Issue #1
1 JULY 2022
the Politique
A lesson from
Mass-Shootings
DPRK’s Political
Crackdown
Nupur Sharma & a Tale
of Fragile Diplomacy
Pg: 2
Pg: 3
Pg: 4
K
nowledge and the ability to use
that knowledge for the
development of the society is
what separates us from those with whom
we walk and share the Earth with.
And news is one of the
messengers of knowledge
delivering wisdom to us.
With “the Politique”, we
strive to bring the readers
every important bulletin of
the globe in a concise and
unstrained manner. the
Politique is a product of the
solid effort, extensive
brainstorming, unabated
dedication and consistent toil of 4
boys from a leading Indian boarding
school, Mayo College. In the first edition
of the Politique we discuss the
importance and effectiveness
Agneepath - A step
towards a better line
of defence?
Pg: 5
Monthly Economic
Forecast
Pg: 7
of gun restrictions and control after a look
back at the events in the United States,
the economic and social conditions of
Russia and it’s citizens, throw some light
on the blueprints of a political
crackdown in North Korea,
report on the development of
life expectancy rates in India
over the past decade, tackle
the Nupur Sharma debacle,
Boris Johnson facing vote
of no confidence within his
party earlier last month,
give an insight on the
proposed Agneepath system
of recruitment of the Indian
Army. Our Economic Section tells
us of the monthly economic forecast, and
about the buying of Flipkart’s stakes by
Chinese firm Tencent.
Boris Johnson faces Tory Vote
Challenged by his own party members,
British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson
faced a vote of no confidence on June 6
after 15 percent of his fellow Tory
Parliamentarians requested for a
challenged to the leadership. Although the
outcome of the vote was in favour of the
British Premier, his leadership is
undoubtedly under question as 41 percent
of his party members voted against his
leadership. This drastic fall in
comradeship within the Tory Party comes
after the many allegations of
mismanagement under Boris’ helm and
especially the rather recent disclosing of
the “Partygate Scandal” where the Prime
Minister and his officials violated
lockdown protocols on multiple
occasions, throwing “booze” parties at 10
Downing Street.
-Apoorv Agarwal
Page 1 of 8
Issue #1
1 JULY 2022
Messages from the Editors
Bhavamanyu Shekhawat - Being from a
military background, I have always had a
front row seat in witnessing a plethora of
complexities that a simple life has to offerthe hardships as well as the luxuries. I have
grown up in an environment where
discipline has always been considered an
integral part of everyone’s life and I wish to
inculcate the same ideologies in my
behaviour everyday. Having to continuously
switch houses and finding a “home” in a
new place every 2 years, adaptability has
never been a concern for me. As a result, I
have gathered a number of valuable lessons
and unique experiences from many different
regions of the country and I wish to
showcase them here. Moreover, owing to the
countless places that
I’ve visited over the years, I’ve had the
chance to interact with some very interesting
and insightful people holding extremely
diverse yet thought provoking views on an
assortment of topics concerning areas that I
intend to incorporate in the Politique. With
this one of a kind newsletter, we aim to make
our peers, seniors and the people around us
aware of relevant global issues. They say
there’s always two sides to every story which
is why we, the Politique team, promise to
bring you both the sides with absolute
transparency, along with each editor’s
completely neutral yet individualistic take
on the matter; as we realise the sensitivity of
every issue discussed in our newsletter.
Aarjav Mehindratta Dear reader, the
Politique is a brainchild of 4 Class XI
students who came together to provide
everyone with political and financial
literacy. Our aim is to reach a wider
audience and help people with the daily
economics. I am Aarjav Mehendiratta and I
am the editor of the economic section. Ever
since I was young I’ve been accustomed to
the business acumen. Both my parents are
business icons in their own lane and I have
adapted their ways of daily money making
and gathering knowledge into my basket.I
have learnt the importance of saving from
my mother and she has always taught me to
save even when its 10 or 1000 rupees. I
hope reading this newsletter helps you in
your daily life.
Apoorv Agarwal- The world and the funny
lines that divide it to form countries never
stop to amuse me. These countries are so
similar yet so different. Sometimes so close
yet so far and the contrary too! How wars,
alliances, diplomacy and trade collectively
form International Relations, a twine that
holds all these far off and unlike countries
together. I from a very young age had a
curiosity of these funny lines and the
governance that shape them. My knowledge
of the working of countries and their
relations, has helped me gain a lot of
confidence, as it helped me develop a sense
of understand of the right and wrong,
morally and factually. Discovering my
passion and interest helped me to discover
myself. I know for a fact that knowledge and
experience don't just land you at good jobs
and positions but help you develop yourself
into the person you have always wanted to
be. While we can with no doubt consider
ourselves literate, it’s a long road for us to
become truly educated. And the aim of this
newsletter is just that, to educate it’s
audience with the understanding of the
world they live in.
Editorial Team: @Aarjav Mehindratta @Apoorv Agarwal @Bhavamanyu Shekhawat @Dhruv Pratap
Page 2 of 8
Issue #1
1 JULY 2022
Buffalo, Uvalde & Tulsa. What do we take back from these
tragedies?
