the hindu oct 1 to oct 6

7/21/2019 The Hindu Oct 1 to Oct 6

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Notes by vineetpunnoose on www.kiwipaper.com

Content

ISRO to launch Canadian satellite 1

Indian navigational satellite's launch postponed 1

ISRO set for Oct. 10 launch of navigation satellite 1

Syria sees Turkish deployment inside its border as an aggression 2

Turkish Parliament votes for military action against IS 2

Normality returns, Hong Kong govt. gets upper hand 3

For clarity on Hong Kong 3

No breakthrough in hurdles facing India-U.S. ties 4

Deepening relationship 4

Taking ties beyond the Beltway 5

'India would not join anti-China coalition led by U.S.' 6

India-China stand-off ends: MEA 7

Move to deny foreign nationals access to surrogacy draws flak 7

The right to medicines in a world of stock-outs 8

Afghanistan's change of guard 9

ED to probe global drug money laundering operations 10

First draft of Constitution to be ready by January: Deuba 10

Gandhi, morality and political legitimacy 10


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Content

'Citizenship if Rohingya identify as Bengali' 11

India growing as a desirable holiday destination: Survey 11

SC panel lays down guidelines for govt ads 12

Perspectives on ocean mixing 12

A Scotland on Kashmir? 13

The distance to disarmament 13

Why love is a four letter word 14

Turkey vows to fight Islamic State 15

Fighting rages as Ukraine rebels try to seize Donetsk airport 15

The truth behind encounters 16

Going beyond interest rate changes 16

India among five nations to build world's largest telescope 17

Young western women among jihadis 18

Coverage of antenatal care in India has to be increased: WHO 18

Tibetan plateau becomes focus of intense climate study 19

Three share Nobel for medicine 20

Dismantle the walls of secrecy 20

The message behind the broom 22


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Content

NJAC Bill has not removed flaws of collegium system, says Justice Shah 22


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Notes by vineetpunnoose on www.kiwipaper.com Page 1

ISRO to launch Canadian satellite Sun, Oct 5, 2014The Hindu, science & tech, ISRO, space,

In view of the international restrictions on Russia over Ukraine, Canada has decided

to sign a contract with Antrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO), for the launch of its satellite, industry sources said here on

Saturday.

t Antrix would be given the contract for the July 2015 launch of its M3M (Maritime

Monitoring and Messaging Micro-Satellite) communications satellite.

Indian navigational satellite's launch postponed Mon, Oct 6, 2014Regional Navigational Satellite, The Hindu, science & tech, isro, space,

The Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was slated to carry the Indian

Regional Navigational Satellite System-1C (IRNSS-1C) in the early hours of October

10.

The satellite is one of the series of satellites to be launched by India to build its own

regional navigational system.

ISRO set for Oct. 10 launch of navigation satellite Thu, Oct 2, 2014The Hindu, science & tech, navigation satellite, ISRO, space,

Indian Space Research Organisation, fresh from the success of its Mars mission, hasunveiled its next mundane campaign starting with the launch of the third regional

navigation satellite on Oct. 10.

IRNSS-1C will be the third piece in the Indian navigation fleet dubbed the "Indian

GPS".

It will be flown on the indigenous PSLV-C26 rocket from Sriharikota at 1.56 a.m.,

according to an ISRO update on Wednesday.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System is a seven-satellite fleet. It is being

put up to ensure precise information on location and time for civil and military users

on land, sea and air.

It will also help manage transport fleet, provide aid for hikers and travellers, in disaster

management, cell phone applications, mapping and driving. It can also support operations

within a radius of 1,500 km in the sub-continent. The navigation fleet forms the troika

of Indian satellites along with communication and earth observation (remote sensing)

satellites. IRNSS-1A was sent to space in July 2013 and 1B in April this year. ISRO


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plans to complete the navigation ring within two years.

Syria sees Turkish deployment inside its border as an aggression Fri, Oct 3, 2014

Islamic State, isis, The Hindu, Syria, international, Turkey,

Syria has warned Turkey that deploying troops inside its borders will be seen as an

"aggression," calling on the international community to "put limits to the adventures"

of the Turkish leadership.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry's statement, issued on Friday, came a day after Turkey's

parliament gave the government new powers to launch military incursions into Syria

and Iraq.

Syria's Foreign Ministry said the Turkish decision is an "aggression against a founding

member of the United Nations".

Kurdish fighters battled Islamic State fighters on Friday near a Syrian Kurdish town

along the border with Turkey as Turkish Prime Minister said his country will prevent

the fall of Kobani.

The Kurdish town and its surrounding have been under attack since mid-September,

with militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages. The assault, which has

forced some 160,000 Syrians to flee, has left the Kurdish militiamen scrambling to

repel the militants' advance into the outskirts of Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors Syria's civil

war, reported intense fighting on Friday to the east and southeast of Kobani, saying the

town's Kurdish fighters destroyed two vehicles belonging to militants. The group said

seven Islamic State fighters were killed in a village near Kobani.

Turkish Parliament votes for military action against IS Fri, Oct 3, 2014The Hindu, international, islamic state, turkey,

Turkey's parliament voted on Thursday to authorize the government to take military

action in Iraq and Syria, but it remains unclear what actions the NATO member might

take to support the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

The watchdog group, which compiles information from a network of local activists

across Syria, said the ill--equipped YPG and other Kurdish fighters were preparing for

street battles amid fears that the better armed Islamic State militants might commit

massacres if they take the city on the Turkish border.

The observatory, which noted that the jihadists had not yet overrun the city, said


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additional fierce fighting was taking place in the eastern and southern parts of the city,

which was being shelled by the militants.

Meanwhile in Iraq, Islamic State fighters were engaged in battles against Kurdish

peshmerga forces in the north-west near Sinjar and also with the Iraqi army in the

western province of al-Anbar.

