Info Nuggets

What is AFSPA

The cycle of violence and unrest continues in regions where the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is applied and after so many decades, it’s become hard to tell cause from effect. The Manipur blockade finally ended in mid-June. But within a fortnight, Kashmir was under curfew after children were shot during violent protests — paradoxically, while the state was at its healthiest, under a popular government and with a growing economy. The AFSPA was enacted in 1958 to contain secessionist violence but now, perhaps it is perpetuating it. Repeal cannot be considered without running security risks. But a solution may lie hidden in the Act’s history.

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It’s easy to understand why the Act poisons the air. Imagine that you are unlucky enough to live in a district where it’s in force. The law empowers soldiers to kick down your front door on suspicion and without a warrant, break open your almirahs and cabinets, ransack your home and apprehend anyone they see fit. If you resist, the law empowers them to shoot you in the head and, for good measure, flatten your home on the way out, without fear of prosecution. Even if none of these misfortunes visit you, the constant threat of violence could make you actively dislike a government that sanctions arbitrary impunity.

In response to the clamour to repeal the Act, the forces protest that they would be unable to function in counter-insurgency roles without legal immunity. This is absolutely true. An error of judgement, which causes harm to civilians might invite only censure in wartime, but could attract imprisonment or a death sentence in domestic counter-insurgency operation if a criminal court had jurisdiction. Servicemen can’t be expected to routinely run that risk.

The AFSPA is a direct descendant of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance of 1942, promulgated during the freedom struggle to contain nationalist agitations, which impeded the British war effort. The Ordinance remains in force in Bangladesh, which has an unfortunate history of martial law. And it has a distant relation in roughly similar civil legislation imposed on Northern Ireland in 1922 to suppress the Irish partition troubles.

But there was a crucial difference between the AFSPA, the brainchild of G.B. Pant, then home minister, and its parent Ordinance. The latter required an officer to sanction the use of lethal force in writing. Then our politicians did what they excel in — they removed accountability. The AFSPA quietly dropped this requirement, anonymising State violence in disturbed areas. It’s shocking, but the colonial law was more transparent than derivative legislation in free India. The government is now thinking of amending the AFSPA and exposing servicemen guilty of excesses to criminal proceedings. But it’s not clear how they can be singled out when their actions remain unsigned and anonymous. For foolproof accountability, the clause in the Raj Ordinance, which required commanders to sanction the use of lethal force in writing, should be reinstated.

Most Favoured Nation

In international economic relations and international politics, MFN is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade. The term means the country, which is the recipient of this treatment must, nominally, receive equal trade advantages as the “most favoured nation” by the country granting such treatment. (Trade advantages include low tariffs or high import quotas.) In effect, a country that has been accorded MFN status may not be treated less advantageously than any other country with MFN status by the promising country. The members of the WTO agree to accord MFN status to each other. Exceptions allow for preferential treatment of developing countries, regional free trade areas and customs unions. Together with the principle of national treatment, MFN is one of the cornerstones of WTO trade law.

Rover

Meaning: One that roves; a wanderer or a crewed or uncrewed vehicle, used especially in exploring the terrain of a planet and its satellites.

Definition: A rover (or sometimes planetary rover) is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other astronomical body. Some rovers have been designed to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. Rovers usually arrive at the planetary surface.

Comparison with space probes of other types: Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers — They examine more territory, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter months if they are solar powered and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle control which is necessarily semi-autonomous due to the finite speed of light. Their advantages over orbiting spacecraft are that they can make observations to a microscopic level and can conduct physical experimentation. Disadvantages of rovers compared to orbiters are the higher chance of failure, due to landing and other risks, and that they are limited to a small area around a landing site which itself is only approximately anticipated.

Red Ribbon Express

Red Ribbon Express is an AIDS/HIV awareness campaign train by the Indian Railways. The motto of the Red Ribbon Express is “Embarking on the journey of life”. The Red Ribbon Express was launched in India on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2007. Initial talk of the HIV/AIDS awareness train began over two years before its launch. The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, the National AIDS Control Organisation and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan developed the idea of the Red Ribbon Express in 2004. Sonia Gandhi flagged off the Red Ribbon Express’ second phase on World AIDS Day in 2009. This second phase aimed to reach out to a larger portion of the rural poor and the government hoped that more people would get tested and treated.