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READ INSIDE GUEST EDIT COVER STORY COMMUNITY SOUTH ASIA MUSINGS HINDI PUSHP TECHNOLOGY
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GUEST EDITORIAL
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MIGRATION HELPS BALANCE OUR AGEING POPULATION – WE DON’T NEED A MORATORIUM BY LIZ ALLEN*
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ustralia’s population is set to reach 25 million in the coming weeks. This is much earlier than expected. Eighteen years ago, projections estimated Australia’s population wouldn’t get to 25 million until 2041. Western Australian Liberal Senator Dean Smith last week proposed a moratorium on immigration to give Australia some time to “breathe” and take stock. Claiming concerns over planning and infrastructure failing to meet population needs, Smith signalled Australia was unprepared, having relied on inaccurate population projections.
Immigration is often targeted when population levels seem out of control. But will a moratorium give Australia the supposed breathing space it needs? MIGRATION IMPACTS Concerns about immigration and a perceived population crisis have crossed over the spectrum of Australian politics. One Nation’s Pauline Hanson has called for a plebiscite on immigration, while Labor leader Bill Shorten has raised concerns about the number of temporary migrants in Australia. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has said a cut to immigration numbers
would have economic benefits, contradicting Treasurer Scott Morrison. And Smith’s idea to halt immigration to allow the nation’s infrastructure time to catch up with population demand is shared by prominent public figures, including Bob Carr and Dick Smith. Australia’s population is ageing, which has potential adverse consequences for the future as proportionally more people exit the workforce, increasing reliance on a shrinking income taxpayer base. Immigration has the potential to offset these consequences of population ageing by contributing to the workforce and to government funds
for essential services. Migrants also contribute to Australia’s future population by having children. The latest available research suggests immigration levels at “about 160,000 and 210,000 seem to have the ‘best’ impact by 2050 on ageing of the population and the rate of growth of GDP per capita”. Current ABS projections provide an opportunity to examine what Australia’s demographic composition could look like if net overseas migration was zero, 200,000 (low), 240,000 (middle) or 280,000 (high) per year. Based on 2011 census data, and medium-range
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assumptions for fertility and life expectancy, the 2013 (medium range) projections are tracking well with current estimates. These projections provide an indication of the impact of migration, measured as net overseas migration. Net overseas migration reflects the balance of incoming and outgoing movements and includes both permanent and temporary migration. The four ABS scenarios show varying population numbers over the medium to long term. The higher the net overseas migration level, the bigger the population over the projected years. Interestingly, though, while zero net overseas migration would result in a reduction in population by the year
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MIGRATION HELPS BALANCE...
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2070, the population would still continue to grow in the medium term due to natural increase (births minus deaths).
census and vital statistics) to ensure assumptions reflect births, deaths and migration trends.
evidence shows Australia’s current migration program intake (190,000) is about right for Australia.
Population composition is an important indicator to consider, rather than size alone. Age distribution is essential to understanding the fiscal opportunities and challenges a population faces.
Australia is one part of the global community. Cutting immigration to Australia will impact the demographic composition of the country, with consequences for the working-age population and income tax base.
Australia doesn’t need a moratorium. What we need is a respectful, open and evidence-based population discussion.
Comparing the four net overseas migration scenarios illustrates the important contribution migration makes to Australia. The so-called dependency burden – the ratio of the number of children (0-14 years old) and older people (65 years or over) to the workingage population (15-64 years old) – is higher for zero and low net migration levels.
Any changes to the migration program should be considered alongside evidence. Available
The current rate of net migration provides the middle ground in balancing population age structure and growth. POPULATION PROJECTIONS Planners need to know expected population size and growth to ensure adequate services and provisions. The ABS has produced projections for national and sub-national populations since 1950. Population inquiries throughout Australia’s history have consistently called on such statistics to enable the country’s responsiveness and preparedness to accommodate numbers. Australia hasn’t set any population targets, mainly to avoid coercive population measures (such as mandating birth rates) and to allow flexibility in government policy, particularly around immigration intake. Estimating population size and growth into the future is about what might be (projection) and not what will be (forecast). So population projections are not predictions; they’re calculations of potential future populations based on assumptions about possible births, deaths and migration. The “best-before-date” for population projections is considered to be around 5-10 years from the initial base year of calculation. This is why projections should be regularly updated based on best available population data (the www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082
• Demographer, ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University Source: The Conversation, 23 July, 2018. (Creative Commons Licence)
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COVER STORY
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DANIEL ANDREWS ANNOUNCES $ 3 MILLION BOOST TO FILM INDIAN MOVIES IN VICTORIA
BY SAT NEWS DESK
artists, this will provide an opportunity to collaborate and create something uniquely Victorian and Indian, “he said.
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ELBOURNE, 11 August: More of Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters will be filmed right here in Victoria, with a re-elected Andrews Labor Government to establish our state’s first ever dedicated Indian Cinema and Bollywood Attraction Fund. Alongside Bollywood superstar Rani Mukerji, Premier Daniel Andrews announced the investment at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne- 2018, held recently here. Premier Daniel Andrews said, “Thanks to the countless contributions of our Indian communities, ours is multicultural success story. Labor will cement that success by bringing Indian cinema to Victoria.” “This investment will
Eclipsing Hollywood, India's film industry is the biggest in the world, last year recording a 27 per cent increase inrevenue.
grow Victoria’s film industry, grow Victorian jobs and bring our two nations even closer, he said.” The $3 million fund will help attract Indian film projects to our state, with Film Victoria working closely with India’s biggest production studios, and offering grants worth up
to 25 per cent of their spend in Victoria. The investment is expected to attract a minimum of four blockbuster films to our state over the next three years, growing our local film industry, creating local jobs and bringing Victoria and
India even closer together. Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said, “As the proud home of our nation’s biggest Indian community, it’s only fitting that we’re home to Australia’s Indian film industry too.” “For local producers and
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Victoria has previously played host to a number of Indian film productions, including box office blockbuster Chak De India, BhaagMilkhaBhaag and Salaam Namaste – the first Indian movie ever to be filmed entirely in Australia. By bringing even more Indian films to our state, a re-elected Labor Government will grow Victoria’s economy, attract new visitors and provide the opportunity to celebrate, collaborate and create uniquely Victorian and Indian films.
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EXHIBITION
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MELBOURNE TO CELEBRATE MANDELA’S LIFE AT THE MELBOURNE MUSEUM FROM 22 SEPTEMBER, 2018 BY SAT NEWS DESK
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ELBOURNE: After the big success of the recent Gandhi Exhibition at the Immigration Museum, Melbournians are in for another outstanding and world-class exhibition
- Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition. The highly anticipated world premiere of this exhibition opens at the prestigious Melbourne Museum on Saturday 22nd September 2018. Produced by iEC Exhibitions, TEG Live
and Museums Victoria, in collaboration with The Nelson Mandela Foundation of South Africa as their only official global exhibition, this brand-new, world-class exhibition will exclusively open in Australia before commencing on a 5-year worldwide museum tour
from 2019. Minister for Creative Industries, Martin Foley says, “This incredible exhibition will give visitors of all ages an insight into the man behind the legend. This exhibition has opened up the Mandela archives, bringing out many priceless
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items which have never before left South Africa. We are honoured that the exhibition will have its world premiere in Melbourne, it shows the global standing of our museum and is another example of Victoria leading the way.” Contd. on pg 8
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EXHIBITION
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MELBOURNE TO CELEBRATE MANDELA’S LIFE AT THE MELBOURNE... Contd. from pg 6 The producers have announce the first of many original objects to be featured in Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition to coincide the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth. This exhibition will be a world first, with a rich collection of artefacts, documents and personal items expertly curated to share the story of Mandela’s rich and colourful life. Talking to SAT, Kimberley Moulton, Museums Victoria’s Senior Curator South Eastern Aboriginal Collections, First Peoples Department said, “We have a common bonding celebrating Mandela, as he fought for reconciliation and equality and lots to be learnt from his life.” “Mandela did not want any violence but It was the oppressor’s violence that forced the oppressed to have no other option but to resist,” she said. Tickets for Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition are already on via ticketek. com.au. Some of the confirmed original objects that will feature in Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition include the boxing glove signed and gifted by Muhammad Ali to Mandela, who was
an avid boxing fan and met Ali several times after 1990. The shoes and walking cane used by Mandela in his senior years will be among the key objects to feature in the exhibition as well as some of his favourite ‘Madiba shirts’ that brightened the corridors of power. Pass Laws Act of 1952 required all black South Africans over the age of 16 to carry a passbook and was brutally enforced as part of the apartheid regime until it’s abolition in 1986. In 1960, Nelson Mandela burnt his passbook following the massacre of anti-passbook protesters at Sharpeville. An original and rare passbook that belonged to a young man and was signed by Nelson Mandela will be on display at the exhibition. This is an extremely rare object as few people cared to hold on to their passbooks once the pass laws had been abolished. The exhibition will also feature a deep and rich archive of images, film and sound recordings including film footage of what is believed to be the earliest film of Nelson Mandela being interviewed during a break in the ‘Treason Trial’ of 1956-1961. Mandela was one of 156 defendants, along with members of all other
anti- apartheid movements, in a trial that was designed to dismantle the People’s Congress Alliance and attack the Freedom Charter. Providing a rare and touching glimpse into the personal life of Nelson Mandela, this official Mandela exhibition has been curated into ten galleries in the Touring Hall at Melbourne Museum and explores his difficult and sometimes controversial life fighting for equality and democracy. Expertly curated by a team of Museums Victoria staff and headed by iEC Exhibitions’ Samantha Heywood, the exhibition will feature personal artefacts and documents, many of which have never-before left South Africa, offering an insight into the world that shaped Mandela’s journey from the rural Transkei to the political world stage. The 800m2 exhibition will include outstanding artworks, original artefacts and genuine replications of rare content from the Nelson Mandela archives, including manuscripts
from his writings in prison, taking visitors through a multi-sensory, interactive, educational and emotive journey of Mandela’s 95 years of life. Lynley Marshall, CEO
of Museums Victoria said, “We are delighted to have worked collaboratively with TEG, iEC and the Victorian State Government on the development of this worldfirst exhibition. The expert curatorial and research skills of Museums Victoria
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staff, including Kimberley Moulton (Museums Victoria’s Senior Curator South Eastern Aboriginal Collections, First Peoples Department) were pivotal sharing this complex story of a significant leader. It is our pleasure to be hosting its world-premiere at Melbourne Museum.” After exclusively opening in Melbourne, Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition will visit up to 20 international cities and will be viewed by an estimated 2.7 million visitors over five years. This official Mandela exhibition will commemorate, illuminate and most importantly share Nelson Mandela’s living legacy with the world. Tickets went on sale from 18th July via ticketek.com.au. Mandela My Life: The Official Exhibition 22 September 2018 – 3 March 2019 Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street. Carlton, Victoria, 3053 Adult tickets from $22.00 Junior tickets from $17.90 School / group bookings available ticketek.com.au
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IN 2019 THERE WILL BE A UPA ++ GOVERNMENT: SACHIN PILOT BY NEERAJ NANDA
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ELBOURNE, 27 July 2018: Congress leader and Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee boss, Rajesh Pilot is confident the current Modi led NDA government in New Delhi will be replaced by a United Progressive Alliance (UPA) plus allies’ combination. Mr. Pilot was here with Mr. Milind Deora attending a meet and greet event organised by the Indian Overseas Congress, Australia. The two leaders’ visit is being seen as a continuation of the earlier visit by Mr. Sam Pitroda, aimed at revitalising the Congress party amongst the large Indian diaspora in Australia. Replying to a pointed question by SAT, Mr. Pilot said, “The current Modi-led NDA regime is incompetent to rule and we have got a whole policy framework as an alternative; in 2019 there will be a UPA plus plus government. In the last 30 years’ no one in the Gandhi family has occupied the position of a Prime Minister, Chief Minister or a Minister. Don’t think Rahul Gandhi is now looking to occupy the top position. He is building the party, he is taking on the challenge of the BJP, and we don’t know what the future holds.” “But the Congress will lead an opposition alliance and who will occupy what position, time will tell,” he said. Asked by SAT to comment on the lynching incidents in India, Mr Pilot said, “There are laws in the country including on cow slaughter. If anyone violates those laws the due process of law should take its own course. But it cannot be that on mere suspicion you attack and kill people in broad daylight.
