Something About The Law

The Economist is currently running a debate series on International Migration, and the content may be accessed here.

The motion: This house believes there is too much international migration.

Apart from expert insight, the live feed includes a platform for rebuttal from the floor, background readings, and an opinion poll. The Debate is scheduled to close on September 16, 2009.

Prince Turki Al-Fasal, former Saudi Ambassador to the US, and member of the Royal Family, on why the rallying call for American energy independence is all but a fable; makes for a highly compelling read.

Article sourced from Foreign Policy:

Don’t be Crude.

….But this “energy independence” motto is political posturing at its worst — a concept that is unrealistic, misguided, and ultimately harmful to energy-producing and -consuming countries alike. And it is often deployed as little more than code for arguing that the United States has a dangerous reliance on my country of Saudi Arabia, which gets blamed for everything from global terrorism to high gasoline prices…..

Two historic speeches were delivered yesterday; one by Barack Obama on America’s new and renewed MidEast policy, in a keynote address at Cairo University – and the other by Pratibha Patil, in her inaugural address to the Indian Parliament. Both are of immense significance; while the former indicates a tectonic, and inevitable, shift in US outlook towards Iran, the Palestine/Arab-Israeli conflict and the AfPak region, the latter speech lays down the contours of future governance in the the world’s largest democracy.

The speeches come at a critical juncture: The MidEast region is expected to witness policy and  (even) regime changes in the light of imminent elections in Iran and Lebanon. The right-wing coalition led by Netanayahu in Israel, has presented several problems to the US, with the question of cessation of settlement construction (along the West Bank) being the latest thorn in US-Israeli flesh. At the same time, there is empathy to the cause of Islamic countries, with Obama recognizing Iran’s right to utilize nuclear power for peaceful, civilian purposes and the two-state solution favouring Palestine. Clearly, the current administration has realized that it must step down from the ivory tower of benevolent patronage, and sit right across the table, treating the other end with respect. Find the text of his speech here.

Smt. Patil’s address to the Parliament also comes after a momentous exercise, where the Indian electorate has delivered a decisive mandate in favour of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). In contradistinction to most pre-poll predictions, the far-from-fractured verdict allows the UPA to smoothen parameters of good governance, an index that is widely acclaimed to have swung the elections in their favour. Indeed, yesterday’s Presidential address laid down the UPA’s course of action for the first few months of its tenure. The entire text is available here.

Major priorities include:-

1. Fortifying national intelligence on terrorism and internal security

2. Ensuring the approval of the Women’s Reservation Bill, The Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, Food Security Bil, the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill and a model Public Services Law

3. Issuing a Unique Identity Card to all citizens

4. Increasing public investment in agriculture and irrigation (strengthening existing plans)

5. Reformulating the National Literacy Mission as the National Mission for Female Literacy (taking into account great disparity in literacy levels)

6. Consolidating the flagship welfare programs of the UPA (NREGS, JNNURM, Bharat Nirman, Indira Awas Yojana etc)

7. Increasing Foreign Direct Investment through proper policy regimes.

8. Widening the ambit of the Right to Information to include non-strategic Government activities.

9. Creation of a National Council on Higher Education; &

10. Strengthening strategic relationships with SAARC neighbours, the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and the developing world.

The speeches from both Presidents also elicited different responses. Obama’s address received mixed reactions from the MidEast and others; while citizens, institutions, analysts and leaders agree that the speech signals a definite attempt to end years of hostility and mutual suspicion, they believe that these words must be followed up with action soon.

The address to the Indian Parliament has, by and large, received favourable response from the media and analysts, as the measures proposed are a logical continuation of the previous Government’s policies. Nonetheless, there will be obstacles, both political and practical, while implementing ambitious and popular projects. The mandate of the people becomes important in this regard and the UPA would do well to return the favour through good governance.

The speeches, given by political and constitutional heads of two of the world’s most influential nations, are iconic in character; once transformed into reality, these words could well shape the course of the 21st Century.

The recent spate of attacks against members of the Indian community in Australia has spawned numerous allegations of racial abuse and discriminatory practice; the Australian Government is currently under immense pressure to bring such perpetrators to justice. The Indian media has whipped up a storm, devoting several hours of airtime to the matter; quite understandably, the nation is quite concerned with such disturbing developments Down Under. There have been many debates attempting to identify racial undertones in such attacks and the issue is polarizing opinion.

Amrita Khemka (a student from NALSAR who is currently at the University of New South Wales, Sydney on an Exchange Program) expresses her views on the matter. In addition, she has garnered diverse views from Indians who are currently studying/employed in Australia. Read on:

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I came to UNSW on an Exchange Program for one semester in February, 2009. In a little over four months, I have come to realize the fact that there are/have been attacks on Indians, widespread perception being the community is no longer safe from such assaults. This is my first time in Australia; I have no relatives here, but a friend who is doing masters from University of Technology, Sydney.

From a personal standpoint, I would say that I did not face any discrimination along racial or other lines from people in Australia. In fact, I found them to be friendly and supportive; the University authorities, in particular, have been very accommodating.

In recent times, with the increased number of attacks on Indians and the Indian Government expressing concern over the same, the issue of racial discrimination has been in the eye of a storm. Australian authorities, under immense international and domestic pressure, have stated that there shall be zero tolerance to any act motivated by racial differences.

I was curious to know if racism does exist and if the Indian students did face any problems. I then decided to get opinions from Indian students who have been studying here and residing with their family for more than three years.

