Bhim Army leader’s brother murdered on 1st Anniversary of Saharanpur Riots

May 9, 2018

Tension is rife in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh in wake of the murder of the brother of a local Dalit rights leader. Sachin, brother of Bhim Army’s Regional President Kamal Walia, was shot dead on May 9, just days before the first anniversary of the Saharanpur Riots.

Feature Image courtesy Patrika

Activist and member of Bhim Army Defense Committee, Pradeep Narwal confirmed the killing and said, “The body is still in the hospital and no one is being allowed inside. Meanwhile, internet services have been suspended.”

The Maharana Pratap Angle
It is notable that Sachin was killed on Maharana Pratap Jayanti, the very trigger behind last year’s violence. This year, the Bhim Army had warned residents against commemorating the event and 800 police personnel were deployed at Maharana Pratap Bhavan to avoid any untoward incidents. Following the attack on Sachin Walia, security has also been beefed up along the Mahlipur road. According to Bablu Kumar, SSP Saharanpur, adequate police deployment has been made across the city and there will be a thorough inquiry into the murder.

As per reports emerging from the ground, the Kshatriya community members had asked for a permission to celebrate the Maharana Pratap Jayanti and take out a procession through Ramnagar area of Saharanpur. Bhim Army had then, under the leadership of Kamal Walia, submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate and SSP stating that in case permission is granted for the yatra and any untoward incident takes place during the program, then the administration will be held accountable.

Though, initially the administration showed a lackadaisical attitude in granting permissions, they later (May 8) gave permission to carry on the procession (Shobhayatra) with as many as 150 members. In view of the said procession, the district administration had given instructions to have strong security measures in place.

Further, reports claim that preparations for the procession had been taking place since Wednesday morning. Sachin Walia was shot just as he was walking past the procession as it reached Maharana Pratap Bhavan in Ramanagar. He was rushed to the District Hospital where he was declared dead. Saharanpur area remains tense as of now and Bhim Army workers have gathered in large numbers around the hospital.

Anti-Dalit violence in May 2017
Last year exactly at this time violence between the two groups broke out at Ramnagar when Dalits protested a ‘Shobha Yatra’ initiated by Thakur community members to commemorate Maharana Pratap Jayanti. Dalits had alleged that there was no permission for the said Yatra. In this incident 60 Dalit houses were burnt. In the same month, mob violence broke out in Shabbirpur village when the police lathi-charged a group of peaceful protesters who had assembled in Gandhi Maidan under the leadership of Bhim Army. After this incident Bhim Army leaders such as Chandrashekhar Azad, Kamal Walia, Vinay Ratan Singh, Sonu Pahalwan and others have been constantly targeted by the authorities. Kamal Walia was just released on bail.

The Kairana Bypolls
Social Activists and AIUFWP member Ashok Chaudhary believes that the incident could be related with the Kairana elections that are due on May 23. “Kairana elections due on May 28. Kairana has a huge Dalit constituency, so it may be an attempt to terrorise Dalits. Even though Bhim Army is not a political organisation, it has a significant hold over Dalits,” he said.

He added that BJP is particularly baffled after it lost the Corporation elections for the post of Mayor in communally sensitive areas such as Aligarh and Meerut and instead candidates from BSP won. He said that in Western UP particularly, there is a lot of awareness among Dalit youth and they are not willing to let ‘upper caste’ people humiliate them. Equally threatening, for the BJP, is the fact that Dalit-Muslim unity is gaining strength.

Earlier this year, BJP lost by-poll elections in two important constituencies, Gorakhpur and Phulpur and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was quoted as saying that the BJP wasn’t well prepared. “This should be interpreted as the fact that BJP wasn’t able to terrorise Dalits and Muslims in these areas, to its liking”, says Chaudhary.

In the same light, it appears that when the same Kashatriya community, threatened to boycott Kairana by-polls, the administration which largely constitutes upper-caste members, granted permission for the Yatra.

Bhim Army being targeted
Bhim Army members are fending off attacks coming from different directions and one has to see these attacks as a sign of fear of the growing Dalit assertion on various fronts. This is part of a larger plan to crush Dalit resistance using any means necessary including the watering down of the SC-ST Atrocities act earlier this year, and the violence unleashed on Dalits subsequently.

On May 2, the UP state government further increased the period of detention for Bhim army chief Chandrashekhar Ravan by three months. Earlier, on April 28, they had rejected a petition pleading to drop NSA charges. Moreover, the UP Police pasted a ‘wanted’ notice of Rs. 12,000 on another Bhim Army leader Vinay Ratan Singh’s house after which he surrendered before the Saharanpur Chief Judicial Magistrate on April 23.

In the entire episode, two key elements emerge. One, that the incident took place less than a month before the upcoming Kairana by-polls. Two, the need to crush the assertion of Dalits, given how Thakurs in the region are allegedly increasingly feeling insecure about their caste identity. All the preceding, multi-pronged attacks on Bhim Army can be seen as an attempt to crush the morale of the Dalit youth who feel empowered to challenge the dominant feudal and castiest structures that prevail in the given geography.

