peace clause' pending a permanent settlement of its food security problem. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declined to sign the significant TFA because the time allotted to India to rationalise food subsidies was only till 2017. The WTO members agreed not to challenge India for breaking the WTO rules on stockpiling until 2017. Under the latest agreement, however, it has been clarified that the US and others won't challenge India beyond 2017, if no solution is reached.

The change of stance of the US is significant because it wants to get ahead with the signing of the TFA at all costs. This is because the TFA will greatly benefit the developed countries and the US is championing their cause. It involves various measures taken by all governments which include improving port facilities, simplifying, modernising and harmonising rules for merchandise imports, improving customs procedures, port efficiency, customs administration and enforcement, transparency and corruption regulatory policies. Basically the TFA calls for strengthening the trade mechanism among the 159 signatories of the WTO which seems fair enough. But once a country signs the TFA, then all the commitments are binding and subject to the Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the WTO and it can lead to costly international litigation.

The TFA is universally claimed to be beneficial for the developing world including India which lacks many items in trade facilitating infrastructure. But India already has initiated the process and is building new ports and modernising customs clearance stations along the borders. Even so, out of 138 land clearance stations that India has along its international border, only 66 are functional.

The TFA, however, is embroiled in controversy because trade facilitation, according to some scholars, will enhance the developed countries' access to Indian markets and may impact manufacturing growth. Already we have been witnessing a sharp decline in manufacturing growth which has only recently picked up but only slightly. Manufacturing growth reached a high of 8 per cent from 2000-2010 but since then its performance has been worsening. It was minus 1.4 per cent in August 2014 and 2.5 per cent in September 2014, which can hardly be called high.

Studies have shown that India is losing out in competitiveness in all product lines and there has been a 'hollowing out' of industries. Exports of manufactured goods have doubled from 2005-2012 but imports have increased by 215 per cent. According to a Geneva-based scholar, Rashmi Banga, there has been a steady decline in value addition growth in manufacturing despite a rise in output that represents 'hollowing out' of manufacturing industries. Value addition in total manufacturing output declined from 25 per cent in the mid-1990s to 18 per cent in 2010-11. The contribution of manufacturing to the GDP is only 15 per cent as compared to 34 per cent in China. The National Manufacturing Policy 2013 aims at increasing the share to 25 per cent. If manufacturing growth does not pick up, employment growth in manufacturing sector, which is very important for absorbing the job-seeking youth, would also slow down, creating problems in India utilising its 'demographic dividend.'

Will the TFA be beneficial and lower trade costs so that manufacturers can import more raw materials and inputs? If India has better ports and efficient customs procedures and a single-window clearance, India will surely attract more imports. As it is, cheap manufactured imports are coming in, aided by a rapid increase in trade liberalisation and the dismantling of protection. There will be a rise in import of consumer goods. With higher disposable incomes and rapid urbanisation, Indians want more consumer goods, but as our own manufacturing growth has been faltering, it is but natural that China has filled the gap and has supplied India with increasing quantities of consumer goods. The import of consumer goods from China increased from 5.9 per cent in 2000 to 23.7 per cent in 2012. With the TFA, more Chinese imports will come in. According to one study, India's imports will rise by $9 billion annually and exports will increase only by $2.6 billion. For all the developing countries, imports will increase by $84 billion while exports will increase only by $47 billion.

Should India go for the TFA? Studies point out that it will increase global GDP by $1 trillion and will lead to a drastic reduction in trade costs. Perhaps India has no choice because the US has relented to India's demand. But in order to reap the benefits from all the improvements that the TFA calls for, Indian manufacturing should increase its competitiveness. India is known to have either very large or very small manufacturing units. There are not many medium-sized firms. Around 84 per cent of total manufacturing employment is in the small-scale sector. The small-scale sector is characterised by low productivity, low technology and is affected by exchange rate fluctuations, environmental constraints, labeling and packaging requirements, lower-cost competitiveness due to developed countries' subsidies and increased pressure to comply with the Intellectual Property Rights. It is true that the TFA will reduce the number of documents required and the number of days it takes for exports to reach their destination but it cannot improve India's manufacturing competitiveness.

