TESTING TIMES

Vol: 29 | No. 7 | July 2021| R20

www.opinionexpress.in

A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE

Cover Story

TESTING TIMES

The Covid-19 pandemic that has ravaged the country

and the world alike, the troubled roadmap ahead?

RNI UPENG01809 Volume 29, No 7

EDITOR

Prashant Tewari

Associate Editor

Dr Rahul Misra

Political Editor

Prakhar Misra

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editorial

Twin trouble for Modi

The Hits & Miss of Covid 19 in India:The WHO Representative to India, appreciated

the response of the Government of India to the first wave of pandemic COVID-19

describing the Lockdown Measures as “timely, comprehensive and robust”. WHO

has, however, cautioned that lockdowns alone would not eliminate coronavirus and

India must take necessary measures to prevent a second and

third wave of infections. The government failed to understand

the gravity of the problem. The healthcare spending in India is

abysmally low for an emerging economy with a population of

1.3 billion. Lack of the desired level of investment in the health

infrastructure has so far resulted in the fragility of the Indian

health ecosystem which posed a big hurdle in generating an effective

response against the pandemic. It is, therefore, strongly

recommended to the Government to increase its investments

in the public healthcare system and make consistent efforts to

achieve the National Health Policy targets of expenditure up to

2.5% of GDP within two years as the set timeframe of the year

2025 is far away and the public health cannot be jeopardized till that time schedule.

The country has a poor state of primary healthcare, especially in rural areas. It is

strongly recommended that the Ministry urgently increase its spending under the National

Rural Health Mission to strengthen the delivery of health care services in the rural

areas, keeping in view the languishing health infrastructure and inadequate delivery of

health services to the much-needed rural population. The country is ravaged by natural

fury but our country has shown tremendous resilience to overcome the traumatic time.

It is good to see that the Modi government has started the work on a war footing and the

country is gradually limping back to normalcy. The most surprising sequence of the covid

pandemic is the behaviour of China. They have become aggressive at the border, started

challenging the armed forces of the country by snatching land parcels. Even more surprising

is the silence of our government on the Chinese intent, the entire world at G7 summit

has condemned China but the Indian leadership chooses to remain silent.

Rafale Ghost: In another development that will escalate demands in India for an independent

probe into the controversial Rafale deal, a French judge has been appointed to

lead a judicial investigation into alleged corruption and favouritism in the 7.8-billion-euro

sale to India of 36 fighter aircraft, including the role of a middleman whose disclosures

India’s Enforcement Directorate is reportedly aware of but has not bothered to investigate

till now. Given the central role played by Anil Ambani’s Reliance group – Dassault’s Indian

partner in the deal for the 36 aircraft – the probe is likely to also examine the nature

of the association between the two companies.

India and Dassault had officially been negotiating terms for the purchase and manufacture

of 126 Rafale jets right up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s publicly announced

decision – on April 10, 2015 – to scrap that deal and replace it with the outright purchase

of 36 fighters. In a sensational new revelation, “Documents seen by Mediapart show

that Dassault and Reliance had in fact signed their first Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) – a document setting out broad outlines of an agreement – on March 26th 2015.

That was 15 days before Modi’s announcement of the turnaround, and the exclusion of

HAL, and begs the question as to whether the two companies had been informed of it in

advance.”

“The two partners agreed on a maximum investment in the subsidiary of 169 million

euros. Of that sum, Dassault, which held a 49% stake in DRAL, pledged to provide up to

159 million euros, representing 94% of the total, while Reliance would provide just the

remaining 10 million euros. “This meant that Reliance was given the majority 51% stake

in the joint venture in return for a relatively very modest sum. While Reliance brought

neither funds nor know-how of any significance to the joint venture, it did bring to it its

capacity for political influence. In November 9, 2015, Dassault CEO Trappier and Reliance

Group chairman Anil Ambani signed a “strategic partnership agreement”, which was

a more detailed document than the previous March 26, 2015 MoU, for the establishment

of a joint venture in India. While it detailed how Dassault would provide “technology and

know-how”, “technical assistance” and “international marketing” capabilities, Reliance

was expected to provide only “production facilities”, presumably land, and “marketing for

programs and services with the GOI and other authorities in compliance with applicable

laws”. Narendra Modi has to face a twin attack on Covid mismanagement and Rafale Ambani

jugalbandi in the coming parliamentary session.

—Prashant Tewari, Editor-in-Chief

Opinion Express July 2021 3

A Monthly News Magazine

July 2021

Cover Story

Covid-19

pandemic will

test India’s

political unity

P 5-7

8

20

COVID-19: Where did we

go wrong?

Making Peace with Nature

to address environmental

emergencies

50

Reasons to include

a workout in your

child’s routine

33

Weaponization of

SARS-CoV-2: Chinese

conspiracy or any

other mystery?

45

Bangla

Dream

36

Disaster management

and internal security

42

Time to play the

Taiwan card

4 July 2021

Opinion Express

Cover Story

Covid-19

pandemic

will test

India’s

political

unity

India can beat the virus only when its political

parties rise above differences and reach a

consensus on super spreaders like festivals,

political rallies and protests

Dr. K. S. Nandakumar

Covid-19 has struck people at every walk of life.

It has shaken India’s vast population and affected

economy, education, health care systems

and also day to day normal life for the last one

year. Similar to many countries, India too under

took various strategic steps to control Covid-19 and implemented

many national and state level Covid-19 control

measures. India has efficiently and effectively managed

the emergence of first Covid-19 wave. Although many epidemiologists

and mathematical model experts predicted

there could be second or third wave of Covid-19 in 2021

in India, political leadersand policymakers took such in-


formationvery leniently and casually.

The laxity to adhere to covid-19

protocols was deviated at many situations

across the country from the

beginning of 2021. Critical analysis

indicates that political and administrative

machinerywent into certain

typeof overconfidence that India has

achieved measures to control Covid-

19. Such indications from political

leaders have profoundly impacted

public and thus public diverged

from adhering to covid-19 protocols.

Recently, top medical journal the

Lancet wrote Indian policy makers

might have accepted pandemic as

“endgame” in India once the first

Covid-19 wave subsided.

Government machineries shall

look beyond political frame work

and political ideologies to face and

managenational calamities and

such pandemics. Political governments

shall bring technocrats, political

party leaders, businessmen,

scientists, medical fraternity, bureaucrats,

policy makers and public

health experts together under

one umbrella during thispandemic.

Such efforts are foremost important

to tackle pandemic. It is worth mentioning

how global partnership and

amalgamation brought countries

Critical analysis

indicates that political

and administrative

machinerywent

into certain typeof

overconfidence that

India has achieved

measures to control

Covid-19. Such

indications from political

leaders have profoundly

impacted public and

thus public diverged

from adhering to covid-

19 protocols.

and organizations together beyond

boundaries and boarders to develop

vaccines on fast track. Collaboration

between Oxford-AstraZeneca- Serum

Institute of India, Pfizer-BioNTech

and many others aresome

examples to mention about fruitful

global collaborations. Although India

has successfully made couple of

Covid-19 vaccines Covishield and

Covaxin, logisticand vaccine drive

did not catch the speed. There has

been a slow process in vaccine drive

in India. Although India got world

appreciation in supplying vaccines

to more than seventy countries, India’s

mass vaccination effort didn’t

meet the expectation.

Declining of Covid-19 surge and

initiation of vaccination in the beginning

of 2020 might have pushed

the political administration to take

things unconcernedly. Even top scientific

journal like Natureviewed

that Indian political governance

shall listen to the scientists, medical

professionals and public health

experts when such pandemicafflicts

the country. Strong political will and

political wisdom shall emerge to take

up such vaccine drive as top most

national priority. All political parties

should accept certain common mandate

that political processions, festivals

and public gathering functions

should not be held. They should collectively

accept the vaccination process

for public iscountry’s urgency

and priority. If political party lead-

6

July 2021

Opinion Express

ers raise concerns and differences of

opinion on India’s vaccine drive and

on vaccines, public may get into confusion.

WHO scientist recently pointed

out mass gathering and social

activities might have contributed to

such sudden surge of Covid-19 in India.

India began vaccine drive in 16,

Jan 2021 and countries might have

initiated some weeks before that.

After vaccination drive began many

political parties at centre and states

started celebrating as India controlled

the pandemic. After the onset of vaccine

drive, the drive began without acceleration.

Emergency use of vaccine

became non-emergency. Many other

national and political issues became

priority over vaccine drive. Notably,

the Hon. High courts made serious

observation on election procedures

in many states on violating covid-19

protocols. Although such events may

be unavoidable, political parties shall

understand that vaccine drive for public

is the need of the hour and importantfor

managing and controlling the

Covid-19. Each state has been playing

different modus operandi in attacking

centre due to political differences and

managing vaccination processes.

Political party members should

fully adhere to the Covid-19 protocol

and should exhibit exemplary

gestures to public. When politicians

speak, support and propagate political

rallies and mass gathering,

how public could follow the rules

and guidelines! Political machinery

across the nation shall come together

and merge to work in totality

against the national pandemic. Politicians

and policy makers are good

in comparing and bosting on small

achievements of Indian initiatives

at national and global platform.This

type of comparison may not pay any

benefit during pandemic. Similarly,

they mayalso analyse how other

countries speeded up their vaccine

drive for public by procuring vaccines

from other countries. India is

the capital of vaccine supplier in the

world. Surprisingly, Statistareports

as on May 20 in India only 3% people

got second dose of vaccine and 10.9

% people received first dose whereas

these figures may be ten times more

in many other countries.

India could have vaccinated more

people above 18 years age, may be

better than many other countries, if

the vaccine drive could have initiated

more aggressively from February.

Now CoWinapp is like Tatkal and

available for just for 1-2 hour per day

for vaccine booking. Public is almost

in a frustrated situation to get vaccine

slots even after trying for weeks

through CoWin. This won’t serve

the purpose of mass vaccination in

India for control of the pandemic.

Many rural areas digital divide exists

with poor digital literacy and

internet connectivity. We have best

IT technology service providers in

the world and government shall take

the help of IT sectors to develop alternative

apps or measures to speed

up the registration process to cover

mass vaccination in short period of

time. Establishment of “walk-in vaccine

centres “across India could be

an option.

Management of vaccine drive by

government for such vast Indian

population could be discussed with

allpolitical party levels, management

experts and other technocrats with

help of well-established defence organizations

and medical fraternity

without political differences. Time

has come for all political parties join

in hand to face such pandemic. The

Covid-19 may be a wakeupcall for all

political parties to remove their political

barricades and work together

to curtail Covid-19 pandemic.

(Writer is practicing Medical

Scientist at Indian Institute of Science,

Bangalore, India & the views

expressed are personal)


COVID-19

Where

did we go

wrong?

Did a reasonable success in controlling the first wave made us

complacent and the second wave caught us on wrong foot ?

Anil Sood

Today COVID-19 has hit almost

every family in the Country.

The sufferings of citizens due

this mysterious pandemic have multiplied

manifold in its second wave

when, Central Govt was celebrating

its success in containing first wave

and claimed that it has successfully

contained COVID-19 which is almost

finished. The Central Govt little

realised that the COVID-19 was just

sleeping like Kumbhakarn and was

likely to hit back with vengeance.

When Rahul Gandhi seriously for

the first time tweeted on 12th February

2020 stating none took him seri-

ously:-

“The Corona Virus is an extremely

serious threat to our people and

our economy. My sense is the government

is not taking this threat

seriously. Timely action is critical,”

Rahul had written, tagging an article--dated

February 7--in the Harvard

Gazette, which predicted that

the outbreak could be more widespread

than thought.”(Kaushik Deka

India today – 14th April 2020)

It was claimed that it wasRahul’s

keen interest in the global history

of war, which helped him to assess

the threat of the virus before many

others. It appears that COVID-19,

had first drawn Rahul’s attention in

the first week of January, following

8 July 2021

the World Health Organization’s announcement

on December 31 that a

“mysterious pneumonia” was afflicting

many in China.

While the cases in USA started

Opinion Express

surging after “Thanksgiving” and

“Christmas” the cases started surging

in USA. On January 9, 2020,

WHO Announced Mysterious Coronavirus-Related

Pneumonia in

Wuhan, China. On January 20th

2020, the CDC to started screenings

at JFK International, San Francisco

International, and Los Angeles International

airports. These airports

are picked because flights between

Wuhan and the United States bring

most passengers through them.

The Central Govt despite all this

going on, invited U S President Donald

Trump to visit India on 24th

February 2020 at Biggest Stadium

Ahmadabad. Thus, in order to prepare

fool proof security system, the

entourage from USA started arriving

in India from mid-January 2020 onwards

without any checks at airport.

As per Media Reports (The Guardian

– 24th February 2020, a huge crowd

chanted “Namaste Trump”.

Across the stands of the world’s

biggest cricket stadium, a sea made

up of the faces of Donald Trump

and Narendra Modi stared out. The

125,000-strong crowd who had

gathered to welcome to US president

on his first visit to India alongside

the Indian prime minister, at a rally

dubbed “Namaste Trump”, not only

danced and chanted to show their

appreciation, but many also donned

masks of the two leaders.