Namaz in Public Places: Civil Society bats for rights of Religious Minorities

May 9, 2018

On Tuesday, May 8, several prominent citizens, including former civil servants, historians, labour rights activists, filmmakers and Muslim leaders visited Divisional Commissioner (Gurugram) D. Suresh to resolve the issue of Namaz in public places. A two-page memorandum signed by more than one hundred citizens was submitted to Suresh. It outlined four demands, including the need to reinforce ties between residents, and provide sufficient space for reading namaz, particularly with Ramzan approaching.

The memorandum also called for the administration to protect namaz reading at existing locations. In the meeting, the citizens highlighted that inadequate number of mosques and the Muslim community’s trepidation. Suresh said the administration would be more watchful and firm on those causing trouble. He appealed to Muslims for restraint, and said that those suspected of causing trouble were being identified and informed regarding freedom of religion laws. Currently, there are reportedly 22 mosques and around 106 open spaces in Gurugram where namaz is offered.

Haryana CM adds fuel to fire
On May 6, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar stirred up a hornet’s nest by saying “namaz should be read in a masjid or an idgah, and if short of space they (Muslims) should read it in their private spaces.” Khattar added that there was “no problem if there is no objection from the public, but if a group or a person objects, one has to take note.” He claimed that “incidents of namaz being offered in the open have increased”.

His remarks came in wake of Hindutva groups disrupting namaz prayers in Gurugram (Gurgaon) on Friday, May 4, which in turn followed the disruption of prayers in Gurugram’s Sector 53 on April 20. Khattar’s comment was therefore viewed as having been made in support of these attempts to prevent minorities from practicing their religion. Khattar later clarified that he hadn’t “spoken about stopping anyone. Maintaining law and order is the duty of the police and the administration”.

What happened on May 4
By 1.30pm on May 4, members of the Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti said they had stopped namaz from being held in ten open areas. The Samiti is an umbrella group that includes local chapters of 12 Hindutva groups, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Kranti Dal, and the Hindu Jagran Manch, according to its members.

Rajeev Mittal, the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Kranti Dal’s national coordinator, told Scroll, “Muslims have to take permission of the administration to pray in open spaces,” adding, “Members of Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti have today [Friday] interfered in 10 cases where Muslims were found preparing before the namaaz. We did not let that happen. But no law and order issues were reported. Our demand was clear – get permission from the authorities.” The Bajrang Dal’s district president, Abhishek Gaur told Scroll that his group’s members were “looking out for open space namaaz today and they have been asked to stop the Muslims whenever they spot any without getting into any law and order trouble.”

Wajid Khan, head of the Nehru Yuva Sangathan Welfare Society Charitable Trust told the Indian Express that the police had asked the faithful not to read namaz at 34 places in a meeting on the previous day, and that they agreed to stop prayers at three places–”the plot in Sector 53, at Sikanderpur and Atul Kataria Chowk, where namaz gatherings cause traffic congestion”. However, Hindu group members stopped namaz at three places near Gurugram’s Cyber Park, a plot near Sahara Mall, and another place near IFFCO Chowk. Khan claimed, “At the spot near Sahara Mall, first the police did not let us offer namaz. When we finally reached an understanding with them, a group of men came and told us to leave. When a man tried to take a photo, they grabbed his phone and broke it,” adding, “Even at IFFCO Chowk, they chanted slogans and asked us to leave.”

Ravinder Kumar, PRO, Gurgaon Police, said, “We had directed all station house officers to deploy police personnel at certain spots to ensure there was no breach of law and order. We have not received any complaints so far”. In a seeming contradiction, Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh said, “Adequate security arrangements were made at all spots. Attempts to disrupt prayers were handled effectively by the administration.”

Following this incident, the district administration has ordered the securing of public land where namaz is read, and asked the Waqf Board to pinpoint areas where it can be offered.

Disruption of prayers on April 20
The disruptions on May 4 came two weeks after namaz prayers were disrupted in Gurugram’s Sector 53 on April 20, where several hundred Muslim men had congregated to observe namaz in a field that is owned by Haryana’s government. Hindu villagers from nearby Kanhai and Wazirabad interrupted the prayers with chants of “Jai Sri Ram”. A video of this was uploaded to social media. Six people were arrested for hurting religious sentiments, and then later released on bail. A notice has now been put up at this plot, saying the land “has been acquired by HUDA,” the Haryana Urban Development Authority.

On Monday, April 30, multiple groups, under the aegis of the Sanyukt Hindu Sanghar Samiti, held a protest in Gurugram, demanding that the case against these six people be dropped. The demonstrators submitted a letter, addressed to the Haryana CM, to Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh. The letter, obtained by the Indian Express, alleged, “For the last one-and-a-half months, a group of men have been reading namaz on the land of Wazirabad, Gurugram, with the intention of occupying it illegally. The environment there is being ruined by chanting slogans of ‘Pakistan zindabad’ and “Hindustan murdabad’”. It added, “When some patriotic youth stopped them from doing this, police conducted a one-sided investigation. Does chanting ‘Vande Matram’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’ come in the ambit of offence that the youth were arrested?” The letter also stated that “Rohingyas and Bangladeshis residing in Gurugram should also be identified and marked. Permission should not be given to read namaz in Hindu colonies, sectors and neighbourhoods. Permission should only be given in those places where the strength of this population is more than 50 per cent, otherwise there will continue to be a possibility of peace being obstructed.”