There were reports the jihadists and their allies had taken over parts of the city of Heet

in the province, but the situation remained unclear as fighting was still ongoing.

The US is also carrying out airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq along with Britain

and France.

Normality returns, Hong Kong govt. gets upper hand Mon, Oct 6, 2014hong kong, The Hindu, international,

With the government stealing a march over activists, the stage seemed set for a dialogue

with the protesters, who could no longer talk from a position of strength. The Federation

of Students was to meet Undersecretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Lau

Kong-wah, later in the evening on Monday to prepare for talks with Chief Secretary

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

The opposition activists are seeking open nominations for the 2017 elections to the post

of Chief Executive. The Chinese government has committed itself to universal suffrage,

but has also stated, as part of the Basic Law formulated in 1990, that a nominating

committee will vet the candidates, based on extensive consultations for the 2017 CE'selection.

For clarity on Hong Kong Mon, Oct 6, 2014hong kong, The Hindu, international,

Hong Kong has been rocked by a spate of student-led protests that have swept across

the city's sensitive financial, administrative and shopping hubs. The agitation has

sharply brought into focus the "one country-two systems" policy that defined Hong

Kong's transition from an erstwhile British colony to a Special Administrative Region

(SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The protesters are clamouring for fulldemocracy, that includes open nomination of candidates for the post of Chief Executive

(CE) of the territory in the elections scheduled for 2017. Their protests have acquired

a sharp and emotive edge after Beijing was accused of reneging on its commitment to

premise the entire electoral process from 2017 on universal suffrage, including the

choice of candidates for Hong Kong's highest office.


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During the entire period of British rule -- a full 155 years following the Opium Wars --

democratic advancement in the territory was minimal. Post-1997 under Chinese

sovereignty, the democratic reform process has begun to take shape, based on the Basic

Law adopted by China in 1990. While the agitating students, seeking unconditional

democracy, may be unhappy with this law, the accusation that Beijing has reneged onits legal obligations is entirely flawed. It is highly unlikely that despite the considerable

force of the social media at their command and the sizeable mobilisation on the streets,

the protesters will manage to persuade Beijing to change its mind on the fundamentals

of its "one country-two systems" policy, which allows the people of Hong Kong to

retain their distinctive legal and political system.

No breakthrough in hurdles facing India-U.S. ties Wed, Oct 1, 2014The Hindu, international, usa,

While India did not accede to the U.S. request to join the international coalition againstIslamic State, the two sides agreed on several ways to enhance cooperation on terror.

India and the U.S. will work on "joint and concerted efforts to dismantle" terror groups

such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, D-Company (Dawood Ibrahim

network) and the Haqqani network by shutting down "their financial capabilities."

They would also work together on building a database to monitor citizens under the

terror scanner who are returning from "conflict zones." They will also increase a

partnership on maritime security.

Deepening relationship Thu, Oct 2, 2014The Hindu, international, usa,

the gesture of President Obama right at the end to accompany Mr. Modi to the Martin

Luther King Memorial came as a poignant signal that the U.S. genuinely wants to move

ahead with India's newly elected leader. Secondly, U.S. business, clearly disaffected

by the difficulties they face in doing business with India, have also signalled its desire

to renew investments.

On issues where the countries agree, such as defence and energy, they show only

incremental progress, without any big announcements. On issues where the countriesdiffer, like the nuclear deal, trade and WTO, they seem to have deferred negotiations,

indicating that no progress was made in resolving them. And while both sides made it

clear ahead of the talks that the U.S. would request, and India would discuss, the

possibility of joining the anti-ISIS coalition, there is silence on where those discussions

led. On all fronts of the 'comprehensive dialogue', that is, eight issues including energy,

health, space, women's empowerment, trade, skills, strategy and security, Mr. Modi's


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visit successfully brought India-U.S. ties, that were faltering for a few years, back on

track

Taking ties beyond the Beltway Mon, Oct 6, 2014USA, The Hindu, international,

He overcame this challenge by interacting with a much broader American audience

than any of his predecessors. A very special feature of his visit was his determination

to open new doors in the U.S. and take the relationship beyond the beltway in Washington

DC. The public diplomacy effort this time included multiple energetic exchanges with

business and industry leaders, the Indian-American community, and U.S. lawmakers,

surpassing all previous efforts.

Several Congressmen and Senators were present at the event, including some who have

been critical of India on IT visas and compulsory licensing. These lawmakers saw atfirst hand the size, scale and connectedness of the Indian-American community to India,

as also Mr. Modi's crowd-pulling power. The message that this community is now a

force whose expectations cannot be ignored, including for better India-U.S. ties, is a

positive asset.

the Vision Statement of the India-U.S. Strategic Partnership -- cleverly captioned by a

new "mantra": " Chalein Saath Saath : Forward together we go." Such a vision could

help in taking steps towards its progressive concretion.

This visit has gone some way in changing the atmospherics of the bilateral relationship.

It has convinced many in the U.S. strategic decision-making community of India'scommitment to forge an enduring partnership with the U.S., as also India's ability to

think on a big scale about its own global role, in which India-U.S. ties could find a new

energy.

The 2008 U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) report announced a multipolar

world and predicted that U.S. power was fated to wane. This coincided with the 2008

economic slowdown. Mr. Obama's principal policy imperative has been to rebalance

U.S. foreign and security policy in order to guide the U.S. towards graceful decline.

Three main initiatives of Mr. Obama -- outstretched hand to Iran, strategic reassurance

to China, and reset for Russia -- each foundered.