Surely, we learn from our mistakes. After
all, we are taught to. Why then do we still
not learn from the many tragedies that
have costed many their family members
or closed ones. The Uvalde and Buffalo
attacks were just the tip of a much bigger,
unseen and neglected iceberg. The
majority of these shootings go
unreported, and we never care to learn
about them. While gun-control and
restrictions are bound to help bring the
number of such incidents under control,
its not complete* solution. There are
countries with no or bare gun restrictions
with no abuse of guns and there are
countries with gun restrictions where
mass shootings and gun violence is a
common occurrence. In Switzerland,
where gun laws are among the the most
lenient in the world, we don’t often hear
gun crimes, but while USA had a federal
assault weapon ban from 1994 to 2004,
along with a rising sense of unity of
nationalism in the wake of a national
tragedy inform the World Trade Centre
Attacks, failed to bring down gun
violence. Talking again about the United
States where gun-ownership rates and
gun-violence reports are the highest in
the developed world, the lawmakers
cannot make up a mind with so much
money spent on lobbying for both gun
rights and gun control.
-Apoorv Agarwal
India Reports Highest Life Expectancy In Ten Years, But Still
Below Global Average
After ten years, India finally sees an increase
in its average life expectancy. The country's
life expectancy at birth has spiked by two
years to 69.7 from 2015 to 2019, shows a
report by Sample Registration System
(SRS). Despite this, the figure remains well
below the estimated global average life
expectancy of 72.6 years.
According to the demographic survey's
findings, high infant and under-five
mortality may be one of the reasons India is
struggling to improve life expectancy at
birth.
Overall, the country's life expectancy at
birth has increased significantly, from 49.7
in 1970- 75 to 69.7 in 2015-19, a 20-year
increase in the last four decades.
From 1970-75 to 2015-19, the gap between
rural and urban life expectancy has reduced
dramatically. Except for Kerala, most states
have reported higher life expectancy in
Page 3 of 8
urban regions than in rural ones when it
comes to life expectancy at birth.
Nationally, the difference in urban-rural life
expectancy at birth is around 4.7 years, and
the difference in urban-rural life expectancy
at age 70 is about 1.6 years.
Except for Bihar and Jharkhand, almost all
States and UTs, both rural and urban, have a
higher female life expectancy in 2015-19.
Female life expectancy at birth is more than
two years higher than male life expectancy
at birth.
Males have a life expectancy of 68.4 years
and females have a life expectancy of 71.1
years at the national level. Men in Delhi
(74.3 years) and females in Kerala (78.0
years) have the highest life expectancy,
while males in Chhattisgarh (63.7 years) and
females in Uttar Pradesh (66.2 years) have
the lowest.
-Dhruv Pratap Singh
Issue #1
1 JULY 2022
North Korea Plans Crackdown As Kim Pushes for Internal Unity
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his
top deputies have pushed for a crackdown
on officials who abuse their power and
commit other “unsound and nonrevolutionary acts," state media reported
Monday, as Kim seeks greater internal unity
to overcome a COVID-19 outbreak and
economic difficulties.
Kim and other senior
party secretaries
discussed “waging a
more intensive struggle
against unsound and
non-revolutionary acts
including abuse of
power and bureaucracy
revealed among some
party officials,” the
official Korean Central
News Agency said.
Kim ordered the authority of the party’s
auditing commission and other local
discipline supervision systems to be
bolstered to promote the party’s “monolithic
leadership” and “the broad political
activities of the party through the strong
discipline system,” KCNA said. Kim has
previously occasionally called for struggles
against “anti-socialist practices” at home in
the past two years amid outside worries
about his country's fragile economy that has
been battered by pandemic-related border
shutdowns, U.N. sanctions and his own
mismanagement. The North's elevated
restrictions on movement in the wake of the
COVID- 19 outbreak could cause a further
strain on the country's economic difficulties,
some experts say.
North Korea on May 12 admitted the
omicron variant of the
coronavirus had infected
people,
and
it
subsequently has said
about 4.5 million people
— more than 17% of its
26 million people — have
fallen ill with fevers and
only 72 have died.
Foreign experts widely
doubt the outbreak was
North Korea's first, and they believe the
statistics being disclosed in state media are
manipulated to prevent political damage to
Kim while bolstering internal control and
promoting his leadership.
During a Workers’ Party conference last
week, Kim claimed the pandemic situation
has passed the stage of “serious crisis” and
o r d e r e d o f fi c i a l s t o r e m e d y “ t h e
shortcomings and evils in the anti-epidemic
work” and take steps to build up the
country’s anti-pandemic capability.
- Dhruv Pratap Singh
Russian Gas - Fuelling the War
As the Kremlin launched an official attack
on the nation of Ukraine on February 24 this
year, among the many strategies adopted by
the Western Bloc was the implication of
sanctions and boycott Russian Gas (Oil).
