What is the instant triple talaq Bill?

What is the instant triple talaq Bill?
In a majority 3:2 judgment, the Supreme Court set aside instant talaq as a "manifestly arbitrary" practice.
On Friday, The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 was introduced in the Lok Sabha, and will be taken up for consideration and passing. This Bill, which makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat a punishable offence, follows the Supreme Court judgment on August 22, 2017 in the case of Shayara Bano vs. Union of India.

In a majority 3:2 judgment the apex court set aside instant talaq as a "manifestly arbitrary" practice. It also said, "Given the fact that Triple Talaq is instant and irrevocable, it is obvious that any attempt at reconciliation between the husband and wife by two arbiters from their families, which is essential to save the marital tie, cannot ever take place."

What does the Bill say?
It makes the pronouncement of talaq-e-biddat "void and illegal." According to clause 3 of the Bill, "Any pronouncement of talaq by a person upon his wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal."

What is the proposed punitive measure?
A man who pronounces talaq on his wife will be punished with a jail term and a fine. This Bill also makes the pronouncement of talaq-e-biddat a non-bailable offence.

Clause 4 of the Bill states, "Whoever pronounces talaq referred to in section 3 upon his wife shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and fine."

Clause 7 says, "an offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable and non-bailable within the meaning of the Code." (The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973)

How does this protect Muslim women's rights?
The woman upon whom talaq is pronounced will have to receive an allowance from her husband, and she retains custody of her children.

Clauses 5 and 6 of the Bill say, " a married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is pronounced, shall be entitled to receive from her husband such amount of subsistence allowance for her and dependent children," and "shall be entitled to custody of her minor children in the event of pronouncement of talaq by her husband."

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in the statement of objects and reasons attached to the Bill says that this legislation will, "help in ensuring the larger Constitutional goals of gender justice and gender equality of married Muslim women and help subserve their fundamental rights of non-discrimination and empowerment."

Indian Administrative Services can lead the charge

Changing chalta hai

Indian Administrative Services can lead the charge. If it reinvents itself, its effects will ripple through the system, galvanise change.
In his Independence Day address last August, the prime minister decried the “chalta hai” culture in the nation and called upon the people, especially the youth, to embrace a “badal sakta hai” attitude. The prime minister hit not just the right button, but exactly the right button. Yet, in a nation inured to platitudes from leaders, this one too might get lost in the flood. That will be a pity. If acted upon, the prime minister’s message has the potential to profoundly change the quality of everyday life of Indians.

So, what is the “chalta hai” attitude? We all know it; after all, we experience it all the time as we go about our everyday lives. Yet it is difficult to define it. Perhaps a phrase will better capture its essence: “It’s okay. Don’t sweat. This is India. We are like that only.” It is a mindset that not only accepts but internalises tardiness, lack of a work ethic, ineptitude, indifference, inefficiency, indiscipline and even corruption and crime. Some societies, notably the Japanese, are zero tolerance; we are the exact opposite.

Our public toilets are filthy; it’s okay. We cut corners in everything we do; it’s okay. We don’t give way to an ambulance on the street; it’s okay. We are pathologically incapable of standing in a queue, being on time or keeping a promised delivery schedule; it’s okay. We build world class expressways and look on nonchalantly as people drive on the wrong side. Our nonchalance extends to deeper issues. Fifty children die for want of oxygen in a Gorakhpur hospital; 22 commuters die in a stampede on a suburban railway bridge; 30 people die in the rioting that follows the arrest of a godman. We accept all this and move on. Someone blatantly puts a bounty on the head of an actress who essayed the lead role in a movie that allegedly distorted our history. We shrug that off as par for the course.

Moving from “chalta hai” to “badal sakta hai” means a cultural change which, by its very nature, is a long haul. It needs a people’s movement; the government can at most be a catalyst. The purpose of this article is not to put forward a citizen’s charter for that. We are attempting something less ambitious but important: How can the IAS fraternity begin acting on the prime minister’s exhortation by setting an example?

Many people will find the very idea of the IAS leading the fight against “chalta hai” preposterous. The IAS is, in fact, seen as the embodiment of all that is wrong in the country. It is at centre of the callousness, venality and corruption that define our governance. To believe that the IAS will fight to bring down a system that it carefully built and nurtured over the years to further its narrow self-interest is simply ludicrous.

Regrettably, this report card of the IAS is not without basis. But it wasn’t always like this. When the service was instituted soon after Independence, its mission was clear — nation building. Whether it was agricultural development, implementing land reforms, building irrigation projects, promoting industry, expanding and improving health and education delivery, implementing social justice or enforcing the rule of law, the IAS was seen as the delivery arm. The IAS officers led this effort from the front and laid the foundations of an impressive development administration network, earning for the service a formidable reputation for competence, integrity and for being a change agent.

But that reputation began eroding, starting in the mid-1970s. The IAS lost its ethos and its way. Ineptitude, indifference and corruption crept in. The service still attracts some of the best talent in the country and young recruits come in with sharp minds and enthusiasm to be change agents. But soon, they become cogs in the wheels of complacency and acquiescence, build a stake in the status-quo and resist change. Today, the stereotypical view of an IAS officer is one who puts self-interest ahead of public interest.

Unfortunately, this stereotype is amplified by fringe elements in the service who have gone off-track. The entire service gets tainted by their misdeeds. In order to lead this transformation from “chalta hai” to “badal sakta hai”, the IAS must regain its moral stature. That effort must begin at home — with an introspection on where and how the service lost its ethical moorings and what should be done to reverse the degradation. Just as individuals have character and personality, so does the IAS as a service. The service has to focus on reinventing both its character and its personality.

