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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
Men Abolish War or War Abolishes men? All those possessions will soon decay with the ravages of war- the game where both sides lose, Kanika Sahijwani assesses
Masses of Hiroshima-Nagasaki still suffering from the bomb radiations is no hidden story. Living a life worse than death, the transmogrifications in their bodies are passed onto generations years since the war took place and people still suffer from the ramifications. On August 2, 1939, Albert Einstein wrote to Franklin D. Roosevelt where he informed Roosevelt of efforts in the Nazi Germany to purify uranium-235, in order to build an atomic bomb. It was shortly thereafter that the US Government began the serious undertaking then known as “The Manhattan Project” that would produce a viable atomic bomb. In the late nineteenth century, during the (Indo China) warfare, US used chemicals like ‘Napalm’- an organic compounds used to thicken gasoline for firebombs that stuck on the masses when burst, and then burnt along. A UN standing army- neutral peacemaker and peacekeeper; “contrast this to the perceived differences in attitude between troops from Britain, the US, Russia and France to warring sides in the Balkans”. Providing the necessary deterrence “against acts of naked aggression”, serving to diffuse the existing tensions. When one is aware of the ramifications, they most likely try to avoid the negatives looking out for alternatives leads the basic fact that the paradigm of warfare has changed. To this, the leverage of being free from accusations of meddling or self – interests comes free. Conceived to be more effective than the troops staffing other missions, they would also have better command and control than in current situation over different national forces. Successful forces such as the French Foreign Legion, the Indian army and the Roman army show that issues of language and culture need not be problems in combat situations.
On the other hand, essentially “only governments have standing armies, so this plan would inevitably make the UN more like a world government – and one which is not democratic and where a totalitarian state has veto power over key decision-making”. The suspicion of multinational force taking sides in a particular conflict (e.g. Muslims or Orthodox Christians in the Balkan conflicts), from economic constraints to the size of the army, from execution to its credibility; all factors are to be weighed before reaching an accord. The chances of the UN army being poorly equipped, to see the UN as a potential rival or adversary, the refusal of providing their best armor is also questionable. Add to this the entire conundrum the oft mentioned P5 veto therein, and it really leaves one with nowhere to go. “The fact that the US would have a vote in setting up an army that could one day provide resistance and opposition to their own military interest” is indeed laughable deeming the notion of army’s existence invalid. The basic human right infringed ultimately demarcates the ordinary people losers in all cases undertaken from every angle.
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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
Online Catastrophe: Loading… “Cyber-sophistication is just like nuclear proliferation - Only far easier” writes Joseph S Nye, a former assistant US Secretary of Defense in his book ‘The Future Of Power’. Mohit Musaddi presents his views on the current day scenario of ‘hackism’.
If ideological groups were to be organized of “cybergeddon” as mostly a disruptive nuisance at this stage, four major categories each with a different time horizon would arise – the cyber war and economic espionage which are largely associated with states and cybercrime and cyber terrorism, with which we mostly associate the non-state actors. Cyber war, however just early at this stage, is the most emotional of the potential dangers. Significant states with intricate specialized and human resources could, on a fundamental level, make monstrous disturbance and physical demolition through digital assaults on military and regular citizen targets.
In less than a decade, cybercrime has moved from ambiguity to the ‘spotlight’ of consumer, corporate and national security concerns. The large, profitable, rapidly growing and highly evolved cybercrime estimates annual losses ranging form billions to 1 trillion dollars worldwide. No matter which industry staggers under the Reactions to digital war incorporate a manifestation of inweight of recession, business here is apparently boom- terstate discouragement through foreswearing and trap, hostile capacities and outlines for fast system and founing. dation recuperation if prevention falls flat. Eventually, it Almost 5 years ago, a faulty peace of computer code in- might be conceivable to fortify these ventures with certain fected Iran’s nuclear programme and destroyed many of simple standards and arms control. the centrifuges used to enrich uranium. Observers then declared this apparent sabotage to be the harbinger of a The world is just barely starting to see looks of digital war new form of warfare, which led the then US Secretary of in the refusal of-administration assaults that went hand in Defense to warn citizens of the danger of a “cyber Pearl hand with the traditional war in Georgia in 2008, or the late Harbour” attack on the US. But do we really know cyber harm of Iranian rotators. States have the best capacities; yet non-state performing artists are more prone to launch conflict all that much? a cataclysmic assault. In cyber world, actors are diverse and mostly anonymous; the physical distance – immaterial and forms of offence A “cyber 9/11” may be more probable than the aforemenare probably cheaper than labor in India. Because the In- tioned “cyber Pearl Harbor”. I here believe that it is now ternet was designed for ease of use rather than security, time for states to take a seat and talk about how to limit attackers will always have the advantage over defenders. this risk to world peace.