Those convicted in lynching are being garlanded by political leaders. This our country cannot afford to have. “ Responding to SAT question as to why the Congress is not launching a nationwide agitation on the lynching issue, Mr. Pilot said, “We have taken it to task. It is not just a Congress issue, but a human issue. As a political party we are opposed to any sort of violence. It’s a law and order issue, the state governments are supposed to look after it. The Congress and its President Mr. Rahul Gandhi has taken up the issue in the Parliament. We have protested against the violent nature of our politics and the people of India are seeing this happening and will give a befitting reply to it in the 2019 elections. There were anti-social elements before also but these elements now have the courage to do these acts. The incumbent government will have to give a big price for it.”
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PENALTIES NECESSARY FOR EFFECTIVE MODERN SLAVERY LAWS: LAW COUNCIL
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inancial penalties should be levied upon entities that fail to report their modern slavery risks under the proposed legislation, the Law Council will tell a parliamentary committee today.
“Victims of modern slavery are often vulnerable and lack support. They can be found in domestic work, hospitality, agriculture, and construction. “The inclusion of an independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner would also be a useful point of contact for all matters relevant to modern slavery in Australia. An independent Commissioner could provide community outreach and education to stakeholders involved in Australia's response to modern slavery, including law enforcement, civil society and the private sector.”
The Law Council has longsupported the establishment of a Modern Slavery Act and welcomed the inclusion of a requirement for certain organisations to report on modern slavery risks in their supply chains. However, the peak body is concerned the Bill does not include: ● penalties for noncompliance with the legislation; ● a proposed revenue threshold for reporting requirements set no higher than $60 million (rather than the proposed $100 million); ● an independent AntiSlavery Commissioner to provide guidance to organisations required to report, conduct outreach and coordinate Australia’s response to modern slavery; and ● access to a national compensation scheme for victims of modern slavery.
Law Council of Australia President, MorryBailes, told the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee inquiry that the absence of financial penalties in the Bill is counterproductive to the mission to eliminate slavery and slavery-like conditions. “There ought to be some guarantee that companies will comply with this legislation and take the steps necessary to stampout modern slavery in their
supply chains. The UK experience with modern slavery legislation has shown the reputational damage companies risk for non-compliance is not enough to encourage reporting,” Mr Bailes said. “The most effective way to ensure compliance is to include penalties that can be levied as a last resort for entities that fail to report.” The Law Council believes a national compensation
scheme would provide an effective remedy for victims of modern slavery and compensation for the harm they have suffered. “There are people living in slavery-like conditions in Australia today. This may include forced labour, wage exploitation, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, human trafficking, forced marriage and other slaverylike exploitation,” Mr Bailes said.
Einstein Kidz Australia awards BY SAT NEWS DESK
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ELBOURNE: Einstein Kidz Australia established in 2014 has 24 centres across NSW and VIC helping hundreds of students in developing their mathematical skills and speed by way of holistic brain integration using Japanese based Abacus, Soroban. The Abacus is a simple tool used for performing rapid arithmetic calculations and now are widely used in brain development programs as it provides a strong foundation for the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using maths learning as fun and removes the maths phobia. The Abacus also develops confidence, sharpens memory and enhances mental visualization skills by improving photographic memory. Mr Manoj Kumar, Mr Kaushal Shrivastav, Mr Neeraj Nanda congratulated the trophy winners during the Annual competition held on 29th July 2018 in the Clayton library meeting hall. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082
The Law Council is urging the Australian Government to amend the Bill or enact other legislation to include these matters or, at the very least, to consider including these matters when the legislation is reviewed in three years. Furthermore, the Law Council hopes that the government will move towards implementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, or UNGPs, in Australia. Source: Medianet, 3 August, 2018.
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AUSTRALIA'S POPULATION REACHES 25 MILLION
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ustralia’s population reached 25 million shortly after 11pm (AEST) on 7 August, 2018, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population clock. ABS Director of Demography, Anthony Grubb, said: “From our average age, to how long people live and where we live, Australia’s population has experienced major changes. 25 MILLION - HOW DID WE GET HERE? “Australia’s population has increased more than sixfold since 1901 when it was 3.8 million.
“By 1918 it had grown to 5 million, it had doubled to 10 million by 1959 and reached 20 million in October 2004. It has been just over 2.5 years since we reached 24 million in January 2016.”
The overall total population increase is estimated to be one person every 1 minute and 23 seconds. Within this there is estimated to be: • one birth every 1 minute and 42 seconds;
• one death every 3 minutes and 16 seconds; • one person arriving to live in Australia every 1 minute and 1 second; and • one Australian resident leaving to live overseas every 1 minute and 51 seconds. It is not possible to identify who the 25 millionth person will be. It could be a newborn baby, a new migrant to Australia, or an Australian citizen returning home after living overseas. WHERE DO WE LIVE?
In 1901, 36 per cent of Australians lived in capital cities and 64 per cent in other urban and rural areas in Australia. In 2017, this has reversed with 67 per cent of us living in capital cities and 33 per cent in other urban and rural areas. What does 25 million look like? The structure of Australia’s population has changed significantly since the turn of the 20th century. The median age in 2017 was 37, compared with 22.5 years in 1901. Australians are also living longer, with almost 4,000 centenarians in 2017. Currently women make up the majority of the population, with 98 males per 100 females. In contrast in 1901, there were 110 males to 100 females.
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How does Australia’s population compare with other countries? The world’s population is approximately 7.6 billion. Populations among some of Australia’s nearest neighbours include Indonesia’s 264 million and New Zealand 4.8 million. Meanwhile, 66 million people live in the UK, 36.7 million in Canada and 328 million live in the US. WHEN WILL AUSTRALIA REACH 26 MILLION? Over the past three years, Australia’s population has grown by around 400,000 people per year. If this trend continues, the country’s
population would be expected to reach 26 million in about three years’ time. FIND OUT MORE Further information is available in Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2017 (cat. no. 3101.0) and Australian Historical Population Statistics, 2014 (cat. no. 3105.0.65.001). For population estimates at the regional level, please see Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2016-17 (cat. no. 3218.0) and Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2016 (cat. no. 3235.0), available for free download from www.abs.gov.au. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 7 August, 2018
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COMMUNITY SURVEY REJECTS GANDHI STATUE IN DENDENONG
COMMUNITY
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BY NEERAJ NANDA
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ELBOURNE, 29 July 2018: A proposal by the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria (FIAV) to install a life size statue of India’s father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi opposite the Dandenong Station and adjacent to the Little India, Foster Street shopshas been shot down in a community consultation survey which closed on 7 June, 2018. According to a reliable source, more than 900 peopleparticipated in the survey commissioned by the Dandenong Council withmore people saying no to the proposal. The survey information and other matters came up recently before a meeting of the Indian Prescient Task Force led by Gabrielle Williams, MP, Dandenong. SAT contacted the Dandenong Council to know about the outcome of the survey and was told by Anya Murraythat the information collected in the survey has been submitted to the Indian Prescient Task Force for a decision and the Council is likely to issue a media statement on the issue in a few weeks in August 2018. FIAV leader and member of the Indian Prescient Task Force,Vasan Srinivasan talking to SAT said, “The Indian Prescient Task Force decided not to have any statue including that of Mathama Gandhi in the area.” “I am not willing to take the proposal to another level, “Mr. Vasan told SAT. Mr. Vasan also said, “We do not need any money for the Gandhi statue but the Dandenong Council needs to take leadership on this issue. Gandhi is more popular than anyone else in India and hence I do not support any other statue there.” Interestingly, three largescale artworks including one on Gandhi were commissioned and completed by the Dandenong Council in Little India, Foster Street to celebrate the Indian and subcontinent flavour of the area. The Council website says,” Melbourne’s south-east region is home to more than 52,000 people of Indian origin. Approximately 12,400 first generation Indian residents currently call the City of Greater Dandenong home.” Only recently the Immigration Museum with the support of the state government hosted an exclusive exhibition ‘Mahatma Gandhi: An Immigrant, an interactive exhibition from 5 April to July 2018. The highlight being the visit of Gandhi’s granddaughter Ela Gandhi, former member of parliament in South Africa. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082
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INDIA’S I-DAY CELEBRATED
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RSF PUBLISHES REPORT ON ONLINE HARASSMENT OF JOURNALISTS
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IN A REPORT PUBLISHED TODAY, ENTITLED “ONLINE HARASSMENT OF JOURNALISTS: THE TROLLS ATTACK”, REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS (RSF) VOICES CONCERN ABOUT THE SCALE OF A NEW THREAT TO PRESS FREEDOM, THE MASS HARASSMENT OF JOURNALISTS ONLINE.