Gurugram Shiv Sena president Gautam Saini told Newsclick, “Crimes against women are on the rise across the country, and it is difficult to establish the identity of these men offering namaz in large numbers, near the village every Friday. It is not known whether they are Rohingyas, Bangladeshis or Mewatis. It is a potential threat to the girls and women of the village.”

Those who have been coming to the area to observe read namaz for the past ten years refuted the letter’s claims. The above mentioned Wajid Khan, a complainant in the case, had then told the Indian Express, “We don’t even talk to each other when reading the namaz; chanting slogans is out of the question. These are just false allegations”.

The crisis of the state in the Arab region and the rise of the Islamic State

May 9, 2018

Islamic radical groups, such as the Islamic State, seem to have become the substitute for a failed regional order and failing domestic conditions.

The Middle East and North Africa is a competitive, fragmented and highly penetrated regional system. However, it is a place that lacks a security system and is unique for its absence of a region-wide architecture.

The Arab League – the region’s largest IGO – has been mobilized on numerous occasions, for a number of structural, political and ideological reasons but these efforts have failed. At the state level, the post-colonial state has failed to establish a fair model of governance. The region is dominated by authoritarian regimes and yet is also bereft of a hegemonic power able to impose its own will on the subsystem and therefore awash with rivalries.

Thus, the region is characterized by inter-state rivalries and increasingly exposed to identity politics which is manifesting itself in inter-confessional and inter-communal conflicts. Consequently, signs of deep social trauma and crisis of identity and governance at both state and society levels are visible.

Sub-communalization is taking place across the region, thus gradually eroding the hard won century-old national societies that independent states forcefully but carefully have put together. In addition, the region’s ‘contested’ states seem to be unravelling into smaller communities of sects, religious affiliations, tribal groups, and ethnicities.

The MENA region is suffering from an imbalance in the forces pushing for change – the peaceful mass mobilizations and the violent nihilistic ones. This is a region, which is at once both post-modern and pre-modern. Both post- and pre-modern forces compete for power.

The regional system is vulnerable to the actions of these sub-state and non-state actors and many of its states are suffering at the hands of violent jihadi groups who have stepped into the vacuum created by the weakening of the iron grip of the central government in several Arab countries.

Modernity as the norm for much of the twentieth century – in terms of rationality as a driver of decisions, transparent institutions of governance, rule of law, reliable public services (education, health, etc.), accountable public servants, functioning state institutions, enhancement of opportunity – has been taking a back seat in driving change in the region.

Power is fluid, unevenly distributed, and does not necessarily manifest itself in terms of such traditional indicators as the size of population, territory, economy (GNP), or geography; nor does the size of military budgets, of the armed forces, or military hardware provide sufficient indicators of power and influence. Indeed, in the twenty-first century, it seems to be the smaller Arab states who are outperforming their larger counterparts; and non-state actors making waves.

Violent-Salafism seems to be one of the most challenging issues that face the region
The region is still lacking alternative political forces able to fulfill the expectations of the people and achieve development and security. Eventually, the Islamic radical groups, such as the Islamic State, seem to have become the substitute for the past political forces in doing this mission.
Thus, violent-Salafism seems to be one of the most challenging issues that face the region. Salafism in the Islamic tradition was a reformist movement. It emerged at the end of the Abbasid Caliphate in the eleventh century. All called for the return to the true Islam, where the law of the divine is represented in Quran and Hadith (the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad).

Violent-Salafism is a relatively contemporary phenomenon. It was arguably introduced in the writings of the Egyptian Sayyid Quṭb (October 1906 – 29 August 1966), who came at a time when leftist radical movements were rising in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. Sayyid Quṭb resented pan-Arab policies of the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and called for regime change. Qutb introduced what is known as Global Jihad and was later arrested for plotting against President Nasser and executed in late August 1966.

The Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union in the 1980s became the life blood of violent-Salafism in the region. Yet the milestone arguably is the Kuwait crisis in 1990-1991. The occupation of Kuwait divided the Arab world. Furthermore, American soldiers were not welcomed in the Holy Land by the Arab mujahidin of Afghanistan who established their group, al-Qaeda, just two years earlier, in 1988. As a result, the Kuwait crisis provided the opportunity for these jihadi groups to operate in the region. When House of Saud rejected Osama Bin Laden’s offer to defend the Holy Shrine, the latter vowed to attack the US and its allies.

The war on Iraq in 2003 brought about a new wave of global Jihad
The Algerian civil war (1991-2002) and the Bosnian war (1992-1995) had also their own share in the rise and the development of violent Salafism. However, the establishment of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan witnessed the birth of a new trend of global Jihad following Sayyid Quṭb’s school of global Jihad. While the Taliban, the Groupe Islamique Armé (GIA) and Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) had locally based agendas in Afghanistan, Algeria and France, al-Qaeda unleashed radicalism onto the international scene. Al-Qaeda began to attack the US and its allies in the world. The first attack was on the US army residence Gold Mohur hotel in of Aden in 1992, followed by the bombing of the World Trade Centre in 1993, and the bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar al-Salam in 1998. The most disastrous attacks were the attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York and Washington, DC.