This was a case of totally casual

and careless attitude on the part of

The Central Govt despite

all this going on, invited

U S President Donald

Trump to visit India

on 24th February 2020

at Biggest Stadium

Ahmadabad. Thus, in

order to prepare fool

proof security system,

the entourage from USA

started arriving in India

from mid-January 2020

onwards without any

checks at airport.

the Central Govt to ignore the clear

warnings and invite trouble.

However, once the issue was

raised in Parliament, the Union

Minister of State for Finance on 18th

March 2020 negating all the fears

and readout a written reply on the

floor of the Rajya Sabha:-

that the latest data on trade and

indicators of domestic output do not

suggest any adverse impact of coronavirus

on the Indian economy.

“As is true for the world at large,

India’s near-term macroeconomic

outlook also vulnerable to disruption

of trade with China and 2nd-round

effects arising from an expected

slowdown in global growth.

However, the latest available data

on trade and indicators of domestic

output don’t suggest any adverse impact

on the economy”.(Source: ANI

- Business Standard -18th March

2020)

He was so confident that he predicted

positive impact on India economy

that the latest data on trade and

indicators of domestic output do not

suggest any adverse impact of coronavirus

on the Indian economy.

However, as the things turned

shape the very next day on 19th

March 2020 in a 30-minute address

to the Nation Prime Minister Sh. Narender

Modi announced a complete

Janta Curfew on 22nd March 2020

from 7.00 am to 9.00 PM:-

“This Sunday, that is on March

22, all citizens must follow this curfew

from 7 am until 9 pm. During

this curfew, we shall neither leave

our homes nor get onto the streets

and refrain from roaming about in


our societies or areas. Only those associated

with emergency and essential

services may leave their home.

(Source: Indian Express Web Edition

-19th March 2020 -10.37.58

PM)

The Janta Curfew was defined to

say that no citizen, barring those in

essential services, should get out

of their house. He further asserted

that:-

“it will be a litmus test to show

how much India is ready to take

on the challenge of the coronavirus

pandemic. “This experience will

serve the nation well,”

Once again just within two days

after Janta Curfew the Prime Minister

on 24th March addressed the

nation to announce 21 days Nation

Wide lockdown.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

on Tuesday announced a complete

lockdown of the entire country for

21 days in an unprecedented drastic

measure to try halt the spread

10

July 2021

Since the Prime Minister is the Chairman of

the National Disaster Management Authority

constituted under the Disaster Management Act

2005, having a Vice Chairman holding the status of

a Cabinet Minister and 8 members with the status

of Ministers of State, thus this committee headed by

the PM is responsible for the management of relief

efforts in the entire country.

of the pandemic. Shortly after the

announcement, the Centre said all

road, rail and air services will remain

suspended during this period.

COVID-19 has claimed 11 lives in

the country with authorities reporting

one death each in Delhi - the second

in the national capital - and Maharashtra

on Tuesday and over 500

persons being afflicted by the viral

Opinion Express

infection. Fears are also mounting

that more could be hit as the global

coronavirus toll inches towards

17,000.

In his second address to the nation

in less than a week on the growing

concerns over COVID-19, PM

Modi said the lockdown will be in

force from Tuesday midnight, as he

announced a Central allocation of

Rs 15,000 crore to strengthen the

health infrastructure to tackle the

disease.(Source – PTI - Times of India

-24 March 2020 – 8.32 PM)

It was the first time in India provisions

of the National Disaster Management

Act, 2005, were invoked.

In an order issued by the home

ministry, the home secretary as

chairperson of the National Executive

Committee of the National

Disaster Management Authority

(NDMA) issued guidelines for the

national lockdown for 21 days. The

guidelines allow for essential services

such as food, utilities, health

care, and law and order. Many parts

of the country were already under a

lockdown till March 31.

Since the Prime Minister is the

Chairman of the National Disaster

Management Authority constituted

under the Disaster Management Act

2005, having a Vice Chairman holding

the status of a Cabinet Minister

and 8 members with the status of

Ministers of State, thus this committee

headed by the PM is responsible

for the management of relief efforts

in the entire country.

That’s where the Role of Prime

Minister has come under severe criticism

from all quarters. I am not going

into the history of lock down and

unlock down despite having knowledge

of imminent threat of second

wave that had hit every Country. The

second wave had brought a country

like USA on its knees.

We may have read in various

newspaper reports when other countries

were going through the pangs

of the 2nd wave, we (Represented by

our PM)boasted to the world during

the World Economic Forum on 28

Jan 21 that we (Mr. Modi) had defeated

corona virus and patted himself

for doing so.

Because we (headed by our PM)

failed to have foresight and prepare

for the worse despite seeing country

after country suffering under the

2nd and even 3rd wave.

It did not stop at this stage only.

Ahead of elections in five States, in

a meeting of BJP National Office

Bearers on 21 Feb 21 a resolution

was passed hailing Mr. Modi’s leadership

in defeating corona despite

the stirrings of the 2nd wave.

Ahead of elections in five crucial

states, the BJP on Sunday held

a meeting of the party’s national

office-bearers and state unit presidents,

which passed a resolution

praising Prime Minister Narendra

Modi for bringing in reforms in the

agriculture sector and for his leadership

during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prime Minister asked the party

leaders to grow the organisation

with the ideal of “Nation First”.

(Source: Indian Express February

22, 2021- 8.19.58 AM)

It looks that the priority was contesting

and elections in five states

and Panchayat Elections in Uttar

Pradesh. That’s why the 123rd Report

of department-related parliamentary

standing committee on

health and family welfare on “the

outbreak of pandemic covid-19 and

its management” - Presented to the

Chairman, Rajya Sabha on 21st November,

2020 and Forwarded to the

Speaker, Lok Sabha on 25th November,

2020 that records the following

major observations was ignored by

the Chairman, DDMA:-

1.35 The WHO Representative to

India, appreciated the response of

the Government of India to pandemic

COVID-19 describing the Lockdown

Measures as “timely, comprehensive

and robust”. WHO has,

however, cautioned that lockdowns

alone would not eliminate corona

virus and India must take necessary

measures to prevent a second and

third wave of infections.

8.10 The Committee reiterates its

considered view that the healthcare

spending in India is abysmally low

for an emerging economy with a population

of 1.3 billion. Lack of desired

level of investment in the health infrastructure

has so far resulted into

fragility of Indian health ecosystem

which posed a big hurdle in generating

an effective response against the

pandemic. The Committee, therefore,

strongly recommends the Government

to increase its investments

in the public healthcare system and

make consistent efforts to achieve

the National Health Policy targets of

expenditure upto 2.5% of GDP within

two years as the set timeframe of


year 2025 is far away and the public

health cannot be jeopardized till that

time schedule.

8.11 The Committee also laments

the poor state of primary healthcare

especially in rural areas. The

Committee strongly recommends

the Ministry to urgently increase its

spending under the National Rural

Health Mission to strengthen the delivery

of health care services in the

rural areas, keeping in view the languishing

health infrastructure and

inadequate delivery of health services

to much needed rural population.

8.12 The Committee is of the view

that pandemic Covid-19 offers a window

to revisit the country’s health

policy with the purpose of strengthening

the health sector, and thus

necessitates a higher investment

in creating permanent basic health

infrastructure. The Committee also

believes that a higher budgetary allocation

will also boost the healthcare

industry and shift the focus to

Indian manufacturers and domestic

supply chain of products. The Committee

believes that it is the opportune

time to boost India’s healthcare

infrastructure and push for greater

technology deepening in the healthcare

sector.

Our Central Govt was so overconfident

that the Union Health Minister

Dr. Harsh Vardhan went overboard

to publicly announce that:-

We are in India, has emerged as

the world’s pharmacy, and it supplied

5.51 crore Covid-19 vaccines to

62 different countries, Union health

minister Harsh Vardhan said.

“We are in the end game of the

COVID-19 pandemic in India” and

to succeed at this stage, Union health

minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday

said, politics should be kept out the

Covid-19 vaccination drive.

That is when as a nation we have

committed terrible mistake of being

overconfident propagating an image

of “Make in India” Vaccine which

was actually “Made by India” and

India had no control over the same

as it is apparent now the shortage

of vaccine is staring at our faces and

we have no clue by when we would

be able to inoculate our population.

We also do not know by the time we

plan inoculation whether, the vaccine

would be effective or not is a

million-dollar question.

The next issue that acted as a super

spreader was holding Kumbh at

12 July 2021

“We are in the end game of the COVID-19 pandemic

in India” and to succeed at this stage, Union health

minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said, politics

should be kept out the Covid-19 vaccination drive.

Haridwar by preponing from 2022

to 2021. Normally Kumbh is held

after every 12 years. The last Haridwar

Kumbh Mela was held in 2010.

The actual due date for the ‘current’

Kumbh at Haridwar was 2022, not

2021. Thus, the moot question arises

that how it got advanced by one

whole lethal year at a time India’s

second Covid wave was expected.

So not only did the Government

of India, and the Government of Uttarakhand

not cancel the Kumbh

Opinion Express

Mela, which they could easily have

done, so as not to endanger the lives

of millions of people by causing a

super-spreader event for COVID-19;

they also need not have let it take

place this year at all, simply because

this is the 11th, not the 12th year,

since the last Kumbh Mela at Haridwar.

They could have used this time

to create the conditions where holding

an event like the Kumbh could

have made some kind of sense, maybe,

in 2022.

The Central Govt and the State

Govt of Uttrakhand ignored all the

suggestions offered by the seers to

defer Kumbh next year.

A group of prominent seers in the

city has demanded that the scheduled

to be held next year be postponed

by a year in view of the Covid-

19 threat. The group which includes

mahamandaleshwaras (a rank in

religious hierarchy) of prominent

ashrams, claims that the mela was

in any case scheduled to be held in

2022 but had been preponed to January

2021. Swami Vishwatmanand

Puri, general secretary of Paramadarsh

Acharya Mahamandaleshwar

Samiti (PAMS), told TOI,

The slow progress on holding

Kumbh Mela did cost heavily to Mr

Trivendra Singh Rawat, who had

to resign as Chief Minister and his

successor, Tirath Singh Rawat, immediately

said that there would be

no ‘rok-tok’ – no restrictions – on

pilgrims, and that with Goddess

Ganga’s blessings, faith will triumph

over disease.

However, on 6th April at the Review

Meet for Kumbh the Central

Govt team observed that Kumbh

might become COVID-19 ‘super

spreader’: (Source ANI 6th April

2021).

As expected, 91 lakhs devotees

had attended Kumbh Mela as per

The Kumbh Mela Force i.e. the Governing

Body (Source: Hindustan

Times-30th April 2021 -3.00 AM)

Thus, the manifold increase in

number of cases of COVID-19 in UP

and Uttarakhand and many other

States is stated to be just because

of Kumbh. Many seers lost battle

against COVID-19, consequently

some of the Akhara heads suddenly

called off and returned. Since many

devotees participated in the Mela

were from villages, the real number

would never be known.

When elections in Bihar were

held, though the election commission

directed (The Hindu 21st October

2020) the political parties to

follow appropriate Covid Behaviour,

said directions were brazenly

flouted by one and all. The Election

Commission did not move even its

little finger. Consequently, all the

star campaigners of Political Parties

were sure that nothing would happen

even if they continued to flout

all norms

Now coming to another super

spreading events i.e. elections held

in five states despite country reeling

under second wave of Covid. The

sequence of events as reported by

India Today - 30th April 2021 is as


follows:-

(a) When West Bengal went for

the first of the eight-phase a s -

sembly elections on March 27, the

seven-day average of daily cases

was modest. At that rate, it would

have taken 778 days to double

the number of cases in the state.

From all indications, the virus

seemed benign in West B e n g a l

then.

But the situation changed dramatically

a month and two days later.

On April 29, to be precise, when

the state had its eighth and final

phase of elections, infections spread

ferociously.

(b) Doubling Rate, Fatalities

Jump in Assam, Tamil Nadu

Assam witnessed a massive jump

in the doubling rate in the election

month. A manifold growth in number

of Covid- related deaths was

recorded in Tamil Nadu.

All the states had their fair share

of mega rallies and roadshows

where reportedly Covid- appropriate

protocols were rarely followed.

The day Tamil Nadu went

for elections, the state had reported

15 Covid-related casualties. The

number astonishingly touched 98

on April 29.

(c) Kerala’s High Positivity

All data points suggest that Kerala

too is in the midst of a raging pandemic.

Among the states that went

for elections, Kerala happens to have

the highest positivity rate, close to 10

per cent, now.

While Kerala seems to have handled

Covid-related deaths better

than most other states, the sharp reduction

in doubling days should be a

cause of concern.

It is also matter of record that

Hon’ble High Court of Madras came

down heavily on Election Commission

of India (Source – PTI - The

Print -26th April 2021) and called

it the “the most irresponsible institution”

for the alleged spread of

the second wave of Covid-19 in the

country. It also observed that EC officials

may be booked under murder

charges, says Madras HC on election

rallies. The EC filed SLP before

Hon’ble Supreme Court.