BY NEERAJ NANDA
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he perpetrators may be ordinary “haters” (individuals or communities of individuals hiding behind their screens) or “troll armies” of online mercenaries created by authoritarian regimes. In both cases the goal is the same, to silence journalists whose reporting annoys, often using exceptionally abusive methods. For months, RSF documented these new online attacks and analysed the modus operandi of the press freedom predators, who have been able to exploit the latest technologies to extend their oppressive reach. “Online harassment is a phenomenon that is spreading throughout the world and now constitutes one of the gravest threats to press freedom,” RSF secretarygeneral Christophe Deloire said. “We have discovered that information wars are not just waged between countries at the international level. Journalism’s predators also deploy troll armies to hunt down and harass all those who investigate and report the facts honestly.
These despots let their mercenaries train their guns on journalists on the virtual terrain as others do in actual war zones.” WHAT RSF’S REPORT REVEALS: ● It is hard to establish a direct link between governments and online conspiracies against journalists. RSF has investigated and documented cases of online harassment of journalists in 32 countries, shedding light on hate campaigns orchestrated by authoritarian or oppressive regimes in such countries as China, India, Turkey, Vietnam, Iran and Algeria. ● RSF has analysed the modus operandi of the press freedom predators, who orchestrate their online attacks against journalists in three stages: DISINFORMATION : journalistic content on social networks is drowned in a flood of fake news and pro-government content; AMPLIFICATION : the impact of progovernment content is artificially enhanced by commentators who are paid by the government to post messages on social
networks or by bots, computer programmes that automatically generate posts; INTIMIDATION : journalists are personally targeted, insulted and threatened, in order to discredit them and reduce them to silence. ● These aggressive cyberharassment campaigns are also waged by communities of individuals or political groups in supposedly democratic countries such as Mexico, and even in countries that are ranked at the top of the World Press Freedom Index such as Sweden and Finland. ● The consequences are often dramatic: many of the cyberharassment victims RSF spoke to said they had ended up censoring themselves in response to the torrents of online abuse, the scale of which they had never imagined possible ● Women journalists are affected the most by cyberharassment. Two thirds of women journalists have been the victims of harassment and, in 25% of the cases, the harassment occurred online.
● In India, for instance, freelance journalist Rana Ayyub is attacked online by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trolls, called Yoddhas, who target her because of her investigative reporting on Modi’s rise to power. “I’ve been called Jihadi Jane, Islamo fascist [and] ISIS sex slave,” she said. “My face has been superimposed on a naked body and my mother’s photograph has been taken from my Instagram account and photoshopped in the most objectionable manner possible.” ● Mexican investigative journalists such as Alberto Escorcia are also targeted by trolls. He was threatened after shedding light on how “dormant” online accounts are used to influence election campaigns, as in Mexico’s recent elections for president, deputies, senators and governors. ● In the Philippines, Maria Ressa was attacked by trolls while the news website she edits, Rappler, was the target of judicial harassment. Philippine journalists who, like her, cover the government in a critical manner have been constantly targeted since Rodrigo Duterte’s election
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as president in 2016. ● In France, two men were given six-month suspended prison sentences and fined 2,000 euros at the start of July for threatening radio reporter Nadia Daam online. A third man, who had threatened her after the trial, was then also given a six-month suspended prison sentence. ● Companies such as Devumi that specialize in selling fake social media accounts have a direct responsibility in the amplification of these online threats. Large-scale harassment of journalists has never been so easy and so inexpensive. ● In response to these findings, RSF has formulated 25 recommendations for governments, the international community, online platforms, media outlets and advertisers with the aim of addressing these new digital threats. RSF’s report also includes a tutorial entitled “Journalists – how to deal with troll armies” that reminds journalists about the digital security practices they should adopt. Source: Reporters Without Borders, July 25, 2018.
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LEARNING ABOUT SAREES THROUGH A POEM
BY ASHOK KUMAR
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YDNEY, 5 August: How many types of sarees (Indian wrap around) are there? This fact is told not by a fashion designer but a poet. Mrs. RekhaDwivedi, a noted poetess from India, through her poem revealed about different types of sarees and different ways it could be used in a poetry session, organised by the Consulate of India in Sydney and Indian Literary and Arts Society of Australia (ILASA) on Friday last. Altogether 13 poets from Sydney, Melbourne and India participated in the KaviGoshthi (poetry session) after observing a minute’s silence for a local poet and singer Riaz Shah who had passed away just a day before. The 13
poets who recited their poems on various topics include, Manish Rana, Jasbir Ahluwalia, Jyotsna Talwar, Prageet& Bhawna Kunwar, Vijay Kumar Singh, HariharJha, Dr Rekha Dwivedi, Anil Sharma, Dr Prabhat Sinha, Kuldeep Josal, Anu Shivaram, and Rekha Rajvanshi. Whereas the poets touched upon various aspects of life and relationships, Dr.Prabhat Sinha stood out invoking patriotism fervour among the audience. He recited about the happenings in Kashmir and the anger was implicit in his words. KuldeepJoshal narrated a hilarious incident during a Ramlila performance when the main actor fell sick and a Sikh replaced him. He was to deliver his lines when he forgot the lines and
said Sat sriakal instead of pranam and actor who was playing Sita was also a Sikh, replied ‘Waheguru jikakhalsa Waheguru jikifateh,’ sending audience into peals of laughter. Kuldeep admitted later that he was quoting another poet Hari Singh Dilbar. Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia trying to overcome the shock of Riaz Shah’s demise shared a few lines from his play “Faasle” that were rendered by Riaz, “Sache pyaar ke sahare jee lenge, zindagike gam pee lenge, faasledilan de mitaadein to phirussrabb to kilavange.” HariharJha from Melbourne was unsure whether to recite philosophical poem or on comedy and decided on comedy poem on wife and husband ‘take care’
dialogue when leaving for parents house (maika). Anil Sharma from Agra recited about women and stubbornness (Zid). In life woman undergoes so much of hardships and successes. A Woman gets and should get the credit for everything. RekhaRajvanshi recited four liners poetry and a ghazal to conclude the event. It was an enjoyable evening with HarmohanWalia clicking away poignant moods of the audience. RekhaRajvanshi thanked Consul S. K. Verma for taking initiative to organise the event and distributed certificates of appreciation to the poets. She also thanked the Consulate staff for their support and snacks Source: The Indian Subcontinent Times, Sydney
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Whereas the poets touched upon various aspects of life and relationships, Dr.Prabhat Sinha stood out invoking patriotism fervour among the audience.
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INDIAN WORKERS ON STARVATION WAGE
BY ALL ACCEPTED STANDARDS, THE OFFICIAL MINIMUM WAGES IN STATES ARE JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP THE WORKER ALIVE. WHAT THEY ACTUALLY GET IS EVEN LESS. BY SUBODH VARMA
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inimum wages of industrial workers in India are less than half of what a justifiable calculation – based on minimum calorific intake and the barest minimum of other expenses – suggests. While the central govt. using a well-accepted standard formula provides Rs. 18,000 per month to its lowest rung unskilled worker, their counterparts in private industry are officially supposed to get anything between Rs.6000 to Rs. 10,000 monthly. Out of 21 major states with significant industrial employment, 17 states officially fix minimum wages at less than half of the central govt.’s lowest wage. Labour is a concurrent subject in India and hence state govts. have the right to fix wages. This is of course, only part of the story. In reality, most workers do not even get the prescribed minimum wages. They are given anything between 50% to 75% of the statutory levels. Since enforcement machinery – labour departments with their inspectors and courts – have been hollowed out over the years, there is no enforcement and flagrant violation. HOW MUCH WAGE DOES A WORKER NEED? Way back in 1948, British nutritionist Wallace R. Ayckroyd defined the food requirement for an Indian worker doing moderate activity as a minimum of 2700 kCal per day, including 65 g of protein and 45-60 g of fat. Nine years later, at the 15thIndian Labour Conference (ILC), this was accepted as the basis for calculating the minimum wage needed to sustain a worker and his family. The ILC laid down that retail prices of a mix of various food types (pulses, cereal, vegetables, oil/fat etc.) should be collected to arrive at quantities and costs of food for a worker. In addition, 18 yards of cloth (with washing costs), 7.5%
of the cost so reached for housing rent and 20% for fuel, lighting etc. should be added. Since the worker will also have to sustain his family, it was posited that a standard family would be the worker, his wife and two preadolescent children. This would be seen as equivalent of three units (worker – 1 unit; wife – 0.8 unit; and two children – 0.6 units each). So, the cost of food, clothing etc. is multiplied by 3 to get what was named ‘minimum wage’. All this calculation is succinctly explained in the 7th Pay Commission Report (pp 60). One obvious omission from this calculation was that education, recreation and such other spending of the hapless worker’s family were totally ignored. It took another 33 years before the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement delivered in 1991 in Reptakos Brett Vs Workmen, ordered that another 25% of the total should be added to cover these omitted costs. Henceforth this became the basis of minimum wage fixation. In 2016, the Seventh Pay Commission (a statutory
body set up every four years to revise salaries of the central govt. employees) brought out its report. It went through the exercise of recalculating the lowest salary applicable for the bottom rung of govt. employees. The rest of the salary structure is built up from this base. And, the formula it used was the one described above -0 15thILC recommendations and the apex court’s judgement in Reptakos Brett. What was the outcome? It recommended that Rs. 18,000 is the bare minimum that should be paid to the lowest rung of employees, unskilled workers. Actually,
the sum was working out to more than that but the Commission adjusted for already fixed allowances for education etc. and fixed it at Rs. 18,000. Note that there are still glaring loopholes in this calculation, persisting from the 15thILC itself. For instance, no account is taken of aged parents of the worker, who will be staying with the young family. Also, the counting of women as 0.8 unit is unjust and discriminatory. But still that’s the standard. HOW DO WORKERS COPE? It is difficult to imagine the lived reality of lives of industrial workers who
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are surviving on wages as low as Rs.6000 or 7000 in modern 21stcentury India. For one, most workers try to work ‘overtime’ – extra hours – provided their employer needs more work. The average worker may be working as many as 10-12 hours per day. Legally, the extra hours should fetch the worker double the hourly wage. But nobody pays that much. It is ‘single’ overtime rate, that is pro rata. But the cash starved worker bargains away his life, his health, his well-being, working those extra hours. Secondly, the family cuts down on food expenses, foregoing expensive items like meat and eggs and milk and fruits. They save money by living in shanties without drainage or sanitation. They avoid expensive schools and almost never educate children beyond schooling. They take recourse to quacks and indigenous ‘cures’ to save on medical expenses, unless faced with some catastrophic illness. They become indebted. And so, they somehow manage to live. Over the years, workers have been demanding higher wages. But under neo-liberal regimes, like the one in India, there is no sympathy for the workers’ welfare. In fact, real wages have stagnated or declined, as inflation robs the workers. Mounting joblessness keeps wages depressed as insecurity over jobs rules the hearts of all those employed. Yet, the fight for better conditions is gathering momentum. There have been two massive industrial strikes (in 2015 and 2016) and a giant sit-in at Delhi last November. Now, trade unions have called for a courting-arrest programme on 9 August followed by a historic rally at Delhi on 5 September this year, jointly with farmers’ organisations. The anti-worker Modi govt. is facing a desperate working class, angry and ready for a fight. Courtesy: Newsclick.in, August 6, 2018.