Long-established U.S. ascendancy in the China-Russia-U.S. triangular relationship

passed to China. Mr. Obama announced the strategic defeat of al-Qaeda, the same way

Mr. George W. Bush had announced success in Iraq, but the rise of the Islamic State

shows that Islamists are arguably stronger and more spread out than at any other time

in history.


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What India and the U.S. need to do together is clear; they simply have been unable to

do it. The areas of strategic convergence are known. A growing, pluralistic and democratic

India is a constructive force in Asia and the world. India needs U.S. investments and

technology. The U.S. needs Indian markets and skilled service providers. The gap

between promise and performance of the two countries lies in the mutual timidity of

their governments in treading the path signposted after considerable effort. Roadblocks

need to be removed by resolving differences, for which both sides must sit and talk.

The renewal of the 2005 Framework for the India-U.S. Defense Relationship is a

reminder that in the 10 years of its operation, nothing whatsoever was done to "increase

opportunities for technology transfer, collaboration, co-production, and research and

development." India's contingent and reactive defence policy, including on procurement,

compromises security and is a drain on national resources. India has stepped up buying

of U.S. weapons; but has not so far co-developed or built them.

Similarly, the absence of energetic pursuit of U.S. support for "a reformed UN Security

Council with India as a permanent member," and the U.S. resolve "to continue work

towards India's phased entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile

Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia

Group" -- almost exactly the same words used when Mr. Obama had visited India in

2010 -- persuade many Indians that inaction on these commitments might be a sign of

equivocation.

Mr. Modi deflected pressure to give up on India's pro-public health patent protection

policy that enables the supply of high-quality, life-saving medicines worldwide. When

pharma sector CEOs spoke of their apprehensions about India's intellectual propertyrights (IPR) regime, he reportedly told them that India needed affordable medicines,

and that their firms needed to "devote the right energy" to R&D for new drug development,

"not just by changing the formulation of a drug to sustain a patent, but by inventing

things that make a difference to mankind."

'India would not join anti-China coalition led by U.S.' Wed, Oct 1, 2014The Hindu, international, China,

China has arrived at the conclusion that India would not join Japan, Australia and the

Philippines in an anti-Beijing coalition led by Washington.

Also called the Washington's "Pivot to Asia"-- a coinage first detailed by former U.S.

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton - the mantra anchors a decision to expand Washington's

military profile in the Asia-Pacific, including swathes of the Indian Ocean, by beefing

up military capabilities of countries on the periphery of China, including Japan, Australia

and the Philippines.


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The daily pointed out that rooted in its non-aligned culture, India will not develop its

ties with the U.S. at China's expense. "India adheres to an all-round foreign policy

strategy. Not only does India give priority to the India-U.S. relationship, it also attaches

great importance to Sino-India relationships," the daily observed.

Besides, both countries have vowed to forge a "closer development partnership" during

President Xi's visit to India. The article reiterated that the "unsolved territorial disputes

will not affect the development of Sino-India relations".

From a Chinese perspective, the core of the "rebalancing" doctrine would unfold in

Japan, where 40,000 U.S. troops would be positioned and in South Korea, where 28,

500 American servicemen were to be stationed.

Referring to the economic aspect of the "rebalancing" doctrine, the newspaper pointed

out that India was not even in the frame in the formation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership

(TPP), which was at the heart of the approach to restrain China's economic rise. Thecountries participating in the TPP include Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the United

States, Canada, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

On the contrary, India was focused inwards, seeking foreign investments to bolster its

domestic economy. "India has established an economic and financial partnership with

America.

India-China stand-off ends: MEA Wed, Oct 1, 2014

The Hindu, international, China,

The 20-day "stand-off" between Indian and Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh has

ended. The External Affairs Ministry announced on Tuesday that both sides "carried

out disengagement and redeployment of border troops"

"The two sides have also agreed that a meeting of the Working Mechanism for

Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) will be convened

in India on October 16-17 to discuss various issues pertaining to the maintenance of

peace and tranquillity in the border areas," the statement said.

Move to deny foreign nationals access to surrogacy draws flak Sat, Oct 4, 2014surrogacy, The Hindu, social,

The view among experts looking into the new Assisted Reproductive Technologies

(Regulation) Bill 2014 that single parents and foreign nationals should not be allowed

to have children through surrogates in India has come in for criticism.


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The experts argued that it was promoting trafficking in women and children and in the

absence of regulations, surrogate mothers were being treated unjustly.

Advocate Anil Malhotra, who challenged the single parent restrictions on surrogacy,

said the ban would be untenable as the law permitted single parents and foreign nationals

to adopt under the Juvenile Justice Act and any contrary move might not be permissible

under the Fundamental Rights given to all persons.

"Any restriction on foreign parent, single or couple, may be questioned as foreigners,

irrespective of marital status, are allowed inter-country adoptions under Indian law.

The Supreme Court allows religion and gender-free secular adoptions. Even transgenders

will have rights. A restrictive law controlling foreign parent surrogacy, like adoptions,

may be the better legal option, rather than banning it altogether.

The view to disallow foreign nationals stems from the concern over citizenship rights

of children born to Indian surrogate mothers as several countries have banned surrogacy

and do not recognise the children born through assisted means as their citizens.

On September 4, the Supreme Court had asked the government to clarify its stand on

the citizenship of children born via an Indian surrogate mother in India, but whose

biological mother is a foreign national. "Under the Constitution, a child born here from

an Indian surrogate mother is entitled to Indian citizenship, but what happens if the

biological mother is a foreign citizen and the child applies for citizenship of that country,"

a Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked.

The right to medicines in a world of stock-outs Sat, Oct 4, 2014The Hindu, social, right to medicines,

India is widely recognised as the pharmacy of the developing world thanks to its generic

drugs manufacturing sector. Yet, ironically, it often fails to provide necessary drugs to

its own population.