Here is what few students currently studying at UNSW had to say to this:

Dinesh Ramanan (enrolled in the Masters Program at UNSW) has been living in Sydney for almost five years now. He believes that the Indian media is going overboard with the entire issue. He acknowledged that people who stay out late at night are often attacked by inebriated white people, more so for money and most of the time there are assaults when the attackers are met with resistance. However, he rejected the idea of a planned/targeted assault against the Indian community, stating that people from other nationalities have also been bearing the brunt of such sporadic attacks.

On the other hand, Krishna Ramarathinam (UNSW Employee) was of the view that it is a serious issue and there is a need to protest against the perpetrators. He mentioned an incident where one of his friends at school was mistreated and roughed up while going home. In that case, there was no money involved and it was a racist insult at the Town Hall Station. This incident apparently left the boy in depression for many years.

Piyush Bedi (UNSW Employee) was of the view that while the issue is very disturbing the Indian media’s handling of the same is only making matters worse. The constant use of terms like “curry bashing” on air will definitely not assist the cause (the spurt in hate blogs across the Web may just prove that he’s right). He also said that people need to be more cautious and not stay out late and travel in groups.

He added, “I don’t consider Aussies to be racist. There are pockets of racist groups admittedly, but the kind of people who seem to target Indians strike me as the sort of people just looking to beat someone up, and Indians make an easy target. I imagine that they would do similar things to Chinese people, or any other race, for that matter.”

There are students, however, who question, quite interestingly, our ‘deserve-worthiness’ to complain against such incidents. Sneha (Student – UNSW) agreed with Piyush. She added, “Of course racism does exist here, but give me one country in which it doesn’t exist. India is a prime example where there are hate crimes against people of different castes and religions. Racism is an evil thing and I personally think discrimination is even more despicable when it occurs in places like India amongst Indians. If we can’t accept our own people, how can we expect tolerance from outsiders? I personally have experienced racism in Australia back in the day, and although it was extremely painful, especially when you’re a seven year old child in a new country, I haven’t let it shape my view of this country. It’s my home and has given me much more than it’s taken from me.”

[Arun: Would such an argument hold water in this circumstance? Is this an issue of some sort of retribution against India for certain admittedly abhorrent domestic practices? Racism at any venue must be strongly condemned, and our own shortcomings cannot be used as an excuse to decriminalize or tolerate such incidents elsewhere]

Natasha (Law student – UNSW), also agreed with Sneha. “Racism exists to some extent everywhere. People need to realize that if you want to change something, the best place to begin is yourself. Sustain your own morals and values and work to increase your own understanding and tolerance of different cultures.”

Mimansa (Engineering student – UNSW) says, “Most times the victims in question are international students, who do not have the luxury of having their tuition fees paid for, and need to work. But the fact that they’re on a student visa severely restricts where they can work/ how many hours the can work etc, so they pretty much take up any job they get, and whatever shifts they are given, and they probably cant afford a car so they are forced to use trains at odd hours. With the question of racism, even if some drunk guy is being “racist”, it definitely does not represent the views of the rest of the population…
But in saying that, such incidents have been happening for a long period, with taxi drivers, students etc, and the media is leaving no stone unturned to sensationalize this time. But if it raises an alarm for both Governments in question to ensure safety of everyone, I guess it’ll be worth it.”

From what I understood after listening to the views from people living here, the situation is one that merits immediate attention; Indians are victims most of time mainly because they are scared to report to the police. Even when there has been complains to the police there is no immediate action.

Having said that, I do not agree with the way the Indian media has been portraying the entire matter. This is a sensitive issue and the way it is being dealt in India will definitely affect Indians living in Australia as well. I agree that the there is need for curative steps, but response must be measured and not taken in haste.

On a personal note, I also would like to add that the Indian students who come here to study in the hope that they would get better options are not always correct. Students who live alone and who do not have sufficient financial support are forced to do part-time jobs and hence are more prone to abuse and attacks.

To digress further, I am strongly of the opinion that the quality of teaching in India is as good as that of Australian Universities and hence, choosing Australia as higher education does not, in my strictly personal opinion, seem to be a sensible choice.

The British Council is co-ordinating a series of lectures to commemorate its 75th anniversary (entitled 75 years of Cultural Relations) and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will deliver the inaugural address on February 19,2009. The lecture series, named Talking without Borders, is aimed at providing a bird’s eye-view of the most pressing needs in today’s global village.

Quite interestingly, Desmond Tutu has written a superlative article for the BBC, in a moving piece titled Viewpoint: A Word of Caution for Obama. Refreshingly analytical, the article aims to debunk the myth of ‘anti-Americanism’, emphasizing on the tectonic shifts in perceptions during the nascent stages of the Obama regime. The article, cogently articulated in style and substance, may be viewed here.

Because the Bush years have been disastrous for other parts of the world in many ways, Obama’s victory dramatises the self-correcting mechanism that epitomises American democracy. Elsewhere, oppressors, tyrants and their lapdogs can say what they like and, for the most part, they stay put.

But ordinary citizens living in undemocratic societies are not fools; they may not always agree with US foreign policy, but they can see and register the difference between the United States – where people can kick an unpopular political party out – and their own countries………

………….And here I want to end with what seems so utterly obvious about what we learned from our particular situation in South Africa. Peace does not come from the barrel of a gun but is achieved when cultural differences are respected and the fundamental rights of all are recognised and upheld.