The impact of Panchayat Elections

in Uttar Pradesh is visible and

many stalwarts have lost the battle

against COVID. The news of bodies

floating in Ganga River and its tributaries

in UP Area and Bihar Area is

14 July 2021

As per Media Reports despite rising cases and

deaths Prime Minister chose to visit WB 17 times

to address mass rallies and Union Home Minister

visited WB 20 times, which is in clear violation of

the 123rd Report of the Parliamentary Committee

on COVID-19.

a serious concern. As forewarned by

the Committee in its 123rd Report, in

absence of health facilities in villages

the actual numbers would never be

known.

As per Media Reports despite rising

cases and deaths Prime Minister

chose to visit WB 17 times to address

mass rallies and Union Home Minister

visited WB 20 times, which is

Opinion Express

in clear violation of the 123rd Report

of the Parliamentary Committee on

COVID-19.

Now coming to vaccination which

is another story marred by multiple

controversies and charges and counter

charges by politicians. But let us

have holistic view of the situation in

view of the facts in public domain. I

hope all of us remember historic vis-

it by our Prime Minister on 29th Nov

2020 to various vaccine manufacturing

facilities at Pune, Ahmedabad

and Hyderabad (Source – Times of

India – 29th Nov 2020 - 04.37 AM)

This visit raised hopes and also

created an impression that India is

manufacturing COVID-19 Vaccine

particularly in view of statement

made by Prime Minister in 75th

United Nations General Assembly

(UNGA) session, 2020.

As the largest vaccine producing

country in the world, I want to give

one more assurance to the global

community today. India’s vaccine

production and delivery capacity

will be used to help all humanity in

fighting this crisis,” said Modi in his

virtual address.

Modi said that India and its

neighbourhood was moving ahead

with phase-3 clinical trials, and that

other countries will also be helped in

enhancing their cold chain and storage

capacities for the delivery of the

vaccines.

Highlighting the role played by

India in ensuring that other countries

did not run out of key drugs

during the Covid-19 outbreak, PM

Modi said that even during the very

difficult times of the raging virus,

the pharmaceutical industry of India

sent essential medicines to more

than 150 countries.

The fact remains that SII according

to the agreement between

Gavi and the Serum Institute of India

(SII), which included funding

to support an increase in manufacturing

capacity, SII is contracted

to provide COVAX with the SII-licensed

and manufactured AstraZeneca

(AZ)-Oxford vaccine (known as

COVISHIELD) to 64 lower-income

economies participating in the Gavi

COVAX AMC (including India),

alongside its commitments to the

Government of India.

Despite having Union Minister

for Health, the Union Aviation Minister

of State Hardeep Singh Puri informs

by tweeting (Source: Business

Today -12th May 2021 08.39 IST)

that advance orders for May, June

and July have been placed. He is

mysteriously silent on status before

May 2021. He is also silent on Delivery

as placing order is not enough,

the supplier must be in a position to

supply.

As several states face vaccine

crunch despite the Centre placing

bulk orders with two vaccine makers

Serum Institute of India and Bharat

Biotech, the government has issued

fresh orders to procure vaccines

from these companies.”


It is matter of record that the

Govt of India told the Supreme

Court that “no governmental aid, assistance

or grant” was given for the

research or development of Covid-19

vaccines Covishield or Covaxin even

though the former is manufactured

in the country by the Serum Institute

of India (SII) and the latter was

indigenously developed by Bharat

Biotech in the collaboration with the

Indian Council of Medical Research

(ICMR).

This statement raises serious

concerns about the whole planning

process an attitude of the Government

in dealing with the pandemic

in view of COVID Committee Report

observations in Para 13 above. One

can continue writing endlessly on

this subject as many stories are unfolding

with each day.

The High Court of Allahabad

on 18th May 2021 while hearing a

matter related to death of a patient

Medical system in UP small cities,

villages ‘Ram bharose’.

Perhaps for the first time in the

country we have heard “Oxygen

Shortage” leading to death of patients

almost in every city of the

Country. The matters had reached

various High Courts and there was

ping pong match between Central

& State Govts. Let us have a look

at Para 1.43 of the 123rd Report of

department-related parliamentary

standing committee on health and

16 July 2021

Thus, the summary of

Beds is as follows

Isolation Beds

(without ICU Support)

3,77,737

ICU Beds 39,820

Oxygen supported

Beds

1,42,415

Ventilators 20,047

family welfare on “the outbreak of

pandemic covid-19 and its management

dealing with preparedness of

COVID-19

Management of COVID-19 and

State of preparedness 1.43 The Committee

was given to understand that

the main purpose of implementing

the lockdown measures was to

contain/ slow down the spread of

Coronavirus by breaking the chain

of transmission and to provide additional

time to ramp up capacities

at all levels. During this period, the

capacities and health infrastructure

were ramped up. It was estimated

that an arrangement was made for

a total of 3914 facilities in the country

with 3,77,737 Isolation beds

(without ICU support), 39,820 ICU

beds and 1,42,415 oxygen supported

beds along with 20,047 ventilators.

In terms of healthcare logistics, cumulatively

213.55 lakh N95 masks,

120.94 lakh PPEs and 612.57 lakh

HCQ tablets were distributed.

Opinion Express

So, one can imagine in a population

of135 crores, where 80%

are asymptomatic, for balance

20% symptomatic and out of those

20% only 5% require Hospitalisation,

which would mean 1,82,25,000

beds and if we gone by ICU Bed

requirement of 2% of 20% about

72 lacs beds were required. Did we

reach there at all? The answer is no.

That’s why though insufficient

temporary arrangements made still

could not save precious lives.

The final observations by the

Committee are appearing from Para

2.34 onwards, that are reproduced

as follow:-

2.34 The Committee observes

that the total number of Government

hospital beds in the country was

grossly inadequate keeping in view

the rising incidence of Covid-19 cases.

Attention of the Committee has

also been brought to Media Reports

which highlighted the abysmally

low number of beds in Government

hospitals in the country especially at

the peak of the pandemic. Data from

National Health Profile–2019 states

that there are total 7,13,986 Government

hospital beds available in India

which amounts to 0.55 beds per

1,000 population.

Therefore, in backdrop of aforesaid

admitted position available in

public domain one thing is clear that

the entire issue has been mishandled

by those who were not experienced

in handling Pandemics and also

did not know anything about Virology.

The strangest part is that the

Union Minister for Health is a former

Practicing Doctor from Delhi,

still he preferred to have IAS officers

in the driving seat instead of letting

the doctors and subject specialists to

handle the situation. This finally led

to flawed policy making.

Because the govt showed ‘stubborn

resistance to evidence-based

policymaking’ and managed and

manipulated data as stated by Dr

Shahid Jameel, the famous Virologist

who had resigned four days ago

stated:-

All of these measures have wide

support among my fellow scientists

in India. But they are facing stubborn

resistance to evidence-based

policymaking. On April 30, over

800 Indian scientists appealed to

the prime minister, demanding access

to the data that could help them

further study, predict and curb this

virus. Decision-making based on

data is yet another casualty, as the

pandemic in India has spun out of

control. The human cost we are enduring

will leave a permanent scar.

(Source: The Wire -17-05-2021)

Now, as a Nation what did we

do in 2020 and 2021 - Answered by

Kanthaswamy Balasubramanian of

Politics and Polity 16-05-2021

(a) March 2020 - Fosun Pharma

of China invests $135 Million

with BioNTECH to collaborate and

develop 300 Million Doses of MRNA

Vaccines;

(b) May 2020 - US Federal Govt

invests $12 Billion into six pharma

companies to collaborate and develop

vaccines for the US population

under warp speed;

(c) EU invests $210 Million with

AstraZeneca and Oxford to develop

vaccines;

(d) Russia invests $ 125 Million

to develop Vaccines by Gamalaya Institute;

(e) China invests $ 562 Million to

four pharma companies to develop

and design vaccines;

What Govt of India did?

Still refused to place orders for vaccines from SII.

Still din’t place orders from Bharat Biotech for Covaxin

Celebrated Diwali

Passed ill-conceived farm laws and cause a build-up of people

for months and months and months.

Jan - March 2021 - China, Russia, US, EU begin mass vaccinations

thanks to steady supply of vaccines already collaborated and ordered.

What did Govt of India do?

India gets doses from SII as part of its AZ deal (Not one order

from GOI yet)

India makes speech that India will save humanity.

India exports 25 Million Doses for free out of its 100 million

doses to neighbours as part of vaccine diplomacy.

SII as a private company exports 34 million doses to the EU and

18 Million doses to WHO under Covax (nothing to do with GOI)

Election rallies!!! TN, WB, Kerala all with rallies under an IM-

POTENT ELECTION COMMISSION. Not one word about masks

or safety etc.

Still not 1 order placed with AZ or SII by GOI !

April 2021 - All Vaccination programs in US, EU,

China, Russia are going strongly with 4–5 vaccines

developed and enough materials secured.

What does India do?

Hijack vaccines meant and paid for by other countries and prevent

exports. GOI hijacked 100 million vaccines meant for EU

(78 Million) and WHO (22 Million). This caused huge delays for

Poonawalla with EU.

Meanwhile the Kumbh Mela is celebrated with pomp and joy.

Held Election rallies, in five states flouted all the COVID Protocols

What did GOI do?

(i) Talli Bajai, Thali Bajai, Diya

jalaya aur phool barsaye !!!!!!

(ii) Argued about the death of an

actor and his manager.

(iii) Arrested people for possessing

weed.

(iv) It was God’s luck that AZ


18 July 2021

chose Sirum Institute of India (SII)

to manufacture a billion doses and

Poonawala made a cross deal that

out of these billion doses he would

supply a tenth, or 10%, to the Govt

of India.

(v) Even then we did not place

any orders. Modi could have placed

an order right then for 1 billion doses

and paid $ 2.18 billion, but NO!!!

(vi) In Chetan Bhagat’s words

- We always think we can do JU-

GAAD!!!

(vii) Sep 2020 - Covaxin thinks

it can develop vaccines. Yet Government

of India (GOI) did notinvest

in Bharat Biotech to scale up operations

(viii) Nov 2020 - Sinovac, Sinopharm,

Sputnik, AZ and Pfizer and

Moderna have all paid off their

investments. Their vaccines are

READY!!!!!!

Opinion Express

Role of State Governments

While as a nation we have failed

miserably, the blame is to be equally

shared by all the States as the

States too have miserably failed in

not only assessing the ground realities

but also perform the Statutory

Responsibility cast upon them.

When we look at the Report

dated 24th December 2019 on Rural

Health Services published by

Department of Health & Family

Welfare of Ministry of Health, New

Delhi, in the forward by its Secretary

paints a very rosy picture about

Rural Healthcare Services, relevant

text of, which is reproduced as un-

der:-

‘Rural Health Statistics’ an annual

publication is based on Health

care administrative data generated

by the health care system. It is an

effort towards providing reliable

and updated information on rural

health infrastructure. The data

given in this publication is based on

the information upto March 2019,

provided by States and UTs. In line

with Ministry’s flagship scheme

“Ayushman Bharat”, the data on

parameters pertaining to Health

& Wellness Centres has also been

incorporated. Data regarding the

Dental Surgeons at PHCs and CHCs

level has been incorporated for the

first time in this publication. To increase

the scalability of the publication

the data with respect to the

Urban Health parameters have also

been included in the publication. It

provides data on rural, urban and

tribal health infrastructure, human

resources, distribution of facilities

at SCs, PHCs, CHCs, HWCs etc.,

so as to provide the status of public

health infrastructure available in

the country.

Though the Report paints very

rosy picture about the efficacy of

Rural Health Services with adequate

building, infrastructure, and

staff. However, the present COVID-

19 pandemichas exposed the facts

that all these reports are prepared

by Bureaucrats while sitting in airconditioned

offices that are just like

any other story. The situation in almost

all villages even urban villages

that the buildings of Primary Health

Centres and Sub Centres and Community

Health Centres are in dilapidated

condition without any infrastructure

in absence of Doctors,

nurses and lab technicians.

Similarly in cities the State Governments

have failed to assess and

improve the basic healthcare facilities,

which has also been exposed by

COVID-19. Both the Politicians and

Bureaucrats have miserably failed

in estimation and planning while

dismantling the temporary healthcare

facilities that were set up to

treat COVID-19 patients.

Further, while dedicating all the

hospitals for COVID -19 patients the

State Governments just ignored the

basic fact that apart from COVID-

19, there were patients who were

supposed to undergo various lifesaving

surgeries, that had to be put

off. The accident victims had to wait

for days together for getting admitted

in Hospital as all hospitals were

having COVID Patients. There were

COVID +ve patients, in DRDO facilities

who had recovered and became

COVID -ve but had developed pulmonary

complications, again there

were no beds for days together.

The prohibited cost of treatment

in private hospitals have created

a major problem for the families,

the black marketing of oxygen and

drugs has shown the ugly side of

the society and lack of enforcement

mechanism of the Govt.

The floating bodies in various

rivers has shown the insensitivity of

State Govts and local bodies in containing

the overcharging by crematoriums.

The Political parties failed

to come forward to provide decent

last journey to the deceased and offer

solace to the families of the deceased.

The Govts tried to hide their

inefficiency by saying that its ritual

to immerse and dispose off the deceased.

What a shame?

Even now if the Central & State

Governments do not wake up the

third wave is going to cost very heavily

to children and younger generation.The

failure on the part of both

the Executive and legislature in protecting

interest of the citizens and

providing affordable health services

has definitely rattled every common

citizen and forced them to sit back

and think seriously which may lead

to a serious change n the times to

come.

