#everydayquiz #TheHindu #IndianExpress #BusinessStandard
THE HINDU: Lessons from a massacre
It is
difficult to equate delayed justice with ‘justice denied’ in all cases. There
may be occasions when even a delayed conviction can send out a message that
there is no such thing as permanent impunity.
The verdict of a Special CBI
Court in Lucknow sentencing 47 police personnel to life imprisonment for participating in one of the most
heinous massacres perpetrated in the name of an ‘encounter’ with armed
terrorists, is one such instance in which some sort of accountability has been
established, and the law has caught up with the perpetrators. On July 12, 1991,
a bus carrying Sikh pilgrims was intercepted by the police about 125 km from
Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, and all the men among them were taken away in a van.
The police later claimed that the men were terrorists and that 10 of them were
killed in three different ‘encounters’ in the forests that night. A Central
Bureau of Investigation probe ordered by the Supreme Court later revealed that
the victims were killed in fake encounters. The agency charge-sheeted 57
personnel, but 10 of them died during the course of the trial. It is worth recalling
that militancy was at its peak in Punjab at the time. There were fears that it
had spilled over from Punjab to the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh. The police
in both States suspected that some Punjab militants were active in the Terai
too, and Pilibhit, a district with a significant Sikh population, was under
watch. It was also a phase in which the state was seen to be using questionable
tactics to eliminate suspected terrorists.
A
judicial commission appointed by the Kalyan Singh government had given a clean
chit to the police, even contending that the officers involved in the Pilibhit
operation deserved ‘commendation’. But the CBI came to a different conclusion.
However, the agency was faulted by human rights activists for leaving out
superior officers, especially the Superintendent of Police at the time, R.D.
Tripathi, from the charge sheet. Many felt that a night-long operation
involving personnel from several police stations could not have taken place
without the knowledge of the district police chief. The trial judge, too, has
noted that senior officers posted in the district at the time could have been
part of the conspiracy. It is possible to commend the agency for successfully
prosecuting those involved, but it is the families of the victims that deserve
credit for their perseverance. However, the long delay and the failure to bring
higher officials to book will surely cast a shadow on the quality of justice
meted out in such cases. In troubled times, uniformed men tend to resort to
extrajudicial killing not only to wreak vengeance on militants or extremists
targeting their colleagues and civilians, but also to garner rewards and
promotions. It can only be hoped that a verdict fixing responsibility will help
end the culture of impunity seemingly enjoyed by the security forces, and bring
a sense of closure to instances of such excesses.
mas·sa·cre
An indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people.
im·pu·ni·ty
Exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious
consequences of an action.
per·pe·trate
Carry out or commit (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action).
in·ter·cept
Obstruct (someone or something) so as to prevent them from
continuing to a destination.
tac·tic
An action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific
end.
con·tend
Struggle to surmount (a difficulty or danger)
meted out
to give or order a punishment or make someone receivecruel or unfair treatment
wreak
Cause (a large amount of damage or harm).
venge·ance
Punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or
wrong.
clo·sure
The act or process of closing something, especially an
institution, thoroughfare, or frontier, or of being closed.
The hindu: Staying accommodative
The Reserve
Bank of India’s reiteration of an accommodative stance after it cut the repo
rate by 25 basis points on
Tuesday is a clear and unequivocal message that the monetary authorities stand
ready to spur economic growth. Indeed, Governor Raghuram Rajan has gone a step
further by explicitly stating that going forward, policymakers will be looking
for greater elbow room, including in additional readings of low headline
inflation, indications of softening core inflation, and evidence of
transmission of its previous interest rate reductions. Explaining the rationale
for his policy action, Dr. Rajan said the RBI’s aim is to help give a monetary
fillip to private investment, which is currently becalmed by low capacity
utilisation. The central bank’s focus on domestic growth comes not a moment too
soon. International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Tuesday warned
that the global economy is losing momentum, with the recovery being
“too slow, too fragile”. Among the headwinds that both Ms. Lagarde and Dr.
Rajan have cited is China’s current slowdown. For India, this year’s monsoon
will be a critical factor. If, as the RBI has assumed in its policy
formulation, rainfall during the season is broadly normal after two consecutive
years of shortfall, it would provide a healthy supply shock: simultaneously
bolstering rural demand and boosting the availability of farm produce. That
would help temper inflationary trends. The RBI, for its part, has found comfort
in a string of data points. These include its Consumer Confidence Survey that
shows a marginal improvement in consumer sentiment and the manufacturing
purchasing managers’ index reflecting a continuing expansion. And survey
outcomes — both for industrial and services outlook for the first quarter of
the new fiscal year — suggesting that business expectations remain positive
have fed into the central bank’s decision to retain its 7.6 per cent
forecast for growth in gross
value added terms for 2016-17.