On the character front, the service must adopt and conform to an honour code that upholds and prizes competence, commitment, pecuniary and professional integrity. This will happen not by mouthing shibboleths. It will happen only by each and every IAS officer internalising the ethos of the honour code and conforming to it no matter the provocation or the temptation to infringe it. It means championing change, pursuing public good with passion and professionalism, acting without fear or favour, accepting challenges, no matter how daunting, and letting actions and results speak for themselves. It means reviving the old esprit de corps where officers stand up for each other in order to uphold public good. It means shunning ostentation, luxury and frills.

On the personality front, the IAS must adopt and adhere to a code of conduct of work ethics and behaviour. This means diligence and application, punctuality, disciplined work habits, willingness to learn, accepting responsibility for mistakes with humility, going to meetings well prepared, communicating clearly and effectively and being courteous and humble. Yes, it also means being properly attired and well groomed.

Once the IAS begins on this mission of reinventing itself, its effects will ripple through the system, galvanising change across the administrative hierarchy. It will soon find that it is well on its way to bringing out a transformation from “chalta hai” to “badal sakta hai” in the larger society

good story about liberation of goa

good story about liberation of goa
How Nehru defied the U.S. and used force against the Portuguese
While Jawaharlal Nehru advised the U.S., the then Soviet Union, and other big powers to abjure force and work towards disarmament, he was himself faced with a dilemma in 1961: whether or not to use force to liberate Goa. It was an agonising decision for a person who adopted the Gandhian approach in international affairs.

After Britain and France left India, it was expected that Portugal would leave too. But Portugal refused. Emphasising that it had been in Goa for centuries, Portugal said that the Goan Catholics would not be safe if it left. Portugal conveniently overlooked the fact over 60% of Goans were Hindus, and many Goan Christians, like the editor Frank Moraes, had a place of honour in Indian public life. Compared to only two lakh Catholics in Goa, there were five million Catholics living peacefully in secular India. Geography, language and nationality bound the people of India with the people of Goa. It was natural that Goa, which had seen a long indigenous freedom movement, should be a part of India.

In the rest of India, people began demanding that Goa be liberated forcibly. In 1955, a satyagraha was launched by the communist and socialist parties for the freedom of Goa. When the satyagrahis entered Goa, the Portuguese opened fire, killing 20 Indians. Nehru imposed an economic blockade, but was not prepared to go further. He hoped that the popular movement in Goa and the pressure of world public opinion would force the hands of the Goan authorities.

It was in 1957, in a letter to Vinoba Bhave, that Nehru first hinted at the possibility of military action. The Goan question came alive when Portugal paid no heed to a UN resolution of December 1960 asking it to indicate when it would grant independence to its colonies in Asia and Africa. In December 1961, Portuguese soldiers in Goa fired at villagers.

Finding that his policy of patience and adherence to international ethics had not yielded results, Nehru decided to free Goa by force. Though advised by American President John F. Kennedy, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and UN Secretary-General U Thant to postpone action, Nehru made up his mind. On December 18, after a long-drawn fight against Indian troops, the Portuguese gave up resistance. The Governor General of Goa, Vassalo e Silva, signed a document of unconditional surrender.

The Western media assailed the action as a display of “Indian hypocrisy”, which represented a breach of international law by a nation that professed non-violence. Though the liberation of Goa by force raised the prestige of the government in India, it adversely affected Nehru’s international image, but only briefly. Kennedy told B.K. Nehru, India’s ambassador to the U.S., that after taking military action in Goa, Nehru may not be able to talk of non-violence as he did before. But Kennedy came to India’s rescue in India’s 1962 conflict with China.

Electoral bonds will allow donors to remain anonymous and pay political parties using banks as intermediaries.

Electoral bonds will allow donors to remain anonymous and pay political parties using banks as intermediaries.
In a bid to clean up election financing, the government on January 2 outlined the contours of the new electoral bonds that donors can buy from the State Bank of India and said receiving political parties can encash only through a designated bank account.

The electoral bonds, which are being pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties, will be available at specified branches of the SBI for 10 days each in months of January, April, July and October.

The bonds, which would be valid for 15 days, will not carry the donor’s name even though the purchaser would have to fulfil KYC norms at the bank, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Lok Sabha while announcing the contours of the scheme. He had first announced the idea of electoral bonds in his budget on February 1, 2017, to make political funding more transparent. “The government has now finalised the scheme of electoral bonds. The scheme will be notified today,” he said.

Although called a bond, the banking instruments resembling promissory note will not carry any interest. The lender will remain the custodian of the donor’s funds until the political parties are paid.

The move is aimed at making political funding more transparent. Currently, almost all of the funding is done by anonymous cash donations. Electoral bonds will allow donors to pay political parties using banks as an intermediary.

When Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked what purpose the bonds would serve when the name of the donor is not disclosed, Mr. Jaitley said bonds would get reflected in the balance sheet of the donors.“Let me clear misconceptions, if any. I had announced in budget speech that political funding needs to be cleansed up. A very large part of donation coming to political parties by the donors, quantum and source is not known... electoral bonds substantially cleanse the system,” he said.

Electoral bonds, he said, can be given to a registered political party, which has secured at least 1% vote in last election. That party will have to give a bank account to the Election Commission and it will have to be encashed within 15 days, Mr. Jaitley said.

“(For) donors who buy these bonds, their balance sheet will reflect (the purchase). It will ensure cleaner money coming from donors, cleaner money coming to political party and ensure significant transparency,” he said. The Minister said at present, the donor, the quantum and the source of funds is not known. “The donor will know, which party he is depositing money to. The political party will file return with the election commission. Now, which donor gave to which political party, that is the only thing which will not be known,” he said. “Electoral bonds will ensure clean money and significant transparency against the current system of unclean money”.