(Writer is Hony President SP-

CHETNA, www.spchetna.com)


Making Peace with

Nature to address

environmental

emergencies

Dr. Dina Nath Tewari

Nature provides the foundation

for human existence and

prosperity, but humanity is

waging war on it resulting in planetary

crises, among others, (a.o),

the climate change, biodiversity

loss, pollution and COVID-19. The

Nature, Natural systems and the

Natural resources are interlinked,

interdependent, and are nested, occupying

the biggest space by nature,

medium level space by natural systems

and small space by natural resources.

They are also interchangeably

referred to in this paper.

Several reports provide unequivocal

and alarming evidence that the

planet is flashing red warning signs

of natural systems failure. The way

we produce and consume food and

energy, along with the blatant disregard

for the environment entrenched

in our current economic model, has

pushed nature to its limits. The consequences

of our recklessness are

apparent in human suffering together

with towering economic losses.

Making peace with nature is the

defining task of the coming decades.

We still have a chance to put things

in the right perspective. It’s time for

the world to agree on a “New Deal

for Nature and People”, committing

to stop and reverse the degeneration

of natural systems and build a nature

– positive economy and society

with peace and justice.

By recognising it’s true value of

nature in policies, plans and economic

systems, we can channel investments

in activities that restore

nature and enhance resilience and

long term sustainability. Urgency

and ambition are needed to transform

various systems, including

how we produce and consume food,

sustainably manage water, provide

sanitation, and manage forests, bio-

20 July 2021

Opinion Express

diversity, land and oceans. A sustainable

economy driven by renewable

energy and nature-based solutions

will create new jobs, cleaner infrastructure

and a resilient future. An

inclusive world at peace with nature

can ensure that people enjoy better

health, the full respect of their human

rights, and to live with dignity

on a healthy planet.

A surge in fragility, conflict and

violence (FCV) in recent years has left

a trail of human suffering, displacement

and protracted humanitarian

needs. By 2030, up to two-thirds of

the world’s extreme poor will live in

situations affected by FCV. Violent

conflicts have increased to the highest

levels, observed over the past 30

years. The world also faces the largest

displacement crisis ever, with more

than 79 million people fleeing conflict

and violence. These challenges

are exacerbated by risks, such as nature

destruction, violent extremism,

and pandemics like COVID-19.

Human choices shaped by values

and institutions, have given rise to

the interconnected planetary and

social imbalances, we face. If equity

innovation and stewardship become

central to what it means to live a

good life, human flourishing can

happen alongside easing planetary

pressures as under:-

Addressing fragility, conflict, and

By 2030, up to twothirds

of the world’s

extreme poor will live

in situations affected by

FCV. Violent conflicts

have increased to the

highest levels, observed

over the past 30 years.

violence; tackling climate, biodiversity

and pollution emergencies; protecting

and enhancing natural capital

and ecosystem integrity; building

resilience to natural hazards and

extreme climate events; responding

to environmental health risks; transforming

food, water and energy systems

to meet growing human needs

in an equitable, resilient and environmentally

friendly manner; transforming

economic and financial systems

so they lead and power the shift

toward sustainability; supporting

environmental justice movement to

enhance the power of unseen, unheard

and undervalued groups, and

recovering from COVID-19 pandemics.

All the above issues have found

solid footing on the ground, including

human rights, nature protection,

human health and livelihoods with

peace and prosperity and thereby

setting a determined new path towards

sustainable development.

Addressing Planetary crises

Climate change

Climate change poses serious

challenges to environmental sustainability

through natural hazards,

extreme weather events, species loss,

water scarcity, food and nutritional

insecurity, cost of public health and

many other impacts. A 2018 study

on, “Climate change and violent conflict”

by the Stockholm International

Peace Research Institute said, “as

the effects of climate crisis on livelihoods

become more pronounced,

support for rebel groups is likely to

shoot”.

The Intergovernmental panel on

climate change (IPCC) concludes

that evidence of changes in the climate

system is unequivocal, with

the atmosphere and oceans warming,

glaciers and polar ice melting,

sea level rising, and greenhouse gas

(GHG) concentration increasing.

This scenario is of particular significance

for South Asia as this region

is highly vulnerable to climate

– induced natural disasters and rising

sea levels. Climate change could

cause over 62 million people to be


displaced in South Asia by 2050.

“The South Asia’s Hotspots: Impacts

of Temperature and Precipitation

Change on Living Standard Report”

says that 800 million people in the

region live in FCV areas, where livelihoods

are vulnerable to climate

impacts and for potential displacement.

For reducing the impact of

climate change and promoting

peaceful societies, the initiated programmes

include: reducing carbon

emissions, changing the energy mix,

and mitigating the effects of climate

change; help countries in formulation

of “National Adaptation Plans

(NAPs)” to strengthen resilience

and adapt to climate change; build

resilience to natural hazards and extreme

climate events, and adoption

of climate – smart practices and better

water management.

India is highly vulnerable to

climate change as under:-

Extreme weather events can impact

75% of India’s districts – with a

spike in such events since 2005;

There is a shift occurring in the

pattern of extreme climate events,

flood-prone areas are becoming

drought-prone and vice-versa in over

40% districts;in 2020, floods in Assam

affected more than 60,000 people

while Hyderabad recorded rainfall

of 29.8 cms in 24 hours – Cyclone

22 July 2021

Hyderabad recorded

rainfall of 29.8 cms

in 24 hours – Cyclone

Amphan, which

impacted the coastal

districts of West Bengal,

displaced over 4.9

million people;between

1970 and 2004, three

extreme flood events

occurred annually on

average.

Amphan, which impacted the coastal

districts of West Bengal, displaced

over 4.9 million people;between

1970 and 2004, three extreme flood

events occurred annually on average.

After 2005, the yearly average rose

to 11. Similarly, the annual average

for districts affected by floods rose to

55 from 19. The yearly average number

of districts affected by cyclones

has tripled since 2005 and the cyclone

frequency has doubled,and six

of the ten extreme weather events

Opinion Express

globally in 2020 took place in Asia,

with floods in India and China causing

damages of over $40 billion.

Climate change resilience

actions included:-

Bold steps on clean energy

and energy efficiency, developing

disaster risk reduction strategies

in the face of growing climate

threats;afforestation and biodiversity

conservation;sustainable lifestyles

and guiding philosophy of

“back to basics”; mobilising green

finance, clean technology and green

collaboration; strengthening resilience

to climate change and natural

disasters;making natural resources,

environment and water infrastructure

resilient to drought, andaccelerating

technologies, like hydrogen,

carbon capture, use and storage, soil

and forest carbon, and energy storage

to backup renewable sources

and decarbonise transport, and low

or zero emissions in steel and aluminum

production.

Biodiversity.

Biodiversity is fundamental to

human life on Earth. But it is being

destroyed at an unprecedented rate.

Since the industrial revolution, human

activities have increasingly destroyed

and degraded forests, grasslands,

wetlands and other important

ecosystems, threatening human

well-being. Seventy-five per cent of

the Earth’s ice-free land surface has

already been significantly altered,

most of the oceans are polluted, and

more than 85% of the area of wetlands

has been lost.

Biodiversity loss threatens food

and nutritional security and urgent

action is needed to address this issue.

Where and how we produce

food is one of the biggest humanactivity

related threats to nature and

our ecosystems, making the transformation

of our global food system

more important.

Data from the United Nations

Environment Programme shows

that, per person, our global stock of

natural capital has declined by nearly

40 % since the early 1990s, while

the produced capital has doubled

and human capital has increased by

only 13%.For scaling up and accelerating

the conservation, sustainable

use and restoration of biodiversity

started followingactivities:-

Sustainable management and

restoration of landscape and seascape

that are productive and often

inhabited; new land – and resourceuse

rules and objectives that are

beneficial neutral or at least much

less harmful to biodiversity; recognition

of the custodial traditions and

knowledge of indigenous peoples and

tribals and local communities, and

the use of participatory approaches

to resource management; fisheries

reform, integrated spatial planning,

conservation, climate mitigation

and reducing pollution are all key

to storing marine life; key actions to

conserve biodiversity such as reversing

the net loss of habitat, battling

over-fishing, reducing pollution and

slowing the spread of invasive alien

species, and protected area network

need to be expanded, interconnected

and better managed.

Pollution

Widespread pollution is one of

the root causes of disease burden,

especially among lower economic

strata and women. There is widespread

risk of environmentally induced

mortality and morbidity from

indoor and urban air pollution,

drinking water contamination, poor

sanitation, and vector-borne diseases.

Establishment and enforcement

of air and water quality standards,

Cartagena bio-safety protocol and

integrated vector management are

critical policy responses. Reducing

pollution requires both regulatory

and economic approaches to accelerate

needed energy and resource

use efficiencies, which may include

promoting renewable energy and

developing sustainable transportation

infrastructure.

Air and water pollution, land

degradation and climate changes act

synergistically to cause pervasive,

extensive and systematic damage to

biodiversity and ecosystem services

on land and in the ocean. Water pollution

and air pollution are often

linked, since diversion of waste from

one pathway can simply displace

into another pathway. Reducing the

emissions of greenhouse gases typically

also reduce air pollution. Plastic

and chemical waste entering the

biosphere contribute to both biodiversity

loss and to land degradation.

The multiple interactions between

environmental problems mean that

uncoordinated single use solutions

are inefficient and likely to fail. Integrated

land-water-waste management

including agroforestry reduced

land, water and air pollution.

Technology has optimised the use of


24 July 2021

resources and products are now circular

by design, ending flow of waste

and restoration of nature.

Poor air quality is dangerous to

public health. Long-term exposure

to outdoor and household pollution

contributed to over 1.67 million

deaths in India in 2019. It also contributed

to the deaths of more than

1, 16,000 Indian infants in their first

month of life in 2019. As per the U.S.

based Health Effects Institute, more

than half of these deaths were associated

with outdoor PM 2.5 and others

were linked to use of solid fuels

such as charcoal, wood and animal

dung for cooking.

By adopting a holistic approach

to tackle the crisis, carried out and

monitored on a real time basis with a

strong push towards the behavioral

change of citizens. Helped in air pollution

reduction through: proactive

efforts of National Clean Air Plan

(NCAP); stepped-up efforts in consumption

of renewable energy and

phasing out of fossil fuels; universalised

access to clean cooking fuel; reducing

the pollution at source, such

as improved public transport; better

planning of green cover to reduce

dust; avoiding forest fires, burning

of agricultural residues and wastes,

and better regulation of construction

works.

Increasing support to fragile

conflict & violence (FCV) affected

places

There are more than 1.5 billion

people living in countries affected

by fragility, conflict and violence. In

2019, the number of people forced

out of their home exceeded 79.5 million

who have largely migrated from

Opinion Express

FCV affected countries. Such areas

are invariably marked by abundance

of arms, rampant gender and sexually

based violence, the exploitation

of children, the persecution of minorities

and vulnerable groups (such

as Indigenous People), organised

crime, smuggling, trafficking in human

beings and other criminal activities.

In such situations organised

criminal groups are often better resourced

than local government and

better armed than local law enforcement

agencies.

Initiated actions to restore human

security, human rights and the

rule of law: (i) Persuaded governments

to strengthen judicial, police

and corrections systems by providing

human, financial and material

resources; (ii) improved protection

of civilians and access to justice and

Global production of

plastic (an extremely

lightweight material)

was 359 million

tonnes in 2018, up

from 1.5 million

tonnes in 1950, even

though it is widely

known that plastic

seriously harms

ecosystems, especially

oceans, marine life

and even drinking

water.

rule of law; (iii) addressed some of

the worst consequences of conflict

such as forced displacement; (iv)

built resilient societies through investment

in inclusive and sustainable

development; (v) addressed grievances

related to exclusion – from

access to power, natural resources,

security and justice; (vi) empowerment

of communities and inclusive

decision making for sustained

peace; (vii) supported sustainable

growth, created jobs, alleviated poverty

in indigenous areas; (viii) promoted

people – centered approach

for managing natural resources and

sharing of benefits derived from

them, and (ix) strengthened local

conflict resolution mechanisms,

while promoting peaceful, just and

inclusive societies.

Avoiding Pandemics and

the transition to a sustainable

world

We have had three pandemics

since 2000 – severe acute respiratory

syndrome (SARS) in 2003, H1N1

(swine flu) in 2009 and now Covid-

19. Covid-19 and SARS spread from

China and swine flu from an intensive

pig farm in Mexico. In between,

we have had regional outbreaks of

bird flu from poultry, the Middle

East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

from camels, Ebola from monkeys

and pigs, Rift Valley Fever from livestock,

West Nile Fever from birds.

Zika from monkeys and Nipah from

bats. The root cause of all the above

diseases can be broadly put under

three baskets:-

First, nature destruction. Due to

deforestation and habitat loss, wild

animals and humans are now nearby,

leading to the spillover of animal

diseases into humans. Ebola, West

Nile virus, Nipah and Zika come

under this category. Similarly, livestock

is also coming in contact with

wildlife and transmitting pathogens

to people, like the Rift Valley virus.