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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
Abolishing Religion Is Not Irreligious, Asserts Speaker 2
Citizen’s Dialogue discusses the role of religious doctrines in facilitating violence and prejudice, reports Manpreet Kaur Badyal
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar were said to be disillusioned by the idea of organized religion. He had said “You cannot destroy caste system without destroying Hindu religion”.
Prone to misinterpretation and open-ended nature of these texts make them very dangerous in the hands of those who want to use it for nefarious purposes. This affirmation by Speaker 12 was met with council assent by The practice of caste system in India has always had re- the Citizen’s Dialogue. ligious overtones and political undercurrents. Religious fanaticism and an uncompromising adherence of the so- In India, there has been a polarisation of ideologies ciety to historical texts that seem to justify it have made among the youth about the relevance and role of religion it difficult for the State to implement minority protection in today’s times. Confronted with news of wide spread violence in the name of religious fanaticism and traditionlaws. ally validated inferior status of lower castes, people have On Day 2 of debate in Citizen’s Dialogue reached a con- now started to test congruity of faiths in contemporary sensus on agenda of ‘Caste-based violence in India’ when times which might have been blasphemous some years Speaker 2 quotes Father of our Constitution B.R. Ambed- back. kar “I was born a Hindu but I shall not die one”. Speaker 2 affirmed that “According to Ambedkar the Hindu society as such does not exist. Each caste is conscious of its existence. Hindu society is only a collection of caste. Its survival is the be all and end of all existence”
Still, India has a long way to go to achieve a culture preaching religious tolerance. As long as faith-conversion campaigns like ‘Ghar Vapsi’ are carried out and backed by the ruling political parties and social classes, India will never be a truly secular nation.
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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
My nation believes that no crime should be taken lightly: USA In conversation with the delegate of USA as he reflects his thoughts on Interpol; high crime rates in Central America; and on why cybercrime must be given at least equal importance if not more. International Press Interpol’s practice of allowing its members to transmit diffusions without systematic prior review raises some serious concerns. In light of this, do you feel that Interpol serves best interests for your country? Delegate of USA Definitely the USA’s participation in the Interpol serves the national interests. Today crimes are not just bound in one area or one country for that matter. It is taking place all over the globe. Because of the Interpol, police from different countries can now come together and solve crimes, which affect both the countries. However, certain potential weaknesses of the Interpol need to be addressed. Interpol requires neither democracy nor respect in practice for the rule of law as a condition of membership. Interpol’s high name recognition and global reach encourage its autocratic member nations to exploit that recognition and reach and to use them as instruments of repression. In an era when many nations are seeking to criminalize speech and accusations of financial crimes have become a favorite weapon of autocracies against political opponents, Interpol must remain true to its constitution. International Press Violent crimes in Central America – particularly in the ‘northern triangle’ of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala – is reaching breathtaking levels. Murder rates in this region are among the highest in the world.