In budget 2017-18, Mr. Jaitley had also announced capping cash donation at ₹2,000 instead of ₹20,000 and allowed parties to receive digital donations. Mr. Jaitley said the electoral bond, which will be a bearer instrument, will not carry the name of the payee and can be bought for any value, in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ₹10 lakh or ₹1 crore.

The bonds with a life of only 15 days, during which it can be used for making donation only to registered political parties, can be encashed only through a designated bank account of the receiver. The bonds will be available for purchase for 10 days each in the months of January, April, July and October. The window will be for 30 days in the year of general election, the Minister said.

Mr. Jaitley said the purchaser, whose name will not appear on the bonds, would have to make KYC (know your customer) disclosures to the SBI. “A citizen of India or a body incorporated in India will be eligible to purchase the bond,” he said.

Only political parties which has secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last general election or an Assembly poll would be eligible to receive donations through electoral bonds, Mr. Jaitley said. Later talking to reporters, he said the 15 days time has been prescribed for the bonds to ensure that they do not become a parallel currency.

“Every political party will file before Election Commission return as to how much money has come through electoral bonds,” the Minister said. On why the name of the donor is being kept secret, he said the past experience has shown that once the names are disclosed, there is a tendency to shift to cash donations. “The present system is unclean money and new system is a substantial amount of transparency if not total,” he added.

The idea is to move away from present system, which is cash, Mr. Jaitley said. “This will substantially help a lot of opposition parties because in case a disclosure is made it will always be in favour of ruling party,” he said. “People who are expressing apprehension let them suggest better way.”

Anxieties of the dominant

Anxieties of the dominant
At the root of the insecurities of Marathas, Jats and Patels lies lack of education and employability
The recent clash in Pune district between the Mahars and Marathas reflects the anti-Dalit prejudice of the latter, but it needs to be analysed in the context of the changing status of dominant castes, not only in Maharashtra but across India. The claims of Patels, Jats and Marathas to be considered as OBCs have been dismissed by many observers simply because these dominant castes are not socially backward. Certainly, they are ahead of lower castes in terms of income. But this socio-economic reality needs to be qualified from two perspectives. First, poor Patels, Jats and Marathas are now lagging behind affluent OBCs (sometimes even the Dalits). Second, their demand for quotas reflects anxieties regarding education and jobs. This is evident from the Indian Human Development Survey. While dominant castes do well in terms of income, they systematically lag behind other forward castes in terms of education, largely because of their rural background.

In Maharashtra, in 2011-12, the percentage of Brahmins who were graduates and above was about 26 per cent, against 8.1 per cent among the Marathas. The Dalits stood at 5.1 per cent and the OBCs at 7.6 per cent, but among the latter, the Malis had reached 9.5 per cent. More importantly, from 2004-05 to 2011-12, the Dalits and OBCs have gained at a faster rate in education. The percentage of graduates among the Dalits in 2004-05 was 1.9 per cent and has more than doubled to 5.1 per cent in 2011-12. The corresponding figure for the OBCs was 3.5 per cent and has doubled to 7.6 per cent in 2011-12, while the Marathas were at 4.6 per cent in 2004-05 and have come up to only 8 per cent in 2011-12.

The Marathas not only resent the rise of the OBCs and the Dalits in the educational system because of reservations, they also cannot compete with upper castes because of their under-representation in the English-medium colleges. As a result, the Marathas have not benefited as much as upper castes from the rise of the services, including IT, in post-1991 liberalised India. And only the richest among them could profit by the government’s support to export-oriented agriculturists.

The Patels are similarly affected, despite their increasing presence in expensive private universities. The percentage of graduates among the Patels was 9.8 per cent in 2011-12, against 19.1 per cent for the Brahmins and 11.7 per cent for other forward castes. The OBCs and SCs were far below, at 2.4 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively. But the OBCs have gained in education during 2004-05 to 2011-12. The percentage of graduates among them was abysmally low at 1.1 per cent in 2004-05 and went up to 2.4 per cent in 2011-12. Although it appears a marginal increment in terms of percentage, the actual number of graduates has doubled among the OBCs. The SCs have almost doubled their percentage of graduates too, from 2.7 per cent in 2004-05 to 4.8 per cent in 2011-12. The Dalit mobilisation sparked by the Una incident has to be seen in this light.

In Haryana, the percentage of graduates among the Jats, at 5.1 per cent, is not only lower than that of the Brahmins (15.7 per cent) and other forward castes (14.4 per cent), but also of the OBCs (5.4 per cent). And the SCs and OBCs have gained in education more than the Jats from 2004-05 to 2011-12. The percentage of graduates among the Dalits has more than doubled from 0.8 per cent in 2004-05 to 2.1per cent in 2011-12. The Jats pay the price for their historical neglect of education even more than other dominant castes.

To sum up: During 2004-05 to 2011-12, the percentage of graduates among the SCs, OBCs and Marathas/Patels/Jats has respectively increased by 171 per cent, 121 per cent and 71 per cent in Maharashtra; 94 per cent, 114 per cent and 38 per cent in Gujarat; and 135 per cent, 77 per cent and 70 per cent in Haryana. These dominant castes feel threatened, more so because they could not get as many salaried jobs as they would like.

The current services-led economic growth demands a certain level of education, social skills and attributes. The dominant castes often lack these assets, and while the SCs and OBCs miss them too, they partly make up for this because of reservations. The salaried jobs they get are often valued because of the stability and the average income they offer compared to the informal sector and agriculture. For instance, the average annual per capita income in a household headed by a cultivator is Rs 37,818 in Haryana whereas, for the salaried, it is Rs 54,899. Any salaried job is placed over casual labour or petty self-employment as a surer way of mobility.