On
the inflation front, the RBI has drawn reassurance from the fact that food
inflation eased in the second half of the last financial year, notably as a
result of a decline in prices and not as a result of the base effect. The
central bank expects retail inflation to continue to decelerate and remain
around 5 per cent this year. And showing that it has not dropped its guard
against incipient price pressures, the monetary authority flagged uncertainties
such as historic lows in reservoir levels, the recent upturn in prices of
commodities, especially oil, and the impact of the implementation of the
Seventh Central Pay Commission’s recommendations, all meriting close watch. Dr.
Rajan is convinced that improved monetary transmission holds the key to
unlocking credit. To that end, the move to a marginal cost of funds based
lending rate regime has already helped pare borrowing costs by at least 25 to
50 basis points, according to initial estimates of the RBI. The coming months
will tell if Dr. Rajan’s pointed efforts to clean up banks’ balance sheets will
also help augment funds availability in the real economy.
accommodative
Accommodating: helpful in bringing about a harmonious
adaptation; "the warden was always accommodating in allowing visitors
in"; "made a special effort to be accommodating"
reiteration
Reduplication: the act of repeating over and again (or an
instance thereof)
un·e·quiv·o·cal
Leaving no doubt; unambiguous.
spur
A device with a small spike or a spiked wheel that is worn on a
rider's heel and used for urging a horse forward.
explicitly
In an explicit manner; "in his foreword Professor Clark
puts it explicitly"
spur
A device with a small spike or a spiked wheel that is worn on a
rider's heel and used for urging a horse forward.
Elbow room
freedom to do what you want
head·wind
A wind blowing from directly in front, opposing forward motion.
bol·ster
Support or strengthen; prop up.
de·cel·er·ate
(of a vehicle, machine, or process) reduce speed; slow down.
in·cip·i·ent
In an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop.
flag
Mark (an item) for attention or treatment in a specified way.
aug·ment
Make (something) greater by adding to it; increase.
Indian express : RJD’s Saheb
The political phenomenon of Mohammad Shahabuddin, four-time MP
from Siwan, currently serving a life sentence for double murder, is a throwback
to a past few in Bihar would want to remember. With a slew of cases including
murder, abduction and assault against him, he has come to symbolise “Jungle
Raj”, or the rule of lawlessness, as the last few years of the Lalu Prasad
regime are referred to. With the rise of Nitish Kumar to office in the last
decade, the process of law seemed to revive in Bihar and even catch up with
Siwan’s don. In Nitish’s Nootan Bihar, the political importance of a convicted
criminal was expected to progressively fade. In appointing Shahabuddin to the
RJD’s national executive committee, however, Lalu has signalled that some
things have evidently not changed. This doesn’t augur well for a state in which
the RJD-JD(U)-Congress “mahagathbandhan”
has been voted to power in the hope that it would steer it further away from a
past when people and capital fled to more secure climes. It sets the clock back
for the RJD as well, which has been trying to shed its image as a party that presided
over an abdicating state.
Shahabuddin’s elevation in the RJD now underlines a dispiriting
message: The don may be barred from contesting elections, but he continues to
be in power. Over the years, despite being in jail, Shahabuddin has exerted
enormous influence over the politics of his region to the extent that all
parties draw their candidates during elections from his stable. The Shahabuddin
phenomenon was the by-product of a political economy that emerged in Bihar
following the Mandal revolution. The social upheaval threw up new political
elites drawn from backward communities, who also sought the short cut of
co-option of musclemen in order to win elections instead of mobilising support
through the hard labour of politics. The Lalu Prasad government ignored
fundamental issues of redistribution of resources and regeneration of
productive economic activities, and encouraged, instead, forms of patronage
that mirrored the old feudal order.
The mahagathbandhan won a mandate to take forward the agendas of
sushasan or good governance and samajik nyaya, or social justice. The RJD, the
bigger party in the coalition, seems to ignore the 2015 verdict’s fundamental
message.
throw·back
A reversion to an earlier ancestral characteristic.
slew
Turn or slide violently or uncontrollably in a particular
direction.
ab·duc·tion
The action or an instance of forcibly taking someone away against
their will.
au·gur
(of an event or circumstance) portend a good or bad outcome.
pre·side
Be in the position of authority in a meeting or gathering.
ab·di·cate
(of a monarch) renounce one's throne.
dis·pir·it·ing
Causing someone to lose enthusiasm and hope; disheartening.
ex·ert
Apply or bring to bear (a force, influence, or quality).
e·nor·mous
Very large in size, quantity, or extent.
up·heav·al
A violent or sudden change or disruption to something.
pa·tron·age
The support given by a patron.