The West with this move hopes to strip
Russia off it’s main source of revenue, Oil
Page 4 of 8
and Gas Exports which account for 40
percent of their revenue, generating almost
400 Billion USD in 2021. As American
Think-Tank predicts, this move can cost
Russia more than $1Billion each day. Such
sanctions and embargos are salient against
Russian force as they deprive Moscow of
Issue #1
1 JULY 2022
vital funds for their military Campaign.
Despite united effort of a plurality
of nations, a 100 percent
boycott is nearly impossible
as many countries are heavily
depended on Russian
supplied gas to generate
energy, which include
global giant Germany
which receives the majority of it’s Oil and
Gas through Pipelines from Russia.
Although Germany has stalled the
constructions of any more pipelines
including Nord Stream 2. China and India
remain as prominent buyers of Russian Gas,
opting for a more neutral stance on the
conflict.
-Apoorv Agarwal
Nupur Sharma & a Tale of Fragile Diplomacy
“Prophet Muhammad married a six year old
and had sex with her when she was 9 years
old.” The statement made by the suspended
BJP leader shook the entire world and the
minority in India. Nupur Sharma, former
BJP spokesperson, made the infamous
statement in a heated debate which has left
the world and especially the gulf region in a
state of havoc ever since. Following that,
she was handed out her suspension letter
from the Bharatiya Janta Party. The leader
had then withdrawn her statement and
publicly apologised for the same. Naveen
Jindal, who was a primary member of the
same party, was also expelled after making
comments which could cause communal
disharmony. Both the statements were made
in response to hurtful comments made
about the Shivling. As a result, more than
20 countries including Qatar, Pakistan,
Malaysia, Egypt, UAE and Turkey
condemned Nupur Sharma and barred her
entrance from the respective
nations. The Gulf Cooperation
Council and the
Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation
also demanded
answers from the
ruling party in India. Nupur
Sharma has also been banned
from travelling via Qatar
Airways. This in turn caused
riots
in the country between the two religious
groups, leaving the nation in pandemonium.
- Bhavamanyu Singh Shekhawat
Chinese Giant Tencent Buys Stake In Flipkart
Chinese conglomerate Tencent has bought a
0.72% stake in Flipkart from its co founder
Binny Bansal through its European
subsidiaries.The stake is worth about $264
million and has left the co founder with a
1.84% stake in Flipkart post deal.
Bengaluru based Flipkart is aiming for a
$60-70 billion valuation for its IPO having
raised $50 billion earlier. US giant Walmart
had bought about 77% stake in flipkart for
$16 billion.This is a great deal considering
many foreign companies are investing in
our country’s booming startup ecosystem.
-Aarjav
Page 5 of 8
Mehendiratta
Issue #1
1 JULY 2022
Agneepath - A step towards a better line of defence?
The Union Cabinet took a historic
decision by approving a fresh recruitment
scheme for India’s youth to serve in the
armed forces called Agneepath on June
14. Agneepath is going to help the armed
forces recruit younger and fitter soldiers
as the average age in the Indian Army
would drop down from 32 to 26 years.
With 25% of the soldiers getting selected
after being trained for 6 months and a
service of total 4 years, every one in four
soldiers would get to serve the 15 year
time period in the forces. This scheme
would help reduce unemployment, as
well as it would give the Agniveers a
chance to serve the nation and would help
them with post release job opportunities.
A package of Rs 11-12 lakhs, partly
funded by their monthly contributions,
with a skill certificate and bank loans
would be provided to the ones released,
for help in their second careers. After
release these Agniveers would be given
priority when signing up for paramilitary
forces which are The Assam Rifles and
Special Frontier Force in addition to
Border Security Force,
Central Reserve Police
Force and many more.
The scheme would
result in civil society
having welldisciplined and
skilled youth with
military ethos, but like
every story, this one also
has 2 sides to it. The
training period of 6 months would be
inadequate to get accustomed with the
practices of the armed forces and the
modern military equipment. Taking an
example of the Indian Army, the battlewinning factor is the regimental system,
Page 6 of 8
where soldiers, with their association to
their regiment over a period of time start
taking pride in the history and battle
achievements of the regiment. This
enables soldiers to remain
steadfast in life threatening
situations in the
environment of the
battlefield with guns
blazing all around.
This regimental system
which is at the core of the
battlewinning factor will totally
break down with the
transitory Agniveers, leading
to a failure of military
missions. With this policy, in the next 15
years, all regiments will have 75% of
inadequately trained Agniveers, with their
regimental service ranging from one day
to three and a half years, making the army
no better than a conscript army. A poor
quality human resource, an inadequately
trained and poorly paid Agniveer lacking
any motivation with a broken regimental
system will be a sure recipe for disaster
for national security while fighting the
battle-hardened soldiers of our western
neighbours. The 4 year time period Is also
very less for the Agniveers to understand
the hierarchy and thus would result in
disputes within the army between the
newly commissioned Agniveers and the
senior JCO’s. As only 25% of the soldiers
would get recruited, many of the rest 75%
who would have predicted that their
future doesn’t lie with the forces would
cause ruckus, leaving a well run
organisation disorganised. Post release
the weapon training could also result in
increase of criminal activities. The
biggest worry would be the breakdown of
unit cohesion. Within a combat unit, it is
Issue #1
1 JULY 2022
impossible for soldiers to operate together
when on different employment contracts.
