News Wrap
AGD

Dealing on the sexual  violence against women, the Justice J S Verma Committee has recommended that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) be modified to protect the honour of women, in areas where the Indian military and para-military forces operate, under the protective cover of the controversial legislation. The army has been convincing the union defence ministry that its counter insurgency missions in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East would be compromised, if AFSPA was modified. Charges of Human Rights violations have been consistently rejected by the army, as baseless or exaggerated. In Manipur, between May 1979 and May 2012, around 1530 individuals were slain in extra-judicial killings by the army, personnel of Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF and the dreaded Manipur Police commandos. The Supreme Court in October 2012, admitted a writ petition, filed by the Extra-Judicial Execution Victim’s Families Association, Manipur and the Human Rights Alert Manipur, praying for a special investigation team, to probe the deaths in alleged ‘‘fake encounter’’.

Kumbh Mela
Tens of millions of pilgrims stream to India’s northern city, Allahabad from across the country once every twelve years, for the Maha Kumbh Mela, at the point where the Ganges and Jamuna rivers meet with a third mystical river. Between January to March, more than 100 million people passed through the Sangam confluence, on a wide sandy river bank. Over a million Hindu holymen and pilgrims plunged in the sacred Ganges, to wash away lifetime’s sin. Kumbh Mela is the world’s largest religious gathering, and attracts global followers too, with a number of foreigners ordained in the hierarchy of sadhus. India’s expanding population is increasing the size of the ancient festival. Spiritual life is thriving alongside the nearly found affluence of India’s growing middle class. The emerging middle classes are spending portions of their surplus cash on sustaining the sadhu tradition. The festival has become more accessible with mobile phones and better roads. Smartphones guide pilgrims around the holy site. To cope with the flow of people, the State Government of Uttar Pradesh installed 35,000 toilets, laid 550 kms of water pipes, and 155 kms of temporary roads at the holy river bank.

Campaigns in Mali
Islamists fighters had been controlling Northern Mali since April 2012. Under a campaign backed by the UN, French warplanes have been hitting towns seized by Islamists, viz Timbuktu and Gao in North Mali, Diabaly in the south, and Doventza in the south, from mid January 2013. A contingent of 2500 French troops is bolstering Malian forces. UN mandated 3300 strong west African intervention force has also been deployed in Mali. French air strikes to halt Islamist rebels advancing on the capital Bamako, raises the threat level for eight French hostages held by al-Qaeda allies in the Sahara, and for 30,000 French expatriates living in neighbouring, mostly Muslim states. It could also trigger an attack on French soil. France’s ex-colony, Mali could have fallen into the hands of the rebels, creating a threat for Africa, and even for Europe. Mali’s national army is dilapidated. British transport aircraft is supporting French troops, being air lifted from a military base outside Paris. A small number of British military trainers are in Bamako, as part of a long planned EU mission. Many of the Islamist militants have gleaned weapons and training as mercenaries in Colonel Gadaffi’s Libya. There are rising humanitarian concerns for people in Mali’s northern towns, facing a food crisis. French and Malian troops have recaptured provincial capitals Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal, with Islamist fighters retreating into the surrounding deserts. Islamic insurgents retreating from the ancient Saharan city of Timbuktu, burned houses, and set on fire a library containing thousands of priceless ancient manuscripts.

Myanmar’s Refugees

Frontier
Vol. 45, No. 35, Mar 10-16, 2013

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