Saturday, December 7, 2013

The Curious case of Article 370

Earlier this week, News channels of the country had a whale of the time when Narendra Modi, during his rally in J&K ,stir the hornet’s nest by reminiscing one of the RSS’ prime agenda : Article 370.Eulogy as well as Hue & cry followed instantly and media was brimming with various discourses all over.
To understand the hubbub, one needs to dive straight into the time of conception of the Article, back to 1940s and 1950s.The characters and their designations for the show are as following:
  • Sheikh Abdullah : Prime Minister of Kashmir in 1948
  • Hari Singh : Maharaja of Kashmir
  • Gopalaswami Ayyangar : Minister without portfolio in the first Union cabinet, a former diwan to Hari Singh.
Historically, Article 370 was the brainchild of the then PM of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah. During those times, Kashmir was the locus of the tussle between India and Pakistan. Although Sardar Patel was on the job of unifying India but unification of J&K with the union was uncannily undertaken by Nehru. And as is a fact now, he did a shoddy job.

Nehru was taken for a ride by the Sheikh and he was able to convince him that due to factors like Occupation of one third of J&K by Pakistan, reference to the UN (again a Nehru folly) and plebiscite, Kashmir must be given a special status after accession to the Union of India. Nehru let the chips fall where they may and after finalising the text of the Article, he roped in Gopalaswami Ayyangar to get it passed in the Constituent Assembly discussions.

However, Ayyangar wasted his breathe and the draft of the article was quashed and torn into pieces by the Assembly and Nehru had to eat a humble pie. Patel was abysmally kept away from the matters of Kashmir during all this fiasco. But after this incident, Nehru swallowed his pride and rang up Patel to get it passed. Despite his own scepticism and misgivings and various others, Patel agreed to support and cut the Gordian knot.

What followed next what the stormiest uproar in the Assembly.  However Patel managed to convince the members of Constituent Assembly and Congress Party Executive. He pitched in that because of the international complications, a provisional approach alone could be made, leaving the final settlement to be worked out according to the exigencies of the situation at a later date, mutual feelings and confidence would have been by then created. The inclusion of word ‘Temporary’ was finalised.

On 17 October 1949, the Indian Constituent Assembly adopted Article 370 of the Constitution. However Sheikh started mincing words and dilly-dallying accession of J&K to India. He was finding the inclusion of the word ‘Temporary and Transitional Provisions’ in the text unsettling. He suspected that his autonomous rule over J&K through Article 370 might be abrogated at a later date.    
He wanted an ‘iron clad guarantees of autonomy’. Suspecting that the State’s autonomy would be lost, he advocated independence from India upon which the Union of India dismissed his government and put him under preventive detention.Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed was installed in power, who then got the accession formally ratified in 1954.

However Nehru did not let the idea of Article 370 slide into coffins. And the temporary provisions were never abrogated.1974 Indira-Sheikh accord after which Sheikh again came at the helm of J&K, further reinforced the rule of Article 370 in the state.

Sinister Provisions of Article 370 : This article specifies that except for Defence, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Communications, (matters specified in the instrument of accession) the Indian Parliament needs the State Government's concurrence for applying all other laws. Thus the Central Government can make laws only with concurrence of the State government, practically giving it the Veto power. Article 352 and 360 for declaration of national and financial emergency respectively cannot be applied in Kashmir. While a citizen of India has only Indian citizenship, J&K citizens have two citizenships. Anti Defection Law is also not applicable to J&K. No outsider can buy property in J&K state. The beneficial laws such as Wealth Tax, Gift Tax & Urban Land Ceiling Act and intermarriage with other Indian nationals do not operate in J&K State. Even Article 356 under which President of India can impose his rule in any state cannot be enforced in J&K without consent of the Governor who himself is an appointee of the President. State of J&K can refuse building of any cantonment on any site or refuse to allot land for defence purposes.

Thus J&K continues to be run autonomously by the Separatists who do not want to let go their power. Article 370 should have been abrogated long ago. However petty politics and vested interests kept the matter in cold boxes. Why should a state of Indian Union have a special status ? It conveys a wrong signal not only to Kashmiris but also to the Pakistan and indeed the international community that J&K is still to become integral part of India.

It is a welcome move that Mr. Modi didn’t let the sleeping dogs lie and is exhuming the matter. In the greater good, we hope that Article 370 is soon repealed and J&K enjoys the rights of the free India.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Hi,with a sigh !

Hi,
With a sigh
Introduction
Trepidation
First Impression !

Time Nine
Hey Sunshine
Wassup as First line
I am fine
Conversation sublime !

Romance
A wonderful trance
Cupid's plans
I like you,
You are mine
Red Valentine

Then He lied
And she cried
Trust strings untied
Justification
Explanation
Call Termination

Terrified
Petrified
Stupefied,He
And unreponsive she !

Wait
Hate
Forget
Erase the past
A new start

Hence once again,
Hi
With a sigh !.....

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Colours of the White !

