作者： bharat.cn

Pakistan’s rejection of Jayant Khobragade as India’s new chargé d’affaires in Islamabad citing his seniority for the post as a reason for rejection is in keeping with the bitter antagonism between India and Pakistan that has intensified in the last few years. It has reached almost a dead-end since the scrapping of Kashmir’s special status last August.

Islamabad’s official explanation is that Khobragade having already served as ambassador earlier was not eligible for the post which is normally slated for diplomats at a lower rung. The Foreign office spokesman said it was India’s way of subverting the downgrading of diplomatic ties announced by Pakistan after article 370 was abolished by New Delhi. The spokesman said it must be made clear that ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours were linked to the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

It is part of the diplomatic norm to send the name of senior diplomats for the host country’s approval. In normal times not much fuss is made over this. But when India-Pakistan ties are strained diplomats become easy targets. Khobragade rejection is mainly to needle India and convey to ordinary Pakistani citizens that Prime Minister Imran Khan is not lowering his guard against India at every little turn.

In 2003, when India-Pakistan was going through another bad patch, Pakistan’s acting high commissioner in Delhi, Jalil Abbas Jilani was forced to leave the country over allegations of funding Kashmiri separatists. Jilani said then that the charge was a crude attempt at harassing Pakistan, high commission officials. He was declared “persona non grata” but when relations improved he returned to India at the head of a Pakistan delegation for talks, as the Vajpayee government began re-engaging with Islamabad.

But unlike in the past, chances of an India-Pakistan rapprochement soon appear dim. Kashmir has always been a major stumbling block and now after India’s latest move on August 5, 2019, it has become a Gordian knot.

And Pakistan does not let an opportunity go by without dragging in Kashmir. Even in the case of rejecting Khobragade the foreign office spokesman statement contained these lines on Kashmir. “A just and lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is critical for durable peace and stability in South Asia. Accordingly, India is once again reminded of its international obligations with regard to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. India must listen to the voices of the Kashmiri people and the world community.”

In a way, Kashmir has helped Prime Minister Imran Khan to galvanise the public behind him. At a time when his government was fumbling with little to show as achievement, New Delhi’s decision on Kashmir helped to bolster his image as a crusader for the rights of Kashmiris. He did not leave a stone unturned in projecting Indian atrocities in the valley. Unfortunately, Khan got little traction from the international community. A few countries supported him on the abolition of special status for Kashmir, which Delhi said was its internal issue. But there was criticism from several international quarters on the lockdown and the communication embargo imposed on Kashmiris.

After a few cases in Kerala of atrocities against elephants, a project aims to reduce atrocities against elephants in captivity by collecting blood and faecal samples of the estimated 2,700 captive elephants
The plan is being carried out under the aegis of Project Elephant
Presently, most of India’s captive elephants are in Assam (nearly 1,000), followed by Kerala (500) and Tamil Nadu (300)
After a few cases in Kerala of atrocities against elephants, a project aims to reduce atrocities against elephants in captivity by collecting blood and faecal samples of the estimated 2,700 captive elephants.

The plan is being carried out under the aegis of Project Elephant.

This exercise, Noyal Thomas, director of Project Elephant told TOI, will give a unique identity number to the elephants “just like an Aadhaar card which will be generated based on their DNA”.

A farmer’s attempted suicide in Punjab on Friday signaled more problems for the Narendra Modi government over three contentious bills which have led to cracks in the BJP-led ruling alliance at the Centre amid an intensifying peasant agitation across the country.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Akali Dal, one of the BJP’s oldest allies, quit the Modi cabinet on Thursday in protest against the bills, which the government says would double farmers’ income through greater market access and unburden agricultural trade from all restrictions. The bills seek to open up the farm sector to more competition, modernise supply chains by allowing bigger agribusinesses to engage directly with farmers and create seamless access to markets.

Critics, including opposition parliamentarians, however, say that the bills will dilute the country’s public procurement system and lead to exploitation by private companies. The bills have already been passed by the Lok Sabha, where the ruling alliance has a brute majority.

Assembly elections are due in Bihar by October-November and a few other states by mid-2021 and Prime Minister Modi on Friday defended the bills, saying they will do away with middlemen who have been eating  into farmers’ profits over the years. In an address to people in Bihar where he inaugurated several rail-related projects, Modi also hit out at the opposition for spreading “misinformation” about the proposed laws.

Around 60 percent of India’s population depends on farming for livelihood and the government faces the tough task of pacifying this crucial segment of voters, already reeling under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic which had dealt a crippling blow to the economy.

Farmers’ organisations appeared to be in no mood to relent as they announced plans to intensify their agitation from September 20, when they are likely to go for
blockading highways and railway tracks.

“With the government withdrawing from its responsibility of assuring fair returns and leaving farmers at the mercy of the private sector, we have no recourse except to step up our agitation,” said Shamsher Singh, spokesperson of the Bhoomi Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, an influential farmers’ body which is among those spearheading the agitation. 

Prabhakar Kelkar, vice president of the BJP-allied Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, said anticipated intensification of agitation by famers’ outfits across the country. The farmers’ discontent, according to Kelkar, is over uncertainty of payments, which as per the new ordinance, have to be made within three days. But in reality, many of the small farmers in Madhya Pradesh, for instance, are facing problems of not finding buyers or alternatively being pressurised to bring in larger quantities.

At present, farm produce are sold mainly in notified wholesale markets run by the agricultural produce marketing committees (APMCs) under state laws. The APMCs require farmers to only sell to licensed middlemen in these markets rather than in open markets, which economists say hurt the possibility of more profits. One of the bills enables farmers and buyers to trade outside these tax-free markets.

However, critics say that the small time-frame are forcing farmers to approach undocumented traders. Unlike in APMC-managed mandis, where records of transactions are maintained, there is little means to track these unregistered traders. This has led to many farmers being cheated of their dues, the critics allege.

In many instances, traders and mandi workers are behind rising agitation as opening of more sales avenues has led to mandi-based traders fearing a sharp drop in their business and market influence. In direct correlation to the drop in mandi business is the fear of workers in the yards, their numbers can be anywhere between a few thousands to around 50,000, that their avenue for wages will be hit.