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India Ideas Conclave 2020


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US-Taliban sign a peace deal

Stakeholders in the 19-year old US-Taliban war in Afghanistan exude happiness over the signing of the peace deal on Saturday in Doha, the capital of Qatar.  It is more than a year that the sides were pursuing the deal but hurdles cropped up unexpectedly only to defer the clenching of the peace. The last time peace talks were suspended by President Trump when, in retaliation to the killing of an American soldier by the Taliban in Afghanistan, he had broken negotiations unilaterally. However, it took a great deal of effort on the part of peaceniks on both sides to put things back on the rails and resume talks.

The highlights of the deal are that the US has agreed that the US and NATO troops would be withdrawn fully from Afghanistan in a phased manner in 14 months. Taliban leadership agreed to initiate talks with the government of President Ashraf Ghani for a negotiated settlement that would give Afghanistan a popular government. The Taliban would be partners in the new government. Prisoners of war will be released on both sides and the negotiated settlement would take up the question of reconstruction of Afghanistan and resumption of its normal trade and diplomatic relations.

This peace deal has come after the seven days no fighting pre-requisite was met on both sides so that the signing of the deal would not run into more trouble. Now that the deal is signed and both sides, after having felt the exhaustion of fighting a protracted war, would like to focus on rebuilding the war-ravaged Afghanistan.

A few lessons have to be learned from this long-awaited event. In the first place, it has become clear to the world that Afghans have maintained their age-old tradition of not allowing any foreign power to rule over it through force of arms. Some critics feel that the Doha deal is the second defeat of the US after Vietnam and that probably Washington will take a lesson from it while conducting its policy of belligerence. For the Afghan dissidents called Taliban, there is a lesson that they are not invincible if they mean to be obstinate and unrealistic. Whatever tall claims the Taliban may make, the US did manage to install a pro-US government in Kabul and make it sustain the bloody war imposed on it by the Taliban.

Pakistan has succeeded in establishing its importance in finding a solution to the Afghan crisis. Pakistan’s closeness to the Taliban or some of the prominent factions of the Taliban like the Haqqani group gives her leverage in the affairs of Afghanistan.  Duringhis recent Indian trip, President Trump had acknowledged that Pakistan’s support to peace talks in Afghanistan was of immense importance. Hence Pakistan has made its position strong in influencing the future events and politics of the Kabul regime.

India will welcome the peace deal no doubt because it will have an impact on the regional ground situation. But there are some concerns which India will have to take note of. Though Indian Ambassador in Qatar was invited and did attend the signing ceremony in Doha on Saturday, yet in his address, the Taliban main negotiator Mulla Baradar did not take the name of India while expressing thanks to the countries that lent their support for the success of the Doha agreement. He made a specific mention of Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia but ignored India. This is quite significant and one may infer that at some point during a discussion on the preliminaries, Pakistan must have put its foot down and demanded that India be excluded from the negotiating process. It was only on the behest of the US that the Indian representative was among the invited visitors.

Yet one more concern for India is that once inter-Afghan talks proceed and as a result a coalition government is established in Kabul to replace the present regime, the Taliban component on the behest of Pakistan will come out against India in respect of Kashmir issue. Taliban may not encourage its mujahids to comply with the wishes of Pakistani hawks of infiltrating into the Indian part of Kashmir but on a political level, the Taliban will certainly try to put their weight behind the stand of Pakistan on Kashmir. However, this fear could be discounted only if Indian policy planners had been shrewd enough to have established liaison with the Taliban leadership in past years that India is interested in maintaining a traditional friendship with the Afghans and has never tried to play one Afghan group against the other. If there have been sporadic attacks on Indian interests in Afghanistan, these were spearheaded by Pakistani agencies.