once these systems are strengthened. Also, our borders are very much porous right now. This worsens Central America’s condition. We will however, look to mention those points in our draft resolution as well as the working paper. Though USA has offered substantial amount of aid to Central American efforts to address criminal violence, it also contributes to the problem through its high levels of drug consumption, relatively relaxed gun control laws and our deportation policies that have sent home over one million illegal migrants with violent records. International Press As I understand, you have been stressing a lot on cybercrime and clearly it hasn’t been adequately discussed in the committee. Why according to you should cybercrime be given higher preference over crimes such as murder and rape? Delegate of USA Look crime is a crime. Be it a murder, a cybercrime or homicide. My nation believes that no crime should be taken lightly and that is why we are here today. Today, every country’s economy is dependent on the digital network. And the level of cybercrime has reached to such a level that while through murder you can kill a person once, by committing a cyber crime a person can be killed ‘n’ number of times. We need to tackle cybercrime while it is still growing its wings to fly. We need to cut its roots before it grows into a tree. International Press
Do you feel that Central America’s predicament is one of geography? It is after all sandwiched between some of the world’s largest drug producers in South America and as reports state, the world’s largest consumer of illegal drugs – USA. Delegate of USA As the issue stands, law and order in countries in South America is not that strict. Be it the policing system or the jails, there are many loopholes in their systems. The influx of crime to Central America can only be reduced
What are you doing to stop cybercrime? And how do you wish to further put an end to cybercrime? Delegate of USA We have set up different organizations to counter this issue. The US Cyber Crime agency has already set a benchmark and while other nations have not cooperated in our efforts to tackle this form of crime, I feel that nations once they realize how grave this situation is, will eventually come around.
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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
In Search Of An Answer
National interest or Individual freedom? – The question remains unanswered – Guncha Dhir reports from Human Rights Council. Everybody was complaining about the safety problems While supporting the idea of a balanced solution, South faced by a country, but the ambassador of Congo wanted Korea proposed the idea of Governments providing incento do something about it. tives for army men, so that more people volunteer for the army and conscription is not necessary, thus instigating The Human Rights Council is considering a proposal that voluntary participation than conscription. has enough solutions to balance the freedom of the citizens and the military and safety issues of a country. The conflict between the safety issues of a country and the sentiments and choices of the citizens of the country The question of National interest v/s Individual freedom brought the question of National interest or Individual gave the direction to the discussion. While others were freedom in limelight. The fact that citizens are an importdiscussing what holds more importance – national inter- ant resource of a country and their choices should be reest or individual integrity, the representative of Namibia spected formed the crux of the discussion. stated that “....this is where the first conflict between national interest and individual freedom arises. There is a tussle going on between the countries over deciding what should and what should not be done and what The military is composed of individual citizens perform- to be preferred – National Security or Individual Sentiing a duty in order to protect one of the foremost prin- ments. The discussion is going into an unexpected direcciples of domestic law, at the same time, being granted tion where countries are fighting over trivial issues and not their individual rights and freedoms as per International coming to a consensual solution for the conscientious oband Domestic Law....” jection. It is expected that the countries understand that Territorial integrity and National Sovereignty should be considered foremost principles of domestic law.
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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
“Everything Cannot Be Really Attributed To Religion!” Manpreet Kaur Badyal catches up with Speaker 12 in Citizen’s dialogue on discriminatory practices rooted in Hindu literature
IP: You cited historical Hindu text Manu Smriti in your statement about the role of religion and traditions in preaching discrimination against lower castes and LBGT community. Although many conservatives cite that text as a validation of their beliefs, not many follow it to the alphabet. How is it relevant to the world and adds to the debate about LGBT rights and caste-based violence? Speaker 12 [Hereafter referred to as S-12]: Ma’am, in India everyone I see justifies all of their actions being in the name of God or religion. I for one am an atheist. Yes, I don’t believe in God. If everyone starts validating every domain religious text, I don’t know where the world today will stand now! It’s relevant to the world because these religious and books are the one actually ‘allowing’ people to carry out such atrocious acts. It adds more to caste violence as it allows castes like SC, ST, Dalits etc to be suppressed and be treated like animals. See India has been demarcated in so so many sections that are Bengali, LGBT, Dalits, men and women that frankly make me feel that we have changed our precious rules and perceptions! IP: Sections 377 concerns all of us who engage in sexual acts prior to the ‘natural’ way of performing sexual intercourse, not just the LGBT community. Please share your thoughts on that.