Drug shortages are common in India and rarely make news. A stock-out of essential

HIV drugs, however, is nothing short of a crisis; it is one that has parallels in previous

stock-outs and raises many questions

Contrary to popular perception, the government is designed to be a competent machinerywith detailed systems in place to avoid such crisis. Drug stocks in the public health

system are meant to be regularly monitored and the suppliers should be kept in the loop

about future requirements. Hence all drug stock-outs are created -- either out of neglect

or out of self-interest.

Where then do the poor go when they do not receive drugs? They have two options --

they can wait and suffer or they go to the private sector. Truthfully, this is not really a


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choice. It's well-known that a large number of patients seek care in the private sector

only due to the overburdened and patient-unfriendly nature of the public sector. So,

those who seek care in the public sector either cannot afford to go to the private sector

or have already been exploited by it.

The issue also has legal and ethical implications: how can the state put lives of patients

with HIV at risk by not making essential drugs available? Patients suffering from TB

and HIV also suffer extensive physical, psychological, social and economic consequences

of these diseases. These diseases impact income, raise expenses and often push families

into debt.

A stock-out also has significant implications for disease control. Unplanned HIV

treatment interruptions lead to increased risk resistance to HIV drugs, failure of treatment,

and death. Similarly, a TB patient without drugs can become drug-resistant and infectious.

Imagine a TB patient in a crowded slum -- coughing and transmitting the disease.

Stock-outs also significantly reduce the patient's trust in the system and makes retentionof patients more difficult.

Neglect by successive governments has resulted in the growth of an unregulated and

exploitative private sector which has become the primary provider of health services

to Indians. It is ethically and morally untenable that the state can renege on its duty to

provide the poor and vulnerable health care, particularly medicines under the public

sector.

Afghanistan's change of guard Thu, Oct 2, 2014The Hindu, international, Afghanistan,

The new President of Afghanistan, Ashraff Ghani, and Abdullah Abdullah, the country's

'chief executive officer' -- a new post that is to evolve into a prime ministership in two

years -- have their work cut out. Their swearing-in was billed as the first peaceful

transition of power in Afghanistan's history, but there is little peace. The Taliban want

to rule Afghanistan; they are hardly interested in negotiating power-sharing deals to

participate in a government they consider imposed by the West. Mr. Karzai, eager

towards the end of his term to get rid of the pro-West tag that was attached to him, had

been reluctant to sign an agreement allowing some U.S. troops to stay on after the

drawdown by end-2014. Mr. Ghani has quickly drawn the line under the previousgovernment -- among his first actions as President was to ink the long pending Bilateral

Security Agreement and Status of Forces Agreement.

Compounding the difficulties is the tenuous political agreement between Mr. Ghani

and Mr. Abdullah that ended the post-election deadlock. Mr. Abdullah had refused to

accept his defeat in the presidential run-off against Mr. Ghani, accusing him of electoral

fraud. in a U.S.-brokered deal that has brought together two leaders of opposed ethnicities


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-- Mr. Ghani is Pashtun while Mr. Abdullah is Tajik. Pakistan, with its continuing lifeline

to the Taliban, which holds the key to the stability and survival of the new political

arrangement. Unfortunately, both will be elusive until Pakistan, especially its security

establishment, is able to draw the right lessons from its own pathetic internal security

situation to realise that an unstable Afghanistan goes against its own interests.

ED to probe global drug money laundering operations Thu, Oct 2, 2014The Hindu, international, narcotics,

The threads of the international drug money laundering network recently busted by the

Enforcement Directorate in partnership with the Australian Federal Police are suspected

to be spread far and wide -- from Thailand, Hong Kong, Mexico and Australia to the

United Kingdom and the United States.

Hong Kong has emerged as a common transit point where several companies are beingfloated to launder drug money in the garb of export/import of goods to various countries,

including the United Kingdom and the United States.

First draft of Constitution to be ready by January: Deuba Sun, Oct 5, 2014The Hindu, international, Nepal,

The first draft of Nepal's new Constitution will be ready by the January 22 deadline,

He claimed that parties involved with the draft process have agreed to provide special

citizenship to non-residential Nepalis (NRN) but conceded there have been complicationsover providing political rights.

Political parties, which pledged during the second Constituent Assembly elections,

have set January 22 as deadline to draft the Constitution so as to institutionalise the

achievements of the Peoples Movement of 2006.

Political instability has plagued Nepal since the end of the civil war in 2006.

Gandhi, morality and political legitimacy Sat, Oct 4, 2014gandhi, The Hindu, polity,

Gandhi showed Indians and the world that the ultimate legitimacy in politics comes

not from brute force, not from the state apparatus, and not even from mechanisms of

political participation, electoral choice and representative self-government. All of these

are limited, and all of them are fallible. The popular mandate of Hitler did not make

Nazi rule legitimate. The benign despotism of the British in India did not make colonial


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rule legitimate. Totalitarianism that enters riding on the coat-tails of democracy, or

imperialism that seems bent over with the self-inflicted burden of delivering benighted

natives from their ignorance and backwardness -- neither of these forms attains legitimacy

merely because it is successful in capturing power on the basis of professed good

intentions.

True political legitimacy has to be premised on popular will, on the desire for

self-determination, and on the capacities and capabilities of a government, for sure.

But in the end it exceeds and transcends all of these factors, and resides elsewhere, in

a more subtle quality that has to do with the inherent morality of any structure of power

that purports to rule a people in their name and for their own good.

'Citizenship if Rohingya identify as Bengali' Wed, Oct 1, 2014Rohingya, Myanmar, The Hindu, international,

Myanmar has confirmed to the United Nations that it is finalising a plan that will offer

minority Rohingya Muslims citizenship if they change their ethnicity to suggest

Bangladeshi origin, a move rights groups say could force thousands into detention

camps.