Much depends on the outlines along which the Ashraf Ghani regime in Kabul conducts talks with the Taliban leadership. But before we can anticipate the outcome of those negotiations, there is another issue that has cropped up lately. Differences between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah have deepened so much so that the latter had threatened to declare a parallel government. Though New Delhi will meticulously keep itself aloof of this rivalry among the top Afghan leadership, it has to be remembered that Abdullah Abdullah comes from the Panjsheer Valley in Northern Afghanistan and was a close ally of Ahmad Shah Masud who, in turn, had very cordial relations with New Delhi. Even Abdullah Abdullah has completed his education in an Indian Engineering Institute and has very `cordial relations with India.  New Delhi would very much like to see the rivalry between the two Afghan contestants being resolved amicably to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. India has often tried to assure the Afghans that she is interested in the development and prosperity fo Afghanistan and has no other motive in cultivating the friendship of Afghan regimes.

The US has said that it will keep close track of the negotiations conducted in Kabul between the regime and Taliban to ensure that there is no breakdown and the story of post- Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan is not repeated. In the same vein, India would not want that Kabul should turn into a hotbed of rivalry between the two sub-continental nuclear powers. As such, all eyes will be focused on the Taliban leadership how it conducts itself at negotiating a peace deal with the regime of Ashraf Ghani. Before that, a breakthrough in the stalemate existing between the two Afghan leaders claiming the high office of the presidency has to happen. Once that hurdle is overcome, chances for a feeling of lasting peace will brighten in Afghanistan. Such a scenario will have a positive impact on the political atmosphere of the sub-continent.

*The writer is the former Director of the Centre of Central Asian Studies, Kashmir University

 

JNU Protests: War of Ideas or A Play of Politics

For one reason or the other, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been making much news in recent years, most of it being non-flattering. A flashpoint was reached in February 2016, when virulent anti-India protests by certain ultra-leftist groups took place in the campus. Since then such protests have continued sporadically till date. More recently, we have seen protests which began against the hike in hostel fees and which have now disfigured into political stand-offs. Over the last few years, campus politics in JNU have been on the boil, causing serious disruptions to academic work and research, and also to the routine functioning of the university administration.

Campus disruptions are causing a serious negative impact on the students in JNU, with complete violation of academic calendar through disruption of semester examinations, stoppage of the registration process and shutting of classes. As a former JNU alumnus, I remain concerned and pained by the deteriorating academic environment in the campus, which have caused serious security threats for the students, faculty and other staff in JNU.

The gravity of the situation has elicited condemnation and requests to restore peace even from two senior members of the Union Cabinet under the Modi government, who have been alumni of the university in the past. A similar plea has been made by other distinguished people including the Nobel Laureate Abhijit Mukherjee. Analyzing the issue of violence in the JNU campus and other university spaces, around 200 academicians have recently written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing their anguish and concern at the deteriorating academic ambience in the country led by a ‘small coterie of left-wing activism’. (ToI, 13 Jan 2020)

The bigger question, however, remains. Why has the JNU campus become the nucleus of such antagonism? A campus, which once was nationally acclaimed as a seat of ‘debate and discussion’ is today making it to the news only for the consistent violent protests against its administration defying the spirit of student activism and politics?

To understand this situation, it is imperative to look back to 2014, when the Indian general election results brought the Modi government to power at the Centre and then in subsequent states as well, to the larger unease and disapproval of left-wing forces in JNU. Having thrived on the narrative of ‘secular versus-communal’ left-leaning intelligentsia has always shown a kind of ‘political untouchability’ to other ideological forces and schools of thought in the country. As the ‘nationalist school’ occupied a central space in the mainstream politics and started commanding its new role in the academic discourse and intelligentsia, the leftist forces in JNU were confronted with a new challenge, which today they are trying to counter through force.

In the last few years, the academic discourse in the country has been seen a shift towards ‘Indic ideas and values’, which for long have been ignored by the leftist intellectual stalwarts. As this ‘ideological contest’ became sharpened and assertive post-2014, it has completely changed the Indian political landscape over the past few years, making it polarised between the Right and the Left. JNU being the ‘nerve centre’ of left-wing ideas and politics has formed a flashpoint for this contest. The successive electoral victories of the BJP, to the clear dissatisfaction of leftist forces, who in their ignorance and conceit, considered themselves the intellectual vanguards of liberalism in India, has furthered this dissatisfaction. The on-going JNU protests are a mere extension of the same in the name and pretext of fee hike, which already has been rolled back and revised, as per the genuine demands of the students.