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IMRAN KHAN HOPES TO TRANSFORM PAKISTAN BUT HE’LL HAVE FAR LESS POWER THAN PAST LEADERS
BY ADNAN RASOOL*
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akistan’s July 25 election, which brought the former cricket star Imran Khan into power as prime minister, was a landmark event. It marked the second consecutive peaceful handover of power from one democratically elected government to another in a country where coups are commonplace. Despite allegations that the Pakistani armed forces rigged the election to benefit Khan, most opposition parties have now accepted his win. The 66-year-old, onetime world-famous athlete founded his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party in 1996 after his retirement from cricket. Khan will take power in midAugust after two decades as a parliamentarian and university chancellor with the highest political ambitions. Khan now confronts the daunting challenge of governing a fractious nuclear power of 220 million people with 39 percent poverty, chronic violence along its border with Afghanistan and a hulking national deficit. And he must do so under severe budget constraints and new constitutional restrictions on the power of the prime minister’s office. In my analysis as a scholar of Pakistani democracy, Khan will take office as one of the weakest prime ministers in decades. A RETURN TO FEDERALISM Khan ran as a populist and promised to change life for Pakistanis, in particular his main constituency, Pakistan’s struggling urban middle class. He pledged to come down hard on rampant government corruption, create 10 million jobs in five years and bring back billions of dollars in remittances from migrants working overseas. The economy could certainly use the boost. Currently, the government is awaiting an International Monetary Fund loan of
up to US$18 billion – its twelfth bailout in 30 years. Pakistan has long struggled with an unstable currency, insufficient tax collection and misuse of government funds. Beyond ongoing financial constraints, Khan will likely struggle to advance his ambitious agenda due to a new system of power distribution in Pakistan that prioritizes local governments. Like the United States or Canada, Pakistan has a federal government system. Its 1973 Constitution gave Pakistan’s four provinces significant autonomy to run their own affairs, while the federal government manages national issues like foreign affairs, defense and international commerce. But a series of military coups, dictatorships and martial law have centralized power at the federal level. For decades, Pakistan’s national leaders have exerted almost unchecked power over education, health care, agriculture and other important policy areas. Seeking to enhance democracy in Pakistan by giving citizens more local control over the policies that affect their daily lives, Pakistan’s Parliament in 2010 amended the Constitution to devolve greater power to Pakistan’s four provinces. The 18th amendment gave provincial governments control over climate change policy, social welfare, education, health care, agriculture
and youth education and development. Their new duties came with a bigger provincial budget allocation. Today, the federal government controls only 48 percent of Pakistan’s national budget. KHAN’S FINANCIAL CONUNDRUM That leaves Khan, the first prime minister elected since the 18th amendment went into effect in 2015, in a serious financial pinch. Debt service to Pakistan’s international lenders already occupies roughly 30 percent of the federal budget. Military and defense cost 20 percent. And roughly 12 percent goes to running Pakistan’s 21 national ministries and other federal agencies, leaving little discretionary money for social programs. Now, Khan must fund his ambitious promises – better health care, education and jobs – with half as much money as his predecessors. Perhaps more importantly, he lacks the political jurisdiction to control policy in these issue areas. As a result, the prime minister-elect will have to rely on Pakistan’s four provincial governments to help him implement his ambitious electoral agenda. COLLABORATING WITH THE PROVINCES That will be easy in the province of Kyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is run by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf, or Pakistan Justice
Movement. There, his party is credited with improving law and order, health and education over the past five years, and it held onto the provincial chief minister and governor posts in July’s election. But two of Pakistan’s four provinces, Balochistan and Sindh, are controlled by opposition parties. The BalochistanAwami Party was created in 2017 by military-backed defectors from the former ruling party of Pakistan, the Pakistan Muslim League. Balochistan’s leadership has no loyalty to Khan. Since the Pakistani armed forces back both Khan and the BalochistanAwami Party, however, their defense agendas may well line up. Balochistan shares a border with Afghanistan and Iran. Khan has no common ground with the left-wing Pakistan People’s Party, which runs the second most populous province, Sindh. Founded by a prominent Pakistani politician, the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, in 1967, the party currently faces multiple corruption investigations. Supporters say the charges were engineered by Pakistani military intelligence to hurt the Pakistan People’s Party’s chances in July’s general election. Party leadership has so far refused to work with the prime ministerelect to help him form a governing coalition.
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The biggest challenge Khan faces in running Pakistan will likely be the province of Punjab. Its capital, Lahore, is an economic and cultural heavyweight in Pakistan, and Punjab is home to 55 percent of the country’s population. Khan’s party did moderately well in Punjab this election, but did not win enough votes to form a provincial government. As a result, Khan’s Pakistan Justice Movement is now working to create a governing coalition there. The alliance his party is cobbling together consists of some two dozen political independents and defectors from other parties, many of whom have frequently changed political parties. It remains to be seen whether these former competitors and frequent party-hoppers can work well enough together to run Pakistan’s most populous, powerful and prosperous province. Their loyalty to Khan and his agenda is also untested. PAKISTAN’S FRAGILE DEMOCRACY Despite these obstacles to governance, Khan campaigned as someone who believed he would have full executive power to change Pakistan’s future. It is possible that the prime minister-elect does not yet understand how the 18th amendment has curtailed his role. Once he does, federalism in Pakistan may be endangered. One of the country’s most influential political analysts, NajamSethi, believes that Khan will seek to repeal of the 18th amendment when he realizes that he now shares a budget with four provincial governments. That would be a step back for Pakistan as it seeks to create a government by and for the people after seven decades of fitful democracy. * Ph.D. Candidate/ Student Innovation Fellow, Georgia State University Source: The Conversation. (Under Creative Commence licence), July 31, 2018.
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ECONOMIC ISSUES AT THE ROOT OF TURMOIL IN BANGLADESH BY P. K. BALACHANDARAN
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OLOMBO: Peace has returned to Bangladesh after ten days of a student agitation which was brutally quelled by the police and club wielding thugs of the ruling Awami League. But the issues underlying the stir remain and might re-surface in other forms as the country heads towards parliamentary elections likely to be held between October 31 and December 31, this year. And the roots of the trouble could be traced to economic issues. Bangladesh has been experiencing an impressive 7.5 % GDP growth, but the growth has benefited only the rich. It has not given the expected returns to the upwardly mobile middle classes in the urban and rural areas. The recent agitation was but a manifestation of a
deeper malaise, namely, growing frustration among the middle classes which are facing economic difficulties. Poor investment in the public services, income-less or job-less economic growth, and widening disparities between the rich and the middle classes are worrying the urban middle class and the upwardly mobile rural middle class, says political commentator Afsan Chowdhury. Remittances from abroad, coupled with expanding educational facilities and growth in agricultural production, have stirred ambitions among rural youth which are crying for attention, Chowdhury adds. The death of students Dia and Rajib could not be described merely as a “road accident.” It was the result of the unbridled and unplanned growth of the transport sector and the neglect of the country’s
roads, both reflecting unconcern for the welfare of the common man, opines economist Hossain Zillur Rahman in an article in The Daily Star. “We have endured the road anarchy, sometimes in anger, but mostly in silence. Our concerns and agonies have mattered little to those who matter,” Rahman says. POLITICIZATION OF EVERY ISSUE The other issue is the instant politicization of the agitation. While taking stringent measures to curb reckless driving, the Sheikh Hasina government accused the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of fuelling the riots by sending in young men with bags full of stones to throw at the police in order to invite retaliation and gain world attention. The government accused renowned photographer
cum rights activist, ShahidulAlam, of using Al Jazeera to spread panic by spreading “rumors”. He was arrested and allegedly tortured also. There were allegations of foreign and foreign funded NGOs backing the agitation to destabilize the country and bring about regime change. Rumors about the government’s wanting to postpone the parliamentary elections using the unrest as an excuse were floated by the Western media. The West and its media are none too happy with the Hasina government’s increasing acceptance of Chinese investment in strategically important mega infrastructural projects. ROUTINIZING REPRESSION But government also has been intolerant towards the opposition. Repression appears to have become routine under the Awami
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League regime. According to Al Jazeera, since February this year, over 3,000 members of the opposition BNP have been put behind bars. The BNP alleges that over 500 of its supporters have been killed and nearly 750 "abducted" by the police and thrown into jail since 2014. The party claims around 150 of its missing workers have either been killed in extrajudicial encounters or have been forced to disappear. The German think-tank Bertelsmann Foundation released a report that said that Bangladesh is now under autocratic rule. Bangladesh has been put in a list of 13 countries "where the political situation has become significantly worse." The Bangladesh rights group Ain o Salish Kendra alleges that 519 people have “disappeared” since 2010, while over 300 people are still missing. Contd. on pg 23
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ECONOMIC ISSUES AT THE ROOT OF TURMOIL... Contd. from pg 22 However, observers of Bangladesh point out that repression of opponents is not peculiar to the Awami League or to Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina, but characterizes all regimes irrespective of the party involved.