The war on Iraq in 2003 brought about a new wave of global Jihad. The occupation of Baghdad was a major turning point for the pan-Arab and revolutionary forces in the region one that compares to the defeat of 1967 and the Israeli occupation of Beirut in 1982.

The collapse of the Iraqi state provided the space where Jihadists can operate and attack the US and its allies in the region. Al-Zarqawi, an ex al-Qaeda member in Afghanistan, travelled to Iraqi Kurdistan in 2002 and established his network with the Jihadists there. In 2003, he and his followers began to attack the Americans and the Shiites. They called themselves Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād (The Organization of Monotheism and Jihad, initially established in 1999 by al-Zarqawi in Afghanistan). In 2004, the group pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden and changed its name to Tanẓīm Qāʻidat al-Jihād fī Bilād al-Rāfidayn, al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).

The group played on sectarian tensions between the Shiite and the Sunni communities inside Iraq. It was calculating that if they attack the Shiite, which they did, they would retaliate by attacking the Sunnis, which they did. The Sunnis would then seek protection from al-Zarqawi and his followers, which they also did. This has been the group’s usual strategy since the days of al-Zarqawi’s leadership. By doing this, it would gain Sunni sympathy and it did so quite dramatically (see al-Zarqawi letter to Osama Bin Laden, 2004).

Al-Zarqawi was killed in an American air strike in June 2006. His death, though, did not decrease the group’s vision of statehood. The Egyptian militant Abu Hamza al-Muhajir took over the lead. Later he will pledge allegiance to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi as the leader of what later became known as the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), arguably to give the group an Iraqi flavor. Yet, as soon as the Sahawat were established by the Iraqi government and the US and composed of Sunni tribes that had cooperated with ISI, the Islamic State was driven out of the Sunni areas in 2006.
The civil war in Syria helped ISI to expand and flourish again. The armed conflict between al-Assad and the opposition, which started a few months after the peaceful protests in 2011 turned into what many Syrians now perceive as a sectarian war. The chaos attracted ISI. The group began to control areas in Syria between 2012 and 2013. As soon as it controlled Raqqa in 2013, it changed the name of the group to the Islamic State in Iraq and a-Sham (ISIS). And once Mosul fell under their control in the summer of 2014, the group began to call itself the Islamic State (IS).

Although IS has lost most of the territory it controlled in Syria and Iraq, it has not been defeated.
IS transformed the Islamic Jihad within a short space of time. What al-Qaeda could not do in years, IS did in months, in terms of political and military successes and in terms of recruitment. This was partly due to the use of technology and social media, but also to the adoption of offensive Jihad, or Jihad al-Shauka, rather than defensive Jihad, or Jihad al-Nikaya as in the case of al-Qaeda, thus attracting scores of young people worldwide.

The difference between the two forms of Jihad is that defensive Jihad aims to deter impairment, offensive Jihad on the other hand, features the work of Machiavelli in terms of land-control, the ends justify the means, and most importantly, fighting the near enemy – essentially any local or regional group that opposes the jihadi group or refuses to pledge allegiance to it.

Although IS has lost most of the territory it controlled in Syria and Iraq, it has not been defeated. The group rose on the aches of the regional disorder and the failure of the state, and these fertile conditions have not changed. Furthermore, violent Salafism acts as a catalyst for the entrenchment of other sub-state actors, like the Shiite militias, Iran’s proxies in the region, mainly Hezbollah in Lebanon and recently operating in Syria, the Houthis in Yemen, and the Popular Mobilization Units in Iraq. These Iranian-backed militias pose threats not only to the security of those countries they are operating in, but also to the stability of the entire region.

Leadership is still lacking and no solutions for the many regional problems are in sight. Meanwhile, with the lack or weakness of alternative forces able to fulfill the expectations of the people in the region, Islamic radical groups, such as the Islamic State, are appealing to the masses, and seem to have become the substitute for a failed regional order and failing domestic conditions. Thus, violent Salafism is a phenomenon that will continue to shape the politics of the region, irrespective of military offensives against its different adherers.

Anoush Ehteshami is professor of international relations and head of the school of government and international affairs at Durham University. His many book-length publications include Globalization and the Middle East: Old Games, New Rules (Routledge, 2007); (co-author) Iran and the Rise of its Neoconservatives (IB Tauris, 2007); (co-editor) The Middle East’s Relations with Asia and Russia (RoutledgeCurzon, 2004); The Foreign Policies of Middle East States (co-editor) (Lynne Rienner, 2002); (co-author) Iran’s Security Policy in the Post-Revolutionary Era (Rand, 2001).

From drone swarms to tree batteries, new tech is revolutionising ecology and conservation

May 9, 2018

Understanding Earth’s species and ecosystems is a monumentally challenging scientific pursuit. But with the planet in the grip of its sixth mass extinction event, it has never been a more pressing priority.

Ecology
Eyes in the sky: drone footage is becoming a vital tool for monitoring ecosystems. Deakin Marine Mapping Group

To unlock nature’s secrets, ecologists turn to a variety of scientific instruments and tools. Sometimes we even repurpose household items, with eyebrow-raising results – whether it’s using a tea strainer to house ants, or tackling botfly larvae with a well-aimed dab of nail polish.