Moreover, under the present Vice-Chancellor of JNU, the fundamental character of the institution, which for long was dominated by the Left, has witnessed many changes. On the level of social and academic activities, the narrative has shifted from politics of appeasement, secession and divisiveness to an increase in talks on a range of issues like national security, border management, Indian Diaspora, Act East policy, inclusive growth and economy, global governance reforms and counter-terrorism. Along with the above, ideas from the Indic schools of thought like integral humanism, decolonizing of Indian minds, cultural nationalism, Indian spiritualism, universal peace and brotherhood are at the forefront of discussions in JNU.

Besides, at the level of student politics also, the so-called principle of left unity has failed to survive the rising nationalist forces at JNU, making ABVP the ‘single largest student force’ in the last two JNU student elections. Around this transformation, the VC and his team have bravely faced up to the worst forms of student abuse and agitation. He also introduced new courses in engineering and management, along with many new student-friendly initiatives on the campus.

Interestingly, given this wave of transformation within JNU, and in order to protect what some call as the last citadel of the Left in India, student politics in JNU is being misguided and disoriented towards continuous disruption and resistance against the establishment by some radical groups. These are the same ultra-leftist organisations that have built an unwarranted narrative and protest politics in the name of events that celebrate attacks on CRPF camps that killed 72 Indian soldiers, mourn the deaths of Afzal Guru and Yakub Memon, support demands of secessionists in northeast India andorganise ‘Mahishasur Diwas’ and ‘beef festival’ just to flare up campus politics based on the most dreadful of ideas.

The same happened in 2017 at Ramjas College, DU, when in the name of the right to debate these groups had a clash with ABVP activists. The manhandling of Mr Rajiv Malhotra by Leftist forces in TISS, Mumbai, greeting the then PM Dr Manmohan Singh with black flags and criticising (late) APJ Abdul Kalam’s visit to JNU campus are some examples of their politics. The list is long and exposes the utter hypocrisy of radical Left student groups.

In the diagnosis of JNU protests, one can sense the greatest challenges facing liberalism today. As argued in The Cultural Defence of Nations (Oxford, 2016) rights activists and scholars fail to recognise and celebrate the unique cultural identity of the majority, the same they argue for the minorities at large. Also, taking note from the late Prafull Bidwai’s work The Phoenix Movement (Harper Collins, 2015), the Left till date has failed to come up with a political vision that is home-crafted. If they keep peddling “meta-narratives,” and fail to acknowledge the change in the winds, then little can be done to address their concerns.

It is no doubt that ‘free spaces’ within our universities cater to a critical requirement in society. Their objective is to raise discussion and dialogue and celebrate ideas within the campuses. However, if the genuineness of issue is lost, and it largely becomes part of confrontational politics, just to create sensationalism in the name of student protests, then it is nothing but playing into politics.

– Dr Abhishek Pratap Singh holds a PhD from JNU and teaches at the Delhi University

Report of the 2nd India-Nepal Bilateral Dialogue

February 12-13, 2020

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

Nepal and India – Cooperation for Mutual Growth & Prosperity

The relationship between India and Nepal is rooted in deep historic and civilizational connect. The two have been natural allies with their harmonious equation dating back to the earliest record of history. India and Nepal go beyond the official machinery in New Delhi and Kathmandu. The strong people-to-people connect has enabled deep, uninterrupted exchanges across a long and open border. Over the centuries, this flow of people has led to networks of kinship, often termed as the ‘roti-beti’ relationship. It has created religious, linguistic and cultural bonds, enabling the flow of ideas, and generated economic inter-dependence.