The developed countries will continue to give huge subsidies to their agriculture and ease of entry into India will only facilitate imports of fresh food, giving tough competition to Indian farmers. Thus India has to negotiate for some measures that will lead to having a level-playing field so that the TFA does not distort trade in favour of developed countries. Also, though the developing countries will have access to infrastructure loans from the New Development Bank of the BRICS, they should negotiate for technical collaboration and help from developed countries for infrastructure building and improvement. Greater market access for developing countries should be ensured because despite all such measures, there would still be non-tariff and para-tariff barriers which the developing countries will probably encounter while entering developed countries' markets.

MIDDLE

‘Owning’ Sardar Patel
Maj Gen RS Mehta (retd)

I cringe when I hear our TV channels endlessly debate the ‘politics’ behind Sardar Patel's birthday celebrations. I cringe because there are times in the life of a nation when men and women rise so high in strengthening the idea of the nation that it sounds petty and disingenuous for anchors and panelists to play-act as poseurs and artlessly discuss what amounts to insinuation-laden, irresponsible social chatter about what was said or implied on the great man’s birthday and by whom. Could there have been another narrative to discuss why Sardar Patel is worth the recall and across narrow political party interpretation? Let me share what I consider as two nation-building contributions by Patel-- both with strategic military connotations.

In early 1947, then Lt Col (later Field Marshal) SHFJ Sam Manekshaw was posted as GSO1 in Military Operations, the first Indian officer to be so nominated. Sam was about to move out in October 1947 to command 3/5 Gurkha Rifles when Pakistan invaded Kashmir. His posting was cancelled. On October 25, VP Menon, accompanied by Manekshaw, was dispatched to Srinagar with the 'Instrument of Accession' document. This was in response to Maharaja Hari Singh's frantic call for help on October 24. Menon and Manekshaw flew back to Delhi with the signed document, reaching at 4 am on October 26.

A Cabinet meeting was held shortly thereafter, attended by Nehru, Patel {Deputy PM/Home Minister), Defence Minister Baldev Singh, Mountbatten and others. Manekshaw, asked to explain the military situation, stated that with the Kabailis nearing Srinagar, urgent military intervention was needed because if Srinagar airfield was lost, Kashmir would be lost. Patel was all for immediate dispatch of troops but Nehru prevaricated, giving a rambling expose about the State's complex dynamics and why the UN must not see India as an aggressor.

Finally, Patel lost his patience and stated bluntly, 'Jawahar, do you want to save Kashmir or not?'

'Of course, I do', Nehru snapped.

Patel turned to Manekshaw: 'You have your orders. Carry them out'. The rest, as they say, is history. Patel's decisiveness and the Indian armed forces' effective response saved Kashmir for India.

The second citing of Patel's indisputable quality as an icon, which should be positioned above political 'ownership' polemics, relates to his November 7, 1950, DO letter to Nehru. In it he spelt out his superbly prescient appreciation of Chinese intent and how India should prepare itself to cope with this major threat to India's sovereignty. He laid out a ten-point assessment that included the need for an urgent appreciation of Chinese threats to India's external and internal security; the need for force accretion to face multi-pronged threats; infrastructure development; improving our relationship with the cis-Himalayan states (Nepal, Bhutan and Burma) and formulating a clear policy on McMahon Line.

Tragically, Nehru never replied and Patel died shortly thereafter on December 15, 1950. Today, we are still struggling to implement Patel's vision, which remains brutally relevant 64 years after Patel enunciated it. Can we not rise above narrow-minded rhetoric and, instead, celebrate Patel as an Indian icon above petty politics? That would be a far more constructive way of celebrating the Idea of India.

OPED NEIGHBOURS

The Wagah attack and the big picture
D. Suba Chandran

The Wagah post is a soft target for TTP. The attack signals far-reaching implications for the government of Pakistan. —Reuters

The suicide attack in Wagah, a few metres across the border is a new development with far- reaching implications for Pakistan, more than Indo-Pak relations. It signifies new emerging trends across the western borders of India. It is important to analyse the big picture evolving within Pakistan. Until now, two questions have been the primary focus in the media until now – who and why Wagah? The larger question to be addressed is: What does the attack in Wagah mean, along with similar high-profile attacks recently in Karachi and Peshawar. Since the Pakistani army is engaged in operation Zarb-e-Azb, there has been militant retaliation elsewhere. Are the militants on the run? Are they re-emerging and choosing targets outside the FATA and taking the war into the mainland?

The impact of Zarb-e-Azb

First and foremost, the attack in Wagah, when seen with other high-profile attacks elsewhere in Karachi and Peshawar highlights the impact and fallout of Zarb-e-Azb. One of the primary reasons for the attack apears retaliatory. The argument that the attack was aimed at disrupting the India-Pakistan dialogue process appears unconvincing. The India-Pakbilateral relations are already troubled.

