10 Oct 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. What’s happening in Kyrgyzstan?

Context:

Street protests have erupted in Kyrgyzstan following the parliamentary election.

Issue:

• The opposition alleges that the vote was rigged.
• Protesters captured several government buildings in the capital Bishkek, forcing the President, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, to flee the White House, the presidential palace.

Background:

• Kyrgyzstan, often referred to as ‘Central Asia’s only democracy’, had seen violent anti-government protests in the past.
• In 2005 and 2010, sitting presidents were forced out of office in the ‘Tulip’ and the ‘Melon’ revolutions.
• The current protests began after early results of the parliamentary election were announced.
• Even before the election, political fault lines were sharpening.

Details:

• Political parties in Kyrgyzstan should win at least 7% of the popular vote to enter Parliament.
  • The results showed that only four parties managed to cross the threshold and of that, three were pro-government parties.
  • The remaining 12 parties received only around one-third of the votes.
• The protesters have captured key government buildings, including the Parliament House and the presidential office.
• President’s whereabouts are unknown. Prime Minister resigned amid the upheaval.

Strategic importance:

• This landlocked Central Asian country that shares a long border with China has been key to the strategic plans of both Russia and China.
• Moscow sees the region as its backyard and plays hard politics to retain its influence.
• For China, the country, located at the centre of Eurasia, is a vital link in its Belt and Road Initiative.
• China has built road and rail networks with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
• During the early stages of the Afghan war, the U.S. had used Kyrgyzstan for refuelling and other logistical purposes. The U.S. base was shut down in 2014 by Parliament.

Russia’s role:

• Moscow’s attempts to build stronger political and economic integration with the former Soviet region are suddenly facing critical challenges.
• The crisis poses an immediate foreign policy challenge to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
• Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation and hosts a Russian airbase. While Russia has cultivated strong ties with all political factions in Kyrgyzstan, radical political changes could throw up opportunities for its rivals.
• Belarus, another country in Russia’s backyard with a pro-Moscow President, is already witnessing political turmoil after August’s Presidential election.
• In the South Caucasus, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet Republics, over Nagorno-Karabakh, risks dragging Russia into a conflict.

E. Editorials

Category: SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Killing love with caste pride

Context:

A recent event of the murder of a Vysya man married to a Reddy woman, by her family has brought into focus the incidence of caste-related killings.

• According to the National Crime Records Bureau, there were 28 ‘honour killings’ in 2014, 251 in 2015, and 77 in 2016 across India.

What is Honour Killing?

• Honour killing is defined as the killing of a relative, especially a girl or a woman, who is perceived to have brought dishonour on the family.
• The term ‘honour killing’ is also being used widely to describe the class of murders that family members commit while seeking to impose on young couples their medieval view that all marriages should be within their community.
• A crime in the name of ‘honour’ is one of a range of violent or abusive acts. This includes emotional, physical and sexual abuse and other coercive acts. These murders are driven by class, caste and patriarchal hegemony.
• Those instrumental in committing these killings are families of the couple. Either they kill the couple themselves or in association with other persons from the same caste or khap or community-based panchayats.

Legislations against Honour Killing:

• Various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) list punishments for murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to murder, party to a criminal conspiracy, etc.

Supreme Court Judgements:

• The Supreme Court has, in multiple occasions intervened to preserve the freedom of marital choice of individuals. It also once remarked that there is no ‘honour’ in ‘honour killing’.
• The Supreme Court has said that adults are free to marry persons of their own choice and hurting couples, or summoning them before clan members, groups, or a khap, is absolutely illegal.
• The Prevention of Crimes in the Name of ‘Honour’ and Tradition Bill, 2010 was an outcome of the spate of murders and dishonourable crimes in the name of honour.
• Though killings and crimes were reported mostly from north India — especially Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh — as well as west India, the problem was widespread and almost every part of the country has witnessed such incidents.
• Supreme Court ruling in Lata Singh v. State of U.P. (2006) ordered “stern action” against all those threatening or carrying out threats against couples. The Supreme Court reiterated the fact that inter-caste marriages are not banned as per the Hindu Marriage Act and are in the national interest. It is illegal to stop them in any way.
• In fact, the apex court, in Bhagwan Dass v. Delhi in May 2011, deemed honour killings in the “rarest of rare” category of crimes that deserve the death penalty.

Way forward:

• Discrimination against Dalits is not limited to Hindu communities listed as Scheduled Castes, but extends to those who have converted to other religions too.
• There is a need for a redoubled effort to eliminate the evils of a stratified society.
• The 242nd Law Commission Report, too, sought a new law on ‘prevention of interference with the freedom of matrimonial alliances’.
• Instead of protecting young couples, the police is reportedly found counselling them. Feudalistic entities have no compunction in committing crimes. The police turn a blind eye and the administration hardly questions them.
• In particular, administrators must give full effect to the various preventive, remedial and punitive measures recommended by the Supreme Court.
• There is a need to frame guidelines recognising honour killing as a separate offence. The Centre should examine the need for legislation to curb killings in the name of honour.