Second, traditional culture. The

practice of eating exotic wildlife,

sometimes raw, is spreading novel

pathogens to human beings. Both

SARS and Covid-19 have their origins

in the pig farm of Mexico and

wildlife markets in China.

Third, intensive animal farms.

The industrial farming of animals,

by keeping animals very close to

each other and pumping them with

growth promoters like antibiotics

and steroids, is another cause. Bird

flu and swine flu both have their origin

in intensive animal farms.

The COVID-19 pandemic is unleashing

a human development crisis.

It is affecting health, economy

and broad social dimensions of development

and eroding gains that

accumulated over decades. Building

back a better future after the pandemic

is not a zero-sum game of environment

versus economy. Rather

its once – in – a generation chance

to set things right for health, economy,

peace, and security.

To combat the pandemic, our

efforts included the following:-

“Distancing” from wildlife and

reducing deforestation; strong social

protection for the poor and vulnerable

to ensure that they have enough

to eat, access clean drinking water

and sanitation, and strengthening

health systems, disease surveillance

and public health interventions with

vaccine;

For mitigating COVID-19 impacts

and boosting long-term

growth will include:-

Science-based decision making,

sound governance and a sense of responsibility

of individuals; promoting

and operationalizing the One

Health Approach; preparedness,

including via policies for reducing

risks of disease emergence such as

from land use and wildlife trade;

closing of critical knowledge gaps,

and engaging all sectors of society,

and everything we do during and

after this crisis (COVID-19) must

be with a strong focus on building

more equal, inclusive and sustainable

economies and societies that

are more resilient in the face of pandemics,

climate change, biodiversity

loss, pollution crisis, and the many

global challenges we face.

Avoiding single use of plastic.

Global production of plastic (an

extremely lightweight material) was

359 million tonnes in 2018, up from

1.5 million tonnes in 1950, even

though it is widely known that plastic

seriously harms ecosystems, especially

oceans, marine life and even

drinking water. More than 8 million

tonnes of plastic leak into the ocean

each year equals to dumping a garbage

truck of plastic every minute,

and recent estimates show that 14

million tonnes of micro-plastic already

resides on the ocean floor.

Fish and other species ingest and get

entangled in plastic, and the microparticles

can be ingested by humans

who consume fish or seafood. Plastic

particles also reach tap water in

many areas, more than 80 percent

of samples from five continents are

found to be contaminated with plastic

particles. Ingesting plastic particles

can have direct consequences on

human health, as it may cause cancer,

reproductive problems, asthma,

obesity and other health problems.

Though a few countries have already

witnessed a change in some social

norms, plastic bags are seen as offensive,

are charged for using them,

or are prohibited altogether.

Building sustainable and inclusive

cities and communities.

Cities and communities are negatively

affected by climate change,

loss of nature and pollution, hin-


dering them in becoming inclusive,

safe, resilient, and sustainable We

have to make cities livable, climate

smart and resilient, inclusive, and

competitive, so they can contribute

to growth and poverty alleviation.

Urban development plans designing,

and implementation should im-

prove:-

Reducing air pollution; safe

drinking water supply, sanitation

and hygiene; goals of reduced waste,

solid waste management, a circular

economy and greater resource efficiency;

upgrading the code and housing

rental laws; improving public

transport, other infrastructure and

service delivery; strengthening institutions,

municipal infrastructure,

and local economic development;

strengthening financial sustainability,

expanding access to finance

from multiple sources; open public

spaces and greening promote health

and productivity; development of

MSMEs transforming economic and

financial system;ensuring accessible

and quality health care; protecting

the poor and vulnerable through social

protection; building human capital

and promoting economic inclusion;

promoting private sector-led

growth; bridging the digital divide,

and unleashing the economic power

of women.

Sustainable management of

natural resources.

It is rare to visualise that equitable

access to natural resources lies at

the foundation of conflicts and violence,

whether among the societal

groups or between the communities

and nations. Disparities in the access

to natural resources arise for several

reasons including the spatial variability

in their distribution and simply

the scarcity of a resource in the

wake of increasing demand. In this

context, managing following natural

resources is urgently required:-

1) Land degradation affects billions

of people, drive species to

extinction and intensify climate

change. To achieve ‘land degradation

neutrality’, promote sustainable

land management, strengthen

productivity to ensure food and nutritional

security. Help the poorest,

hungriest and most marginalized

people, build the capacity of communities

and prevent violence due

to poverty, hunger and inequality,

and promote regenerative agriculture,

agroforestry and silvopasture

26 July 2021

to yield many of the same benefits,

including increased diversity of

farmer income, improved nutrition,

enhanced resilience to climate

change, more carbon sequestration

and greater biodiversity.

South Asia is particularly vulnerable

with the number of chronically

– underfed people, which is projected

to rise by almost a third to 330

million by 2030. Here more than

half the children from the poorest of

the society are stunted, a condition

that prejudices their future.

Challenges in farming in developing

countries include: lower yields;

depleting water resources; high

cost of production; excessive use of

chemicals and pesticides; poor market

access; high post-harvest loss;

Water is a precious

resource that is essential

to human health,

sanitation and hygiene,

food and energy security,

poverty eradication

and many other

aspects of Sustainable

Development. Alarming

levels of water stress in

many regions, threaten

progress towards

achieving Sustainable

Development Goals.

poor application of technology and

innovations; Inadequate food processing,

and agricultural reforms yet

to be implemented.

For achieving the target of zero

hunger made following efforts:- promoting

diversified agro-ecological

systems; application of technologies

and innovations to raise production

while reducing cost; making farming

predictable, showing better quality

and yields because of satellite

images, 107 sensors, data analysis

(including AI, ML), cloud computing

& precision farming; developing

market for premium products;

air-conditioned farmer’s trains for

transporting organic, natural and

Opinion Express

fresh products to the consumers;

cold storage chains reduced loss and

waste; value addition, processing

and fortification improved nutrition;

policy and institutional innovations

expanded market access and export;

climate-smart agriculture avoided

crop loss; water stewardship enabled

“more crop per drop”; creation

of agroforestry increased resilience

and profitability of farmers; production

of biofuels reduced air pollution

and improved the rural economy,

and agribusinesses promoted sustainable

economy, created jobs with

peace and prosperity.

2) Water is a precious resource

that is essential to human health,

sanitation and hygiene, food and

energy security, poverty eradication

and many other aspects of Sustainable

Development. Alarming levels

of water stress in many regions,

threaten progress towards achieving

Sustainable Development Goals.

Lack of fresh water in the poorest

countries is increasing their vulnerability.

Ensured public participation

in sustainable water resources management,

water governance, and

women’s roles in local peace-building

processes.

Global water use has risen six fold

over the past 100 years, and 80 percent

of wastewater is released back

without treatment, while about half

of accessible freshwater is appropriated

for human use each year. Since

1900, 64-71 percent of natural wetland

area worldwide has been lost

due to human activity. As a result,

about 4 billion people – 60 percent

of the world population – live in regions

with nearly permanent water

stress, and 3 billion people lack basic

hand washing facilities at home.

By 2030 global demand for water

is expected to exceed supply by 40

percent, and about 6 million people

might face clean water scarcity and

violent conflicts by 2050. Enhancing

water availability and quality is thus

a major challenge.

Nature – based solutions focused

on water availability to address

water supply by managing

water storage, infiltration and transmission

are essential. For instance,

natural wetlands, improvements in

soil moisture and groundwater recharge

are ecosystem friendly methods

of storing water and are cheaper

and more sustainable than building

and maintaining big dams.

Nature – based solutions for cities

include catchment management,

water recycling and green infrastructure.

Catchment measures are

traditionally used to improve water

supply, but they can also store water

and control regular water flows

to a city. Urban green infrastructure


is incorporated in infiltration, bioretention,

permeable pavements,

designing new areas, conserving

wetlands and connecting rivers and

floodplains.

India has more than 17 percent of

the world’s population but has only

4% of the world’s fresh water. With

the rising population, urbanisation,

industrialisation and expanding agricultural

activities, the water demand

will continue to increase.

Created mass awakening for

making world “water positive” with

reflections as under:-

Making water conservation a way

of life; multi–level Integrated Water

Resources Management (IWRM)

implementation from the community

level, leading to integrated

river basin management; rainwater

harvesting, surface water storage

and groundwater recharge; work on

waste water treatment, adopt “reduce,

reuse and recycle” approach

for sustainable water management;

28 July 2021

follow practices like micro – irrigation,

drip and sprinkler systems to

promote efficient use of water for

agriculture; deployment of piezometer

to estimate groundwater situation

and regulate over exploitation;

incentivizing water conservation efforts

undertaken by the communities,

such as “Repair, renovation and

restoration (RRR)” of water bodies

for storage and efficient use; raising

green cover can turn off red alarm

on water shortage; “Namami Gange”

project to save the river Ganga from

pollution and to rejuvenate it; under

“Jal Jeevan Mission” providing

55 litres piped drinking water per

capita per day to 190 million rural

households;India’s current water requirement

is estimated to be around

1100 billion cubic meters (BCM)

per year and it is projected to touch

1,447 BCM by 2050. Hence it is imperative

to increase water use efficiency

across all sectors to address

water scarcity problem, and capacity

Opinion Express

building of people in water and sanitation

related activities.

3)Forests are the most biologically-diverse

ecosystem on land, home

of 80% of terrestrial species of animals,

plants and insects. They store

about 296 Gigaton of carbon and

counter climate change. They conserve

soil, fix nitrogen and add organic

matter to improve soil fertility.

Forested watersheds and wetlands

supply 75% of fresh water. They

clean air and water, provide critical

wildlife habitat, and make the planet

a healthier place to live.

Biologically rich forest ecosystems

provide shelter, food, fodder, fibre,

energy, water, herbal medicine,

jobs and environmental security to

the people. Forests are an important

source of income for more than 1.6

billion poor people, of whom at least

370 million Indigenous Peoples depend

almost entirely on forests for

subsistence and survival. Forests

and agro-forests offer a highly di-

verse array of products and income

earning opportunities for gatherers,

hunters, traders, producers and processors.

Forests are increasingly being

recognized as a vital green infrastructure

for storing carbon, protecting

watersheds, biodiversity and

providing livelihoods to billions of

people. Deforestation, forest degradation,

forest fires, and non-recognition

of forest rights of forest-dwellers,

increased poverty, hunger and

inequality and risks causing fragility

conflict and violence.

The degradation and loss of forests

are disrupting nature’s balance

and increasing the risk and exposure

of people to zoonotic diseases. For

landscape restoration and human

well-being promoted conservation,

preservation and sustainable management

of forests. BY increasing

productivity, growth and jobs enhanced

sustainability and resilience

with peace and security in most

disturbed areas dominated by Maonaxalites.

Forest restoration is a path to recovery

and well-being of people and

the planet. People – centered forest

management makes a sustainable

world where people can live productive,

vibrant and peaceful lives on a

healthy planet.

4) Aquatic Resources: More than

90 percent of the world’s fisheries

have been fully exploited or overexploited

or have collapsed altogether.

Over-fishing has profound

impacts on the world’s food systems.

About 3.1 billion people rely on fish

for 20 percent of their daily protein

intake. Globally, the consumption of

seafood per capita is over 15 times

higher in indigenous coastal communities

than in non-indigenous

communities.

Sustainable fisheries and protected

marine areas ensure that fish populations

can regenerate and provide

sustainable yields. Protecting coastal

and marine areas, such as the mangroves,

coral reefs, sea-grass beds

and seamounts, particularly the sites

of fish spawning, nursery and aggregation,

is crucial to various parts of

the fish life cycle. Fish biomass can

be as much as 670 percent higher in

effectively managed marine protected

areas than in unprotected areas.

Expanding marine protected areas

by 5 percent could yield at least a 20

percent increase in future catch, reducing

violent conflicts.

5) Embedding ecosystem integrity

into sustainable development

policy-making.

Rather than being treated as an

isolated sector in national development

priorities, nature-based solutions

can be integrated into prioritisation

efforts, such as those

related to water security, food security,

disaster risk reduction, economic

growth and jobs. Investing in

nature and climate-aligned stimulus

packages can yield returns of

$ 2-10 per $ 1 invested. To achieve

this, multiple government sectors

can align their policies and priorities

around a coherent framework, as

Costa Rica and Uganda have done.

For instance, Costa Rica recently undertook

an extensive mapping of essential

life support areas, identifying

opportunities for protecting, restoring

and managing nature through

nature-based solutions in both rural

and urban areas.

Forests are increasingly

being recognized as a

vital green infrastructure

for storing carbon,

protecting watersheds,

biodiversity and

providing livelihoods

to billions of people.

Deforestation, forest

degradation, forest fires,

and non-recognition of

forest rights of forestdwellers,

increased

poverty, hunger and

inequality and risks

causing fragility conflict

and violence.

There is no blueprint for naturebased

solutions for governance, and

each country’s economic, institutional,

social and political context will

present different opportunities and

barriers. However, high multi-sector

participation and incentives for

nature-based solutions implementation

could be important everywhere.

The International Institute for Applied

Systems Analysis has identified

three governance structures,

which enable the implementation

of nature-based solutions. These include:

polycentric governance, participatory

co-design (for example,

at the municipal level in Costa Rica

constant stakeholder involvement

and technical knowledge transfer)

and financial incentives.

