OPINION | Why SCO is Important for India Despite its Members Often Being at War with Each Other

  • October 11, 2022
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By: Tara Kartha

The glory of Samarkand, once the stuff of legend, was once again on full display as the leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) descended on to the tarmac. All eyes were on the bilateral meetings on the sidelines, with speculation on the possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Unsurprisingly, that didn’t happen, but plenty else did. And with one new member, another in the offing, and another five as dialogue partners, the SCO is a growing child, and is gathering pace. An alliance it is not, and its documents often lack anything substantial, but for India it is important to be there for multiple reasons.

SCO AS A GROWING CHILD

As the Prime Minister said, the SCO with new member Iran, comprising nine member states (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan), does include more than a third of world population and contribute some 30 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Since India and Pakistan joined in 2017, both get to sit at the high table, while Afghanistan has observer status, and Nepal and Sri Lanka are dialogue partners. Belarus is to transit to full membership, but Mongolia was in the first category, while Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, and Turkey in the second. To that can be added Myanmar, Maldives, Bahrain, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates, who are all prospective dialogue partners.

Looking at the list, it seems that SCO members do rather fight among themselves. That given another outbreak of war in Armenia, and a still simmering border tensions between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. That latter is close to being settled once and for all, which is more than one can say about the India-China border disputes, despite the showcasing of disengagement at Gogra. So the bottom line: Despite all the big talk of military exercises and the like, the SCO is not a security organisation which requires trust and a common goal among members. Which is why India sends only a token contingent, and tolerates Pakistani presence. Given the suspicious gaze from Washington, and the realities of a menacing China, that’s about all we’re comfortable with.

CONNECTIVITY TO WHERE?

Given the massive size of the SCO, there is considerable potential in trade, and connectivity across the region. Don’t forget Samarkand was once the centre of a caravan trade that spanned the continent. Today’s ‘caravans’ would be trucks and pipelines. SCO members have among them major gas and oil suppliers in the region (Russia, Kazakhstan) and also the largest consumers (China, India). Again, among them are also the largest wheat producers, which includes India. The Samarkand Declaration therefore rightfully centralises connectivity which is a priority for India, as well as energy and food security.

So far ‘connectivity’ has only benefited China. The organisation has so far been unabashedly Chinese dominated with its Secretariat in Beijing. All existing SCO members have signed on to the Belt and Road Initiative; nearly have hefty Chinese investment and its ungainly twin of unsustainable debt; and some like Kazakhstan and Russia are main partners for connectivity to Europe — which essentially means Chinese freight trains plying to and fro. Which is why the Prime Minister stressed on the need for all countries to cooperate in allowing transit. With Iran now a full member, both have recently given another push for transit trade through Chabahar, a project that has been lagging in part due to sanctions on Iran, and in part due to Teheran’s lassitude.

Then there is the obvious alternative. Pakistan’s Army chief has been talking of a shift to ‘geo-economics’ for the last two years, stressing its geographic location for precise transit. As Pakistan quite literally sinks into the mire of economic decay, there is hope that some progress will take place, particularly since Islamabad did allow transit of wheat for Afghanistan; and in a less known development, allowed commercial cargo through to Uzbekistan. That was done after Pakistan inked a bilateral transit trade agreement with Tashkent. Step one is therefore already done. The trouble is that this came via Mumbai and Karachi. Pakistan has to be persuaded to open land corridors which are the cheapest and shortest route. For Central Asia as well as Pakistan, the Indian market is the obvious alternative to a complete domination by China, in multiple ways; especially since leading recipients of Chinese investment like Kazakhstan are having second thoughts.

THE POLITICAL BALANCING IN SCO

Apart from divided militaries, there are also strong political divisions within the SCO. As President Xi Jinping was awarded state honour in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on his visit, Moscow would be alarmed, notwithstanding all the public camaraderie. Moscow has rather helplessly been watching Beijing’s march across the region. Russia still retains the military lead through the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organisation), which maintains a semblance of control. In a sense, this is China outsourcing this tricky operation, while it collects the big bucks.