Business Standard: Prompt response
The government's
response to the revelation of rich and influential Indians parking their money
in offshore havens has been understandably swift. On Monday, The Indian Express
reported that, based on its reading of an estimated 11.5 million leaked tax
documents, more than 500 Indians paid Mossack Fonseca, a law firm headquartered
in Panama, to set up offshore entities in tax havens. Panama, a
well-established Caribbean tax haven, also helps the global rich to create
offshore companies in an easy and tax-free environment with a veil of secrecy
that is not easy to pierce. On the direction of the prime minister on Monday
itself, the government has set up a multi-agency investigation team to probe if
any illegalities have been committed in such remittances.
The data made public so far are by no means comprehensive. It is likely that the next rounds of revelations, as and when they are made, would show many more Indians having used such facilities to open offshore companies in tax havens. While it is no comfort that these facilities were used also by several important people in many other countries, it must also be recognised at the outset that not all such investments may be illegal. But that such large numbers of rich and powerful people across the globe, including some Indians, have used this facility is a cause for concern. The government must, therefore, be commended for its decision on setting up a multi-agency probe into such investments. To be sure, the quick response is also an outcome of the government's realisation that after having made eradication of black money one of its major promises in the last general elections, it cannot afford to allow such revelations to snowball into any political controversy over a perceived lack of government action against unaccounted wealth of Indians.
In a bid to tackle the menace of black money and tax evasion, the Budget for 2016-17 had announced a scheme that would allow Indian residents to declare their past undisclosed income on payment of close to 50 per cent tax within a compliance window of four months. The government's fight against black money cannot be restricted to only providing compliance windows to tax evaders, but must also extend to strict enforcement of tax laws to prevent misuse of the existing system. It is, however, important that while ensuring compliance of the tax rules, the government must also put in place a transparent and rule-based tax administration system. In the first phase of India's reforms, tax rates were reduced largely bringing them in line with global standards, even though considerable work is still left in the areas of phasing out exemptions and ensuring stability in tax rates. That was important for encouraging people to pay their taxes and not looking for investments in tax havens. Equally important is a simple taxation regime enforced by a revenue department that has a non-adversarial approach to tax-payers. While some steps have been taken to simplify and rationalise tax administration, there is now need to speed up that process. With global standards on disclosure of foreign accounts now in force in most countries, it should not be difficult for the tax administration to follow a transparent regime to enforce laws and prevent violations of the type that some investors in offshore entities in tax havens may have committed
The data made public so far are by no means comprehensive. It is likely that the next rounds of revelations, as and when they are made, would show many more Indians having used such facilities to open offshore companies in tax havens. While it is no comfort that these facilities were used also by several important people in many other countries, it must also be recognised at the outset that not all such investments may be illegal. But that such large numbers of rich and powerful people across the globe, including some Indians, have used this facility is a cause for concern. The government must, therefore, be commended for its decision on setting up a multi-agency probe into such investments. To be sure, the quick response is also an outcome of the government's realisation that after having made eradication of black money one of its major promises in the last general elections, it cannot afford to allow such revelations to snowball into any political controversy over a perceived lack of government action against unaccounted wealth of Indians.
In a bid to tackle the menace of black money and tax evasion, the Budget for 2016-17 had announced a scheme that would allow Indian residents to declare their past undisclosed income on payment of close to 50 per cent tax within a compliance window of four months. The government's fight against black money cannot be restricted to only providing compliance windows to tax evaders, but must also extend to strict enforcement of tax laws to prevent misuse of the existing system. It is, however, important that while ensuring compliance of the tax rules, the government must also put in place a transparent and rule-based tax administration system. In the first phase of India's reforms, tax rates were reduced largely bringing them in line with global standards, even though considerable work is still left in the areas of phasing out exemptions and ensuring stability in tax rates. That was important for encouraging people to pay their taxes and not looking for investments in tax havens. Equally important is a simple taxation regime enforced by a revenue department that has a non-adversarial approach to tax-payers. While some steps have been taken to simplify and rationalise tax administration, there is now need to speed up that process. With global standards on disclosure of foreign accounts now in force in most countries, it should not be difficult for the tax administration to follow a transparent regime to enforce laws and prevent violations of the type that some investors in offshore entities in tax havens may have committed
rev·e·la·tion
A surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is
made known in a dramatic way.
veil
A piece of fine material worn by women to protect or conceal the
face.
pierce
(of a sharp pointed object) go into or through (something).
com·mend
Praise formally or officially.
e·rad·i·ca·tion
The complete destruction of something.
men·ace
A person or thing that is likely to cause harm; a threat or
danger.
com·pli·ance
The action or fact of complying with a wish or command.
evaders
(evader) Any person isolated in hostile or unfriendly territory
who eludes capture.
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