The percentage of salaried people among SCs is about 28 per cent in Maharashtra, 27 per cent in Gujarat and 21 per cent in Haryana, as against 30 per cent among Marathas, 19 per cent among Patels and just 11 per cent among Jats. The OBCs are also doing rather well. The salaried among them are 23 per cent in Maharashtra, about 17 per cent in Gujarat and 19 per cent in Haryana.

This rise of the SCs and OBCs in salaried jobs has generated resentment among many dominant castes which are still over-represented in agriculture, at a time agriculture is becoming increasingly unviable and incomes are less than from other occupations in rural areas. For instance, about 63 per cent Kunbi Marathas and 44 per cent Marathas in Maharashtra, 40 per cent Patels in Gujarat and 67 per cent Jats in Haryana were agriculturists in 2011-12. The corresponding figures for OBCs for these states were 31 per cent, 28 per cent and 26 per cent. The percentage of cultivators among the SCs is even lower as they hardly own land — a blessing in disguise. They are about 11 per cent in Maharashtra, 20 per cent in Gujarat and 6 per cent in Haryana.

These data throw light on the dominant castes’ mobilisation but do not legitimise their demand for reservations. First, only a fraction of their members are lagging in socio-economic terms. Second, job reservations are no solution: How can the state provide enough work to 60 per cent of society, even if the judiciary permitted it? The priorities lie in improving the employability of the youth, and, in the short term, a genuine promotion of agriculture, a sector that has been neglected in public policies, as evident from the low MSPs that farmers get. But is the government prepared to attenuate its pro-urban consumer bias?

राजनीतिः असम क्यों सुलग रहा है

राजनीतिः असम क्यों सुलग रहा है
बांग्लादेश को छूती हमारी जमीनी और जल-सीमा लगभग खुली पड़ी है। इसका फायदा उठाकर बांग्लादेश के लोग बेखौफ यहां आते रहे हैं। विडंबना यह है कि हमारी अदालत किसी व्यक्ति को गैरकानूनी बांग्लादेशी घोषित कर देती है, लेकिन बांग्लादेश की सरकार यह कहकर उसे वापस लेने से इनकार कर देती है कि भारत के साथ उसका इस तरह का कोई द्विपक्षीय समझौता नहीं है।
बहुप्रतीक्षित राष्ट्रीय नागरिक पंजी यानी एनआरसी का पहला प्रारूप आते ही सीमावर्ती राज्य असम में तनाव बढ़ गया है। सूची में घोषित आतंकी व लंबे समय से विदेश में रहे परेश बरुआ, अरुणोदय दहोटिया के नाम तो हैं लेकिन दो सांसदों व कई विधायकों के नाम इसमें नहीं हैं। अपना नाम देखने के लिए केंद्रों पर भीड़ है, तो वेबसाइट ठप हो गई। इस बीच सिलचर में एक व्यक्ति ने अपना नाम न होने के कारण आत्महत्या कर ली। हजारों मामले ऐसे हैं जहां परिवार के आधे लोगों को तो नागरिक माना गया और आधों को नहीं।
हालांकि प्रशासन कह रहा है कि यह पहला प्रारूप है और उसके बाद भी सूचियां आएंगी। फिर भी कोई दिक्कत हो तो प्राधिकरण में अपील की जा सकती है। यह सच है कि यह दुनिया का अपने आप में ऐसा पहला प्रयोग है जब साढ़े तीन करोड़ से अधिक लोगों की नागरिकता की जांच की जा रही है। लेकिन इसको लेकर कई दिनों से राज्य के सभी कामकाज ठप हैं। पूरे राज्य में सेना लगा दी गई है।
असम समझौते के पूरे अड़तीस साल बाद वहां से अवैध बांग्लादेशियों को निकालने की जो कवायद शुरू हुई, उसमें राज्य सरकार ने सांप्रदायिक तड़का दे दिया, जिससे भय, आशंकाओं और अविश्वास का माहौल है। असम के मूल निवासियों की कई दशकों से मांग है कि बांग्लादेश से अवैध तरीके से घुसपैठ कर आए लोगों की पहचान कर उन्हें वापस भेजा जाए। इस मांग को लेकर आॅल असम स्टूडेंट्स यूनियन (आसू) की अगुआई में 1979 में एक अहिंसक आंदोलन शुरू हुआ था। आंदोलनकारियों पर पुलिसिया कार्रवाई के बाद हालात और बिगड़े। 1983 में हुए चुनावों का इस आंदोलन के नेताओं ने विरोध किया था।

चुनाव के बाद जमकर हिंसा शुरू हो गई। इस हिंसा का अंत तत्कालीन केंद्र सरकार के साथ 15 अगस्त 1985 को हुए एक समझौते (जिसे असम समझौता कहा जाता है) के साथ हुआ। इस समझौते के अनुसार, जनवरी 1966 से मार्च 1971 के बीच प्रदेश में आए लोगों को यहां रहने की इजाजत तो थी, लेकिन उन्हें आगामी दस साल तक वोट देने का अधिकार नहीं था। समझौते में केंद्र सरकार ने यह भी स्वीकार किया था कि 1971 के बाद राज्य में घुसे बांग्लादेशियों को वापस अपने देश जाना होगा। इसके बाद असम गण परिषद (जिसका गठन आसू के नेताओं ने किया था) की सरकार भी बनी। लेकिन इस समझौते को पूरे अड़तीस साल बीत गए हैं और बांग्लादेश व म्यांमा से अवैध घुसपैठ जारी है। यही नहीं, घुसपैठ करने वाले लोग बाकायदा भारतीय नागरिकता के दस्तावेज भी बनवा रहे हैं।

