TheJaggi

There is much talk of federalism and how the move to increase seats in parliament to give women 33 percent of the seats is somehow a threat to federalism. Federalism is primarily about how powers are distributed (largely) between three levels of government, Central, state and local bodies. They actually have nothing to do with which state gets to sent how many MPs to parliament. Yes, one can agree that relative changes in the number of seats between states will increase or reduce the voting powers of those states on central legislation. But this does not in any way reduce the already devolved powers of states. Let us note a few cases where federal powers were actually impacted severely, but very few states protested. The goods and services tax (GST) impacted the ability of states to raise or lower indirect taxes, but most of them agreed to let go on the assumption that their revenues would go up. But no one spoke up for local bodies, who now have to depend on grants from state gove...

A political fight is brewing over the Modi government’s move to raise the Lok Sabha’s strength to 850 from the current 550 (actual strength: 543) in order to give space for women’s reservation in parliament and state assemblies. There are two problems with this rushed decision, though directionally it is correct. I have always argued that trying to accommodate a 33 percent women’s quota in the existing 543 seats would be too unsettling, since these seats would also be rotated in different elections. It means no MP can expect to contest the same constituency he has nurtured after one or two elections – as it happens in the case of seats reserved for SCs and STs. The two things wrong with this initiative, which I broadly support, are, one, the unnecessary rush in the middle of a major set of assembly elections. And, two, not giving people with real objections to state their case in an open forum and argue for a compromise that respects two principles: making most constituency sizes m...

Over millennia, men, social groups, and countries have fought over land, resources, women, even honour, but the arrival of Abrahamic monotheism brought in a new edge to these usual causes of conflict. When God becomes the primary or additional cause of conflict, there are no easy off-ramps available. The ongoing war in West Asia, where three Abrahamic nations (Israel, US and Iran) are in conflict, and several other Abrahamic ones face collateral damage, should force us to examine the nature of monotheistic animosity. The problem is not monotheism itself, for many people accept that there is a higher order or universal God who oversees the world that was created. The advent of science has not modified this belief in any way, except to the extent of acknowledging that both science and God can coexist, for the latter’s existence cannot be disproved. Belief in God is an unfalsifiable proposition. So, regardless whether your belief system is polytheistic, henotheistic, pantheistic or mo...

Two recent wars, the one going on between Ukraine and Russia, and the other between Israel-US and Iran, will force all defence doctrines and military strategies to be re-examined everywhere. In both war, two defenders, Iran and Ukraine, were dwarfed by the firepower of the adversary, but neither has caved in, much less been defeated. What has differentiated these two wars from the ones that happened before them are the following: One , low-tech and low-cost defence and offence equipment like drones and missiles are able to counter much stronger air and sea power of the adversary. Air and sea power, in which the US and Israel have had an overwhelming advantage, has not been able to quell the resistance from Iran. Far from it, the latter has been able to take the war – at least in terms of drones and missiles unleashed – to its opponents’ (even bystanders’) territory, causing economic damage to energy and other infrastructure. Ukrainian drones have caused enough damage to Russian ref...

There has been a verbal war going on between two groups, one broadly supporting the Modi government and the other not, about whether or not our arch enemy Pakistan gained some global diplomatic recognition for its go-between role in the US-Iran ceasefire. We should just chill. There is no need for India to envy Pakistan’s day in the sun, just as it not necessary to gloat over its various failures. What we should always be doing is to be on guard, and do what is in our best interests. Pakistan has not suddenly become the world’s peacenik, and will revert to its true colours again a bit later. A leopard does not change its spots. But let us examine the question anyway: did Pakistan truly mediate a truce between US and Iran, or was it just a messenger boy? Just as the US may have played the role of go-between in ending the four-day Operation Sindoor conflict – a role which was never tantamount to actual mediation - this is exactly what Pakistan has been doing in the US-Iran conflict. ...

There are several lessons to be learnt from the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in several states, with West Bengal giving us more headaches than the earlier ones in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Before we assess what went right, what wrong, and who should share the blame, let us first give ourselves a synopsis of the completed SIR process in West Bengal, which, of course, excludes those deletions that are yet to be decided by the appellate process. Some of the restorations may, regrettably happen well after the election process gets concluded. It is clearly problematic if so many voters cannot exercise their franchise, but it is possible to exaggerate this denial of rights. I have seen no election in which many voters failed to find their names in the voter lists, but what is different this time is the scale of deletions. The numbers put out in the case of West Bengal, which votes in two phases on 23 and 29 April, suggest that over 90 lakh names have b...

Over the last few elections, India has seen the steady decline of “secular” parties and the gradual rise of Muslim parties. The latter are not yet a significant part of the Indian political process, but they mirror the rise of Jinnah-style Muslim League politics in pre-partition India.  In the forthcoming West Bengal elections, where the Muslim vote will significantly impact outcomes in more than 80 constituencies, a new Muslim party called Aam Janata Unnayan Party has been formed by Humayun Kabir , a former Trinamool Congress politician, to fight on 182 seats, with Asaduddin Owaisi of the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen backing him. In Assam, the largely Muslim-dominated All India United Democratic Front headed by Badruddin Ajmal is again backed by Owaisi . In the recent Maharashtra local body elections, Owaisi’s party scored big wins , in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Malegaon and Mumbai at the cost of traditional “secular” parties like the Samajwadi Party. In the Bihar asse...

The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is hearing a case involving denial of citizenship by birth to some categories of persons living in the country. Through an executive order issued on Day 1 of his second term in office, Donald Trump signed a decree intended to protect the “meaning and value of American citizenship”. Through this decree he ended birthright citizenship for kids of illegal immigrants (aka undocumented immigrants), or even children of legal immigrants who may become permanent residents in future (like H1B workers or those on student visas). Under the US 14th amendment , anyone born in the US can automatically become a citizen. The amendment says, inter alia, that “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”  The importance of this restriction of birthright citizenship to Trump’s MAGA base, which includes everyone from white supremacists to people who ...

The damage that colonialism does lives long after it formally ends. Just as a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon ends up triggering a storm in Europe, one single book, written by a racist intellectual in faraway Britain about a people he does not know anything about and the land he has never seen with his own eyes can cause immense damage to an entire people for centuries. A path-breaking book by authors Kundan Singh and Krishna Maheshwari deserves high praise because it connects the dots from the mischief done in one book with the long-term damage it inflicted on colonised people. A few chapters in The History of British India , written by James Mill, father of the more famous John Stuart Mill, have influenced - and continue to influence - western misrepresentations of India, and more specifically Hindus and Hinduism. This misrepresentation endures even today, though in more politically correct form. The book , Colonial Discourse and the Suffering of Indian American Children: ...