16-09-2021 The Asian Independent

22 16-09-2021 to 30-09-2021 NEWS
www.theasianindependent.co.uk
Afghanistan : The Tricky
Situation for INDIA
New Taliban Government
(Samaj Weekly)- On 07.09.2021 a
new Taliban government in Afghanistan
was formed. Mullah Muhammad
Hassan is declared Prime Minister of
Afghanistan. Two important members
of Taliban are appointed Deputy Prime
Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani and
Moalvi Abdul Salam Hanafi. All stakeholders
were expecting an inclusive
government in Afghanistan but that did
not happen. The Taliban have also
announced important portfolios. The
irony is that many of the Taliban
Ministers in the new government are on
the list of hardcore terrorist of the USA
agencies. Will they change themselves?
Will they renounce their ideology of
violence and fundamentalism? Will the
new government allow Afghan women
to participate in the power structure? It
is yet to be seen.
The idea of inclusive government has
been negated. It shows that the Taliban
leaders think that they are capable of
running the country efficiently. Any
opposition to their government in any
form either within the country or outside
the country will not be tolerated.
The Taliban claims that they have captured
Panjshir valley. However, the
leaders of Panjshir valley told the
Afghan media that it is a false claim. It
seems that the fight between the Taliban
new government and leaders of Panjshir
valley would go on. It is apprehended
that the people of Afghanistan especially
women, children would suffer
because of this fight.
Afghan Men and Women are suffering
Most of the developed countries have
put up several visa restrictions for the
Afghan immigrants who are currently
seeking visas. India has announced that
it will welcome Afghan Hindus, Sikhs
who are coming from Afghanistan. The
launch of E-visa by India, however, is
facilitating these desperate migrants but
according to Indian media reports they
are suffering due to a corrupt and lethargic
bureaucratic system. Many of the
Afghan men and women with small
children are living in shanty areas of
Delhi. It is reported that they are currently
short of money to buy food items,
milk for their children. Afghan Muslim
men are desperately looking for jobs in
New Delhi. They feel discriminated
against as the Hindu businessmen are
not ready to offer them jobs. New Delhi
should formulate a comprehensive legislative
framework for Afghan men and
women unless there is a complete surety
from the new government for their
safety and employment. Indian women
should come forward to extend a helping
hand to Afghan women till they feel
that they can safely go back to
Afghanistan.
Tricky Situation for India
All major stakeholders like the USA,
Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, Qatar and
Turkey in Afghanistan are going to play
a major role in the governance of
Afghanistan. Before the formation of
the new government, the top leaders of
these countries have issued several
statements on the political, social and
economic circumstances in Afghanistan
but India remains in a silent mode. India
is likely to suffer due to wait and
watch policy. However, the Taliban
have welcomed India to continue its
development projects in Afghanistan yet
the Pakistan factor would remain there.
The media reports from Pakistan imply
that the majority of the Pakistan leaders
of the ruling party think that the capture
of political power by the Taliban is a
defeat of India. This mentality shows
that Pakistan is going to play a dangerous
game against India with the support
of the disgruntled elements of the
Taliban. Media reports reveal that the
Taliban have released many Taliban
hardcore terrorists recently. These terrorists
are in touch with the Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan.
New Delhi is quite distrustful about the
role of ISI of Pakistan in Jammu &
Kashmir over the last few years. Indian
security agencies have alleged that
behind every bomb in Jammu &
Kashmir there is a hand of ISI of
Pakistan. A statement appeared in The
Tribune and other national dailies on
07.09.2021 in which Russian
Ambassador in New Delhi Nikolay
Kudashev said that any flare-up of the
D r. Rahul Kumar
Senior columnist and Researcher
civilian conflict would result in terrorism
spilling over across the region
including Jammu & Kashmir. Russia is
one of the major stakeholders in
Afghanistan. This statement shows that
the situation for India is tricky in the
coming years. Russia is a reliable, trusted
friend of India. India can depend
upon Russia as Russia extended a helping
hand to India during the 1965 war
between India and Pakistan. A capitalist
America under Joe Biden Presidency is
militarily engaged in more than 70
countries. Its economic resources are
drying up; its political dominance is
250 private schools in UP threaten to stop RTE admissions
Lucknow : Around 250 unaided private
schools in Uttar Pradesh have decided not to
admit students from the economically weaker
sections (EWS) until the state government
reimbursed the last three years’ fees payable
to private schools for admitting students
under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The
Unaided Private Schools Association
(UPSA) delegation met senior officials of the
basic education department with a request to
look into their demands, failing which they
will not be able to admit a single student
under RTE from the new academic session
2021-22.