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. The right balance

Context:

• Following the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, the Supreme Court has ventured to hold that any such indefinite blockade of a public pathway is unacceptable.

Details:

• The Court’s view arises from a straightforward balancing of two contrasting rights — the right to protest and the right to free movement.
• It has ruled that the administration must take action to remove encroachments and obstructions placed during such protests.
• The Court’s assertion was made even while appreciating the existence of the right to peaceful protest against a legislation.

This topic has been covered in 8^th October 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

What is the issue?

• The question raised here is whether the manner and content of a protest should always conform to forms deemed acceptable by the law.
  • Protests, by their very nature, are not always rooted in legality.
  • They derive legitimacy from the rightness of the underlying cause and the extent of public support.
  • In many cases, they are against laws and regulations perceived as unjust.
  • A flash strike, a spontaneous roadblock, a call for a complete shutdown, or a campaign to fill up jails by defying prohibitory orders — are not, in a strict sense, legal; but, are a part of the culture of protest in a democracy.
• Another aspect of the present ruling is the assertion that protests should be confined to designated places.
  • Such judicial certitude may lessen the effectiveness of the larger democratic need for public expression of dissent in a manner and place that would be most effective.

Way forward:

• While notified demonstrations are subject to regulations regarding time and space, it may not be possible to extend the same to spontaneous, organic and leaderless protests driven by a cause.
• The ruling should not become the basis for suppression of protests by the force of the state.

Conclusion:

While the need for balance between the right to protest and the right to free movement, and the rule that protests should take place at designated spots are beneficial from an administrative point of view, they must not become unquestionable principles to the point that render all protests that cause inconvenience to others, the target of the strong arm of the state.

Also read: “The right to protest in a free society” covered in 22^nd January 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

Category: HEALTH

1. Saving lives under the long shadow of the pandemic

The editorial highlights the fact that, along with fighting the COVID-19 virus, there is a growing need to make mental health and suicide prevention a priority.

Concerns:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted populations around the world in multiple ways.
• Mental health has been affected severely owing to the fear of being infected and anxiety about an uncertain present and future.
• Necessary precautions such as social distancing, limited interactions and mask usage have become the new normal, with huge social, physical, economic and mental consequences.
• Previous studies suggest an elevated risk of suicide during such times.
  • There is some evidence that ‘deaths by suicide increased in the United States during the 1918-19 influenza pandemic, and among older people in Hong Kong during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic’.
• Lockdowns have led to isolation, in turn, heightening anxiety and causing depression in societies, particularly in vulnerable communities.
• Dire socio-economic conditions arising from the pandemic such as mass migration, unemployment and economic distress make at-risk groups even more vulnerable during these times.
• The fear of getting infected, coupled with a lack of knowledge and the economic fallout has created a new level of stress not seen by many before.
• This situation is the worse among vulnerable populations who are susceptible to greater risks of infections, such as health-care workers, infected people, the elderly, migrant workers, those from resource-poor backgrounds, women facing domestic violence, individuals with compromised immunity, and those suffering from physical or psychological problems.

Pre-pandemic situation in India:

• Before the pandemic, India’s progress as one of the fastest-growing economies led to large paradigm shifts in the daily lives of its citizens.
• Major lifestyle shifts led to the rise of many lifestyle disorders in the last decade.
• Mental health disorders are one of the disorders of most concern, which have been swept under the carpet of stigma and discrimination.
• Many suicides are related to psychological disorders and distress.

Initiatives:

• India has created a task force to develop a national suicide prevention strategy.
• The plan incorporates the three universal strategies, including a ban or reduction in access to highly hazardous pesticides, reduction in consumption and availability of alcohol, and a non-sensationalised and responsible portrayal of suicide by the media.
• The media would need to follow the Press Council of India’s guidelines on reportage of suicide and also create awareness about suicide prevention.

Way Forward:

• There is a growing need to make mental health and suicide prevention a priority.
• At an individual level, any early signs of poor mental health such as a sudden change in behaviour, substance use, anxiety, disturbed sleep and difficulty in communication should not be ignored.
• Being informed and limiting oneself to authentic sources of information and reducing exposure to distressing news is a good mechanism to help a person cope with the situation.
• A system intervention can focus on identifying, supporting and referring suicidal individuals at all levels of the health-care system.
• There is an urgent need for destigmatising suicide as a phenomenon and ensure there is an increase in the number of functional and accessible helplines.
• Suicide prevention requires a mix of a top-down and a bottom-up approach, ensuring that all interventions are rooted in empathy.

Q1. Which of the following is not a species of butterfly found in India?

Q2. “Cnemaspis anandani” recently in news, is:

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to “Langa & Manganiar”:

Q4. Kyrgyzstan shares borders with:

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. The Supreme Court ruling on “protests” that seeks to strike a balance between the right to protest and the right to free movement could lead to suppression of protests by the force of the state. Critically examine. Also discuss the provisions regarding the right to protest peacefully enshrined in the Indian Constitution. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS 2 Polity and Governance).
2. India needs a comprehensive law to curb killings in the name of honour and prohibit interference in the matrimonial choice of individuals. Examine. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS 1 Social Issues).

Read the previous CNA here.