HUMAN RIGHTS
THE Daily OBSERVER SUPPLEMENT tUESDAY, April 4, 2017
Out to Kill Growing incidents of human rights abuse and increasingly rare prosecutions of the guilty have brought AFSPA under the scanner Ilona Dam
I
t has been more than 58 years since the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was enforced. Since then, the Army has taken on a new meaning in the North-Eastern states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya with 3,579 human rights violation cases registered over the last three years. The 1958 Act not only provides immunity from prosecution to the Army but also gives it sweeping power to shoot and kill in the name of law and order. While the government doesn’t intend to withdraw from north-easter states, it has seen a 93 per cent decline in the number of cases adjudged over the past three years, according to an IndiaSpend report. With no accountability and increasing number of human rights violation cases, a storm has been churning in the Indian states to repeal AFSPA. AFSPA, an act that turned the Army against its own people was termed ‘draconian’ by the 2015 Jeevan Reddy Committee.The Act, which gives blind power to the Army to shoot on sight based on suspicion has become a symbol of oppression and stands in violation of one’s fundamental right to life. Thangjam Manorama was a victim of AFSPA. She was a young Manipuri woman who was picked up by the 17th Assam Rifles on allegations of being associated with the People’s Liberation Army in 2004. The brutality of her death and possible rape sparked off a unique protest, Nupi
Lan, where 12 Imams, mothers, stripped off their clothes demanding justice. However, with several loopholes in enacted law, the results are appalling. While 40 human rights cases were addressed in 2012-2013, only one saw the light of the day last year.
Previously, in 1987, the notorious Operation Blue Star had enraged the people of Manipur. In more than 30 villages, people were tortured, raped and killed in fake encounters. And yet there have been no convictions, according to Vivek Chadha’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act: A Debate, 2013. AFSPA exempts the Army from any sort of legal punishment , which adds to the citizens’ horror. “Impunity for systematic or isolated sexual violence in the process of internal security duties is being legitimised by the AFSPA,”
the Justice J.S. Verma Committee noted. In other words, Army personnel aren’t subject to the normal legal redress mechanism of a democracy. A law which abuses fundamental rights must, hence, be repealed. Nevertheless with such loopholes, despite misuse of power, convictions have become increasingly rare as the Army’s powers don’t come with adequate safeguards. There have been several protests like the Nupi Lan, where the Imams stripped in front of the Kangla Fort, the thenheadquarters of Assam Riffles, shouting, “Indian Army come and rape us all.” Irom Sharmila, the Iron Lady of Manipur went on a 17-year-long hunger strike against the AFSPA. The Army’s defence of AFSPA says that they need an act protecting them in areas which are disturbed. However, some of the army officials have also accepted that often, young officers get “carried away.” A retired senior officer, while speaking to The Telegraph said that it is a patriotic zeal that fuels them. “But there are also chances of getting awards if they kill more terrorists. So it becomes an obsession to kill and that leads to rogue operations,” he added. Thus, the biggest failure of the Act, which is in urgent need of reconsideration, has been its inability to prosecute cases in the public domain with transparency. The continued employment of AFSPA in its present form will only deepen the divide between the Army and the people that it is supposed to protect, with countless human rights violation cases and no accountability.