But there are many more high-tech options becoming available for studying the natural world. In fact, ecology is on the cusp of a revolution, with new and emerging technologies opening up new possibilities for insights into nature and applications for conserving biodiversity.
Our study, published in the journal Ecosphere, tracks the progress of this technological development. Here we highlight a few examples of these exciting advances.

Tiny tracking sensors

Electronically recording the movement of animals was first made possible by VHF radio telemetry in the 1960s. Since then even more species, especially long-distance migratory animals such as caribou, shearwaters and sea turtles, have been tracked with the help of GPS and other satellite data.

But our understanding of what affects animals’ movement and other behaviours, such as hunting, is being advanced further still by the use of “bio-logging” – equipping the animals themselves with miniature sensors.

Bio-logging is giving us new insight into the lives of animals such as mountain lions.

Many types of miniature sensors have now been developed, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, micro cameras, and barometers. Together, these devices make it possible to track animals’ movements with unprecedented precision. We can also now measure the “physiological cost” of behaviours – that is, whether an animal is working particularly hard to reach a destination, or within a particular location, to capture and consume its prey.

Taken further, placing animal movement paths within spatially accurate 3D-rendered (computer-generated) environments will allow ecologists to examine how individuals respond to each other and their surroundings.

These devices could also help us determine whether animals are changing their behaviour in response to threats such as invasive species or habitat modification. In turn, this could tell us what conservation measures might work best.

Autonomous vehicles

Remotely piloted vehicles, including drones, are now a common feature of our skies, land, and water. Beyond their more typical recreational uses, ecologists are deploying autonomous vehicles to measure environments, observe species, and assess changes through time, all with a degree of detail that was never previously possible.

There are many exciting applications of drones in conservation, including surveying cryptic and difficult to reach wildlife such as orangutans Coupling autonomous vehicles with sensors (such as thermal imaging) now makes it easier to observe rare, hidden or nocturnal species. It also potentially allows us to catch poachers red-handed, which could help to protect animals like rhinoceros, elephants and pangolins.

3D printing

Despite 3D printing having been pioneered in the 1980s, we are only now beginning to realise the potential uses for ecological research. For instance, it can be used to make cheap, lightweight tracking devices that can be fitted onto animals. Or it can be used to create complex and accurate models of plants, animals or other organisms, for use in behavioural studies.

3D printing is shedding new light on animal behaviour, including mate choice.

Bio-batteries

Keeping electronic equipment running in the field can be a challenge. Conventional batteries have limited life spans, and can contain toxic chemicals. Solar power can help with some of these problems, but not in dimly lit areas, such as deep in the heart of rainforests.

“Bio-batteries” may help to overcome this challenge. They convert naturally occurring sources of chemical energy, such as starch, into electricity using enzymes. “Plugging-in” to trees may allow sensors and other field equipment to be powered cheaply for a long time in places without sun or access to mains electricity.

Combining technologies

All of the technologies described above sit on a continuum from previous (now largely mainstream) technological solutions, to new and innovative ones now being trialled.

Illustrative timeline of new technologies in ecology and environmental science. Source and further details at DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2163. Euan Ritchie

Emerging technologies are exciting by themselves, but when combined with one another they can revolutionise ecological research. Here is a modified exerpt from our paper:

Imagine research stations fitted with remote cameras and acoustic recorders equipped with low-power computers for image and animal call recognition, powered by trees via bio-batteries. These devices could use low-power, long-range telemetry both to communicate with each other in a network, potentially tracking animal movement from one location to the next, and to transmit information to a central location. Swarms of drones working together could then be deployed to map the landscape and collect data from a central location wirelessly, without landing. The drones could then land in a location with an internet connection and transfer data into cloud-based storage, accessible from anywhere in the world.

Visualisation of a future smart research environment, integrating multiple ecological technologies. The red lines indicate data transfer via the Internet of things (IoT), in which multiple technologies are communicating with one another. The gray lines indicate more traditional data transfer. Broken lines indicate data transferred over long distances. (1) Bio-batteries; (2) The Internet of things (IoT); (3) Swarm theory; (4) Long-range low-power telemetry; (5) Solar power; (6) Low-power computer; (7) Data transfer via satellite; and (8) Bioinformatics. Source and further details at DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2163. Euan Ritchie

These advancements will not only generate more accurate research data, but should also minimise the disturbance to species and ecosystems in the process.

Not only will this minimise the stress to animals and the inadvertent spread of diseases, but it should also provide a more “natural” picture of how plants, animals and other organisms interact.

Realising the techno-ecological revolution will require better collaboration across disciplines and industries. Ecologists should ideally also be exposed to relevant technology-based training (such as engineering or IT) and industry placements early in their careers.

Several initiatives, such as Wildlabs, the Conservation Technology Working Group and TechnEcology, are already addressing these needs. But we are only just at the start of what’s ultimately possible.