OTHERS

Protection of women’s rights

and gender equality.

Gender disparities remain among

the most persistent forms of inequality

across all countries. Women and

girls are discriminated in health, in

education, at home and in the labour

market with negative repercussions

for their freedoms. Globally, countries

are losing US$ 160 trillion in

wealth due to differences in lifetime


earning between men and women.

The women and girls also face

the problems of: trafficking for sexual

exploitation and labour force;

often denied to decision making at

home, at work and in political life;

disproportionate share of unpaid

jobs and domestic work, and gaps in

legal frameworks to protect women’s

rights and gender equality

Contributed to gender equality

by: removing barriers to women’s

ownership and control of assets;

removing constraints for more and

better jobs, and enhancing women’s

voice and agency.

Women tend to be responsible

for procuring and providing food

in households and are the primary

work force engaged in subsistence

agriculture. They make up an average

of 43 percent of the agricultural

30 July 2021

workforce in developing countries.

Even so, the women experience barriers

in access to land and agricultural

inputs which affect the productivity

in these sectors. Ensured greater

female participation in natural resource

management, productive agricultural

activities, and natural disaster

responses. This enhanced the

effectiveness and sustainability in

reducing poverty, hunger, inequality

and the mitigation of climate change

effects and nature disruption.

Energy and materials.

The emphasis of industrial and

agricultural activity needs to shift

from increasing the inputs of carbon,

nitrogen, phosphorus and other

elements into the Earth system to

increasing the recycling of these elements

within the Earth system. The

Opinion Express

input of solar energy can far outstrip

the current fossil fuel-based energy

consumption. In addition, renewables

are already cost competitive

with fossil fuel-based electricity generation

in much of the world. As a

result, there should be no long-term

shortage of energy. The challenge

is to design and incentivize a waste

products based system for energy

generation and include it in a circular

economy. Domestic waste material

can also become useful in making

new products, and this way there is a

huge potential to increase material

recycling. Innovation and engineering

need to shift attention to achieve

material cycling and reuse.

Conclusion

We are at an unprecedented moment

in the history of humankind

and our planet. Warning lights-for

our societies and the planet – are

flashing red. We are destabilizing

the planetary system as we rely on

only for survival. In little more than

a decade, there have been global

financial crisis, the climate crisis,

the biodiversity crisis, the pollution

crisis, and the COVID-19 crisis. All

have shown that the resilience of

the system itself is breaking down.

Buffering systems are running over

their capacity. The result is that perturbations

have become contagionwhether

economic, social, environmental

or viral.

The 2019 was a year when our

past finally caught up with us and science

provided an unambiguous call

for urgent action. A year when the

world witnessed devastating storms,

ice sheets melting in the Arctic, giant

wildfires and deadly floods. A year

when we were warned that one million

plant and animal species face

extinction. A year when we were reminded

that unless we act immediately

to drastically cut greenhouse

gas emissions, we will alter life on

Earth forever.

In 2020, the World faced it’s biggest

COVID-19 crisis since World

War II. We stand in solidarity with

the billions of people around the

world that are suffering the impact

of the global pandemic of COVID-19

and extend our heartfelt gratitude to

the millions of healthcare professionals,

scientists, vaccine makers etc. including

the World Health Organization

(WHO), who are working around

the clock to protect us. In due course,

this crisis will call for a stronger line

of enquiry into nature and health, as

the connection between the health of

people and the health of our planet is

so fundamental, yet so often ignored.

While the response to the medical

emergency of COVID-19 rightly preoccupies

government budgets and

political action, the response to this

pandemic must ultimately accelerate

the economic and social transformations

needed to address the planetary

emergency. As the UN Secretary-

General noted in his State of Planet

speech, “COVID recovery and our

planet’s repair must be two sides of

the same coin”.

The “repair” of our planet entails,

the transformative actions that can

unleash human ingenuity and cooperation

to secure livelihoods and wellbeing

for all. It means solutions that

recognise how our environmental,

social and development challenges

are interconnected. It means shifting

our values and worldviews as well as

our financial and economic systems.

It also means taking a whole-of-society

approach. And it means being fair

and just to enhance sustainability and

resilience and set the world on a path

of peace, prosperity and opportunity

for all on a healthy planet.

With science as guiding light,

United Nations Environment Programme’s

(UNEP’s ) Medium-Term

Strategy (2022-2025) seeks to ensure

the link between science, policy and

decision-making remains stronger

than ever.Sustained by strong environmental

governance and supported

by economic policies that can be

the foundation of a catalytic response

to the challenges of COVID-19, climate

change, biodiversity loss and

pollution. In doing so, we support

governments, working with partners,

scientists, civil society and business

to tackle the interconnected environmental

crises so that we stabilize

climate; live in harmony with nature

and secure a pollution free planet;

with peace and security.

By the end of the decade we will

be on one of two paths. One is the

path of surrender, where we have

sleepwalked past the point of no

return, jeopardizing the health and

safety of everyone on this planet.

The other option is the path of hope.

A path of resolve, of sustainable solutions.

A path where more fossil fuels

remain where they should be – in

the ground.

In the technologically advanced

World, harnessing renewable sources

of energy has become inevitable.

There is a need to produce energy

with fewer environmental impacts.

In the modern World, the renewable

energy has become the foundation of

future progress from reversing the

increasingly devastating effects of climate

change and making cities and

human settlements inclusive, safe,

resilient and sustainable.

If humanity is to continue to thrive

on this planet, it has to fundamentally

change its relationship with the

natural world. While the downsides

of inaction could be catastrophic,

the upsides of taking decisive action

would result in a more secure World

at peace with nature, facilitating living

of people with dignity on a healthy

planet.

The 2021 must be remembered

as the year we took it upon ourselves

to ensure that the pandemic

is remembered not only as a human

tragedy, but as the moment when

people reconsidered their priorities

as individuals and societies and took

to heart that safeguarding the health

and well-being of current and future

generations means safeguarding the

health of our planet.We still have a

chance to put things right. We have

to stop and reverse the loss of nature

and build a carbon-neutral and nature

positive society. Let us implement

the movement “Making Peace

with Nature” to protect and restore

nature as the foundation for a healthy

society and thriving economy.

(Writer is renowned

environmentalist)


32 July 2021

Opinion Express

Weaponization of SARS-

CoV-2: Chinese conspiracy

or any other mystery?

Prakhar Prakash Misra

The Chinese paper “The unnatural

origin of SARS and New

Species of Man-made viruses

as Genetic Bioweapons,” anticipating

that third world war would be a

biological war and describing SARS

coronaviruses as a new era of genetic

weapons that could be artificially

manipulated and weaponized

in an unprecedented way, has dismantled

the smokescreen over conspiracy

angle of the pandemic. Contrary

to this, “the global times” has

repudiated the Chinese conspiracy

by quoting Chen Hong, a professor

and director of the Australian studies

centre at the East China Normal

university, who contended that the

book (leaked Chinese paper) has

presented the academic enquiry of

bioterrorism and possible manipulation

of viruses as biological weapons.

By emphasizing that 2002 and

2004 SARS epidemic faced by China

originated from biological weapons

labs abroad, Chinese state media

outlet has contended that there is

only reality that international terrorists

were developing contemporary

genetic weapons to attack China.

But, China’s different actions has

unmasked its conspiracy at all. Infection

of Covid-19was already prevailing

in China in November 2019.

But it has been hidden from global

stakeholders including evenWHO.

After one month, Wuhan Municipal

Health Commission has accepted a

cluster of cases of pneumonia due to

novel corona virus in Wuhan. But,

simultaneously, Chinese authorities

has accused the Wenliang of spreading

rumours, when he tried to caution

all his doctor friends and other

peoples about the catastrophic consequences

of this virus.

Furthermore, when it became explicit

that virus was spreading from

Wuhan to other parts of the Hubei

province, China imposed strict lockdown

on January 23, 2020 to cut off

people’s venturing from Hubei province

to rest of the country. But at the

same time, it had not stopped the

international flights connecting rest


of world with Wuhan, a city infected

with a deadly virus.

Moreover, China had decoded

the genome of the virus on January

2, 2020 but it delayed by a number

of weeks from providing the genome

and other data to WHO. The delay

in release of the genome obstructed

the recognition of spread of virus

in other countries as well as global

development of test, drugs and vaccines.

Consequently, WHO could

declare global emergency on January

30, 2020. In this time-gap, outbreak

spread by a factor of 100 to

200 times.

Furthermore, WHO-led team

probing the origin of pandemic has

conducted the review between January

14 and February 10, 2021. Which

has also requested for raw patient

data of the 174covid-19 cases identified

in the early phase of outbreak

in Wuhan in December 2019. But

China has not only refused to provide

such data, but the entire team

was also limited to visits organized

by Chinese hosts merely and prevented

from contacting the community

members on the basis of health

Furthermore, WHOled

team probing the

origin of pandemic has

conducted the review

between January

14 and February 10,

2021. Which has also

requested for raw patient

data of the 174covid-19

cases identified in the

early phase of outbreak

in Wuhan in December

2019

issues. Chinese authorities have not

talked about “cold chain”, whichrefers

to the trade and transport of frozen

food despite the fact that China

has been relentlessly arguing that

corona virus has beendetected in

Huanan seafood market in Hankou

district of Wuhan, where a 57 year

old female shrimp seller Wei was

reportedly “patient zero” of Covid-

19.Chinese scientist has contended,

on the basis ofgenome data analysis

of 93 samples, that coronavirus

did not originate in Wuhan seafood

market rather it was imported from

elsewhere.But lack of clear pathway

of transmission of virus from bat to

humans accompanied by Chinese

seizure of relevant data which is prerequisite

to analyze it has stoked the

conspiracy behind the covid.

WHO has released, in March

2021, a studyreport on the origin

of Covid-19 concluding that transmission

from bats to another animalsand

subsequently to human is

the most likely path of outbreak of

pandemic. But 14 countries including

the US, Australia, UK, Canada

and Japan have sought a credible

investigation of the pandemic byraising

concern on this report based

oninsufficient and incomplete inputs

due to Chinese restrictions on

original data and samples. China has

already started bitter trade war with

Australiain response to the Austra-

34 July 2021

Opinion Express

lian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s

“entirely reasonable and sensible”

call for an investigation into origins

of corona virus in April 2020.

In fact, contemplation on the

conspiracy behind corona virus has

been fueled when French Nobel prize

laureate scientist Luc Montagnier

has claimed that the SARS-CoV-2

virus came from a laband it is a result

of thestrivenceto develop a vaccine

against the AIDS virus. In September

2020, it has been furthered

with the argument of the Chinese

virologist and researcher at Hong

Kong school of Public Health Dr. Li

Meng Yan, who fled United States

from Hong Kong when China tried

to detain her, that novel coronavirus

was created in Wuhan lab. Dr. Yan

hadalready accusedBeijing of covering

up the outbreak of coronavirus

in Wuhan.

China, a signatory member of

the Biological weapon convention

(BWC), must comply with all the

obligations. Article (X) of the BWC

In fact, contemplation

on the conspiracy behind

corona virus has been

fueled when French

Nobel prize laureate

scientist Luc Montagnier

has claimed that the

SARS-CoV-2 virus came

from a laband it is a

result of thestrivenceto

develop a vaccine against

the AIDS virus.

stipulates that member countries

will work to facilitate the fullest possible

exchange of equipment, material

and information for peaceful purposes.

But China has even blocked

the necessary information of the initial

outbreak and data which is necessary

to analyze all aspect of Covid-

19. Similarly, Article (VI) mentions

that member countries will request

the UN security council to investigate

alleged breach of the BWC and

to comply with the subsequent decision,

but China has started the bitter

strife with Australia, the US and other

countries who demanded credible

investigation of Covid-19 virus origin

and outbreak. Chinese state media

has even accused USA military

labof the development of coronavirus.

Moreover, when more countries

are facing the catastrophe of deadly

coronavirus and entire humanity is

in deep devastation, China has continuously

strived to intrude in sovereign

areas of neighbouring countries

including India, Japan, Philippines,

Bhutan, etc. All these activities have

explicitly reflected the conspiracy of

weaponisation of the coronavirus.

(It’s a compilation of online campaign

& opinion across the globe)


Disaster management

and internal security

By D.C. Pathak

India is among the five most

vulnerable countries as far as

natural disasters are concerned.

Such a disaster comes unannounced

-- there cannot be any Intelligence

on earthquakes -- but a lot has been

done in India following the Disaster

Management Act passed by Parliament

in 2005 to identify geographical

segments that were prone to different

kinds of natural disasters and

fix a framework for handling them.

Under the Act, National Disaster

Management Authority (NDMA)

and its counterparts in states and

districts were created to evolve a

national disaster management plan

and build the machinery for implementing

it. The authority is headed

at the national level by the Prime

Minister himself -- Chief Ministers

and the District Magistrates chair

it at the state and district levels.

NDMA has been able to determine

areas that were vulnerable to seismic

events, tsunami, floods, avalanche

and cyclones and define measures

to be taken to mitigate their impact

36 July 2021

Opinion Express

in terms of loss of life and physical

assets as also rehabilitation of the

affected people. This is a huge challenge

and it is a matter of great national

achievement that India has

under the DM Act established an extremely

well-developed National Disaster

Response Force (NDRF) that

has 12 Battalions specially trained

and equipped, located across the

country. This is the largest specialized

disaster response force in the

world.