The organic blend of people-to-people ties and state-to-state relationship, at such close proximity, lends the Indo-Nepalese relations a unique intimacy. This intimacy has, admittedly, generated its own complexities and stress. There has been apprehensions against the Indian commitment in the Nepalese minds. But despite the occasional lows, the story of the Indo-Nepalese bond is one of resilience, optimism, depth, linkages, friendship, security, and most importantly, trust between the people belonging to these two countries. It is to strengthen these bonds and clear the apprehensions and misperceptions that India Foundation, Neeti Anusandhan Pratisthan and Nepal-India Chambers of Commerce & Industry collaborated to organize the second edition of India-Nepal bilateral dialogue in Lucknow, India, from February 12-13, 2020, on the theme “Nepal And India – Cooperation For Mutual Growth & Prosperity”.

Inaugural Session

The inaugural session of the bilateral dialogue was presided by Shri Raj Kishor Yadav, Member, House of Representative, Federal Parliament; former Cabinet Minister, Nepal; Member of Presidium Rashtriya Janata Party, Nepal; Shri Shaurya Doval, Member, Board of Governors, India Foundation; and Ms. Nalini Gyawali, General Secretary, Neeti Anusandhan Pratishthan, Nepal.

Shri Raj Kishor Yadav while delivering the inaugural address laid emphasis on strengthening the socio-political ties between India and Nepal. Amongst other aspects, he stressed on digital technologies and the role it can play in strengthening the bond between the two countries.

In his address, Shri Shaurya Doval highlighted the importance of India-Nepal relations and the need to incorporate the emerging issues from this dialogue in policy making. He stressed on the fact that the policy discussions should look at the present while being future-oriented and come up with a blueprint for a prosperous future for both the countries.

Ms. Nalini Gyawali focused her address on the interdependency between India and Nepal. Highlighting the economic and trade angle, she mentioned the ongoing cooperative developmental projects between the two countries and the role they play in strengthening the relationship.

Session I | Civilizational Links: Reviving the Ancient Bonds

Chairperson: Dr Ramesh Kumar Dhungel, Executive Chairman at Lumbini College of Buddhism and Himalayan Studies, Nepal.

Panelists:

  • Shri Tarun Vijay, former Member of Parliament & former Editor, Panchjanya, India
  • Prof Krishna Chandra Sharma, Professor of English at Central Department of English, Kirtipur, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
  • Shri Guru Prakash, Advisor, Dalit Chambers of Commerce, India
  • Shri Deep Kumar Upadhyay, former Minister and former Ambassador of Nepal to India.

Shri Tarun Vijay highlighted the role Nepal played in the civilizational history of India. Discussing the relationship between neighboring countries, he stressed on the need for the two countries to work together in protecting the interest of Hindus living as minorities across the Asian countries and work for their freedoms and rights.

Prof Krishna Chandra Sharma brought to discussion the deep rooted ancestral bonds between India and Nepal and the similarity in Krishna Yajurveda followed in Pashupatinath Temple and southern India.

In his address, Shri Guru Prakash drew inspiration from Mata Sita as a beacon of feminism and suggested that India and Nepal take the lead in establishing a gender study center focusing on cultural, political and social gender justice. He also laid stress on the need to develop youth initiatives for further strengthening the bonds between the two countries.

Shri Deep Kumar Upadhyay, in his address compared the importance of India-Nepal relationship as opposed to other bordering countries. He focused on the need to strengthen the people-to-people connect which will make resolution of minor issues relatively easier.

Session II | Sharing the Federal Experience in Nepal and India

Chairperson: Dr. Minendra Rijal, Member, House of Representative, Federal Parliament, Nepal; former Cabinet Minister, Nepal

Panelists:

  • Shri Shreekrishna Aniruddh Gautam, Political Analyst, Columnist, former Advisor to the Prime Minister of Nepal
  • Shri Tarun Vijay, former Member of Parliament; former Editor, Panchjanya, India
  • Shri Khim Lal Devkota, former Member, Interim Constitution Drafting Committee; Senior Leader of Nepal Communist of Party
  • Shri Siddharth Nath Singh, Cabinet Minister, Government of Uttar Pradesh, India.

Shri Shreekrishna Aniruddh Gautam commenced his address by highlighting the similarity in cultural identities of the two countries despite the different political identities. In his address, he focused on various factors that made Nepal adopt a federal structure of power sharing. He also discussed the equal opportunity of representation it creates for the Nepalese people.