Euan Ritchie, Associate Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University and Blake Allan, , Deakin University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Petition calling on UN to investigate attacks on minorities in India draws 40,000 signatures

May 9, 2018

A petition to the United nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, D. Fernand de Varennes, calling on him to investigate the “growing human rights emergency in India, particularly the attacks on religious minorities and Dalits,” has drawn more than 40,000 signatures. The petition, launched by the South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG), a Britain-based anti-imperialist and anti-racist organisation, alleges that “there has been a massive escalation” in violence against the Muslim and Christian communities and atrocities against Dalits “since Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at the Centre in 2014,” adding “Emboldened by the victory of the BJP, Hindu supremacist gangs with links to the ruling party, or in some parts of India directly set up by the state, are the chief perpetrators of these abuses which are occuring [sic] unchecked.”

According to the SASG, “There is a horrifying rise in the rapes, mutilation, acid attacks and other forms of violence, often followed by murder, of women and girls of all communities, but Dalit women and girls and those from religious minorities are being specifically targeted. Lynchings of Muslims and Dalits, and stripping, flogging and public humiliations have become widespread. Muslim or Dalit and so-called ‘lower-caste’ men in relationships with, or married to, Hindu or upper-caste women have been brutally attacked or murdered – in the name of protecting the purity of the women involved. Many areas, particularly in UP, but also elsewhere have seen attempts at ethnic cleansing with threats and attempts to displace long-established Muslim communities. The election of Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister of UP, India’s most populous state, in March 2017 has clearly made the human rights situation far worse, further emboldening those perpetrating communal and caste violence in UP and spilling over to other states. Adityanath has a record of hate speech and has several criminal cases pending against him.”

In April 2018, demonstrations were held in London during Prime Minister Modi’s visit, protesting against the gang-rape and murder of the eight-year-old Muslim Bakarwal girl in Jammu, as well as the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh.

The SASG’s petition, which has been sent Dr. Fernand de Verannes, may be read here.

Karnataka Farm Sector Gets 6 Hours Of Power Daily, Least In India

May 9, 2018

Mumbai: In 2017-18, Karnataka’s agriculture sector received, on average, six hours of power per day–lowest among the states for which data were available–according to latest national data.

With 70% of the state’s population dependent on agriculture, and 70% of the state’s cultivable land dependent on low and erratic rainfall, power supply for irrigation is crucial ahead of elections to the state’s assembly on May 12, 2018.

Rural Karnataka, which accounts for 154 (69%) of the state’s 224 legislative constituencies, remains the primary focus of the election. Nearly 61% of Karnataka’s population lives in rural areas, and 54.6% of the state’s workforce is employed in agriculture and allied activities.

Karnataka’s farmers are battling drought and water shortage, and have been under dire financial duress, with the state recording second highest number of farmer suicides in 2016, IndiaSpend reported on May 8, 2018.

Uttarakhand, Odisha and Telangana saw nearly round-the-clock power supply to agriculture, according to Central Electricity Authority (CEA) of India’s March 2018 report. Poorer states such as Bihar and Chhattisgarh–at 18 hours a day–also fared better in supplying power to agriculture.

Power Supply to Agricultural Sector In 2017-18, Selected States
State	Average hours per day
State	Average hours per day
Karnataka	6
Rajasthan	5 – 6.45
Andhra Pradesh	7
Gujarat	8
Tamil Nadu	9
Maharashtra	8 – 9
Haryana	8 – 9.34
Punjab	4 – 10.19
Bihar	18
Chhattisgarh	18
Uttar Pradesh	17.37 – 19.47
Jharkhand	20
West Bengal	23
Uttarakhand	22.42 – 24
Odisha	24
Telangana	9 -24

Source: Central Electricity Authority

In 2016-17, agriculture–specifically, water pumping through irrigation pump sets–accounted for 40% of the state’s power consumption, according to data from the Karnataka Economic Survey 2017-18. Domestic (22%) and industrial (14%) consumption followed.

Irrigation–through pump sets–is imperative for the growth of the agricultural sector in the state, as 70% of cultivable land in Karnataka, as we said, is dependent on low and erratic rainfall.

Between June and September 2017, cumulative rainfall recorded in Karnataka was 774 millimetres (mm), as against a normal of 839 mm–a deficit of 8% with six districts falling under rainfall deficit category.

“Overall, the state escaped from severe drought situation due to favourable rains during August, September and October 2017,” the economic survey noted.

Tube/bore wells accounted for the 43% of the net irrigated area among all irrigational sources, followed by canals (29%) and dug wells (12%).

Power deficit drops, yet Karnataka continues to face shortages

Karnataka’s installed power capacity rose 91% from 13,978 MW in March 2014 to 26,697 MW in March 2018. As of March 2018, Karnataka’s installed capacity accounts for 8% of India’s total capacity, up from 6% in 2014.

Power generation in Karnataka declined 20%–from 46 billion units (BU) in 2015-16 to 37 billion units in 2016-17–according to state’s economic survey 2017-18.

One BU is enough to power 10 million households–one household consuming, on average, 3 units per day–for a month.

“Karnataka state has been experiencing conditions of power shortage because of the ever-growing demand for power influenced by the rapid economic progress,” the states Economic Survey 2017-18 said.

The state meets its power shortage from neighbouring states. The growing demand and delay in completion of power generation projects in the state and central stations have led to increase power purchase from independent power producers, the report said.