The seasoned soldier won’t trust the intern
with his life, and the intern will reciprocate
by not taking a risk with his life. Since its
release, the scheme hasn’t received a very
positive response as protests broke down in
many parts of the country. “Hooligans are
not required in the forces, those who are
protesting today shouldn’t be guarding the
border of the country tomorrow.” This was
the response of the former Indian Army
Chief, General VP Malik to the riots. Many
can say, that the scheme has worked well
with our not so friendly neighbours China,
but China is in control of a dictator.
Whether it will work in India or not, a curse
or a boon, only time can tell.
-Bhavamanyu Singh Shekhawat
Word of the Edition
Tory - A Tory is a person who holds a
political philosophy known as Toryism,
based on a British version of traditionalism
and conservatism, which upholds the
supremacy of social order as it has evolved
in the English culture throughout history.
The Tory ethos has been summed up with
the phrase "God, Queen, and Country”.
Crossword
Across:
3. The west hopes to strip Russia of its main source of revenue
of this export.
5. 2. Healthy monsoon coverage, gradually rising _________
sowing is expected to ease food, and thereby headline,
inflation.
7.
Mode of payment for internal transactions in Russia
confirmed by the First Deputy Governor of Russia's Central
Bank.
8. The Kremlin launched an official attack on this nation on
February 24 earlier this year.
9. The epitome of Affordable modern comforts, suspended its
operations in Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.
10. This US giant had bought 77% stake in flipkart for $16
billion.
Down-wards:
1. A country where mass shootings are a rare sight despite of
the lenient laws for guns.
2. Post release the Agniveers would be given priority when
signing up for these forces.
3. Airlines which has banned Nupur Sharma from travelling via
their aircrafts.
4. In the Indian army, this system is the battle winning factor.
Page 7 of 8
Russian Central Bank Wants To Accept
Cryptocurrency As Mode For
International Transactions
The First Deputy Governor Of Russia’s
Central Bank, Ksenia Yudaeva said on May
31 that the government is interested in
allowing cryptocurrencies as mode of
payment for international transactions.This
move could help Russia evade sanctions
imposed by the West.Russia has been
working towards a crypto framework for a
long time.The Ministry Of Finance has
made amendments towards crypto mining
and other important aspects of
cryptocurrencies.The country has eased its
stance down from its earlier stringent
polices of cryptocurrency regulation but
Yudaeva says the bank still believes that the
widespread use of cryptocurrency still
poses a financial threat to the currency.
-Aarjav
Mehendiratta
Issue #1
1 JULY 2022
Monthly Indian Economic Forecast
After recording the strongest
GDP rebound in the G20 in
2021, the Indian economy is
progressively losing
momentum as inflationary
expectations remain elevated
due to rising global energy
and food prices, monetary
policy normalises and global
conditions deteriorate. Real
GDP is projected to grow
by 6.9% in
fi s c a l y e a r
( F Y )
2022-23
and 6.2%
in FY 2023-24,
despite a pick-up of
corporate investment
facilitated by the ProductionLinked Incentive Scheme.
W h i l e i n fl a t i o n w i l l
gradually decline, the current
account deficit will widen
due to the surge in energy
import costs. Inflationary
pressures took an upturn in
May 2021 with headline
inflation (CPI- C) and WPI
inflation touching a high of
6.3 percent and 12.94 per
cent respectively. Supply
side disruptions in states and
unfavourable base effects
drove the broad-based
momentum in retail inflation
across food, fuel and core
categories. On the other
hand, electricity and
manufactured products
inflation led the uptick in
wholesale inflation. Healthy
monsoon coverage,
gradually rising Kharif
sowing and unlocking of
states is expected to ease
food, and thereby headline,
inflation. However, risks due
to global demand-led
recovery in commodity
prices and input cost
pressures remain.
-Aarjav
Mehendiratta
After 3 Months Of War Life In Russia Has Profoundly Changed
When Vladimir Putin
announced the invasion of
Ukraine, war seemed far
away from Russian territory.
Yet within days the conflict
came home — not with
cruise missiles and mortars
but in the form of
unprecedented and
unexpectedly extensive
volleys of sanctions by
Western governments and
economic punishment by
corporations.
Three months after the Feb.
24 invasion, many ordinary
Russians are reeling from
those blows to their
livelihoods and emotions.
Moscow’s vast shopping
malls have turned into eerie
expanses of shuttered
storefronts once occupied by
Western retailers.
M c D o n a l d ’s — w h o s e
opening in Russia in 1990
was a cultural phenomenon,
a shiny modern convenience
coming to a dreary country
ground down by limited
choices — pulled out of
Russia entirely in response
to its invasion of Ukraine.
IKEA, the epitome of
affordable modern comforts,
suspended operations. Tens
of thousands of once-secure
jobs are now suddenly in
question in a very short time.