While focusing on the need for Nepal to evolve a pluralistic model, Shri Tarun Vijay suggested a need for a serious dialogue on political reforms. He cautioned against the building of the foundation of the two countries on the denial of dharma and suggested that dharma should be the cornerstone for setting the federal, cultural and political structure in India and Nepal.

Shri Khim Lal Devkota laid stress on the achievements of Nepalese Constitution. He brought to light the importance of Part V and Part XX of the Constitution. He said that federalism is a solution to manage the challenging diversity of Nepal. According to him the failure to accept this solution will reinforce the divide in the country.

In his address, Shri Siddharth Nath Singh focused on the division of power and how the structure of the Indian constitution has benefitted the country by preserving the diversity. He also highlighted the need for a constitution to focus on administrative issues as opposed to indigenous ones for being efficient in normal functioning of a country.

Session III | Inclusive Democracy: Experiences of India and Nepal

Chairperson: Prof SD Muni, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

Panelists:

  • Dr Priti Kumari Mandal, Assistant Professor Faculty of Education, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal
  • Shri Sudhanshu Trivedi, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, India
  • Dr Mrigendra Bahadur Karki, Executive Director, Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS), Nepal
  • Shri Guru Prakash, Advisor, Dalit Chambers of Commerce, India.

Describing the democracy of Nepal as economically, socially, culturally and politically diverse, Dr Priti Kumari Mandal highlighted the historical and geographical profile of Nepal. She also mentioned the various efforts taken by Nepalese government for ensuring inclusive democracy.

Shri Sudhanshu Trivedi speaking about the Indian experience with inclusive democracy highlighted its three facets – social, cultural and eco-political inclusion. Highlighting India as the symbol of inclusiveness, he said that a country can sustain itself for centuries only if it preserves its foundational roots.

In his address, Dr Mrigendra Bahadur Karki remarked that Nepal’s constitutional provisions define inclusion based on the Nepalese civilizational roots. He highlighted the geopolitical priorities of Nepal along with the cultural ones that define the socio-political affairs of the country.

Shri Guru Prakash brought to discussion the political inclusiveness in India at the local administration level. Expanding on the theme, he also highlighted the initiatives taken by non-governmental civil society organizations that promote inclusivity of varied identities in India across economic, social and political fronts.

Session IV | Extra-Regional & Security Dimensions of Indo-Nepalese Relations

Chairperson: Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma (Retd.), Indian Army

Panelists:

  • Major General Binoj Basnyat (Retd.), Nepal Army
  • Shri Alok Bansal, Director, India Foundation, India
  • Dr Chandra Dev Bhatta, Adjunct Faculty Member, PBU, Nepal
  • Shri Prafulla Ketkar, Editor, Organiser, India

In his address Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma laid emphasis on the need to reinvent the word ‘security’ as the changing times demand conceptual clarity on the same. He also highlighted the need to keep the aspirational nature of the two countries, India and Nepal in focus in order to sustain the maturity in their relationship.

Major General Binoj Basnyat highlighted the need for the two countries to cooperate in specific areas such as military training, disaster management, medical assistance and establishment of National Defence University. He also stressed on the need to review the security arrangement between India and Nepal.

Shri Alok Bansal brought to discussion the intertwined security complex of India and Nepal due to the open borders between the two. He emphasized the need to form protocols for dealing with fugitives and cautioned on being wary of political forces that try to exploit the relations between both the countries.

In his address, Dr Chandra Dev Bhatta brought to focus the security arrangements between India and Nepal. He highlighted the geographical and political factors that affect the security concerns and focused on the need for continuous dialogue between the countries to strengthen the relations.

Shri Prafulla Ketkar, emphasized on the need to decolonize the strategic understanding emanating out of extra-regional issues such as religious identity and fundamentalism. He was of the view that the spiritual democracy of both the countries could assist in resolving the security concerns.