Power distress is visible in urban areas as well. The state’s capital, Bengaluru, is facing power outages for long hours with elections around the corner, the News Minute reported on April 25, 2018.

“Unless the government manages its companies in the power sector in professional manner, allows [Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission] KERC to function as per the Electricity Act, 2003, and promotes solar energy in mission mode, supplying power on 24X7 basis will remain a mirage in the state,” Bhamy V Shenoy, an energy expert wrote in Deccan Herald in January 2018.

Karnataka’s energy deficit–difference between requirement and availability–was reported to be 362 million units (MU) in 2016-17, down 89% from 3.3 billion units (BU) in 2015-16.

The state’s energy requirement and supply is expected to increase by 7% (71.5 BU) and 16% (77 BU), respectively, in 2017-18 over its previous year, indicating a surplus of nearly 6 BU.

Karnataka’s peak power demand is expected to rise 9% from 10,261 megawatt (MW) in 2016-17 to 11,138 MW in 2017-18, according to CEA data. Peak power deficit–the difference between peak demand and peak supply–is expected to increase nearly 31 times–from 19 MW to 605 MW–over the same period.

100% villages electrified, but 6% rural households still lack access

As of April 1, 2015, Karnataka had 39 unelectrified villages, all of which have been electrified since, according to the Centre’s Grameen Vidyutikaran dashboard. Of these, only 31% or 12 villages have all households electrified.

A village is considered electrified if power is provided to at least 10% households and public places like schools, panchayat offices, health centres, dispensaries and community centres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 100% electrification of all villages across the country on April 28, 2018. However, this was contested as only 8% of the villages had all the households electrified, and more than 30 million households are yet to be electrified across the country.

As of May 7, 2018, of the 9.4 million rural households in the state, 94% (8.8 million) have been electrified, according to the Centre’s Saubhagya household electrification dashboard, while 580,376 households still lack access to electricity.

(Mallapur is an analyst with IndiaSpend.)

Courtesy: India Spend

Tripura: Paying Heavily for the Political Mistake in Elections

May 9, 2018

One understands the euphoria after being chosen as a Chief Minister. And that too after defeating the likes of Manik Sarkar’s party. But the aftermath of the win should be marked by sobriety, work and what they repeat almost nauseatingly : good governance.Now the question is: Does governance mean talking about beauty contests held twenty years back or more, and compare one beauty pageant with another? Does it mean raking up issues like this, hurting sentiments and read, enraging people? Does it also mean pseudo scientific expressions, the internet existing in the Mahabharata? There cannot be an iota of doubt that ancient India was the cradle of a nurtured and sophisticated civilization. That science, mathematics and astrology not only progressed, but the intellectual wave surround their epistemology is a historical marker.We are proud of it. However history has recorded annals, and we need not go into flights of fancy to throw history into the backwaters. When history clashes with fairy tale fantasy, it ceases to be a veritable force in the domain of extant knowledge. By deliberately creating such warped thinking, our leaders are deviating from present realities. By positing unverified truths, they are trying to capture an infantile imagination. And, if that imagination begins to believe such untruths, there can be only witch craft and superstition. This is what is happening in the country.

The same Chief Minister, almost with bated breath, in his exultation of new found discovery goes on to say that the Buddha traversed countries like Burma and Japan. What is history for, if we are creating it every moment, without research and reading? Do they they think that it can be created out of the magic wand of a jinn? The same leader’s views on self employment are so jejune and infantile I think they are not worth commenting upon. True there are not enough government jobs, but does that mean the youth will not attempt in trying to get them?

That is one section of the present dispensation of our leaders. The others are the more iniquitous ones. What’s in a rape says one? Amidst all this professed love for Harijans the ruling party asks its members to go into one Harijan house and have a meal. Apart from such bizarre tokenism, as Tavleen Singh would call it, the Minister orders food from outside! This is flagrant disrespect and brutal insensitivity.

The professed love is untrue. The love is for the ballot. It is now more than academic interest whether this ballot box would remain in the clutches of the present dispensation, at least those pertaining to the Harijans, who must have seen the kick ass of such petty games.

So Ministers Chief or whatever, do some reading, and do not gambol with ideas which even the worst fantasist would not deign to speak. In your love for the past and history, do not destroy them by building totally false tabernacles of an already vilified past.

Spare the past please. Look to the present. Don’t take recourse to CBI inquiries ( the latest dogma) after heinous crimes have been created. Go, by the laws of the land. See what is happening in Kashmir. If some of the politicians can campaign for elections, in a state not theirs why can’t they go to Kashmir and offer services there? The other fad is saying something abominable and then defended by: ” that is his personal view”, So you can say anything without thinking of their political and social ramifications.

So we will come back to that ruthless and indiscriminate arbiter: history. It will tell its truths for the future, based on its inexorable laws. Those who quarrel with it now are already paying a heavy price, and may pay heavier ones in future.

This article was first published on https://indiaresists.com/

Kashmir: Is Violence the Only Way Out?