But all is not well. President Xi’s concerns on Ukraine, though likely to be broadly similar to that of Delhi in terms of a huge economic impact, also has a more direct problem. The 3680 Chinese freight trains that ran across Russia to Europe are now stalled due to the war. As it faces drought and Covid lockdowns, Beijing will want this war ended — and fast.

India seems to have sent the same message, according to a Kremlin read out. But to get leverage within the SCO, including its policies in Afghanistan, India can’t do without Russian support. As Delhi moves away from Russian weaponry, it needs more ballast. As an expert analyst points out, there is opportunity in exploitation of Russian hydrocarbon resources, as Western majors pull out of its energy sectors. That includes Shell relinquishing its equity partnership with Gazprom and its stake in Sakhalin-II, and British Petroleum pulling out of a partnership with Rosneft. It’s possible, especially if connectivity triumphs. Within a big organisation, think big.

…AND THE BALANCE OUTSIDE

Meanwhile, reports from the US observe an incredible expansiveness in China’s nuclear weapons capability in a definite shift away from ‘minimum deterrence’. That’s a matter of serious concern, even assuming that there was no border conflict at all. As Washington moves towards greater pressure on China with the Taiwan Policy Act 2022 under active consideration, tensions between the US and China are set to climb. This occurs even as Delhi commits itself not just to the Quad, but also to new partnerships such as an France-Australia-India trilateral, and most recently in an interaction with France which promises to energise this grouping.

Other ‘mini-laterals’ thrive, with Japan and the US, and another with Italy and Japan. All of this is only likely to make Beijing uneasy, whereupon it has the choice of either increasing cooperation with India in SCO — for instance, in pressuring Pakistan to open up transit trade — or upping the military ante. The most vital requirement is a complete border settlement that will act as a massive confidence building measure. But Beijing doesn’t seem to see this simple logic.

As India takes on the SCO presidency, it will be confronted with the reality of urgent common problems among members, that includes a severe climate crisis. All of this, including energy and food security, require cooperation on the ground, and not just nice sounding “declarations’ if the organisation is to grow to its potential, which is considerable. On a more local note, it is heartening that the SCO’s founding documents — which both India and Pakistan signed — also has a focus on ending terrorism. Though that did not prevent China from blocking terrorist designations of Pakistani nationals, there is a genuine fear of radicalisation among these less than democratic leaders.

While the RATS (Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure) is hardly in the James Bond category, it has been useful in that it now proposed to create a unified register of terrorist and extremist organisations whose activities will be prohibited on the territories of the SCO member countries. That’s something too. For Delhi, the year ahead will be full of opportunities, some of which may actually be an enabling factor in China-India relations. But for that to happen, it is Beijing that has to decide what it wants the SCO to be. A gaggle of warring and dissonant voices, or one which actually delivers prosperity. Even in terms of normal human conduct, never mind huge unwieldy organisations, the choice should be obvious.

The author is a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi. She tweets @kartha_tara. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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HOME » NEWS » OPINION » OPINION | SHOULD DALIT CONVERTS GET SCHEDULED CASTE STATUS?2-MIN READ

Opinion | Should Dalit Converts Get Scheduled Caste Status?

By: Badri Narayan

News18.com

Last Updated: OCTOBER 10, 2022, 20:24 IST

New Delhi, India

The three-member commission on the issue will be headed by ex-CJI K G Balakrishnan. (News 18 Tamil)

The three-member commission on the issue will be headed by ex-CJI K G Balakrishnan. (News 18 Tamil)

Currently, only those belonging to Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist communities are categorised as SCs

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment recently constituted a three-member commission to be headed by ex-CJI K G Balakrishnan for deep understanding of whether Scheduled Caste (SC) status can be accorded to Dalits who have over the years converted to religions other than Sikhism or Buddhism.

Currently, only those belonging to Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist communities are categorised as SCs. Initially, this provision was for Hindu communities. The order was amended in 1956 to include Sikh communities and again in 1990 to include Buddhist communities as SCs.