Unwanted U.S. Export
The American campaign to spread democracy around the world has backfired with unintended consequences Cherry Agarwal
T
he American campaign to spread democracy around the world was aimed at encouraging regional governmental actors to pursue political reforms culminating in t he establishment of democratic governments in those regions. This was the ideal philosophy the
United States (U.S.) had aimed to follow to preserve the “Free World” post World War II. Yet the gap between this policy rhetoric and the reality has resulted in the U.S. failure in promoting democracy across the world. This gap between policy decisions and reality stems from U.S.’ self interest in gaining economic, political or security leverage in the countries it has been trying to “democratize.” This was exemplified in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. The U.S. did not invade Iraq to stabilise the region but to build its dominance, wrote Paul Krugman of The New York Times. This self-serving U.S. propaganda has in turn undermined U.S. interest in democracy and failed in its attempt to promote modern democracy in the truest sense of its spirit. Another reason for failure of the U.S. initiatives has been its approach. Rather than strengthening regional leaders of various countries on the ground for self-gover-
nance, U.S. has attempted to dislodge and replace regimes like Bashar Al Assad’s in Syria, which has only fuelled conflict in the region. Its attempt to “export” ready-made democracy, using military intervention, without participation of the general populace has backfired as there has been no preparation to help the countries through such massive political transformation. This was well summarised by Foreign Policy’s Stephen Malt who said, “There is no quick, cheap or military-based way to bring peace.” Such initiatives have only cost the U.S. more. It has further resulted in grassroots rebellion such as the formation of the Islamic State. The U.S.’ misinterpretation of people’s desire for self determination as their want for democratic governance has also added to the superpower’s failure as a campaigner of democracy. “No people must be forced under sovereignty under which it does not wish to live,” said Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States of America. Thus, false universal acceptability of U.S.-promoted democratic governance at the end of the Cold War, in part, as much as U.S.’ blanket self-serving campaign to prop up democratic governances through undemocratic means has failed the United States in re-
cent years. Instead of using military presence to establish regimes and conducting artificial, unsustainable elections, the U.S. should focus on preparing the nations for transitions through aid: diplomatic and financial. Diplomatic aid can help nations develop their own Constitutions, create a robust legal system and build a capacity among its people to sustain and carry forward governance measures for lasting stability. This could be through any means chosen by the general masses i.e. by exercising people’s right to self-determine. Re-addressing U.S.’ approach will not only bridge the gap between its policies and reality but also establish it as a diplomatic super power.
AGRIBIZ
THE Daily OBSERVER SUPPLEMENT tUESDAY, April 4, 2017
The Bloom in Floriculture Exports India has lots to gain in the $55 billion global flower market Nivedita Naidu
F
lowers have always played an important role in the Indian culture. With India’s floriculture exports worth Rs. 47,942 lakhs in 2015-16, flowers seem to be adding value to the economy too. India’s floriculture exports have risen from Rs. 46,077.23 lakhs in 2014-2015 to Rs. 47,942 lakhs in 2015-16 according to Agriculture and Processed Food products Export Development Authority (APEDA) which is responsible for export promotion and development of floriculture in India. India’s major export markets are U.S., Germany, UK, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates. Apart from other countries, India also exports to Republic of Congo, Namibia, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Netherland Antilles, Dominica and Macao. The Indian Government has given floriculture a 100 per cent export oriented status, thus encouraging commercial floriculture activities. According to APEDA, commercial floriculture has higher potential per unit area than most of the field crops and is therefore a lucrative business. Floriculture products mainly consist of cut flowers, potted plants, cut foliage, seeds bulbs, tubers, rooted cuttings and dried flowers or leaves. The important floricultural crops in the international cut flower trade are rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, gerbera, gladiolus, gypsophila, liatris also known as blazing star, nerine, orchids, archillea, anthurium, tulip, and lilies. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, West Bengal have emerged as major floriculture centres in India.
Technology has played a major role in developing floriculture in India. Hydroponics is a method of cultivating flowers where soil is not fertile; using this technique helps to cultivate in otherwise infertile soil. Large numbers of cultivators have begun investing in this technology.