S-12: Honestly, the government is a part of us. After all we are humans. So it’s obviously true that they also engage themselves in acts that anyone of us or even LGBT people engage in. Denying it as unnatural is frankly very stupid. If people wish to pleasure themselves in things which are not really ‘okay’, it’s wrong. It’s their life! Where does right to privacy go? I feel everyone should be allowed to be happy. Happy citizens lead to a happier State. On Caste based violence IP: Groups that have been fighting against caste based discrimination and violence have transgressed into hostile military troops- a rebel without a cause. What do you have to say about that? S-12: Honestly, one can never predict what one is going through. Similarly, no one can predict to what length fuel can be added to fire and causing discrimination. I have actually a neutral take on this. Who’s to blame her? It’s just that people have actually enough which is leading to such rage and violence. Suppressing them will lead to more chaos and problems. Maybe the govt should have taken care of things before.
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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
Infringing The Basic Rights of Life and Freedom
Nimmy Samson surmises over the mends that can be enforced within the UN’s permanent military force for a successful venture towards pacifism The war atrocities over the past years have had the people and the United Nations facing mass loss and disruption threatening their basic rights to life. The Rwanda Genocide that happened on April 6, 1994 witnessed the massive killing of Tutsis in the African country of Rwanda. Lasting for about 100 days it left 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers under torturous subjugation to death, disrespecting their basic human rights.When the Genocide convention was passed by the United Nations in 1948,the world said,“Never Again” but the history of 20th century instead proved that “Never Again” into Again and Again. Why did such ethnic and religious violence curb up. Could the cause be limited to the non-establishment of UN Standing Army. Offering both global and personal perspectives, the standing army can set tools to initiate dialogue and discussion on base issues. A standing army could definitely enable the UN to act quicker in the presence of a potential peace threat. Genocide in Rwanda along with the brutal killings of the non-combatant civilians in Cambodia illustrates the incapacity and proposes the need to create a permanent UN Emergency Peace Service to ensure the non-recurrence of next preventable humanitarian disaster.If such a service had been established earlier it could have prevented many of the atrocities that killed millions of civilians,wounded millions,forced tens of millions from their homes, destroyed entire economies and wasted hundreds of billions of dollars.
The notion that having a standing army of its own would make the United nations a genuine single entity with power over the entire world snatching away the powers from smaller nations is blatantly not justified because its just that with the enforcement of the standing army having participant army members from all over the nation including the weaker countries represents a more powerful say and representation with regards to any crucial decisions that would be deliberated upon ,thereby allowing even the weaker strata to give their maximum outputs in fulfilling the key role of the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) under Article 24 of the UN charter to maintain International peace and security. Furthermore rises the question of affordability due to low budget of the UN.In an effort to keep the peace maintenance intact, there should be troops under the standing army present all around the world and the funding requires a careful and veteran thought over it. A judicious distribution and usage of the funds received by the UN through voluntary contributions would be appreciated to promote international good as amidst wars and breaches all its investments on different programs and councils lies in stake. Thus setting up priorities to what should be given the utmost ranking can lead to the finest functioning of the Security Council pertaining to all the global issues.
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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
Caste In Question: Hierarchy or Identity? Deepanshi questions the flawed understanding of caste system in contemporary India.