Session V | Cross-border Connectivity and Freedom of Movement

Chairperson: Prof SD Muni, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

Panelists:

  • Major General Binoj Basnyat (Retd.), Nepal Army
  • Dr Nisha Taneja, Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India
  • Shri Ramesh Kharel, former DIG, Nepal Police
  • Shri Kharat Rajesh Shrikrishna, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.

Major General Binoj Basnyat, commenced his address by highlighting the connectivity potentials created by the open borders between India and Nepal. Focusing on transport connectivity he emphasized on creating safe and secure environment along the border region.

Dr Nisha Taneja in her address focused on people-to-people connectivity, transport connectivity, financial connectivity, media connectivity and tourism connectivity. She brought to discussion various facets in these larger domains that can strengthen the relationship between India and Nepal.

Focusing on the cross-border illegal activities, Shri Ramesh Kharel highlighted the misuse of open borders by criminals. He focused on the need for trust-building measures to enhance the mutual people-to-people connectivity in a safe and secure environment, while adapting policy interventions to better deal with open border issues.

In his address, Shri Kharat Rajesh Shrikrishna discussed the Border Line Communities Project and the observations concluded from it. He brought to light institutional interventions that can be implemented to develop stronger economic and social bonds.

Session VI | Assuring Mutual Growth & Economic Prosperity

Chairperson: Dr Posh Raj Pandey, Chairman, South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal

Panelists:

  • Nisha Taneja, Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India
  • Shri Deep Kumar Upadhyay, former Minister and Former Ambassador of Nepal to India
  • Shri Saket Misra, CEO, Venus Assets Pvt Ltd, India
  • Shri Ravi Shankar Sainju, Former Joint Secretary (Bilateral and Regional Trade Division), Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Supply, Nepal.

Dr Posh Raj Pandey, Chairman stressed upon the dominant economic prowess of  the Indian subcontinent since the medieval times. Speaking about the India-Nepal relations, he remarked that mutual aspirational goals of the two countries can surely be achieved by shared prosperity.

Dr. Nisha Taneja stressed upon the several fronts where Nepal is flourishing such as trade, investment and connectivity which also opens up opportunities for India. She focused on the need for Nepal to address the ambiguities in concessions made under SAFTA and also address the ambiguities in information sharing between the two.

In his address, Shri Deep Kumar Upadhyay focused on stronger cross-border transmission, hydropower generation, formal economic engagements and hassle-free trade. He stressed on the need for the two countries to resolve the outstanding issues in order to achieve shared prosperity.

Shri Saket Misra emphasized on the need to build up a degree of coordination and ecosystem that can stand the future changes. He suggested that India could help Nepal in establishing things like organic farming structure, digital supply chain and economic circuit to facilitate conducive trade ecosystem between the two countries.

Shri Ravi Shankar Sainju suggested the need for Nepal to root out the structural problems in its industrial sector. He highlighted the market potential between the two countries that can be revived by reviewing the international trade treaty.

Special Address

In a special address, Dr. Mahendra Singh, Jal Shakti Minister, Government of Uttar Pradesh, India, highlighted the importance of cultural connectivity of Pashupatinath to Varanasi, Janakpur to Ayodhya and Kathmandu to Karnataka. In his address he focused on the important role Nepal has played in the financial, social and political standing of India. He remarked that India and Nepal must approach their individual relationship with other countries in the world by keeping their bilateral relationship as the bedrock.

Valedictory Session

The valedictory session of the 2nd India-Nepal Bilateral Dialogue was hosted by Shri Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Government of Uttar Pradesh at his residence. This session was also graced by Shri Ram Madhav Varanasi, National General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party; Member, Board of Governors, India Foundation and Dr. Shashank Koirala, General Secretary, Nepali Congress and Member, House of Representative, Federal Parliament, Nepal. The session was conducted by Shri Alok Bansal, Director, India Foundation and the vote of thanks was delivered by Shri Deepak Kumar Adhikari, Executive Director, Neeti Anusandhan Pratishthan, Nepal.

In the valedictory address, Shri Yogi Adityanath laid emphasis on the ancestral heritage that connects the two nations and the responsibility to strengthen it in current times. He highlighted the opportunities in sectors such as hydropower, solar power, etc. and the role it can play in strengthening the relations. He also focused on the Indo-Nepalese tourism potential, especially religious tourism.

