18 NOV 2015 _ Indo-Nepal Relations

1)Indo-Nepal-China :-

• Modern-day India and Nepal initiated their relationship with the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship and accompanying secret letters that defined security relations between the two countries, and an agreement governing both bilateral trade and trade transiting Indian territory.
• Recently there has been a significant debate over the weakening Indo-Nepal relations and the spoilsports played by China.
• Much of the editorials of India written on the particular theme – “Not to meddle in Nepal’s relation” .But , Journalists don’t run this country, the government does, so it is vital we should understand the mechanism behind it.

Principles of Geopolitics:-

• Idealism takes a back seat and realism takes precedence  as long as geopolitics is concerned.We can’t preach universal brotherhood , when we can’t protect ourselves.Universal brotherhood can only be achieved , when we as a nation strong enough to thrash out any challenges to it.
• Geopolitics is not fought on idealism, instead nationalism takes precedence. National interest and security are the two objectives of geopolitics.Nothing that the Govt. should do which may undermine these two.We have freedom in every form because our nation is secure.So debating national interest or security on the ground of  ideals such as non-interference , is going to serve no national interest.
• When we live in a comity of nations , when one country’s action impairs our national interest , then there is bound to be interference.
• Debating Geopolitics on the grounds of ethics or morality is again misguided. For eg- It is always immoral to kill another human being , but on a day to day basis our army prepared to do it as a job to keep the nation safe. Thus the ethics and morality of geopolitics throws a greater dilemma. But this dilemma can be addressed by a simple answer to the question – If the act carried out  has served the greatest number of people for greater good ? If yes, then idealism  takes a back seat.
• Running a country as vast as India with its volatile neighborhood is a challenge that no other country of the world goes through. Thus far, the Govt. has done a great job in keeping this Nation together since independence, when everybody else predicted that the nation will fail owing to its diversity.Hence ingenuity of our leaders should be questioned when need be but unnecessary intellectualism through paper-bashing the Govt. for every action it takes is outright misguided.Nepal is one such case.
• Geopolitics is a pure game of power and struggle. The word that one understands in geopolitics is strength.If a nation is not strong enough , then no one going to listen to it. It  is as simple as that.Hence India’s  deterrence capacity or the mission to mars – all these are display of strength.
• Today , India tries to bargain from the position of strength not from weakness. And from this One can understand what is happening in Nepal.

The case of Nepal:-

• Nepal , recently drafted a constitution , where the concerns of Madhesi people  was not addressed. Hence India has questioned the exclusivity of Nepal’s Constitution. The people largely inhabit the border region of Indo-Nepal.
• Indian and Nepal has been good friends since time immemorial. Recently in Bhutan , there was smooth transition to democracy , because there is no meddling by China or any major communist propaganda.The case in Nepal is different , on many occasions , the Communist party has tried to evoke anti-India sentiments among Nepalese people.
• Now the govt is run by the Communist party in Nepal, and of course , they draw their ideology from China. They see China as their natural ally, even though India has stood by Nepal in every-time it was in crisis.
• India has never been a hegemonic power , neither it displays itself as such .However recent action of Nepal to cozy up to China is a serious concern for India. We already have the string of pearls encirclement of India in Indian ocean. Now interference in Nepal will lead to Northern encirclement of India.
• What Nepal has long neglected is that – China is neither a true democracy nor a true well-wisher of Nepal. It has got a huge forex reserve and is throwing around dollars to buy some geopolitical power.
• Moreover, in Asia , the only aggressor is China , its role South China sea is well-known. If Nepal cozy up with China , there can be only one outcome. Nepal will be another Tibet. It will be subdued by Force. And when it is done, Nepal can cry foul but no one will listen , simply because it has nothing to offer to the world ( No oil or gas or Technology). No Asian power will dare to challenge China in any case.
• So if Nepalese PM speaks of Indian Hegemony , they have not seen of China, or at least they have been ignorant about it.

India’s Stance:-

• India’s blockade is not official one. Instead as mentioned the border people are protesting due to the exclusivity of Nepalese constitution , hence it is more of a internal protest rather than a geopolitical sanction.
• In any case, a peaceful Nepal is in India’s interest . As mentioned geopolitics is a pure game of power , and India has to go from strength to strength.No country should draw all the help from India and do the actions inimical to India’s interest, if it does so , it must not go scot-free.