ECONOMIC ISSUES Street unrest has a deeper economic cause, irrespective of the issue which may have triggered it, says Afasan Chowdhury. And the Dhaka-based think tank, Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), has a report which identifies the politically relevant economic issues. Analyzing the state of the Bangladesh economy in the fiscal year 20172018, the CPD says that accelerated GDP growth (7.5%) has not been translated into desired outcomes. Employment elasticity of growth has declined significantly. Moreover, employment has not led to adequate income for decent living. Thus, benefits of high growth have not reached all citizens of the country equally, the CPD observes. Dr.Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of CPD, told the
media recently that female workers and rural workers are facing a decline in their real monthly income while the unemployment rate among the youth with higher education is increasing. According to a CPD report, more than a third of the total youth labor force with higher education remains unemployed. Bhattacharya said that the banking sector is plagued by financial scams, non-performing loans, inefficiency, and slack monitoring and supervision. Money laundering happens through banking sector, the unstable capital market and high import payments, he pointed out. The budget for Financial Year 2019 should raise the tax-free income ceiling to Tk 3 lakhs (US$ 3530) to give respite to the lower middle income households, he said. The CPD report recommended reducing the personal income tax rate for the first slab to 7.5 per cent from the prevailing rate of 10 per cent. Bangladesh’s fiscal framework continues to be weak with a mismatch between targets and actual accomplishments. Revenue mobilization for
the Financial Year 2018 has lagged behind the target. The external sector has come under pressure in the face of high import payments, which had resulted in a large current account deficit. Inflationary pressure has been building gradually in recent months, mainly due to higher food inflation. This may lead to income erosion of the poor. The capital market has been volatile with very few new investments, the CPD report points out. RECIPE FOR BALANCED GROWTH The CPD has recommended certain urgent measures to ensure balanced growth. It has sought: (i) consolidation of macroeconomic stability; (ii) reduction of inequality in terms of consumption, income and asset; and (iii) creation of decent jobs. The report further says: “While the importance of higher economic growth cannot be over stated, the emphasis should be more on how to distribute the benefits of growth across regions and marginalized communities.” “There is a need for a detailed and realistic revenue collection plan. Such a plan should include
broadening tax base, curtailment of tax evasion and tax avoidance, and checking illicit financial flows from the country.” “The issue of over capitalization of projects, particularly the large ones, is also necessary to save resources. Allocations for the social sectors should not be compromised while emphasizing physical infrastructure.” Given the rising inequality in the rural areas and high food inflation, the CPD reiterates the need for guidelines to ensure food security and an structure for farmers. It also calls for labourintensive, domestic market-oriented and local resource-based manufacturing and agrobased industry for the sake of creating more decent jobs with decent incomes. Given the weaknesses in the external sector in terms of remittances and exports, the recommended polices become very pertinent in the context of the coming elections, CPD report says. DEMOCRACY VS ECONOMIC ISSUES Commentator Afsan Chowdhury says that issues relating to
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While the importance of higher economic growth cannot be over stated, the emphasis should be more on how to distribute the benefits of growth across regions and marginalized communities. democracy are typically the concern of the urban intelligentsia and the Western-oriented folk. The urban and rural hoi polloi,who form the bulk of the Bangladeshi electorate, are guided more by their economic concerns, he claims. Hence the importance of economic issues for the coming elections, he adds. Source: The Citizen, 13 August, 2018.
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RISE IN US BORDER ARRESTS OF INDIANS: DETAINEES SEEKING ASYLUM "CITE" POLITICO-RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN INDIA BY RAJIV SHAH
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n explosive report by the US newspaper “Los Angeles Times” (LAT) has revealed, quoting Federal Bureau of Prisons figures, that of the 680 migrants detained in early August at the federal prison in Victorville, California, a state in south-western US, a whopping 380 were Indian nationals. LAT adds, about 40% of the detainees at Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Imperial Valley facility, also in California, are Indians, and nearly 20% of detainees at ICE Adelanto processing centre, again in California, too, are Indians. Visiting the Victorville prison, says the report, US Representative Mark Takano was also surprised to find that, of hundreds of immigrants detained there, possibly 40% had traveled from India seeking asylum. “From fiscal years 2012 to 2017, about 42% of asylum cases from India were rejected, clearinghouse records show”, says the report, adding, “Asylum seekers are not being granted asylum as easily as they were before.” “So far during the 2018 fiscal year, 4,197 of those arrested by Border Patrol agents have been Indian nationals, according to data from Syracuse University's Transactional Records
Number of Indian nationals arrested by US border patrol Access Clearinghouse”, the report states. Sarah Parvini, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, reporting this, believes, increase in the number of Indian migrant detainees is the direct result of “an increase in recent years of Indian nationals crossing into the US through Mexico”, though adding, as of today, they represent “a small percentage of those detained overall.” “Not all of the men spoke English”, report says, adding, Takano was told that they “were supporters of two different political parties and had been persecuted by India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party.” Takano quoted the Indian detainess as saying “they were often bullied into doing things that were immoral… They would have to carry drugs, perpetrate violence against others.” “Detainees from India have cited an increase
in political and religious persecution as their reasons for seeking asylum,” the report says, quoting Sukhwinder (full name not used “for fear of retribution”), an immigrant from Punjab, as an example. Twenty-year-old, who had spent two months inside the Imperial Valley centre, Sukhwinder tells LAT that he “fled India after being attacked late last year by a group of men who stepped out of their car and asked him why he hadn’t joined the BJP, the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government. When he told them he did not support their cause, they pummeled him with hockey sticks and threatened to kill him the next time they crossed paths.” “Fearing for his life”, continues the report, “Sukhwinder’s parents sold gold and part of their wheat farm to get him a visa and a
The buffer zone in the 3,144.66 km-long US-Mexico border ticket to Mexico – in hopes that he could seek asylum in the US. At the end of a fiveday journey from Mexico City, he and a handful of other Indian nationals jumped the border wall in Baja California and were arrested by authorities on the US side near Calexico.” LAT report asserts, “After the first assault by supporters of the governing Hindu nationalist party, Sukhwinder said, police threatened to bring up a false charge against him if he spoke out against that party again”, a treatment noted by a 2018 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, which said, “Mob attacks by extremist Hindu groups affiliated with the ruling BJP against minority communities, especially Muslims, continued throughout the year amid rumors that they sold, bought, or killed cows for beef.” “Instead of taking prompt legal action against the
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US Representative Mark Takano was also surprised to find that, of hundreds of immigrants detained there, possibly 40% had traveled from India seeking asylum. attackers, police frequently filed complaints against the victims under laws banning cow slaughter”, added HRW. Source: Counterview, 15 August, 2018.
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WHY DOES THE INDIAN SOCIETY LET MEN GET AWAY WITH CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN?
A STUDENT RECOUNTS AN INCIDENT IN HER COLLEGE AND HOW THE PERPETRATOR WENT SCOT FREE WHILE THE SURVIVOR KEPT MUM FOR FEAR OF BACKLASH. BY NEHA GADRE
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recently came to know that my friend, who is in her first year of college was harassed by a man in full public view of the campus. He complimented her, held her hand and asked her to come with him in front of an entire crowd. When the girl opposed, the guy reminded her that everyone was watching them and if she didn’t comply, he would do something that would embarrass her. With no choice left, the girl had to agree and was taken to an empty classroom just for a “little chat”. There, the guy tried to kiss her, which left the girl completely shocked. He threatened to cut himself right there if she didn’t listen to him. As if this was not enough, he later tried to explain himself by saying that he had seen the girl talk to other guys all the time, so he thought she would be open to his overtures also! The girl did not speak to anyone about this incident for a long time, thinking “log kyakahenge” but the guy without the slightest remorse forgot about the incident as if he had done nothing wrong. The question that arises here is that why do men feel it is okay to disrespect women and feel entitled to their bodies and consent? The answer lies in what is shown and celebrated by different forms of media. A man is openly allowed to flaunt his misdeeds of mistreating or using women in public, but whenever a woman tries to voice her opinions, she is either suppressed or judged by the
society for what she said. Recently, in Sanjay Dutt’s biopic ‘Sanju’, it was said that he slept with more than 300 women in his life and the public watching this film hooted and hailed the man as a “hero”. No one ever thought that he was conning women to sleep with him. Even in the real world, rapists or molesters are able to walk away scot-free after the incident has died down, but the women who fell prey to such men have to suffer for the rest of their lives. A few weeks back, the Bombay High Court set an acid attack culprit free since he agreed to help the victim for the surgery and marry
her later. What they forgot was that he attacked her when the college romance went awry. The girl did not wish to marry the man back then but had to comply eight years later as she didn’t think she had another choice. It is sad that most men don’t think that their advances toward women were unwanted or inappropriate, but what is worse is that women are expected to listen to such men in order to avoid being judged by the society. This is exactly why a recent global survey concluded that India is the most unsafe country in the world for
women. Since childhood, knowingly or unknowingly girls are taught to comply, be submissive in front of men and always remember that the elders(men) in the family are always right. Even in most of the modern households, it is still a sin for a girl to not listen to her father and argue with him. The patriarch of the house always has the final say and nobody is allowed to counter it no matter what. Sadly, this is just the beginning. As the girl grows up, the family starts looking for a suitable boy for the girl to get married to. As soon as the parents think
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it is the right time, the girl is married off to a stranger and is expected to adjust to his house for the rest of her life. If she is lucky enough, her new family allows her to work, but not at the cost of the well being of her family. She has to take care of her husband’s needs, look after the family, serve her in-laws well and even bear children while struggling to balance work. If she fails in any of this, she is labelled as an incompetent wife or daughter in law and humiliated for the same. If the girl tries to retaliate, she is made to think about “log kyakahenge” and she is forced to comply again. Some men even go to the extent of publicly shaming women for non-compliance using techniques like acid attacks, sexual crimes or even triple talaq. No matter what, a girl at some point in her life is forced to comply and listen to men under the pretext of societal pressure and by the fear of being labelled. This will only end when we stand up for each other and more importantly stand up for what is right instead of merely shielding our faces from the heat and saying that it happens with everyone. Women need not be apologetic for what they have not done, must learn to say NO, and we as a society must accept and respect their decisions instead of challenging them. *The author is an undergraduate student of Psychology at Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce. (SavitribaiPhule Pune University.) Source: Sabrang, 1 August, 2018.