Shri Ram Madhav Varanasi in his address highlighted that when India grows it aims to benefit its neighbors also. Emphasizing on keeping a humanitarian angle, he remarked that both the countries have a natural relationship and that the two are not divided by political border but are linked with civilizational history.

Appreciating the efforts of promoting spiritual tourism by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Dr. Shashank Koirala stressed on the need for India and Nepal to strengthen their socio-cultural democratic ties. This strengthening will act as a bridge for development of both the nations.

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Malnutrition and its foundation in the Social Structure – A Study on Indian Women

A national social issue that India has grappled with in the past and with which she is struggling with in present times as well, is malnutrition in women, particularly rural women. What is important to note is that even with economic growth and decline in poverty and hunger, the decline in malnutrition in women has been extremely slow; malnutrition in the form of iron deficiency anaemia has in fact increased in certain regions[1].

Policy solutions directed at the problem of nutrition have failed due to the inability to link social situations with biological needs for nutrition. Two separate models have been at work; one that seeks to empower women through education and awareness and another that caters to women’s urgent nutritional requirements but overlooks the social and cultural context. It thus becomes vital to have both models working in harmony to provide a grassroots level self-sustaining solution to the problem of women’s malnutrition. It needs to be understood that food insecurity in women has its basis in the social space taken up by women and their position in the family household. An analysis of a typical rural household can provide great insights.

The social situations presented in the article below are based on the observations made by Rajni Palriwala in a village in Sikar district of Northwest India[2].

The family and household structures of patrilineality have been accessed as the framework around which malnutrition in women and their food insecurity has operated. When we consider a typical rural household, it is observed that it is headed by the senior-most male in the family. He is the head, for it is to him that the income pool of the family is submitted to and he is the one who approves all social and political actions of the family. The head is responsible for creating a division of labour and distribution of consumption (of food) by all family members.

As per the observations made in the study by Rajni Palriwala, under the division of labour, women were tasked with managing and cooking the grain brought to the house by the men. But even as managers of grain, women could not deny “men” access to it. They would also face the brunt if food was not made available to the men or if it was not properly cooked. It was often observed in various households that men would take the grain to the market and sell it to buy alcohol or fund their pleasure trips leaving the women in a much more difficult position to provide food on the table. Presence of a money economy also made things worse for the women; they were now more dependent on the men for their wages/salaries and had no control over their earnings[3].

In such situations and in situations of deficit which were frequent with seasonal changes in a rain-dependent farming structure in several rural communities, women compensated for the deficit by cutting down their own food intake. As managers of grain they were responsible to make available a daily quota for the family depending on what was available and the only source of manipulation they could exercise was to reduce their own consumption. Inability to make food available would be deemed as the women’s fault, the blame being placed on her rationing skills and excessive expenditure on female frivolities. The only option left with a woman would then be to either barter, borrow from neighbours or make cuts from her own consumption.

In rural families of Sikar district in Northwest India taken into observation in the study by Rajni Palriwala, it was observed that gender discrimination also manifested itself in forms of desire for a male child over a female one. Special nutrition was provided to the mother of a male child in comparison to the mother of a female child. Male infants were provided greater access to nutrition and healthcare facilities.

A cycle of malnutrition has been observed in the lives of rural women, a nexus of different factors playing a role. The cycle begins from malnourished girl infants, who grow up to be malnourished girl adolescents. They marry early pertaining to the societal setting, get pregnant at an early age with an ill fit body, often during adolescence and thereafter give birth to malnourished children[4]. Social structures of marriage have contributed to such a vicious cycle. The prevalence of child marriage and marriage during adolescence implies a young newlywed bride being integrated into the household, who as the youngest would be expected to fulfil many roles. As the youngest member and as a woman she would have no capacity or authority to negotiate her nutritional needs or make demands for her child’s (especially a girl) food or healthcare needs. Almost all responsibility of cooking and cleaning would fall upon her “young/energetic” body; unexpected guest visits would mean slogging in the kitchen for long hours making food for all and then choosing to rather sleep hungry than having to cook for herself again at the end. In everyday household, by eating after feeding everyone, lentils or vegetables would not remain for her and she would eat her bread with a pickle or a pepper paste.

