Indian Polity - Current Affairs for October, 2016

The government has amended electoral rules to permit postal ballots to be sent electronically to the armed forces personnel

• Armed forces personnel can now download the blank postal ballot sent to them electronically marking their preference and posting the filled up ballot back to their respective returning officer
• Two-way electronic transmission was not recorded for the security reasons by the EC
• Armed forces personnel serving in remote and border areas would greatly benefit from this present system of two way transmission of the ballot paper by the postal service
• The government has issued notification on Oct 21, amending rule 23 of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 enabling service voters such as armed forces personnel to cast their vote in elections through e-postal ballot
• Commission proposed that more categories of voters including NRIs should be made eligible for the e-postal ballot system

The Union Government held tripartite talks with Kuki National Organisation and United People’s Front of Manipur to find an amicable solution to their longstanding demand

• Second round of tripartite talks were held on 19th Oct 2016 in New Delhi
• During the dialogue, the KNO and UPF indicated demands in the presence of senior reps of the Manipur government
• The first meeting was held in June 2016
• Talks were held in a cordial atmosphere and the next round of dialogues were to be held in consultation with the Manipur government, KNO and UPF
• To find the permanent solution to the demand for homeland and political future, the Home Ministry in June 2016 had decided to hold tripartite talks with government of Manipur, KNO and UPF of Manipur
• KNO and its armed wing, Kuki National Army was formed in 1988.
• Its first batch of the cadres, under the command of Thangkholun Haokip was trained by the Kachin Independent Army in Myanmar
• Its objectives include bringing together the Kuki inhabited areas separated by an artificial boundary created in 1935 especially in the Kabaw valley of Myanmar and the Kuki inhabited areas in the hill districts of Manipur in the admin unit called Zalengam/ Land of Freedom
• If such an integration fails to materialise, the organisation aims at the creation of two Kuki states- One in Burma named Easter Zalengam and the other within India the Western Zalengham
• UPF is considered one of two umbrella bodies of the Kuki militant groups and was raised by the outfit during a recently held political dialogue with central reps at New Delhi
• Front demands a separate and autonomous Hill State within the territory of Manipur by extending provision Article 244 A of the Constitution
• Both the KNO and UPF in August 2008 signed a Suspension of Operation pact with the Union and Manipur governments
• Following this, the Manipur government set up 5 designated camps in Churachandpur, Chandel and Senapati districts to help lodge the cadres of ceasefire militant groups

PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first National Tribal Carnival in New Delhi on Oct 25, 2016

• It will promote a sense of inclusiveness among the tribals
• Making this announcement. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Jual Oram indicated that carnival will showcase and promote facets of tribal culture on a large scale
• Underlying idea is to preserve and promote various facets of the tribal life relating to culture, tradition, customers and skills and expose it to the general public for overall holistic development of the scheduled tribes
• Activities such as displaying documents on traditional sociocultural aspects, exhibition of art/artefacts, cultural performances, demonstration of skills such as sports, painting, traditional healing practices will be part of the 4 day event
• Workshops on issues such as Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act 1996- PESA– its implementation, benefit to the tribal community and its drawbacks, Forest Rights Act 2006 and its implications and reservation in politics and recruitment will be part of the carnival
• The carnival will be a mix of live musical and dance performances, exhibitions, display of craft, fashion show, panel discussion, book fair etc.

Rights activist Irom Sharmila announced the name of her freshly launched party as People’s Resurgence Justice Alliance

• She launched the party in Imphal and aims to contest the Manipur Assembly elections in 2017
• She wanted to be a CM to further her demands
• On August 9, 2016 Sharmila broke her 16 year old hunger strike demanding repeal pf the AFSPA and announcing she would now aim to be CM of Manipur to meet her demands for the people
• Irom Chanu Sharmila also known as Iron Lady or Mengoubi is a civil rights activist, political activist and poet from India’s NE state Manipur
• On 2nd November 2000 she commenced a hunger strike which ended on 9th August 2016 after 16 years of fasting
• She carried out the world’s longest hunger strike, refusing wood and water for more than 500 weeks
• On International Women’s Day 2014, she was named the top woman icon of India by MSN Poll.

Kuwait’s emir has ordered the dissolution of the parliament on 16th Oct 2016, opening the way to fresh elections saying security challenges in the region can be addressed by consulting popular will.