Most of Myanmar's 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live in apartheid-like

conditions in Rakhine State on the western coast of the predominantly Buddhist country.

More controversially, the plan contains a section on a process to determine whether

Rohingya are citizens. Rohingya would be required to register their identities as

'Bengali,' a term most reject because it implies they are illegal immigrants fromBangladesh despite having lived in the area for generations.

India growing as a desirable holiday destination: Survey Mon, Oct 6, 2014The Hindu, tourism, economics,

Overseas travellers increasingly show interest in India as a "desirable" holiday destination,

as hotels in the country have been experiencing a large uptake in tourist interest,

The study also showed that while Goa, Kerala and Maharashtra were the top three most

searched Indian destinations in the past year, it is accommodations in Rajasthan thatcommend the highest average review rating of 4.3, out of a possible five.


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SC panel lays down guidelines for govt ads Mon, Oct 6, 2014The Hindu, elections, polity,

A Supreme Court-appointed high powered committee has recommended that namesand pictures of political parties and their office bearers like presidents not be mentioned

in government advertisements.

Holding that there had been "misuse and abuse" of public money on such advertisements,

the three-member committee headed by eminent academician Professor N R Madhava

Menon has framed guidelines to regulate expenditure and contents of such advertisements

paid out of tax payers' money.

The report, submitted to the apex court, has emphasised that only pictures and names

of the President, the Prime Minister, Governor and Chief Ministers be published to

"keep politics away from such ads".

Sources said the Committee has also endorsed the suggestions of the Election Commission

that there must be "severe" restrictions on such advertisements six months prior to

elections.

Perspectives on ocean mixing Fri, Oct 3, 2014environment, The Hindu, ocean,

While it is a well-known fact that dense ocean waters in the high latitudes sink to the

bottom carrying dissolved atmospheric carbon with them it is not quite clear even nowhow and where these waters return to the surface and exhale the dissolved carbon back

into the atmosphere.

The most recent perception is that mixing brings bottom waters up to about 2000 m

and then they flow at that depth all the way to the southern ocean, where the roaring

forties lift them to the surface. In this new scenario the potential energy needed from

mixing is only half of the earlier estimate.

Mixing is strong where the bottom topography of the ocean is rough and weak where

it is smooth. This heterogeneity must be mapped on a global scale to determine the

amount of mixing. It has been shown that 70 per cent of the waves break at the oceanbottom while the remaining 30 per cent propagate away from their generation sites and

break against continental slopes where mixing is strong and make their way along the

slopes of continents and ridges to the surface.


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A Scotland on Kashmir? Mon, Oct 6, 2014Pakistan, The Hindu, kashmir, polity,

But the comparison with Scotland is perhaps unfair, for Scotland has been part of a300-year-old union, and its attempted withdrawal was triggered largely by issues of

domestic governance. Kashmir on the other hand poses more complex issues of religious,

ethnic and national identity. Without the participation of thousands of Hindu and Sikh

refugees, obviously no referendum on Kashmir can be fair.

Separatist movements in other parts of the world have only marginally succeeded in

creating autonomy, certainly not complete freedom. In the 1980 and 1995 referendum,

Quebec rejected independence and chose to stay with Canada.

At the heart of the problem lies the Indian practice of nationalism, often confused with

private patriotism. The country's status as an old civilisation and a young nationcontributes to such collective insecurity and anxiety. It becomes essential to parade

around all the symbol of togetherness at public functions -- the national anthem, the

tricolour, the Ashok Chakra, and an endless array of cultural diehard longings that make

patriotic statements to others: Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations, the

'India Day Parade' in New York, Ram-Leela in London.

For the most part, the rest of the world treats its national symbols with less reverence

and with the banter of easy familiarity, not to be taken too seriously.

Referendums on independence and flags as underwear are of course for self-assured

nations that value human choice and dignity over a vague and -- now in the 21st century-- waning patriotism.

Who is Indian, what he eats, who he worships, what company he keeps, in which country

he lives, all have little relevance in a world that no longer respects borders. Certainly

at the time of independence, when the Kashmir problem was framed, nationalism was

a natural sentiment, triggered as it was by anti-colonialism. At the time, it was the

binding glue necessary for a country discovering its new identity. That time is long

past. But as a people, perhaps, we have not progressed beyond the assertion of symbolic

identity

The distance to disarmament Sat, Oct 4, 2014non proliferation treaty, nuclear, The Hindu, international,

The 1966 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty remains on date the only agreement to

prevent the spread of these weapons outside the original five nuclear weapons states.

But then, there are more countries today that flaunt these terrible weapons as a symbol


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of military might and many more that are perhaps perilously close to their acquisition.

The treaty privileges the status quo; it obliges non-nuclear weapons states not to acquire

nuclear weapons, without concomitant guarantees on disarmament from the Nuclear

Weapons States (NWSs). The 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty aims to

prohibit all tests and explosions. A potentially crucial deal, it has yet to come into forcebecause not all of the 44 countries with nuclear power reactors would ratify it. The big

players in Asia's geopolitics including India have kept out of it, as has Washington.

The refusal of many non-aligned countries to sign up to a deal that would exclude

current stocks from its purview, in effect preserving the hegemony of the NWSs, seem

unexceptionable. The 2010 New START (strategic arms reduction treaty) limits the

U.S. and Russia to 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads deployed on 700 strategic delivery

systems. This is the most current legally binding and verifiable bilateral arms control

accord between Washington and Moscow. Meanwhile, the five nuclear weapons free

zones in different regions across the globe have not been backed by unconditional

assurances by the original five NWSs not to use force. Efforts at the UN Conferenceon Disarmament towards the conclusion of a treaty may be long-drawn. But the stakes

for world peace were never greater than they are today.