India is quite undeniably the most stratified society in the world. Being diverse in many forms as it is, there are differences that are deeply engraved into everyday social relations, one of which is the difference in caste. The nature of caste and community interactions have changed over time, and a system based on merely “differences” has changed into a one based on discrimination. At its inception stage, The Indian caste system was a simple hierarchy based on the division of labor. There were four basic castes - the Shudras, who did menial jobs; Vaishyas, involved in trading and business; Kshatriyas, who protected the community and the Brahmins, who handled the education of that society. At a time when one did not have enough opportunities in the form of institutions to develop and explore one’s talents, following the family lineage was the only option. And hence a blacksmith’s son became a blacksmith and so on. Sounds like a perfectly organized social mechanism for that time. There was nothing particularly wrong with it at a level where everyone was content doing their job. The trouble, however, started when you became a Brahmin by birth and not by worth. To make any system function smoothly, it has to be ensured that it caters to the present day scenario. What might have been a beautiful hierarchal division of responsibility at its inception, has now turned into an ugly system of discrimination and exploitation. More so, caste has become a quantification standard for one’s self worth and identity. Differences are beautiful. And with differences, there comes a sense of selectiveness. There is nothing unusual with people who are selective in choosing their friends and relationships. It is normal behavior to stay away from people who are found to be socially deviant, untrustworthy or unfamiliar. It is an expression of our social intelligence and self-preservation instinct. But what is wrong is deeming these differences as inequalities
among men based on birth and worse to proclaim it to be the will of God. A very basic study in human psychology states that every human wants to be something more than what he is – socially, economically, emotionally or any which ways. And in this process, if he realizes that he has run out of ways of self-appreciation, he will start putting others down. That is exactly what this system has been doing. The so called upper castes use it to retain and perpetuate their social and religious distinction from what they call the lower castes. Associating a human to his caste maybe fine But to judge his capabilities, his worth and his dignity on those grounds is discriminatory. It is time we get rid of this rudimentary concept of caste because wrongfully creating human stereotypes to justify a social structure that denies a vast majority of people opportunities to use their inborn talents and pursue their own dreams and aspirations is not going to bring any good.
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“People need to come out of the Closet!”
Deepanshi caught up with speaker 19 of the Citizens’ Dialogue to discuss homophobia and LGBT rights. IP: Why do you think India is so homophobic? SPEAKER: Indians traditionally are inclined towards opposing even the little most of the things. And LGBT encompasses so many different facts that it become difficult to understand and accept them. People complain about their behaviour, how do they do their things, even how do they talk .Everyone plays their wholesome roles in showing their disgust towards the LGBT community, from media to their own homes. IP: Most people tend to give a religious backing to their argument against the LGBT community. Do you believe that our understanding of “religion” has become somewhat shallow? SPEAKER: Yes, the understanding of religion or in the name of religion what hides is our own political interests. The LGBT community forms a very miniscule vote bank and in India, since the majority does not comply with the LGBT ideology, several religious fundamentals are being invoked everywhere just to prove their point, just to gather votes. IP: Is coming out of the closet going to change the situation for the whole community? How do you think that the LGBT community can claim their space in the society? SPEAKER: Actually people are coming out. After 2009 HC decision, people started coming out. The LGBT community was getting acknowledged. The government was recognising them. Their parents showed their support,
but Supreme Court’s statement gave it a bit of an overtone. They need to come out. A lot of the LGBT community people belong to the rural areas that still hide in their shells. The campaign like this should not only target such people but all of the society. The misconception of majority should be cleared out. Education here is very important; it will change the mentality of the people. IP: In a country like ours, where homophobia is so embedded in the cultural fabric, Do you think that just a change in the law or amendments in any piece of writing declaring LGBT as human rights are enough? SPEAKER: No, not at all. It’s just invoking more protective discrimination. Why do we think that they are different, abnormal? We need to include them into the main stream. We need to educate the existing society to accept them. We need to provide gender education. IP: What steps do you suggest should be taken by youth activists to ensure that their voices have an impact on the legislature, judicial and cultural system? SPEAKER: First of all, many people talk about LGBT rights and their support to it, but in reality they make fun of them. People don’t think rationally. Being more practical, by questioning the existing mentality, educating them, holding some campaigns and workshops can help in bringing up that impact. Also, we should know, politics is not about vote banks. It’s being put up by majority. It’s time to accommodate everyone.
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The Colloquy | 5th April 2015
The International Press Team CHIEF EDITOR Pallav Kumar Singh SUB EDITOR Sanjana Ahuja DESIGNER Amlan J. Das JOURNALISTS Deepanshi Guncha Dhir Nimmy Samson Mohit Musaddi Manpreet Kaur Kanika Sahijwani PHOTOGRAPHERS Mahima Naik Harsh Shreya Agarwal Ashish