सन 2009 में मामला सुप्रीम कोर्ट पहुंचा था। जब सुप्रीम कोर्ट के आदेश पर एनआरसी बनाने का काम शुरू हुआ तो जाहिर है कि अवैध घुसपैठियों में भय तो होगा ही। लेकिन असल तनाव तब शुरू हुआ जब राज्य-शासन ने नागरिकता कानून संशोधन विधेयक विधानसभा में पेश किया। इस कानून के तहत बांग्लादेश से अवैध तरीके से आए हिंदू शरणार्थियों को नागरिकता दिए जाने का प्रावधान है। यही नहीं, घुसपैठियों की पहचान का आधार वर्ष 1971 की जगह 2014 किया जा रहा है। जाहिर है, इससे अवैध घुसपैठियों की पहचान करने का असल मकसद तो भटक ही जाएगा। हालांकि राज्य सरकार के सहयोगी दल असम गण परिषद ने इसे असम समझौते की मूल भावना के विपरीत बताते हुए सरकार से अलग होने की धमकी भी दे दी है। हिरेन गोहार्इं, हरेकृष्ण डेका, इंदीबर देउरी, अखिल गोगोई जैसे हजारों सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता भी इसके विरोध में सड़कों पर हैं, लेकिन राज्य सरकार अपने कदम पीछे खींचने को राजी नहीं है।

बांग्लादेश को छूती हमारी 170 किलोमीटर की जमीनी और 92 किमी की जल-सीमा लगभग खुली पड़ी है। इसका फायदा उठाकर बांग्लादेश के लोग बेखौफ यहां आते रहे हैं, बस जाते रहे हैं। विडंबना यह है कि हमारी अदालत किसी व्यक्ति को गैरकानूनी बांग्लादेशी घोषित कर देती है, लेकिन बांग्लादेश की सरकार यह कहकर उसे वापस लेने से इनकार कर देती है कि भारत के साथ उसका इस तरह का कोई द्विपक्षीय समझौता नहीं है। असम में बाहरी घुसपैठ एक सदी से अधिक पुरानी समस्या है। सन 1901 से 1941 के बीच भारत (अविभाजित) की आबादी में वृद्धि की दर जहां 33.67 प्रतिशत थी, वहीं असम में यह दर 103.51 फीसद दर्ज की गई थी। सन 1921 में विदेशी सेना द्वारा गोलपाड़ा पर कब्जा करने के बाद ही असम के कामरूप, दरांग, शिवसागर जिलों में म्यांमा व अन्य देशों से लोगों का आना शुरू हो गया था। सन 1931 की जनगणना में साफ लिखा था कि आगामी तीस सालों में असम में केवल शिवसागर ऐसा जिला होगा, जहां बहुसंख्यक आबादी असम मूल की होगी।

असम में विदेशियों के शरणार्थी बन कर आने को दो हिस्सों में बांटा जा सकता है- 1971 की लड़ाई या बांग्लादेश बनने से पहले और उसके बाद। सरकारी आंकड़े बताते हैं कि 1951 से 1971 के बीच 37 लाख 57 हजार बांग्लादेशी, जिनमें अधिकतर मुसलमान थे, अवैध रूप से असम में घुसे व यहीं बस गए। सन 1970 के आसपास अवैध शरणार्थियों को भगाने के कुछ कदम उठाए गए तो राज्य के तैंतीत मुसलिम विधायकों ने देवकांत बरुआ की अगुआई में तत्कालीन मुख्यमंत्री विमल प्रसाद चालिहा के खिलाफ ही आवाज उठा दी। उसके बाद कभी किसी भी सरकार ने इतने बड़े वोट-बैंक पर टिप्पणी करने की हिम्मत नहीं जुटाई। शुरू में कहा गया कि असम में ऐसी जमीन बहुत-सी है जिस पर खेती नहीं होती है, और ये घुसपैठिये इस पर हल चला कर हमारे ही देश का भला कर रहे हैं।

लेकिन आज हालात इतने बदतर हैं कि काजीरंगा नेशनल पार्क को छूते कई सौ किलोमीटर के राष्ट्रीय राजमार्ग के दोनों ओर केवल झुग्गियां दिखती हैं, जिनमें ये बिन बुलाए मेहमान डेरा डाले हुए हैं। इनके कारण राज्य में संसाधनों का टोटा तो पड़ ही रहा है, वहां की पारंपरिक संस्कृति, संगीत, लोकाचार, सभी कुछ प्रभावित हो रहा है। हालात इतने खराब हैं कि कोई आठ साल पहले राज्य के राज्यपाल व पूर्व सैन्य अधिकारी रहे ले.ज. एसके सिन्हा ने राष्ट्रपति को भेजी एक रिपोर्ट में साफ लिखा था कि राज्य में बांग्लादेशियों की इतनी बड़ी संख्या बसी है कि उसकी छानबीन करने व फिर वापस भेजने के लायक हमारे पास मशीनरी नहीं है।

एनआरसी के पहले मसौदे के कारण लोगों में बैचेनी की बानगी केवल एक जिले नवगांव के आंकड़ों से भांपी जा सकती है। यहां कुल 20,64,124 लोगों ने खुद को भारत का नागरिक बताने वाले दस्तावेज जमा किए थे। लेकिन पहली सूची में केवल 9,11,604 लोगों के नाम शामिल हैं। यानी कुल आवेदन के 55.84 प्रतिशत लोगों की नागरिकता फिलहाल संदिग्ध है। राज्य में 1.9 करोड़ लोग ही पहली सूची में हैं जबकि नागरिकता का दावा करने वाले 1.39 करोड़ लोगों के नाम नदारद हैं। ऐसी हालत कई जिलों की है। इनमें सैकड़ों लोग तो ऐसे भी हैं जो सेना या पुलिस में तीस साल नौकरी कर सेवानिवृत्त हुए, लेकिन उन्हें इस सूची में नागरिकता के काबिल नहीं माना गया। भले ही राज्य सरकार संयम रखने व अगली सूची में नाम होने का वास्ता दे रही हो, लेकिन राज्य में बेहद तनाव और अनिश्चितता का माहौल है। ऐसे में कुछ लोग अफवाहें फैला कर भी माहौल खराब कर रहे हैं।

Year End Review-2017: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Swachh Bharat Mission

To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on access to safe sanitation, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on 2nd October, 2014, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi . SBM aims at achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) nation and a Swachh Bharat by 2nd Oct, 2019 thereby paying a befitting tribute on his150th anniversary.