The commission is to document and understand in what circumstances these communities converted to Christianity and Islam and also to understand the changes an SC person goes through after converting to another religion and its implications on the question of including them as SCs. The Balakrishnan Commission is also expected to understand the impact of such a decision on the existing SC communities.Advertisement

It is a controversial issue in Indian society and politics. Several representatives of existing SC communities have opposed the inclusion of converts to other religions. However, commissions such as Rang Nath Mishra Commission, National Minority Commission report, etc. have argued for extension of reservation to Dalit converts in Christianity and Islam.

Firstly, making the commission does not mean that government is moving towards any stand on it. It only shows the government is serious to respond to this question raised by various reports, community representatives and the Supreme Court.

Proponents of the argument argue that as it happened in case of Sikhism and Buddhism, it can be done for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims, too. The second argument is that Dalits, who have converted to Christianity and Islam, are facing similar kinds of social conditions such as social exclusion and invisibility. They are being treated somewhat similar to how they were in the Hindu society. Changing of religion could not help improve their social condition and end their sense of separation and misery. Like Hindus, the caste-based division is also found among Muslims such as Lalbegi and Bhangi communities involved in carcassing. Separate churches are also found for Dalit converts in Indian Christianity.

However, understanding the entire structure of social exclusion of converts among Muslims and Christians needs deeper research. Unfortunately, except a few papers, we don’t have ethnographic studies on these issues. In this condition, before taking any decision, we need to qualitatively document daily exclusions and suffering of Dalit Muslim and Dalit Christian converts based on social indicators.

Reservation and protective discrimination-based policies, on the one hand, give sense of empowerment to those who are eligible for it and also raise hopes among those who aspire to get socio-economic mobility. As an important constituent of development and empowerment, reservations create hope and aspirations for the future. Various marginal communities, who are still backward, seek reservation opportunities.

However, any decision around it leads to ‘for and against’ arguments in our society, which may produce gain and recovery in electoral democracy.

It is now upto the SC and Government of India to tackle this issue.

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About the Author

BADRI NARAYAN

Badri Narayan is Director at the GB Pant Social Science Institute, Prayagraj. He is a political analyst and works on social change. His research inter…Read MoreTags:

First Published:OCTOBER 10, 2022, 20:21 ISTLast Updated:OCTOBER 10, 2022, 20:24 IST

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HOME » NEWS » OPINION » OPINION | AMIT SHAH’S J&K VISIT: RESERVATION FOR PAHARIS A GAME CHANGER OR JUST ANOTHER PROMISE?5-MIN READ

OPINION | Amit Shah’s J&K Visit: Reservation for Paharis a Game Changer or Just Another Promise?

By: Yana Mir

Last Updated: OCTOBER 10, 2022, 19:55 IST

Jammu and Kashmir, India

Amit Shah during his visit to J&K last week... Pahari leaders such as PDP's Tanveer Ahmad Tantray have acknowledged the hard fact that they won’t be surprised if BJP grabs all Pahari votes in the upcoming J&K elections. (Photo: News18 File)

Amit Shah during his visit to J&K last week… Pahari leaders such as PDP’s Tanveer Ahmad Tantray have acknowledged the hard fact that they won’t be surprised if BJP grabs all Pahari votes in the upcoming J&K elections. (Photo: News18 File)

Gujjars and Bakarwals of the Valley, for whom the controversial ST status and its benefits were reserved, will now be at loggerheads with the Pahari community, because of undesired competition

Union home minister Amit Shah arrived in Jammu and Kashmir with élan last week with people waiting with open arms. Undeniably, this was one of the most triumphant visits by any Union minister to Jammu and Kashmir especially with regards to the security situation.

Surely, we are aware of how 13 people were killed overnight on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the Valley in 2013. Such killings were an indication of discontent by the people who were trying to give a statement to the world that India’s ministers are not welcome to their land.

But this time, other than the bizarre homicide of DG prisons in Jammu, in what looked like a domestic dispute between an employer and his house help, no other incidents of civilian or security personnel killings were reported during this particular visit of Amit Shah.

All in all, a solid combination of efficiency of security personnel and locals who did not care to rebel against this visit, much unlike their rebellious or oblivious attitude to visits by other Indian Union ministers in the past.Advertisement

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That said, let’s take a practical look at how this visit was perceived in its entirety.

“ST status to Paharis is a distant dream — an illusion — an empty promise like all other statements by BJP,” this is one of the claims by the opposition.