Major industrial players
including oil giants BP and
Shell and automaker Renault
Page 8 of 8
walked away, despite their
huge investments in Russia.
Shell has estimated it will
lose about $5 billion by
trying to unload its Russian
assets.
While the multinationals
were leaving, thousands of
Russians who had the
economic means to do so
were also fleeing, frightened
by harsh new government
moves connected to the war
that they saw as a plunge
into full totalitarianism.
Some young men may have
also fled in fear that the
Kremlin would impose a
mandatory draft to feed its
war machine.
-Dhruv Pratap Singh
ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 11(02), 29-31
Journal Homepage: -www.journalijar.com
Article DOI:10.21474/IJAR01/16214
DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/16214
RESEARCH ARTICLE
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE REVOCATION OF ARTICLE 370
Apoorv Agarwal
Mayo College, Ajmer.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Manuscript Info
Abstract
…………………….
………………………………………………………………
Manuscript History
Received: 05 December 2022
Final Accepted: 09 January 2022
Published: February 2023
Key words:Constitution, Detained, Curfew, House
Arrest, Revoked, Abrogated, Separatists,
Political
Prisoners,
Autonomy,
Sovereign
September 2019 onwards, New Delhi put several political leaders from
Jammu to house arrest and imposed a statewide curfew that endured
from the August of 2019 to February of 2021. The number of those
detained exceeded 400 as the center imposed a crackdown on the
opposition they labelled “separatists”. Why did the center have to
detain so many politicians and activists? Why did the centre impose
such long a curfew on the state which costed its economy 1.5 billion
US dollars? What was the need to detain its own citizens and deprive
them of basic needs like the internet for 2 long years, ending only in
January of 2021. In this paper I shall strive to bring out the key details
of the revoked Article 370, how it changed the livelihood of 14 million
Kashmiris and list some key legal implications of the revocation.
Copy Right, IJAR, 2023,. All rights reserved.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………....
Introduction:Article 370 was a "Temporary, Transitional and Special Provision” introduced in 1949 granting special powers and
a separate constitution with its own General Assembly and Prime Minister. It was put in force after Hari Singh‟s
princely state of Kashmir was attacked by Pakistan and its backed tribesmen which resulted in HE Hari Singh
agreeing to accede to India on special terms. Those special terms demanded by The Maharaja for his public found a
space in the Indian Constitution and constituted to form Article 370.
Exactly 70 years after its implementation to the Indian Constitution, the article was abrogated on 5th of August 2019
marking an end to the special status and autonomy given to the extinct state of Jammu and Kashmir. This action
from the Centre both got mixed reactions from all walks of India, the opposition too were divided on their opinions.
While some lauded the repeal of the article, some took to the streets, social media and other platforms to make their
protest against the revocation heard.
But how had this one article in the Indian Constitution manage to divide the country so much? The answer to that is
rather pale and simple. The now non existing article meant different things to different people. It provided separate
believes to separate people. While it gave security, autonomyand a sense of pride to the citizens of Kashmiris, it
disgusted Indians who had the dream of one, unified and tied together India. Also, there was one more element to
this debacle, Ladakh. Ladakh had been for centuries a grand state with much power. But after the British intrusion in
the north and the sale of the region to Hari Singh‟s ancestors, it lost all its autonomy and with that, its identity. But
post 5th August it had new hope. Hope to emerge back as a union territory and reclaim its long-lost glory.
Corresponding Author:- Apoorv Agarwal
Address:- Mayo College, Ajmer.
29
ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 11(02), 29-31
How Did The Centre Manage To Repeal Article 370?
As part of the negotiations with the Maharaja in 1949, for any amendments made to the article 370, the concurrence
of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu And Kashmir as well as the President (Presidential Order C.O. 272 as
instructed by Article 367) was required. But the Constituent Assembly itself dissolved itself on 26th January 1957,
without making or suggesting changes to the Article. This absence of the Constituent Assembly was the root of the
long-standing debate arguing whether the Article was now permanent part of the Indian Constitution and was a
revival of the Constituent Assembly necessary for the amendments and abrogation of the Article or better still, can
the Article be repealed or amended through the normal amending procedure under the Constitution.
The President being a representative of the Centre, and now being the only one with power in terms of the Article,
the Centre time and again used the President‟s office‟s powers to make amendments to the Article and subsequently
reducing the autonomy of the state. Throughout several past decades the governments in office including the
incumbent BJP lead NDA government exploited the Presidential Order C.O. 272 while imposing Presidential rule or
order 47 times.
Legality Of The Move
The legitimately of the abrogation of the „Special Status‟ by the center is heavily controversial and highly debated.
While some constitutional experts call this move legal and “constitutional sound” as stated by renowned commenter
Subhash Kashyap, many others called it a sly action. As the Lok Sabha was consulted and was the one to vote on the
motion and not the not existing Constitutional Assembly of Kashmir as agreed with Maharaja Hari Singh of
Kashmir. Critics thus have also called the move as “breaching the contractual basis upon which the Maharaja of
Kashmir agreed to join the Republic of India in 1947”.