Why love is a four letter word Mon, Oct 6, 2014sociology, The Hindu, social, women,

From its beginnings in the south to its tentacular spread in the north, the thick smoke

screen of "love jihad" -- by which Muslim men are alleged to have designs on Hindu

women of an entirely dishonourable kind -- disguises a far more familiar face, one thateven many Muslims will recognise. It is a deep-seated fear among many sections of

Indian men that too many Indian women have taken control of their lives at a much

faster pace than expected, show little patience for the strictures of the past, and therefore

need to be taught a quick lesson and kept in place.

The bloody violence of the khap panchayat has been a warfare between generations

and also between genders -- beleaguered older and very Hindu patriarchs versus the

young men and women who risked a great deal in dreaming of caring, sharing partners

and a less hierarchical life. The ferocity of khap panchayat attacks on these men and

women, and the prevarications of a state which did not doubt the moral authority of

these actions, has done little to deter these daily transgressions.

On the other hand, Indian feminism's very success has produced some contradictory

outcomes. An ever-eager and sophisticated state has altered its laws, policies and plans

to accommodate the language of women's aspirations

Quite simply, many Indian women are no longer the passive bearers of caste, religious,

ethnic or other meaning -- but the makers of meaning. That is surely a cause for dismay


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among those who feel their grip is loosening. Large numbers of women have gained a

measure of independence, freedom from domestic tyrannies, and have won some

economic and legal liberty. Straw polls, discouraging editorials and sensational headlines

notwithstanding, these hard-won gains will not be diminished.

Hence the need for a clarion call to place all Hindu women under a protection they did

not demand; back to a lock up where they will be safe from the dangers of independent

thinking and action. We should therefore take heart in these difficult times from the

courage shown by judges of the Delhi High Court in naming a clear and present danger

to married women: the matrimonial home.

Turkey vows to fight Islamic State Thu, Oct 2, 2014isis, The Hindu, international, turkey,

Turkey signalled it may send troops into Syria or Iraq and let allies use Turkish basesto fight Islamic State (IS), as coalition jets launched air strikes

The proposal would also mean Turkey, until now reluctant to take a frontline role against

IS, could allow foreign forces to use its territory for cross-border incursions.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the removal of Syrian President Bashar

Al-Assad remained a Turkish priority and stressed Ankara's fears that U.S.-led air

strikes without a broader political strategy would only prolong the instability.

Fighting rages as Ukraine rebels try to seize Donetsk airport Fri, Oct 3, 2014The Hindu, Ukraine, international, Donetsk airport,

Pro-Russian rebels pressed on Friday to seize a key airport in eastern Ukraine despite

fierce resistance by government forces.

Rebels have made some gains in the area near the airport, seizing some buildings on

its fringes and using them to target the main terminal.

The airport, located just north of Donetsk, the largest city in the east, gives the Ukrainian

forces a convenient vantage point to target rebel positions. Its loss would be a major

blow to Ukraine and would also allow the rebels to receive large cargo planes withsupplies in addition to truck convoys from Russia.


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The truth behind encounters Mon, Oct 6, 2014encounter killing, The Hindu, polity,

Making impartial investigations into killings in police encounters constitutes an areaof governance that is quite delicate and controversial. The police version often gains

traction in the media, and support from the ruling party and the administration often

helps a cover-up. The recent Supreme Court verdict laying down detailed guidelines

on how the police and administration should respond to a death in an alleged encounter,

seeks to put in place a proper mechanism that will set at rest all doubt and speculation

about the incident. The first requirement being an independent and impartial investigation,

the court has now laid down a standard procedure, which will operate in addition to

existing provisions in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) relating to unnatural

deaths. Holding the magisterial enquiry and keeping the National Human Rights

Commission informed are other requirements. As a general rule, the court has asked

the State governments to send a report once in six months (January 15 and July 15 every

year) on all incidents of death in police firing, in a prescribed format.

Ending impunity and ensuring impartiality in probes subsequent to death at the hands

of the police are easier said than achieved in some conflict-hit regions. As the Supreme

Court itself has pointed out, one cannot be oblivious to the fact that the police in India

have to perform a delicate task, especially wherever extremism and organised crime

have taken strong roots. However, it has also noted that even such criminals must be

dealt with by the police in an efficient and effective manner and brought to justice by

following the rule of law.

Going beyond interest rate changes Sun, Oct 5, 2014The Hindu, economics, interest rate,

The RBI has not only explained why a rate cut was not possible this time but has also

more than hinted as to why there might not be any change for quite sometime. The

'pause' may well extend to the greater part of 2015. The reason, of course, is inflation.

While the RBI is fairly confident of reaching its target of 8 per cent retail inflation by

January, 2015, it is far less certain about its medium-term target of 6 per cent by January,

2016.

The present softening of commodities prices, especially of oil -- now trading below

$100 a barrel -- might not last indefinitely. Food prices may spike. The impact of the

recent monsoons has not been assessed fully.

Incidentally, it is on the basis of the Urjit Patel committee's recommendations (January,

2014) that the targets for inflation based on the CPI rather than the WPI were first


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formalised. The bi-monthly policy review format is also based on the same committee.

However, till now, the government and the RBI have not formally accepted the

committee's recommendations.

The major implication of the fourth bi-monthly policy review is that the RBI framework

puts a higher weight on promoting macroeconomic stability and pursuing real interest

rates. On the latter, the financial savings of households could certainly do with inflation

--beating real returns.

Another clear inference is that the RBI expects the government to tackle the supply

side issues relating to food. Food inflation accounts for a significant part of retail and

wholesale inflation indices. In the CPI index, food inflation at 9.5 per cent is still high

although in the WPI, it has shown improvement. The RBI has to wage a relentless war

in keeping down inflation expectations.

ecent policy statements and clarifications by the Governor and senior officials are meant

to downplay the overweening focus on rate actions in the policy review. The policy

announcements ought to be viewed for the structural changes they propose. This time,

there is a further calibrated move to cut the held-to-maturity (HTM) ceiling by banks.