May 9, 2018

Since last one decade gun culture has gained new currency as a tool of resistance in Kashmir. Gun as an active mode of resistance has been part of the different anti colonial and anti imperialist struggles. Violence is an indispensable part of the human history. Violence is a basic tool of change in the different ideologies including Marxism. History on the other hand is a witness to the limited success of violence too. Further the nature of state, military and combatants too have changed and state now has assumed the ultimate legitimacy of using violence. Without going into the legal debates of state and non state actors legitimacy about the use of violence this fact needs to be acknowledged that violence has now gained an ultimate upper hand as a mode of resistance in Kashmir against Indian militarization.

Image: Deccan Chronicle

The gun culture in state of Jammu and Kashmir is not something new. Groups and organizations have been using it to achieve their ends including the state and government. Since 1931, armed insurgent groups were a part of political spectrum of Kashmir. The armed groups of Dogras massacred nearly three hundred thousand Muslims in Jammu during the months of 1947 when the whole Indian subcontinent was burning. Since 1947 many armed groups tried to overthrow the government and achieve their political goals by using violence. Till 1990s these groups were limited to few youth and their each attempt failed to yield the desired results. But since 1990s with the active involvement of Pakistan a generation of youth actively participated in the armed insurgency. The mass armed insurgency was met with brutal repression that led Kashmir to be converted in the highest militarized zone in the world.

The armed insurgency though actively supported by Pakistan materially and monetarily suffered from ideological confusion in the first phase only. The confusion among the insurgent ranks related to the vision of independent Kashmir or being a part of Islamic Pakistan. This confusion resulted in the internecine battles among the insurgents ranks. The insurgency prolonged and state armed renegades (irregulars) to do the dirty work. It resulted in massive human rights violations that further alienated Kashmiris from the state (read India).

The year 2008 proved to be a watershed in contemporary history of Kashmir. Hundreds and thousands of civilians were protesting on the streets against the alleged demographic change and attack on their peculiar and distinct identity as land was transferred to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB). This agitation brought to the fore the communal and regional fault lines between the Kashmir and Jammu region. The aftermath of this mass agitation later led to communal flare and economic blockade of Kashmir valley by the fringe Hindutva elements of Jammu. It was much hyped during the 2008 Amarnath land row agitation that the Kashmiri resistance has now transited to non violent one. I surmised, wrote and spoke that there was no transaction because even during the height of militancy, mass non violent civilian protests were carried out that did not mean insurgency and violence has transformed to a non violent struggle. For violence and non violence ideology, training and discourse are needed that can sustain it and render it pragmatic to achieve its sustainable goals.

The rise of Burhan Wani in the aftermath of 2010 agitation that resulted in the killing of 130 youth proved my prediction and surmise factual and correct. But this new spate of armed insurgency that I term as “Post militancy” is different in some aspects because it is indigenous, with little or no role of Pakistan and quite lethal than its predecessors. But the ideological confusion is still prevalent and quite manifest. It can be witnessed from the fact that two factions of militants are fighting for antagonistic ends. Unlike their predecessors when the tussle was between those who were vouching for accession to Pakistan and Independent Kashmir, today the battle of ideas is between those who want accession to Pakistan whereas the other group intends to establish an Islamic State.

The romanticism and tryst for the Islamic state is not new. In 1990s most pro Pakistan militant organizations declared their aim as establishment of Islamic state, once the accession with Pakistan is complete. But the 9/11 events changed the discourse for these organizations and also the official Pakistan policy was responsible for the U turn. The discourse in Kashmir for establishing an Islamic state became vibrant once again with the rise of Pan Islamist insurgent movements like ISIS and Al Qaeda. This discourse is being represented by Ansar Ghazawatul Hind organization headed by Zakir Moosa. It holds Pakistan on the same plank as India when it comes to declaring them as citadels of Kufr (disbelief). They espouse violence against the Indian state as well as the other insurgent groups that are fighting on the behest of Pakistan, though there are no reports of internecine battles against each other except for the press releases demeaning and condemning each other.

The use of social media has been a potent force in inspiring and radicalizing the new generation of youth. Violence, death, martyrdom has been valorised, celebrated and romanticized by the insurgents and their sympathizers, despite the fact that violence as a tool of resistance has achieved very limited success. This celebration and romanticism has to be analyzed factually and pragmatically. Most of the youth have become too emotional to understand the realities. The hyper emotional empathy towards violence has its own causes related to over militarization of public spaces, intolerance towards dissent and armed response to every grievance. To add insult to injury Islamophobia and Othering of Muslims fuels the rage.

The vicious cycle of death and violence needs to be broken and fractured. It starts with the state, which needs to rein in their armed forces that are sometimes responsible for pushing youth towards insurgency. Then resistance leaders and civil society too have a job to make youth understand that besides violence there are hundreds of ways, methods and campaigns through which they can make their voices heard all over the world. These non violent methods are a part of civil resistance that has proved to be successful in variegated contexts and numerous struggles ranging from social to political. But for reaching out to youth with these methods is a process that needs a lot of sweat and double the patience.

Civil resistance is a slow process but it saves the human capital and in the long run proves successful. It starts with the individual transformation and inculcating the spirit of non violence through a constant discipline and training. This discipline starts with reading, then imbibing the principles and later on implementing them on ground. If we as a society are not ready to pay the price of patience, work our fingers to the bone and train hard then surely the path that our youth have chosen will lead us towards collective suicide and annihilation.

M.H.A Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar

Courtesy: New Age Islam

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