Experts suggest this could take an international move too. Constitutional law expert Faizan Mustafa commentates
that the 1947 agreement under which Kashmir decided to accede to India was one between two „sovereign states‟,
calling it especially an international treaty. Based on this many lawyers opposing this revocation called for this case
to be heard and handled by the International Court of Justice. The ICJ though has offered a „non-binding advisory
opinion‟ citing the Indian Government won‟t anyway accept ICJ‟s jurisdiction.
What Changed In The Valley
It‟s been 2 years since the abrogation of the Article 370, for good or bad, depends on who you ask. But since the 2
years of its exclusion from the constitution, a lot has changed for everyone residing in the now union territories of
Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The political scenario has drifted quite drastically with the formation of the
formation of new alliances and the breaking of older ones. While some sections of society have seen more freedom,
others have been burdened under the freedom awarded to others. The hopes of an Azad Kashmir have been quashed
for the nationalists and separatists and BJP has finally gotten its way after decades of protests and demands which
even saw the death of its leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee while in custody of the Kashmiri executive force.
Listing some of the changes post 5th August 2019, we think of the women, who while the Article was in force if
were to marry a non-resident man were not allowed to inherit their ancestral property neither buy other properties.
Speaking of properties, in the erstwhile state of Kashmir, no foreigner of the state was allowed to own/buy
properties in the state as a means of land security for the locals. But now the article which gave security of land to
the locals is abolished along with the security of land has gone the security of government jobs. Prior to the
revocation, it wasn‟t permitted for a non-resident to give exams for government jobs and apply for government
positions. Now any man from India can both own properties anywhere in Jammu & Kashmir and apply for positions
in the government. As the abrogation of the Article greatly disempowers the common Kashmiri, the People‟s
Conference remarked that 5th of August will be remembered as a “day of disempowerment” in the history of Jammu
and Kashmir. The list of despondents of Kashmir‟s autonomy and social security doesn‟t end there. The Centre has
also labelled the Kashmiri State flag and Kashmiri Constitutional illegitimate. Along with the Constitution, has gone
the state‟s own penal code, The Ranbir Penal Code. All 3 which was awarded to the state with the Article has now
been taken away from the State. Instead of the State Flag, the Indian Tricolour or the Tiranga now flies over all
government buildings in the Union Territory.
The political spectrum there too came together to fight the Centre lead by BJP challenging it to get back the special
status for the state. In the valley political rivals National Conference and People‟s Democratic Party came together
forming the Gupkar Alliance, which the people called the Kashmiri Mahagathbandhan. National Conference leaders
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ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 11(02), 29-31
Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, joined hands and held meetings after their
release in 2020 from house detention in August 2019.
In observance of the other smaller amendments made in the state, the Centre has decided not to issue passports or
provide other government services to residents having any role in separatist or anti-India activism such as stone
pelting or other subversive acts.
Conclusion:It‟s been merely a year since the curfew in Jammu and Kashmir was lifted but normalcy in the union territory is
rather uncertain. While the number of police/army involvement with roadblocks, bunkers and checkpoints have
reduced since the end of curfew, the sense and demand for statehood and special rites for the former state remains
alive and active among the residents in the valley. The gravity with which the Centre took the decision has left deep
scar in all of Kashmir. The nullification of Article 370, repeal of 35 (A), bifurcation of the state and the enactment of
of the new domicile laws seemed to have increased the all-pervasive sense of fear, humiliation and hopelessness
among the Kashmiri population. People are still in shock and seemed psychologically disturb showing heightened
anxiety and paranoia about the future.
With virtually no business and tourism in the region for almost 2 years, the economy reached a rather low point
amounting to an estimated loss of 1.5 billion USD. The businesses now are trying to open up and make up for the
losses of the past 2 years. As the tourism gets back on tracks, hotels and shops are opening up providing again a new
hope for economic development.
As for the future of India in general, until New Delhi adopts an iron fist policy over its states and have controlling
powers over them, we are likely to see many such incidents in the future. With much possibility we are bound to see
disturbance and political upheaval in The North-East where just like Jammu And Kashmir, they too have special
rites bestowed upon them by the Centre under Article 371.
But until then, India is very much in danger of facing separatist movements by separatists of Kashmir, the Naxals of
the tribal belt, or the tribesmen of North-East.
Bibliography:The Following sources have been used to gather information and facts for the complied report:
1. https://loksabha.nic.in/
2. https://www.jk.gov.in/jammukashmir/
3. https://www.firstpost.com/
4. https://www.indiatoday.in/
5. https://www.hindustantimes.com/
6. https://government.economictimes.indiatimes.com/
7. https://www.dw.com/en/
8. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/
9. https://www.parliament.uk/
10. https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2019/08/05/the-article-370-amendments-key-legal-issues/
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Apoorv Agarwal
Mayo College, Ajmer
Man Made Pandemic.
Just a Conspiracy?
Where did COVID-19 really come from
and What it took away from us?