Behavior change is the primary focus and fundamental tool for achievement of ODF outcomes. The Ministry is doing it by its focused Information, Education and Communication (IEC) programme. It promotes gender sensitive information, behavior change guidelines and various mass education activities. The Ministry issued gender guidelines in 2017 and Menstrual Management Guidelines on 2015.

Sanitation Coverage at the launch of SBM(G) on 2nd Oct, 2014 was 38.70%. This has increased to 74.15% as on 18th Dec, 2017.

SBM (G) Milestones
568.15 IHHLs built (in Lakh) since 2ndOct 2014	35.45 % increase in sanitation coverage since  2ndOct 2014
255 No. of ODF Districts Self Declared	4470 ODF villages in Namami Gange
8 ODF States/UTs (Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Daman & Diu and Chandigarh)	2,92,896 No. of ODF Villages Self Declared

Swachh Bharat Mission: Making Swachhata Everyone’s Business

MDWS is mandated to convene and coordinate all activities and initiatives towards achievement of a Swachh Bharat, besides its allocated charge of SBM-Gramin. In fulfilling this responsibility, the Ministry constantly works with all other Ministries, the state governments, local institutions, NGOs, Faith organizations, media and the rest of stakeholders. This approach is based on the Prime Minister’s call that Swachhata has to be everyone’s business and not only that of sanitation departments. A host of special initiatives and projects have come out in quick time in this process. The response from all the stake-holders has been extremely encouraging.

Swachhata Pakhwada

Swachhata Pakhwada started in April 2016 with the objective of bringing a fortnight of intense focus on the issues and practices of Swachhhata by engaging Central Ministries and Departments in their jurisdiction. An annual calendar is pre-circulated among the Ministries to help them plan for the Pakhwada activities. 

NamamiGange

NamamiGange Programme is an initiative of Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR), comprising of making villages on the bank of River Ganga ODF and interventions dealing with solid and liquid waste management are being implemented by MDWS.

All 4470 villages located across 52 districts of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have been declared ODF with active help of state governments. Now the Ministry has taken up 24 villages on the bank of River Ganga to transform them as Ganga Grams in coordination with NMCG.

Swachhta Action Plan (SAP)

SAP, a first of its kind inter-ministerial programme for Swachhta, is a concrete realization of Prime Minister’s vision that Swachhta is everyone’s business. All Union Ministries/Departments have started to work for its realization in a significant manner with appropriate budget provisions. A separate budget head has been created for this by the Ministry of Finance. During the financial year 2017-18, 77 Ministries/Departments have committed funds worth Rs12468.62cr for their SAPs. SAP implementation started on 1st April 2017. 

Swachh Iconic Places (SIP)

Under the inspiration of Hon’ble Prime Minister, the Ministry has taken up a multi-stakeholder initiative focusing on cleaning up 100 places across India that are “iconic” due to their heritage, religious and/or cultural significance.

The goal of the Initiative is to improve the cleanliness conditions at these places to a distinctly higher level. This initiative is in partnership with Ministries of Urban Development, Tourism and Culture with MDWS being the nodal ministry. So far in first two phases, 20 iconic places has been taken up. All these 20 Iconic Sites have designated PSUs or corporates for financial and technical support.

Swachh Shakti, March 8, 2017

Swachh Shakti was organized on March 8th, 2017, International Women’s Day, at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the gathering on this occasion. Around 6,000 selected women sarpanches, grassroots workers from across the country attended the event, and Swachhta Champions were honoured for their outstanding contribution towards making Swachh Bharat a reality in rural India.

Freedom from Open Defecation (FOD) week (Aug 9 – Aug 15)

IEC activities like door to door IPC, Swachhata Raths, Rallies, Marathons, Felicitation of Champions, Quiz/painting competitions for Awareness generation and mass mobilization of communities across the rural hinterland was carried out for triggering Behaviour Change.

Swachh Sankalp se Swachh Siddhi Competition (Aug 17-Sep 8)

The Hon’ble Prime Minister has given the clarion call to achieve a New India by 2022 under Sankalp se Siddhi, a mass resolve to make all dirt and filth quit India. In pursuit of this vision, MoDWS organised countrywide Film, Essay and Paining Competition between 17 August and 8 September 2017 as another major step towards making Swachhta a people’s movement.

Darwaza Bandh Media Campaigns

Aiming at Behavior Change, an aggressive mass media campaign titled 'Darwaza Band' featuring Amitabh Bachchan to promote continued toilet use especially by men has been launched. The campaign includes 5 TV and Radio spots in 9 languages including Hindi and has been successfully launched on the mass media across the country.

Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS), Sep 16-Oct 2, 2017

In his Mann Ki Baat address on August 27, 2017, the Prime Minister called upon the nation to invoke a spirit of cleanliness and perform activities or SHRAMDAN and urged all NGOs, schools, colleges, social, cultural and political leaders, corporates, government officials, Collectors and sarpanches, to accelerate Swachhata activities during the Sept 15 – Oct 2, 2017 period.Prime Minister, Narendra Modi led the campaign by performing shramdan for twin pit toilet construction in Shahanshahpur village, Varanasi. He commented that “Swachhata has to become ‘Swabhav’ – it is our collective responsibility to keep our nation clean”. SHS received a huge response and saw massive mobilization of citizens including armed forces and Divyangs across the length and breadth of the country volunteering for Shramdaan towards sanitation and cleanliness through various activities.