This will pave the way for a more orderly development of institutions. By tweaking

the norms for calculating the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), banks are allowed greater

access to funds for their normal deployment. The announcement to create a central

repository for frauds is another welcome step. The decline in credit disbursements by

banks -- it has dropped to below 10 per cent on year-on-year basis -- is a worrisome

development. The RBI, however, thinks it is not due to high interest rates. The base

effect may be at play. Besides, companies may be mobilising money from outside the

banking system. Oil companies have not been fully utilising the limits allotted to them.

The RBI has emphatically stated that future policy changes will be entirely dependent

on data. Its projections on medium-term inflation -- 6 per cent by January, 2016 -- will

be the pivot around which other policy changes will devolve.

India among five nations to build world's largest telescope Mon, Oct 6, 2014The Hindu, science & tech, largest telescope,

India along with Japan, the US, China and Canada will start work on the world's biggest

telescope on Hawaii Island that will enable to identify an object as small as coin from

a distance of 500 kms.

The 30-meter telescope will be established near the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano

with a cost of $1.4 billion.

The construction is expected to be completed by March 2022. Japan is expected to


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cover about a quarter of the construction costs.

The telescope will be larger than Japan's Subaru Telescope, one of the world's biggest,

which was also built on the summit of Mauna Kea and started observation in 1999.

The Subaru Telescope's single main mirror measures 8.2 meters in diameter, while thenew telescope will be composed of 492 hexagonal mirrors, each measuring 72 cm

across.

The telescope's light-condensing capabilities will be 13 times greater than the Subaru

telescope's, enabling the identification of an object as small as a coin from a distance

equivalent to 500 kms.

A telescope with greater light-condensing capabilities can search for stars that are less

bright or farther from Earth. The most distant and oldest star observed to date was born

some 800 million years after the Big Bang.

Young western women among jihadis Thu, Oct 2, 2014isis, The Hindu, international, women, jihadis,

Hundreds of young women and girls are leaving their homes in western countries to

join Islamic fighters in the Middle East, causing increasing concern among counter-terrorism

investigators.

Girls as young as 14 or 15 are travelling mainly to Syria to marry jihadis , bear their

children and join communities of fighters, with a small number taking up arms. Many

are recruited via social media. Women and girls appear to account for about 10 per cent

of those leaving Europe, North America and Australia to link up with jihadi groups,

including Islamic State (IS).

Counter-terrorism experts in the U.K. believe about 50 British girls and women have

joined IS, about a 10th of those known to have travelled to Syria to fight. Many are

believed to be based in Raqqa, the eastern Syrian city that has become an IS stronghold.

Coverage of antenatal care in India has to be increased: WHO Wed, Oct 1, 2014

Antenatal care, The Hindu, social, health,

In 2013, globally, preterm birth complications were responsible for 15 per cent (0.96

million) of deaths in children under five years of age. It is a leading cause of death in

neonates (0-27 days after birth).

India ranks first in the list of 10 countries that account for 60 per cent of all preterm

births; the U.S. is ranked sixth in the list.


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"India has little more than 50 per cent of antenatal care coverage. So in order to face

the issue of premature births, low birth weight babies and stillbirths, the first aspect is

to increase the coverage of antenatal care,"

nearly 30 per cent of maternal deaths are linked to indirect causes like gestationaldiabetes and obesity

Pregnant mothers who have diabetes, are obese or have preeclampsia (high blood

pressure) are less likely to complete full term and babies will be born with low birth

weight.

Of course, babies who are born before full term can still survive as simple interventions

and treatments are available. For instance, corticosteroid given to mothers before delivery

can greatly facilitate the development of the babies' lungs.

. "Our latest data show that India is just an inch away from reaching the MDG4 (childmorality) and MDG5 (maternal mortality) targets. [The current under-five mortality

rate is 56 and should reach 42 before December 2015. The MMR is 190 and should

drop to 140 before the end of next year.] It's just a matter of the curve accelerating a

little bit.

One big challenge that stares the country in the face is the reach of antenatal care.

According to the 2014 data, antenatal care in rural areas is about 50 per cent for more

than one visit and about 10 per cent for more than four visits. The availability of skilled

attendant at the time of delivery is only about 20 per cent in rural areas.

Talking about the huge number of adolescent marriages and women's role in the societyand education, she noted that positive results can be obtained despite certain determinants

that impact on maternal and child mortality taking a long time to change.

Tibetan plateau becomes focus of intense climate study Wed, Oct 1, 2014environment, The Hindu, tibet, climate change,

The Tibetan plateau has become the focus of intense meteorological study in a never-before

attempt to understand its effect on climate locally as well as globally,

This development follows close on the heels of the massive floods which hit Kashmirand Pakistan recently.

The $49-million Chinese effort, in which the plateau is being flooded with sensors, is

aimed to help predict extreme weather -- both in Asia and as far away as North America

-- and give scientists knowledge on how climate change affects these events.

Having a high altitude, the plateau receives more sunlight, gets hotter than land at sea


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level. Acting like a giant heating plate it pumps air upwards which disperses in the

upper troposphere, influencing atmospheric circulation and thereby, climate.

Being the biggest and highest plateau in the world, it disturbs the troposphere unlike

any other structure on earth. However, there are little data on the impact on climate.

The plateau's remoteness, altitude and harsh conditions -- it is often called the third

pole because it hosts the world's third-largest stock of ice -- meaning that even basic

weather stations are few.