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FOCUS
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NEW INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION TACKLES ‘FAKE SCIENCE’ AND ITS POISONOUS EFFECTS BY SCILLA ALECCI
N
ew international investigation tackles ‘fake science’ and its poisonous effects Hundreds of thousands of scientists worldwide have published studies in selfdescribed scientific journals that don’t provide traditional checks for accuracy and quality, according to a new journalistic investigation. Dozens of reporters from media outlets in Europe, Asia and the United States have analysed 175,000 scientific articles published by five of the world’s largest pseudo-scientific platforms including Indiabased Omics Publishing Group and the Turkey-based World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, or Waset. In addition to failing to perform peer or editorial committee reviews of articles, the companies charge to publish articles, accept papers by employees of pharmaceutical and other companies as well as by climate-change skeptics promoting questionable theories. Some of those publishers send targeted emails to scientists who are under
pressure to publish as many articles as possible in order to obtain promotions and improve their curriculum, according to the findings by NorddeutscherRundfunk (NDR), WDR and SüddeutscheZeitung. In addition to the German outlets, a group of more than a dozen media organizations including the New Yorker, Le Monde, the Indian Express and the Korean outlet Newstapa took part in the investigation. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists facilitated the collaboration. Although the existence of these internet-based pseudoscientific journals is not new and has been warned against by universities and research institutions, its recent rapid growth — with the number of publications put out by the top publishers tripling since 2013 and involving some 400,000 scientists – set off alarms among former Nobel Prize winners. The credibility of science is at stake, said U.S. physician Ferid Murad, the 1998 winner of the prize in physiology or medicine. Randy Schekman, a U.S. cell biologist who was among the 2013 winners of the Nobel prize, said that he was
horrified that scientists were publishing in such journals. “This kind of thing has to be stopped,” said Robert Huber of Munich, who was awarded the prize in 1988. “If there is a system behind it, and there are people who aren’t just duped by it but who take advantage of it, then it has to be shut down,” said Stefan Hell, a Nobel laureate in chemistry. Those journals contribute to the production and dissemination of “fake science” by failing to uphold basic standards of quality control, the report said. In Germany alone, more than 5,000 scientists — including those supported by public funding — have published their articles in such predatory journals, which have been increasing for the past five years. While those journals’ publishers claimed that a panel of scientists is in charge of verifying the accuracy of the papers, the investigation showed that articles are published within a few days of submission without any vetting process. In one case, an article in the Journal of Integrative Oncology stated that a clinical study had shown the extract of propolis, a
secretion that bees use to glue hives together, was more effective than chemotherapy in treating colorectal cancer. The study was fake and the authors were affiliated with a research center that doesn’t exist, Le Monde reported. After the journalists questioned the journal about those findings, the article was deleted but an archived version is still available online. Omics, which published the journal in question, claims to have published over 1 million articles and is currently being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for alleged fraudulent claims, according to the Indian Express. A spokesman has denied any wrongdoing and defended the integrity of its publications. Reporters from the media outlets involved in the investigation successfully published numerous nonscientific papers with the publishers whose practices they were examining and also participated in several of their conferences. Source: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), July 20, 2018.
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Dozens of reporters from media outlets in Europe, Asia and the United States have analysed 175,000 scientific articles published by five of the world’s largest pseudo-scientific platforms including India-based Omics Publishing Group and the Turkey-based World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, or Waset.
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south asia 28 South Asia Timestimes
FINANCE
A U G U S T
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MARRIED WOMEN & RISKS IN RISK INSURANCE BY BALKI BALAKRISHNAN
I
n the previous articles in this newspaper we learned the importance of personal risk insurance covers such as Life & Terminal Illness, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD), Trauma and Income Protection covers. If you have read the previous articles in this newspaper you would have known the importance of personal risk insurance covers such as Life & Terminal Illness, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD), Trauma and Income Protection. In this article, we will be looking at why married women should protect their interest while seeking personal risk insurance advice and how they go about doing it. Death of a spouse by itself is a catastrophic event. While nothing can compensate for this the last thing a wife want to happen is the financial stress to her and her children. A married couple can also be separated leading to divorce. Statistics reveal that up to 33% of all Australian marriages are expected to end in divorce [1]. People are also divorcing at older ages [1] thus placing more financial stress. Though it might be impossible to say the reasons that contributed to the separation, it may be possible to offer a few reasons for these separations. The major situational reasons are illness to one of the partners, job changes, child birth, living apart, going through traumatic events together, becoming emptynesters etc. Nearly 4.7% of the divorces in Australia are due to physical or mental health issues to one of the
partners [2]. Though this statistics is not as alarming as the 27% divorce rate due to communication problems [2], there is a woman behind this statistic whose life and her children may be ruined because she doesn’t have a properly scripted personal risk insurance. What does the death of the spouse and the separation had to do with insurance for a woman? We will explore this further in article. In a typical household the major bread winners are always men. It is true that women’s participation rate in the labour force is steadily increasing. However, statistics reveal that where the father is employed full time, roughly 64% of the mothers are employed parttime, unemployed or not in the labour force [3]. What these statistics disclose is that a typical Australian family is highly dependent on the male bread winner for their finances and the earning capacity of females are limited. A good
personal risk insurance advice will contain a methodology to determine the financial outcomes if the insured event occurs. For example, the financial advisor will propose the insurance cover amount for the husband. The death benefit will paid to the wife as a lump sum fully or partly when he passes away. The purpose of this lump sum is to pay the incidental expenses such as funeral & any emergency expenses and pay off fully or partially the family debts. The remainder of the lump sum is then used to invest to derive an income to compensate for the lost income such that the family can maintain their life style and also the woman can save enough to fund their retirement phase. There is no real issue here. It becomes a bit tricky when it comes to temporary or permanent disability for a married woman. Though statistics in Australia are hard to come by, a study from Iowa State University has found that divorce rates were 6% higher
among relationships in which wives had a critical illness such as cancer, heart condition etc. [4]. Most of the time when a financial advisor determines the cover amounts at the initial stages of discussion they treat the family as a single unit for determining the cover amount. What this means is that the income of the husband is factored in to the family cash flow calculations if the wife is temporarily or permanently disabled such that she can’t earn an income if at all she was earning an income. This would work out fine if the couple do not separate and continue to live together after the wife is disabled temporarily or permanently. However, considering the fact that 33% of marriages end in divorce, and one of the cause of separation is illness in the family and more so if it is the wife who is ill or injured, and male is the dominant bread winner there is a danger that a woman is underinsured for temporary or permanent disability conditions. If a separation occurs later it will have a catastrophic effect on finances for the woman and her children because she
is underinsured. Having not worked or have worked parttime in low skill level jobs it will be that much harder for a woman to get back in to workforce that would bring sufficient income. It will be nearly impossible if she is disabled. So what should a woman do to protect her interests in the long term? First and foremost she should actively participate in the discussion with the financial advisor, understand the financial outcomes when an insured event such as death or disability occurs to her or her spouse. She should make sure that when she is afflicted by a disability due to illness or injury she could manage her and her children’s life style without difficulty one her own. Since her husband’s income is not included in the calculations, this standalone approach will provide adequate cover for the wife when she is afflicted by a disability. However, such a standalone approach will also lead to higher premium for both the husband and wife because both of them will have to be insured for higher cover amount. The woman with her spouse and the financial advisor should make her choice and select the best option balancing the cost and the financial risk the husband and wife are prepared to take. Be wise, Be Prepared, Be Safe! [1] Source: http://www.abs. gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/26D 94B4C9A4769E6CA25732C00207 644?opendocument#DIVORCE [2] Source: http://www. couplecounselling.com.au/whatbreaks-us-up/ [3] Source: http://www.abs. gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/2f76 2f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/ c8647f1dd5f36f42ca2570eb00835 397!OpenDocument [4] https://abcnews.go.com/ Health/life-events-lead-divorce/ story?id=29960726
OPES FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS PTY LTD TRADING AS OPES FINANCIAL PLANNING ACN618 122 795 IS AN AUTHORISED REPRESENTATIVE OF MERIT WEALTH PTY LTD AFSL 409361. BALKI BALAKRISHNAN
Director | Financial Advisor Authorised Representative Number: 409415 Merit Wealth Pty Ltd. AFSL No: 409361 M: 0419 506 560
This article contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information. Please contact us at 0419 506 560 if you want more information or need to review your insurance covers.