Note:- The above analysis is completely of UPSCTREE. There are chances one might not agree with it , and for that we will be happy to entertain a debate on the issue. We are believers in debate, discussion and deliberation, and if you have any comments in this regard- kindly drop mail or comment on this. A healthy debate always broadens one’s perspective and we whole heartedly welcome it.

2)Swachh Delhi app :-

• The Delhi Govt. has launched  Swachh Delhi App , where people can immediately take pictures of a garbage mound or heap and through this application it will be directly communicated to Delhi Municipal , which will help them to take real time action. This has been done  keeping the broader interest of Swachh Bharat Mission.
• This kind of initiative should also be launched at a national level and state level , which can really help the municipal of the region to clean up the city in real time.

3) Justice T.S. Thakur has been appointed as the Chief Justice of India :-

• Justice Thakur, who is the seniormost judge after the Chief Justice, will take over after Chief Justice retires on December 2, 2015. It is a convention that the present CJI recommends to the government the name of his successor. After the Law Ministry clears his name, the file would travel to the Prime Minister’s Office and finally reach the President. His Warrant of Appointment would be issued after the President gives his approval.
• Article 124 of the Constitution of India provides for the manner of appointing judges to the Supreme Court. Though no specific provision exists in the Constitution for appointing the Chief Justice, who, as a result, is appointed like the other judges, conventionally, the outgoing CJI recommends the name of the senior-most judge (i.e. by date of appointment to the Supreme Court) for appointment by the President, as his successor.However, this convention has been breached on a number of occasions, most notably during the premiership of Indira Gandhi, who appointed A.N. Ray superseding three judges senior to him allegedly because he supported Gandhi’s government, during the Emergency, a time when her government was becoming increasingly mired in a political and constitutional crisis

4)National Resource Facility for Bio-medical Research (NARF) :-

• Cabinet approved the proposal of the Department of Health Research in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for setting up of a National Resource Facility for Bio-medical Research (NARF) at Genome Valley in Hyderabad by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR)
• The institution will be the first of its kind for quality laboratory animals for basic and applied biomedical research in the country.
• It will be developed as a world-class facility for breeding and housing of animals such as primates, cabines and other specialized models such as transgenic and knockout rodents required for testing of various R&D products. The facility will create, develop and provide access to a range of laboratory animals and related technological resources for advancement of biomedical research in the country, mainly to facilitate research in medical colleges, research and academic institutions, universities and Biotech/Bio-pharma companies

5)IFSO- In-Flight Security officers :-

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, gave its ex-post facto approval to the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of the Interior Germany and the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India for carriage of In-flight Security Officers (IFCOs) on board the flight.
• What is important is that , IFSO should be availed in all the flights . This can help fight any hijackers on board and can act as the security of last resort.
  

6)UN confers Shri Kiren Rijiju with Disaster Risk Reduction Asia Champion honour :-

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju, has been designated as the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Champion for the Asia Region by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

• Shri Rijiju is the first regional champion for DRR after the Sendai Agreement. He is also the first Indian to be conferred with this honour.

Sendai Framework:-

• The “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030” was adopted during the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan in  2015.
• It has seven targets and four priorities for action. It has a 15 yr framework.
•  It is a voluntary and non-binding agreement which recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.
• It succeeds Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-2015 .
• The implementation of the Sendai Framework involves adopting integrated and inclusive institutional measures so as to work towards preventing vulnerability to disaster, increase preparedness for response and recovery and strengthen resilience.

7 Targets:-

1. Substantially reduce global disaster mortality by 2030, aiming to lower average per 100,000 global mortality rate in the decade 2020-2030 compared to the period 2005-2015.
2. Substantially reduce the number of affected people globally by 2030, aiming to lower average global figure per 100,000 in the decade 2020 -2030 compared to the period 2005-2015.
3. Reduce direct disaster economic loss in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.
4. Substantially reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services, among them health and educational facilities, including through developing their resilience by 2030.
5. Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020.
6. Substantially enhance international cooperation to developing countries through adequate and sustainable support to complement their national actions for implementation of this Framework by 2030.
7. Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030.

4 Priorities for Action :-

1. Understanding disaster risk
2. Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk
3. Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience
4. Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to “Build Back Better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction

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