Year End Review-2017: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Swachh Bharat Mission

To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on access to safe sanitation, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on 2nd October, 2014, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi . SBM aims at achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) nation and a Swachh Bharat by 2nd Oct, 2019 thereby paying a befitting tribute on his150th anniversary.

Behavior change is the primary focus and fundamental tool for achievement of ODF outcomes. The Ministry is doing it by its focused Information, Education and Communication (IEC) programme. It promotes gender sensitive information, behavior change guidelines and various mass education activities. The Ministry issued gender guidelines in 2017 and Menstrual Management Guidelines on 2015.

Sanitation Coverage at the launch of SBM(G) on 2nd Oct, 2014 was 38.70%. This has increased to 74.15% as on 18th Dec, 2017.

SBM (G) Milestones
568.15 IHHLs built (in Lakh) since 2ndOct 2014	35.45 % increase in sanitation coverage since  2ndOct 2014
255 No. of ODF Districts Self Declared	4470 ODF villages in Namami Gange
8 ODF States/UTs (Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Daman & Diu and Chandigarh)	2,92,896 No. of ODF Villages Self Declared

Swachh Bharat Mission: Making Swachhata Everyone’s Business

MDWS is mandated to convene and coordinate all activities and initiatives towards achievement of a Swachh Bharat, besides its allocated charge of SBM-Gramin. In fulfilling this responsibility, the Ministry constantly works with all other Ministries, the state governments, local institutions, NGOs, Faith organizations, media and the rest of stakeholders. This approach is based on the Prime Minister’s call that Swachhata has to be everyone’s business and not only that of sanitation departments. A host of special initiatives and projects have come out in quick time in this process. The response from all the stake-holders has been extremely encouraging.

Swachhata Pakhwada

Swachhata Pakhwada started in April 2016 with the objective of bringing a fortnight of intense focus on the issues and practices of Swachhhata by engaging Central Ministries and Departments in their jurisdiction. An annual calendar is pre-circulated among the Ministries to help them plan for the Pakhwada activities. 

NamamiGange

NamamiGange Programme is an initiative of Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR), comprising of making villages on the bank of River Ganga ODF and interventions dealing with solid and liquid waste management are being implemented by MDWS.

All 4470 villages located across 52 districts of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have been declared ODF with active help of state governments. Now the Ministry has taken up 24 villages on the bank of River Ganga to transform them as Ganga Grams in coordination with NMCG.

Swachhta Action Plan (SAP)

SAP, a first of its kind inter-ministerial programme for Swachhta, is a concrete realization of Prime Minister’s vision that Swachhta is everyone’s business. All Union Ministries/Departments have started to work for its realization in a significant manner with appropriate budget provisions. A separate budget head has been created for this by the Ministry of Finance. During the financial year 2017-18, 77 Ministries/Departments have committed funds worth Rs12468.62cr for their SAPs. SAP implementation started on 1st April 2017. 

Swachh Iconic Places (SIP)

Under the inspiration of Hon’ble Prime Minister, the Ministry has taken up a multi-stakeholder initiative focusing on cleaning up 100 places across India that are “iconic” due to their heritage, religious and/or cultural significance.

The goal of the Initiative is to improve the cleanliness conditions at these places to a distinctly higher level. This initiative is in partnership with Ministries of Urban Development, Tourism and Culture with MDWS being the nodal ministry. So far in first two phases, 20 iconic places has been taken up. All these 20 Iconic Sites have designated PSUs or corporates for financial and technical support.

Swachh Shakti, March 8, 2017

Swachh Shakti was organized on March 8th, 2017, International Women’s Day, at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the gathering on this occasion. Around 6,000 selected women sarpanches, grassroots workers from across the country attended the event, and Swachhta Champions were honoured for their outstanding contribution towards making Swachh Bharat a reality in rural India.

Freedom from Open Defecation (FOD) week (Aug 9 – Aug 15)

IEC activities like door to door IPC, Swachhata Raths, Rallies, Marathons, Felicitation of Champions, Quiz/painting competitions for Awareness generation and mass mobilization of communities across the rural hinterland was carried out for triggering Behaviour Change.

Swachh Sankalp se Swachh Siddhi Competition (Aug 17-Sep 8)

The Hon’ble Prime Minister has given the clarion call to achieve a New India by 2022 under Sankalp se Siddhi, a mass resolve to make all dirt and filth quit India. In pursuit of this vision, MoDWS organised countrywide Film, Essay and Paining Competition between 17 August and 8 September 2017 as another major step towards making Swachhta a people’s movement.

Darwaza Bandh Media Campaigns

Aiming at Behavior Change, an aggressive mass media campaign titled 'Darwaza Band' featuring Amitabh Bachchan to promote continued toilet use especially by men has been launched. The campaign includes 5 TV and Radio spots in 9 languages including Hindi and has been successfully launched on the mass media across the country.

Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS), Sep 16-Oct 2, 2017

In his Mann Ki Baat address on August 27, 2017, the Prime Minister called upon the nation to invoke a spirit of cleanliness and perform activities or SHRAMDAN and urged all NGOs, schools, colleges, social, cultural and political leaders, corporates, government officials, Collectors and sarpanches, to accelerate Swachhata activities during the Sept 15 – Oct 2, 2017 period.Prime Minister, Narendra Modi led the campaign by performing shramdan for twin pit toilet construction in Shahanshahpur village, Varanasi. He commented that “Swachhata has to become ‘Swabhav’ – it is our collective responsibility to keep our nation clean”. SHS received a huge response and saw massive mobilization of citizens including armed forces and Divyangs across the length and breadth of the country volunteering for Shramdaan towards sanitation and cleanliness through various activities.