I
n November 2019, three researchers from a lab, a very specific lab in
Wuhan got sick with Covid like symptoms. This was stated by a Wall
Street Journal Report. Before this disclosure, the “Lab-Leak Theory” was
just a fringe conspiracy theory supported by former American President Donald
J. Trump and his Republican loyalists. But now there has been an outburst of
people buying this theory. How did we get here? What led us to believe in a
theory used by some political elites to wage war and put international pressure
on a country.
1
The Wuhan Coronavirus Dashboard in the early stages of the Global Pandemic
Apoorv Agarwal
Mayo College, Ajmer
What really happened in Wuhan?
- The Spill-Over Theory
For most of the time that we have known of the Corona Virus, we have been
told about its origins as the Spill-Over hypothesis, which states a Wet Market
in Wuhan was the ground zero for the
outbreak. According to the theory,
COVID-19 originated from animals kept
at a wet(sea food) market in Wuhan,
China. This is quite admissible as bats in
China have many variants of Corona
viruses, which generally are not infectious
to humans but can infect other animals,
and according to the hypothesis a strain of
Corona virus infected a pangolin which
came in contact with a human infecting
him with Covid-19.
BUT, no evidence could be found supporting this theory by the many
researchers and scientists looking into this theory, among further
investigations, no evidence of the existence of either bats or pangolins in the
wet market was found. When checking the
records, it was found that the first case of
the virus had no contacts or links to the
market. The Chinese CDC (Centre for
Disease Control and Prevention) later
verified that Wuhan Market was just a
“super-spreader event” and not the origin
of the virus.
2
Apoorv Agarwal
Mayo College, Ajmer
- The Lab-Leak Theory
For our next theory, we drive a few miles eastward across the Chang-Jiang river
a facility called The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the very lab of which 3
researchers fell sick with Covid like symptoms in November of 2019, when no
one in the western world had a clue what Corona virus was. A lab where
scientists and researchers had
been experimenting with
Corona Viruses for years
making them even more
infectious to humans, which
according to Xi Jinping’s
China and his scientists is
being done to prevent future
pandemics as ‘gain of function
research’ , but reports from
2015 that have emerged now
stated that China could be
working on a “family of viruses called coronaviruses” for biological warfare.
All while these researches were being carried out between 2015-2018, the
refrigerators holding these virus samples from caves were gradually filling up
and the American Diplomats in The American Embassy in Beijing in 2017 took
notice of this and to check the safety of the lab they sent a team of heath
experts to check out the lab, but the reports were troubling. The lab was not as
safe as something as dangerous and risky should have been, with the researchers
at the lab themselves reporting that they had been demanding for more and
better resources, and properly trained technicians “to safely operate this highcontainment laboratory”, as reported by the Politico Magazine.
How can we not think about the coincidence or just the fact that the Virus
broke out in the very city which is the epicentre of coronavirus samples of the
Earth, where more the 22,000 samples and virus sequences (engineered to be
more infectious) are stored in a freezer in a lab which was deemed not safe by
diplomats as well as its own researchers.
Speaking about the lab’s own researchers, in an interview with one of the
leading experts of coronavirus, Shi Zengli revealed that she was surprised to
3
Apoorv Agarwal
Mayo College, Ajmer
find out there was a coronavirus outbreak in the Wuhan, a city in Central
China from the Wet Market, as
it’s Southern China where the
caves are that house these bats
with coronaviruses and it is
there that there is a possibility
of the virus transmitting to
humans through the animals via
spill-over, just like the SARS
outbreak in 2002 which broke
out from the Southern china.
Shi Zengli while at the Wuhan Institute of Virology
Hence the possibility of the
outbreak of the COVID-19
through the spill-over hypothesis from the wet market was ruled out. Her first
guess for the origin of the virus was
the very Laboratory which stored
thousands of coronavirus samples
were stored at and she worked,
Those 3 researchers admitted in
November, were admitted to the
hospital weeks before the first
official case of COVID-19.
When the global community and
scientists looked down upon China
The Southern region of China where the Bats live
for further disclosure and to find the
roots of the origins of the Virus, China simply turned its back and continued to
work in the shadows of its iron curtains.
4
Apoorv Agarwal
Mayo College, Ajmer
The Effects of Covid-19 On The Environment
& Us
Whether the outbreak was an unintentional lab leak, a spill-over from the wet
market or a part of China’s Biological Warfare strategies, the outcome have
been adversely ginormous and diverse.
While we faced endless difficulties and challenges, there were some others who
got a chance to get themselves together,
and take over our concrete jungles. It was
nature. Shadowed by our omnipresence
before, they illuminated just as we barred
ourselves indoors as lockdowns took-over
the world. We got a unique opportunity to
peer into the lives and worlds of wildlife
and see what things look like without our
interaction. Just hours into lockdown,
many of us noticed the silence; With
global traffic noise reduced by up to 70%,
Penguins were found taking over the cities of
South Africa amidst lock-down there
there was a new sound to be heard, the
sound and music of nature. As we put hold
to our lives, remarkable things started to change in the natural world, clearer
air with a fall of 11% in carbon emissions as factories were shut, cleaner water,
and animals starting to flourish in ways we haven’t seen in decades. But will this
progress continue after we resume our lives, business and factories and
industries reopen?