• This would be the 7th ballot for the Gulf Arab state since 2006
• Political strains have long held up economic growth and the government has introduced cuts to longstanding welfare benefits
• Political stability in the major oil producer has been linked with cooperation between the government and the parliament- the oldest legislature among Gulf Arab nations
• News Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah's decree gave no date for fresh elections for the 50-seat chamber but under constitutional rules a ballot should be held within 60 days.
• Kuwait is a US ally and has a relatively open political system avoiding an uprising seen in other Arab states since 2011
• Assembly can pass legislation and question ministers
• But the emir has a final say in state issues and can dissolve the parliament; he also selects the PM who chooses the cabinet

The BJP in Arunachal Pradesh officially became a part of the People’s Party of Arunachal Pradesh government with the induction of the senior BJP MLA Tamiyo Taga in the council of ministers

• Arunachal Pradesh is currently the 14th state having a coalition government
• PPA government is a constituent partner of the North East Democratic Alliance
• Pema Khandu, the CM of AP terminated Industries, Textiles and Handicrafts and Cooperation Minister Tapang Taloh from the Cabinet to accommodate Taga
• Khandu was sworn in as the CM on July 16 after months of political turmoil replacing Nabam Tuki who was reinstated to the post by the Apex Court
• Khandu excited Congress, and joined the PPA, a NJP ally with 43 MLAs on Sept 16
• This was 65 days after the SC reinstated the Congress government in the state on July 13
• In a house of 60 members, PPA has 44, BJP 11 Congress 3 and independents 2

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14th Oct 2016 inaugurated the Shaurya Smarak, a war memorial in Bhopal, MP.

• The Shaurya Smarak was constructed by the state government in honour of those who laid down their lives for their country
• The smarak has been built over an area of 12.67 acres of land
• It was developed at an expense of INR 41 crore and comprises a 62 foot Shaurya Stambh
• The memorial has a sound-light show which narrates stories of bravery of courageous Indian soldiers, who laid down their lives fighting enemies on the borders
• Through various stages of life, war and death, victory has been displayed here
• The memorial was designed by Mumbai based architecture firm UCJ Architecture and Environment

India is the 12th largest foreign holder of the US government securities with exposure to the tune of 118.9 billion USD as of March end

• Despite the reduction of exposure to USD 1.245 trillion China is currently the top holder of securities in March 2016, according to data released by the US treasury department
• China owned bonds valued at USD 1.252 trillion
• China is followed by Japan which owns securities of around USD 1.137 trillion
• India is the 12th largest overseas holder of securities one place ahead of Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Arabia’s holding stood at USD 116.8 billion on March 31
• Saudi Arabia’s holdings were lumped together with that of other oil exporting nations such as Iraq and Venezuela
• In March, India owned American government securities of around USD 118.9 billion
• In terms of exposure, other countries ahead of India include Brazil, Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Taiwan and Belgium
• Among BRICS grouping Brazil ad Russia fell to USD 246.4 and 86 billion respectively
• Treasury department also said that short term and long term US securities as well as banking flows were a monthly net Treasury International capital outflow of USD 98.3 billion

SC in its decision on Oct 6, 2016 held that a Hindu son can divorce his wife if she tries to separate him from his elderly parents

• Apex court holds it is the pious obligation of the son to maintain his parents
• It can be held that a Hindu son cannot separate himself from his parents on getting married at the demand of his wife, at least when he’s the sole earning member in the family
• The observation was made by the bench comprising the man to annul his 24-year-old marriage while setting aside Karnataka HC judgement which had dismissed the decree of divorce gathered by the Bangalore family court in 2001
• A woman becomes part of the husband’s family and this she cannot seek to separate him from his parents just to enjoy his income
• Insisting the husband should live separately from parents is a western thought alien to Indian culture, the SC held that the son who was brought up and given education by his parents had a moral and legal obligation to take care and maintain his parents when they became old and when they either had no income or a meagre income
• A woman who becomes an integral part of the husband’s family after being married should have a justifiable reason to separate his husband from his family

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Oct 7, 2016 said that the Indo-Pak border will be completely sealed by December 2018.

• The action has been taken amid rising tensions between the two nations after army strikes on militant bases in PoK
• Singh informed about the decision after a meeting with states sharing the border with Pakistan in Jaisalmer
• Sealing will be monitored at the MHA level, BSF level and chief secretary level
• Some of the participants for reviewing security arrangements at the border included Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, Punjab CM Sukhbir Singh and MoS for Home in Gujarat Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Kashmir Chief Secretary Brij Raj Sharma
• The Home Minister also asked the countrymen to trust the security forces and stand by them
• The India-Pakistan border is an international border running between Pakistan and India that demarcated the Indian lines and the 4 provinces of Pakistan
• The total length of the border is 2900 km
• It is known as Line of Control

Social media site Facebook is collaborating with the Election Commission of India in 5 states going to polls next year to run a voter registration drive to encourage youth to participate in the democratic process.

• FB is partnering ECI and office of Chief Electoral Officers in UP, Goa, Punjab, Manipur and Uttarakhand
• Close to 155 million Indians are on FB
• The register to vote button is designed to encourage citizens to exercise their votes in the coming elections
• From Oct 6 to 9, FB users in Goa, Punjab, UP, Manipur and Uttarakhand who are 18 or above will receive a News Feed reminder to register for the vote
• Clicking on the register now button will direct people to the National Voters’ Services Portal which in turn will guide them towards the registration process
• Feature will be available at the following dates:
• Oct 6: Punjab
• Oct 7: Manipur
• Oct 8: UP and Uttarakhand
• Oct 9: Goa
• The page will disseminate election related information and develop a live interaction platform in the near future