The NDRF has proved its worth

in different kinds of disasters by rescuing

people, protecting precious

property and helping out with the

shifting and rehabilitation of those

rendered destitute because of a natural

calamity. Its commendable work

in Japan where an unprecedented

earthquake hit Tohoku region in

March 2011, was acknowledged by

the Japanese Prime Minister. NDRF

serves the cause of national security

by protecting national wealth against

natural disasters and minimizing

the loss of human lives -- economic

security, it may be mentioned, is

now considered inseparable from

national security. Also, it is carrying

the awareness and education on

disaster management -- including

instructions on what could be done

by a citizen at his or her level to mitigate

the impact of a natural disaster

The NDRF has proved

its worth in different

kinds of disasters

by rescuing people,

protecting precious

property and helping

out with the shifting

and rehabilitation of

those rendered destitute

because of a natural

calamity.

-- right to the student community.

NDRF personnel are basically drawn

from para-military organizations

and are familiar with the internal security

turf.

The function of disaster management

is with the Ministry of Home

Affairs that is basically responsible

for all aspects of internal security

of India. Security has two segments

-- advance information called Intelligence

that helps to take preventive

measures and arrangements for

making an effective response in case

the adversary was able to inflict an

attack. NDRF has a built-in security

orientation because its mission is

not only to handle disaster response

but also work for disaster risk reduction

on the basis of vulnerability of

an area to a known disaster. Considering

the fact that NDRF deals with

the impact of natural disasters, it is

basically a force without firearms

since its capabilities lie in the realm

of rescue, protection and medical aid

of the injured. The Covid pandemic

tested our disaster management in

the area of health crisis and that too

in an unprecedented situation where

the challenge existed across the

length and breadth of the country

affecting millions of people simultaneously.

The decision-making ability

of the political leadership of the

government and the policy implementation

capabilities of the administrative

machinery showed up well

-- taking into account the fact that

new paradigms were being revealed

by the experts in an ongoing fashion

and nationwide communication of

the guidelines for the people in both


urban and rural segments was itself

becoming a formidable task.

It is understood that NDRF has in

its mandate the responsibility of responding

to Chemical, Biological, Radioactive

and Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies

as well, though its primary

function that keeps it occupied is the

work thrown up by natural disasters

like earthquakes, floods and cyclones

that involved large rescue and relief

operations. A point of attention in regard

to NDRF’s charter for the future

would be an enlargement of its role as

a responder to large manmade disasters

falling in the CBRN sphere. The

world is moving from the times of

open warfare to an era of ‘proxy wars’

or covert offensives and terrorism

-- that heavily banked on high grade

explosives -- had become a prime

instrument of the new ‘asymmetric’

war. Terrorists can attack strategic

and sensitive establishments, markets

and public transport and resort

to chemical and gas attacks.

The corona pandemic has set off

a debate on whether it was a natural

health disaster or something with a

manmade origin somewhere. Biological

warfare is a term that is now

well understood by all countries and

security experts. A radioactive or nuclear

mishap is also within the realm

of possibility and that is why a large

effort is made by all concerned nations

to secure establishments where

research in these spheres was done

or where nuclear arsenal was housed.

Cyber attacks are a major presentday

threat and they can be used by

the enemy to cause a disaster by dis-

38 July 2021 Opinion Express

rupting strategic communication and

information systems.

In a welcome move, NDRF has

offered the state police training programmes

for capacity building and

also help in the raising of State DRF.

It will be good to enlarge the orbit of

first responders to threats to internal

security -- who normally are the

state police and special task forces

-- and use the resources and skills of

NDRF and SDRF to strengthen the

hands of the state police in this regard.

NDRF and SDRF are normally

headed by officers with experience of

paramilitary forces and as part of the

preparation for inducting them also

for responding to terror attacks or

any other large-scale damage to life

and property caused by an adversary,

the senior officers of the disaster response

forces at the levels of Contingent

Commanders and above, may be

equipped with arms on a need basis.

Apart from the armed personnel who

would be required to confront or apprehend

any suspects at the scene

of occurrence, the responding force

should be able to deploy its members

trained in the skills of reaching out to

individual victims of attack in a large

area of operation, for rescuing them

and arranging medical and other

help to them.

A scenario of this kind, for which

the nation has to remain prepared,

requires a combination of police action

and disaster response. The corona

pandemic was a health crisis

of national scale and its handling

must have proved to be an orientation

exercise for NDRF for working

in consonance with the state police

machinery. A manmade threat that

affected a large section of population

in varying degrees would throw up

enough tasks for both police and the

disaster management personnel. The

Ministry of Home Affairs also has under

it the NSG, which is a specialized

force trained for handling hostage

operations. All crisis situations, ranging

from a natural disaster to a major

attack on internal security, need

coordinated responses that are best

directed by the MHA.

NDRF lays a lot of emphasis on

training as newer situations arise in

the management of disasters. The

training programmes should be enlarged

to include joint operations of

disaster management and state police

personnel and mock drills can be

framed to cover different situations.

Coastal security is a good illustration

of how marine police stations and

disaster management organization

could train together for handling a

crisis like tsunami or cyclone. Railway

Protection Force (RPF) can also

be included in joint training drills

with state police and SDRF for handling

a train disaster. This must be

happening already and has to be taken

further to cover all likely scenarios.

In the sphere of CBRN threats, in

particular, there will be a role for Intelligence

agencies of alerting all responders

through the system of nodal

officers. There is a well-established

practice of Intelligence coordination

at the Centre and in the states through

Multi Agency Centers (MACs) run by

the Intelligence Bureau -- the mother

agency responsible for internal security.

Functional integration of state

police and Disaster Response Force

for handling both natural and manmade

disasters is a futuristic requirement

of national security.

(The writer is a former Director

of Intelligence Bureau)


Happy Homecoming?

Will Mukul’s return strengthen Trinamool’s bid to break BJP in Bengal?

Trinamool Congress supremo

Mamata Banerjee made it

clear on Friday that not only

Mukul Roy, but there are many more

leaders who will be joining the ruling

party soon, making it obvious that

the Trinamool will make every effort

to break the BJP in West Bengal.

In a big blow to the BJP, its all-

India Vice President and MLA Mukul

Roy joined the Trinamool Congress

on Friday along with his son

Subhrangshu Roy, almost four years

after deserting the Trinamool camp

for the saffron camp.

Banerjee, who was present at

the Trinamool Bhavan when Roy

returned to the party fold, said that

more people will come out of the

BJP and join the Trinamool Congress

soon.

And Roy, who has mastered the

art of negotiations for years, might

just fit into Banerjee’s political designs.

The question that is doing

the rounds is what prompted the

‘Chanakya’ of Bengal politics to

leave the BJP and join his old political

party?

While anybody not familiar with

Bengal politics might see Roy’s move

as a ‘bolt from the blue’, but the senior

politician’s tryst with the saffron

brigade was on the wane ever

since the 2019 general elections, despite

Roy playing an important role

in making the BJP a formidable opposition,

winning 18 of the 42 Lok

Sabha seats.

Though Roy was instrumental

in negotiating with heavyweights

like Arjun Singh, Saumitra Khan,

Anupam Hazra and Nisith Pramanik

before the last general elections, his

continuous differences with state

BJP President Dilip Ghosh had

made him non-functional after the

40 July 2021

Opinion Express

Lok Sabha polls.

“Ghosh, who has an RSS background,

never wanted the rebel Trinamool

leaders in the party because

that was going against the party’s

strategy of providing better governance

in the state. But Roy wanted

to break the Trinamool Congress to

make the BJP stronger. The problem

between the two leaders started from

there,” a senior state BJP leader told

IANS on condition of anonymity.

The rift reached a flashpoint before

this year’s Assembly elections

because, as per sources in the Trinamool,

Roy never wanted to contest

the polls but he was asked to

fight from the Krishnanagar seat,

from where he won.

The Trinamool plugged in here

and started back-door negotiation

with the father-son duo. Chief Minister

Banerjee, even during her campaign,

had commented that “Mukul

Roy is not that bad”, indicating that

Trinamool’s relation with Roy was

softening.

The changing relation was even

evident because during the heated

campaign before the Assembly polls,

Roy seemed to have taken a backseat,

with Ghosh and newly inducted

Suvendu Adhikari taking all the

political space, the latter fighting a

pitched battle with Chief Minister

Banerjee in Nandigram.

Immediately after the elections,

Banerjee also showed signs of softening

her stand towards Roy, drawing

a difference between him and

Adhikari.

“It is not that Roy leaving the party

did not hurt Banerjee. But he was

never vicious against her like Suvendu

was. There was always scope for

realignment,” a senior Trinamool

leader said.

Immediately after the election

results were declared on May 2,

there were further signs of a fallout

between the BJP and Roy, after the

latter did not attend at least two

party meetings, leading to intense

speculations.

Senior BJP leaders are of the

opinion that what unsettled Roy was

the appointment of Adhikari as the

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly,

despite Roy playing a crucial role

in making the BJP a force to reckon

with in Bengal politics.

Both Roy and Adhikari had won

their Assembly seats, but only one

was treated with “respect”, Trinamool

leaders said.

“In Trinamool, there may be differences,

but we always knew the importance

of Mukul Roy. In BJP, it is

Suvendu Adhikari who is getting the

meetings with Amit Shah and Prime

Minister Modi,” said a Trinamool

leader.

On May 8, Roy had tweeted his

continued allegiance to the BJP, saying,

“My fight would continue as a

soldier of the BJP to restore democracy

in our state. I would request

everyone to put the concoctions and

conjectures to rest. I am resolute in

my political path.”

But when on June 3 Trinamool

all-India General Secretary Abhishek

Banerjee went to see Roy’s

ailing wife at a private hospital and

had a detailed discussion with his

son Subhransgshu, the picture became

very much clear. Since then,

Roy leaving the BJP was only a matter

of time.

But the ‘khela’ (game) is not over

yet.

The BJP seemed to have scored a

goal when more than 30 leaders from

the Trinamool camp had switched

sides and joined the BJP just before

the Assembly elections.

However, the tide now appears to

be turning again. Several Trinamool

turncoats are now lining up for a

‘Ghar Wapsi’, and the BJP seems

rattled by the move.

The Trinamool leadership claims

that there are at least seven MLAs

and three MPs who are keeping

touch with the ruling party leaders.

“There are many people who want

to come back but it will be decided

on a case to case basis,” Trinamool

state General Secretary Kunal Ghosh

said.


Time to play the

Taiwan card

At a time when the dragon is breathing fire, India must explore

alternative tactics, perhaps establishment of formal diplomatic ties

with Taiwan can be a landmark step

Prashant Tewari

The standoff on the Ladakh border

between the Indian Army

and the PLA (People’s Liberation

Army) continues amid failing

talks and casus belli measures being

unleashed by the Chinese regime.

While the union government and

the armed forces make it clear that

they will do whatever it takes to protect

India’s sovereignty and integrity,

precious little has been done on

the foreign policy front. While India

and its democratic allies which comprise

the Quad security grouping declare

their intent to form the ‘Asian

NATO’, the Quad continues to suffer

from indecisiveness which was pretty

much evident when the Quad did

not even issue a joint statement to

condemn China at the foreign ministers

meeting held last year, only

America publicly called out China.

In such a situation, it is imperative

that India explore alternate

diplomatic and militaristic routes to

tame the dragon.

Recognizing Taiwan

Establishing formal diplomatic

ties with Taiwan after recognizing

should be vigorously pursuing by

South Block. Indo-Taiwan ties date

back to the early 1950s when Chiang

Kai Shek, the ex Chinese president

and former head of state fled to the

island of Formosa following the

victory of Mao Zedong in the long

drawn out Chinese civil war called

on Nehru to establish and further

ties with Formosa, however Nehru

believing that Chiang was nothing

but a “peanut” decided to ignore his

call, choosing instead to concentrate

on building ties with People’s Republic

of China (PRC).

Seven decades on, plethora of

changes has taken place on the foreign

affairs front, while both China

and India have developed considerably

both militarily and economically

the dragon has surpassed elephant to

become an economic powerhouse in

its own might. It has now embraced

aggressiveness to enforce its 5th

century vision of the ‘Middle Kingdom’.

In such a situation providing

legitimacy to the existence of Taiwan

is a necessary first step.

Paradigm shift in policy

Establishing formal diplomatic

ties with Taiwan will bring about a

paradigm shift vis-à-vis India’s foreign

policy. It will enforce the idea

42 July 2021 Opinion Express

that liberal democracy is the last

word in the battle of ideologies as

Francis Fukuyama had visualized in

his landmark book ‘TheEnd of History

and the Last Man’ and that there

is no alternative to human rights and

liberties, not even the Chinese model

of ‘authoritarian development’.

It will be the boldest step that any

global leader has taken, not even the

mighty US which has no formal diplomatic

relations with Taiwan has

taken this step.