While nature enjoyed its peak and
epoch of glory, the same could not be
said for us humans. We faced both
economic losses and lost lives, with 4
million lives lost and a global recession
dissolving many small businesses,
costing hundreds of thousands of jobs,
impoverishing several other millions.
The global GDP growth took a toll
A World Stocks to Covid Cases graph presented
in the August‘20 edition of The Economist Mag.
5
Apoorv Agarwal
Mayo College, Ajmer
with a negative growth rate of 4.5% according to the OECD, the global losses
solely accountable to the Coronavirus Pandemic stood at $11.7 trillion
according to reports by Oxfam.
As the death toll rises, members of our society, family and our friends our lost.
People who we thought would stay
with us for our whole journey are
suddenly taken away from us. Many
fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers,
grandparents are not with us
anymore. Families are left broken
and shattered into shards.
The education of children has taken
a blow too, as, as many as 1.5 million
schools were closed during 2020,
Mass burials of Covid-19 victims in New York’s Hart Island
impacting 247 million children
cemetery
enrolled in elementary and
secondary schools in India according to the UNICEF. Online schooling and
classes are not an option for all as only one is four children has access to digital
devices and internet connectivity. All these factors with unemployment causing
not much monetary support to fund the children of poor backgrounds’
education, has led to a huge dropout rates.
With all the rapid changes and situations we have faced since the beginning of
this epidemic, many have had troubled to cope with all the scenarios playing
around and have faced several severe mental issues, trauma and stress.
But as the cases are on the decline and rising vaccination drives, we hope to get
our lives back to normal, to where we have lived in peace, harmony, that we
deserve after all. For always, lies there are a bright sky after the storm.
-Apoorv Agarwal,
Grade X
Mayo College, Ajmer
6
`REUNIFICATION OF BIHAR AND JHARKHAND
The year 2000 saw the partition of The Greater Bihar Province into 2 states, Bihar and
Jharkhand, with the passing of the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 by the Indian
parliament. The partition was supported by the then ruling party of Bihar, The RJD,
Rashtriya Janata Dal,led by its president, Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav and his wife and
former CM Mrs. Rabri Devi. The support from this party can be said was not for the
betterment or demands of the Tribals and the Public in the South(The Jharkhand area)
but for their Political greeds and desires. The RJD Party’s main vote bank lied in the
north while it struggled to perform and gather votes in the south, losing important
constitutional seats. A partition meant a more focused voting seats in the north forming
a strong base there and letting it easily win in the Bihar state elections. The opposition
doing well in the South too sought more independence and power over the south,
supporting the case for the bifurcation. Hence the partition was more a political issue
than a social struggle of the tribals and others demanding for liberalisation. The
question now stands, can the 2 states be united again, if so, how, and what will be its
benefits.
STEPS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE REUNIFICATION OF THE 2 STATES
●
Agreements with the public/parties on both sides shall be the most important step in the
reunification with referendums for the cause to have a full majority of the people’s
demand being met . With demands and agreements being negotiated for both sides.
Special dialogues will have to be between the state and the naxalites, maoists, the tribes
from Jharkhand, i.e. The Santhals, Mundas, Khariya, Oraon.. to name a few.
●
Allotments of guaranteed seats for the Jharkhand’s population also including already set
seats for OBCs/SCs/STs for government and administrative posts to make up for the
lower developed workforce there due to lower literacy rates.
●
Allotments of greater constituencies to Jharkhand to increase their representation in the
Parliament.
●
Introduction of schemes to make both the provinces more interdependent reason being,
the plains of the northern province of Bihar shall be used for agricultural use and setting
up industries and transportation of minerals/resources and goods, while the southern
and mineral rich and forested region of Chhota Nagpur Plateau shall be of good use for
forestry and mineral extraction providing resources for the industries in the north making
the joint provence self reliant.
BENEFITS OF THE UNIFICATION
●
As the state of Jharkhand suffers from a resource curse with an abundance of mineral
resources, but the problem stands in lack of proper working capital in the form of human
resources. With a literacy rate of just 67%, where the population count is not great too.
Without the human force or better literate and knowledged human force, the resources
can not be transformed into products for our use, as it is us, literate humans who
possess the power and knowledge to do so. But with the unification, the mighty
population of Bihar shall be useful to overcome the numbers and help increase the
output.
●
Earlier said, the unification shall also benefit the industries with programmes and
schemes promoting interdependence among the provinces and self reliance in the new
formed state, as extracting minerals from the South and processing of those minerals
and agriculture from the North shall see advancements with no extra transportation and
services interstate tax and charges shall be required.
●
With all policies rightly implemented investments in the state shall see a surge with vast
possibilities and power of the new formed state with it’s profound workforce,
topographical diversity allowing use of land for nearly all industries, i.e. agriculture,
forestry, housing, mining, processing, e.t.c.