Green house management is also essential to develop floriculture. Karnataka and Maharashtra are two states that have developed floriculture, especially when it comes to producing export quality products. Praveen Sharma, President of the Indian Society of Floriculture Professionals has been involved in exporting floriculture products. He says, “Maharashtra has an advantage over other states as one of the busiest international airport, i.e. Mumbai airport is situated here”. Also in the
90’s export oriented units were set up close to the airports that received technology from Holland and Israel. This technology transfer gave an impetus to the floriculture industry. With the passage of time this technology percolated to the rural youths working in the industry. Karnataka is another state that is active in this sector due to technology absorption. International Flower Auction Centre, Bangalore is one of the first of its kind to be established in the country. The business of floriculture is capital and labour intensive and returns are not immediate. Praveen Sharma added, “There are no new players who are entering the market when it comes to producing export quality products, the business is being carried out by mature and established houses,” In his opinion the Indian floriculturist exporter is mature enough to deliver the best product in the market. The global floral production value is estimated to be 55bn USD according to Rabobank Research, analysts for food and agro business around the globe. India’s strength to gain in this sector lies in its geographical and climatic diversity. Rural India could seize the opportunity and invest in this sector which has a huge global demand. Dr. Balaji S Kulkarni, Professor and Head of Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, College of Horticulture, Bangalore said, apart from technology the floriculture industry needs robust infrastructure in terms of cold storage facilities, establishing training centres for developing skilled labour and establishing a network of support system that ensures government and private partnerships.
Food for Thought
Jivabhumi is eliminating the middleman by directly supplying farm produce to consumers Aishwarya Iyer
I
n the booming start-up industry of Bangalore, new organisations in the city are helping farmers by sourcing their agricultural produce directly to their customers, eliminating the bridge of agents who surge the pricing of the produce. An inception of three gardening enthusiasts, who are professionally IT engineers, jivabhumi.com was found in July 2015. Srivatsa TS, Lakshminarayan Srinivasaiah and Anil Nadig, came together to form the start-up when they realised their common passions. “I wanted to indulge in rooftop gardening. I met Srinivasaiah and Nadig at a terrace gardening event called Oota from thota. After a few years of knowing each other and our similar interest, we thought of taking the rooftop-gardening a step further and decided to provide services to the agriculture and the farming community.” Srinivasaiah, an admirer of the development journalist P.Sainath and motivated by Dr. Vishwanath, the pioneer of rooftop gardening says, “I saw a documentary of P. Sainath called Nero’s Guests and was inspired. Since I loved gardening, I started growing vegetables. Once I began, I realised how difficult it was. That made us think how much the farmers get paid, especially with the number of farmer suicides. They started as a small idea trying to gain momentum and funds. Cutting off the middlemen from the system that functions and is dominant in the country, it took the founders a while to begin their pilot project. “Nobody wants transparency in business,” says Srini-
vasaiah. Hence, the founders invested their personal savings and also received donations from close family and friends that help them to proceed and develop the idea that was still taking its shape. We found that the agents who acted as middlemen in the entire process, exploited the
farmers and went on minting money,” says Srinivasaiah. Teaming up with the NGO Garden City, they operate from the IIM-B campus, under the insitute’s Nadathur S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) start-up incubation cell that supports unique ideas of entrepreneurship. They network with over 1,300 farmers across the villages in and around Pune, Madurai, Mysore, Western Ghats of Karnataka, Sirsi, Bellari and many more. The produce is
then collected in the respective villages and shipped to the local pick-up centres. Around 50 to 60 per cent of the market price goes to the farmer, whereas in the usual process with the middlemen involved, farmers gain only 20 to 25 per cent of the total price. “An important factor that works in our entire model is the trust that we build with our farmers. There lies our core. Without that, the entire concept is meaningless,” says Srivatsa. They focus to maintain their company under the category of social enterprise, looking at profits at the same time. The delivery of their products happens twice a month through their online portal. “Our customers have to plan in advance as in what they need for the next month,” says Srivatsa TS. Why are the farmers not able to sustain on their income? What were the flaws in the supply chain? Such questions set the founders on a journey of understanding farmers and their methods of cultivation, and sourcing their organic, chemical-free produce to the customers. The team conducts many workshops on educating our audience,” says Srivatsa. Anil delivers talks and lectures on nutrition and health, Srinivasaiah uses content as a tool and therefore, writes blogs on the website to educate their customers and promote the work. John Ittera, one of their patrons, says that the start-up has changed his food consumption patterns and provided a feasible, healthier option. “Jivabhumi has successfully changed my food habits to healthier option by including millets. I have replaced rice with millet’s in one meal everyday after a trial with the company’s products.”