UPSA president Anil Agarwal, said,
"Under section 12 (2) of the Right to
Education 2009 and a Supreme Court judgment,
a government has to pay a certain
amount to schools for admitting students
under RTE. "This amount is the actual
expense incurred per pupil in a year according
to his or her class. For the last three years
the government has not paid the private
schools for admitting students under RTE."
He also said the state government did not
come up with any formula on how the perstudent
expenditure of the students admitted
under RTE will be paid to the schools.
It was declared that Rs 450 will be given
per RTE admission by the government but
how this amount was calculated or what formula
was used was never communicated to
the schools.
Agarwal said that the expenditure of the
students in all classes cannot be the same, as
the salary paid to teachers of the senior class
is more than that of junior classes.
"According to rules, the government has
to calculate and notify the re-reimbursement
amount every year on September 30 but this
has not been done," he said.
weakening. Today European allies of
America feel that it is of no use in taking
up fight with the Muslim countries.
Post pandemic European nations are utilizing
their energy to boost up their
economies.
Over the last seven years, New Delhi
foreign policy makers have lost many
friends in the countries of South Asia,
Middle East. The conflict between India
and China has further pushed India to
the back foot at the international level.
China has strengthened its political
engagement with the countries in South
Asia. India contributed military aid to
Bhutan($403 million), Mauritius
($143), Nepal($112),
Afghanistan($56million before Taliban
took over in August 2021),
Maldives($42million), Myanmar
($42million), Bangladesh($200 million),
Sri Lanka($28 million)
Iran($14million), Seychelles ($19million).Despite
huge military aid to these
countries by India, China is ruling the
roost in these countries. India‘s Cheque
Diplomacy in countries like Sri Lanka,
Nepal did not yield the political results
that New Delhi was expecting. SAGAR
programme (Security and Growth for all
in the region) is lying in a cold storage.
The submissive attitude of India‘s
leaders including Dr. S Jai Shankar-
India‘s External Affairs Minister has
projected India as a weak country
before the international community.
Sitaram Yechury, leader of Communist
Party of India and former member of
Rajya Sabha said, Today India has
become a subordinate partner of the US
military and strategic affairs. Our isolation
in Afghanistan is testimony to this.
Our foreign policy is not integrated with
their policy. He further said, India is a
puppet of America . India under Prime
Minister Narendra Modi is living under
delusion that India is a big market hence
foreign investors would come and contribute
to the economy of India. Rather,
foreign investors have earned and taken
money out of India through black
money channels.
Dr. S Jai Shankar, Indian Minister for
External Affairs said, India favours an
inclusive government . This statement
before the formation of the new government
shows that Dr S Jai Shankar was
clueless about the movement of the
leaders of Taliban. India did not show
any perkiness to find out about the role
of Pakistan ISI in the formation of the
Afghan new government without having
diverse members of the opposition
parties. In the last few years, Dr S Jai
Shankar has been ineffective in carrying
out the diplomatic assignments.
Therefore, the Modi government must
replace Dr S Jai Shankar, EAM, with an
experienced, seasoned diplomat who
can think out of the box. This is the need
of the hour.
India is going to suffer if its intelligence
fails in Afghanistan. Sooner or
later the UN USA or other stakeholders
would recognize the new Afghan government
in Afghanistan, will India follow
suit? If yes, on what ground when
there is no inclusive government; when
there is no India‘s sympathizer like
Ashraf Ghani the former President of
Afghanistan. New Delhi has to speed up
its engagement with the new government
and win friends to sustain its
investment in Afghanistan. Iran being a
neighbouring country of Afghanistan is
very important for India.
India has to change its foreign policy
towards Iran and deal with Iran minus
the pressure from the USA administration.
The delay at this critical time will
cost India huge economic and political
losses.
Dr. Rahul Kumar, PhD, is an independent
researcher. He writes on international
affairs, foreign policy, and
diplomacy. The views expressed in this
article are his own and do not represent
the views of the paper.
China suspends group travel
to Covid risk areas
Beijing : Travel agencies
and online tourism companies
in China have been asked to
immediately suspend transprovincial
group tours, air
ticket and hotel reservation
services for high- and medium
Covid-19 risk areas,
according to the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism (MCT).
Such tours will resume after
the high- and medium-risk
areas in the affected
provinces are cleared, Xinhua
news agency quoted Hou
Zhengang, an official with the
MCT, as saying at a press conference on Thursday.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and the National Day
holiday are approaching, the MCT has asked localities to take
strict measures to guard against possible imported Covid-19
cases, Hou added. This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday
lasts from September 19 to 21, while the National Day break
runs from October 1 to 7.