It is thus observed that a woman’s food insecurity and malnutrition is linked to gender discrimination based on traditions and family structures.

Policy Recommendation
1. The first step to bringing solutions to women’s malnutrition in India is to bridge the gap between the models of empowerment policies and nutritional welfare schemes. They must exist in relation to each other, based on the bedrock of social and cultural contexts of the region under question.
2. In order to bring an end to the vicious cycle of malnutrition, it is important to prevent low birth weight. This can be achieved by promoting a healthy pre-pregnancy weight of the mother, older marriage age and a considerable delay after marriage for the 1st pregnancy.
3. These solutions can be brought in by bringing a change in the social fabric and understanding of marriage. The empowerment model would work in this case. Educated and socially aware women are likely to make better decisions about their maternal health and also have knowledge about delaying their first pregnancy and keeping a gap of a few years between children.
4. To bring such social changes, the community is what needs to be targeted. Women as a social group can be organised into self-help groups who will advocate their rights to healthcare and proper nutrition themselves and take collective measures to make conditions better for themselves.
5. It is important for young brides to achieve certain mental and physical maturity and delay the first pregnancy, this can be achieved by the normalisation of the use of contraceptives and addressing of taboos that operate in society about contraceptives. Communication between couples about family planning must also be promoted. Educating men about women’s reproductive and maternal health needs to be promoted.
6. Social practices such as dowry have further promoted men’s consumption over women and have primarily led to a deterioration in women’s standard of living. A requirement of dowry being given to the man for marriage has made women a liability to the natal home. Most often, the natal home is incapable of giving the dowry as demanded by the groom’s family. This deficit in dowry is then compensated by the bride working incessantly at her marital home. Her labour then becomes compensation for her deficit in dowry, which leads to a devaluation of her labour and alienates her from her right to consumption.Legal measures against dowry have been taken, but their implementation needs to be understood in the context of its impact on women’s consumption and health.
7. Health supplements and sanitary products being made available to women are often inaccessible to women due to restrictions on women moving out of the neighborhood without being accompanied by a man or due to non-availability or inaccessibility of transport services. Most of these women are responsible for procuring food from PDS (Public Distribution System) setups and are also readily accompanied by men. Nutritional supplements (iron or calcium tablets) or sanitary products can be made available with the PDS goods to women who hold a ration card. Such a step would be a better implementation of the nutritional welfare schemes in place.
8. Logistical measures can also be taken to help women from being overworked. Establishment of water pipelines to every home so that women do not have to travel long distances and exhaust themselves, LPG based stoves to be made available to women so they can quit their reliance on burning firewood for cooking which not only harms their lungs but also overworks women who go out to collect firewood. Bicycles can also be made available to women in every household to help them commute to nearby health clinics or markets.
9. Women’s political participation, especially at the rural grassroots level in gram panchayats or Zila Parishad, must be promoted, to bring them into positions of decision making, not only for themselves but also for many other women who continue to face problems hidden in the very fabric of the society they live in.

[1]Rajni Palriwala, Economics and Patriliny: Consumption and Authority within the Household
[2]Kavita Sethuraman and Nata Duvvury The Nexus of Gender Discrimination with Malnutrition: An Introduction
[3]Sunny Jose and K. Navaneetham, A Factsheet on Women’s Malnutrition in India.
[4]The National Family Health Survey 3 and 4.

References
1. Rajni Palriwala, Economics and Patriliny: Consumption and Authority within the Household
2. Kavita Sethuraman and Nata Duvvury The Nexus of Gender Discrimination with Malnutrition: An Introduction
3. Sunny Jose and K. Navaneetham, A Factsheet on Women’s Malnutrition in India.
4. The National Family Health Survey 3 and 4.

*The author is an intern at India Foundation

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