"The data should help determine the extent to which different types of land surface heat

up the overlying air, and how this might vary in response to factors such as snow cover

and vegetation changes,"

Three share Nobel for medicineMon, Oct 6, 2014The Hindu, science & tech, Nobel Prize, health,

U.S.-British scientist John O'Keefe and Norwegian married couple May--Britt Moser

and Edvard Moser won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering the

brain's positioning system.

This "inner GPS" helps explain how the brain creates "a map of the space surrounding

us and how we can navigate our way through a complex environment," the Nobel

Assembly said.

O'Keefe, of University College London, discovered the first component of this positioning

system in 1971 when he found that a certain type of nerve cell was always activated

when a rat was at a certain place in a room.

It said that knowledge about the brain's positioning system may "help us understand

the mechamism underpinning the devastating spatial memory loss" that affects people

with Alzheimer's disease.

Dismantle the walls of secrecy Sat, Oct 4, 2014The Hindu, right to information, RTI Act, polity,

The Madras High Court recently took a significant step to rectify its own order in a

case dated September 17 by restoring Section 6(2) of the Right to Information (RTI)

Act, 2005, to say: "An applicant making a request for information shall not be required

to give any reason for requesting the information or any other personal details except

those that may be necessary for contacting him."

The RTI Act allows for citizens' access to information without anyone asking for it.


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Section 4 of the Act states that information ought to be provided by public authorities

suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications,

including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act. Further,

information which is not exempted and certain information which, even if exempted,

can be provided if larger public interest is shown. Only with reference to this that theidentity of the individual and the reasons for seeking information become necessary to

ascertain whether any larger public interest is involved.

the court's order implies is that an information seeker under the RTI does not have the

right to bring an action, to be heard in court, or to address the court on a matter before

it.

By way of judicial activism a PIL was created earlier to reduce the rigour of the rule

of locus standi. A common man will not be in a position to understand why a High

Court should reintroduce this rule in the context of RTI.

"Notings, jottings, administrative letters, intricate internal discussions, deliberations

etc. of the High Court cannot be brought under Section 2(j) of the RTI." The RTI Act

and several judgements upheld file notings as part of information that could be legitimately

accessed. In the September 17 order, the division Bench said: "It will have an adverse

impact on the regular, normal and serene functioning of the High Court office on the

administrative side."

In the Elango case the High Court says: "Information should be denied for the purpose

of maintaining utmost confidentiality and secrecy of the delicate functioning of the

internal matters of High Courts. Usage of undefined expressions such as "delicate

functioning," "utmost confidentiality," "secrecy," and "delicate functioning" in theseorders will ensure that the right to access information further shrinks.

The matter is sub judice and is pending before the court. According to Section 8(1)(b),

only when there is a specific prohibition by the court can information be denied. Sub

judice was not a ground for denial; yet, Para 27 of the judgment states that it is.

The secrecy and privacy of the internal working process may get jeopardised. Besides,

the furnishing of the said information would result in the invasion of privacy of the

individuals concerned. Privacy is an integral part of the right to life of persons as

explained by the judiciary. Can institutions then claim privacy?

The three orders have redefined the RTI Act -- reducing its scope, expanding its

restrictions, creating new grounds for denial of information and claiming total exemption

to its administration. They need to be reviewed so that the walls of secrecy can be

demolished.

(Madabhushi Sridhar is Central Information Commissioner.)


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The message behind the broom Sat, Oct 4, 2014The Hindu, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Clean India , polity,

Mr. Modi was evidently carrying forward the message in his Independence Day addresson the need for more toilets in schools, and for India's villages and towns to be free of

dirt.

If India's villages and towns are to be dirt-free, what is required is not the involvement

of each and every citizen for two hours every week in the clean-up. While that would

lend a Gandhian touch of personal involvement, it would surely be a colossal waste of

productive hours of skilled personnel. True, without the cooperation of citizens, it would

be impossible for any government or civic body to ensure clean streets and public

places. But this is not the same as requiring everyone in the workforce to engage in

actual cleaning. Efforts must be made to de-stigmatise the act of cleaning, and the

participation of citizens in large numbers in a mass cleaning exercise, even if as aone-off or annual event, will have a positive effect. The government may not be able

to do everything, but voluntarism cannot be a substitute for strengthening civic

infrastructure.

NJAC Bill has not removed flaws of collegium system, says Justice Shah Mon, Oct 6, 2014The Hindu, NJAC Bill, polity, judiciary, National Judicial Appointments Commission,

Law Commission Chairman Justice A.P. Shah on Sunday criticised the proposed law

in its present form as "disquieting." According to Justice Shah it may perpetuate a"culture of trade-offs and sycophancy present in the collegium system of appointment."

Justice Shah, who was consulted by the government during the framing of the NJAC

Bill, described it as a "missed opportunity" for the government to provide guidance on

Constitutional values integral to judicial appointments.

According to him the NJAC Bill has not removed the flaws of the collegium system.

"Constitutional Courts of this country cannot be run like closed country clubs.

Since 1993, the Supreme Court has been "packed" with Chief Justices of High Courts

elevated by the collegium merely due to their seniority, and without looking at merit

and other objective qualifications. This, he said, has led to a "decline in the standard

of judges."

Noting that the Bill erodes judicial independence, he pointed to how non-judicial

members in the NJAC can veto a candidate irrespective of the views of three judicial

members, including the Chief Justice of India.


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The former Chief Justice of India, R.M. Lodha, who was the chief guest at the lecture,

said the ultimate goal of a Judicial Appointments Commission is to safeguard independence

of judiciary.

Mr Shah said it is best that members have a cooling-off period of two to three years to

ensure that they are not just independent in fact, but are also seen by the wider public

as being independent of the Executive.

the hindu oct 1 to oct 6

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