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A U G U S T
MUSINGS
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southSouth asia times 29 Asia Times
MOBOCRACY OR TOTAL ANARCHY BY RASHID SULTAN
T
here was a time, long, long ago, in the medieval ages, when we were lynching and burning mainly women, under the pretence that they were witches, adulteresses and sorceresses. Thanks to Renaissance, we abolished this dastardly act, just like thuggery and sati. But, keeping the adage true, history is repeating itself, as it always does. In the 21st century we have revived this practice,along with our all-out efforts to glorify and reinvigorate our 3000 years- old ancient civilisation (remember Narendra Modi lecturing us on cosmetic surgery of Lord Ganesh and the explanation of the birth of Karan of the Mahabharata fame to the stem cellexpertise, we used to have in those days?). Yes, we are talking about lynchings, in whole sale,like supermarket ‘specials’these days. You don’t have to go far. Let’s have a look at some data collected and analysed by Indiaspend. COW-RELATED INCIDENTS: 2010 - 2 cases 2013 - 2 cases 2014 to 2018 84 cases; 33 killed; 56%Muslims and 11%Dalits REST OF DATA IS NOT AVAILABLE. PLEASE EMPLOY YOUR IMAGINATION. Recently, Love Jihad and Child Lifter (child abductors to be correct , an example of Hinglish) cases have been added as cause celebre of lynchings. It was 2014 when BJP came into power. On 17th July, this year Supreme Court of India had to intervene as no one was being arrested and convicted all this while on these deaths. It issued directions to the central as well as state governments to submit a plan, within 30, days detailing how they were going to stop this anarchy and also asked the central government to legislate a new law to handle this situation. The 3 judge-bench, under chief justice, said this situation of lawlessness
and brutality, under the name of ‘crowd’,could not be allowed to continueany longer. The next day the foreign minister, sorry, the prime minister (me, always confused over his role) left for yet another foreign visit (so much for a national tragedy!). The home minister Raj Nath Singh who has been entrusted to form a committee to find solutions for this epidemic could not resist giving a political colour to this decision. His question was that public lynchings had occurred before, also, in independent India like 1984 communal riots against Sikhs under Congress government. Why,now enact a new law? He also stressed that the central government had already issued two advisories to state governments on this issue, as it is a state subject. It is, actually, nothing but a hog wash. BJP holds 21 states under its wrap. Would these states dare their own leadership? But, incidentally, he never mentioned the 2002 genocide of Muslims in Gujarat under a BJP government of NarendraModi where murderous mobs were roaming on the streets and selectively lynching Muslims and burning their houses. LET’S CALL A SPADE A SPADE. BJP, the progeny of the RSS,like its fountainhead, has always spread the hatred of Muslims throughout its existence including in its earlier avatar as Jan Sangh, responsible for so many communal riots in India after the independence. In 2014 when BJP came to power , it had only two platforms, namely corruption in the UPA government and it’s appeasement of minorities(read Muslims). In reality,under UPA, the appeasement was restricted to scare Muslims away from the Hindu Rashtriya parties and their dreaded antiMuslim agenda, resulting into a vote bank politics, but, under BJP it has ,thankfully, extended to brutal killings of Muslim lives). And to fund these goals? Ofcourse, thousands of crores of
rupees from industrial houses and the Indian diaspora overseas! It is the hatred of Muslims which has encouraged not only the BJP supporters in the streets but, their MLAs and MPs to chant ad nauseam ‘if you don’t support BJP, go to Pakistan’ or ‘if, you don’t vote for BJP, you are Haraamzade (bastards)’. But, their leaders have, reluctantly, adjusted to the fact that 200 million Muslims cannot be kicked out of the country, so they have found the next best policy--ignore them, isolate them and leave them alone, with no policies to arrest their ever-descending fall in educational, social and economic standards. No wonder the parliament has no Muslim BJP MP or MLA in state assemblies despite Muslims constituting 18% of the population. The overwhelming number of Muslim deaths in these lynchings is only mirroring this ideology; secondly, there has been no conviction of any criminal till date. Every criminal has gone scot free.Why? Because the supporters and the police pretty well know that nothing will happen tothem whatever the crime. Just one most recent crime of last week, a few days after the Supreme court directive, for an example. One, Rakhbar Khan of Alwar is returning to his village after purchasing two cows from Haryana at night. His crime? He wants to augment his family income by selling milk from these cows. He is stopped by a crowd wearing Bhagwa scarves with lathis in hand. Thrashing starts and he falls on the ground unconscious. His brother escapes. Police comes to the scene at 12.40 Am,40 minutesafter the attack (the nearest police station is just 15 minutes’ walk from there). They hose down his clothes which are heavily muddied. Their first priorityis to arrangeGaurakhshaks to take cows to the nearest cow-shelter. In the meantime,the police wakeup a tea seller and ask them to prepare ‘chai’ and arrange some snacks (this is all happening while injuredRakhbar is
crying in painoutside). Eye witness accountsstate (mother of a gaurakshak) that finally when he is driven away to the police station he was being thrashed like an animal. No body know what happened at the police station. Ultimately, the police arrives at the hospital at 4 AM with Rakhbar who is ‘declared dead on arrival’. Happy end to the story: cows are safely penned in the cowshed by 2 Am and a human being who is taken to the hospital 3 hours late is dead; by the way, this hospital is only 4 Kms from the incident scene, just a 10 minutes’ drive. Welcome to the second case of lynching in Alwar in one year! This incident is screaming at us that a cow is more precious than a Muslim’s life. Remember, Indira Gandhi courted Bhindranwaley, for political gains, and thus created a monster whose supporters ultimately took her own life. The BJP has likewise created a religiously -drunk ‘BHEED’(frenzied mob) who is ready to do their masters’ command and don’t think twice before taking a Muslim’s life. The prime minister has kept his mouth shut; not a word condemning these innocent lives, being sacrificed at the altar of hatred. Naturally , his ministers have followed suite. SmiritiIrani (herself married to a Parsi, a minority community, how low can you go to? ), PiyushGoyal and Rajvardhan Singh Rathore are, openly, supporting these lynchings;JayantSinha is garlanding at his house already- convicted criminals for lynching ; a chief minister proclaiming on the stage of a public rally ‘if a Muslim rapes a Hindu woman, we would dig hundred Muslim women from their graves and rape them. AndArjunMeghwal declaring that as Modi’s popularity grows so would lynchings (absurd, you may say, but not clapping him would be, in his eyes, ludicrous). How about a famous Urdu couplet: “ jochuprahegizabaan-ekhanjar,
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The prime minister has kept his mouth shut; not a word condemning these innocent lives, being sacrificed at the altar of hatred. Naturally , his ministers have followed suite. lahoopukaregaaastinka?” While writing this piece, a report of National Register of Citizenship has been released where 40 lakh of Assamese citizens cannot find their names on the list. As was anticipated, overwhelmingnumber of them are Muslims. Even members of late President of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s family are not there. Were they aliens? Mind you, incidents of Muslim hatred will increase as next year’s elections come nearer because the BJP has nothing to show as achievementin the first term in office what with fiascos of demonetisation, GST and roaring rates of unemployment; the greater the desperation of the leadership the bigger the chance to exploit the animal instincts of the electorate So the panacea is simpledo ‘Hindu-Muslim’ to polarise votes. Going to press: yet one more killing at Hapur where one was killed (QasimShaikh) and another injured (Samiuddin). Out of 9 accused, 4 have been bailed. The main culprit, RakeshSisodia, is free without charges. In the sting operation by NDTV he is seen boasting how he tortured and killed QasimShaikh, even refusing water to the dying person. I do not adhere to any political party; just in love with my country of birth. These are personal views of the author
south asia IFFM PHOTO FEATURE 32 South Asia Timestimes
A U G U S T
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INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF MELBOURNE - 2018
MIND BLOWING!