On the palette of life,there are hues-Unknown,Undefined and Unaccompanied.Each representing something,doesnt matter what.There is Green,There is Red and there is Blue.And when you would think,are they the only one,Yellow would creep in,Black would roar and Pink will desire its mention.
When you debut opening your eyes in this world,Red is with you.Green defines the life to you,provides your brain coil something to hold.And When you mature,you realize that its the Blue that rules the world.It is the blue that bestows all the blues to the palette if you dont possess it.But at this moment,May I insinuate that Pink is no less in giving you sorrows.Agreed,it makes the world beautiful but its the Pink who also snatches all the beauty from the palette.
As you grow old,you gather that Red has grown old several manifolds and wishes your attention.But then Black eats up all of your time and then there are tiny lilliputian Yellow too for whom you are the Red.You cannot abandon Black,as it furnish you Blue but then other colours are no less important.In this chaos,you suddenly sometime find that its Time !
In the quest of consuming all your colours in the painting of your life,you forget that the paper was initially White.And then you discover that all colours alltogether also make up White.
They are just the Colours of the White !

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Again be the King !

All that glitters is not gold
Not every day is dark and cold
Old is not always weak
He is not a fool who seeks
A hammer shatters the glass
But forges steel
It takes a strong fish
to swim against the sea.

Into the horizon will emerge a new sun
The light that faded will again burn
After autumn,it always comes the Spring
The Crownless shall again be the King !

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

My Guitar Gently Weeps

Flying past and remembering those last
Love filled days,
While my Guitar gently weeps.

Dont know how
I went so loud
Broke all my crossings
From then my Guitar gently weeps

How to forget
those tears you had
While I left you crying
And so my Guitar gently weeps.

Twenty years,
You not even in my dreams near
Inspite of all my tryings
Still my Guitar gently weeps

I have not
lived any day of any sort
Since when my Guitar gently weeps
Along with me !

A light Poetry I wrote in around few minutes listening to The Beatles :)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Dereliction of Nuclear Duty : A Possibility ?

Japanese Catastrophe Redux : Japan seems to have some grudges with Neutrons. After Hiroshima Nagasaki Duo, March 11-2011 is another infamous date going down into Japan’s History. A quake of 8.9 on Richter scale stuck the tech island giving rise to Tsunami. Now as if this was not enough, Nuclear breach occurred too redounding to the catastrophe. The Cooling systems failed, exposing the fuel rods to naked atmosphere causing radiation in the vicinity.

The Question then arises, Juxtaposing India and Japan, do we too stand a chance of any such breach in the future, when we have already faced some Tsunamis in the past ?


Why Nuclear Plants are mainly situated near coasts (where Tsunami threat is at peak )? All Nuclear plants require a huge supply of coolants and water for cooling purposes of Nuclear Fuel Rods. Constructing them near a coast where large mass of water is available is due to economy reasons.

Firstly, India has 8 nuclear plants(including under construction) as shown in the figure below.

India has two coast-lines. East that contains Kalpakkam Nuclear Plant,Madras and West,that boasts of Kaiga,Tarapur and Kakrapar Nuclear plants. NPCIL(Nuclear Power Corp.) maintains that no reactor should be within 5km radius of fault line while Fukushima was located directly on a fault line (No fault of planners though, Japan has too many fault lines).
Moreover, Only one of the reactors are in Zone-4 (High Probabilty of Seismic Activity Area) which is Narora .Rawatbhata,Kalpakkam and Kudankulam are in Zone-2.Tarapur,Kakrapar,Jaitapur and Kaiga in Zone-3.Though Narora is in Zone-4,We need not fear much by it coz its not near a coast (No chance of rendezvous with tsunami :D) and Reactors do not fear earthquakes (Japan’s nuclear apocalypse started when Diesel Generators and switchgears were ruined by Tsunami Waves)
Out of all Indian nuclear reactors, Kalpakkam has the highest possibility of being stuck by Earthquake + Tsunami Combo. Let us assume that in Dec.2012,there is a tsunami (much like Japan’s) targeting Kalpakkam plant. Then too,We need not fear.Reason : Difference in Design of Japan’s and India’s Reactors.

Basically,there are two types of Nuclear reactors : 1) BWR (Boiling Water Type ) and 2)PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor)
In layman language,A nuclear reactor produces heat with the help of radioactivity. This heat converts water into steam which further rotates the turbine to produce Electricity. In BWR type, The cooling water is maintained at about 75 atm so that it boils in the core at about 285 °C. In comparison, there is no significant boiling allowed in a PWR-type because of the high pressure maintained in its primary loop—approximately 158 atm.
Thus a BWR-type requires a more powerful cooling system. It requires active cooling for a period of several hours to several days following shutdown.At an event of an earthquake,the nuclear reaction is automatically stopped. However, radioactive decay of the fission products in the fuel will continue to actively generate decay heat at a gradually decreasing rate. If active cooling fails during this period, the reactor can still overheat to a temperature high enough that zirconium in the fuel cladding will react with water and steam, producing hydrogen gas. In this event there is a high danger of hydrogen explosions, threatening structural damage to the reactor and/or associated safety systems and/or the exposure of highly radioactive spent fuel rods that may be stored in the reactor building as happened with the Fukushima I nuclear accidents.
In PWR-type there is no such problem. It runs cool. In contrast to a boiling water reactor, pressure in the primary coolant loop prevents the water from boiling within the reactor. So containment of Heat is relatively easier in this case. And so nuclear breach not a problem.
As India employs PWR-type nuclear reactors (Only Tarapur being BWR-type),we do not face any immediate nuclear doomsday like Japan :)
But still there are some Civil Engg. Factors involved that needs to be looked upon too. I,along with some friends, am working on it and will come up with the analysis soon.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Abstract Photography

Took my first lilliputian steps in Photography
Motif: Abstact
Camera : Sony Cybershot 10.1MP
Scope : Internal