Year End Review-2017: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Swachh Bharat Mission

To accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on access to safe sanitation, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on 2nd October, 2014, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi . SBM aims at achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) nation and a Swachh Bharat by 2nd Oct, 2019 thereby paying a befitting tribute on his150th anniversary.

Behavior change is the primary focus and fundamental tool for achievement of ODF outcomes. The Ministry is doing it by its focused Information, Education and Communication (IEC) programme. It promotes gender sensitive information, behavior change guidelines and various mass education activities. The Ministry issued gender guidelines in 2017 and Menstrual Management Guidelines on 2015.

Sanitation Coverage at the launch of SBM(G) on 2nd Oct, 2014 was 38.70%. This has increased to 74.15% as on 18th Dec, 2017.

SBM (G) Milestones
568.15 IHHLs built (in Lakh) since 2ndOct 2014	35.45 % increase in sanitation coverage since  2ndOct 2014
255 No. of ODF Districts Self Declared	4470 ODF villages in Namami Gange
8 ODF States/UTs (Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Daman & Diu and Chandigarh)	2,92,896 No. of ODF Villages Self Declared

Swachh Bharat Mission: Making Swachhata Everyone’s Business

MDWS is mandated to convene and coordinate all activities and initiatives towards achievement of a Swachh Bharat, besides its allocated charge of SBM-Gramin. In fulfilling this responsibility, the Ministry constantly works with all other Ministries, the state governments, local institutions, NGOs, Faith organizations, media and the rest of stakeholders. This approach is based on the Prime Minister’s call that Swachhata has to be everyone’s business and not only that of sanitation departments. A host of special initiatives and projects have come out in quick time in this process. The response from all the stake-holders has been extremely encouraging.

Swachhata Pakhwada

Swachhata Pakhwada started in April 2016 with the objective of bringing a fortnight of intense focus on the issues and practices of Swachhhata by engaging Central Ministries and Departments in their jurisdiction. An annual calendar is pre-circulated among the Ministries to help them plan for the Pakhwada activities. 

NamamiGange

NamamiGange Programme is an initiative of Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR), comprising of making villages on the bank of River Ganga ODF and interventions dealing with solid and liquid waste management are being implemented by MDWS.

All 4470 villages located across 52 districts of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have been declared ODF with active help of state governments. Now the Ministry has taken up 24 villages on the bank of River Ganga to transform them as Ganga Grams in coordination with NMCG.

Swachhta Action Plan (SAP)

SAP, a first of its kind inter-ministerial programme for Swachhta, is a concrete realization of Prime Minister’s vision that Swachhta is everyone’s business. All Union Ministries/Departments have started to work for its realization in a significant manner with appropriate budget provisions. A separate budget head has been created for this by the Ministry of Finance. During the financial year 2017-18, 77 Ministries/Departments have committed funds worth Rs12468.62cr for their SAPs. SAP implementation started on 1st April 2017. 

Swachh Iconic Places (SIP)

Under the inspiration of Hon’ble Prime Minister, the Ministry has taken up a multi-stakeholder initiative focusing on cleaning up 100 places across India that are “iconic” due to their heritage, religious and/or cultural significance.

The goal of the Initiative is to improve the cleanliness conditions at these places to a distinctly higher level. This initiative is in partnership with Ministries of Urban Development, Tourism and Culture with MDWS being the nodal ministry. So far in first two phases, 20 iconic places has been taken up. All these 20 Iconic Sites have designated PSUs or corporates for financial and technical support.

Swachh Shakti, March 8, 2017

Swachh Shakti was organized on March 8th, 2017, International Women’s Day, at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the gathering on this occasion. Around 6,000 selected women sarpanches, grassroots workers from across the country attended the event, and Swachhta Champions were honoured for their outstanding contribution towards making Swachh Bharat a reality in rural India.

Freedom from Open Defecation (FOD) week (Aug 9 – Aug 15)

IEC activities like door to door IPC, Swachhata Raths, Rallies, Marathons, Felicitation of Champions, Quiz/painting competitions for Awareness generation and mass mobilization of communities across the rural hinterland was carried out for triggering Behaviour Change.

Swachh Sankalp se Swachh Siddhi Competition (Aug 17-Sep 8)

The Hon’ble Prime Minister has given the clarion call to achieve a New India by 2022 under Sankalp se Siddhi, a mass resolve to make all dirt and filth quit India. In pursuit of this vision, MoDWS organised countrywide Film, Essay and Paining Competition between 17 August and 8 September 2017 as another major step towards making Swachhta a people’s movement.

Darwaza Bandh Media Campaigns

Aiming at Behavior Change, an aggressive mass media campaign titled 'Darwaza Band' featuring Amitabh Bachchan to promote continued toilet use especially by men has been launched. The campaign includes 5 TV and Radio spots in 9 languages including Hindi and has been successfully launched on the mass media across the country.

Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS), Sep 16-Oct 2, 2017

In his Mann Ki Baat address on August 27, 2017, the Prime Minister called upon the nation to invoke a spirit of cleanliness and perform activities or SHRAMDAN and urged all NGOs, schools, colleges, social, cultural and political leaders, corporates, government officials, Collectors and sarpanches, to accelerate Swachhata activities during the Sept 15 – Oct 2, 2017 period.Prime Minister, Narendra Modi led the campaign by performing shramdan for twin pit toilet construction in Shahanshahpur village, Varanasi. He commented that “Swachhata has to become ‘Swabhav’ – it is our collective responsibility to keep our nation clean”. SHS received a huge response and saw massive mobilization of citizens including armed forces and Divyangs across the length and breadth of the country volunteering for Shramdaan towards sanitation and cleanliness through various activities.