Military strikes in the FATA seem to have only disrupted and displaced the TTP framework, instead of dismantling it. A simple explanation is the military offensive in FATA is focussed primarily on North Wazirsitan, that too a few tehsils. Military operations do not cover the entire tribal regions. As a result, as the Afghan Taliban did when the US started the war on terrorism post-9/11, the Pakistani Taliban seems to have disappeared instead of fighting back. Also, the TTP today has multiple factions; the military operations in North Waziristan target primarily the Mehsud fighters of the TTP, along with few groups allied with the Al-Qaida, primarily the Uzbeks. Factions of the TTP, are emerging elsewhere and choosing their own time and target to retaliate. The high-profile attack on the airport in Karachi earlier, is a part of this retaliation. The Wagah post, for the TTP, is a soft target. Given the nature of crowd assembling every day, it would be easier for a suicide bomber to infiltrate and inflict maximum impact. And that is precisely what the TTP bomber did, exploding himself and killing more than 60 people.

This disruption and displacement of the TTP has a larger implication for Pakistan’s internal security. A section of the erstwhile sectarian militants (of multiple groups from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi to Jaish-e-Mohammed) referred to as the Punjabi Taliban who were fighting along with the TTP in FATA and KP, are now returning to Punjab. The Pakistani military, as a part of its offensive could have cordoned off the FATA before starting the counter- offensive against the militants. Unfortunately for the military, precious time was wasted in the name of a political dialogue with the Taliban. Perhaps, the Zarb-e-Azb is too little, too late. It has resulted in killing of TTP fighters but the blowback elsewhere is bigger.

Punjab under the TTP shadow

Second, the attack in Wagah also signifies another important development as far as the TTP and the State is concerned. Though the attack took place in front of the Wagah post, geographically it is an extension of Lahore, the liberal bastion of Pakistan and the capital of Punjab, supposedly the most stable of all the provinces in Pakistan.

While Karachi has become a city of violence in the recent decades, the attack on Lahore is a recent phenomenon and has been constantly expanding in the last few years. Since 2008, there have been multiple bomb blasts and suicide attacks targeting State institutions, office buildings, cricket team, markets, shrines etc.

If the militants are returning to Punjab, the decision to fight them in the heartland will be a tougher choice for both the political and military establishments. If the recent attacks in Lahore are to be considered, the return of militants to Punjab is likely to take place sooner. Punjab as the battleground, instead of the FATA or KP, will transform the security situation for Pakistan into a nightmare. Why would the TTP limit its hideouts and area of operations only to the FATA and KP, if it realises Punjab would be Establishment’s achilles heel in terms of a counter-offensive? With the Punjabi militants being the bridge, it would not be difficult for the TTP to shift its base, or the Punjabi Taliban becoming the primary component of the TTP.

Will Lashkar join the party?

Third, until now, the Lashkar-e-Toiba has been on a leash; despite its huge infrastructure, ideology and number of fighters, the Lashkar has not opened a front within Pakistan. It has remained anti-Indian in its ideology and action until now. It is believed, today, the new generation cadres of the Lashkar are even more radical and expect their leader — Hafiz Saeed to be proactive vis-a-vis India. After the Mumbai attack, the Lashkar and Hafeez have been restrained by the Establishment. With so much action taking place in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, and new ideological churnings with new groups such as the Islamic State, the Lashkar cadres cannot be held back for a long time. If that happens, it will create a perfect storm for Pakistan, if the Lashkar (or even a section) decides to go against, unless they are either diverted to far flung regions such as Syria and Iraq, or into the immediate neighbourhood — either India or Afghanistan. There should be a study on the game plan of the LeT now, with so much happening s at national and international levels.

Fourth, for Pakistan today – its border on three sides with India, Afghanistan and Iran – all are on fire. The non-State actors play a destabilising role in making Pakistan’s borders really irrelevant; if they decide to breach the Wagah (and India-Pakistan border) independent of the Establishment, it would invite bigger trouble for Pakistan internationally. With the new Indian government reducing the threshold and tolerance level to any infiltration/firing from across, Pakistan will have to safeguard its borders from its erstwhile trump cards. The Durand Line has been continuously breached by the Afghan Taliban, Haqqani network and the TTP. While the Quetta Shura and Haqqani network have their bases in Balochistan and FATA, respectively, they cross the Durand Line at will. Same is the case with the Pakistani Taliban. With safe havens in the eastern border provinces of Afghanistan, the TTP moves across when there is military pressure from Pakistan.

