The West Bengal Himalayan hill resort of Darjeeling has been set ablaze by activists of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in support of their party’s demand for a separate State of Gorkhaland. A general strike called by the GJM in Darjeeling the entire Darjeeling district including other resorts such as Kurseong and Kalimpong, turned violent, with government buildings and vehicles set alight. A mass exodus of tourists followed –a grievous blow to the region’s economy, which is dependent on tourism.
GJM leader Bimal Gurung , by opting for this confrontation, has taken a grave political risk. The agitation for a separate State is not an old demand, waxing and waning over the years. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress government in Kolkata created an autonomous hill district with devolved powers. In recent municipal elections her party did well, with many sub-groups switching their allegiance to the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
The GJM, feeling the ground slipping under their feet, has gambled on violence as an instrument to persuade the powers that be in Delhi to accede to separation from West Bengal. This is more easily said than done, as there are national stakes that no Central government can afford to ignore. To submit to blackmail and violence would set a disastrous precedent. Furthermore, there could be international ramifications as well. The next step could be a demand for a Great Nepal construct in the not too distant future.
Offer of dialogue
Chief Minister Banerjee is a feisty character, not easily intimidated. She has offered to open a dialogue with Gurung and his GJM if they were to abjure violence, accepting dialogue is fundamental to a working democracy. Delhi has advised calm, but the future appears fraught (Times of India, Telegraph, Hindu, June 18).
Mumbai bombings
Twenty-four years after the March 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts and their 257 death toll, 713 injured and enormous destruction of property, a special court convicted Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Firoz Abdul Shaikh, Tahir Taklya, Karmullah Khan and Riyaz Siddiqui under sections of the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and Explosives Act. The seventh accused, Abdul Qayum was acquitted. Sentence will be pronounced shortly.
The main accused – Dawood Ibrahim, Anees Ibrahim, Tiger Memon and Mohammed Dossa are absconding. Tracking down the guilty, one being extradited from Portugal, was onerous and time consuming, but the wheels of justice though grind slow, they grind exceeding well, has to be the public verdict (Hindu, Times of India June 17).
Kochi Metro takes off
Kerala’s Kochi Metro rail was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the weekend. The first 13 km stretch, completed in record time, incorporates state-of-the-art communication facilities that no other metro in India possesses. Expected to bring relief to the acute problems of urban congestion, the coaches were manufactured by French firm Alstom at its plant near Chennai, Tamil Nadu, thus adding success to the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The Prime Minister on its inaugural jurney was accompanied by Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan, Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Delhi Metro Rail Managing Director E.Sreedharan and Kochi Metro Rail Managing Director Elias George (Hindu, Times of India June 18).
Guntur farmers rejoice
Farmers in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh are rejoicing at the fruits of an irrigation project started several years ago. As the waters of the Krishna River recede, the farmers who donated their land, were compensated and resettled nearby, return to reclaim their now fertile land for about nine months in the catchment area. The K.L. Rao Sagar multipurpose project, designed to control floods and irrigate 13 lakh acres of land in Guntur and three other districts, has paid off handsomely (Hindu June 18).
Sardar Sarovar Dam’s green signal
The Narmada Control Authority has given the green signal to the Gujarat government to close the 30 gates of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, thus increasing the reservoir up to its full level of 138.68 metres. This permits the dam’s storage capacity to be increased from 1,565 million cubic metres to 5,740 cubic million metres. And hence increase hydro power generation from the current 1, 300 MW to to 1,450 MW. This additional storage will irrigate eight lakh (800,000) hectares, while 10 crore (100 million) people will be assured of safe drinking water (Hindu June 18).
Passenger car sales surge
Passenger car sales surged 8.63 per cent in May, driven by utility vehicles, according to data released by the industry body. The overall figure sold was 251,000 vehicles. ‘This is the best ever sales performance of passenger vehicles for May,’ said Vishnu Mathur, Director General of the industry body. ‘We expect good growth to continue as consumer confidence grows and with expectations of good monsoons,’ he said.(Business line June 10).
Russia eyes India for IT exports
Russia, looking to India as an export market for information technology solutions, is hoping to team with Indian IT companies to implement home-grown technologies, said Vasily Brovko, Director for Special Commissions at the Rostech State Corporation, which oversees implementation of Russian policy for industrial development. ‘We are keen on privileged strategic partnerships with Indian companies, as had been the case with defence-related contracts with India in the past.’ Rostech would co-develop the solution with its Indian partners, transfer technology to the client and help educate users.
‘With Indian IT services providers and Russian software architects who know what to do and how to do it, there is complementarity’.
Heathcare, crime, terrorism
‘Healthcare, crime-control and terrorism are among the offerings that Rostech aims to take to markets such as India’ and elsewhere across continents. ‘This software, averred Vasily Brovko, ‘had potential in countering terrorism. ‘Combining the databases of Interpol, Europol and Russia’s FSB could yield dramatic results. India has faced trouble from terrorism and would find value in this technology.’ (Hindu June 18).
Solar holds the future
The price of solar energy in India has fallen below that of thermal and nuclear energy, said Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power Ventures Pvt Limited. Solar energy would become a 24-hour system. ‘I would give it another 2-3 years. It is not a long time, and the pace at which storage costs are coming down is certainly very encouraging.’ (Mint May 26).
Indian American kid wins US spelling bee
Twelve-year old Ananya Vinay, from Fresno, California, was unfazed by the words she was given in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She took little time as she ploughed through word after word with consummate ease. Unflappable to the end, Ananya nailed two words in succession, ending on ‘marocain,’ which means a type of dress fabric of ribbed crepe, to win the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee. She took home more than $40,000 in cash and prizes. She and and Indian boy, Rohan Rajeev, were the two finalists in a field of 291. Their dueled 21 rounds of the allotted 25 championship rounds before Ananya carried off the crown (Hindu June 2).
Reliance, BP tie-up in KG basin
Reliance Industries Ltd and BP Plc are to invest a combined Rs 40,000 crore in the D6 gas field in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin., off India’s eastern coast, to boost production over the next 3-5 years, the two companies stated recently. The investment in the deep water gas field is expected to boost production by five-fold, according to the companies. The announcement was made by Reliance Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani and BP’s Group Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley at a press conference in New Delhi.
The companies also decided to expand their partnership in areas ‘including differentiated fuels,mobility and advanced low carbon energy solutions. This is the first of three planned projects in Block KG-D6 that will be developed in an integrated manner, producing about 3 trillions cubic feet of discovered gas resources,’ the companies said in a joint statement. (Mint June 16).
GST rollout
The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which has been incubating for the past couple of years, will be operational from July 1. It has involved arduous negotiations between the Centre and the States, but West Bengal has finally come on board after holding out for quite awhile. Some 66 amendments to the original draft have been incorporated to protect the interests of small businesses and restaurants.
This will be the greatest tax reform in India’s independent history, integrating the country into a single working market instead of the plethora of markets with separate taxes levied at points of entry. This is expected to be a boon for domestic businesses and consumers alike. Foreign investors should also reap considerable benefits, with the introduction of uniform taxation and the elimination of confusion. It is a giant step forward in the modernization of the Indian economy. Mint, Times of India, Hindu, Business Line June 12).