They also said the ST status to Paharis is an agenda-based announcement to create communal rift between the peacefully co-existing Pahari and previous ST communities, and a strategy to divide Muslims of the Valley.

The third assertion is, “ST status to Paharis is just a trick to grab Pahari votes.”

Now, let’s examine if there’s any weight to any of these.

The “illusion” theory stems from the fact that despite promising 7 lakh jobs after the erstwhile state was converted to a Union Territory, not much has been perceived on ground in terms of job generation. Over-emphasis on security-based tactics led to a huge footfall of tourists, but consequent tourism revenue doesn’t incur as much credit to the BJP as it does to the security forces and Kashmir’s own natural beauty.

Most infrastructure projects are witnessing on-project professionals being hired from outside the UT.

In fact, many of the jobs that existed before the abrogation of Article 370 still await regularisation of wages.

Corruption and existence of opinionated anti-India employees, positioned since the days of Hurriyat, are still rampant in government departments leading to most decisions by the Centre in an executional state of limbo.

Needless to mention the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, which the economy is still trying to bounce back from.

However, the opposition, in its most natural tendency, will not stop to consider the constraints faced by the BJP, and will most definitely rub it in the eyes of the Kashmiri public that the BJP just came up with yet another futile promise which will never see the dawn.

Moving on to the next big assertion that this is a master strategy to divide the Muslims of the Valley. Well, the overdose of Hindutva narrative being run internationally against India, which has even managed to reach frail, impressionable minds of some Muslims in India, is doing the job of a catalyst in this theory.Advertisement

Gujjars and Bakarwals of the Valley, for whom the controversial ST status and its benefits were reserved, will now be at loggerheads with the Pahari community, because of undesired competition, this is the basic observation of the Opposition, which is trying to support the under-confident community. Throughout history, India’s unregularised democracy has never allowed competition to thrive and political vote bank has always been magnetised by using the ace card of reservation. Which is why, I, a simple Indian Kashmiri Nationalist, being in the ‘bhakt’ category myself, a fan of Amit Shah and his iron fist policies, am a bit sceptical of this decision by my favourite leader.

Why should there be a reservation for a community of people who are highly educated and holding respectable positions in urban areas of the UT? If the uplift of rural Paharis was the challenge, then why not develop the border areas where they dwell. Good roads will increase trade prospects for them, skill training centres will make them efficient and self-sufficient, giving a Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the only consumable produce in their terrain — Gucchi Mushroom — will make them prosperous agro-based entrepreneurs just like their counterparts in South Kashmir — the apple traders. Developing malls, multiplexes, even a dedicated Film City like the NT Rama Rao Film Studio in Hyderabad, would have been the ideal modus operandi to generate jobs and tourist footfalls, all within environmental preservation standards.Advertisement

But it was quite disappointing that Amit Shah, too, resorted to the outdated reservation technique to amass popular support, rather than choosing the more challenging path — his natural style of leadership.

And finally, the statement by the Opposition, that this is not because Amit Shah and his party cares for the Pahari people, but to attract their votes. Well, this one is a miss!

The BJP has always been idealistically nationalist, never compromised on nationalism come what may. It’s ideological support to empower Indian nationalists whether employees in Armed Forces, or authors/ public speakers who vividly support Indian nationalism or communities who have sacrificed their lives and generations to remain loyal to India, whether it is Kashmiri Pandits or Paharis, is no hidden fact. Surely, same minds strike a chord, and this is the chord that connected Amit Shah with the fiercely Nationalist Pahari Community. Many of them are now openly supporting the BJP on social media. Pahari leaders from opposition parties like Tanveer Ahmad Tantray from Peoples Democratic Party led by Mehbooba Mufti, are publicly acknowledging the hard fact, that they won’t be surprised if BJP grabs all Pahari votes in the upcoming J&K elections.

Conclusively, Amit Shah remains the hero, with an iron fist to traitors and a loving hand to all those who love India, albeit, he missed a great opportunity to truly empower the India-loving Pahari community who have low expectations but deserve far better than what they are getting.

Yana Mir is a journalist and social activist. She is the Vice-President of All JK Youth Society. 



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