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A U G U S T
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IFFM PHOTO FEATURE
southSouth asia times 33 Asia Times
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SOUTH ASIA TIMES south asia COMMUNITY 34 South Asia Timestimes
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PLACES OF WORSHIP HINDU Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple 57 Boundary Rd, Carrum Downs, Melbourne, Vic 3201, Ph: 03 9782 0878; Fax: 03 9782 0001 Website: www.hsvshivavishnu.org.au Sri Vakratunda Vinayaka Temple 1292 - 1294, The Mountain Highway, The Basin, Vic 3154, Ph: 03 9792 1835 Melbourne Murugan Temple 17-19 Knight Ave., Sunshine VIC 3020 Ph: 03 9310 9026 Durga Temple (Durga Bhajan Mandali) Neales Road, Rockbank, Vic 3335 Ph: 03 9747 1628 or Mobile: 0401 333 738 Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Temple 197 Danks Street, Middle Park Vic 3206 Ph: (03) 9699 5122 Email: 100237.354@compuserve.com Hare Krishna New Nandagram Rural Community Oak Hill, Dean’s Marsh Rd., Bambra VIC 3241, Ph: (052) 887383 Fax: (052) 887309 Kundrathu Kumaran Temple 139 Gray Court, ROCKBANK Victoria 3335 Ph: 03-9747 1135 or M: 0450 979 023 http://www.kumarantemple.org.au/ SANKAT MOCHAN TEMPLE 1289 A North Road. Huntingdale Morning: 10.30 am – 12.30 pm daily Evening: 4:30 pm – 8.00 pm daily Site: http: www.sankatmochan.org.au Contact: 0427 274 462 SHIRDI SAI SANSTHAN 32 Hailey Avenue, Camberwell Vic 3124;Ph: (03) 9889 2974; Site: shirdisai.net.au Sai Baba Temple, 50 Camberwell Road AUM SAI SANSTHAN TEMPLE 76 Albert Street (Enter From : Bear Street) MORDIALLOC VIC - 3195 Website : www.aumsai.org.au Contact : 0468 362 644
SIKH BLACKBURN Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha 127 Whitehorse Road, Blackburn VICTORIA 3130, Ph: (03) 9894 1800 CRAIGIEBURN Sri Guru Singh Sabha 344 Hume Highway, Craigieburn VICTORIA 3164 (see map), Ph: (03) 9305 6511 KEYSBOROUGH Gurdwara Sri Guru Granth Sahib 198 -206 Perry Road, Keysborough VICTORIA 3073 (see map) LYNBROOK Nanaksar Taath, 430 Evans Road,
Lynbrook VICTORIA 3975, (03) 9799 1081 HOPPERS CROSSING Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha 417 Sayers Road, Hoppers Crossing VICTORIA 3029, Ph: (03) 9749 2639 WERRIBEE Gurdwara Sahib Werribee 560 Davis Road, Tarneit VICTORIA 3029 PH: (03) 8015 4707 SHEPPARTON Gurdwara Sahib Shepparton 240 Doyles Road, Shepparton VICTORIA 3603 PH: (03) 5821 9309
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south asia 36 South Asia Timestimes
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ARE ‘YOU’ JUST INSIDE YOUR SKIN OR IS YOUR SMARTPHONE PART OF YOU? BY KARINA VOLD*
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n November 2017, a gunman entered a church in Sutherland Springs in Texas, where he killed 26 people and wounded 20 others. He escaped in his car, with police and residents in hot pursuit, before losing control of the vehicle and flipping it into a ditch. When the police got to the car, he was dead. The episode is horrifying enough without its unsettling epilogue. In the course of their investigations, the FBI reportedly pressed the gunman’s finger to the fingerprint-recognition feature on his iPhone in an attempt to unlock it. Regardless of who’s affected, it’s disquieting to think of the police using a corpse to break into someone’s digital afterlife. Most democratic
constitutions shield us from unwanted intrusions into our brains and bodies. They also enshrine our entitlement to freedom of thought and mental privacy. That’s why neurochemical drugs that interfere with cognitive functioning can’t be administered against a person’s will unless there’s a clear medical justification. Similarly, according to scholarly opinion, lawenforcement officials can’t compel someone to take a lie-detector test, because that would be an invasion of privacy and a violation of the right to remain silent. But in the present era of ubiquitous technology, philosophers are beginning to ask whether biological anatomy really captures the entirety of who
we are. Given the role they play in our lives, do our devices deserve the same protections as our brains and bodies? After all, your smartphone is much more than just a phone. It can tell a more intimate story about you than your best friend. No other piece of hardware in history, not even your brain, contains the quality or quantity of information held on your phone: it ‘knows’ whom you speak to, when you speak to them, what you said, where you have been, your purchases, photos, biometric data, even your notes to yourself – and all this dating back years. In 2014, the United States Supreme Court used this observation to justify the decision that police must obtain a warrant before rummaging through our smartphones. These devices ‘are now such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life that the
proverbial visitor from Mars might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy’, as Chief Justice John Roberts observed in his written opinion. The Chief Justice probably wasn’t making a metaphysical point – but the philosophers Andy Clark and David Chalmers were when they argued in ‘The Extended Mind’ (1998) that technology is actually part of us. According to traditional cognitive science, ‘thinking’ is a process of symbol manipulation or neural computation, which gets carried out by the brain. Clark and Chalmers broadly accept this computational theory of mind, but claim that tools can become seamlessly integrated into how we think. Objects such as smartphones or notepads are often just as functionally essential to our cognition as the synapses firing in our heads. They augment and extend our minds by increasing our cognitive power and freeing up internal resources. If accepted, the extended mind thesis threatens widespread cultural assumptions about the inviolate nature of thought, which sits at the heart of most legal and social norms. As the US Supreme Court declared in 1942: ‘freedom to think is absolute of its own nature; the most tyrannical government is powerless to control the inward workings of the mind.’ This view has its origins in thinkers such as John Locke and René Descartes, who argued that the human soul is locked in a physical body, but that our thoughts exist in an immaterial world, inaccessible to other people. One’s inner life thus needs protecting only when it is
externalised, such as through speech. Many researchers in cognitive science still cling to this Cartesian conception – only, now, the private realm of thought coincides with activity in the brain. But today’s legal institutions are straining against this narrow concept of the mind. They are trying to come to grips with how technology is changing what it means to be human, and to devise new normative boundaries to cope with this reality. Justice Roberts might not have known about the idea of the extended mind, but it supports his wry observation that smartphones have become part of our body. If our minds now encompass our phones, we are essentially cyborgs: part-biology, part-technology. Given how our smartphones have taken over what were once functions of our brains – remembering dates, phone numbers, addresses – perhaps the data they contain should be treated on a par with the information we hold in our heads. So if the law aims to protect mental privacy, its boundaries would need to be pushed outwards to give our cyborg anatomy the same protections as our brains. This line of reasoning leads to some potentially radical conclusions. Some philosophers have argued that when we die, our digital devices should be handled as remains: if your smartphone is a part of who you are, then perhaps it should be treated more like your corpse than your couch. Similarly, one might argue that trashing someone’s smartphone should be seen as a form of ‘extended’ assault, equivalent to a blow to the head, rather than just destruction of property. If your memories are erased because someone attacks you with a club, a court CONTD. ON PG 37
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IOT – THE MACHINES ARE BUILDING NETWORK AROUND US… ITS ALREADY STARTED. BY RAJESH YOGI
this data, and there's lots of data we're gathering,and it can be personal, and you can be walking past a sign,and it'll announce you should go into this shopbecause there's something in there that's of interest, • Do we really want that invasion into our private space? • Do we want other people to know how we'regoing to keep this information away from peoplewe don't want to find out about it?
I
oT “Internetof Things” is when we connect, everyday physical things to the internet. Yes, even things like cars. These things can give us information that can be used to improve your life or your business or the environment. Your car can tell us things about you, or it, or the places you've travelled, and where you are right now. It's going to be another Industrial Revolution. The Internet of Things means the internet doesn't just collect and distribute information. It can also feel and intelligently respond. You can't see the internet of things working. You think your car has connected to the internet and booked itself a holiday. No, that's not how it works. Though, if you'd been working too hard, your car could send data to the internet cloud, where it would be analysed, and then a message would be sent to your boss to say that it was time for you to have a holiday. Yeah, it's pretty good, isn't it?
And it's changing in profound ways. It's no longer just a means of communication. We can use the internet to connect things that we wouldn't normally think of putting onto the network, things like your fridge for a simple example. Find out when your milk's going off and when you need to order some more. But it's more than that, much more. In medical areas, in manufacturing, in agriculture, the internet of things is going to change the way we do things.
THE INTERNET IS CHANGING The internet's evolved to a platform where we can share information. We can find out facts. We can meet with our friends. We can have teleconferences and talk to friends and relatives that may be miles away. The internet is changing.
HOW IOT WORKS –VERY SIMPLE 1. It gathers information. 2. It processes that information and presents it back to human beings in a way they can understand. 3. In the background, there's a lot of communication going on between the machines-machine to machine
communication. 4. Data scientists be looking closely at how this happens. 5. And that automates the processes so that humans can do what they do best, make decisions on valid data. The internet of things is just in its very beginning stages. IOT IS STILL IN VERY EARLY AGE – IN FACT IT IS FLOWING We're starting to see the connection of devices. We're starting to see some places where the data is being collected, and processed, and used in different ways. So you may be wondering what the internet of things can do for us. HOW IT IS HELPING US Well, it can automate things. It can make our life easier. It can gather massive amounts of data that a human being can't reallycope with, but we can use that to predict
WITH IOT – FUTURE IS WONDERFUL AS WELL AS RISKY. We can look at trends. We can take actions before failures occur, and generally just help us do a better job of what we'redoing now by embracing automation. So the Internet of Things-it's wonderful.It's going to cure all our problems.It's a solution to all of our worries in the world. No, it's not. It is going to cause us some issues.Some of those issues include the security. We all know about cybersecurity threats and howhackers try to get into your computer. Well, imagine when we've got 20 billion extra devices connectedto the internet. That's 20 billion more devices for hackers to try and get into. If we're gathering all of
IOT– A MAJOR DISRUPTOR IN EMPLOYMENT There will be a change. People will be losing their jobs. But the good news is far more jobs will be created in the area.These jobs will require a higher skill level. Instead of the person who's manufacturing cars just tighteningbolts, they will need to be able to maintain the robotics,or control the production line, monitor the dashboardsof the information that's being collected from the manufacturing line. So the jobs will be far more skilled, which probablymeans they will be better paid. IOT & ITS IMPACT So you may be asking yourself where will this impact?Where will the greatest impact be soon? Well, I've got no idea and I don't think anyone really has. This is something that we've got to explore. …to be continued
ARE ‘YOU’ JUST INSIDE YOUR ... CONTD. FROM PG 36 would have no trouble characterising the episode as a violent incident. So if someone breaks your smartphone and wipes its contents, perhaps the perpetrator should be punished as they would be if they had caused a head trauma. The extended mind thesis also challenges the law’s role in protecting both the content and the means of thought – that is, shielding what and how we think from undue influence. Regulation bars non-consensual interference in our neurochemistry (for example, through drugs), because that meddles
with the contents of our mind. But if cognition encompasses devices, then arguably they should be subject to the same prohibitions. Perhaps some of the techniques that advertisers use to hijack our attention online, to nudge our decision-making or manipulate search results, should count as intrusions on our cognitive process. Similarly, in areas where the law protects the means of thought, it might need to guarantee access to tools such as smartphones – in the same way that freedom of expression protects people’s right not only to write or speak, but also to use computers and
disseminate speech over the internet. The courts are still some way from arriving at such decisions. Besides the headline-making cases of mass shooters, there are thousands of instances each year in which police authorities try to get access to encrypted devices. Although the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution protects individuals’ right to remain silent (and therefore not give up a passcode), judges in several states have ruled that police can forcibly use fingerprints to unlock a user’s phone. (With the new facial-recognition feature on the iPhone X, police
might only need to get an unwitting user to look at her phone.) These decisions reflect the traditional concept that the rights and freedoms of an individual end at the skin. But the concept of personal rights and freedoms that guides our legal institutions is outdated. It is built on a model of a free individual who enjoys an untouchable inner life. Now, though, our thoughts can be invaded before they have even been developed – and in a way, perhaps this is nothing new. The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman used to say that he thought with his notebook. Without
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a pen and pencil, a great deal of complex reflection and analysis would never have been possible. If the extended mind view is right, then even simple technologies such as these would merit recognition and protection as a part of the essential toolkit of the mind. *The author is a postdoctoral research associate at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge. Published in association with Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence an Aeon Partner. Edited by Sally Davies SOURCE: aeon (Under Creative Commons)
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