Recognizing Taiwan will entail a

lot of benefits for the mandarins of

India’s foreign policy regime- firstly,

Taiwan is a robust democracy with a

booming economy, it will prove to be

an alternative to China albeit in a relatively

less proportion, secondly, India

can bolster the legitimacy as the leader

of the democratic world at a time

when the democratic institutions in

the US-often regarded as the cradle of

democracy has been undermined.

Thirdly, India can get the support

of another powerful ally in its attempt

to carve out a new supply chain alliance

which India-Japan-Australia formalized

recently. Fourthly, recognizing

Taiwan will make it clear to China that

India means some serious business

and if the need arises then India will

not back down from sending dedicated

naval and air assets in the disputed

South China Sea region to enforce

freedom of navigation principle in the

resource rich region. Lastly, the Quad

security grouping will be institutionalized

which in the near future can even

Recognizing Taiwan will

entail a lot of benefits

for the mandarins of

India’s foreign policy

regime- firstly, Taiwan is

a robust democracy with

a booming economy,

it will prove to be an

alternative to China

albeit in a relatively less

proportion

be extended to include new members,

it will be the first time that India will

be a part of any dedicated military

and economic alliance which will deter

the aggression of the Chinese war

machine in the strategic Indian Ocean

and Indo-Pacific Region.

Caveats remain

However the recognition may

invite severe ramifications for India.

China will be infuriated and can

choose to ratchet up tensions with

India. India must be extremely careful

while dealing with China as China

is our second largest bilateral trade

partner and a key export partner of

India with regard to raw materials

and goods. According to a FICCI report,

India imports more than 40%

of several important goods like the

API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients),

television, chemicals, chips,

textiles and many more.

The dragon will as a possible retaliatory

measure can activate its propaganda

machinery to wage psychological

warfare with India. It can also

activate its terror financing networks

which for years remained a chronic

internal security for India in the

northeast of the country. China will

also collaborate with its ‘iron brother’

Pakistan to try and deter India by intensifying

terrorism in the Kashmir

valley and elsewhere. Further, China

can use its potent disinformation empire

to try and peddle fake news about

the credibility of India’s indigenous

vaccines at a time when the light at

the end of the tunnel of a pandemic

stricken world has appeared.

Exercising caution

Keeping all the dangers in mind,

the Modi government must keep national

interests in mind. Despite all

the risks, it must work with all the

like- minded countries to take own

the mighty dragon responsible for

unleashing a deadly virus which has

wrecked havoc on humanity. For the

sake of the free world, India must take

the hard step which will reinforce India’s

position in cementing its place

as the leader of the free world.

(Writer is Opinion Express

Editor. He has visited Taiwan and

has deep knowledge of the

Taiwan society)


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44 July 2021

Opinion Express

Bangla Dream

40 years after return from India, Sheikh Hasina changing face of Bangladesh

By Mahua Venkatesh

Marked 40 years of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina’s homecoming after

being in exile for about five years. After

her father Bangabandhu Sheikh

Mujibur Rahman, also known as the

Father of the Nation in Bangladesh,

was brutally murdered along with

his wife and sons on August 15, 1971,

Hasina was provided diplomatic

asylum in India.

Hasina along with her sister

Sheikh Rehana, escaped since they

were away from the country.

She returned to Bangladesh via

Kolkata only in 1981 by an Indian

Airlines aircraft. On Monday, an

emotional Hasina thanked members

of her party-- Awami League, who

elected her as president in February

1981 despite her absence.

Hasina, who has steered her

country into becoming a developing

She returned to

Bangladesh via Kolkata

only in 1981 by an Indian

Airlines aircraft. On

Monday, an emotional

Hasina thanked

members of her party--

Awami League, who

elected her as president

in February 1981 despite

her absence.

nation, promised to build a “Golden

Bangladesh.”

“We’ve got established ourselves

as a developing country.

We’ve reached here overcoming so

many hurdles both from home and

abroad,” she said while addressing

her cabinet virtually.

“Bangladesh is now independent,

and it’ll remain independent. We’ll

build it as Golden Bangladesh of the

Father of the Nation,” Dhaka Tribune

quoted her as saying.

During her stay in Delhi, Hasina

was under the watch of former President

Pranab Mukherjee.

In fact, Hasina shared a close

bond with Mukherjee and his family

until his death last year. “The relationship

between the two leaders

was beyond any political framework.

They exchanged notes as any other

members of the family would do.

For example, Hasina would regularly

send Hilsa to Mukherjee and

other leaders in India. This cannot

be described as any political gesture.

It has always been much more than

that,” a close aide of Mukherjee told

India Narrative.


India, Bangladesh ties

“India and Bangladesh do share

a special bond which has been emphasised

by the Prime Ministers of

both countries. It is practically not

possible for India to flourish and

develop if Bangladesh or for that

matter other neighbouring countries

are lagging behind. There has to be

a holistic development of the region

and all countries must be able to

reap benefits,” Shakti Sinha, former

bureaucrat and director at Atal Bihari

Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research

and International said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

who visited Dhaka in March to participate

in the celebrations commemorating

50 years of independence of

the South Asian nation described

Bangladesh as a “sohojatri” or a cotraveller

in the development of the

region.

India and Bangladesh share a

4,096-km long border-- the fifthlongest

land border in the world.

46 July 2021

Several states including West Bengal,

Assam Meghalaya, Tripura and

Mizoram have international borders

with Bangladesh.

Opinion Express

Hasina’s focus on the right

things

Hasina, undoubtedly, has focused

on the right things - taming

terror and extremist outfits on one

hand and on the other focusing on

economic growth.

“Propelled by a robust manufacturing

sector and an enormous

boom in infrastructure, Bangladesh

has set a target of becoming a developed

nation by 2041 to coincide with

the platinum jubilee of its independence.

Many commentators have

called the goal ambitious, but even

the government’s staunchest critics

would think twice before questioning

its plausibility. There has been a sea

change in attitude from 2006 when

our surpassing of Pakistan’s growth

rate was dismissed as a fluke,” Salman

Fazlur Rahman, Private industry

and investment adviser, Prime

Minister of Bangladesh’s office in

an article published in 2019 by the

India Economic Summit and later

World Economic Forum said.

Pakistan based Dawn noted that

Bangladesh invested in human development

and economic growth.

“Goal posts are set at increasing

exports, reducing unemployment,

improving health, reducing dependence

upon loans and aid, and further

extending micro credit,” it said

while for Pakistan, human development

comes a distant second.

“The bulk of national energies

remain focused upon check-mating

India. Relations with Afghanistan

and Iran are therefore troubled;

Pakistan accuses both of being excessively

close to India. But the most

expensive consequence of the security

state mindset was the nurturing

of extra state actors in the 1990s,”

the Dawn article said.


Social Media Discord

Indians can’t be treated as guinea pigs anymore

By Nishant Arora

After a week full of intense drama

and screaming headlines

as social media giants and

the Indian government/law enforcement

agencies took the knives out in

the open over new IT rules as well as

spread of misinformation, millions

of Indians were left with a burning

question: Where does all this lead

as the spread of fake news continues

unabated?

Amid an absence of a dedicate

law on misinformation -- as other

nations move on to penalise social

media firms (Russia has just fined

Twitter about $259,000 for its failure

to remove banned content) -- India

currently has an insufficient IT

regime to regulate social networks,

which have grown so big that taming

them need more than just firing

notices every now and then.

In this debate, users in India have

been worst hit, facing humongous

difficulties in removing or disabling

access to the spread of fake news/

Leading cybersecurity

experts feel that India

needs to give a strong

message to social media

companies that users

cannot be treated as

guinea pigs in terms

of publishing and

transmission of fake

news/misinformation.

misinformation about themselves

on the social media platforms.

Leading cybersecurity experts

feel that India needs to give a strong

message to social media companies

that users cannot be treated as guinea

pigs in terms of publishing and

transmission of fake news/misinformation.

“India has failed to control the

spread of fake news, primarily because

regulating misinformation has

never been a political priority. India

has allowed itself to lag behind in the

race of nations in this regard, while

smaller countries like Malaysia, Singapore

and France have come up

with dedicated legal frameworks to

deal with misinformation,” leading

cyberlaw expert Pavan Duggal told

IANS.

The Indian Information Technology

Act, 2000 is not a law on

fake news. Consequently, even the

amendments to the IT Act, 2000 by

virtue of the IT (Amendment) Act,

2008 did not deal with fake news,

barring inserting Section 66A.

The Section 66A made it an offence

when somebody sends any

information which he knows to be

false, but which is sent for the purpose

of causing annoyance, inconvenience,

danger, obstruction, insult,

injury, criminal intimidation, enmity,

hatred or ill will.

However, the Supreme Court

48 July 2021

Opinion Express

The picture is

transparent. They know

that India lacks a strong

data protection law like

the GDPR (General Data

Protection Regulation)

in the European Union

(EU).

struck down the Section 66A as an

unconstitutional vide judgment in

the case of Shreya Singhal v/s Union

of India in the year 2015.

“Since then, India has not had

the political vision and determination

to go ahead and fight fake news/

misinformation,” said Duggal, also a

seasoned Supreme Court lawyer.

While moving ahead with implementing

its user privacy policy

from May 15 and suing the Centre

over the chat ‘traceability’ demand,

WhatsApp made it clear that it “will

maintain this approach until at least

the forthcoming PDP (personal data

protection) law comes into effect”.

The picture is transparent. They

know that India lacks a strong data

protection law like the GDPR (General

Data Protection Regulation) in

the European Union (EU).

India is trying to make a feeble

attempt to regulate some portion of

fake news/misinformation by the

new IT (Intermediary Guidelines

and Digital Media Ethics Code)

Rules, 2021.

“However, this is nothing but

tantamount to provide lip-service

to fight misinformation. No consequences

for non-compliances for the

users have been stipulated under the

IT Rules, 2021,” Duggal informed.

Actually speaking, misinformation

has not been directly detailed

under any legal provision in the

country.

According to Jiten Jain, Director,

Voyager Infosec and a leading

cybersecurity expert, social media

firms are the new avatars of digital

East India companies.

“They are defying our existing

laws and are meddling with our

policy-making process which is the

function of the government. Twitter

should not bully India to influence its

policies, work like a private company,

comply with the law of the land and

pay taxes on the money they make on

Indian data,” Jain told IANS.

The absence of a political will

to take action against social media

firms has further emboldened them

to often adopt unilateral and arbitrary

measures.

Virag Gupta, the lawyer of former

RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya,

who is arguing the social media

Designated Officers’ matter before

the Delhi HC, said that as per new IT

rules, social media firms must have

their grievance officers in India, and

not abroad.

“These companies are stakeholders

in the intermediary rules and

must comply with new rules. Despite

judicial challenge to limited aspect of

rules, WhatsApp and other significant

social media firms are duty bound to

comply with IT rules within the stipulated

time period,” Gupta said.

What are the options for

India?

Apart from a dedicated law on

misinformation, the first option is

to effectively enforce the provisions

of the new IT rules that need to be

adhered by social media intermediaries,

and then put the personal data

protection law in place.

The country also needs to come

up with effective legal provisions

stipulating the consequences to be

faced by social media firms, in case

they fail to act.

“This could mean not just stipulating

stringent liabilities including

fine ranging from Rs 5 crore to Rs

15 crore” and a term which “may be

extend to 7 years as also with minimum

fine of Rs 25 lakh per incident

of fake news/misinformation transmission,”

Duggal added.

Other than the legal options, India

needs to demonstrate a strong

political will and thought leadership

to curb fake news/misinformation

online.


Reasons to include a workout

in your child’s routine

By Puja Gupta

New Delhi: A workout doesn’t

mean spending hours in a gym or

sweating on a treadmill. The foundation

of working out should be laid

at a young age. Delhi-based fitness

and sports nutritionist Hasti Singh

shares top five reasons to include

workout in a child’s daily routine.

Stronger muscles and bones

Fit and lean posture

Lower risk of becoming obese

Lower chance of attracting diseases

Controlled B.P and cholesterol.

Singh says, to start with, parents

can ask their child to do yoga or

meditation for at least 1 hour daily.

The trick is that parents should also

do with them as then they will try to

imitate and will enjoy doing the exercise.

Kids can also do aerobics as it

strengthens the heart and helps in

circulating oxygen to the cells. Aerobics

can be done at home and parents

can also participate in these exercises

like playing basketball, swimming,

jogging, running, cycling.

Singh points out: “When I say

workout, don’t confuse it with weightlifting.

Kids could do push-ups,

crunches with stomachs, stretching,

and other exercises to give a shape

to their physique and gain strength.

These exercises don’t include much

hard work and are also good from

the kids’ perspective. By doing pushups,

the child would learn to tackle

weight and it will improve his shoulder

and arm connection.”

Rope Skipping is another good

workout activity that you can introduce

to your child. Skipping

strengthens hand and leg muscles.

Kids can also join any dance classes

which is an ultimate form of exercise.

It helps in the complete movement

of a kid’s body and hence gives

a complete opportunity to work out.

Exercise not only improves a

child’s abilities but will also help

him/her to gain concentration. Kids

nowadays spend a lot of time taking

online classes and hence expose

themselves to uncalled problems like

strain, headache, and health issues.

Taking out time and doing workouts

daily can save your child from

these issues. Also, a regular workout

helps in better sleep and makes your

child energetic.

50 July 2021

Opinion Express

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