While the role of non-State actors on Pakistan’s borders with India and Afghanistan are well known, the role of sectarian militants and that of the criminal gangs operating along Pakistan-Iran border have not been given sufficient attention. Multiple attacks on the Shia pilgrims in Balochistan on their return from Iran in the recent years have become a regular exercise; added to the problem has been that of trafficking and smuggling across the Iran-Pakistan border by professional mafia. With political instability and strained civil-military relations, for both the Sharifs, there are tough times ahead.

— The writer is Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi

Pakistan’s duplicity on war against terror
The Pentagon report confirms independently that Pakistan is still conducting a proxy war against India as well as another one against Afghanistan in order to control that country.
Raj Kadyan

Army jawans near the house in Chenigam, south Kashmir. LeT miltants were hiding here

The Pentagon has recently submitted a report to the US Congress, exposing the double game of Pakistan on its proclaimed support to the war on terrorism. While professing support to the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, it has been sabotaging their efforts to tame militancy in that region. The US has pumped billions of dollars into Pakistan to solicit its support in combating the Taliban. The Pentagon's assertion of Pakistan using proxy forces to counter India's superior military is a mere reiteration of what India in particular, and the world in general, have known all along. Pakistan has been actively fighting a proxy war in Kashmir for the last 25 years. The report from the US, which has been supportive of Pakistan, should remove all doubts about Pakistan’s perfidy even among the sceptics. Apart from the diplomatic and political support that Pakistan officially claims it provides to the “freedom struggle”, there is ample evidence that it has been training, arming, and funding the militants to continue “bleeding India to death.”

The report confirms independently that Pakistan is still conducting a proxy war against India and Afghanistan. Besides the content, the timing of the report too is significant. The US had known this all along, but did not make it public due to its interests. During its Afghanistan campaign, the US needed Pakistan’s roads for supplies to its troops. The support of ISI, the mother board of all terror networks, was needed too. Pakistan was providing intelligence for drone strikes in FATA, while condemning them as violation of its sovereignty. Despite being paid handsomely for these services, Pakistan did not fulfil its part of the bargain. The Afghan Taliban are still being hosted in Pakistan. The Haqqani network, a Pakistani proxy for destabilising Afghanistan, has prospered. Not a single member of that group, or of the India-specific LeT, has ever been arrested or killed by the Pakistani forces so far, even in the much-touted Zarb-e-Azb.

Pakistan’s sabotage has resulted in the war on terror not achieving its goal of stabilising Afghanistan. US saw no visible gain from the over-$20 billion provided in civil and military aid since 9/11. Hostility towards the US is at an all-time high in Pakistan. US national interests are now losing their validity in view of the draw-down from Afghanistan. With this scaling down, Pakistan would lose much its leverage. Publication of the report is proof. Pakistan’s army chief is officially visiting the US shortly but the report still came out. This as well as UN ignoring Pakistani complaints against India's alleged firing across the LoC, indicates Pakistan's isolation. Any further US aid to it will be a token. The US and others are no longer likely to rush diplomats to New Delhi asking India to show restraint in the event of another terrorist act, or in its fight against the proxy war in Kashmir. Pakistan’s anti-India fervour continues and it has succeeded in turning Kashmir into a running sore that has been haemorrhaging our national energy and impeding our march to our deserved place in the global order. The current situation gives India enough space should it decide to coerce Pakistan out of meddling in Kashmir, which is a sine qua non for peace in the state. The political, diplomatic, economic and military environment is conducive. We should seize this opportunity to put multi-directional pressure on Pakistan. An aggressive domination of the LoC to prevent Pakistan from infiltrating jihadis into J&K is an obvious. We should prevent the harassment of our fishermen. The attack on our Consulate in Herat on May 23, 2014 affected both India and Afghanistan. There is ample evidence of involvement of LeT in it. Even the Pentagon report has corroborated it. Both should lodge a protest with Pakistan and demand action. Pakistan has not made any progress on the trial of terrorists who attacked in Mumbai. Nor is it likely to do so. We should not let that gory attack be forgotten and pursue the matter with vigour.

— The writer is Former Deputy Chief of Army Staff